GETTING RELOADED WITH QUESADA & MARTS

**MattBrady** · 03-01-2004, 05:51 PM

If Cerebro had exploded there wouldn’t be a bigger mess of mutant information flying everywhere (give yourself two X-points for getting the joke, but keeping the laughter inside if you’re in public). Marvel’s May solicits have hit in Previews and you can’t swing a dead Brood queen without hitting a mutant title.

Alright – we’re done with playing the X-nerd in-joke game…

Anyway, we headed up to the top to talk to the two guys who have their respective fingers on the pulse of Marvel’s mutants, Editor in Chief Joe Quesada and X-Men group editor Mike Marts. From them, we’ve got an insiders’ view of the Reload and all that it means.

But this is only the start. Over the next few days, we’ll have a Reload feature a day with a new creator, focus on a title, or just stop and think about mutants. It may last a week…maybe two. Like Marvel, we’re not going to let a good thing go if it means it’s putting people in the seats.

Onward with the start of it all…Joe and Mike.

Newsarama: Starting things off, globally, how would you describe Reload, both why it was necessary, and what it encompasses?

Joe Quesada: First of all, I think it’s funny that people keep referring to it as “Reload,” like it’s some storyline in and of itself. I’ll take it though – it’s fine. If people want to talk about it under that header, that’s fine. Mike – why don’t you field this one?

Mike Marts: “Reload…”

JQ: See – there it is again…

MM: It’s really a combination of so many different things happening at the same time. Obviously – the biggest of all is Joss Whedon coming over to write Astonishing X-Men for us with John Cassaday, and of course other things like wanting to congratulate guys like Chuck Austen and Salvador Larocca who’ve been doing good work for us for a long time, as well as things like bringing Alan Davis into the fold and the desire to get the characters back into costume.

All these things kind of came together at the same time, and that told us that it was the time to do something big – so why not “reload” the entire franchise, and start off with new ideas, new creators, new series, new characters, and new storylines, and do it all at the same time.

JQ: We also can’t say enough about Grant Morrison’s role in revitalizing the X-Men world. Obviously, when Grant left, we had big shoes to fill, and we’ve been very, very blessed in being able to fill those shoes, but also, I think that Grant did a great job of redefining the franchise in a lot of ways, and almost sort of cleansing the palate for fans of the overwhelming storylines and gigantic crossovers that X-fans were sort of getting tired of for a while. I think that Grant did a great job with that, as well as bringing in new characters, and creating a whole new feel for the book.

This is just the next step in that evolution. I know that Joss for example, was a really big fan of what Grant was doing on the book to begin with, so I a way, a lot of what we’re going to be seeing has its roots there as well. But also, it’s not like we ignore the fans when they write to us. We understand that there was artistic instability within the books, and an overall sense that artistically, the books were not on solid footing. We wanted to address that by bringing in people who, obviously, have a tremendous fan following both inside and outside of comics, and who also bring certain stability to the book. That’s why someone like Chris Claremont is so important to the X-Men franchise. He’s also coming up on an anniversary with the X-books pretty soon, so we felt that the team of Chris and Alan Davis would be a wonderful combination to answer the concerns of a lot of X-fans.

NRAMA: What anniversary would that be?

MM: 2005 will be the 30 year anniversary of when Chris started on the X-Men.

JQ: That’s a long time to be associated with a franchise. Even though he had some time off, in the eyes of X-fans and much, if not all of the industry, he is the X-Men.

NRAMA: Joe – going back to listing out the books. Starting with Astonishing, how did you get Joss to commit? For a long time, there seemed to be this undercurrent that everyone wanted him to come to their house to write a comic story…how did you land him?

JQ: I’ve been very blessed in this industry, and the thing with Joss is just another example of it. It was very serendipitous, and I look at it as one of just those…blessings. It was last year at San Diego – I had just gotten there, and had just heard the news about Grant Morrison going to DC. I knew he was leaving the X-Men books, but I didn’t know he was leaving Marvel as well. So I was really pretty bummed by the announcement.

Marvel didn’t have a booth at San Diego, so I was doing a signing at the Wizard booth. Gareb Shamus happened to be there, and we were kibitzing a little, and somewhere in there, I started to wonder who could fill Grant’s shoes. I remembered having a conversation with Joss several years ago, when I first started as Editor in Chief, about brining him on as an X-Men writer, and Joss saying that the timing was no good, but he’d love to do it some day, and that some day it would happen.

