Jonathan Hickman's X-Men, His "Most Disappointing Creative Experience"

Jonathan Hickman says that his X-Men run was his "most disappointing creative experience" but also explains why.

Jonathan Hickman calls his X-Men run his "most disappointing creative experience" due to unfinished plans.
The Krakoan era was meant as just the first of three arcs, but he couldn't complete the full story he intended.
Hickman praises his collaborators and editors, stressing no bad blood despite the project's derailment.
He confirms new Marvel work but says he doesn't plan to return to X-Men or Avengers anytime soon.

love a wide-reaching Jonathan Hickman interview, because he just says stuff. Stuff that we suspected, stuff that we wondered about, stuff confirming stories that Bleeding Cool has only been able to report as rumours before. He recently talked to David Harper for the Off Panel podcast, to talk about his career and work and to spill some tea along the way. Including looking on his X-Men run that began with House Of X and Power Of X. And this little segment on the Krakoan age, intended to be the first arc of a three arc structure by Hickman, only for him to be moved on by Marvel Comics as the the other X-book creators chose to continue that original first arc for much longer. Hickman states;

"It is the most disappointing creative experience I've had because I didn't finish the story I set out to do, which is a cardinal sin and a total bummer… I've tried to reverse engineer how it could have worked. I don't think there's a version of it where it wasn't me not getting to finish it. So you know it's a lot of business stuff, Covid stuff, publishing schedule stuff … It was a perfect storm of really, really bummer things that just derailed the project, and so it's really, really difficult for me to talk about it or think about it in any kind of positive aspect. Because I would've crushed it.

"If you'd talked to anybody who was in the room for the initial full pitch… I told them what the three arcs were. I was very clear about what it was. Talk to people in the room, and they know what the whole thing was. It's a bummer, it's a real bummer, but win some, lose some, and you move on. I will say that I really love the people that I work with during a really, really difficult time. I thought I had some banger issues, some really great X-Men moments. I just hate that I didn't get to finish it."

But he is writing the new Imperial book for Marvel, also the name for a planned X-Men book with Sam Guthrie and Roberto DaCosta that never made it to print. Is this that? No, no, it's not.

"But I don't see myself doing any more stuff anytime soon. In the same way that I don't see myself doing any more Avengers stuff. I took a good run at it and said some things that I needed to say."

But it's also something he is not going to talk a lot about.
"The reason why I don't like talking about it is, people immediately think that I'm throwing shade or that I'm upset with editorial or that I'm upset with the company or that I'm upset with the other creators and all that kind of stuff. It's on me to tell the story that I'm supposed to tell and it just couldn't be helped. I don't have any negative feelings about any of the other stuff outside of me not not bringing it home. But it was complicated and convoluted and you know I don't think I'll ever talk about it because I think that's shitty. There was no way around it. Just a product of the time is what I would say."

I don’t give a fuck, this dudes writing is awful.

It is the most disappointing creative experience I've had because I didn't finish the story I set out to do

still waiting on black monday murders

He’s literally marvel’s Scott Snyder. Over hyped and for no reason. Just pure poop juice writing.

Now, neither one is anywhere near as bad as Bendis, king, Taylor, Russell, ect but they’re both awful in a separate way. They just ruin everything they touch.

And as for the rest of the X-Men office, past and present, he says;

"First of all everybody in that office worked very very hard. I don't want the reason… why I don't like talking about it is people immediately start to think that I'm throwing shade.Or that I'm upset with editorial. Or that I'm upset with the company. Or that I'm upset with the other creators and all that kind of stuff. It's on me to tell the story that I'm supposed to tell. That's me and the artists who are doing the book and it just couldn't be helped. I don't have any negative feelings about any of the other stuff outside of me not not bringing it home, but it was complicated and convoluted. I don't think I'll ever talk about it. I think that's shitty but you know I don't know a way around it. Just a product of the time is what I would say."

And as for former X-Men Group Editor Jordan White, now a Senior Editor on the Spider-Man titles;

"I loved working with Jordan just one of the nicest most collaborative people that I've worked with at Marvel I mean just a real joy and love him to pieces. I have been working with Will Moss. I've never worked with him before and I find him to be really good at his job. Yeah I can't think of editorial experiences that I've really had at Marvel. I haven't really had bad editorial experiences across the board."

