Interview with Matt Fraction the new co-writer on uncanny x-men
So how did this new arrangement come about? Were you and Ed Brubaker just not getting enough of each other on Iron Fist?
Fraction: Basically, Axel Alonso asked. He had the idea of me and Ed working together on Uncanny. I wanted to do it and I jumped at the chance. We've had such a good time on Iron Fist, and we've become quite close working together – good friends and everything. With Iron Fist it seemed like no one was paying attention to what we were doing, so we were able to just go crazy and have a good time. Uncanny, though, is such a high profile book, and trying to bring that same zaniness and mania to it is sort of exciting.
When Alonso asked did he explain what exactly about the series he was hoping to change and what you might bring to Uncanny as a writer?
Fraction: Nothing specifically, but he knew Ed and he he knew how the two of us worked together on Iron Fist. I think he was looking for that same sort of spirit and energy.
Do you happen to know what Brubaker's plans were for the future of the series before Alonso brought you on board? Would he have stayed on the book and kept telling his own stories?
Fraction: I think Ed would have left. I think part of this was that Marvel was worried Ed was going to go. They wanted to keep Ed on the book and keep him fired up creatively. Between doing a year of the Shi'ar storyline and then going into Messiah Complex, I think Ed was just tired. You'd have to ask Ed about this, but my suspicion was that they wanted to keep Ed on an X-Men book and get him recharged if at all possible.
When you two first sat down to plot out your storylines, were you working from material Brubaker might have used in the future or did you actually start from scratch?
Fraction: We kind of came up with everything together. This arrangement has been in the works for more than a year. It came up a year ago from last Christmas. At this point it's 14 or 15 months in the making. It's just been a very well-kept secret. When we started to talk I think they had just figured out the ending of Messiah Complex. We've sort of been discussing things for a long time, going over Divided We Stand, and setting up S.F.X., which is what we're calling our stand on the book together.
Does that mean you're pretty far ahead in writing your issues?
Fraction: Well, we're pretty far ahead in planning it. We're like the Cylons, and we have a master plan. We're diligently heading toward it.
Which specific issue are you coming on board with?
Fraction: Issue #500. After that I'm writing 501, 502, and 503 solo, and then Ed comes on for, I think, 504, 505, and 506. We've co-plotted everything together and then we're just handing off script-writing chores individually.
And that's how you're planning out the whole run, where you plot the stories together but script the issues individually?
Fraction: Yeah, yeah. We've sort of broken down the story as a team, but my issues are mine and Ed's issues are his.
What state are the X-Men in as Divided We Stand ends and S.F.X. Begins?
Fraction: They're destroyed. There ain't no more. They're not coming back. They've all, as a race, taken this big leap of faith against extinction. It's real. There are less than 200 mutants on the face of the Earth now. It's a bad time to be a mutant. Nobody cares. Nobody pays attention. If you're a mutant and you get hit by a bus walking across the street because you're not paying attention, the entire species is one step closer to being obliterated from the planet.
It's a profound place to be, you know? So everyone has taken this leap of faith, or is at least trying to convince themselves to take it. The end isn't near – the end is here.
Are there any specific characters you love as a fan and want to work with in your stories?
Fraction: There are actually a million specific characters I'd like to work with. One of the things I'm most excited about with the way we've designed S.F.X. is that we have a very large ensemble cast, but each arc will focus on a smaller group of characters. So it's not like we're locked to a specific team to where, no, Nightcrawler will never show up because we already have eight guys. Ed has people he wants to write and I have people I want to write, and there are, of course, some shared characters.
Uncanny is very much the showcase, flagship book of the X-Men universe. It's Grand Central. We've got lots of people moving in and out and each chapter will be focusing on different clusters of characters. And sometimes it'll just be single character standalone issues too. The idea is to have a big enough cast to where we can follow whomever we need to from moment to moment and have the support cast change as we go along.
The way the X-books have been set up lately is that each book follows a different subsection of the team and most of the characters don't cross over or inhabit multiple books. You're saying Uncanny is going to focus on the entire lineup of the X-Men?
Fraction: Right. I mean, your core group of guys will always be there – Cyclops, Emma, Wolverine, Beast, Nightcrawler, Colossus – but the tertiary characters will rotate in and out of the book. Pixie is going to be a big character. She's going to be our Kitty Pryde or Jubilee character for this story. She'll be popping up a lot. Karma makes an appearance in issue #501, but she's not going to necessarily be a regular team member. It's organically structured in the way that we can focus on the whole X-Men family, you know what I mean?
Sure.
Fraction: Something like X-Force has a very rigid membership and an important membership where each character plays a very specific part in the story. That's what X-Force is. With Uncanny it's much more about the X-Men as a whole.
Hopefully Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men will have wrapped up by the time Uncanny X-Men #500 arrives. Is there anything you're trying trying to take from his approach to the X-Men, either in terms of making Uncanny the flagship book or just in terms of plot elements?
Fraction: I hope we're just going to aspire to keep telling high quality stories like that. I know that Warren Ellis' Astonishing X-Men: Second Stage is tremendous. We've already got a really high bar to shoot for. Everybody wants Uncanny X-Men to be on top of the reading pile again. That's what we're trying to take from Joss' stories – that "gotta read it now" compulsion. Hopefully we'll be able to write those sort of high caliber, compulsive stories.
How would you describe your background with the X-Men? Are there any older storylines that you're drawing inspiration from as you write your issues?
Fraction: I think everybody remembers the era they read as being the best. Whenever you started reading the X-Men is the best time period to you. I'm a big fan of the Claremont/Romita, Jr. run. Anything could happen to the X-Men – this monster, dynamic sort of soap opera that could just obsess you. The dedication any X-Men fan feels to the characters is very profound, so we're taking inspiration from that. We're working towards the next level of innovation of those early Claremont years.
The other big announcement regarding Uncanny X-Men this week is that Terry and Rachel Dodson are coming on board as the regular series' artists. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Fraction: I'm beyond excited. I love Terry and Rachel both. They're one of my favorite teams in comics. They draw some of the best looking comics in the world, and they're a perfect fit for X-Men. I can't wait to write the ultimate Dodson comic book, both as the guy writing the comic and as a longtime fan. I can't wait to write the Terry Dodson comic I've always wanted to read.
So you're already trying to frame your scripts around the Dodsons' particular artistic strengths?
Fraction: Oh yeah. I always try to write specifically for whomever I'm working with. It's always a pleasure when you're a fan of who you're writing for, and I just adore their work. I definitely try to write to their strengths.
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