Letters to Uncanny X-Men #1

about time that this was posted. This was probably the marvel2 title I was anticipating the most. the X-Men are my favorite comics (alot to do with personal reasons, much like yours) and having Brian, i know that they will be given proper treatment.

Just like your Spider-Man title, it's a big risk to start up where you did. I'm glad that it starts with the originals. I don't think there's enough stories with them out there and it's refreshing to see them as young and inexperienced as opposed to the battlefield veterans that are in 616. I'm interested if we will see any Ultimate elements incorporated.

Overall, I thought it was good. I don't think you nailed it like Amazing Spider-Man, but you do have a bigger cast to work with and that's very challenging. Scott's personality here differs alot from his early portrayal in the early X-Men comics, so I was kinda taken off guard with him being so confrontational, instead of the quiet loner. I also wished Jean's character was more fleshed out in this issue, but i gather that she'll have her chance to shine later on.

Warren, Bobby and Hank I thought were dead on. I LOLED at Hank's "Near Genius" line. It reminded me of Hank's initial portrayal in 616, when he was kinda arrogant.

The portrayal of the bad guys seems right. Magneto was awfully convincing. I would've liked to see that scene fleshed out more, since it kinda seemed rushed to me.

Overall, i think it was a good issue. Writing these characters isn't easy, since they are probably the most complex in comics. I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop. I'm sure the best is yest to come.

alex

sorry about the delay, Alex. A slight miss understanding got this up late.

Yep, it is a risk. Everything that I'm doing in this book is a risk. And let me tell ya, it's pretty darn nerve racking. I'm glad you like the first five getting their due. Even though others will be coming and going, the original's will be the focus. As the the Ultimates, I can't really say, since I've never read an Ultimate X-Men book. If there are things that are similar, it will be by conincidence only.


Sorry you didn't think it was as strong as Spidey's opening. You are right, though, a larger cast, and a much richer history, makes for a bit more cautious opening issue. Scott's personality was a personal choice. There is a bit of that brooder in him, but I also wanted to make sure he was a strong and powerful leader, as well. But like everyone in life, he will have his moments of doubt, but when it comes to Jean, he has no doubts... yet. And speaking of Jean. Yep, she will be fleshed out much, much more. You are right, though. It is much harder to flesh out everyone in one issue, unless I went the full 32 pages that I wanted to do. LOL!

Thanks for that. Especially with Hank. I'm not a very smart person, so writing his charactere seems exceptionally tough for me. I'm glad it came across well for you.

Magneto's appearance was brief, on purpose. The way I have these first three issue's mapped out, Erik will be getting a lot more exposure, next issue.

Thank you Alex (for every comment). I hope you hang in there with me on this one, cause my plan on this book is much like what I do over at DC2 with New Outsiders. Many little subplots that will brew and eventually come to the forefront.

Thank you for reading and for responding.

Good stuff here, Brian. I liked this, a solid first issue for the X-Men. I've always been a huge fan of the original members, and really prefer them to more modern incarnations. I liked the odd, in some cases slightly underwhelming, powers and the need to be a team to take on the majority of their threats. They were similar in the restart in the Seventies too, but these days I feel that's been lost to a very great deal. So I'm happy to see these guys get some more time in the sun.

I liked the interactions, and it was very interesting to see Scott come out more strongly. That's a nice bit of characterization, and I can't wait to see more. All the various members are drawn well, some to greater or lesser degrees, but that's the nature of large casts. I have some notion about that myself, I'm sure you know .

Can't wait to see the Brotherhood in action. Fantastic opening scene for Magneto, and ooo...Colossus on his team? Should be a humdinger of a showdown.

Keep it up, and I look forward to more.

Don

Hey there!

This is really good. I can't wait for more. I like that you used the original five X-Men. That was nice.

I can't wait to see what a certain mutant wants with ol' Chuck.

Reading this issue, it reminded me of an episode of South Park. The boys, attempting to reclaim Kyle's brother's citizenship, travel to Canada to speak with the new Prime Minister. From there, the plot became a spoof of "The Wizard of Oz", and when they met the Wicked Witch's counterpart, this was said about him:

Stan: Who's that?
Doctor: That's Scott! He's a dick!

