Interview: Chris Claremont on ‘X-Men Forever’, part 1

Glenn Hauman

Glenn is VP of Production at ComicMix. He has written Star Trek and X-Men stories and worked for DC Comics, Simon & Schuster, Random House, arrogant/MGMS and Apple Comics. He's also what happens when a Young Turk of publishing gets old.

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14 Responses

  1. Marc Alan Fishman says:

    I hope this get's covered in subsequent doses of said interview… but how will this be marketed to appeal to X-fans who may have come in POST claremont?

  2. Nancy says:

    Thank you! I look forward to the rest of the interview.

  3. SueMc says:

    I always hoped something like this would happen, since I quit the X-books shortly after Chris left. However, after reading the bridge story in X-Men Forever Alpha, it seems to me that not all of the "current" continuity has been erased. For example, since when is Rogue's real name known? I sincerely hope that the horribly confusing aspects of the last 18 years are truly forgotten in this book, and a nice fresh start is made, especially for the sake of those people like myself who haven't followed the book in many years.

    • Lightningboltjs says:

      Yeah, I'm hoping he leaves 99 percent of the post Claremont years out of this. I quit reading comics after Claremont left the X-men, I dipped back in for AOA but I couldn't read the regular stuff. Other writers just could not handle those characters after Claremont's 17-year run. This series is what I've been waiting for since that happened and I subscribed the second I could. With that said I sincerely hope the Claremont critics aren't able to demonize this book and get it canciled. Has anyone ever gone on X-men.net? That Web site is FULL of anti-Claremont administrators who mock the guy's writing all day and if anybody tries to debate them they get blocked off the site. That's what he and his more mature, creative vision for the X-men is up against. I hope the real fans fight back against that crap.

      • Captiosus says:

        "I hope the real fans fight back against that crap."I, for one, will be. I stopped visiting that site a long time ago. People there fail to appreciate how much Claremont brought to the X-Men franchise as a whole for a great number of years. Most of their beloved characters would be nothing had it not been for Claremont and Lee.I've recently gotten back into comics (much to my wife's chagrin) and so far the only writer I like, so far, is Matt Fraction. Even his stories, from what I've seen so far, pale in comparison to the kind of stories Claremont could weave.Judging by this first part of the intervew, I think Claremont is very much like you and I, Lightningboltjs. Marvel had two good series, then went off on a tangent, then went nuts with crossovers, and, essentially, diluted the franchise as a whole. I'm looking forward to what Claremont does with this run.

      • SueMc says:

        I've met a few people who are exactly the type of people that you've described! Most of them actually never followed the book back when Claremont was writing it, but they bash it anyways because I think they like the attention that negative comments brings them… Or, they bring up the short span that Claremont wrote a few years ago, saying it was terrible, but what do they expect when you give a guy such a mess to work with?! I'm glad to meet people like you who agree that this book is really the old-time fans' best solution!

  4. jay says:

    Thank you. This is a great start. Can't wait to read the rest of the interview.

  5. russ carreiro says:

    I think the reason a lot of people do not respect Claremont is that the last few years he did the book (when it appeared to be at its peak of popularity), the stories were bad. In some cases there were awful. His later attempts were even worse. Now, that being said, the main reason for the bad runs near his end were the stupid crossovers and the input by Jim Lee and the horrible editors Marvel had at the time. Im not obsolving Chris either though, he put his name on that shit. Hopefully this time around, given a 2nd chance most do not get, he will oversee a much better product.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Wow, I can't believe it, but just hearing about this got me back into comics again. Well, X-Men Forever. I didn't completely hate the convoluted new stuff after Claremont left, and thought everything was going well, even into AOA and the Onslaught stuff, though not without their frequent misses in between. But I still remember with crystal clarity the day I walked into my comic shop and canceled all my books because they all turned into corporate monsters designed to make money rather than tell good stories. I'm ready for the revamp! 'Nuff said.

  7. Anonymous says:

    I liked some of the post-Claremont developments to a POINT (stopped caring after "Eve of Destruction"), I am pretty much ready for the X-Men I was raised on again, not the sicophantic whims of ascended fanboys that have either sat on the story or gimmicked it to hell and back without having the balls to change direction. I think some characters Marvel have made unrecognisible may finally find their voice again…or for the first time here. Now, more than ever, the X-Men are characters in need of an author

  8. Anonymous says:

    I think the true beauty of this book is that's an X-men book in which the charcters can develop, change and even die. That alone gives Claremont the kind of freedom of storytelling that no other X-men writer has right now and should make this an interesting book. I was a Claremont acolyte and couldn't believe the mess that was made of the X-books when he was kicked off them. But despite that, I'm honest enough to say that in recent years his work hasn't been as good as he 70s/80s stuff. Come on gang, it just hasn't. I am fascinated to see what a writer as talented as Chris can do with a group of x-men he can impose lasting change upon though. I just hope he takes his time with the charcters and doesn't go for sweeping changes too early, killing off key charcters just for the fact that he CAN. What I hope for is, simply, a continuation of the X-Men team we know and love by an author who anyone could tell had genuine affection for the charcters. On a story level, I also hope to see a continuation of the failing of Wolverine's healing factor (hinted at in later Claremont Uncanny stories) and Storm return to be a well-rounded, human character again. Chris has an opportunity here and I think a lot of people want t see it work. Plus, Paul Smith is coming on art for a few issues when Grummet takes a break. I mean….that's just genius, right?

  9. Eric says:

    I'm confused by Claremont's comment that Braddock is NOT in the body of a cloned Asian. Obviously, in X-Men #1-3 (1991), a.k.a. X-Men Forever Alpha, she IS. So someone care to explain that to me?

    • Anonymous says:

      Psylocke's change in appearance, as written by CC, was due to the super-science/magical plastic surgery of the Body Shoppe courtesy of Spiral.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Finally, a worthwhile discussion on comics, specifically, x-men. Here's my two-cents. While I miss Claremont's heyday, uncanny x-men was on a downhill slide since the Dark Phoenix Saga. the stories got outright convoluted after uncanny #200, although I'm not privy to how much of this was due to infighting between Claremont and others. By issue #250, it got outright strange. Remember that whole longshot "don't step on my nose, I have to find the rest of myself stuff?"That said, I always felt the post Claremont era failed to live up to billing and was hype-driven (some of which was pretty good). I liked them bringing back Banshee and transforming Emma Frost into an uneasy ally. But on the whole, I really didn't like the way the handed certain characters, especially Cyclops (made totally ineffective and laughable by Jim Lee) and I hated the they wiped their nosed with prior continuity (changing Beasts strength level without explanation for one), this gave me a negative impression of Jim Lee and company ever after. Still, there was some good stuff, the most pleasing of which was the inclusion of a lot of characters I had spent years waiting to resurface.Also note that I hated it when claremont returned for a few short months, what a mess!!All that said, I'm to see where he goes with this title and see if he can't put right some of the wrongs of the last 17 to 18 years. Although, Wolverine/Jean Grey thing is already on my nerves, Prof X made the observation in issue one that they had a much deeper connection that Jean/Scott did (never mind the way they brought here back was ridiculous and I had to suspend that issue every time I read x-men).Anyway, the wolverine/jean thing was always presented as more of a gut level attraction, and it seems that Claremont is taking his cue from Jim Lee on this issue, still, I'm open to see where this title goes and hope for some great stories that harken back to the glory days………….