https://aiptcomics.com/2024/03/04/x-...foxe-x-men-97/
Ah man, confirmation he's almost done with mutant work. Bummer!
AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Steve!
Steve Foxe: Thanks for having me, Chris! I feel like I’m the going-out-of-business sale right now. Fitting in as many X-Men Mondays as I can before my mutant runs wrap up!
AIPT: Fast-forward to the not-too-distant past. How did the opportunity to reteam with your X-Men ‘92: House of XCII collaborator Salva Espin on an X-Men ‘97 prequel mini-series come about? And how would young Steve feel knowing he gets to bridge the gap between the two X-Men animated series?
Steve: I had such a blast working with Salva on House of XCII, which was a love letter to the ’90s animated show, if technically in its own distinct universe. As I understand it, Beau DeMayo and the X-Men ’97 team got a chance to check out House of XCII and asked for Salva and I to team up again for this official prequel. Obviously, that’s a huge honor and was a no-brainer HECK YEAH when our editor, Jordan D. White, reached out.
AIPT: And what can you share about the actual story that unfolds throughout your four-issue series? Is it safe to assume we see the beginnings of Jean Grey’s pregnancy? Bishop’s return to the X-Men? Maybe even Storm getting a haircut? Any special cameos?
Steve: The goal of our story is to bridge the ending of the original show with where things kick off in X-Men ’97, which will include a couple of the specifics you asked about above! Without giving too much away, we’re going to show a bit of where the world at large currently stands on mutants, as well as shadowy forces who may want to change that perception. Key villains of the cartoon will have their backstories fleshed out here, important team relationships get put under the microscope, and some of the small changes between the original show and X-Men ’97 get a little more explanation in the pages of our story. Plus we got to introduce a few of my FAVORITE ‘90s villains to the world of X-Men ’97. As for cameos — anyone who’s read House of XCII knows I can’t resist, but we are a bit more focused on the main cast here. The nods are there if you keep your eyes peeled!
AIPT: What can you tease about Dead X-Men #3, on sale March 13, 2024?
Steve: You’ll see we have four talented artists credited on this issue, with Lynne Yoshii, David Baldeon, and Javier Pina joining Bernard Chang for a whirlwind tour of, you guessed it — other past lives of Moira MacTaggert. And one of those lives might just involve a shocking twist on the sort of X-Men teams we’ve seen before. We’re also building toward a — dare I say it — betrayal.
AIPT: Finally — one more chance to tease! What can you share about the recently announced X-Men: Blood Hunt – Psylocke (featuring Greycrow)?
Steve: I’m so excited Psylocke is public knowledge now! While I never feel entitled to anything, I admittedly would have been bummed if I didn’t get to do anything Blood Hunt-related, since I keep a foot firmly planted in the horror world.
And while the full story will have to wait for a future X-Men Monday, Kwannon was at the top of my list of X-characters I wanted to write but never had a chance to tackle. And I absolutely loved the relationship she formed with John Greycrow in Hellions, so the first question I asked when approached for this was if I could borrow the former Marauder, too. I’m reuniting here with Lynne Yoshii, who drew the Sunfire arc of X-Men Unlimited and part of Dead X-Men #3, [as mentioned above], so it’s a big thrill to get to work together on a complete print issue.
Oooh I'm excited that Lynne Yoshii is drawing Blood Hunt: Psylocke because I loved her work on the Sunfire/Redroot Saga.
This week's eXclusive preview images: