Millar was meant to take over the X Books...

[scouse mouse]

But now he is doing Fantastic Four instead.
http://www.newsarama.com/Chicago_07/Marvel/Millar_Hitch.html
According to his interview he was meant to take over writing all three main X titles for a year with three different artists. Guess that explains all the confusion about Mike Careys future with the X franchise and the rumours of Uncanny X men going thrice monthly like ASM.

[Mikl C]

:(!
This wouldve been amazing.

[Brian M.]

Mark Millar: What's interesting is how close this came to not happening. It really was a fortunate accident for us.

The plan had always been to follow The Ultimates with an X-Men relaunch where I would write the three main X-books and we were going to have Hitchy plus two other artists on these books for a year. I plotted my stories way back in 2004 so this is something we'd been planning for ages. We were very enthused, spoke about it on the phone almost every day and just kind of took it for granted this is what we were launching in January 2008. But last year someone casually mentioned that JMS was leaving Fantastic Four and they didn't have a new creative team in place. I tried to block it out of my head, but for the rest of the call I was just nodding and pretending to be listening, thinking how great it would be to write the real Fantastic Four book. This is like getting the keys to the family car as far as the Marvel Universe is concerned. Maybe even more than Spider-Man.

I couldn't stop thinking about it and phoned Hitchy, who surprised me by being equally excited. We spoke for about three hours, building each other into a frenzy and then called Marvel. We wanted to shelf the X-Men plans and do Fantastic Four instead. Mike Marts (former X-Men editor) was very good about it, understanding we had to follow our mojo. And so we called Tom Brevoort and everything clicked into place beautifully. I started writing the book before Christmas an Hitchy started drawing shortly after he finished Ultimates 2 in the New Year. He had a few weeks to build up his drawing muscles again, but he's been working very consistently since about February, I think and pretty much bang on schedule.

There's the full quote for those lazy folks.

That...that would have been quite interesting. Looks like though b/c they went to FF we got Messiah Complex to revamp the titles. Still, I wonder what they had planned and if when the time comes, b/c it will, what their plan will be. I mean if Millar/Hitch want a title, they pretty much get it.

[Magneto Rocks]

Well it would have got me reading them. :p

Mind you, Endangered Species and Messiah CompleX has me reading Uncanny and MAYBE keeping up with X-Men (I'm a little 'meh' about it right now) so can't complain too much.

But it may happen yet- in his interview last night he says he still hopes to return and do it yet in a few short years.

[Flight]

I'd rather have Carey then Mark Millar.

[Daithi]

I'd rather have multiple writers than one. I like the difference between the titles and their respective writers.

[Jota]

Thank you God!!!

His Ultimate X-Men were bad enough. Having him butcher the original franchise 3 times over would be horrible beyond words!
Keep him in the FF and may they be in it for a long time (with Hitch, that's certain).

[dotdotdot]

i'm pretty delighted with the status quo, but in a couple of years, once ellis has done a run, brubaker feels ready to leave.....and there's still a book for carey hopefully, i'd love for this to happen.
but the timing wouldn't have been so hot originally.....i don't think anyone was able to predict how amazing carey would turn out to be for the franchise.

[Zero Hunter]

Thank god that didn't happen. It would have been funny though. You would have had two of the X-books getting there year run and being done before Hitch would have gotten half way through his run.

Letting one writer do the whole franchise is not a good move. That is what drove me off of the Avengers franchise, and would have done the same thing with the X verse if Millar was in charge. That and the fact that I hate Millars writing.

[dotdotdot]

Thank god that didn't happen. It would have been funny though. You would have had two of the X-books getting there year run and being done before Hitch would have gotten half way through his run.

Letting one writer do the whole franchise is not a good move. That is what drove me off of the Avengers franchise, and would have done the same thing with the X verse if Millar was in charge. That and the fact that I hate Millars writing.

on the other hand.....it's the one thing that saved the avengers franchise, and it would have forced the xverse into a cohesion that could have solved lots of things for years.

[Brian M.]

on the other hand.....it's the one thing that saved the avengers franchise, and it would have forced the xverse into a cohesion that could have solved lots of things for years.

Exactly.

As for Hitch and his lateness, he seems to be doing just fine in all the other books he's drawn. I believe his excuse for Ultimates and don't think FF will be late at all.

[dotdotdot]

Exactly.

As for Hitch and his lateness, he seems to be doing just fine in all the other books he's drawn. I believe his excuse for Ultimates and don't think FF will be late at all.

quick say something nuts. i'm not used to this agreement between us.

[Michael P]

*whew* Dodged a bullet there.

[Affinity]

I'm glad we got Messiah Complex instead!

It would have been FUN AS HELL. I definitely hope to see those extensive notes they created come up again, some time in the future? Even if it's a couple of years. They couldn't have been BAD ideas, lol.

But I rather have Carey and Ellis and Brubaker is getting better, over Millar. He's great, I just prefer these guys and Messiah Complex is getting me EXCITED.

[Joe Zool]

Too bad I'm not a reporter there, I'd hunt Millar down and find out what his outline was going to be. All these reports of "A reboot, but not an official one" are too vague. I want details.

[Omega Alpha]

Damn! :eek: I wish he had taken over one book. But, yeah, three would've been too much.

[Maestro]

Millar on all three books would be insane. But I wouldn't mind him taking over Uncanny.

[XPac]

Though Millar and Hitch would make a solid team on just about any book. He could have done a good job with Xmen, and there's no doubt in my mind that his mere presence alone would have helped the book.

That said, I think he's a better fit in Fantastic Four. The Xbooks seem to have found their own pace without him, so it really all turned out for the best.

[jester1436]

Twist the knife in Millar's back Marvel, twist the knife. Heh.

I'm so glad this did not happen. SO GLAD.

[Faded]

What X-characters does Millar like? Does anyone know?

[Mitteloss]

Glad that didn't happened, Millar on all three books? It just wouldn't work.

[Ice_Cold_Emma_Frost]

Glad that didn't happened, Millar on all three books? It just wouldn't work.

I agree and he also didn't mention any of his plans for storylines/characters, so I really don't see what we were missing?

I'm just not a fan of writers monopolizing comics, it makes it dull.

[Daithi]

on the other hand.....it's the one thing that saved the avengers franchise, and it would have forced the xverse into a cohesion that could have solved lots of things for years.

