Well after a long wait here it is! The one you’ve been waiting for, our editors exclusive interview with Chris Claremont. We hope you enjoy, and we think you’ll find it was worth the wait. Please pardon the formating, we still have a few things we’re working on, and getting updated. Please enjoy and thanks for reading NecessaryCool.com! A few weeks ago when I was talking to Arune at Marvel about out next interview it was told to me Chris Claremont was available for an interview, and I jumped at the chance, actually I fell out off my chair, then after recovering I jumped. For me this was a dream come true, a chance to talk with one of my favorite authors. I grew up reading the now classic Uncanny X-Men books that were penned by the legendary Chris Claremont. They were always my favorite books, I remember reading them over and over till the binding wore out. I would go to the library and borrow the hardcovers every chance I could. I loved reading, and I read most everything I could get my hands on, but something about the way Chris told a story, he had this ability to bring the reader into the book, to captivate them and hold them from front page to back and leave us breathless wanting to know what happened next with every issue. To comic fans Chris is known for his 17 year run on Uncanny X-Men, the longest run of any writer on the title. He also wrote the classic story arcs Dark Phoenix Saga and my personal favorite to this day Days of Future Past. His work would in no small way shape the X-Men universe for years to come, and still is the basis for many tales to this day. But now, he’s on a new project, returning to the X-Men he left behind over 19 years ago. X-men Forever picks up right where he left off back in 1991 when he left the book to Jim Lee. Think of it as a alternate timeline, this is a look at what we may have had if Chris had stayed with X-Men all those years ago. For those of us who remember reading his work back then this is a dream come true, and for those who missed out, they get to see the way it used to be done by one of the industries most legendary writers. While there are a lot of unknowns about what Chris is going to do with X-Men Forever, one thing is for sure, he’s about to change everything. Jef Price Editor/Co-Founder NecessaryCool.com (NC) Chris thanks for taking the time to talk with us today. (CC) The pleasure is mine. (NC) Now your a legend for far more then just your work on X-Men, but I think it’s safe to say that your ground breaking run on Uncanny is one of the most influential in the industry. How do you handle being the guy who is responsible for shaping so much of the X-Men universe that many others have based their work upon? (CC) Well, purely in terms of professional mainstream comics, the general response is a variation on the classic theme: but what are you going to do for me (for us) next? In many ways, the paradox to having an established body of work is that many new editors find it something of a frustration. They’re dealing with what’s perceived as a totally known product — regardless of whether or not what’s “known” is accurate — and therefore lose the editorial cachet that comes from discovering and nurturing new talent. There can be something of a struggle between the editorial perception of how a title and characters should be structured, of the direction of the stories, and the writer’s vision, especially when you’re dealing with a writer who has an unique history (ie, longevity) with a particular series. Which makes finding a sympatico editor one of the keys to any writer’s success. In my case, as regards Mark Paniccia, karma has worked out brilliantly. Aside from his being ferociously overworked, which seems to be the case with all editors these days. Understanding of course that for the writer, “over-worked” usually means having the temerity to work with anyone else! Writers, you see, tend to want editors who’ll brilliantly leave them alone to do their work — except when we want them to pay attention to us, and us alone. With Mark, I have someone with strong views and opinions of his own about the overall direction of the concept, which makes him a terrific sounding board against which to pitch my own equally passionate vision. The end result, ideally, is to come up with something that for the readers will prove completely different, and unexpected, from what they’ve been expecting. Our goal with X-Men Forever from the start is to blaze new trails for the concept and the characters, to take the readers in directions they haven’t been before, and didn’t see coming. To me, there are plenty of other titles wherein to find the latest twists and turns of the existing tropes; this is our chance to present to the readers something altogether new: to fulfill what I had in mind back in the day when I first embarked on this story, before everything got sidetracked. Thus far, from overall reader response, we seem to be exciting quite a bit of enthusiastic response. The challenge will be to turn that enthusiasm into a lasting success. (NC) Now your doing something else ground breaking by returning to a story arc over a decade old in the new title X-Men Forever, how did this come about? Is this something that been in works, or was this something that just fell into place at the right time? (CC) At the risk of sounding flip, I’d have to say all of the above. In terms of the overall conceptual proposal, it’s something that’s always been on the “possibilities” list. Last year, all the pieces finally came together. (NC) So what kind of plans do you have for X-Men Forever? Is this a title that has