A couple weeks back we learned that Charles Soule was going to be heading up a new round of the ‘Astonishing X-Men which is returning after a four-year break and now the writer is sharing a little about how the book is coming together. What will one main difference from prior books is that we aren’t going to have a lead artist on the series as duties will be spread across quite a talented set of artists including: “Jim Cheung, Ron Garney, ACO, Phil Noto, Greg Land, Ramon Rosanas, and more!”
When sharing what he loved most about working on ‘Astonishing X-men’ it is clearly a bit of legacy from certain talent:
“Astonishing” is one of the fundamental “X”-titles for me, especially the Whedon/Cassaday run. It’s some of the best “X-Men” storytelling of all time. So, exciting, yes – also somewhat terrifying. But like any book I take on, I’ll do my best.
While Soule won’t say which villain(s) are going to be in the title when asked, he did bring up an interesting point about what he could reveal about them:
“Not too much just yet… but we’ll get there! I want it to feel like a nice reveal, but the way the story is designed I can pull in bad guys from literally any era of Marvel history. The book is built like a bit of a puzzle box, with multiple layers of reveals. Part of the fun of certain “X”-stories is speculating about what’s really going on, and this is definitely one of those.”
So this could mean anything from clones to time travel to the Danger Room and more! The tale is set to be a “puzzle box” of sorts which should leave us all guessing as to what is really going on. However, if this could mean they are pulling villains from any era, it might very well explain how Old Man Logan is a member of this time and so many others.
Of the heroes that he selected, Soule brought up some interesting points about his choices:
“It’s a mix of characters who I really wanted to write and characters who hadn’t been seen in a bit or both! I wanted a bunch of people I knew I could write well, but who also had lots of history with each other. All of these people have been “bad guys” at one point or another – checkered pasts all around. Many of them have dated each other, or have been in love triangles… it’s just a feast of drama, and the soap opera stuff is part of what makes the X-Men great. It’s fun to write all these folks, especially in a really focused story like I’m telling in Astonishing. The book has a specific point, story and end goal… which you’ll see soon enough!”
Are you looking forward to the return of the ‘Astonishing X-Men’? What kind of a story do you think he is set to tell that could involve villains from any era? Share your thoughts below True Believers!
‘Astonishing X-Men’ #1 will make its way to comic shops everywhere this July!
Source: Marvel
Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!
