Popverse asked overrated comic book writer Gail Simone about her vision for the future of the X-Men and, as expected, the whole thing goes in a highly cliched direction:
Marvel’s X-Men relaunch is in full swing. Last month saw the release of X-Men #1 by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman, and just this week House of Ideas published the second of three main titles in the From the Ashes relaunch: Uncanny X-Men #1. Written by Comics legend Gail Simone and drawn by David Marquez, Uncanny X-Men brings together some of the most famous mutant characters for a very unusual (and downright scary) adventure.
Scary and not funny? It would not be surprising if that is one of the problems one might have with the finished product – lack of sense of humor. And “Legend”? It has hardly been big in recent years, and even before that, outside of Birds of Preyher CV was quite patchy.
On the subject of characters, Uncanny X-Men is arguably the most “classic” version of the team from the From the Ashes titles. Is there a bit of 1990s nostalgia behind this decision? Did things like X-Men ’97 contribute to this?
I hadn’t seen X-Men ’97 when we put the team together, and I still only saw the first two episodes. We started with Rogue, and then of course I wanted Gambit to be there, and We wanted the tone of this book to be similar to that of a Southern Gothic horror bookwith a bit of romance – some steam, if you will – between these two.
My goal is to roll out the red carpet for people who have been fans for a long time or are just checking it out for the first time, so we have some familiar characters that they can latch onto at the beginning. Then we introduce new villains, and the Outliers show up at the end of the second issue. But we introduce them in such a way that You don’t need to know anything in advance. You can be a long-time reader or a brand new reader.
It’s long been clear that these kinds of moves have done little to repair the massive continuity damage that Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada did over 20 years ago, and even without their repulsive leftist biases, Simone’s narrative here is pretty implausible. Plus, as mentioned, the theme they’re promoting here is very disappointing in that it’s not original.
I am curious. What do you think about X-Men this is accompanied by horror?
I think the X-Men and the whole idea of the mutant world, fits any kind of story. As long as you have some human qualities that resonate with the reader, you can do pretty much anythingIn my opinion, if it is done well.
But for Rogue and Gambit, Gambit takes them to the house where he felt safe as a youngster. This is outside of New Orleans, on the edge of the woods. I wanted it to be like there was something really terrible in these woodswe learn. And I wanted it to be that way new, different, somehow unknown, frightening environment for them this wasn’t like the typical New York City. Just to take them on a different adventure and strike a different tone.
That’s one thing I love about this reboot of the mutant books; every book has its own tone and its own place. Because yes, everyone is scattered at this time, and there was the opportunity to do so, and everyone just does it so well. It’s so cool.
They used to, but even that isn’t enough in an age where everything has become so cynical. When they say “new” and “unknown,” it’s ridiculous in the context of the horror genre they’re cramming in here. Why is that so much more important than comedy? Also, it’s highly unlikely that they’re making references to serious real-life issues.
How do you set the tone as an author? for horror in comics? And how exactly do you and the artist David Marquez work together? to make the whole thing scarymake it Southern Gothic?
I always write the full script, so David gets that, but there’s always the caveat that whatever he thinks is better, he can just do it. Because I’m not an artist and I trust him completely. He’s a fucking genius at it.
For example, I was proofreading issue number three just before it was finished, and I remembered saying in the script that this page might be a stack of lines, and he did something completely different, and it’s so effective and so cool and so emotional that it just blew me away. He does that on practically every page, and that’s one thing I love about him. Yes, he can draw pretty pictures and stuff, but he brings an emotional depth to it that not all artists can pull off.
This special book needs because Tom (Brevoort)’s instructions to me, apart from wanting Rogue to be there, were to break people’s hearts. I thought: “OK, that’s coolbut can I also let them kick their ass? Can I also let them be terrified? Can I also have a lot of fun?” Anyway, we just go on this rollercoaster ride and David is just incredible in it. And the new villain, or one of the new villains in this book, is just… I can’t believe what he did.
Creepywhat do you think?
