Trevor -- The news of Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo teaming up to do the X-Men series come July has already hit the Internet. What are your feelings on this duo and what can fans expect to be seeing come from the pairing of these two great creators?
Marts: -- I’m insanely excited about this team. Both Mike and Chris are extremely talented individuals, but together this duo will be unstoppable. Just to let everyone in on some behind-the-scenes top-secret Marvel stuff, we recently had the core X-MEN writers in town for the first X-Men summit in a long time. Mike Carey was in attendance (along with UNCANNY’s Ed Brubaker and NEW X-MEN’s Craig Kyle & Chris Yost) and his ideas were infectious! He really has a lot of great stories planned for the near future.
Trevor -- Mike Carey has been a big name in the Vertigo titles for DC. What made him a person to be sought after by the X-Office?
Marts: -- Any reader of Mike’s Lucifer series knows that Mike spins a great yarn. His ability to explore the deep recesses of a character’s personality while simultaneously juggling multiple plotlines made him an ideal candidate for “X-Men style” writing. And after reading the impressive ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR work Mike’s done recently, I knew he could handle a title with a large cast.
Trevor -- The line-up is going to consist of six mutants that when put together seem like they have the potential to be a powder keg both internally and externally. Tell the fans what the X-Office wants to come from this grouping and what potential you see for these six characters as a group?
Marts: -- Powder keg indeed! Okay, let’s see…for starters you have a couple who used to be lovers in MYSTIQUE and SABRETOOTH…then you have the tense mother-daughter relationship of MYSTIQUE and ROGUE…oh yeah, on the other side we have the strained father/son, teacher/student dynamic of CABLE and CANNONBALL…and wasn’t there some chemistry between ROGUE and ICEMAN at some point…oh yeah, and isn’t SABRETOOTH a homicidal maniac?
Needless to say, I see a LOT of potential for these characters. And that’s just for the characters we’ve TOLD you about!
Trevor -- Cable has been a member of the X-Men, albeit briefly, when his father was thought dead in 2000. He has joined in team books before, but eventually he always returns to solo action. What makes him a good fit for this variation of the X-Men?
Marts: -- Not long into Mike Carey’s run readers will discover the exact reason why Cable has joined up. Keep in mind what Cable’s character has always been about—being proactive…operating from the outside looking in…
Trevor -- Will there be other X-Men joining from time-to-time or will these six mutants be the main focus of the title, without any interruptions lets say from Emma Frost and / or Wolverine?
Marts: -- For the most part the focus will be on this group of mutants, but without a doubt we’ll see the other X-Men living at the mansion, the New X-Men students, etc. And, of course, there will be several other characters drifting in as things progress.
Trevor -- Moving away from the X-Men title, let’s focus for a minute on the Uncanny X-Men and what is in store for them from July and beyond. Ed Brubaker is one of the hottest names in the Comic Industry right now. Why bring him onto Uncanny? And what do you see him being able to offer to the world of Uncanny?
Marts: -- Once Ed wrote X-MEN DEADLY GENESIS I knew he could handle the X-Men. Besides being a talented writer of action and suspense, this guy is not afraid to do his homework and dive into the X-Men’s past in order to find new and exciting stories for their future. He also knows how to manage an ensemble cast—and most importantly, he is not afraid to take chances.
Trevor -- Billy Tan did an excellent job on X-23. What do you see coming from this duo of creators? How is Tan’s art style going to mesh with Brubaker’s writing style?
Marts: -- Billy was already working on a three-issue UNCANNY guest-stint when Brubaker wandered into our office, scanned the wall where we showcase all of the artists’ current work, and DEMANDED that we pick Billy for his title. Luckily we had no reservations—Billy’s work has seen leaps and bounds over the past few months and he’s quickly becoming one of Marvel’s top guys. And his style just screams “X-Men”.
Trevor -- Brubaker himself has already spoiled two of the mutants on his X-Team: Marvel Girl (Rachel Grey) and Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner).Can you let the fans in on a few other of the titles teammates?
Marts: -- I wish I could!
Trevor -- Were these characters people he asked for or were some of them given to him by editorial?
Marts: -- Ed asked for them. We were able to accommodate Ed on all of his character requests, I believe.
Trevor -- Milligan is, of course, leaving X-Men. Where is he going from there? What can fans of his work expect to see from him next?
Marts: -- We’re already deep into discussions with Pete on his next project. It will be X-Men related and will mostly likely flow out of certain X-events that he’s already set up in X-MEN. Needless to say, we are extremely happy with Pete’s 22-issue run. When we first started out, Pete was unsure how many stories he had in him—but we ended up surpassing what we originally had planned by a lot. And he’s provided his successors with plenty of great story items to follow up with!
Trevor -- Chris Claremont was hinted in our last MwM segment to be having a new series coming out soon. Is there anymore hints you can throw out to the public?
Marts: -- Not yet…but soon!
Trevor -- Speaking of hints, I know this is something everyone is wanting to know, where is Salvador Larroca post X-Men? Will he and C.C. be teaming up once more like so may fanboys want to know?
Marts: -- Again, sorry to tease, but look for news soon!
Reader question:
TNabe…
1.) What are you most excited about in Ed Brubaker's upcoming Uncanny run?
Marts: -- Wow—where do I begin…probably his choice for the villain.
2.) We know that Northstar is supposedly big in 06, when can we expect further news about him?
Marts: -- July.
3.) Will we see the X-Men check in with depowered teammates once more like Chamber, Moonstar, etc.?
Marts: -- Yes on both—we’ll probably see Dani sooner than Jono.
WeaponXIX…
1.) So Karma is still powered, but doesn't have any appearances lately. Will we see more of her soon and where?
Marts: -- Karma appears throughout the “Blood of Apocalypse” storyline in X-MEN #182-186, also in X-MEN: THE 198 limited series.
Magnetolives2…
1.) Where will Psylocke be going?
Marts: -- To a different X-team title…hopefully we’ll be bale to talk about Betsy’s plans next week!