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Image Comics co-founder Marc Silvestri reveals CyberForce was an X-Men relaunch idea Marvel turned down
Artist Marc Silvestri looks back on his years long X-Men run alongside legendary writer Chris Claremont
NewsbyGeorge Marston, Contributing writer
Published on Tue Aug 11 2026
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Marc Silvestri made his name in comics with a run on Uncanny X-Men alongside legendary writer Chris Claremont, who stayed on the title for 17 years. Looking back, Silvestri says X-Men was seen as the pinnacle achievement for a Marvel artist, calling it a major highlight of his career.
“I was in a point in my career, personally, because I had been in the comics for 10 years, and I had done the X-Men with Chris Claremont. It’s like, at that time, even though the general population had no idea what the X-Men was, within the comics community, it was really cool. We knew that the X-Men was the thing,” Silvestri says during the Image Comics Founders panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2026. “Working with Chris Claremont on the X-Men. It just didn’t get no better than that.”
Silvestri drew Uncanny X-Men from issue #218-261, with a few fill-ins along the way, over a span of nearly 3 years. Silvestri was succeeded by Jim Lee, who also became a superstar on the title. Both creators would go on to co-found Image Comics alongside Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, and Jim Valentino.
Silvestri’s original signature title at Image Comics is Cyber Force, the flagship comic of his Top Cow imprint till it was supplanted by Witchblade in the late ’90s. Silvestri says he adapted Cyber Force from an idea he had for an X-Men relaunch in which the mutants were all turned into cyborgs.
Jim Lee also recently reflected fondly on his own time as artist of the X-Men, leading his own new X-Men #1 as a second title alongside Uncanny X-Men, both of which are still around right now.
“This was my mission. To get into comics, to work at Marvel, to work on my favorite characters as a kid, which were the X-Men. I finally achieved that, so I think it was just all-consuming. It was a passion of mine,” Lee previously stated. “I drew every single day, and I worked on comics every single day. Christmas, my birthday, whatever. And at the same time, I was learning how to draw, to become a better artist. So not only am I getting to live my dream, but I also get paid to become a better artist.”
One of Silvestri’s biggest recent hits is his 2022 DC limited series Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo, which he both wrote and drew.
Interested? Here’s where to find your closest local comic store, courtesy of Sweet, and here’s a guide to how (and where) to read comics online. If you’re looking for the best comics in recent memory, check out the Eisner Awards winners and the Harvey Awards nominees. And if you like free comics, here’s everything we know about Free Comic Book Day 2027.
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George Marston: George Marston is a media critic and journalist who has specialized in superheroes and comics for nearly two decades. Along with focusing on comics and superhero media at Newsarama, George has honed a critical voice exploring TV, movies, and video games with bylines at Total Film, SFX Magazine Online, Space.com, GamesRadar+, and more. During George’s time at Newsarama, the site received the 2020 Tripwire award for Best Comics-related Website / Publication. (They/Them)
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