That's true. It certainly helped the X-Men in the past with Claremont. However if you have a multiple writers on the same page like the current core guys then I think that would be better. You're able to bounce ideas around and get a wider view.

[Ice_Cold_Emma_Frost]

That's true. It certainly helped the X-Men in the past with Claremont. However if you have a multiple writers on the same page like the current core guys then I think that would be better. You're able to bounce ideas around and get a wider view.

But that's just it in the PAST it helped...it completely failed on so many levels when he returned in 2000.

[Daithi]

But that's just it in the PAST it helped...it completely failed on so many levels when he returned in 2000.

Yes but there's a huge difference writing/quality wise between the two. However as I said I'd still prefer multiple writers.

[dotdotdot]

"Millar and Hitch may come back to their idea for X-Men, and he doesn’t want to spill the beans yet."

[Ice_Cold_Emma_Frost]

As do I. Mostly because (like now) you can see characters cross over, their own storylines don't necessarily intersect and you get to see someone else's take on those characters.

If one person is writing all the books. They're more or less stuck into one storyline.

[Magneto Rocks]

What X-characters does Millar like? Does anyone know?

Given what we saw in the Ultimate Universe, I'd say he likes Cyclops and his view on Magneto is hard to judge because Ultimate Magneto is such a different character. I think it's clear he really really likes Magneto but Ultimate Magneto is flat out evil unlike normal Magnus so...

[Brian M.]

Given what we saw in the Ultimate Universe, I'd say he likes Cyclops and his view on Magneto is hard to judge because Ultimate Magneto is such a different character. I think it's clear he really really likes Magneto but Ultimate Magneto is flat out evil unlike normal Magnus so...

Return of the King is an awesome story and one of my favorites in the UU. Millar's Magento is a killer, but he's not a stupid, stone cold, killer. He has that ambiguious nature sometimes. I would love to see Millar's take on the 616. Maybe even bring Jean back.

[dotdotdot]

Return of the King is an awesome story and one of my favorites in the UU. Millar's Magento is a killer, but he's not a stupid, stone cold, killer. He has that ambiguious nature sometimes. I would love to see Millar's take on the 616. Maybe even bring Jean back.

he's the one guy who could do it. in fact, i pray they hold off a few years and give him a chance to, since it shouldn't happen anytime soon.

[Magneto Rocks]

Return of the King is an awesome story and one of my favorites in the UU. Millar's Magento is a killer, but he's not a stupid, stone cold, killer. He has that ambiguious nature sometimes. I would love to see Millar's take on the 616. Maybe even bring Jean back.

Oh absolutely, as I say he used Magneto better than most writers in 616 in terms of the impact. (He was the main villain for arc 1, and after that his return was brilliantly built up to, given the sheer impact it deserves) But removing the holocaust from his background and making him genocidal also makes him much more flat out evil.

On the other hand, it could be that was just "done to be different", I think Millar's definitely more than capable of writing some awesome 616 Magneto stories without compromising the morally grey.

[Elias Bogan]

Millar's comments make me suspect that the reason we are not getting confirmation for post-MC books status yet is not because of any spoilers but because Marvel doesn't really know yet. When is the next big convention that they could announce things at?

[dotdotdot]

Millar's comments make me suspect that the reason we are not getting confirmation for post-MC books status yet is not because of any spoilers but because Marvel doesn't really know yet. When is the next big convention that they could announce things at?

wait what?

i mean it's probably because the crossover hasn't begun, so its still the news. this isn't the time for post-future-crossover plans.

[Elias Bogan]

wait what?

i mean it's probably because the crossover hasn't begun, so its still the news. this isn't the time for post-future-crossover plans.

I get the feeling from Millar's comments and others made by Marvel over the course of the last two conventions and other things going on that Uncanny was going to be like AMZ and come out three times a month with Hitch acting in conjunction with two other artists. But Millar bailing on the project and Carey being unexpectedly and extremely popular made them re-evaluate. The reason why Bachalo doesn't know what is going on exactly is because neither does Marvel right now. If there were smart they'd just leave things alone with UXM, ADJ, AST and NX but knowing Alonso he will muck it up somehow.

[dotdotdot]

I get the feeling from Millar's comments and others made by Marvel over the course of the last two conventions and other things going on that Uncanny was going to be like AMZ and come out three times a month with Hitch acting in conjunction with two other artists. But Millar bailing on the project and Carey being unexpectedly and extremely popular made them re-evaluate. The reason why Bachalo doesn't know what is going on exactly is because neither does Marvel right now. If there were smart they'd just leave things alone with UXM, ADJ, AST and NX but knowing Alonso he will muck it up somehow.

those decisions were made many months ago though. it isn't time for anyone to know what's going to happen after a crossover that doesn't even start for a few months.
the only thing that seems to be in the air is bachalo, and i'm sure even that has been cleared up by now.

[ibrakeforchinwe]

They always tell what they were "going to do." WHY?! Tell us what you ARE doing instead. Geez.

[dotdotdot]

They always tell what they were "going to do." WHY?! Tell us what you ARE doing instead. Geez.

well he did, didn't he?

[ibrakeforchinwe]

well he did, didn't he?

Ya, but why tell us what you were going to do? It makes me thing what we'll never see.

[Citizen V]

I could have guessed things might have been slightly worse or better than what readers have now.

[Frank]

lol this shits on Brubaker and Carey and what they've done. It's like Millar is saying "the books sucks now and they would have been great had we taken them over". :D

It's a huge lost opportunity as readers but at least we got Messiah Complex and Ellis taking over Astonishing.

*counting the days when Mark and Htich comes in and saves the day*

[dotdotdot]

lol this shits on Brubaker and Carey and what they've done. It's like Millar is saying "the books sucks now and they would have been great had we taken them over". :D




no it's not. at all.

[Dazzler]

Wow, that was a close one. *Whew!*

And to think I would have gotten to read three books a month of all the X-characters calling each other "idiot" and "moron" every five sentences...

Thank you, Marvel for snipping this one in the bud.

--Dazz

[(NO)]

What X-characters does Millar like? Does anyone know?

I know he hates Gambit. :(

[XPac]

What X-characters does Millar like? Does anyone know?

I don't know if he's a favorite or not, but we know he can do a pretty good Wolverine (or at least I thought his Wolverine was good in enemy of the state).