The reason why I don't like talking about it is, people immediately think that I'm throwing shade or that I'm upset with editorial or that I'm upset with the company or that I'm upset with the other creators and all that kind of stuff

he did get outvoted but its cool he's taking the high road
hope we can see what he wanted to do a la gillen/immortal & this mini at image

I told them what the three arcs were. I was very clear about what it was. Talk to people in the room, and they know what the whole thing was. It's a bummer, it's a real bummer, but win some, lose some, and you move on.

So Marvel didn’t want Krakoa to backfire on the mutants?

X-Men is a different animal, it's not a property 1 writer can handle. It's a franchise that demands strong editorial presence. Too many characters, too vocal of a fanbase and the books are too important to the industry and need to be in the stores every week.
Letting a lead writer steer the franchise is always leads to disaster, Morrison, Whedon, Bendis, Aaron ect. The satellite X-Books always suffer.

maybe hiring an entire writing staff of women and xers whos only skill is dilating daily isnt the best way to run a comic book company.

Of all the ideas I'm mad they squashed, StormPanther is the most egregious. Editors are pussies.

for me it's the Children of the Vault, if only we had that civilization fight 1 to 1 instead of putting in a mini in the final year and calling it a day
fuckin hell
and the Phalanx shit too, fuck

StormPanther is cringe

The hell did he want to do with Krakoa? Were they not supposed to be a death cult filled with serial killers and mass murderers?

Bump.

The hell he want with any of his stories? Hickman never really finish anything, he only hints at something bigger and cosmic, feels like you are watching the first half of a Galactus porn

Yeah you are right I suspect he will drop USM soon and hand it to over to someone else to finish.

Letting a lead writer steer the franchise is always leads to disaster

Claremont

Morrison

Whedon

So…wildly successful and still selling twenty years after their initial publication?

say what you will but krakoa was the most interesting read in the last 15 years and x men hasnt recovered since

Liefeld tweeting a bunch about how this is actually bc he was going to be sued by some author who wrote a book with a character reliving their life plot similar to the Moria stuff is so funny.

this makes no sense unless you specifically pinpoint the other writers interfering with the plan which he cant do for business reasons.

why does marvel hate x-men so much?

WHAT???? PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE X-MEN COMICS NOW? ABORT! ABORT!

X-men are only interesting by having them become Inhumans

nigga read

I can go on twitter and see the mangled corpses of palestinean children that were blown up by israeli missiles. The X-Men's made up struggle can't compete with reality anymore. Yeah, those irl issues existed back during X-Men's peak in popularity. But they seemed so distant and now they feel closer than ever thanks to the internet.
If the X-Men don't change, the IP will become another relic of a more innocent era. Which would a shame because the mutant concept has a lot of room to move forward beyond the oppressed people allegory.

Some of the best satellite books ever existed alongside Morrison and Whedon. The satellite books were better than Bendis and Aaron

X Statix, Exiles, PAD's X Factor, Cable/Deadpool, X Men Legacy, Uncanny X Force, Academy X, Wells/DnA New Mutants, District X

When was that leaked?

the Inhumans were never this scifi

I can go on twitter and see the mangled corpses of palestinean children that were blown up by israeli missiles. The X-Men's made up struggle can't compete with reality anymore. Yeah, those irl issues existed back during X-Men's peak in popularity. But they seemed so distant and now they feel closer than ever thanks to the internet.

This is a retarded take. The Vietnam war was broadcast on the nightly news and 9/11 literally happened live on TV. We all watched thousands of people die on live TV. If internet culture has hurt the X-Men in any way it’s the opposite of what you said, people bitching about stupid shit like pronouns make others totally check out when anything tries to use social injustices as a plot point. In the early 90s at the X-Men’s peak popularity you had a counter-culture all about freaks and weirdos that the X-Men tapped into the pulse of perfectly. But now thirty years later people are sick to death of the freaks and weirdos on the internet bitching about not being taken seriously while sporting a face full of make up, a beard, and hot-pink hot pants. At the end of the day a lot of the X-Men shit hinges on what we’d call “woke” today that self-centered dopes on Twitter hijacked into bullying people to accept their bullshit with a “you’re either 100% with us or against us” mentality. We live in a society where someone like Trump is considered more of a counter-culture icon and the majority of music icons are considered boot-licking authoritarians. The X-Men, as they were at their peak, can’t survive in that environment

Your post is awful

In what way is he like Scott Snyder?

Krakoa-Wakanda

Imagine the orgies

Are you insane?

Good take, also lets not forget comics freely tackled issues like vietnam the modern writers are just pussies and dont understand nuance or heroism without deconstruction.