Uncanny X-Men #19 Exclusive Covers by Tyler Kirkham

Uncanny X-Men #19 Exclusive Covers by Tyler Kirkham - 4ColorBeast

Cover A: Dark Phoenix and Wolverine, limited to 3,000 copies

Cover B: Emma Frost and Psylocke, limited to 1,000 copies

Cover C: Rogue and Mystique, limited to 1,000 copies

Leah Williams Unpacks ‘Age of X-Man: X-Tremists’

Adventures in Poor Taste! reached out to writer Leah Williams to learn more about all the thought and care that’s gone into making Age of X-Man: X-Tremists special to so many X-Fans.

AiPT!: X-Tremists is one of those series that sneaks up on you and stays with you long after you’ve put it down for many reasons. One is unrequited love and all the feelings that come with it. Everything Fred goes through after revealing his love for Betsy is so relatable. Did you draw on your own past experiences to help readers experience something that is universal while also feeling so deeply personal?

Williams: More so than anything else I’ve written in comics, and it’s very uncomfortable to me. I obfuscate everything, of course, I am not self-inserting because that’d be one of the shittiest things I could do with this opportunity. However, my bottom-line is just wanting to provide something authentic. I like an airtight narrative (and obviously that gets more complicated in a collaborative medium like comics; not all of the moving components, many of which aren’t your responsibility to interpret, will land together perfectly), so drawing from some emotional experiences I know are authentic just as a means to provide gravitas is something I made an exception for in Freddy’s case. He deserved the credibility at the expense of my discomfort.

The way readers reacted to the moment of him confessing his feelings was sort of harrowing and humbling at the same time. For me, what he describes is a part of the queer experience–like, knowing you are attracted to your same-sex friend while closeted and fearful of consequences should you speak up. You love them. But you also love just getting to be around them. So you choose the pain of longing instead of the pain of loss or rejection, and after awhile you convince yourself that you’re maybe even happy like this. It was for the best. Then you dig yourself a pain rut and remain inside it indefinitely.

When X-Tremists #2 came out I learned the extent to which that’s a shared experience, though, and the way I learned this was because maybe dozens (I want to say?) of people reaching out to me and admitting they’re each feeling that same pain. And they just live like this. I’m still staggered breathless by that day.

I was similarly unprepared for how Betsy’s confession in X-Tremists #3 would land. Someone tweeted “Thank you.” and only that to me, and after glancing at their profile and seeing them speak to their own audience with the specifics of what they were going through and why Betsy’s confession mattered to them, I knew what that “Thank you.” meant and it made me want to cry just looking at it. You know exactly what it means in that context. And then for the second time, I just had this day of learning the extent of just how many people who read it are all hurting with the same specific pain.

I don’t know where to put this knowledge. It’s definitely breaking my heart, and overall, the X-Tremists experience has changed me on some fundamental level. I didn’t know what the f--k I was doing with Fred’s confession, to be honest–I just wanted something real and raw, and ringing with sweetness. I mostly feel like I stumbled into significance with Fred’s confession. I knew it rang true for me; I never realized the extent to which it would for everyone else. And learning it leveled me.

AiPT!: In the regular Marvel Universe, Psylocke is often portrayed as one of the X-Men characters who is most confident in her own skin–even when the skin hasn’t been that of her original body. Where did the idea come from to explore Betsy’s body issues?

Williams: Betsy Braddock was only ever body-confident when inhabiting Kwannon. She’s never once been satisfied with the body she was born with. She expresses this a few times prior to her journey through the Siege Perilous but earliest, I think (?) is when she just indicates dissatisfaction with her body’s physical limitations compared to her brothers’. Then there are some circumstantial details that could or could not be used in a discussion of Betsy’s body image issues, depending on how you feel about it–she starts dying her hair purple. She starts modeling. These things aren’t indicative of anything in particular on their own. But later, Betsy allows Mojo to give her cybernetic eye implants and that’s when we really start to explore Betsy Braddock’s profoundly unsettling obsession with body modification. And after this, we get a truly harrowing glimpse into Betsy’s body dysmorphia: in the Uncanny X-Men Annual #11 by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis, each of the X-Men is presented with their heart’s one true desire via the Siege Perilous. The trick is not to fall for this trap, obviously, and they have to resist overwhelming temptation despite it being the one thing they’ve always desperately longed for. All of them succeed.