a long run ahead of it, or is this something that stops when the story is told? (CC) My vision of “Forever” is that it’s ongoing. My ambition / determination is to establish a longer consecutive run here than I did the first time around on Uncanny, which means I’m look forward to having fun for another 20 years or so. (NC) Do you already have this story arc mapped out, or this based on ideas you had back then? What’s the story behind the story? (CC) The unique and exciting aspect of Forever is that, while we’re springing off of an established point in the X-Canon, after that all bets are off. Unlike any of the other extant X-titles, we don’t have to sustain characters for the sake of the overall company — hence, right off the bat, the very last character readers would expect anything like this to happen to, gets killed. Permanently. Creating an interesting structural dynamic, compared to the X-Men movies, wherein the core-character reality of the Forever series is the reverse of the films. In the first arc of issues, significant revelations are made regarding a half-dozen of the core characters, which will have lasting impacts on the lives and future of the team. We’ll be introducing a new, global threat, known as the “Consortium” in the first arc, and a Russian-based cabal of adversaries with the third arc — which will take the team over to that republic to reveal what’s up with Colossus. The overall intent here is to present a world wherein the reality for mutants is not at all what Magneto anticipated; it may actually be quite bleaker, in that far from being the inheritors of the world they may quite legitimately be classified as an endangered species on the brink of extinction. Think about this a minute — have you ever wondered why Xavier invariably recruited children to be his super-heroes? Remember, the original team of X-Men were all students in middle school, perhaps high school. Not much older than that. Yet right from the start, he put them in danger, sending them up against adversaries the like of Magneto. Why did he do that? Why always kids? And along those lines, why are there virtually no “mature” mutants, or old ones? The answers change everything for our heroes, and for their world. To me, that creates a whole vast arena to play on, for characters and stories. Hopefully, the readers will find it as enticing and as enjoyable. (NC) What’s it like going back to this place in X-Men history and taking it in a new direction? I would think this would be a incredibly demanding job. (CC) Surprisingly, no. It’s like pulling on a great old pair of jeans — and discovering to my delight that they not only fit as comfortably as they ever did but that — perhaps because of all the time that’s passed — the style is in vogue once more. The trick is to tell the stories as excitingly as possible, so the word will get out to readers that this is something worth trying. (NC) Is your approach to the X-Men of that era different now then it was then? (CC) In practical terms, absolutely. We were monthly back then, now we’re bi-weekly, which doubles the workload. By the same token, the structure of the plots is more stream-lined than I was wont to try back then, much more like a movie script than prose. Now I take that energy, and put it into my own prose work. I have a urban dark fantasy/noir detective novel, Wild Blood, that I’m looking to finish by the end of the summer. It also helps tremendously when you’re working with pencilers of the calibre of Tom Grummett and Paul Smith. (NC) Now how do you feel about the X-Men Forever book? Is this something you think will live up to the now legendary work you’ve done in the past? (CC) I think actually, it’ll rise far beyond what came before. Call it call those years of practice. (NC) Can you give us a glimpse at what you have in store for readers of Forever? (CC) Well — as I said before, the third arc will be focused on Colossus. The fourth will be focused on Rogue. The reason I’m not going any more into specifics is that I don’t want to spoil what’s coming t — although I wouldn’t be surprised to see the return of the all-new, all different Hellfire Club somewhere along the way. (NC) Now to get away from X-Men for a moment, if you had to say one book that was your favorite to work on, what would it be? (CC) I loved working with Salvador LaRocca on the Fantastic Four but that was long ago and far away. With me, in terms of Marvel work, my interest is mainly in artists, people I would like to work with. I’m working on an X project with the fabulous Italian artist, Milo Manara, that should be completed by the end of the year. I’m also working with the very dynamic French artist, Phil (Philippe) Briones, on Wanderers, an epic adventure with King Arthur and Vikings, dark magic and romance. It’s published by Soleil, in France. (NC) At what point did you just know that this is what you wanted to do with your life? (CC) When I looked around and realized I was getting many more writing gigs than acting gigs, and was having a lot of fun. (NC) Before we let you take off, we’ve got to ask the standard NC question: Gadgets, are you a friend or foe? (CC) At the risk of totally dating myself, re “Gadgets”, it would help to know the context, as in who / what are you talking about? Otherwise, for now, I’d have to consider myself watchful but neutral. (NC) Well thanks so much, for your time Chris, we look forward to what you have in store for us with X-Men Forever. (CC) As I look forward to hearing your response, either care of Marvel or directly to me (via AnswerGirl) at chrisclaremont.com. Have some great reading!