Is your trust in the current X-Office/X-Slack/Writers Room waning?

[Uncanny X-Man]

I had a chance to chat with Hickman for a minute this weekend at Emerald City Comic Con (at the 3W/3M panel)and of course I asked him about the X-books. He unfortunately couldn’t say much but he did say (as he has previously) that Marvel has his notes and that they are planning on following them to their conclusion, they’re just taking a longer path to get there. Take it with a grain of salt obviously because I know he can’t say much about ongoing stories. I didn’t even bother to ask him about his upcoming story with Schiti.

The point of this is that it helped confirm my opinion on the direction of the Xbooks.

Thanks for sharing this! This is consistent with what Cebulski said at San Diego recently that the X-books are still on Hickman's path and are following the blueprint created with HOX/POX.

[Fokken]

I think the PoX/HoX followed by Dawn of X and so on has done a lot of good.

Yes, like every era, there are some (mini) series that failed us, like Fallen Angels before and X-Force at the moment. But it brought us lots of good, like Krakoa, Planet Arakko, the Arraki mutants are mostly awesome, and some great sites like Hellions, Immortal and Red X-Men.

The only disappointment for me is the lack of a Academy/ New X-Men series.

I like the current era.

I share this sentiment. Its easily my favorite era of X-Men.
I would also add that HoX PoX proves to be the standard by which many readers compare subsequent X-content being released.
This feels like an unfair comparison. The means by which HoxPox was released was unprecedented. There was a plague. The issues were weekly. They introduced new radical and polarizing concepts. They had a consistent and incredible art team. It was a lightning in a bottle scenario to invigorate readers -- ESPECIALLY coming off the Rosenberg run (no disrespect at all, he's a tremendous talent, but the events in those final issues wore on many)

Since that 12 issue event, we've enjoyed an assortment of titles with varied reception that have furthered the landscape and expanded this status quo and revitalized characters in fresh new ways.
Some titles were short lived (RIP my beloved X-Factor) while some continue to thrive (Lookin' at you Wolverine) and some got rebranded (Knights of X). Eventually the miracle of Arakko, the creation of SWORD, and the culminating Inferno stoked the flames for some whose embers grew dim, proposing more exciting political intrigue, cultural examination, and emotional weight.

Now we have Immortal, and RED and this bonkers AXE event. A new Brotherhood. Sinister's Moira farm. Otherworldly Sapphic Kissing. A "Golden" era for Trauma healing. All really exciting developments, that continue to jolt my interest.

I believe that maintaining a continuous uphill climb to achieve more FRESH & NEW is increasingly challenging, especially in our "instant gratification / ADHD / If this tik tok doesn't hook me in the first 14 seconds then I'm scrolling" existence. So when we find ourselves longing for that serotonin fix and craving that "Avengers Assemble" End Game theater experience emotional high that HoxPox gave us, it can be easy to feel the passion waning.

All of that said, I am in no way arguing that anyone's feelings one way or another about the current status of the X-line are right or wrong. We feel what we feel. I just wanted to share my thoughts and feelings in support of my own view. Thanks for providing the thread, CGAR. I hope any who are feeling discontent find their joy sooner than later.

[Glio]

No, since HoX comics are still much better than they were in the last decade or even longer.

[JB]

I had a chance to chat with Hickman for a minute this weekend at Emerald City Comic Con (at the 3W/3M panel)and of course I asked him about the X-books. He unfortunately couldn’t say much but he did say (as he has previously) that Marvel has his notes and that they are planning on following them to their conclusion, they’re just taking a longer path to get there. Take it with a grain of salt obviously because I know he can’t say much about ongoing stories. I didn’t even bother to ask him about his upcoming story with Schiti.

The point of this is that it helped confirm my opinion on the direction of the Xbooks.

Thank you for sharing his confirmation of this! And I get it, they want to see how long and far they can take the current setting before steering it towards the conclusion of his notes. Perhaps that's why some of us get that "holding pattern" feeling. But the plane is still very much in the air and the views are cozy.

For what it's worth, I just finished Judgment Day #3 and I really enjoyed it.

[Exodus]

I feel like stuck in a capitalist loop for all eternity. lol

I'm not as excited as I was when Hickman wrote the books but I enjoy some of them enough...not sure how long. I have to say that I'm getting frustrated mainly by the medium comicbook. Monthly books are so expensive and so short. Barely anything happens in 12 months of story telling. I want more pages and more plot driven storylines...

[Daedra]

Oh for sure. Not so much the writers but whoever is making the top decisions has been an absolute joke imo. To let other departments just come in and trounce on your stories and not care about the bottom line of your department or your overall writers and the experience they have having their stories chopped up and halted imo is borderline shameful.