Except Betsy. And her dream, her most desperate desire, is to be physically perfect–an armored woman. Sleek and made of steel. Impenetrable and strong. She says she chooses this path to protect those that she cares for, but once this is undone by the end of the issue: cut to like a year later, in a different book, of a different run, but with same pre-Kwannon Betsy: she’s still chasing the “perfection” of this ideal body and has started wearing custom armor just to mimic it.

It’s the usage of the word “perfect,” plus her blatant disregard for her original body that alarms me the most. She’s only joyful and confident once she’s inside Kwannon. That’s when she’s finally as dangerous, lethal, vicious, strong and sexual as the way she’s always dreamed of being. Closer to perfection. She outruns all of her insecurities inside Kwannon, and sure enough, whenever she’s presented with the option of reverting to her old self throughout the years, Betsy still consistently chooses to remain inside Kwannon. Betsy’s body issues have been in the canon for a very long time. I find them terrifying and sad.

AiPT!: While there have been many surprising relationships in Age of X-Man, Blob and Psylocke seemed to take many fans by surprise. But forget the fans–what was the initial reaction to Blobsy in the X-Office from the wider Age of X-Man team?

Williams: [X-Men Senior Editor] Jordan’s polite and professional no matter what canon shenanigans (cananigans) I propose. I pitched Blob/Psylocke on the phone to him when we were just tossing ideas back and forth about the cast as I learned who was still available, and I found out Blob still was. Betsy was already locked in as someone I definitely wanted by this point, so it was considering Blob as a possibility and then realizing how this world would affect him uniquely when I started to see the pieces fall into place. Betsy’s deep-seated body dysmorphia + the chance to give Fred an environment that loves and supports him regardless of his size and the resulting changes of who he’d be in this world. To me, it was just a natural alignment.

I made this connection instantly but internally, so what I blurted out on the phone to Jordan was more like, “Oh, Blob’s available!?” and then two seconds later “Blob/Psylocke romance!” I think his instinctive reaction a polite “????” but after hearing me out, he was just like “Sure!” and then I questioned him for months about whether or not he was still sure.

The Uncanny X-Men Come to Marvel: Future Fight

Marvel: Future Fight v510 update is live! Players can now unlock X-Men members Iceman (Modern), Jubilee (Classic) and Bishop (Disassembled). There are also several new X-Men uniforms to collect for other previously available characters, including X-Men Red uniforms for Storm and Jean Grey, a new Disassembled uniform for Psylocke, and a new Uncanny X-Men uniform for Beast. MARVEL Future Fight’s new ‘Uniform Ranking’ system also allows players to view popular uniforms and with the ‘Uniform Dibs’ function, players can identify uniforms they want to buy.

X-Men: Grand Design - X-Tinction #1 Art

Retelling of the events from Mutant Massacre up to Inferno.

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #4 Spoilers & Art

Spoilers: As Blob and Psylocke take Moneta into custody, Northstar notices how friendly they got. Jean-Paul runs off alone caught up in his thoughts. The next morning at Department X’s HQ, Northstar comes across Moneta, who’s been reconditioned as lost memories of her transgressions. Blob and Betsy brief the team on their two assignments for the day, and Northstar volunteers to check on an illegal movie theater showing romance pictures. It turns out the theater is run by Rictor and Northstar is a regular movie goer. Jean-Paul uses his position in Dept. X to warn Rictor in advance. Back at the HQ, Iceman decides to follow Northstar. Moneta is left alone and uses her powers on herself to recall what she had been made to forget. At the theater, Iceman joins Northstar and Rictor, and the three of them hang out and drink together, while Jean-Paul opens up about the feeling of missing someone he doesn’t know. Elsewhere, Moneta is attacked by the followers of Apocalypse. While Iceman, Northstar and Rictor comfort each other, Jubilee sets the town on fire and says she now remembers having a child. Northstar also remembers his sister Aurora and husband Kyle, and Jubilee confirms she was at their wedding. They realize memories were taken away from them and suggest rioting.

Marvel: Future Fight Releases Uncanny X-Men Update, Introduces New Psylocke Uniform

MARVEL Future Fight’s May update is now here! This time, it will be a mutant-centric update which focuses on the X-Men’s Uncanny X-Men story. Various in-game content has been improved, and new X-Men characters have been added!