[valechan]

Thank the Goddess he took FF and got his paws off the X-Men. His Ultimate work is proof he can't write the X-Men...

[Karthak]

Thank goodness. Stones would have wept if Mark "I write everyone as if they're ¤&#holes" Millar had gotten his hands on the X-universe.

[Titan76]

Hum, this could have been interesting but I'm kind of glad this wasn't done because I am sick to death with year long runs which is what Millar does way too much these days. I prefer writers to take the Claremont or even the Morrsion approach and when they come on to write the X-books(or any book for the matter) they have a long term vision for the book rather then just one, two years tops.

And even though I love Hitch's art there is just no way in hell he would have made his deadlines.

[Vaal]

Oh thank you, god. I couldn't have taken the ultimatization of 616 X-men. I don't read the Ultimate imprint for a reason.

[Magneto Rocks]

Thank the Goddess he took FF and got his paws off the X-Men. His Ultimate work is proof he can't write the X-Men...

Hardly, since they're (or WERE) completely different characters.

[Mister Mets]

Millar's been remarkably successful with his decisions in the last year, so it probably would have been cool.

I hope the alternative is going to be as impressive, or more impressive than what Millar would have done.

[Dazzler]

Hardly, since they're (or WERE) completely different characters.

It's kinda sweet that you still believe that old chestnut....

--Dazz

[Will.S]

You know, I would have been interested to see what they did with the X-Men as far as a total revamp goes.

Millar said that he read pretty much all the X-Men material for 2 straight months for research and Hitch had the designs all ready to go for it. Hopefully they'll release that kind of stuff at some point but at the same time I'm wondering if they had plans that big for X-Men what they're going to do without the revamp.

I'm guessing they'll more or less stay the course they've been in with Mike Carey, Ed Brubaker, Peter David, Kyle & Yost steering the ships towards more Sinister stuff, Magneto and Endangered species alongside Ellis coming aboard.

[Frank]

Thank the Goddess he took FF and got his paws off the X-Men. His Ultimate work is proof he can't write the X-Men...

His first Ultimate X-Men storyline with Adam Kubert was the most awesome X-Men story since CC and Jim Lee left X-Men.

[jarrod]

Millar's depection of the Institute and X-Men was great in Enemy of the State.... man, something tells me we missed out on some *amazing* Rachel moments at least. :/

[Boogie]

Though nothing against Millar, i enjoy his stuff, but i am really digging the current X-verse the way it is right now, with Carey pretty much running the show. I wouldnt mind seeing him take over Uncanny from Bru (i love the Bru, dont get me wrong, he just needs to get back to his dirty street stories).

I think i am more upset that we are losing McDuffie & Pelletier on FF.

[caney]

I loved his work on Ultimate X-Men. Even thought it's not going to happen it would be fun to read some of the story plots he wrote.

Maybe Millar would like to help revitalize Ultimate X-Men again? He should write more books!

[Christopher O]

Though nothing against Millar, i enjoy his stuff, but i am really digging the current X-verse the way it is right now, with Carey pretty much running the show. I wouldnt mind seeing him take over Uncanny from Bru (i love the Bru, dont get me wrong, he just needs to get back to his dirty street stories).
Carey's hardly running the show. He's the writer of the lowest selling core title and an inconsequential back-up story of mostly poor quality.

Anyway, I'd love to see Millar and Hitch get their hands on an X-Men book. I'm less enthusiastic about the notion of Millar taking on all three. As much as I love him, I have a hard time believing he can write three different books that are basically about the same thing and still maintain individual identities and a high level of creativity on all of them. If it were Morrison or Ellis, I'd be less skeptical. I just don't think Millar is on that level.

[dotdotdot]

Carey's hardly running the show. He's the writer of the lowest selling core title and an inconsequential back-up story of mostly poor quality.



that's hardly accurate

[Nite-Wing]

Carey's hardly running the show. He's the writer of the lowest selling core title and an inconsequential back-up story of mostly poor quality.

Anyway, I'd love to see Millar and Hitch get their hands on an X-Men book. I'm less enthusiastic about the notion of Millar taking on all three. As much as I love him, I have a hard time believing he can write three different books that are basically about the same thing and still maintain individual identities and a high level of creativity on all of them. If it were Morrison or Ellis, I'd be less skeptical. I just don't think Millar is on that level.

Thats crazy I mean out of all the X-men writers right now Carey is by far the best I mean look at what hes done with Rogue, Iceman, and Cannonball. Plus with Astonishing and its delays "X-men" is the X-title right now.

[Christopher O]

that's hardly accurate
Thats crazy I mean out of all the X-men writers right now Carey is by far the best I mean look at what hes done with Rogue, Iceman, and Cannonball. Plus with Astonishing and its delays "X-men" is the X-title right now.
I don't think it's crazy (or inaccurate) at all. Before the boost the book received for being at a milestone issue, it was selling lower than Uncanny and Astonishing. Moreover, look at Carey's cast. He hardly had the pick of the litter. Doesn't sound like a man in charge of the franchise to me.

For the record, I also don't think it's the best book. I think Astonishing and Uncanny have both been consistently better than X-Men. Carey's first story was excellent, but everything else has been mediocre at best and just awful at worst--including the Endangered Species back-up, which has been an utter waste of time and paper. Anyway, this thread isn't about Carey. I shouldn't have replied to that initial comment. Someone berate me.

[Will.S]

Thats crazy I mean out of all the X-men writers right now Carey is by far the best I mean look at what hes done with Rogue, Iceman, and Cannonball. Plus with Astonishing and its delays "X-men" is the X-title right now.
Eh, I think he started out strong and remained consistent until his stuff went on a decline to me. Only those few characters that you've mentioned have really benefitted but I don't care for Lady Mastermind or Sentinel anymore, same for Cable and Rogue.

Mike's a good X-Men writer and blows away the last few who have come onto the title but lately his stock has lowered with me due the the last few issues. I am enjoying the Endangered Species back-ups however, they seem to be hinting towards either the return of Jean or Nate.

