Trevor -- Well Sean and Nick you get to be the two on MwM when the word gets out “officially” that the mutant population is being “decimated”.
Trevor -- What was the reaction in the X-Offices when this idea first came to fruition?
First of all, thanks for having us on Mondays with Marts this week. Mike would have loved to be here, but he got stuck sipping iced tea on a beach somewhere. I’m sure he’d rather be here answering some questions. Right?
Anyway, onto your question: It was a pretty shocking.
I remember thinking that it was a pretty ballsy move.
That’s a lie. Sean was scared. He shivered a lot.
It’s true. I frighten easily. Luckily I had my custom-made 6 foot teddy bear to comfort me and keep me warm. And I do not call him Nick Lowe, despite what you’ve heard.
Trevor -- Was there anything that was suggested to you guys that you just thought shouldn’t be done?
I remember for a short time, the characters that stopped being mutants were going to forget they were ever mutants, and everyone else in the Marvel U was going to forget they were ever mutants. Which, if you stop to think about how that works for about 2 seconds, it makes your head explode.
Trevor -- What do you see as the best thing to come out of this story?
This is an easy one, Trevor. The best thing to come out of HOM is the Uncanny X-Men Letters Page storyline. The rousing tale of a duct-tape chested mutant, his bumbling sapien side-kick and a whirlwind trip around the world, full of laughter, love and, yes, tears.
You forgot to mention it was also full of you bailing out on checks at the end of meals, Nick. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me six times, shame on me.
Trevor -- With even some of the X-Men losing their powers, can we surmise that even powerless X-Men will still be a part of the books after House of M is over? If so can you give the fans at least one name (or even a hint) about an X-Man that is losing their powers?
Here’s a hint about two of them that you’ll NEVER guess: Their names rhyme with Triplops and Golbereen.
Nick no! We weren’t supposed to reveal that Slobereen lost her powers! You messed it all up! You should have told them that a certain explosive mutant ain’t going to be so explosive anymore.
Trevor -- With Joe Quesada’s statement that there will be no new mutants, except for the five or six that are already in the works, is the X-office worried that with this mandate stories could become stale? I say stale, because sometimes a new character can add or subtract certain aspects to a team dynamic.
Not at all. I think over the years the stories have gotten a bit stale cause you could introduce a new mutant whenever you wanted. The books became over saturated with new characters and they lost their specialness. Now I think we’ll just have to think of new and original situations without just tossing in a new mutant to spice things up.
For once I’m going to have to agree with Sean. The stakes get raised now for when something terrible happens to one of the mutants. There aren’t many left…
Trevor -- How do you sell the reduction of mutants to people that were actual fans of the mutant increase? Example: One of our site visitors zared98 stated, “I didn't really think that there were too many mutants. The drastic increase in mutants was very interesting to me. I am NOT happy about this. I am trying really hard to not judge this before it happens, but i like a lot of 2nd and 3rd tier characters and i feel like they're gonna be the ones to lose their powers.”
We definitely understand Zared98’s point of view. There was definitely something interesting with the idea of the mutant population boom. Grant Morrison brought in a different core idea to the X-Men. The idea was something of “Mutants are the new majority.” Whereas the basic idea when Stan and Jack created them was “Mutants are an outcast minority.” They are very different ideas that resonate very differently. We’re of the basic belief that the latter resonates a bit stronger with our audience and is a bit more dramatic. Who hasn’t felt, at one time or another, that they are an outcast?
Me.
Trevor -- How will the super hero community react to the reduction of mutants? In what way will we see that reaction post HoM?
There will be a BIG reaction from the super hero community. We can’t say anything more than that at this time. Well, I can tell you one more thing. I like pancakes.
Trevor -- I guess the biggest question so far on site-visitors minds though would be, will Nick be losing his duct-tape powers?
As soon as we did that Decimation Press-Conference, we at Marvel were inundated with letters from fans worried about what would happen to me and my power. You’re just going to have to read the Uncanny X-Men #466 letters page for that one. Suffice it to say, it will be a sticky situation whichever way it goes.
Zing!
All right guys lets stop the Decimation questions for now and move on to a few more questions that I have noticed popping up on the uncannyxmen.net forum boards, mainly about an editors job.
Trevor -- Sean what does an Assistant Editor do? What duty is basically your responsibility?
Goodness, this is a hard one. I feel like it’s asking a sunrise what its responsibility is, but I will do my best. I basically assist Mike. Mike’s job is to coordinate all the books and make sure everything is as perfect as it can be. From editing scripts to deadlines for freelancers to deciding how the logo looks on a cover, we handle everything. Mike handles the big stuff, like talking to Joss Whedon, so I help out with scheduling, calling freelancers, reference, checking coloring, trafficking artwork, etc... There’s a lot of little things people would never think are a part of putting a comic together. Those things are what I do.
Trevor -- Nick what does an Associate Editor do (that an assistant doesn’t)? What duty is your responsibility?
Let’s see how many ways Nick can phrase “nothing” for this answer, shall we?
I’ll interpret that as a question, Attitude-Lad. I think this question would take up a whole Monday’s with Marts column, but I’ll give you a few of my responsibilities. First of all, Trevor, there’s a lot of pomegranate juice that needs drinking in New York City. Much like Sean, I work with Mike to keep the X-Books running. In addition to the main X-Books, I edit a handful of books on my own. I edit ULTIMATE IRON MAN, the upcoming Warren Ellis/Stuart Immonen NEXTWAVE book, 1602: NEW WORLD, GENERATION M (it is really good), DAREDEVIL: TARGET (it is actually going to come out soon, and, yes, it’s my fault it’s so late) and the Neil Gaiman/mystery artist ETERNALS book
Trevor -- What does Mike do that you two don’t and what is his responsibility?
Mike is ultimately responsible for all the X-Books. He is the main contact for our marquee creators(Joss, Chris’s Claremont and Bachalo, Salvador, Cassaday, Pete Milligan, etc…) and keeps the books in line. (They’re rowdy.)
Trevor -- Guys I want each one of you to promote something you’re working on. Tell the fans why they should buy it and what the basis is around the mini or series.
One exciting new project coming out in January I’m working on is Sentinel Squad O*N*E. There is a new breed of Sentinels coming out after House of M and this is your chance to find out just what the heck they are all about.
I’m going to pick two, if I can. First is GENERATION M. Paul Jenkins really knocked this one out of the park. It is right up there with INHUMANS and SENTRY. It deals directly with Decimation and deals with one side of the de-powering. And check out some of the art Ramon Bachs has done. You are going to love it!
NEXTWAVE is the other project that people will need to pick up. This might be the best book I’ve worked on since I came to Marvel. Warren Ellis has written the funniest, most exciting and engaging book imaginable. It’s super hero battles, monsters, hot chicks, explosions and more explosions. It’s unlike any other book we publish. And Stuart Immonen has reinvented himself again. SO GOOD!
Trevor -- Thanks for your time guys it’s always a pleasure to talk to you.
Yep, it sure is.
It’s only a pleasure to talk to Sean because it’s over the computer (the breath on this guy is out of control!) (I love garlic sandwiches!) Hopefully we can do this again soon, Trevor.
Next week—Mike is back in a big way!!