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.

the whole point of krakoa was hickman steering the ship as if he was editor; i've read in the past that his ultimate goal is to be an editor
i see krakoa & now ultimate as steps to acheiving that goal
but he was outvoted imo duggan (trash), taking steps back, shaped the new ultimate but only writing USM
with 3W3M he was quite involved with what the other writers were doing
and now imperial is the third? fourth? try at steering the ship as a writer

Most Disappointing Creative Experience

Funny, that's exactly what Hickman's father said about his son

I always got the impression he'd rather write a lore bible than a story.

everyone knows that it was leaked
Storm's kid with Black Panther was supposed to create Krakoa-Wakanda alliance and fight against Children of the Vault (act II), and later with Phalanx (act III)

I wonder how much Marvel is paying him these days to stick around. Around the time he left FF he said he was going full Kirkman and never going back to Marvel and was strictly creator-owned comics from then on. Those Image books sold pretty well too. Wonder what changed

That's my thought too. From huge, mainline, leading role, to unceremonious departure and the story *clearly* not going where he wanted, saying all that, and then swinging back around for Ultimate and now Imperial. Say what you will about his writing, but he does not seem to be a stupid or fickle man. I imagine they gave him more leeway and a probably surprising payday for comics, especially considering how unpopular a lot of their shit is these days.

I respect him taking the high road, but between reading between the lines and the "no, yeah, it's totally fucking fine" language here and some of the rather "pot-shotty" moments in USM, I imagine there's a little teeth to it. Maybe he'll speak on it in a few decades, took Claremont until like '08 to break down a lot of the shit he didn't like during his time.

yes we know, you post it everytime it's brought up
at least gillen is putting ink to page hickman is not

I think that, much like Claremont, a lot of the issues are going to boil down to him thinking he's in charge and capable of doing whatever he wants only to get upset when faced with the reality that they're not his characters and corporate/editorial won't always give him his way.

Those are lots of words for a guy that keep telling the same story over and over again.

I wonder if Hickman's any jealous of the guys that did Annihilation. There was an editor in charge, mind, but for the vast majority the writers were given almost complete reign because the entire rest of editorial was rushing Civil War out the door and cosmic was "whatever" in their eyes. That's gotta be his ideal scenario, an editor who steps out of his way and lets him carve out a niche. And hell, I think he's gotten the opportunity for the most part in Ultimate, which makes it an even odder choice that while he started off steering, he then handed the wheel to Camp for Ultimates and went off to write Spider-Man. A very important pillar, sure, but not the chief pillar. Even One Year In was Camp. Yeah, Krakoa sucked, but I don't get his hang-up at this point.

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.

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.