Just how editorially-controlled are the X-Books?

[Kurt Busiek]

I wonder when Busiek wanted to write a x-men book? When Shooter or Harras was the editor?

I wanted to write X-MEN long before I broke in to comics. For a long time I'd have told you it was my dream book, but that had mostly changed by the time I broke in.

I never did talk to them about writing one of the main books, but I did have some talks about doing some kind of ongoing spinoff series -- one when Suzanne Gaffney was an assistant editor (so that was in the Harras era) and one when Joe Quesada was EIC, but neither of them went very far. I was offered mini-series a few times, but they were always projects where they needed someone to write a pre-set story, and I just don't find that sort of thing fun, so I didn't take them up on it.

[PsychoEFrost]

I wanted to write X-MEN long before I broke in to comics. For a long time I'd have told you it was my dream book, but that had mostly changed by the time I broke in.

I never did talk to them about writing one of the main books, but I did have some talks about doing some kind of ongoing spinoff series -- one when Suzanne Gaffney was an assistant editor (so that was in the Harras era) and one when Joe Quesada was EIC, but neither of them went very far. I was offered mini-series a few times, but they were always projects where they needed someone to write a pre-set story, and I just don't find that sort of thing fun, so I didn't take them up on it.

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions. We appreciate it.

[Kurt Busiek]

What I know that Harras seems to like to give opinions on stories, so this oculd be a reason why Busiek was intimidated.

I think "intimidated" is the wrong word. I was interested in writing about those characters and that world, but not if the editor was going to be so controlling that I didn't get to be the guy coming up with the stories. Back when Fabian Nicieza and Scott Lobdell were writing the books, a lot of choices were made as to what was going to happen by people other than them, sometimes necessitating that they rewrite a big story that was already two-thirds published and go off in a different direction, or have the characters act out-of-character in order to accommodate some new editorial decision.

That's not intimidating, it's annoying.

[PsychoEFrost]

I think "intimidated" is the wrong word. I was interested in writing about those characters and that world, but not if the editor was going to be so controlling that I didn't get to be the guy coming up with the stories. Back when Fabian Nicieza and Scott Lobdell were writing the books, a lot of choices were made as to what was going to happen by people other than them, sometimes necessitating that they recite a big story that was already two-thirds published and go off in a different direction, or have the characters act out-of-character in order to accommodate some new editorial decision.

That's not intimidating, it's annoying.

Was it more editorial wanting to tell their own stories, or editorial not liking the stories that you and other writers pitched? Or was it 50/50?

[Kurt Busiek]

I recall him saying on X-Plain the X-Men that he once pitched a book about what happened to the X-Men (the original 5 + Havok + Polaris) during the period when they were cancelled.

This is the premise that John Byrne finally sold with "X-Men: The Hidden Years," but it's an obvious enough premise that several people probably already suggested it.

Yeah, when I pitched it it was X-MEN: THE SECRET YEARS, I think. That was when Suzanne was in the office.

I wanted to do it, essentially, as a 64-issue (or thereabouts) mini-series, treating it as if each issue was one month further along in the Marvel publishing timeline, so #1 was basically April 1970, #2 was May 1970, and so on. And whenever you hit a point where the X-Men appeared in some other book (their appearances in Hulk, Captain America, Avengers and so on), it'd be treated as a crossover, and those issues would be reprinted as an X-MEN: THE SECRET YEARS SPECIAL, so you'd build up subplots leading to those events and then have the characters react to them when they were over. It'd have been an X-Men series as if there'd been an X-Men series that whole time, and the final issue would feed into GIANT-SIZE 1.

It'd still be fun to do, but I don't think Marvel would be interested in trying it again, after the way HIDDEN YEARS worked out.

[Kurt Busiek]

If only they had wanted a Beast and Wonder Man mini-series and let you come up with the story...

Heh. We did that, but Roger Stern got to write it.

[Kurt Busiek]

Was it more editorial wanting to tell their own stories, or editorial not liking the stories that you and other writers pitched? Or was it 50/50?

I never really pitched anything, aside from a couple of series concepts.

But I wasn't knocking on the door trying to write backups in annuals or anything -- though maybe I should have been. But from everything I heard from people working on the books, after Chris, they were very editorially-driven. The writers were getting a lot of editorial direction, and the editors would sometimes change their minds on things in midstream, so they were books that involved a lot of reworking and rewriting at the last minute, while you were (theoretically) trying to meet your deadlines on some other book.

They paid great royalties, though, so there were always writers who wanted in on them, even under those conditions.

I would just rather be the guy figuring out the series direction on what I write.

[Snoop Dogg]

Heh. We did that, but Roger Stern got to write it.

Oh! It does exist! Thanks for the heads up! I will now patiently wait for Marvel to rerelease it on digital platforms...

[Digifiend]

I guess I could've worded it better or added more. I was mainly talking about the editor control of the X-Books vs. everyone else in Marvel, as I remember creators such as Kurt Busiek saying that it's under a tight grip. He wanted to an X-Book, but never did, because he was intimidated by it.

Heh, I bet you didn't expect Busiek himself to show up when you mentioned him, eh?

I wonder when Busiek wanted to write a x-men book? When Shooter or Harras was the editor?

I think different editors have different approached for wider Marvel Universe.

For example on Hickman avengers run, he had two x-men characters on his roster.

Three, actually. Sunspot, Cannonball, and Wolverine. And Beast and Namor were appearing in New Avengers, the book about the Illuminati.

[spirit2011]

I think "intimidated" is the wrong word. I was interested in writing about those characters and that world, but not if the editor was going to be so controlling that I didn't get to be the guy coming up with the stories. Back when Fabian Nicieza and Scott Lobdell were writing the books, a lot of choices were made as to what was going to happen by people other than them, sometimes necessitating that they rewrite a big story that was already two-thirds published and go off in a different direction, or have the characters act out-of-character in order to accommodate some new editorial decision.

That's not intimidating, it's annoying.

Thanks for answering!!!

Heh, I bet you didn't expect Busiek himself to show up when you mentioned him, eh?

Three, actually. Sunspot, Cannonball, and Wolverine. And Beast and Namor were appearing in New Avengers, the book about the Illuminati.

Namor was only a x-men for a short period of time, his office I guess is with Brevoort

[Hybrid]

Heh, I bet you didn't expect Busiek himself to show up when you mentioned him, eh?

You got that right! That was a massive surprise.

[powerpax]

I had a feeling he might show up. Lord Busiek has been active online a long time. (Which reminds me, I need to get my Busiek Avengers hardcover out of storage)