Iceman, Jubilee, and Bishop will now be joining us in MARVEL Future Fight. That’s 3 new characters added! We’re also adding 4 new uniforms to support our current X-Men roster! 6 more characters can now awaken their inner potential! Make sure to strengthen the X-Men once the update lands. The Phoenix Force has been successfully mastered by Jean Grey! Tier-3 for Jean Grey has been unlocked.

Various in-game content where our all-new and enhanced X-Men can unleash their skills has been improved. For those Agents who will challenge Shadowland for the first time! Shadowland first clear rewards have been added. We’ve also added a Uniform Ranking and Favorites feature where agents can check stats regarding the uniform or save the uniform as a part of their wishlist. For your convenience, small changes have been made to World Event, Agent Level, World Boss Invasion, etc. We have optimized and improved a variety of content! Check below for more details regarding the update.

4 Uniforms Added!

Enhance the X-Men! Four new X-Men Disassembled themed uniforms has been added. Meet Jean Grey. Beast. Storm and Psylocke’s new uniforms!

* The Skill descriptions shown above are at Skill Level 1.

* 4 new uniforms will be on sale during the event period. You can check them out on the Marvel Universe menu and by going to the Uniform Room.

The X-Men Rise in Marvel Strike Force, Psylocke is Available

BleedingCool: FoxNext Games announced today that Marvel Strike Force will be getting a new X-Men patch that will bring in Colossus, Psylocke, and Dark Phoenix. The patch won’t be making any major changes to gameplay beyond maybe some bug fixes or anything happening in the Alliance War, the main focus will be adding in these three new characters for you to work with in order to win matches and score prizes in the game. You’ll be getting Psylocke first whenever the patch goes into effect, as they have yet to announce a date it will be added to Marvel Strike Force, with the remaining two X-Men to come at a later date.

First up is Psylocke, the psionic ninja whose mind is her ultimate weapon. Players that add Psylocke to their squads will be able to bring enemies to their knees with her arsenal of psychic powers including telekinetic blasts and illusions, foresight and her deadly psionic blade. Additionally, players can turn negative effects against their enemies and pierce enemy armor with Psylocke.

RANK UP, FIRST IMPRESSIONS & GAMEPLAY

GALLERY

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #4 Preview

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #4

Writer: Leah Williams

Art by: Georges Jeanty

Cover by: Razzah

The Story:

The Age of X-Man Continues!

• Northstar — the guiding light that keeps the traveler reassured they are going in the right direction.

• If only the name rang true for poor Jean-Paul...

In Stores: April 29, 2019

 

X-Solicits for August 2019

	House of X #2 & 3 (of 6) Jonathan Hickman (W) • Pepe Larraz (A/C) Issue #2 & #3 - Virgin Variant Covers by: Pepe Larraz Issue #2 & #3 - Flower Variant Covers by: Sara Pichelli Issue #2 & #3 - Decades Variant Covers by: TBA Issue #2 & #3 - Connecting Variant Covers by: Yasmine Putri & Mahmud Asrar Issue #2 & #3 - Young Variant Covers by: Skottie Young Issue #2 & #3 - Action Figure Variant Covers by: John Tyler Christopher Learn the truth about one of the X-Men’s closest allies…and then begin the fight for the future of mutantkind! Superstar writer Jonathan Hickman (Avengers, Secret Wars, Fantastic Four) continues reshaping the X-Men’s world with Marvel Young Gun artist Pepe Larraz (Extermination, Avengers)!
	Powers of X #2 & 3 (of 6) Jonathan Hickman (W) • R.B. Silva (A/C) Issue #2 & #3 - Virgin Variant Covers by: R.B. Silva Issue #2 & #3 - New Character Variant Covers by: Dustin Weaver Issue #2 & #3 - Decades Variant Covers by: TBA Issue #2 & #3 - Young Variant Covers by: Skottie Young Issue #2 & #3 - Action Figure Variant Covers by: John Tyler Christopher Issue #2 & #3 - Connecting Variant Covers by: Yasmine Putri & Mahmud Asrar As Xavier sows the seeds of the past, the X-Men’s future blossoms into trouble for all mutantdom. Superstar writer Jonathan Hickman (New Avengers, Infinity, FF) continues reshaping the X-Men’s past, present and future with breakout artist R.B. Silva (Uncanny X-Men)!

The X-Men and Magneto Unite in 'Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3'

Marvel.com: Mighty mutants including Magneto, Psylocke, Nightcrawler, Scarlet Witch and Deadpool join the fight when 'MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order' launches on July 19!