I'm not really going to debate what i said. it's what i feel in my heart and my honest opinion.

I agree on all accounts, I have felt the same way for very long time now.

[brandnewfan]

Trust? I no longer have the ability to trust anyone to handle these characters.

Maybe if Hellion, Surge, Mercury, Rockslide, etc. showed up in any meaningful and lasting way I might be able to come around. But reading the adventures of Cyclops and Wolverine over and over and over and over and over again without any significant changes is boring.

HoX/PoX was always mediocre to me...and the books that came out of it didn't hold my interest. We're still in that phase, so I'm out.

[Triniking1234]

I honestly don't have the excitement I have when Hickman took over.

Ewing is killing it as usual. As a New Mutants fan, the direction the book has taken under Brisson and Ayala is making me lose faith. I dropped the Excalibur related books completely and haven't looked back. Wolverine, X-Force and X-Men have legit attempts at superhero'ing but the writing quality flounders.

[nx01a]

When Hickman left because the other writers (and higher ups, no doubt) didn't want to move on with his roadmap for the x-books at the pace he wanted, I was justifiably concerned.

Apart from X-Men, Red, and Immortal, I haven't really enjoyed my attempts to read any other current titles.The stories post-Inferno haven't been spectacular... and even Inferno wasn't spectacular apart from great art... Nothing to suggest Hickman leaving was a good creative move. Going from Hickman to a months-long Wolverine vanity project was the first sign of the questionable things to come. So yes, my trust in the writers room is waning.

[IN-a-Synch]

I’m a little dissatisfied with where XForce is going. It seems there is no mission or maybe no type of story going on. X-men I love the new lineup though. Immortal and Red I love the direction. New Mutants I’m not sure what the roster is. Wolverine is great. Legion X is a little weird but I’ll stay on board until once it goes elsewhere

[Krakoa]

Nah, it's increasing. It feels like there is largely more direction and movement in the stories since Hickman left. I think the lead books are doing quite well, though I feel less confident in the satellite books than I did during Dawn of X. Overall, it's not quite the excitement I had during Dawn, but we're definitely doing much better than we were during Reign.

[sunofdarkchild]

I have had event fatigue since Trial of Magneto, Onslaught, and Inferno were all going on at the same time. Now I'm starting to lose faith that the editors are doing their job in keeping the writers on the same page. Specifically there seems to be a disconnect between what Vita and what Duggan are trying to do with Magik. Vita has Magik wanting to double down on teaching the youth of Krakoa and to start teaching magic to mutants, while Duggan has her anting to kick ass and hang out in New York with the main X-Men team. It's possible they'll reveal how those seemingly different directions for the same character can coexist, but I don't have faith these 2 writers have coordinated their plans so that they mesh.

[lefthanded]

X-men, Red, and Immortal are doing the heavy lifting in terms of being great, others are interesting but inessential (New Mutants), with other series being pretty bad (X-Force, etc). But that has been the case for any comic franchise (Eg. One Batbook may be good, but others are bad).

It's pretty laughable that people have lost faith in the overall direction because 'everything aside from Ewing is bad'. People seem to forget that pre-Krakoa era, all the Xbooks were on the bad side for a long period of time.

I do have Event fatigue (which is probably more Marvel editorial), but in terms of the actual direction/writing of the X-Office, I am overall still content.

[useridgoeshere]

I have more trust in the current team than the recent pre-Hickman era.

Vita has Magik wanting to double down on teaching the youth of Krakoa and to start teaching magic to mutants, while Duggan has her anting to kick ass and hang out in New York with the main X-Men team.

I think Duggan will win out because Vita's plan would involve some kind of growth. Bendis had Magik training with Strange and absorbing Limbo, and Beast learning magic, but neither stuck. She's still just a teleporting blonde chick with a sword most of the time. If Vita has Mutants learning magic, it'll never be paid off.

[Krakoa]

I have had event fatigue since Trial of Magneto, Onslaught, and Inferno were all going on at the same time. Now I'm starting to lose faith that the editors are doing their job in keeping the writers on the same page. Specifically there seems to be a disconnect between what Vita and what Duggan are trying to do with Magik. Vita has Magik wanting to double down on teaching the youth of Krakoa and to start teaching magic to mutants, while Duggan has her anting to kick ass and hang out in New York with the main X-Men team. It's possible they'll reveal how those seemingly different directions for the same character can coexist, but I don't have faith these 2 writers have coordinated their plans so that they mesh.

Were any of those things even events? They were just standalone minis or one-shots.