[Zero Hunter]

If they really want to put them on an X-Book just stick them on Astonishing after Ellis leaves the title. That way he can do about whatever he wants since that title really doesn't seem to effect the rest of the X-verse anyway for the most part. It is the perfect book for a guy like Millar. Do his thing over out of the way without having to worry about whats going on in the other books. I doubt Ellis will stay on Astonishing very long anyway since he really isn't a long term kinda guy when it comes to books he has no passion for, and is just doing for a paycheck (which is 99% of Ellis's mainstream superhero work)

[Diablito]

Millar is a great writer, and I would love him to write an X-Book, but not all of them. Putting him on all 3 books would create a lack of originality and different styles.

I need my monthly fix of Carey anyways.

[tjarvis]

Thank the Goddess he took FF and got his paws off the X-Men. His Ultimate work is proof he can't write the X-Men...

Really? I loved his Ultimate X-Men, there were scenes of genuine excitement in it. Honestly, Return of the King is one of the best X-Men stories I've read in a decade.

[End of Time]

he planned his stories way back in 2004... he would take over in 2008, hell of a way to piss away everything written between 2004 and 2008.

That's basically a big f*ck you to every writer who's written the title in that timeframe. If that's Marvel's policy, I'm out of the game. It's also a big f*ck you to the readers, because they spent four years worth of time and money on comics that the editors knew wouldn't mean a shit.

[dotdotdot]

I don't think it's crazy (or inaccurate) at all. Before the boost the book received for being at a milestone issue, it was selling lower than Uncanny and Astonishing. Moreover, look at Carey's cast. He hardly had the pick of the litter. Doesn't sound like a man in charge of the franchise to me.

For the record, I also don't think it's the best book. I think Astonishing and Uncanny have both been consistently better than X-Men. Carey's first story was excellent, but everything else has been mediocre at best and just awful at worst--including the Endangered Species back-up, which has been an utter waste of time and paper. Anyway, this thread isn't about Carey. I shouldn't have replied to that initial comment. Someone berate me.

i think you're out on a limb here, guy.

[jarrod]

Before the boost the book received for being at a milestone issue, it was selling lower than Uncanny and Astonishing.
To be fair, it's *always* sold less than the other two though. Sales have basically remained constant for years now...

[tedward1984]

I'm not opposed to the idea of one person writing all three X-Books, I just don't want it to be Millar. I've enjoyed most of his Ultimate stuff despite the fact there was zero characterization. I guess it didn't bother me because they weren't the "real" Marvel heroes. I thought the Civil War mini was awful, and I don't want him getting near the 616 X-Men.

Enemy of the State was good, but that series played to his strengths (little character, lots of violence).

As for him insulting the writers from 2004-2008, I don't see it. I just read it as him making big plans in advance.

[Christopher O]

i think you're out on a limb here, guy.
I'm not out on a limb at all. I'm perfectly fine with my position. Your silly little comments that don't address the actual content of my posts don't change that a bit. Feel free to keep making them, though.
To be fair, it's *always* sold less than the other two though. Sales have basically remained constant for years now...
Actually, no, it hasn't. It started selling less than Uncanny when Chuck Austen started writing it. That's hardly always. Besides, it doesn't change the fact that Mike Carey is on the lowest selling core title with a cast of characters that weren't his first choice--hardly indicative of being in charge. Moreover, before issue 200, Carey had already dropped below Milligan's and Austen's sales levels. Anyway, this really isn't the thread for this, so I'm done.

[dotdotdot]

I'm not out on a limb at all. I'm perfectly fine with my position. Your silly little comments that don't address the actual content of my posts don't change that a bit. Feel free to keep making them, though.

Actually, no, it hasn't. It started selling less than Uncanny when Chuck Austen started writing it. That's hardly always. Besides, it doesn't change the fact that Mike Carey is on the lowest selling core title with a cast of characters that weren't his first choice--hardly indicative of being in charge. Moreover, before issue 200, Carey had already dropped below Milligan's and Austen's sales levels. Anyway, this really isn't the thread for this, so I'm done.

you mean when it was called new x-men and it was the flagship? you can see how that's a bit different.
also, if it sells less than the other two xbooks, chances are that still means its a huge seller for marvel. i don't think anyone in those offices looks at x-men and thinks "weak link".

[jarrod]

Actually, no, it hasn't. It started selling less than Uncanny when Chuck Austen started writing it. That's hardly always.
Technically, that's when it became "X-Men" again. Excepting Morrisson's "New X-Men" though, it was the better selling title when Lee and later Davis were on art iirc.

Still, far more often than not, Uncanny's been the better seller of the two traditionally.


Besides, it doesn't change the fact that Mike Carey is on the lowest selling core title with a cast of characters that weren't his first choice--hardly indicative of being in charge. Moreover, before issue 200, Carey had already dropped below Milligan's and Austen's sales levels. Anyway, this really isn't the thread for this, so I'm done.
Oh, sure... definitely seems to me Carey's been third rail in terms of pull and priority behind Whedon (television superstar) and Brubaker (critically acclaimed, backed by Bendis). But it's not like his efforts have been doing proportionatly less on the book than what Brubaker's managed on Uncanny, who's own sales levels are below what Claremont was managing during his run.

Really, these books are basically selling about as well as they were under the last creative teams... but if we're looking at sales as a gauge for who's more likely to stay, both Brubaker and Carey have ultimately failed in that regard, about equally too.

[Elias Bogan]

Oh, sure... definitely seems to me Carey's been third rail in terms of pull and priority behind Whedon (television superstar) and Brubaker (critically acclaimed, backed by Bendis). But it's not like his efforts have been doing proportionatly less on the book than what Brubaker's managed on Uncanny, who's own sales levels are below what Claremont was managing during his run.

Really, these books are basically selling about as well as they were under the last creative teams... but if we're looking at sales as a gauge for who's more likely to stay, both Brubaker and Carey have ultimately failed in that regard, about equally too.

If Brubaker wasn't Bendis' boy toi than he wouldn't be writing Uncanny in the first place and certainly wouldn't have held the title for so long. Carey had the distinct disadvantage of following the critically and fan hated Austen and Milligan runs on the book whereas Brubaker got to follow a Claremont run that was not loved nor hated and was actually getting really good at the end (End of Greys). Moreoever, the Quesada hype machine has hyped Brubaker as the next big thing whereas Carey was largely ignored until recently.

What does speak volumnes is that Carey is going around doing all the interviews. Carey is the one adored by fans and critics. Carey is the architect of Endangered Species and Mesiah Complex. Yes, Bru is writing MC one-shot but that seems almost superfulous.