Famous foes team-up as a new era for mutantkind is about to dawn!

For the first time in 10 years, and exclusive to Nintendo Switch™!, the "Marvel Ultimate Alliance" series returns with four-player action and an original story. On July 19, assemble a huge roster willing to do whatever it takes to save the universe in "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order."

We know "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order" features a massive cast of Super Heroes spanning the entire Marvel Universe, including newly announced heroes like Captain Marvel, Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel.

Now, the latest trailer above welcomes an alliance from fan-favorite mutants such as Magneto, Psylocke, Scarlet Witch, Nightcrawler, Deadpool, and more!

In this new original story, Super Heroes unite in a race across iconic locations in the Marvel Universe to find the Infinity Stones before Thanos and The Black Order use them to unleash cosmic chaos. Up to four people can play together in local* or online** co-op, with the ability to drop in and out at any time.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order will hit stores and Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch on July 19 at a suggested retail price of $59.99. For more information about the game, visit https://marvelultimatealliance3.nintendo.com

Jonathan Hickman Peels Back the Curtain on His X-Men Run

CBR: The month of July marks the release of House of X and Powers of X, two series which kick off writer Jonathan Hickman's upcoming tenure on Marvel's X-Men. Illustrated by artists Pepe Larraz and R.B. Silva, respectively, the pair of six-issue miniseries will eventually lead to an all-new era for Marvel's merry mutants under Hickman's guidance. CBR spoke with Hickman about House of X and Powers of X to find out more about the mysterious series.

CBR: In your interview last week, you mentioned when you were pitching ideas for the X-Men, you thought about what the X-Men line needed. Specifically, what do you think has been missing from the line over the last several years?

Jonathan Hickman: Well, that's a super loaded question.

I can assure you that what hasn't been missing is talent. A lot of very good creators have worked on these books, and in the previous decade I was at Marvel, many of them were good friends of mine. You can certainly make the argument that when Bendis was writing the books he was doing interesting stuff and was working with a murderer's row of artist -- I honestly can't remember when the X-line has looked better than that. But I remember the day he quit those books, and why, and it's important to keep in mind that a lot of this job of ours is alchemy, not chemistry.

Sometimes the company's interests lie in other places. Sometimes your timing is bad and the market conspires against you. Sometimes the real world gets in the way of how a story is perceived. Sometimes competitors knock one out of the park and eat all the oxygen in the room. These are things it takes a colossal amount of effort, time, and money to control.

There, of course, are factors you can control, and one I think about a lot is value.

I don't know if you've been paying attention to what Tomm Coker and I have been doing over at Image on The Black Monday Murders, but we started experimenting with larger issues at a higher price point. We'd do an issue with 30 pages of comic art and 20-30 pages of data that supports the story and what we found was 1.) it provided a much denser read -- there was way more meat on the bone compared to a normal monthly comic, and 2.) because all the data was interspersed throughout the book it had an asymmetrical read that changed the normal monthly comic reading rhythms.

And by that last bit I mean that if you are reading a 20 page comic, you know what's happening on page 19. You've consumed enough pop culture that you're not going to really be surprised when you turn that page. I mean, you might be, but you certainly saw something coming. Doing the books the other way changes all of that. The reader gets lost in the dueling sections. It's really interesting.

Anyway, I bring that up because it's what we're doing with House of X and Powers of X. I know for the first issues of both the solicits say 40 pages / $5.99 but that's incorrect. The books are bigger than that because if we can provide good value, then it increases our odds the book will be judged solely on 'is it good?' And that's a challenge we're eager to undertake.

Oh, I should also probably note that we're working with designer Tom Muller on the data pages. Very excited about that. Muller's got some serious game.

Let's go back a few months to the Mark Brooks promo art for House of X and Powers of X. It contained a good number of recognizable mutants, both heroes and villains, but a few new ones stand out. Most notably, there are two characters -- a man and woman -- who appear to be combinations of different X-Men characters all merged together.

The woman has metallic skin like Colossus, is holding Magik's Soulsword and has pigtails like Dani Moonstar. The man has Nightcrawler's body, but red skin. Both appear on the cover of Powers of X #1. Can you shed some insight into what is taking place with these characters? Are we interpreting things correctly by assuming those are familiar X-Men who have undergone some radical changes, or are they all-new characters?

JH: I feel like you're using the royal 'we' there, and I'm not sure how down I am with your aristocratic bent.

