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Really hope this doesn’t come over as an insult. Because it’s meant to be a compliment. And I’m sure Pepe’s art helped. But reading Planet Sized, I was convinced it was Hickman writing and didn’t even look to the credits. And reading X-Men, I had to repeatedly remind myself it wasn’t. The last time I felt so tricked was reading a Leah Moore Tom Strong story and presumed it was her dad writing it, because it felt just like it, Basically I’m saying I have thoroughly enjoyed what was, and am thoroughly enjoying what is now, and confident of what is to come. Maybe I should have started with that…

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Thanks much, Rich - a high compliment. I loved his X-Men, and was privileged to find a corner of it to play without disturbing too much.

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Apr 24, 2022Liked by Gerry Duggan

Immortal X-Men #1 was, how shall I say it? DELICIOUS. I always think more comics should be about skulking and scheming, less Pro-Wrestling-With-Fancy-Lighting-Effects and more villains plotting and conniving.

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I’m gonna be straight up and honest and say that I am an X-Men head. I always give writers specifically new OK not new new but new blood a honest shot. Every time I read marauders I feel like I’m reading something in the vein of Chris Claremont. You clearly love kitty, you adore Storm end it feels as if you’re having a good time doing it, writing the book at me. With keyboard, I was a bit more confused because the writing was good but the art reminded me of the movie the other guys with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg where Ferrell is playing little river band and Wahlberg “I feel like I’m on my way to get my first training bra.” Honestly I really thought you were going to have one of the cuckoos leave with cable and she was going to end up the one who is the mother of his stepson Tyler because everything that you brought up remind me of the rules set by Doctor Who. Currently your excellent run has been amazing except that one issue with nightmare. It’s not that the issue sucked or anything like that it’s just there’s some things that I don’t understand and probably can use a bit more clarification. I currently run a X-Men channel called 1407 Greymalkin Lane and I wanted to know if it were possible to get you to come on my channel for my segment chopping it up? I’m going to the LA comic con this year and it would be awesome to pick your brain. Like how did you decide on your seven members for X-Men? (With the exception of Lorna of course) Are there any X-Men villains that you would like to bring in and what pitches have you thrown out there that got denied?

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While I’m enjoying all of these series so far with all of these deep cuts, I wonder why Excalibur never crossed ties with the agents of W.A.N.D. [from Thunderbolts Annual #1 (2014)] yet? Better question, will there be a soft reboot for some series to continue the issue numberings yet resolve missing plot lines (i.e. New Mutants, with the mysterious monster caretaker in issue #12) or a hard reboot to begin with a new #1 issue?

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This is a bait and switch. The energy the excitement and the anticipation was created by hox/pox. Readers were under the impression that we were going to get Hickman's story. And we aren't.

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Again, HoX/PoX was an incredible story. JH had an exit strat if he needed it, and as we do not discuss future story, we're in a place that I can no longer comment. If you're not enjoying the stories, simply put the comics down. That said, MANY people are enjoying the comics, so we're not slowing down.

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That's great. And how MANY people would still want to read Hickman's story? And how MANY people are reading the current X-Men comics because they thought they where going to be reading a Hickman story? I don't need to know what future stories are going to be. But I have the right to lament a story that I will no longer be seeing. If I bought a ticket to a Wes Anderson movie and 1/3 of the way through the movie I was told that the rest of the story and film would be done by Brett ratner I would have the right to be a little upset. People bought in because they thought that every book under the X-Men line was to serve Hickman's greater story. And now that that's not the case, it's not an issue of quality. It's an issue of thinking that we were getting one thing only to find out that that thing is no longer possible.

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When a creator chooses not to create something you wanted or expected, you take it out on who??

Somewhat more relevantly, Hickman as X-writer was pretty minor; head of X was the big thing and it’s unknown how far he’s stepping back exactly or how far advanced his input will go.

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its not an issue of creators not wanting to create. its an issue of commerce. we were sold one thing and we bought something else. none of this exsisits without hickman. you dont get a line wide relaunch on the back of any other creator with sales and fan fair. people signed up because of hickman. with the promise of hickman.they sold books because of hickman. whos intial ideas abouth where the line should be are so strong that they want to explore them indefinietly that they don't want to move foward with the hickman story. as a writer his x-men was always one of the top three books being produced in the line in terms of quaility (sword and hellions being the other two).

i was sold a truck, but i bought a car. i like a car. it does lots of things a truck does. but i wanted a truck. i was sold a truck. turns out it was a car.

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I'm not exactly sure that's the case. We can speculate obviously but it's not very clear from marvel going forward if any of Jonathan Hickman's ideas will be used. And don't mistake any of my comments as anything other than frustration about the situation and not the quality of the books being produced. I think planet size X-Men was a marvel no pun intended. But without Hickman directly influencing the line it feels like it's his ideas that other people are fleshing out and I just want his ideas. I'm more than happy to buy subsequent books knowing that they're helping to tell his grander story. But I don't think that's the case. And I'm afraid it hasn't been the case for some time. I've got to imagine that Jordan white knew that it's going to effect the sales in some way

by not addressing Hickman leaving the book sooner than anticipated.

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thank you. sincerly.

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Love that tweet, Gerry. Way to throw some tasty chum in that there water.

Sad to hear about Hickman, but also excited. You guys fucking rock.

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