[jarrod]

Yeah, I was a bit surprised when I read in interviews that Bendis basically backdoored Brubaker into the book by telling editorial that he'd co-plot it with him... all the while telling Bru he was only doing it to get him in. Sneaky fucker. ;)

And Bru's run definitely got more hype, and Deadly Genesis got a huge promotion too. He also got first choice of cast and artist... not a bad set up at all. I just wish someone had given him some Excalibur back issues to read through. :/

[Will.S]

Carey is the one adored by fans and critics. Carey is the architect of Endangered Species and Mesiah Complex. Yes, Bru is writing MC one-shot but that seems almost superfulous.
What makes you say that?

I mean, while I liked Mike's Endangered Species one shot the same can be said for that couldn't it?

[Alex A Sanchez]

he planned his stories way back in 2004... he would take over in 2008, hell of a way to piss away everything written between 2004 and 2008.

That's basically a big f*ck you to every writer who's written the title in that timeframe. If that's Marvel's policy, I'm out of the game. It's also a big f*ck you to the readers, because they spent four years worth of time and money on comics that the editors knew wouldn't mean a shit.

Not necessarily. Peter David's doing a story in X-Factor now that he wrote a decade ago during his original run. He has since updated the situation to reflect the current Marvel political atmosphere, and so far it is working very well.


Besides, it doesn't change the fact that Mike Carey [has] a cast of characters that weren't his first choice--hardly indicative of being in charge.

Well duh. He hadn't proved himself yet. Now that he's succesfully become a fan favorite, he's been the spokes person for ES and he will be getting better characters after the reshuffle. He's only keeping a couple of his original team- THIS is a sign of being in charge.

Why do fans regard Carey so highly? He actually knows his X-history and treats the characters with respect.

In Bru's latest Uncanny issue, Masque threatens Skids, and Skids backs away in response. WTF! Any fan of Skids knows that #1- she's immune to Masque's power, and #2- she can kill Masque at any time she likes (and almost did in the past). Masque is an important character foil for Skids, and story dealing with the two should not ignor their past relationship.

I like Bru's stories, but I think Carey should be the one in charge.

[Will.S]

In Bru's latest Uncanny issue, Masque threatens Skids, and Skids backs away in response. WTF! Any fan of Skids knows that #1- she's immune to Masque's power, and #2- she can kill Masque at any time she likes (and almost did in the past). Masque is an important character foil for Skids, and story dealing with the two should not ignor their past relationship.Masque didn't actually touch her though so there was no on-panel indication that his power would actually work on her. Also if she's an undercover SHIELD agent then she's not gonna kill/deal with him until she finds what she needs.

[Brian M.]

Yea, I think Skids probably needed to keep up the forsad that Masque was in charge and was the dominate power.

[Alex A Sanchez]

Masque didn't actually touch her though so there was no on-panel indication that his power would actually work on her. Also if she's an undercover SHIELD agent then she's not gonna kill/deal with him until she finds what she needs.

Okay, point taken that she wouldn't kill him. BUT, she should not be afraid of him or take any bull$#!+ from him. The power dynamic has been set, and Masque should actually be suspicious of her for behaving differently and NOT threatening him.

Ragardless, I just enjoy these things for the story- each writer establishes the relationships between the characters as they see fit to tell their story. It just gets me excited and giddy when a writer like Mike Carey comes along and acknowledges the stories other people tell.

[streator]

this would argubaly have been very cool but i've still enjoyed most of what's happened instead (brubaker, carey, whedon, pad).

that being said, i'm looking forward to millar/hitch doing the 616 fantastic four.

[DasPoppen]

Millar's UXM go me back into reading comics so I'm eternally grateful to him. I would love to see him with Hitch on X-Men and I'm sure it will happen in two or three years. Until then I'm enjoying Carey's run, PAD's X-Factor and the upcoming Messiah Complex.

[Excelsior]

Mike CArey and Peter David are saving the X-books. Bru is great at writing brooding crime type characters but he is having problems writing Uncanny. Darwin iss a fine example- create him then dont use him.

[Wind-Breaker]

Millar taking over the X-books is a concept I'd diffinately pass on (sorry my hatered of all things Ultimate is just to deep :evilsmile ).

But I wouldn't mind if Fabian Nicieza got another crack at running things... *runs away from angry mob*

[The Fury]

I'd rather have Carey then Mark Millar.
Agreed. Carey's X-men is better then any X-men ongoing book by anyone I've read in a long while (consistantly good that is), and I'd very much like to keep him about.

They can give Mark Millar Uncanny is they wish, and joi Astonishing to that to make it bi-monthly. Not like the those books are any good.

[rZi]

I would want him on just one book, probably uncanny. Hell they could of done astonishing and i wouldn't of minded...but then again im liking the new line-up anyway

[Crimson]

I think we've had a lucky escape... I mean now we have 3 top wroters on the X books and all 3 books are good. When was the last time we could say that?

Plus now we get Millar on the Fantastic Four which need a bigger boost in the arm then the X-Books need.

[brundlefly]

I think we've had a lucky escape....

Agreed, particularly if his WOLVERINE: ENEMY OF THE STATE and ULTIMATE X-MEN, the Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer movies of the X-Universe, are any indicator of how he would have approached this. I'll take the diversity and talent of the current grouping of Carey/Bru/Whedon/PAD over an overdose of action movie dialogue & cliches in every single X-book. Dodged that bullet...

Pity; I really like a lot of Millar's earlier non-Marvel stuff like Red Son, his run on Authority, and Wanted. But aside from Ultimates his Marvel output, like EOTS, Ult. X-Men, MK Spidey, and Civil War, has been pretty subpar thus far. Maybe he can re-channel some of his earlier ability on the FF with Hitch. And at the very least Hitch will make all the cosmic designs and backgrounds look great...

[rwsmith]

Agreed, particularly if his WOLVERINE: ENEMY OF THE STATE and ULTIMATE X-MEN, the Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer movies of the X-Universe, are any indicator of how he would have approached this. I'll take the diversity and talent of the current grouping of Carey/Bru/Whedon/PAD over an overdose of action movie dialogue & cliches in every single X-book.

Yeah, but what about having that in just one book? If it's not Wolverine that Millar and McNiven end up taking over, then IMO they would be the perfect team to revamp X-Force for the 21st Century. Since Cable has now been confirmed as not dead and Marvel keeps saying that we ought to start thinking about the X-men as an army instead of a family, I think it's pretty likely that some incarnation of X-Force will return this fall.