I will tell you that 'we' are not telling an Alt-Universe story.

The House of X art also shows the revived Charles Xavier, presumably from Charles Soule's run on Astonishing X-Men, alongside Cyclops, Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), Magneto and Wolverine. Their costumes come from different eras of X-Men history, especially Jean Grey's -- are we looking at Xavier plucking X-Men from different eras for his master plan for mutantkind, or do they simply signify the five most recognizable figures in the X-Men franchise?

JH: I'm not telling a story that deals with time travel.

The plant-like object they're stepping through on the HOX #1 cover is also seen in some of the interior preview pages. For example, we see Jean walking through it with a group of young mutants. There is also a significant amount of plant life on the POX #2 cover. Without going too heavily into spoilers, what can you tell us about this? Is Krakoa a member of your X-Men team?

JH: Okay, so this is the third question in a row that I'm ducking because I'm just not going to spoil the story for everyone who's looking forward to reading it.

Back in the day I absolutely would have, I think. When I first started doing this I honestly wouldn't shut up. I wanted to talk about 'my process', and what I hoped to accomplish in an issue, and then when the book came out I wanted to point out what everything meant just to make sure the reader knew exactly how clever I was. It was awful.

I remember I was at a show and a fan came up to me and told me about this elaborate theory they had about what I had meant in an issue of, I dunno, I think it was Fantastic Four. Anyway, I remember how crushed this person was when I told them that their theory was wrong and why. I mean, this dude was wrecked, and all I could think was, 'Why did I do that?'

Because I remember when I was kid, I used to do the same thing, I'd read the book and imagine where the story went, or what happened to that side character, or what the author was really talking about. And I think that's something we've lost in the intersection of 'behind the scenes' and 'community opinion.'

So I don't do that anymore. I feel like it's my job to tell the story. Then I give that story to you. And after that, whether you love it or hate it, my sole job is not screwing up that experience for you. Because it's yours.

Anyway, that's how you duck a question.

Have you come across any X-Men in your writing that have turned out to be far more intriguing to work on than you originally thought? And can we expect to be introduced to a lot of new mutants during the dual miniseries, or just a few?

JH: Generally, I don't like to make up a bunch of new characters when I take over a book at Marvel. Sure, there are times when a story I'm telling needs a certain something and I have to, but for the most part, I kind of want to write the pre-existing characters.

That's especially true with X-Men because there are already so many of them and, well, I've waited my whole life to write Goldballs.

We now know the current X-Men line will end right before HOX and POX launch. How closely did you work with Marvel to synchronize the ending points for books like Uncanny X-Men, Age of X-Man, etc.? Were there any notes provided to the creative teams on where you needed characters like Cyclops, Wolverine, etc. to be before HOX and POX kick off?

JH: When the decision was made that everything was going to wrap before we did House of X and Powers of X, the big question was what to do with the books leading up to July. Leaving the schedule open was never a serious consideration as, you know, Marvel prides themselves on their editors having a job to do and the company actually publishing comics. So, after some back-and-forth, knowing what I had planned, Jordan and the writers put together a mix of very intriguing stories and series, and outside of a few extremely minor things, no one was given story beats to hit, or departure points, and I personally didn't give anyone notes. Both House of X and Powers of X start in a really clean place. So those lead-up books had a very particular mandate, which was basically, ‘just go nuts, swing away, and knock it out of the park.'

I do want to add that I am a little disappointed that some people are saying the work that's been done -- that the stories that have been told -- don't matter because I'm doing my thing after that. Personally, I think what matters when you buy a book, or say, see a movie, is did you enjoy it? If the answer is yes, then it was worth it. If the answers no, then it wasn't worth it.

That might be facile, but it's how I feel.

As someone who was very pleased to see you bring Cannonball and Sunspot into the Avengers fold during your popular run, can we look forward to you bringing them home now that you'll be working on the X-Men?

JH: I won't be bringing them home.

Marvel Strike Force Introduces X-Men Phoenix, Colossus, and Psylocke

Marvel.com: Arriving in Marvel Strike Force in waves, starting on May 23, the X-Men are the most powerful team the game has ever seen. Phoenix, Colossus and Psylocke will be joining already available characters Wolverine and Storm on the fight against Magneto and the Mutant Brotherhood in the Arena game mode.

Colossus and Psylocke will roll out in the upcoming in-game update with a Psylocke Event Campaign and Colossus Blitz. Phoenix will be available through a Legendary Event. Players should jump in now so you can earn Psylocke and Colossus character shards before their events end.

