Lot’s of buzz around the Mutant books today as Marvel drops several interesting things online and on social media to wet fan’s appetites for upcoming X-related titles with the full return of Charles Xavier in Astonishing X-men and the new upcoming Rogue and Gambit mini series from Pere Perez!
We start on January 3 which will see artist Pere Perez and writer Kelly Thompson bring us the next installment in the long time, on again off again, relationship between Rogue and Remy Lebeau and if the images posted today are anything to go on well it may be a bumpy ride as the two go out on undercover missions to find missing mutants together.
When Perez was asked about the preparation and research he did for the book he answered that Thompson’s script was full of detail and that the story would reference a lot of past 90’s material of both characters which he is familiar with having read it growing up.
According to the interview with Marvel, Perez says it will start with the two at the lowest point in their relationship and evolve from there. He says, and I quote from the interview:
”It has that kind of James Bond vibe to it, and I think the readers will have a good time trying to solve the mystery. It has a very calculated balance between action, suspense, romance, horror, and some humor. What else can you ask for?”
Exciting stuff for fans who have been waiting for the next chapter in these two mutants on again off again relationship.
Next is the return of Charles Xavier brought to you by writer Charles Soule. In January beginning with ASTONISHING X-MEN #7 with the “A man called X” arc, the X-men will see the return of Charles Xavier but maybe not as they expected. In another Marvel interview with Charles Soule when asked what Soule has enjoyed most about bringing Xavier back into the storyline Soule had this to say:
“I like the fact that he’s really very morally grey. He’s not Magneto, but he’s not as far from him as he’d like to think—and the stories we’ve seen with him really bear that out. Xavier is brilliant, incredibly gifted, and always 10 steps ahead. That’s the kind of character I love to write. Also, I just missed him in the stories. Professor X is cool.”
Issue #6 ends Act I of the series, “Life of X,” but then we move right into Act II: “A Man Called X,” which flips the story a bit and makes it about something new that will feel completely organic with what we’ve already seen. And then there’s Act III…which will be the culmination of the whole thing. It’s been a blast to construct a series like this, and I hope people enjoy seeing where it goes.
Soule confirmed artist Phil Noto for issue #7 and teased a special artist he’s been dying to work with for issue #10
These two events coupled with the release of X-men: Red, The New Mutants mini we reported on previously, all on the same horizon, as well as the imminent Phoenix Resurrection, We may see a major boost in sales for Marvel who are obviously looking to seriously capitalize on the popularity of the mutants who enjoy a very large fanbase.