Mark and Steve would absolutely kill on that book IMO because they could pretty much do whatever they wanted! It would be the Authority and the Ultimates on crack mixed in with a little bit of 90's over-the-top "extremeness" for shits and giggles. Seriously, I think it could be great. I'm picturing Cable like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando where he's just completely absurd and taking out scores of bad guys at once without getting a scratch on him.

But maybe that's just me...

[EnDwiGast]

Agreed. Carey's X-men is better then any X-men ongoing book by anyone I've read in a long while (consistantly good that is), and I'd very much like to keep him about.

They can give Mark Millar Uncanny is they wish, and joi Astonishing to that to make it bi-monthly. Not like the those books are any good.

I'm curious, and this is for anyone who feels Carey's X-Men is head and shoulders above the rest. Why?

I'm not intending to attack Carey or you, but i'm wondering if there is something about the current run that I'm not seeing.

Maybe its just that I don't care for Rogue, Mystique, Sabretooth, Karima and lady mastermind. I would honestly be more attentive if the book featured Iceman, Cannonball and Cable.

I do enjoy the book - though I recently realized I had not gotten around to reading the issues leading up to #200 and had to catch up. I feel Carey's best is yet to come, but again, what makes Carey's run so far one of the best ever?

[Elias Bogan]

I'm curious, and this is for anyone who feels Carey's X-Men is head and shoulders above the rest. Why?

I'm not intending to attack Carey or you, but i'm wondering if there is something about the current run that I'm not seeing.

Maybe its just that I don't care for Rogue, Mystique, Sabretooth, Karima and lady mastermind. I would honestly be more attentive if the book featured Iceman, Cannonball and Cable.

I do enjoy the book - though I recently realized I had not gotten around to reading the issues leading up to #200 and had to catch up. I feel Carey's best is yet to come, but again, what makes Carey's run so far one of the best ever?

I personally love Carey's run because of the way he weaves continuity into the stories and uses it as a tool to build the characters and stories. Many other writers just ignore it or retcon it or are over-burdened by while Carey has used it to perfection. Moreover, I lost his blending of A-listers like Rogue, Mystique, Cannonball and Iceman with previously minor characters.

Also, I feel like something important happens every single issue and that I got my monies worth. I want to read the issues again afterwards and then read them again when the next issues come out. Brubaker and Whedon for example have left me feeling cheated because barely anything happens in their stories and they have zero re-read quality. Finally, Carey actually writes relationships instead of just random characters. He has brought back the Iceman/Rogue, Iceman/Cannonball and Rogue/Cannonball friendshiops that were ignored for a decade and I love that!

[EnDwiGast]

I personally love Carey's run because of the way he weaves continuity into the stories and uses it as a tool to build the characters and stories. Many other writers just ignore it or retcon it or are over-burdened by while Carey has used it to perfection. Moreover, I lost his blending of A-listers like Rogue, Mystique, Cannonball and Iceman with previously minor characters.

Also, I feel like something important happens every single issue and that I got my monies worth. I want to read the issues again afterwards and then read them again when the next issues come out. Brubaker and Whedon for example have left me feeling cheated because barely anything happens in their stories and they have zero re-read quality. Finally, Carey actually writes relationships instead of just random characters. He has brought back the Iceman/Rogue, Iceman/Cannonball and Rogue/Cannonball friendshiops that were ignored for a decade and I love that!


His handling of continuity has been a high point.

As far as events go, all the current titles seem even to me on that one.

I'm definitely enjoying the current spotlight on Cannonball and Iceman. The latest issue was my favorite of the run.

[The M.E.]

I personally love Carey's run because of the way he weaves continuity into the stories and uses it as a tool to build the characters and stories. Many other writers just ignore it or retcon it or are over-burdened by while Carey has used it to perfection. Moreover, I lost his blending of A-listers like Rogue, Mystique, Cannonball and Iceman with previously minor characters.

Also, I feel like something important happens every single issue and that I got my monies worth. I want to read the issues again afterwards and then read them again when the next issues come out. Brubaker and Whedon for example have left me feeling cheated because barely anything happens in their stories and they have zero re-read quality. Finally, Carey actually writes relationships instead of just random characters. He has brought back the Iceman/Rogue, Iceman/Cannonball and Rogue/Cannonball friendshiops that were ignored for a decade and I love that!

ive gots to agree. Carey writes the characters intelligently, using their history but also being accessible to new readers. He thinks about ways to use their powers creatively, focuses on their relationships, and writes with humor and suspense. I haven't liked Beast, Rogue, Cannonball, or Iceman this much in years and years. His X-men is the only book that keeps me thinking about what will happen next issue, and its never decompressed. I could go on and on, but he's the man. I also love his attention to fan feedback and always courteous responses.

[EnDwiGast]

ive gots to agree. Carey writes the characters intelligently, using their history but also being accessible to new readers. He thinks about ways to use their powers creatively, focuses on their relationships, and writes with humor and suspense. I haven't liked Beast, Rogue, Cannonball, or Iceman this much in years and years. His X-men is the only book that keeps me thinking about what will happen next issue, and its never decompressed. I could go on and on, but he's the man. I also love his attention to fan feedback and always courteous responses.

That might be another good point.

I'm not a new reader. I'm one who jumps in when my favorites are getting the spotlight and tend to fade out when the focus is on those who are not.

I definitely find no fault with Mike Carey the person or Mike Carey the creator, just trying to understand the level of hype i see from some.

[The M.E.]

That might be another good point.

I'm not a new reader. I'm one who jumps in when my favorites are getting the spotlight and tend to fade out when the focus is on those who are not.

I definitely find no fault with Mike Carey the person or Mike Carey the creator, just trying to understand the level of hype i see from some.

Fair enough :). I actually feel that way about Millar, not being an Ultimates fan or very familiar with any of his work. I liked the Ultimate Avengers movies, does that count for anything? :)

[Elias Bogan]

ive gots to agree. I haven't liked Beast, Rogue, Cannonball, or Iceman this much in years and years.

Before Carey, I always hated Iceman and found him pointless and annoying. Austen and Milligan only made it worse. And aside from their tenures in X-Treme, I haven't liked Rogue and Cannonball since the Joe Kelly and Steven Segal run from nearly 10 years ago.

