Ask Gail Stuff!

[Sisterhood Of Mutants]

Hi, Gail! Welcome!

You had me at Southern Gothic, tbh.

I love how you highlight overlooked characters and relationships in your books. New Orleans is Remy’s old haunt, and I’m sure his family (and enemies) may poke their heads in, but I’m hoping we also see some faces from Rogue’s equally colorful history. I loved her mothers getting a spotlight during Krakoa, and I enjoyed her old Brotherhood teammates, like Pyro and Fred Dukes, being given new leases on life. What was frustrating is that we never saw her interact with any of them.

Rogue and Destiny had maybe three books worth of interaction throughout the entirety of Krakoa, while Kurt (and good for him, but come on lol) got all the page time and development with their mothers. As of now, Rogue and Mystique still have not interacted a single time during Krakoa. The last time they spoke on panel was six years ago (in Kelly Thompson’s excellent Mr. and Mrs. X).

What I’m saying is: I fiercely miss the dynamics between those three, and would kill to hear your voices for Mystique/Destiny.

(Also wouldn’t say no to some kind of incredibly awkward brunch scene between Rogue and Gambit’s families.)

I think I’m probably most excited for your take on this team because of how you’ve written characters like Domino, Black Canary, and Huntress. Rogue and Gambit are at their best when their rough edges aren’t sanded off; they’re charming and mischievous, but still streetwise and tough, with the echoes of the hard backgrounds and manipulative families they’ve both come from. Rogue’s Oops Almost All Villains team from the Supernovas arc remains the most hilarious and on brand thing she’s done in ages.

On that note… it’d be cool to see her with another team like that at one point. Characters like her mothers, Lady Deathstrike, Frenzy, Spiral, Phantazia, Lady Mastermind…

Okay. I swear I started with the intent of asking actual questions, and instead just vomited out a rambling wishlist. Sorry.

Anyway! Can’t wait to see your versions of Rogue and Gambit.

[Nicoclaws]

Welcome Gail ! I admit I almost never read your writing but I'm excited to get into it.

It's not a question, as I guess any future storyline spoiler would be out of the table here, but I hope, with Rogue and Nightcrawler on the team and after X-men Blue, that we get some "Darkholme" family moments.
Also, Candra !

[ComixGail]

Since it's still super early and we don't know much yet, I guess I'd ask what inspired you to pick these characters and the setting of New Orleans? Was that a setting you wanted to do on its own, or did it spin out of having Gambit on the roster?

And since you said we could talk about characters we hope to see: like I said, it's super early and there are a bunch of titles we know nothing about. But if Archangel isn't being used anywhere, maybe possibly keep him in mind for future stories? My man wasn't used much during Krakoa. I'm very excited that he's going to be in the final Giant-Size issue, but I'd still love to see him used in the new era.

I love Warren, he's one of the OG characters and I always feel like he gets the short end of the stick. I can't say anything at this point, I'm sorry. But I absolutely hear what you're saying.

The starting point is well outside of New Orleans, but that's the closest city. It was important to the moment that the X-men retreated to someplace isolated, and that area is so full of lore and all the things that I also love about comics. I can't say more than that, I'm sorry! But Gambit absolutely is a big part of it.

[Johnrevenge]

Hi Gail, congrats for getting Uncanny and glad to see you excited for writing Rogue and Gambit relationship.

Will you write other existing characters like Academy X, New Mutants, etc?

And, is there any reason you decided to bring four new characters instead of using already existing ones? That is the only thing that killed part of my excitement for your book.

[ComixGail]

Hi Gail!
Thanks for starting this thread!
As a Gambit fan, I've had to suffer for the last 30+ years the rollercoaster of inconsistent writing done by people who often claim to like him only to write him as an idiot/creep/doormat. You yourself have snarked on him ("narc"? Come on.) yet claim to "love him." What are the things about him that you love?

Last question I can answer tonight, and I'm doing it a bit out of order.

I have for a long time had a running joke about Gambit and also Cyclops. Truth is, I love 'em, no one should read my twitter feed and think I'm serious. I also pick on my favorite PEOPLE in comics relentlessly, because it makes me laugh.

The truth is, Gambit is awesome. He leaves a trail of awesome wherever he goes. I don't punk characters. Even Deadpool, I wrote with a serious amount of tragedy and gravitas under the jokes.
But in particular, Gambit is so damn cool in UNCANNY he sort of steals a lot of scenes unexpectedly.

Watch and see, I hope you like!

[CamilleMoineau]

Last question I can answer tonight, and I'm doing it a bit out of order.