NRAMA: And that happened to be the day?

JQ: Yes it did. I was sitting there, thinking about having that conversation with Joss, and when I look up, Joss is standing there in front of me. My first thought was, “What the hell?” And then my second thought was to start thinking about Salma Hayek.

That one didn’t work, so I started talking to Joss.

Joss and I started talking, and finally, I just pulled him literally behind the Wizard booth, and told him that Grant was off of X-Men, and asked if he wanted to write the book. I saw this light go on behind his eyes, and I knew right then that I had him. There might have been a crack in his schedule where he felt like he could fit it in – I don’t know what it was, but there was definitely a gleam where he felt that he could do it.

From that point on, it became a negotiation. We spoke and e-mailed, talked and talked, and here we are – two months away from the first issue.

And the Salma Hayek thing still hasn’t worked.

NRAMA: So sorry. During the past few years, in many ways, Grant’s New X-Men really set the tone for the franchise and the line, with several of the themes he started in New X-Men reverberating through the other titles. With all of this creative restarting going on in May, is there one series that you would point to as the pace car for the X-franchise for the next while?

JQ: I think that, obviously, Astonishing is going to be the flagship title just by virtue of the fact that Joss is going to bring in the regular X-fan, the lapsed X-fan, as well as Joss’ fans in general will want to check it out. I see this very much in the same way as when Joe Straczynski took over Amazing Spider-Man. We really thought that the Spider-Man franchise was dead, because Amazing was selling in the 50’s and 60’s. Then, when Joe came on, almost overnight, new, but just as importantly, lapsed Spider-Man fans came back, because Spider-Man had buzz, and was good.

NRAMA: So you’re not happy with the X-Men numbers or quality?

JQ: Oh no – not at all. It’s not that X-Men wasn’t good, but I think that Joss is going to bring back some people who may have given up on the X-Men even before Grant took over, and for whatever reason, weren’t really willing to give it a chance at that time. I think we’re going to see that take the lead, but ultimately, what we want to give readers with these three different books is a different experience within the context of each book. Chris writes a certain style of X-Men book, and that’s where Alan fits in beautifully; obviously, Chuck writes another type of X-Men book, and Salva is the perfect guy for that; and with Whedon and Cassaday’s sensibilities – I think people can see that will be different as well.

And also, a book that I’m looking forward too a lot is the New X-Men book, which is the graduation of the New Mutants book, and allows the characters to really move into the front of the X-Men universe. There’s some really exciting stuff going on in there, so I don’t want to let that one be downplayed at all.

MM: I think also, since we’ll have these four, core X-Men books now, you’ll see a nice balance of characters on the rosters of each, whereas before you could maybe make an argument that Grant had all the cool characters or what have you. Now, the balance between the characters is much better, and each book is cool in its own way because of that.

NRAMA: But we’re still going to see Wolverine everywhere, right?

MM: Oh, why not?

NRAMA: With Chris on both Uncanny and Excalibur, how much did he contribute to the overall re-envisioning of the franchise in the post-Grant world? During his earlier runs, Chris did have the “grand map” of everything, so it seems that to bring him back on the core would suggest that there’s a larger, cohesive vision here…

JQ: Right now, all the creators are really playing nicely together, and are being really considerate about what’s going on and the casts that are in each book. Chris knows exactly what is going to happen in Uncanny, and he had this plan for Excalibur which we really worked on and is a wonderful plan. So basically, the other books will steer clear of stepping on Chris’ toes and what he’s doing. So, in that respect, sure, Chris made a roadmap for where he is going, and Joss has his, and Chuck has his. We’re making sure that everyone stays on their respective roads, and only intertwine when it’s really necessary.

But right now, it may actually seem more coordinated than it really is, but it really is coordinated.

MM: Yeah – there’s no real forced interaction on the writer’s parts – if they decide that they want to share certain storylines, that’s up to them, but we’re allowing them to do their own thing. Hopefully in the same sandbox, but separated by enough distance so they each can build their own really cool castles.

NRAMA: Along with the creators, probably the biggest change that’s caused buzz is the return to the costumes – not even a flirting with the idea, but a full-on everyone back in spandex. Why?

JQ: It’s funny – about a year ago, I was reading the X-books, and though, “It’s time.” It was time to go back to the costumes – just a gut feeling. It was then later, during one of our corporate creative meetings where Avi Arad was on a conference call with all of us, and we were discussing the creative future at Marvel. We were talking about how the books were doing, how the movies were doing, and just basically, where all the franchises were going, and Avi all of a sudden said, “Maybe we should bring them back into costumes.”

