I just wanted to give a quick overview of some of the lines we have and are looking to develop. To start I'm going with the most complete and rounded out line of books on the site: The X-Men. When we started out this line the one thing we really wanted to accomplish was to make sure that these books felt like they were all taking place in the same world. All too often most sites already have books in development when a new guy comes along with an X-Men idea and they're forced to work around what that other book is doing, and as well they should. But we had a unique opportunity here to look at a relatively blank slate for the entire line and all of the characters in it and the only rule that applied to these characters, and the line, was that their hard work had paid off and the tolerance of the world increased. What would these mutants do when the world around them no longer actively hates them? What threats would they face and how do they react to them when there's more to lose on the line now than there ever was before? Their general acceptance sits precariously on the edge of a cliff they worked hard on climbing; anything wrong that a mutant can be blamed for could threaten to push them back over that precipice.

The X-Men have finally broken the back of prophecy of doom after prophecy of doom and for the first time in a long, long time the future they’ve fought so hard for exists and is not just reachable, but inevitable. By doing this we changed what it is the X-Men are fighting for. No longer are they fighting against some dark future, but they're fighting to preserve a bright future. And that's the thing I never understood of the X-Men as a whole. How long can you fight a battle that you know you're going to lose before you just throw in the towel? Without that little bit of hope for a positive future where's the inspiration to fight?

What resulted was an attempt to give each book their own unique concept from each other. To see if each book could tell a complete story on their own that explored this new angle, but have it be only part of the greater story that when you take all the books together becomes apparent.

Each author, to start, was able to draft their characters. Many were already kind of reserved to certain books to help sell the concept and most ended up staying where they began. And in the case of JD's NEW X-MEN and Gavin's X.S.E. that came aboard after the fact there was already room available for these books and the characters that would fit best were already reserved on the side just waiting for them to come by and scoop them up. I think Tony got JD involved and Gavin saw the interest in creating an X.S.E. book and he jumped at the chance to help round out this world with us.

And with those two final pieces the X-Line was complete. So, now I present to you:


Scott Redmond
· This book was created to explore this new elevation in status in its fullest by tackling an angle so extreme and foreign to the X-Men, yet thrust upon them as media darlings, the next new hot thing to be exploited: celebrity. With the acceptance of mutants will come a popularity driven by their exotic nature and fascination with the variety of powers that comes with them. And let's face it Jean Grey, Bobby Drake, Jubilee, Firestar, Shadowcat, Longshot and Cyclops are all camera friendly, especially Jean Grey who's drop dead gorgeous and Bobby Drake who's Playgirl material and knows it. Who wouldn't take posters of these two, slap them up on their walls and let them become the fantasy of every girl and boy in a world where fantasy comes true?

This team was chosen specifically to be the face of this new mutant revolution. And Chicago seemed the best place for it and to be the home for the home office of X-Corps Int'l. It's the 3rd largest city in the country and relatively unexplored. This is where the X-Men would be allowed to grow in their status and how far they do grow depends upon them to live up to their new standard when the bar was raised by Captain America and the official endorsement of the Avengers. This team was designed to have fun with this new status and to publically drive the point home that mutants are good and not to be feared.



J.D. Mathis
· The schools have never been more successful. Registration is at the highest it's been since the inception of Xavier's Academy, which forced them to split the campuses between the Mansion and Snow Valley. This book has a simple premise and that's to explore the experiences of the new class of mutants at the school who could possibly become the next generation of X-Men. It exists in the backdrop of the Uncanny X-Men to help back up the stories being told there, yet give depth to the world UXM is creating in broader strokes. These kids are all old enough to remember the intolerance of the past, but how quickly will they forget it when they're partying and living easy lives with more years ahead of them than behind to experience the pay-off of the mutants that came before them?



Tony Thornley
· Uncanny X-Men is the more traditional of the books on this list. But what helps set them apart is the cast isn't conventional and not likely one you'd expect to oversee the welfare of the next generation of mutants. Cable, Cannonball, Chamber... one is a soldier who now has to lay down his gun, and two are former Generation X who now have to step up to the example set for them by their mentors that are now a part of the Astonishing X-Men. Storm is the headmaster of the school as Xavier is off overseeing the day to day operations of the newly formed X-Corps International.



Brent Lambert
· After the death of Magneto at the claws of Wolverine the leading cause of fear and hatred of mutants was eliminated. And with that the throne of Genosha, the homeland to mutants, was left open. Looking to erase the dark legacy of his father Pietro put himself in control of Genosha and prepared himself to create a new prosperous home for mutants free from the shadow of Magneto and one with the global community. X-Factor is a team created to protect not just the island nation, but her interests both domestic and foreign. When Pietro visits other countries they act as his Secret Service. When there's information needing to be secured in secrecy they act as his spies.