[The M.E.]

I haven't liked Rogue and Cannonball since the Joe Kelly and Steven Segal run from nearly 10 years ago.

That was the last time i loved em too. I left comics altogether after Kelly and Seagle got the boot.

[jarrod]

Yeah, but what about having that in just one book? If it's not Wolverine that Millar and McNiven end up taking over, then IMO they would be the perfect team to revamp X-Force for the 21st Century. Since Cable has now been confirmed as not dead and Marvel keeps saying that we ought to start thinking about the X-men as an army instead of a family, I think it's pretty likely that some incarnation of X-Force will return this fall.

Mark and Steve would absolutely kill on that book IMO because they could pretty much do whatever they wanted! It would be the Authority and the Ultimates on crack mixed in with a little bit of 90's over-the-top "extremeness" for shits and giggles. Seriously, I think it could be great. I'm picturing Cable like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando where he's just completely absurd and taking out scores of bad guys at once without getting a scratch on him.

But maybe that's just me...
I could go for that actually... maybe subtitute Bishop in though and make it the new defacto government mutant strike force? Just imagine, Ellis on Astonishing, Carey on Uncanny, C&C on New, PAD on X-Factor, Cornell on Excalibur and Millar on X-Force... I'd die and go to heaven. :D

[the Hornet]

It would have been great having Millar take over, but not if it means Carey being of one of the books. So it worked out for the best. But would not mind Carey and Millar being co-writers, Carey in adejectiveless and Millar on the other two.

[btjs]

I'm also glad Millar didn't take over. I love a lot of his work (including Wolverine) but lately he seems to just default to big events, cynical/post-modern cliche dialogue, and sketching in the characters to fit the postmod humor. But when the humor and commentary has no substance behind it, it all rings hollow. I'm very happy with what Carey's doing. I also think Millar will do well at FF.

[rwsmith]

I could go for that actually... maybe subtitute Bishop in though and make it the new defacto government mutant strike force? Just imagine, Ellis on Astonishing, Carey on Uncanny, C&C on New, PAD on X-Factor, Cornell on Excalibur and Millar on X-Force... I'd die and go to heaven. :D

Oh, yeah. I'd throw in Bishop and Forge and Cable and make X-Force totally militaristic.

[dotdotdot]

he seems to just default to big events, cynical/post-modern cliche dialogue, and sketching in the characters to fit the postmod humor.

i have no idea how you managed to turn these things into criticisms.

[brundlefly]

Yeah, but what about having that in just one book? If it's not Wolverine that Millar and McNiven end up taking over, then IMO they would be the perfect team to revamp X-Force for the 21st Century. Since Cable has now been confirmed as not dead and Marvel keeps saying that we ought to start thinking about the X-men as an army instead of a family, I think it's pretty likely that some incarnation of X-Force will return this fall.

Mark and Steve would absolutely kill on that book IMO because they could pretty much do whatever they wanted! It would be the Authority and the Ultimates on crack mixed in with a little bit of 90's over-the-top "extremeness" for shits and giggles. Seriously, I think it could be great. I'm picturing Cable like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando where he's just completely absurd and taking out scores of bad guys at once without getting a scratch on him.

But maybe that's just me...

I kinda like that idea. I'd swap Cable for Bishop, though, since I love the Cable/Deadpool dynamic over in Fabian's buddy-cop book and Bishop is just sitting on the bench at the moment. Millar could make good use of a lot of the currently-inactive X-universe characters with a new X-Force team. One X-book with the "all-action all-the-time Bruckheimer movie" approach would be cool for further diversity; my objective was Millar presumably doing it on all three main books, which would have been Bendis-ian in it's level of "the same guy is writing all the books; too bad if you don't like him because there is no alternative."


he seems to just default to big events, cynical/post-modern cliche dialogue, and sketching in the characters to fit the postmod humor.

i have no idea how you managed to turn these things into criticisms.

I equally have no idea why you'd see those things as positives.

[Slung]

Oh, yeah. I'd throw in Bishop and Forge and Cable and make X-Force totally militaristic.

I have absolutely no interest in any of these characters - except maybe Forge. I certainly wouldn't read a book because Forge was in it though.

I always wondered who loved the whole big guns, military tough guy, few words lots of bullets, slash through canon-fodder comics and characters. And I have found my answer. I'm glad someone is into that sort of thing - it just isn't me. At all.

[dotdotdot]

I equally have no idea why you'd see those things as positives.

well there's nothing in any of them to imply a negative.

[brundlefly]

well there's nothing in any of them to imply a negative.

Cliche dialogue and changing the characters to fit the "humor" don't exactly sound positive....

[dotdotdot]

Cliche dialogue and changing the characters to fit the "humor" don't exactly sound positive....

care to post examples?

[Jake V]

Cliche dialogue and changing the characters to fit the "humor" don't exactly sound positive....

They do if you want lots and lots of people to buy a book, it seems.

[dotdotdot]

They do if you want lots and lots of people to buy a book, it seems.

post/av
....

[rwsmith]

I have absolutely no interest in any of these characters - except maybe Forge. I certainly wouldn't read a book because Forge was in it though.

I always wondered who loved the whole big guns, military tough guy, few words lots of bullets, slash through canon-fodder comics and characters. And I have found my answer. I'm glad someone is into that sort of thing - it just isn't me. At all.

Yeah, this book really wouldn't be geared towards you. It would be more geared towards the handful of fans who bought the Ultimates and Civil War. Sorry.

[brundlefly]

care to post examples?

Well, I didn't make the original post about them. That was btjs, maybe you should ask him to post examples. My point was that you replied to him endorsing cliche dialogue and mischaracterizations as positives story characteristics and stood firm on that even after I inquired about it. Care to elaborate on how those are supposedly postitives?

[Jake V]

Well, I didn't make the original post about them. That was btjs, maybe you should ask him to post examples. My point was that you replied to him endorsing cliche dialogue and mischaracterizations as positives story characteristics and stood firm on that even after I inquired about it. Care to elaborate on how those are supposedly postitives?

Worked out pretty well for Civil War and The Ultimates.

[rwsmith]

Bingo. And Millar's Spider-man, Wolverine and Ultimate Fantastic Four runs too.