That was the feeling I got from this book, because I hate Cyclops so damn much and in here, he's just like he is in the comics: an annoying tool with a rod up his ass.

I hate Jean Grey too, but just because she annoys me.

Enough of my complaining. This book was a great kickoff. Warren quickly jumps into the lead as my favorite character, with Hank as a close second and Bobby rounding out third. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood seems to have some of it's classic members. Here's hoping we see some of my favorites (Quicksilver, Mystique, the Juggernaut bitch, etc.)

Good show. Keep it up.

-UM

Like ALex I was most awaiting this title, because it is definitely my favorite Marvel Property.

I think you did a great job! Scott annoyed me, and he is one of my top X-Men faves, but I can't say its bad-- he's the uptight leader who's insecure on the inside (as far as Jean goes) and he has what's best in mind for his team. And the hardest thing for anybody to do is to play "leader" over people who are his own peers, so I feel for him when he's called Teacher's Pet... because he kinda has to do what he does to keep his word with the Prof.

Warren had character that I really enjoyed...normally I'm not into Warren because when he's written he's just a rich jerk with Wings... here he had his own inner conflicts and you did a great job making him conflict with Scott. In the blue corner you have rich kid who gets everything except for the most precious prize of them all, and o nthe otherside in the red corner you have normal kid with huge personality problem and disability (I.e. uncontrollable optic blast eyes) who not only has that precious prize but also leadership of the team.

Henry is great where he is and his character speaks for itself... Bobby and Jean seem to be the quietest of the bunch as far as sticking out, but they have time.

Again, agreeing with Alex, something about this made it feel not as strong as with Spidey, but for me I don't have a particular reason...but it also didn't feel bad either, so don't worry. I'm sure much awaits us so I am especially excited to see what happens next, especially seeing the Originals in action together...

A beautiful debut, and damn worth the wait!

I acknowledge everyone's criticisms of this piece of work Brian, but I wouldn't have trusted anyone else but you with writing this book. I mean, I was contemplating writing it, but it wouldn't have been anything like this piece.

Yes, not as clear and concise as your ASM premiere, though you've got a team book here, the openings are always a bit... Loose? I'm sure that you'll tighten everything up as the story progresses!

Hoo-Rah!

Thanks Don! The original 5 are in my top ten, and will be the core of the group, even if some other members tend to eventually show up.

I really could have done four pages of character pieces alone, on this first issue, but Charlie has this thing about the stories not being twenty nine pages long. I'm also glad you liked the slightly stronger Scott.

Glad you liked Maggie's first scene. The Brotherhood will be scene in all it's glory, next issue, and just wait til you see who Erik has gathered. ;D

I thank you very much for reading, and responding. It means a lot, Sir!

As I've stated, I love the original five. They were the core of the group, and as Don mentioned, it's sad that they are rarely looked on like that, anymore. Marvel2 is going to rectify that issue.

I thought that was pretty obvious: He wants to sell him a whole batch of Rogain. ;D

Thank you very much for reading and responding.

I love that episode of South Park! Of course there's very few South Park's that I haven't liked.

No love for Scott and Jean?? So the argument begins. It has always seemed to me that fan's either love these two or just don't. Personally, I'm a big Scean fan. I'm sorry that he came off as a jerk in this first issue. That really wasn't my plan, but I did want to make him a very strong character. I hope that if you keep coming back, I can change your mind on both of these characters.

Glad you liked the others! Warren, Scott, and Bobby are going to be the focus for the first arc, but everyone is going to get there due. As for the Brotherhood... the answer to your question will be revealed next issue. Of course, if there's anyone not in the Brotherhood, it doesn't mean that they aren't around.

Thank you! I hope you keep reading!

Everytime someone says that, I get a big knot in my stomach.

YOU GOT IT!!! That's damn near exactly what I was trying to get across with Scott. Personally, I didn't really want to even put in the Teacher's Pet, line, but from Warren's point of view, it makes sense.

Warren is very much loved by many of the staff in Marvel2, and that will become very apparent as our first year continues. Again, I love the thoughts that you have put out here about the two of them. I think you're right on the money.

Definately, Bobby and Jean will be stepping into the spot-lite, eventually. Everybody will get their turn, I promise.

