It’s been implied for a few weeks since Matt Fraction’s involvement with Fear Itself was announced, but today Marvel’s “still shiny” Senior Editor Nick Lowe has confirmed that Multiversity demigod Kieron Gillen will be the sole writer of Uncanny X-Men beginning with April’s #534.1 & #535. Obviously this development makes perfect sense and I believe I can speak for my fellow Multiversity staff members when I say we’re “stoked magoked” for this one.
The transfer of power is similar to when Brubaker handed the title off to Fraction, and with Gillen taking over this gives him two X-Books to juggle and connect (with Generation Hope, starring the Five Lights that appeared after Second Coming, being the second). Gillen notes that this will be similar to when Claremont wrote both Uncanny and New Mutants, and there will be a similar cohesive vibe between the titles (and it’s interesting to note that, with yesterday’s Thor announcement, that it seems Marvel really wants to pair up some of their larger characters into two titles). Gillen begins his solo run in #534.1, a jumping on point for new readers that features Carlos Pacheco on art. The issue will be about Magneto’s presence among the mutants being revealed (post-X-Men Legacy’s arc) to the world and the ensuing PR spin being done to keep up the mutants’ current “popularity” post-Second Coming/Cyclops getting a medal of honor from the President. Considering what Morrison did with Magneto (and what Marvel did afterwards so they could still use Magneto as a character), Gillen is going to try and make an easier segue between the two events that still implicates Magneto for “his” actions despite the involvement of the Xorns (considering that the public doesn’t know about the Xorn imposter).
Beyond that, Gillen will be handling the stories in an arc-based flow, saying that you should imagine the X-Men book as “two movies a year.” The first story will be called “Breaking Point” featuring Terry Dodson on art (with appearances by Greg Land), and it will focus on Kitty and Colossus now that she’s returned, with other characters like Emma, Scott and Logan appearing as well. The first arc will also feature the Bullet, Breakworld, and Gillen’s past group of characters – SWORD (from his five-issue cancelled ongoing, which he also reportedly feels a little embarassed about bringing back, saying “…I need S.W.O.R.D. If I need S.W.O.R.D. It looks like I’m writing them into my first arc. It’s like, ‘Writer brings back canceled book!’ It’s necessary, though.”). His hope is to focus on character development rather than story development, with each arc being centralized to specific people. This will all come to a head eventually in a greater arc that Gillen is spinning for the mutants
Note: Despite him launching a solo career, there are no signs of any acoustic guitar wankery in the near future.
(source)