It was just one of those moments where we were all feeling the same thing at the same time. The leather suits ran their course – they were cool, but now it’s time to move on. And look, superhero books have been known for years for changing the costumes and looks of their characters, and sometimes, keeping things fresh means stepping back and looking at what had worked earlier.

I can only go by my own personal taste, but I feel that the next swing will be to get superheroes back into their costumes, and head out into big, colorful action adventures again. That’s kind of where we wanted to get the X-Men franchise going.

NRAMA: And the creators were all for this?

JQ: Yeah – when we talked to Joss and John about where they saw Astonishing going, they both told us they wanted to get them back into costumes. So it was something that was in the air. I think the fans are ready for it.

NRAMA: One thing that was listed with the May solicits, and Joe, you’ve often said this is your own demon that you don’t like but could see winning out – variant covers are back, at least with Astonishing X-Men #1. It’s just Astonishing, right?

JQ: Yeah – just Astonishing.

NRAMA: Was this a battle that you lost? After all, you’ve made some very strong statements that you didn’t want to see this, and had criticized DC on occasion for bringing the issue of variant covers back to the table…

JQ: I didn’t put up too much of a fight when it came into the discussions this time, because it’s already out there. I can’t argue with the philosophy, other than to be very, very cautious about it. To be very honest, I’m not the only one at Marvel that feels this way. We decided to do a variant. This is not going to be a regular program for us. We felt that this book was special enough that we wanted to do it.

You may see one more variant down the road later this year, but it won’t become a regular program for us. I understood the reasons for doing it, and I’m fine with it. I’m not crazy about alternate covers, but again, something like this in small doses isn’t bad. If we were going to start this up as a continuous philosophy, I’d be a little more tense about it, but, in the end, you can’t fight city hall. There are alternate covers out there already, and the companies doing them are making money because they’re alternate covers. The problem comes when these become the norm, then there’s a problem.

So, nobody here is intensely crazy about it, but we realize that it could be a fun thing, as well as a revenue builder not only for us, but also for our retail partners, so we’re giving it a try.

NRAMA: To kind of wrap things up, let’s hit the books in a stream of consciousness way, giving the high concept and a little more than what’s already out there…let’s start with Astonishing. What’s the core essence of it?

MM: I think Joss summed it up well in that two page sample of his script that came out in the catalog where he said the X-Men are out to astonish. Much like Grant’s book was, this is going to be the hip, cool place to be for X-Men fans. We’re going to see a lot of new ideas happening here.

NRAMA : Uncanny X-Men

MM: Uncanny is the book that appeals to classic X-Men fans. We’ve got veteran X-Men creators Chris and Alan – guys that you can depend on who are really playing their best game now with us. Anyone who’s been a long-time X-Men fan will want to be here.

NRAMA: X-Men

MM: This is the book I think that will appeal to people who loved the X-Men movie. This is the high action book; this is the soap opera book, where we see the characters in interesting situations playing off of one another – things that both Salva and Chuck are strong at.

NRAMA: New X-Men: Academy X

MM: The next step in the evolution of the New Mutants. Once of the things with New Mutants is that while it’s always been a strong book with strong characters, it’s always had the perception of being a junior title, but why should it be? These are the X-Men of the future, these will be the “new” X-Men, so this is our attempt to try and treat them this way. We’ve got extremely strong concepts coming in from Christina and Nunzio, and Randy Green’s artwork is just great.

NRAMA: Excalibur

MM: There’s a lot of secrecy surrounding this book, so I don’t want to give away too much, but this is going to be Professor Xavier’s book in the beginning, but shortly into the series, we’re going to have a surprising twist. We’ve been working on this for a while, and Chris is doing something special here.

NRAMA: District X

MM: Definitely the sleeper book of the entire launch. This is a concept and a book that we’ve been batting around here for quite a while, and I think we were really just waiting for the right writer to come along, and we found that in David Hine.

JQ: This book rocks so much.

MM: It really does, and it’s going to surprise a lot of people. David was such a find for us, and we’re so happy to haven him. David Yardin is doing excellent work on it as well. It’s a little different – it’s not your usual superheroes in spandex type of book, it’s just more street level. It’s under eth Marvel Knights banner, and you’ll see why when it hits.

JQ: Also, if you’re a fan of Grant Morrison’s sensibilities, this is the book that will continue that. The weirdest mutants you’ve ever seen in your life are created by David in this book. They’re beautiful and repulsive at the same time.