I am sorry that this first issue didn't have the same kick as Spidey did, and I'll do my best to make every issue better than the last one. Perhaps I should title the second issue: "No More Mutants..." ;D

Thank you for reading and responding, Sir! It's always great to get your feedback.

Thank you, my friend. This is actually the first time that I started a team book from the ground up. I probably should have had David do a three or four issue stint, first. He's always set me up real nice. ;D

And I'm positive, Charlie, that had you written this book, it would have been awesome and mind blowing.

I think I read one or two issues of the X-Men in my whole life. I know them from the movies and the old cartoons. But I must say I liked it. The only think I didn't like too much was the code phrase... "Come to me, my X-Men!" That's soooooooooo cheesy. ;D

I liked all the characters, even Scott. It's great to see you working with such different characters. It's really great.

And Craigs cover is awesome, too.

I gave you 5 stars.

In Brian's defense I have to say that the line "To me, my X-Men" is as part of the X-Men mythos as Xavier's wheelchair or Toad's tongue... I give him Kudos for attaching an easter egg of a phrase into the book someway or another

Another hit, Brian. This seems to me to be a difficult title to take on, with the X-Men being such a popular concept, but you do a great job kicking things off. Everyone, I think, has his/her idea on how these characters should be presented, and that can be a fine tightrope to walk. Just give us YOUR versions, and I'm sure things will take care of themselves.

I must echo a few sentiments and say that I'm SO glad you chose to focus on the original five X-Men. I've got a soft spot for this team, and you put across the characterizations perfectly. With such a large team, you really only can focus on a few players at a time, and I'm sure everone will get his/her due. I am a fan of Cyclops, and I like how he is already asserting a take charge personality, with the team as well as with Warren concerning Jean. Everyone (in the book) loves Jean, so it would be easy to assume Scott would play the jealous, protective boyfriend. The Beast, Angel and Iceman are spot on.

Colossus as villain? Interesting idea, if that's actually where you're going with it. And I like Magneto as a slick persuader, other than the megamaniacal blowhard he was when he was first introduced in the 616. Much more creepy, and more formidable a threat when you consider how staggeringly powerful he is.

As an aside, will you be introducing more of the "Giant size" characters to perhaps be spun off in a different X-title? God knows how many of the damn things are in the 616, with X-Force, X-Factor, Young X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, X-Wives Club, X Marks the Spots, and so on.

As always, a pleasure reading your work, and I can't wait for next issue.

Thank you, and I'm very glad that you liked it. Also, thank you Masoud for the support of that infamous line. LOL! To be honest, though, I thought it was cheesy as well. Just as cheesy as "Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot." over in Spider-Man. But Crow is right, it is part of the mythos, and I just couldn't, not, put it in there.

I hope you come back and keep reading. I'll do my best to make you a fan of the world of mutants.

Thank you, Aaron. This is a rough book since The X-Men can be a very polarizing subject. You are correct, though, all I can do is write the version that I feel comfortable with, and hope that readers enjoy it.

You bet, everyone will get there time in the sun (one of them, without eating it. ). And I'm very pleased that the original five are as much other people's favorites as they are mine. I will say that in the first six months, there will be some changes in membership, but the original five will always be the core of this team.

I'm glad you like Scott, so far, but like real life, everyone has good and not so good qualities to them. But I wanted to make sure that it was understood that Scott is the team leader, and he takes that responsibility very seriously. And yes, everyone on the team does seem to have a special fondness for Jean, so you are right, Scott's a bit jealous, and probably a tad insecure as well.

Colossus' story, I hope, will be an interesting one as well, as well as the rest of the members of Marvel2's Brotherhood. As for Magneto, himself... his characterization is not all my doing. I want that to be known right from the start. I had an idea of what I wanted to do with him, and thanks to three people, I was able to adjust and solidify my plans. So Don, Kevin, and Sir Ian McKellen have had a hand in the building of that character.

No plans for another X title in the near future, but the X-Men roster will be growing. There's a lot of rooms in the mansion that need to be filled, you know.

And as always, it is a pleasure to receive your feedback. I hope you continue to enjoy this title. Thank you, my friend!