Colossus, an unkillable tank, is a powerful Protector that can absorb heavy damage by stacking Positive Effects and mitigate incoming damage with Deflect. His abilities make him difficult to get through, and one of the reasons the X-Men will be the new apex Arena team. Reign down cosmic fire and rise from the ashes with Phoenix, and turn Negative Effects against your enemies with Psylocke.

As for the Psylocke Event Campaign, after the X-Men are captured by Ultimus, Psylocke must lead a stealth team of S.T.R.I.K.E. martial artists on a rescue mission to Limbo.

Build a team of your favorite X-Men and unleash the power of the Phoenix force! Pairing these new characters with Wolverine and Storm allows for new team synergies making your collections that much more powerful. Your X-Men team will be no match as more mutants are added to the game.

Jordan D. White Confirms Plans for Psylocke in a Post-Hickman World

When the X-Men books were relaunched in 2017 with the ResurrXion line, Psylocke was nowhere to be seen in the initially announced lineups. It was only three months after the relaunch that Betsy Braddock found a home in the pages of "Astonishing X-Men".

It's now 2019, and the X-Line is about to be relaunched again, this time spearheaded by writer Jonathan Hickman with two six-issue series called "House of X" and "Powers of X" running from late-July through September, which will then introduce a wave of new books in October to be announced at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.

As in RessurXion's initial rollout, Psylocke is conspicuously absent from any promotional image, covers or interior art released so far. When questioned about Psylocke's absence, editor Jordan D. White reassured fans, confirming that there are plans for Betsy Braddock. What are your hopes for this new era?

Age of X-Man: NextGen #4 Spoilers & Art

Spoilers: After Pixie reports Armor's strange behavior to Professor Sunfire, Dean Angel at the Summers Institute calls Department X to investigate. Psylocke and Blob believe the students have become addicted to the drug Unveil. Betsy asks Pixie to show her Armor's room, but no one's inside. Shark Girl comes across them and tells Psylocke she saw Armor, Glob and Rockslide leaving the campus in a hurry. Betsy and Blob take Department X's van, and Fred shows her Glob's diary, which he intends to give to the X-Men.

Age of X-Man: The Marvelous X-Men #4 Spoilers & Art

Spoilers: In London, England, as mutantkind celebrates Xavier Day, Department X is looking for signs of the X-Tracts. Apocalypse and his Alcolytes strike, unleashing lust and desire, but Psylocke and Moneta are unable to apprehend them. Later that day, Psylocke, Moneta and Northstar intend to arrest Colossus for engaging in kissing with Kitty Pryde, and Piotr fights back.

Marvel and Jonathan Hickman Unveil Plans for 'Whole New Era' of X-Men

ComicBook.com: This summer, everything will change for the X-Men when Jonathan Hickman makes his return to Marvel Comics. It begins with House of X and Powers of X, two six-issue miniseries. Based on our interview with Hickman, these miniseries set up a bold new era that will redefine the X-Men for years to come.

So, you're back at Marvel? How'd that happen?

Jonathan Hickman: Well, I was sitting in a LA hotel room a year-and-a-half ago and I got a call from Dan Buckley asking me to consider holding on some other projects until he had a chance to make me an offer. I, of course, said 'of course' as both he and Marvel have been good to me over the years.

So, we got on the phone and talked about a lot of things: What I'd like to do if I came back, what he'd like for me to do, and some vertically-integrated opportunities at the company that were not available when I was there last.

And then, he basically told me that my mandate if I came back would be to just 'try things.' Which on top of everything he'd already said made it a pretty attractive proposition.

Obviously, I accepted.

And this led to X-Men?

JH: Yeah. I mean, I threw out quite a few ideas I had for other books, but X-Men was the bigger, more timely, idea. It was certainly the one I was most excited about.

So, I thought about what I wanted to do, and more importantly, what I thought the line needed, and then I flew up to the Marvel offices and pitched all of senior editorial what I had in mind. We met for a while, fought a little bit, then I went back home and polished everything up, and then, about a year ago, I presented the entirety of it at a Marvel retreat. Which went well.

We have been working hard on it ever since then.

Did you always want to introduce this next era for the X-Men with House of X and Powers of X? How did this idea start for you?

