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undaunted in a way I truly admire. But, the fact is, I’m hip-deep in so much work (some projects not even announced yet, but will be soon) that I had to take a step back and re-prioritize. At least for a little while. It’s not like anyone is clamoring for the column’s return, but soon enough I’ll start missing my little, insignificant soapbox and I’ll jump back up on it armed with the latest ICBMs aimed at whatever targets strike my fancy (and there are so many…!). It’s the fucking Internet, Larry… who the hell really cares, anyway?! We’re just filling space… Yeah, well, sounds to me the word on the wire is that your opinions are sought after as much as your fiction. Tell us the behind-the-scenes think ing you've done for your work on the X-Men. As corporate-controlled icons, clearly you don't just sit down and start, "Wolverine pops his claws and neatly severs the top of the can of Keystone Light in his arthritic paw. Draining the can in one gulp, Logan proves he's the best there is at what he does." Sounds like you could be writing the motherfucker, Lar. Or did I send you my latest script? X-Men is Marvel’s most unstoppable brand. Dress it up any way you want… those goddamn mutants sell. Being that Marvel has decided to give me a huge degree of control over this very powerful brand, the troublemaker in me cannot stand idly by, simply turn in scripts and look the other way. Sometimes, pissing off the old diehards (and age is not a factor here) is just as valid a statement as delivering Eisner award-win ning material. I’m glad May is almost over, so the first rush of hype can die down and we can just start churning out Brand X month after month, breaking taboos left and right whenever we feel like it. Most of my partic ular thoughts toward writing the X-Men deal in aesthetic choices. Covers that reach out and grab you. Logos that don’t look twenty years old. New ways of delivering character information. Cutting back on the endless, tedious expository captions. To me, the soap opera is secondary to simply making the book feel differently than it has for the past thirty years. Polarizing opinion is one of the perks of this gig. Everyone seems to be watching and I’ve had a good laugh steering some of them down various blind alleys. Opinions may vary, but I’ve met too many readers in person who haven’t read an X-Men comic in years that picked up our first issue because of that damn liplock cover. And they liked what they read. They’ll be back for more. This shit is working. Sales are way up and they seem to be staying there. And, for chrissakes, we’re still just at the beginning of this ride. People expected us to blow our entire load in May… they have no idea what’s coming! So, for better or worse, I’ve saddled up to Brand X for the long haul…

How aware of you of your audience? Do you write to please yourself, or the readership? Or is there some middle ground?

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