Yes.
Well, I think a purist fan needs to know what Brevoort said she was going for to understand why it’s best avoided. It’s also made clear that they’re focusing on horror themes rather than a more upbeat tone or even comedy themes.
There is one line that absolutely blew me away in this issue. Gambit and Rogue are in the house you mentioned earlier, and Rogue is talking about how bleak things lookand Gambit says to her, “Perhaps we are not responsible for every burden that has ever been placed upon the world. Perhaps we live for a time without fighting.” Is that possible with these characters?
Of course not. tragedyRight?
Tragedy is another vexing problem with modern storytelling. Because sometimes it just comes down to that, and Simone was part of such tactics at DC 20 years ago when Identity Crisis was being produced. She even wrote “All-New Atom,” with its emphasis on a race-swapped Mighty Mite, at the expense of Ray Palmer (and Jean Loring). That was an early example of the left-leaning social justice/diversity tactics that Marvel followed a few years later. And the part about not fighting reeks of potential anti-war propaganda.
When you create a new X-Men character, do you ever think, “Could this be the next Kitty Pryde?” Because all these characters are introduced and then they become fashionable, fans like them, and 20 or 30 years later They are in movies and they are action figures. Do you sometimes think about it?
You kind of hope so. You hope that people like them and are interested in them, that’s the thing. That’s the first step. It’s fun to think about that when you’re at a conference. and maybe someone will dress up as a cosplayer that you created and things like that.
And that sounds more like someone believes that merchandise is more important than actually reading the comic and judging it for quality. So what’s the point of taking on this assignment if it’s more about commerce than art and quality?
ComicBook also spoke to Simone and oddly enough, there is a particular character here who seems to be inspired by someone in real life whose reputation was ruined:
With the seizure and conversion of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters into a prison by the mutant-hating Warden EllisThe X-Men retreat to Haven: an orphanage in Gambit’s home state of Louisiana. Just as Rogue wonders if they are X-Men – or if there are any X-Men left after Krakoa – Wolverine senses that a group of four wild young mutants are on the run and need help.
It sounds like she was making a reference to Warren Ellis, who was recently accused of “seducing” (with adults, the word “seduced” is more logical) several women with whom he had affairs, although only one or two of the allegations against him sounded like he had done anything wrong. I guess this is her way of turning on Ellis, no matter how left-wing he is himself. And it shows how ungrateful leftists can be to each other. What’s really appalling, though, is that if these allegations against Ellis were fabricated, he has done little to seriously refute them or prove his innocence, and at least one project (“Fell”) was rejected by one of his publishers.
One might wonder whether Ellis is so compliant with the wishes or diswishes of his left-wing establishment that he is practically willing to abolish himself in order to remain in their good graces, even if it does end up doing good.
Advertisements for upcoming issues refer to the four mutants as “the Outliers.” They include Calico (Becca Constance Simon-Pinette), who has a psychic connection to her horse Ember; Jitter (Sofia Yong), who has the mutant power to “hyperfocus” any talent or ability for one minute; Ransom (Valentin Correa), a mutant with a black hole in place of his heart; and Deathdream (Hotoru), who can switch between the states of life and death at will, summoning souls and the power of the undead in his ghostly “death state.”
The second girl in the panel they posted has a character design that looks so genderless that it wouldn’t be shocking if the interior art didn’t match the cover with Rogue’s illustration. While that’s the only good thing about this series at this point, it does drive home the point that you can’t judge a book by its cover. It’s a shame that years of good art have been wasted on something that probably won’t measure up to the content of the issues that follow.
Anyone who knows Simone’s left-leaning ways over the past two decades would be wise to avoid whatever she has planned for X-Men. She’s proven herself to be little different than most other writers who act on knee-jerk reaction, and if they allow company-wide crossovers in their works and do nothing to prevent them from continuing to be used as marketing tools, then that says all you need to know is that they don’t think for themselves and all they care about in the end is the paycheck.
Originally published here.
