Essential The Official Comic Book Discussion Thread [Support @Neuromancer’s book!]

[Mr. Negative]

The latest episode of the ComicsXF podcast Battle Of The Atom with Zachary Jenkins and Adam Reck, talking to comic book writer Leah Williams, whose Trial Of Magneto is published from Marvel Comics tomorrow, spinning out of the X-Factor series. And it makes for one hell of a listen. She talks candidly about the series and working for Marvel Comics, some things we knew, some we definitely did not.

Leah Williams tells us that X-Factor was canceled because Leah's pitch for the Magneto/Wanda story for X-Factor, now called Trial Of Magneto, became such a popular pitch at Marvel but they thought the reader numbers for X-Factor wasn't big enough for this story, so they wanted it as a separate comic. And canceled X-Factor #10 rather than seeing it run as originally planned, with the Trial beginning in X-Factor #15. Williams says she only learned about the cancellation of X-Factor when she was writing #9, so as she had to finish the series quickly, squeezing six issues worth of story into those last two issues, calling it "cramped and rushed".

Leah Williams On X-Factor #10 Being Cancelled, Then Rewritten
Regarding Trial Of Magneto causing the X-Factor cancellation, "I hope it's going to be worth it, it was explained to me as being the biggest thing I've participated in." The title wasn't Leah's idea, it was a marketing choice, "I don't have the hubris", and is intended to focus more on Scarlet Witch. Leah says she wants to rehabilitate Wanda's image with the rest of the mutants on Krakoa, and make reinterpret her powers as empowering others rather than being a chaotic variable. She says that her goal is not to write the next defining Magneto story but to write an "empathy engine", as a Wanda sympathiser, to authentically tell a story that's going to be about healing and catharsis.

She says with X-Factor #10, she realized how little control the writers have, she didn't know what the final result would be as there were several artists on the last issue and apparently several writers/editors making changes. Leah says that there were pages in the final issue she didn't know about, her dialogue was changed as well as the artwork she had originally seen, and she only found out about those changes when the issue was printed and released, some of which she was really unhappy with, and objected to, such as the shots of Prodigy's naked dead body which she didn't script. After public response, the artwork was changed for the download version. She says she also had to change her goodbye letter at the end of X-Factor #10 three times, because she was giving away too much of what the previous plans had been and Marvel didn't want to make the cancellation look like the last-minute decision it clearly was, and that this was planned all along.

Some of those lost plans include that Shatterstar was supposed to become the New Krakoan God of Battle by defeating the Morrigan, while Morrigan became a God of Rebirth and Healing – dialogue explaining that was removed from the final issue. Leah planned to add "gods" to the creation myths of Krakoan. Siryn's new power was gonna be that she could talk to the dead, which would have been huge for the investigations. Intriguingly, Jean Grey has been revealed able to do just that with Lorna in the X-Men title. Lorna was gonna do a one-woman prison breakout at some point. And Prodigy was going to pass the Californian bar exam.

And while there have clearly been unfortunate experiences on the book, Leah says that these are things that publishers and IP owners are totally allowed to do, but she found it a difficult experience and says that both she and series artist David Baldeon both cried when they found out of the cancellation. But she also noted that, on the X-books, she has never had this much attention on her work before. Which makes her decision to transition to writing for Substack, alongside many other comics creators, to be totally understandable. And the podcast, with so much more than the above, can be listened to right here.

TL;DR: She pitched the idea and they liked it so much, they not only cancelled X-Factor to make the story it's own thing, but they REWROTE her shyt WITHOUT HER KNOWING.

Makes you wonder why folks are leaving left and right, don't it.

 

[Mr. Negative]

Or at least that was the diplomatic explanation, for the press. Could just be polite damage control. Read another way: whatever he had in mind for the pivot, nobody was feeling it (or was told “no”) and so he said aight then I’m out.

But since Marvel still had the bag ready for him... to do “big events” with less chances of future derailment (think more Secret Wars, less entire X or Avengers line) he chose peace, even tho he only got 1/3rd out of the story he wanted to tell.

I can see that.

We been going on in this very thread about how this would possibly be Hickman's first time being able to tell his entire crackot web of a storyboard story at Marvel with minimal meddling, right. We all been tired of his stuff either being put on hold or flat out killed for some weaker story that had nothing to do with his work.

And he prolly feels the same way.

 

[Mr. Negative]

wait-

why don't they just ask Krakoa who killed Scarlet Witch?

 

[Jmare007]

TL;DR: She pitched the idea and they liked it so much, they not only cancelled X-Factor to make the story it's own thing, but they REWROTE her shyt WITHOUT HER KNOWING.

Makes you wonder why folks are leaving left and right, don't it.

What they did in issue 10 was fukked up. The rest is just smart business. Her book was mostly very meh and her ideas for the future of the series sound pretty wack. Trial of Magneto is gonna be a big deal and should be treated as such her biggest and best pitch will be featured and read on a level anything else she's done has never been.

 

[BXKingPin82]

Hellions




Why in the muthafukk would you put Wild Child on your squad?