JH: Okay, so, for the most part, I don't believe incrementalism works in fictional universes, and that, I think, is why almost every big franchise change that occurs has a delineated starting point. I mean, it does work, which is why the industry often abuses it as a sales tactic.

And in the spirit of 'what works' and also 'what the market is used to', I didn't feel like just doing a new number one was enough. I also didn't think that if we were serious about what we were trying to do we should have a mixed message in the market about what an X-book is.

So I argued for cancelling the entire line: Why it would work, why it was a good idea, and most importantly, why it was what we needed to do narratively to return the X-Men to their rightful prominent position in the Marvel Universe.

We needed to sell the idea that this is what we're going to be doing for the next few years. So if you want to read X-Men books during the run from late-July through September, House of X and Powers of X are the only new X-books available and everything that's going to follow is based on them. We wanted to be clear to the fans, to the stores, and just as importantly, to the creators who are going to be staffing these books in the future. We wanted the message to be very clear: This is a whole new era for the X-Men. This is what we're doing now.

And so, POX and HOX is how we're starting. It's a solid plan, I think.

You’ve said that fans will need to pick up both House of X and Powers of X to get the full story. Can you go into any more detail on how they relate? Why two six-issue series instead of one 12-issue series?

JH: Well, there's a practical element to all this, which is we only wanted one artist on each series. And based on the timeline, that wouldn't be possible with a higher issue count because we only had, roughly, a nine-month production window. So in my head, one single narrative was never an option.

But honestly, that really never was a concern because, in the same manner as when I was working on FF/F4 and Avengers/New Avengers, the format is basically two stories about one story.

One, House of X, is a story about a pivotal month in the history of the X-men where everything changes for mutants on Earth. And the other, Powers of X, is a story about the history of mutants in the Marvel Universe. It works as a series of reveals and revelations where each issue of HOX that follows POX -- and vice versa -- makes you reinterpret the issue you had previously read.

And then, obviously, at the end they crash together in a way that propels us forward into a new X-Universe.

What should fans expect from these two series?

JH: Big X-Men things. Some cool new ideas. A lot of your favorite mutants. Definitely some killer art, as Pepe and R.B. are doing an incredible job.

How prominent is the mutant metaphor in your take on the X-Men? Is that something you’re leaning into, or are you leaning more towards to sci-fi elements of the X-Men’s mythology?

JH: If by 'sci-fi elements' you mean some basic evolutionary biology, a little genetic homogeny, a lot of contact linguistics or, you know, how mutants bend the Kardashev scale, then sure. We'll be doing all that stuff.

As to the other, I'm not sure how you get away from doing metaphor when you're writing X-books. I suppose that, narratively, the problem nowadays is interpretation. Are we talking about a stand-in for marginalized groups, or the metaphor simply being a substitution of the word 'different' for 'special', or is the real modern complication atomization? Where everything is segmented to such a degree that there are no stories which mean something to everyone. Where the psychological expectation is something catered, or personalized.

I suspect that last bit also has a lot to do with why we've been in a nostalgic feedback loop for quite a while. Where everyone is telling X-Men stories about other X-Men stories.

With all that in mind, I think I have a pretty good idea of how to move all of this forward. Hopefully I'll get it right.

While we know you can’t share too much, can you share any details around this new direction of what’s happening in the X-Universe? Are there plans after House of X and Powers of X?

JH: At the conclusion of our 12 weeks of HOX and POX, we'll be launching an entire new universe of X-books. Some will be traditional fare, some carry through on ideas presented in HOX and POX. Some books are completely new concepts. I, personally, will be writing the ongoing flagship X-book.

Now, we're already in production on all of these 'Wave 1' books and our plan at this moment is to introduce the titles, creative teams, and publishing details around SDCC, which is a week before HOX #1 goes on sale.

We also just finished our plans for our 'Wave 2' books that will debut in 2020 and we're getting ready to hire talent for those.

It's pretty exciting, and this kind of long-term planning is one of the benefits of knowing what direction you're headed for the next few years.

Throughout their history, the X-Men have been depicted varying as a superhero team, a family, a school faculty, outlaws, and mutant law enforcement. How do you describe your version of the X-Men?

JH: Oh, I think the X-Men is about finding the family that you never knew you had. One that accepts you for who you are, who loves you at your best and worst, and who shares your dreams for what the world can be.

You know, everybody wants to love somebody, everyone wants to be loved, and it's pretty great when you find both. Especially if you're, say, a weirdo mutant with eyeballs covering your whole body.