NRAMA: Exiles - will that see a change in tone with Tony Bedard coming on board?

MM: Not so much a new tone. Tony’s been doing some great stuff down at CrossGen, and right now we’re about five issues into it, and he’s carrying the book along in the same great flavor that Judd Winick established from the get-go, and is staying true to the characters and concepts. We have a great artist in Miziki Sakauraza as well. Jim Calafiore will still be helping out from time to time.

NRAMA: Weapon X is getting a slight change in direction too, right?

MM: Frank remains on board as writer, and Tom Mandrake is coming on as the artist. We’re doing a little something different with that book in that we’re tearing down the cast and concentrating a little more on the characters who are or were directly involved with the Weapon X program – Fantomex, Sabretooth, Wolverine, and the rest.

NRAMA: Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men 2004. What’s going to be in this aside form the schematic of the X-mansion?

MM: That’s it. Just that. Nothing else. Carstock covers and the picture of the mansion.

NRAMA: That sentence just caused 20 angry posts.

MM: Alright – much like the Marvel Universe of old, we’ll be running full dossiers on the characters, full biographies, powers, histories – everything that the fans have been asking for since the last time we did it. So we’ll have that for a lot of the core team members, as well as a lot of the concept work for the whole “Reload” event.

NRAMA: Will the Marvel Universe be ongoing, quarterly, on any kind of schedule?

JQ: If ya like it, write in and ask for more.

NRAMA: The other titles are going to be continuing with their regular teams and arcs…one that was missing though – Joe, what’s going on with NYX?

JQ: We’re late. As simple as that. I’ll take full blame for it. When it comes out, it’s going ot be awfully good.

NRAMA: With what we see in May, is this the only big X-push for 2004, or will there be more?

MM: This is definitely the biggest X-push in the year. We’ll be following up in September with some more X-projects, but what’s coming in May is what will set he stage for the next few years.

JQ: What, this isn’t enough?!?!

Actually – don’t let Mike steer you wrong – there is more X-news coming later in the year.

NRAMA: One of the pieces that came out already – Bryan Singer writing 12 issues of Ultimate X-Men…on the books for later this year.

JQ: Down the road a little bit, but yeah – he’s on.

NRAMA: Wrapping things up, can you compare the franchise in a little, “then and now?” That is, Grant’s tone was about this, and now the tone will be more about…, or can things be summed up so succinctly?

JQ: I think Grant’s arc was really about bringing the franchise into the 21st century – modernizing the franchise, cleansing the palate of the old way things used to operate, and now this particular reload is taking that and grounding it. Showing the fans what these characters can really do, while working our damndest to keep stable teams on the books so the fans know what to expect and have a comfortable place to land week in, week out, month in, month out.

gOgIver · 03-01-2004, 06:18 PM

Astonishing X-Men & Ultimate X-Men

Charles RB · 03-01-2004, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MattBrady
It was time to go back to the costumes – just a gut feeling... Avi all of a sudden said, “Maybe we should bring them back into costumes.” It was just one of those moments where we were all feeling the same thing at the same time.

Anyone else thinking that the decision was really based on the idea of "hey, let's make them more merchandise-friendly again!"?

topkat74 · 03-01-2004, 06:24 PM

I can't wait for this, the titles definetly need a shake up again. I'm also glad to see that I'm not the only one who doesn't dig the whole "Reloaded" title. Why bring more Matrix stink into the X-universe.

Conor · 03-01-2004, 06:27 PM

Good stuff. Best news from the interview? Back to costumes. I hugely prefer them to those leather suits...just too generic and self-consciously 'cool'.

But costumes...it's what superheroes are all about.

Nathan Grey · 03-01-2004, 06:29 PM

man, that works for me. altho' i will miss the exo-rubber/ leather suits, i really dug the uniformness of them. it looks like this is really gonna' rock. and with weapon x? i'm glad, now i have a reason to pick that book up

Bobby Drake · 03-01-2004, 06:30 PM

New X-Men: Academy X should be worth a try with Randy Green jumping on board with this title. So glad they didn't stick with Khary Randolph.

District X could be worth it's buck. I'll check out the #1 issue and see what's going on there.

But from the looks of it, and with the names attached to the main four X-books (where I replace New X-Men: Academy with Excalibur, there's no way a rookie book is a main title), I'll be spending my cash elsewhere!