[dotdotdot]

Well, I didn't make the original post about them. That was btjs, maybe you should ask him to post examples. My point was that you replied to him endorsing cliche dialogue and mischaracterizations as positives story characteristics and stood firm on that even after I inquired about it. Care to elaborate on how those are supposedly postitives?

well take out the word cliche and you really don't have a single criticism in what he said. big events? postmodern something-or-other? attaching humor where some boarder thinks it doesn't belong?

obviously i was asking btjs to post examples of the latter two.

[jarrod]

Ew, Civil War was naff. Loved Enemy of the State, UMX and Ultimates though.

[brundlefly]

well take out the word cliche and you really don't have a single criticism in what he said. big events? postmodern something-or-other? attaching humor where some boarder thinks it doesn't belong?

obviously i was asking btjs to post examples of the latter two.

Yeah, but you didn't clarify any of that "take out the word cliche" and whatnot defense. Instead, you just endorsed cliche dialogue and bad characterization with "and how are these criticisms?" as though you approved of both. Surely you can see how one would find that a fairly odd stance to take. But if your point is that you don't think Millar's dialogue is cliched or that his characterization is poor, that's different and it more or less answers my question.

[jester1436]

Oh, yeah. I'd throw in Bishop and Forge and Cable and make X-Force totally militaristic.

Maybe Rob Liefeld could do the art. I want massive man-breasts and massive pouches for mutants to store their ammo, stat! :p

[dotdotdot]

Yeah, but you didn't clarify any of that "take out the word cliche" and whatnot defense. Instead, you just endorsed cliche dialogue and bad characterization with "and how are these criticisms?" as though you approved of both. Surely you can see how one would find that a fairly odd stance to take. But if your point is that you don't think Millar's dialogue is cliched or that his characterization is poor, that's different and it more or less answers my question.

quiet. stop being such a stickler and address people's actual points, thanks. even if you have a response to this, just keep it to yourself. this is the most retarded of semantic arguments. let's say everything you said above is perfectly accurate so we can move on.

[Elias Bogan]

Millar is really good when he isn't tied to continuity on stuff like "Ultimate X-Men" and "The Ultimates". But when he has to write within the confines of contiuity and pre-established personalities and histories, he faults. That said, he is nowhere near as bad as Bendis(!) who cannot even keep a story straight from the first page of any given issue to the last. The characters totally change in personality, dialogue, powers, etc just to fit the story.

[rwsmith]

Maybe Rob Liefeld could do the art. I want massive man-breasts and massive pouches for mutants to store their ammo, stat! :p

You mock, but it would sell. Especially with Millar writing.

And I kind of like Liefield's art. So sue me. It's distinct and it's exciting. I don't give a damn if he can draw feet or not.

Never understood why it was the cool thing to do to hate on him anyway. His stuff is no less "realistic" than Joe Mad or Ed McGuinness.

[EnDwiGast]

You mock, but it would sell. Especially with Millar writing.

And I kind of like Liefield's art. So sue me. It's distinct and it's exciting. I don't give a damn if he can draw feet or not.

Never understood why it was the cool thing to do to hate on him anyway. His stuff is no less "realistic" than Joe Mad or Ed McGuinness.


Hate is a strong word. But maybe thats how others feel.

I think there may be a degree of resentment felt by anyone who waited, and waited for one of his projects to be completed.

[Dagger]

Maybe Rob Liefeld could do the art. I want massive man-breasts and massive pouches for mutants to store their ammo, stat! :p
LOL! Liefeld's man-breasts are in a class of their own! That's quality work, right there!

[jester1436]

LOL! Liefeld's man-breasts are in a class of their own! That's quality work, right there!

The art would speak for itself, without the need for a story.

Picture of Cable: "Do you like my heaving, hairy bosoms?"

Picture of Bishop: "My gun is waaaaaaaay bigger than Forge's gun"

Picture of Forge: "At least I have more pouches than you!"

Another picture of Cable: "Where are my feet?"

[xarathos]

Eh, Millar's alright. I don't think he's up to the challenge. Judging by his past work. Ultimate X-men/Wolverine/ Ultimates. He tends to skip a lot of material that makes the resolution all that important. He's also got the scheduling problems, too.

[Slung]

Yeah, this book really wouldn't be geared towards you. It would be more geared towards the handful of fans who bought the Ultimates and Civil War. Sorry.

I LOVE Ultimates and dug most of Civil War - but neither of those books featured a team composed solely of uber-fanboy-cool muscle-bound slash and trash characters. Those books also had something called "characterization" - which a book featuring a 90's Liefeld line-up most likely wouldn't have much need for.

[We R. Venom]

Millar is ok, I don't think he is good enough to take on all of the books. I'm sure his ideas are ok, but I really dont care, cuz X-men has Mike Carey who is well up to writing X-men. It would just be a hassle and i'm glad Millar is nto doing it.

[rwsmith]

I LOVE Ultimates and dug most of Civil War - but neither of those books featured a team composed solely of uber-fanboy-cool muscle-bound slash and trash characters. Those books also had something called "characterization" - which a book featuring a 90's Liefeld line-up most likely wouldn't have much need for.

Like I said, not geared towards your demographic. No big deal. With Millar writing and McNiven drawing, I have no doubt that a new X-Force book would have pleny of characterization as well as action and sell like hotcakes.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

Dodged a bullet there.
I could just imagine how much i would have disliked that revamp.

[EnDwiGast]

Earlier in this thread I'd asked why some fans were so hyped up about Carey.

I'd mentioned #201 as being my favorite issue of his run, but since then I've also read #202 and am really starting to see why people have been so high on him.

It helps that Cannonball and Iceman are front and center.

[Frank]

Bingo. And Millar's Spider-man, Wolverine and Ultimate Fantastic Four runs too.

He was too restrained on those in my opinion.

[Elias Bogan]

Earlier in this thread I'd asked why some fans were so hyped up about Carey.

I'd mentioned #201 as being my favorite issue of his run, but since then I've also read #202 and am really starting to see why people have been so high on him.

It helps that Cannonball and Iceman are front and center.

You've finally seen the light! No seriously, Carey's book is just so much fun to read and his passion for the characters and stories comes flying across from the interviews, etc. Moreover, it takes more than two minutes to read each issue and I don't want my money back when I'm done. So many books at Marvel these days are either A) sickeningly decompressed and/or B) leave the reader totally unsatisfied and wanting a refund.