Well, I suppouse I'm a little late in reading it, but I do have some things to say,

Overall, excellent introductory issue. I think the opening scene however trampled over the rest of the issue by far, it captured Magneto perfectly! I would have liked to seen, as mentioned in previous posts, the Jean character fleshed out slightly further, and I am interested as to where this arc will go! I didn't think this was quite as strong as Spider-Man #1, but I feel that may be simply because I am in love with him, and have had a love/hate relationship with the X-Men . Anyways, cannot wait to read more!

4 Stars!

It was good. Not as good as your Spiderman, but good.

Loved the Magneto scene, unless that's the last time we see Peter's family alive. In which case I hated the Magento scene.
But like Erik's intro, always been one of my favorite Marvel Villains.

Banshee's scene was good too.

You did a great job with the characterizations of the x-men, and perticularly love your handle on Beast.

Then there's Scott and Jean.
I don't like Scott. I've never liked Scott, he's always come across as far to one dementional for me, and add in the fact there nearly EVERY SINGLE MAJOR X-RELATED STORYLINE has to feature the Summer's clan in some way, and well I really tend to tire of him.
That being said, you do get across his 'strict' personality, and in the end it's not that he's badly written, it's just that I don't like him.

And Jean. Jean, Jean, Jean, Jean. Everybody Love Jean. And it annoys the hell out of me. Nothing against Jean personally, but my god, just cause she was the only original female x-men doesn't mean the other five HAD to swoon over her. That being said it's still early in the game and there's no real evidence that Hank, Bobby, or even Charles has such feeling towards her.

Then we come to the fight scene near the end. I'll have to admit to it confusing me a bit. Blob walks up, and unless he really DOES say "Can you spare a LIFE," he doesn't really do anything I seem to see as threatening. Which makes it strange that Chuck's bodyguard, (Whom I appolozige for having NO idea who he is.) starts trying to open a can to 'whoop-ass' on him.

And yeah the "To ME my X-Men!" line was corny, but heck, it's classic cornyness. ;D

Overall a decent, if not great issue, but certainly more then good enough to get me to come back next month to see what happens.

James.

and I do appreciate that!

Glad you liked his introduction, even if it did seem to over shadow the rest of the issue for you.

Jean will definately be fleshed out more, as will Bobby and Hank. And I don't think you're the only one. I think any real fan of the X-Men franchise has a certain love/hate with them. I just hope as this book grows, you'll end up loving Marvel2's version, more than hating it.

Thanks for the feedback! It is greatly appreciated.

CURSE YOU SPIDEY!!! You loom over everything I do! ;D

I promise you, Peter's family is not dead.

glad you liked it. just don't forget about him...

That's very nice to hear, since of the five of them, Hank scares the bajeebees out of me.

But he's always liked you. Seriously, though, this helps prove my point that X-Men fans seem to be very passionate about who they enjoy and don't like. Personally, Scott and family has always been one of my favorite part of the mythos, at the same time, I could careless if Wolverine never shows up. (Which doesn't mean that Logan won't eventually appear, or that I won't do my best to make him interesting and fresh), it's just personal preference. Perhaps I can change your mind about Scott, as the story progresses.


Honest, just the other day he couldn't stop talking about how much he liked you! Thank you for the compliment, Sir.

There will always be a special bond between the boys and Jean, but I promise that all of them are not going to fall all over each other to impress her.

Excellent! You are RIGHT! Charlie's bodyguard did attack first! Without provication. Interesting, huh? You were not wrong about that at all. Good catch! (Oh, and the bodyguard was pretty much a red shirt, you shouldn't have recognized him)

Glad you liked it! ;D

Glad you'll be back. Some of the things that you have brought up will be answered... and others won't... yet! thank you very much for reading and responding.

Remember... Scott cares about you... ;D

hey brian, read the issue and thought it was a decent start. i liked the whole scott vs. warren angle. i thought that was pretty unique since it hadn't been done before. it really read like a first issue of a classic x-men story. i also like that you made up that 12 foot guy (at least i hope you did, if not i feel like a schmuck) and i hope there is more development of that character. plus...is there a possible addition of a Thunderbird that stays around for a while in the future?
-adumb messinger

Well, in the original, Warren did have a bit of a crush on Jean, but I've just taken it one step forward. The 12 foot guy is a made up character, but as I said before, he was pretty much a red shirt, so he really won't be around any longer.