Charles RB · 03-01-2004, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Conor

But costumes...it's what superheroes are all about.

No, what superheroes are all about is the whole superpowers & fighting evil thing. And the gear in New X-Men were costumes, just ones that were more up-to-date.

And crucially, they weren't ugly as sin. If superheroes are going to have costumes, they shouldn't be freaking eyesores. (I'm looking at YOU, Wolverine)

gOgIver · 03-01-2004, 06:33 PM

Sucks that NYX is so late

Cool story about the Morrison door closing and the Whedon door opening.

tralfaz · 03-01-2004, 06:35 PM

blah blah blah

is it time yet? no, wake me when its out

aries_insaneus · 03-01-2004, 06:37 PM

you know, from reading this it made me want to pick up New X-Men: Academy X and see how its going to be

Tom Daylight · 03-01-2004, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Charles RB
Anyone else thinking that the decision was really based on the idea of "hey, let's make them more merchandise-friendly again!"?

I was thinking it was based on the idea of "hey, I don't want to lose my job like Bill Jemas did, we'd better agree with Avi Arad on this one!"

The Good Doctor · 03-01-2004, 06:51 PM

I know that comics is a PR driven business just like any other. And as I just got finished reading LYING IN THE GUTTERS it probably conditioned my response here. But I wish they'd just say that the reason the XMen are going back to costumes is because of forces outside of their control...or SOMETHING. I don't think sales here will change one way or the other. People won't jump back on because of costumes, nor will a LOT of people drop titles (like I plan to) BECAUSE of them.

But this is a bad move driven more by business than anything else, and I just wish people would be straightforward about the motivation behind their behavior.

BillReed · 03-01-2004, 06:52 PM

I'm going to buy Astonishing X-Men, sure, because it's Joss. Not because of the hideous costumes with the gaudy colors, or the super-heroics. Because it was Joss. I was all set to give up on the franchise when Grant left, but now Joss has kept me around.

When they say Claremont is the X-Men, I think it's true. I also think that's the reason I've never really liked the X-Men much at all, ever. And now that they've taken away all the interesting parts and have gone back to traditional super-hero pap and ugly spandex, I'm going to be even more bored. Sure, I'll pick up Joss's book, and prolly keep X-Statix, and just to be safe, I'll take a look at District X, but I have a feeling the X-books, once again, just won't be my thing.

Charles RB · 03-01-2004, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fetsur
I was thinking it was based on the idea of "hey, I don't want to lose my job like Bill Jemas did, we'd better agree with Avi Arad on this one!"

Meh, same thing.

Ace · 03-01-2004, 07:01 PM

URgh.. I liked Weapon X a lot because of the cast and the fact you could see some corners of the old X-verse that you haven't seen for a while, but of course we need another wolverine centered book.

ERIC WOLFE HANSON · 03-01-2004, 07:03 PM

Joe, dude, if the Salma thing worked, she'd be at my side at all times. Well, maybe not specifically my side, but.....

Charles RB · 03-01-2004, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ace
I liked Weapon X a lot because of the cast

Did it ever say why Sauron's personality had changed?

Fazhoul · 03-01-2004, 07:13 PM

For the first time in over a decade I am excited about reading the X-books. I will definitely be adding Astoniching and Ultimate to my reading list and maybe a few other ones.

GenXMaverick · 03-01-2004, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MattBrady
NRAMA: X-Men

MM: This is the book I think that will appeal to people who loved the X-Men movie. This is the high action book; this is the soap opera book, where we see the characters in interesting situations playing off of one another – things that both Salva and Chuck are strong at.

Soap opera? You mean like romance? Families? Stuff like that? Sure, Joe. For everyone except Northstar. All the storylines that Chuck Austen has described in great detail for the only openly gay member of the X-Men have been pre-empted for the last 2 years. And from the sounds of the quote in my signature, I expect probably for a couple years more. Jemas and Austen took a lot of heat for even allowing gay characters to openly appear in Marvel Comics, which took at the very least some genuine backbone. But thanks to Perlmutter and Arad, clearly there are some groups who aren't welcome in the Marvel Universe (except in the background where no one like Bill O'Reilly might notice and then threaten Marvel with a boycott).

Add to that X-Statix's sales are in the toilet and steadily declining which means say goodbye to characters like Bloke and Vivisector. But then, they aren't Top 10 selling movie stars like the Uncanny X-Men whose high-profile makes them easy targets for rightwing Republicans. God forbid Northstar even says the "G" word in X-Men these days---Pat Robertson might complain to CNN. Horrors!!

