The Cubs win the World Series. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston get back together. Chris Claremont writes the X-Men again. One of those things, at last, has happened.
Chris Claremont, the writer of the X-Men for 16 years, from Uncanny X-Men #94 to X-Men #3, is returning to the characters that he made famous. Starting in May, Chris Claremont will be writing X-Men Forever, a new bi-weekly series that literally continues from where he left off. No really– right where he left off. X-Men Forever will create a fork in Marvel continuity, continuing the series the way he wanted. Artwork will be by Tom Grummett. The series will premiere in May, with preview issues in March and April.
Chris is also working on an original X-Men graphic novel with artwork by Milo Manera.
ComicMix will be running an in-depth interview with Chris Claremont shortly, which will explain where’s he’s going with it. In the meantime, leave your comments and questions for Chris here.
Welcome back to the X-Men, Chris– hope you survive the experience!
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Claremont returning to the X-Men – and an X-Men set before other writers came in and changed so many of the characters? And drawn by one of my favorite artists? – !! I'll be all over this one. Thanks for the scoop!
Soooo, where exactly did Claremont leave off in the Uncanny X-men/the X-men?What issue # ?
Well, he's written X-Men stories on and off for years, as well as some of the secondary books like Excalibur and Exiles, but I'm assuming they're referring to when he was "dismissed" from the X-Men books back in 1991. His last issue, if I remember correctly, was X-Men #3 with Jim Lee, which was the end of his 15-year reign as overseer of all things "X." After that, John Byrne scripted a few issues before Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza took over the X-books and what was an already complicated series became a quagmire of confusing time traveling stories, alternate dimensions, and "Hey look I'm not REALLY dead" moments that have haunted the franchise ever since then…
Yay! I am so happy! No one writes the X-men like Claremont. Looking forward to him writing Rogue, Storm, Psylocke, Wolverine, Jubilee, et al again! Any chance you can bring in Northstar? I loved the way you wrote him in the X-men/Alpha Flight mini-series. The connection between him and Rogue was so poignant and really had an impact on me as a young gay man! Thank you for that!
I was just reading some of the NYCC panel news and the Marvel X-Men panel confirmed the series picks up after the events of X-Men #3 from 1991. Marvel is even releasing a connection of X-Men #1-3 to help people get caught up with where things ended.
Man! I got some back reading to do but it will be worth it. But I wonder why after so long he would want to come back and not continue with the current titles?
Because the current titles have been borked up beyond repair by a lot of other since 191, perhaps?
"others" "1991"How come i never see these things till a nanosecond after i hit "Send"?
Mr. Claremont, What are your plans for Nightcrawler in this new series, and how large a role will he play?
That is what I would like to know as well. Are Nightcrawler, Shadowcat and Phoenix still in Excalibur at that point? I can't remember. Do they even know that the rest of the X-Men are still alive?
Kurt and Kitty and Rachel were still with Excalibur in 1991. I don't remember when they found out that the X-Men were still alive. Mr. Claremont, Will this new series affect the events in Excalibur? Is this the big news about Kurt we keep hearing about, or is there something more to come?
I just read the text of the whole interview, and was a little disturbed that Mr. Claremont seems to be placing a lot of emphasis on his ability to kill off characters with this new title. In recent years we have seen the death of Jean Grey, Kitty Pryde, Banshee, etc. I love these characters and hope this book will be a return to fun, exciting X-tales that are full of drama without having to go the route of killing beloved characters. That being said, I do have to admit that the death of Jean Grey in the Dark Phoenix storyline was beautifully and meaningfully handled.
One more question and I promise to stop…unless I think of something else: I noticed there is no Wolverine in this series. I really enjoy the Kurt/Logan friendship. Their interaction makes some of the best reading in the Marvel Universe. Is there any chance that Logan will show up occasionally and have a few adventures with his best friend? Please?
I agree. Claremont's interpretation of their reunion would be good to see.
Can I put in a plea for no crossovers with the established continuity? I can just see it, 6 months in, as a sales boosting opportunity, and there's no need…
You've never heard Chris's opinion of crossovers, have you?
Spider-Girl never did any, as i recall.
I prefer Mr Claremont's take on the books. Even though Joss Whedon's was great, he did take his direction from what Claremont was doing years ago. Clairmont wrote the same story, over and over for about 10 of those 16 years. And it got old. Really really old. A lot of story lines were abandoned only to be taken in the wrong direction by other writers. By the time he left the book was a mess. Between that, poor editing and the same d@mn story lines, the book is not going to last long enough to be noticed. Mr Clairmont I read the book from issue 136 until the mid 1990s. I'm a fan. I've read comics for a long time. I'll be glad to pick up the first few issues if for no other reason than Tom Orzechowski's amazing lettering (should he be on the book). Other than that I've yet to see you be willing to try anything else. And I'm not willing to stick around to find out it's the same old same old. Sorry but thank you nonetheless.http://madmonq.wordpress.com/
Is it me or does another 'fragment' reality just point out how bad their direction has been for YEARS. The Bobby Ewing thing.
Mr. ClaremontCan you confirm that it is indeed Sabretooth on the Tom Grummett promotional art. If it is Sabretooth, then I am buying 2 copies of issue #1, just because of Creed being in it.
When will this in-depth interview run? Did we miss it?
Shortly after we transcribe it. And yes, some of your questions are there, although I expect him to demur on a few points.
Thank you Glenn! I'm glad we didn't miss it. I'll keep checking.
Mr. Claremont,Will you also be continuing the story from the end of the Shadow King/Muir Island Saga in Uncanny X-Men?And how would you have ended that story arc?
Any idea on when the interview will be up?
I would like to know that too. It has been two weeks now.
Taking a bit longer than anticipated– Chris wanted to do an audio interview rather than email, so we have to transcribe it.
Is the interview up yet?
I don't think so. I haven't seen it.
The comic will be out before this interview gets posted …
Ah, what the hell…No, it's just going to SEEM like forever…
It sure does seem like forever. It's been a month now. That must have been a doozy of an interview. If you need help transcribing it, I volunteer.
The real reveal here is that Claremont will be working with Milo Manera on an X-Men graphic novel! Marvel has been stellar with getting talent from outside the United States, and some of their grabs have been huge, but this is truly unbelievable.
OMG, OMG, OMG! I can't believe it! A true dream come true! The master returns!
Just out of curiosity, when in May will the comics be released?
X-Men Forever Alpha #1 is supposed to be released on May 20th.
Just admit it, this interview never actually happened, did it?
Hi, Chris. Welcome back. Please don´t allow one plot to continue for, you know, over 5,000 years. Also, when will Madelyne Pryor return? All the other writers really butchered her charcter´s return. They just didn´t know what to do with her. We just had one big x-mess with her history. She was a classic.