I have for a long time had a running joke about Gambit and also Cyclops. Truth is, I love 'em, no one should read my twitter feed and think I'm serious. I also pick on my favorite PEOPLE in comics relentlessly, because it makes me laugh.

The truth is, Gambit is awesome. He leaves a trail of awesome wherever he goes. I don't punk characters. Even Deadpool, I wrote with a serious amount of tragedy and gravitas under the jokes.
But in particular, Gambit is so damn cool in UNCANNY he sort of steals a lot of scenes unexpectedly.

Watch and see, I hope you like!

I don't have anything else to ask at this time but did want to say that this is such a relief to read! Thank you for setting me straight, and I can't wait to see how wrong I am to worry.

[Milici]

I love Warren, he's one of the OG characters and I always feel like he gets the short end of the stick. I can't say anything at this point, I'm sorry. But I absolutely hear what you're saying.

The starting point is well outside of New Orleans, but that's the closest city. It was important to the moment that the X-men retreated to someplace isolated, and that area is so full of lore and all the things that I also love about comics. I can't say more than that, I'm sorry! But Gambit absolutely is a big part of it.

Greetings Gail. I know that you love to use forgotten and underused C and D least characters and give them more depth. Any chance we see characters like the Academy kids or Skids and Rusty Collins being used. Or maybe even the return of fan favorites human allies like Candy Southern, Charlotte Jones or Stevie Hunter?

[Til]

I love Warren, he's one of the OG characters and I always feel like he gets the short end of the stick. I can't say anything at this point, I'm sorry. But I absolutely hear what you're saying.

The starting point is well outside of New Orleans, but that's the closest city. It was important to the moment that the X-men retreated to someplace isolated, and that area is so full of lore and all the things that I also love about comics. I can't say more than that, I'm sorry! But Gambit absolutely is a big part of it.

I appreciate the answers. I think it's really cool that you took the time to engage with us here. Thanks!

[IamGroot]

Hi Gail,

Cool to see you on here! I'm super happy that Marquez is on the book with you also! Did you have a hand in getting him on the book? or was he assigned by Tom?

Also, were there any fights (good-natured) over getting specific characters for each book? can you say if there was anyone you lost out to another writer? or won off another writer?

Cheers!

[Uncanny X-Man]

Hi Gail,

I'm incredibly excited to read your Uncanny when it hits and would also like to thank you for making yourself available for questions on here, it's very much appreciated!

I have tons of questions I'd like to ask but I'll limit myself to one for now: can we expect you to write any other X-books aside from Uncanny?

[Purplevit]

The truth is, Gambit is awesome. He leaves a trail of awesome wherever he goes. I don't punk characters. Even Deadpool, I wrote with a serious amount of tragedy and gravitas under the jokes.
But in particular, Gambit is so damn cool in UNCANNY he sort of steals a lot of scenes unexpectedly.

Watch and see, I hope you like!

Thank you for chatting with us! Your answer makes me happy

[davetvs]

Can you get Marvel to stop unnecessarily adding streaks of color to characters' hair? Biting and diluting Rogue's branding. Domino did not need a white streak in her hair and neither does Oya need whatever is going on with hers in the promo shot.

Could you also please shed some light on the decision to change Idie's codename from the Nigerian-culture specific Oya to the generic Temper? Thanks!

[danielsan52]

Can you get Marvel to stop unnecessarily adding streaks of color to characters' hair?

Speaking of hair, Northstar and Aurora lost their highly reflective shine. Maybe they stopped using Pantene lol

[Malachi]

Hey Gail.

Love these kind of opportunities to hear from creatives.

My first question concerns Rogue. This in many ways reads like a dream team for her. We have her husband, her stepbrother and we have Logan who is probably one of her closest friends. As someone who loves these interactions will there be family bonding with Kurt? Chances to see Logan’s softer sides with Rogue?

My second question concerns Jubilee in the same matter. She has Logan here and that is huge. Otherwise she is the young one, again. What will her role be and any interactions when writing her that excited you?

Also having David Marquez as the artist must be cheating. Like getting a 50 meter head start in a 100 meter race. Romy fans like me are still drooling over his art in the wedding issue for Rogue and Gambit.

Thanks again for doing this.

[Factor]

Gail, it’s really nice having you here. Thanks for opening this channel for us.
My questions:

1) Now that we know a bit more about each book’s premises, I’m a bit curious if each title will get its own separate mission statement? The 3 we know about seem a bit similar with themes of going back home and training new mutants.

2) Did you consider adding some existing younger characters instead of creating new ones? As a fan of many of the underused X-kids, I’m a bit anxious that even more new ones are being added when so many don’t get enough panel time.

3) What are your top 3 X-runs?