Joe seems to conveniently forget that a lot of the kids buying X-Men happen to be gay. Kids that risk their own necks trying to fight prejudice in the real world (kinda like the X-Men) by building gay-straight alliances in public schools. Keeping Northstar's lovelife and gay friends far, far out of sight is just caving into bigots and taking their money--while only giving lip service to the ideals of fighting against "those who hate and fear them". What about when openly gay director Bryan Singer's run on Ultimate X-Men comes out (so to speak), Joe? Did you tell him gay characters would hurt your sales of toys and comics so avoid 'em at all costs?

Buckley is obviously enacting policies set by Perlmutter and Arad which frankly stinks. At least Bill Jemas had the guts to let the closet door open a little in the Marvel Universe. What next? No positive portrayals of Muslims? Any other minority that you or your corporate cronies see as a threat to the moral fiber of Marvel's profitability?

Kid-friendly? Yeah. But only if you're straight.

gwangung · 03-01-2004, 07:32 PM

What? No complaints about Quesada and Marts doing contentless stand up comedy?

[Hmmm....I speculate that Quesada and Peter David were in negotiations for an X-title, perhaps a revived X-FACTOR, but methinks PAD's proposal didn't make the new Marvel mantra of simplistic "kid friendly" books....]

Michael Norton · 03-01-2004, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Charles RB
Anyone else thinking that the decision was really based on the idea of "hey, let's make them more merchandise-friendly again!"?

Anytime Avi Arad or Dan DiDio is involved with decision making, I worry.

Oh Joe, a thought: Chuck is NOT a good writer! Give Sal someone solid(like, oh, Bryan Singer,Joss Whedon,Or anyone other than Chuck Austen) and watch the sales go up. Or did Bill Jemas run every other solid,proven writer off?

I'll be checking out Astonishing and Uncanny.

Michael Norton

GeorgeG · 03-01-2004, 07:35 PM

I've been enjoying Weapon X as well and I think it's one of the most underrated books on the shelves. So they're changing things a bit...I'll go for the ride.

Hey Matt, any word on Juggernaut remaining in the Uncanny title?

Marvel is bringing back the costumes...is Colossus next???

Padding · 03-01-2004, 07:42 PM

Blegh, if I want a Joss Whedon fix I'll get Angel, Buffy, or Firefly box sets,or his Dark Horse comics, at least then I'll get unfiltered Joss, not him having to write to what some old suits think will appeal to kids.

I'm standing by my boycott, sorry Joe ya lost my money

camax · 03-01-2004, 07:51 PM

Some people buy comics because they enjoy the characters, some people realize why they like the characters is because of specific writers and artists. Well, there are plenty of good things coming out in May if you like good writers, artists, and characters!

Tony Bedard on Exiles. YES! I'm not interested in Exiles. No idea who they are really, but put Tony Bedard on the title, and you've got my interest. 27 issues of the best comic I have read in decades - NEGATION - and six issues of Negation War, starting this month. That book excites me beyond belief. The writing, the pacing, the characters, the twists and turns, the HOLY$#@! that happens every month on that title. That got me reading Route 666 - horror and dark humor - and Mystic - mysticism and light humor. Excellent reads! Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - heard nothing but raves. Good enough to pick up Exiles and see where Tony Bedard will take this cast and story? YES!

Aaron Lopresti and Chris Claremont on Excalibur. The storyline sounded intriguing. Claremont is awesome on X-Men characters. I still might have been able to avoid getting into this one UNTIL they announced Lopresti on art. That guy draws amazing people, especially women, and he better have some X-women for us to drool over. He draws fantastically detailed backgrounds, and will be a great compliment for Chris on the title.

Whedon and Cassaday on Astonishing. Heck yeah, I'll check it out. Likely to be some great fan writing, and great art from this one, as expected.

Claremont and Davis on Uncanny. Hard to be disappointed by classics!

Austen and Larocca on X-Men - I'm not one of the ones that have problems with Chuck's writing, but I'll be getting this due to Salvadore's amazing artwork!

DeFilippis, Weir and Green on New X-Men. Nunzio and Christina are great creators, and I think they will get to shine on this relaunch! Green's cover and costumes look awesome, so looking forward to the interiors too!

Yeah, dang it. Normally I'd just collect Uncanny and X-Men, but because Marvel has assembled some of the best writers and artists in the business, I'll be trying out five titles instead! Sounds like it worked...