As for Thunderbird... well, there is a huge cast of X-characters out there, and you never know who may show up, and when... or how.

Thanks for taking the time to read and give us your thoughts. It's much appreciated!

Finally getting around to commenting on this; firstly, I'm sorry that despite editing it, I didn't get to put it up due to other concerns; entirely my fault.

Secondly, despite editing it, I wanted to chip in with my two cents, because I LOVED this issue!

I'm someone who has always wanted to like the X-Men. What I mean by that is; I can get behind the mutants when it's a small, core group of well-known characters, but as soon as we're dealing with Warpath or Northstar or whatever, I'm out. I find the series becomes too cluttered and too confusing.

Which is why this was such a breath of fresh air for me as I went through it!

Brian is, as he has shown time and time again, an extraordinarily gifted writer, and that comes across throughout this issue as we see each character show their personality, while setting everything up for future issues. I enjoyed the training session with the Original Five- even though none of them are totally fleshed out here, we do see snippets, and that's enough.

I confess I have never been one of the "Cyclops is a dick!" people. See to my mind, Cyclops is cool. I know I seem to be one of the few people who thinks it, but to me, Wolverine was always the dick and I like Cyclops, even if he is a bit too stiff sometimes. And I thought you captured that really well; he's aggressive without making you want to hit him, and he's a great leader. The banter was particularly enjoyable, especially Beast's little "..NEAR genius?" line. The interaction with the X-Men themselves was great.

It was the first and last scene where I think you knocked it out of the park. I am a self professed Magneto fan, and he's one of my favourite characters in comicdom, and I loved the first scene. To begin the comic with a home burning to the ground and Magneto recruiting Colossus was a bold move, and it definitely worked. You manage to create intrigue, give us a glimpse into your take on Magneto and set up plot points all in a very short period of time, and I felt the dialogue here was pitch perfect. I think it was this scene which catapulted the issue from four stars to five in my book. And as for that ending, I mean c'mon- "To me, My X-Men?" You certainly have a knack for great finishing lines. Do I even need to start on how great that cover was- Marvel2's cover standard has been unbelievably good so far!

...So yes, I was the editor and therefore not an entirely neutral observer, but I had very strong feelings on this so I wanted to chip in!

No fault at all, my friend. I appreciate everything you did. The real world will always come knocking, and as dedicated as we all are, responsibilities outside of this wonderful hobby is still more important.

Thank you!

I think everyone has their favorite mutants and one's they don't like, and as someone famous once said, "You can't please everyone all the time." , but I do hope that the mutants that do show up will please most people. Still, the focus will remain pretty much on the original's (and maybe a few second generation)

Again, thank you. I'm not sure I'm extraordinarily gifted, but everything I've learned in the last few years, I've learned from everyone who's ever written here, on DC2 and DC3. Everyone has taught me something. Glad you liked the original five, and each will have a more developed character. I promise.

Another Scott fan! Sometimes I feel like there aren't many of us, left. I couldn't agree more with your thoughts on Scott. Also glad you liked Hank's line.

I'm pleased that so many enjoyed Magneto's first appearance. Occasionally I do write something that I end up liking, and I have to admit that I enjoyed writing that scene.

And I couldn't be happier that you did! Thank you!

And the cover was awesome!

One thing that I "Marvel" at is the quality of the writers that have come in and done a bang-up job in getting this thing going. Brian is one of my favourite writers, because it's easy to read and always seems to be a good tale.

***** is my rating, Brian. The cover was the main reason that I read the book.. the cover just is awesomeness that will draw a reader to this fine book.

Well done guys!!

Thank you so much! I think the cover was amazing as well. Or is that uncanny? I hope you come back and read some more. Also, check out some of our other titles. Great works by great writers!

Hopefully, John Proudstar will get better treatment here than he did in the comics.

Very clear character relationships early on, a very mysterious but visibly awesome plot on the horizon (I can just see it.... almost there....) and I like Cyclop's characterization. My favorite character has been well-respected, except that you played him as jealous like in the movies. I hated the movies' characterization of Scott. Please, please don't follow their footsteps.

Thanks Hope! Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope that this plot you are seeing may give you a twist or two. As for Scott, I wasn't impressed with his characterization in the movie either, at all, but I can't promise a little jealousy in the man, we are all human... mutant or not.