 

[Mr. Negative]

GotG: It's over. They're fukked.

 

[AquaCityBoy]

Inferno seems like a jumping off point for these X-Books.

Gerry Duggan's run is ok so far as a fun, action-heavy book, and Pepe Larraz is doing some godly work on art, but I kinda... don't care about any of it? Hickman's run was (for better or worse) the connective tissue across all the X-Books, and now everything's starting to feel disjointed and scatterbrained since Hellfire Gala.

 

[Primetime]

I guess money talks, but I have a hard time picturing a dude like Hickman just playing ball over something he didn't agree with, being all política about it And staying with Marvel in a scenario were things with the X-line went in a direction he didn't like (to the point he left that office).

He's too big of a name at this point, and has the ability to make money elsewhere (that he didn't have after he left post Secret Wars). If he was pissed I'm pretty sure we would know and he would've taken someone else's money (or just suck Substack dry).

My bet is he's content with the people he left in charge. Plus he seems to like the fact he could be remenbered as the person who saved the X-Men and ushered a new Era that lasted many years, instead of the dude that told a big epic of 3 acts. Plus he could potentially comeback for a huge crossover event at some point.

Of course things could turn sideways quick. Editorial fukks Krakoa up in 2022 and his "next big Marvel thing" goes nowhere and he leaves agsin. But as of right now, I believe he's OK with how things turned out.

Duggan's Substack post about the while thing (not his trolling tweet about it) is kinda envigorating. I just hope it keeps selling well after the "relaunch" in Jsnuary so they don't scrap everything.

Even when Bendis was actively sabotaging him during Secret Wars, Hickman still took the high road and was polite in all the exit interviews about his run. He just seems like a pretty even-keel and politically savvy dude.

Moreso I think it’s not only money talking but also the opportunity to play with the most popular toy chest in town, even more. They made MCU movies off his “big event” work. So there’s a level of recognition and pride there...

... and I’m sure the bag is pretty bountiful as well. Hah

 

[Primetime]

I can see that.

We been going on in this very thread about how this would possibly be Hickman's first time being able to tell his entire crackot web of a storyboard story at Marvel with minimal meddling, right. We all been tired of his stuff either being put on hold or flat out killed for some weaker story that had nothing to do with his work.

And he prolly feels the same way.

At this point, you (Hickman) can either continue wasting your time with all this grandiose planning and storyboarding Raw and Smackdown just to have it go to shyt...

...or just embrace reality and be mr. big summer event guy working that Brock Lesnar part-time schedule

 

[Mr. Negative]

At this point, you (Hickman) can either continue wasting your time with all this grandiose planning and storyboarding Raw and Smackdown just to have it go to shyt...

...or just embrace reality and be mr. big summer event guy working that Brock Lesnar part-time schedule

i actually made a detailed post on here somewhere about how music, comics and WWE were following the same marketing blueprint.... and failing miserably

 

[Legal]

Even when Bendis was actively sabotaging him during Secret Wars, Hickman still took the high road and was polite in all the exit interviews about his run. He just seems like a pretty even-keel and politically savvy dude.

Moreso I think it’s not only money talking but also the opportunity to play with the most popular toy chest in town, even more. They made MCU movies off his “big event” work. So there’s a level of recognition and pride there...

... and I’m sure the bag is pretty bountiful as well. Hah

For all we know, Hickman might've looked at it objectively, and realized that in the long run, he provided more value to Marvel than Bendis, even if he left and came back, so there was no need to go scorched earth. Bendis was at the end of his run, and it was starting to get obvious that he needed to either get a change of scenery, or take some position that would get him away from having so much direct involvement with storylines.

But I agree, he seems like someone who can navigate through situations like this pretty well, and that's why I'm inclined to think that he's good with letting other people cook with the main books while he does whatever the big picture thing is, especially since Marvel is just going to tell people to shut the fukk up and change their plans to fit whatever event is going on anyway.

 

[Jello Biafra]

I didn't see one shot of Quicksilver in that entire trailer.

He's useless..thats how.

Spoiler: Trial of Magneto Spoilers

 

[Mortal1]

Kang 1 was super dope I love the direction it’s going in so far.

Sinister war 3 was really good hopefully Spencer ends his run strong with the Kindred stuff.

Way of X 5 was dope it was cool seeing Nightcrawler and Legion get the spotlight.

Spoiler

So how long do you think Onslaught will be hanging over Krakoa dude literally is in everybody's psyche.

Gamma Flight 3 was interesting Ewing has done great job establishing them in Immortal Hulk.

Spoiler

I wonder if Skar will join the team to help them beat Emil Blonsky.

 

[Jmare007]

Way of X was great again, I'm glad Spurrier is getting a "part II" book that's gotta be part of the January relaunch. "The Book of the Spark

Trial of Magneto was kind of all over the place. We get a Magneto we haven't seen in Krakoa at all and we just gotta assume he's like this because Wanda died. Not the best first impression but the mystery is big enough for me to keep giving it a shot.

 

[Neuromancer]

Nightwing is just Daredevil at this point the way Blockbuster controls Bludhaven