X-Factor is a book that was created to deal with the politics of this new status and to document the struggles of Genosha as they struggles to pick themselves up from the mud and prove that their homeland is a place of peace and acceptance to all kinds, not just mutants. And they have to do this under the scrutiny of nations that pray they fail and give them reason to invade the small nation and put an end to this foolish experiment. But which countries will rise up and stand with the fragile nation and their ill-tempered leader?



Brent Lambert
· With the creation of the shiny and bright Astonishing X-Men there had to be an opposite reaction and the result of that was X-Force. Taking this moment in time seriously Wolverine and Emma Frost went behind the back of Xavier to Alex Summers with the proposition of creating a secret black-ops force that would stop at no end to protect this new world they live in. X-Force's goal is to eliminate and eradicate by any means necessary the threats that arise that could destroy the dream before it's had a chance to mature. It's up to Alex Summers to take it upon himself the weight of having to abandon morality at the door in order to achieve his task before the evil that's lurking underground swells up and becomes dangerous enough to destabilize the peace.

It's not a pretty world X-Force lives in. They're forced to operate in shadow and secrecy, cut off from those that could offer them support and prevent them from sliding so far into the darkness that they're overwhelmed by it. And if the existence of this team should ever be revealed could it ruin the dream more than the threats it was created to destroy? Better yet, what would Xavier's reaction be and the consequences for everyone involved?



Gavin Devlin
· It was pointed out to me in a discussion with Derrick that if mutants really were serious about elevating their status and protecting their image then they would police their own and make sure that those mutants who would tear down this fragile wall of prosperity couldn't. And it really got us thinking, because there's a lot of truth in that. If you're going to hold yourselves up to a standard then you need to be sure others will do the same. That's where Bishop came in. In X-Men: Alpha Bishop witnessed the birth of every new X-Men group born and recognized exactly the role each of these teams would be taking...and realized that there was still a major hole left unfilled, that there was something none of these teams were going to do: enforce the law.

Bishop is first and foremost a police officer. His wisdom and insight into the mutant community is unparalleled...but even he knew that there's only one man who could lead this reincarnated organization called the X.S.E. -- Peter Wisdom. Changing the name of the X.S.E. to the X-Gene Security Enforcement Bishop and Wisdom have set out to tackle mutant crime. They exist to give the world at large the peace of mind that any mutant who pulls a crime will be held accountable by his peers. That the mutants are taking this new elevation in status serious and that they vow to not ruin it.


When it comes to team books we've got the X-Men covered, but there are still plenty of ways to get involved in the X-Men line and that's with solo books to explore the personal lives of many of the members of these various teams. We're always open to toss around ideas as the solo books, but a few to put out there for starters can be:


· One of the coolest things Dino's done for MA is concerning the direction for Sean Cassidy in our continuity. In AXM Banshee is helping the Chicago PD solve mutant related crimes. He's a detective and with the addition of XSE to the site Banshee is an official badge carrying member of the XSE with all of the authority it carries. He's a representative of the organization with the AXM in Chicago and there's potential for a lot of great story with Banshee solving mutant crimes. Almost like a mutant Colombo.



· This one is a simple premise: Bobby Drake, the Johnny Storm of the X-Men. With the growing mutant popularity and the media storm surrounding these people with fantastic powers if there's anybody out there that would embrace this it would be Iceman. And why shouldn't Bobby take a page from his friend Johnny Storm and embrace the fame that he's gained by being a part of the Astonishing X-Men? One potential angle that Dino and TC were going to explore in TC's original series was Bobby posing for Playgirl. Imagine the story to be had with the likely attention he'd gain by girls ready to throw their underwear at him and hang posters on their wall...and the backlash by those who detest it.



· And lastly for an idea to kick around for the premise of this series imagine this: Burn Notice. Bear with me on this one. Wolverine has easily a hundred years of experience behind him making him a near expert in things like counter intelligence, spying and information gathering, hunting, munitions, hand to hand combat, strategy, multiple languages like German and Russian...in short there's much more to this guy than slash, slash, and bub, bub. Maybe the overarching plot to this deals with him being 'burned' by some organization from his past that he barely remembers and he's forced to quit the UXM and clear his name. Along the way he uses his talents to help people with their problems. Maverick acting as his Sam Axe to dig for information and offer support. There's a lot of potential to tell a smart Wolverine story and it'd be great to see that potential realized.


As always, those aren't just what we're looking for or accepting, but they should help turn the gears in the mind.

Next: THE AVENGERS