I'm sorry have you read any book Joss has wrote? He is the slowest comics writer this side of Kevin Smith. Marvel is making a huge mistake if they go with him. He's always months late.

Oh, and Marvel didn't cut his writing, the studio Marvel subbed out to did.

jack knight | December 29, 07:23 CET

Well, you can't rush genius.

MindPieces | December 29, 09:05 CET

i will orgasm if this is true.

narky | December 29, 10:56 CET

My first thought when I read that headline was "yeah, right", but they seem to be pretty sure. I think that's pretty good news. Joss has stated repeatedly he'd love to write some of the more iconic superheroes he loves as well as how much he loved Planetary that Cassady draws.

I think delays are indeed inevitable, especially if Firefly the Movie is going to take off, but maybe Joss knows that even IF that happens the whole process could be a long way off.

Interesting stuff, can't wait to see if it's true.

EdDantes | December 29, 11:00 CET

I hope it isn't. Joss has enough to deal with. Like Jack Knight, I realize that this means the Firefly thing might be put off for a while or any surprise, future projects.

He's too slow. He's a genius. Only slow.

On the other hand, it may be true. Normally they don't like us knowing everything before it's started so that it doesn't lesson the chances. I HOPE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, WHEDON.

Don't do it.

And finish Angel, first. I'm getting bored.

[ edited by Christopher on 2003-12-29 09:57 ]

Christopher | December 29, 11:56 CET

The rumor has actually been around a while among comic book fandom. I think it'd be great.

And to give credit where credit is due--Joss's earlier forays into the world of comics were so late because at that time that pesky Firefly thing was starting production and Joss had three TV shows to look after.

But it's been known that Grant Morisson is leaving New X-Men for months now, and supposedly Marvel has had the new writer lined up since two hours after he resigned, so if the rumor is true, Joss has probably built up a quite the head start.

Niels | December 29, 12:52 CET

Aye agreed on this rumour has been around for a while. Speaking to someone recently who is a pretty good comic book expert and he said as far as he knows the rumour is true.

Ironically Grant Morrison has written his first screenplay which has been compared to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Simon | December 29, 13:33 CET

If Joss is gonna write more comics, I'd rather see some more original works and if not that, then maybe some more Buffy-related titles (more Fray or Tales books would be nice...yep I know there's a Tales of the Vampires mini-series running right now). Otherwise, I hope he concentrates on TV and films. Y'know, a medium where I don't have to pay $20 to $30 over the course of three years just to get a full story from him.

Kris | December 29, 14:49 CET

Okay, what to say about this...?

1. I'm not really sure I care how "confirmed" this rumor is, I'll believe it when I see it. As stated above this rumor has been floating around for quite some time, so until I see an issue on the stands with Joss' name printed right on the cover I doubt I'll take this any more seriously than the usual fanboy wetdreams.

2. I'm not really sure I WANT Joss to write X-Men. Fray was horribly, horribly behind schedule, and while the final couple of issues were apparently due to the penciler Karl Moline being late with pages, the series started off slow because Joss can't focus on one thing at a time and needed to continuously tweak scripts even after the artists had begun working on the pages. Jack Knight is absolutely right to compare Joss with Kevin Smith... both are geniuses in their own rights, but both are mindnumbingly slow at actually delivering comics scripts.

3. Another "confirmed" rumor (this one I actually choose to believe because it's been very WIDELY confirmed in numerous sources) is that the X-Men's "daddy" Chris Claremont is once again taking over the title, along with godsend artist Alan Davis. Now I'm not clear on WHICH X-title they are getting, if it will be Uncanny X-Men or New X-Men, so this doesn't necessarily mean that the Joss stuff isn't true. Joss could get New and Claremont get Uncanny or vice versa... *shrug*

4. Who really cares anyways? The X-titles have been weak sauce for the past several years anyways. The only X-characters I even remotely care about these days are Nightcrawler and Chamber, and both of them (from what I understand) are hovering dangerously close to the edge of "who gives a damn anymore".

Haunt | December 29, 17:25 CET

I really tried to like Grant's take on the X-Men but it left me cold. I vastly prefer the Ultimate X-Men comic book. Very much a back to basics feel about it without a huge mind numbing backstory.

Simon | December 29, 17:41 CET

I have to put my two cents in here and say that even if Joss takes the helm of one of the X-books, I don't think that we'll see much from him in terms of those except maybe the kind of script that has been written by Judd Winick for Exiles since its beginning. All we may see is snappy banter.

Unfortunately, I think that the comic book is a different medium than the television show. Much like Haunt said earlier, there's the need to continuously tweak scripts, but moreover, I have the feeling that comic books don't make changes to character's...well...character. That is, characters die and are reborn, but at the same time, in the long run, they don't die, nor do they change. I think that any X-Men title written in the vein of Fray wouldn't be approved of by comic higher-ups, simply because Joss would want characters to change as the comics progressed, and aside from amassing a huge amount of continuity behind their characters, I don't feel that any character in the X-Men universe has really changed, or changed successfully.

mchan | December 29, 17:58 CET

My first thought as well was how slow Joss seemed to be in his earlier comic book writing. My second thought is whether he is going to be any good or not. Joss' resume is filled with great and, um, not-so-great results. Alien Resurrection is flat-out horrible, and Titan A.E. is on a similar level, although thankfully it didn't trash anything revered and recognizable.

I will likely buy an X-Men with his name on it, though. I can't collect them monthly because they are so expensive, but a Whedon-penned arc is enough of an event to drop some coin on.

brother_grady | December 29, 19:06 CET

{{{ 3. Another "confirmed" rumor (this one I actually choose to believe because it's been very WIDELY confirmed in numerous sources) is that the X-Men's "daddy" Chris Claremont is once again taking over the title, along with godsend artist Alan Davis. }}}

This has indeed been confirmed, but Claremont and Davis are taking over Uncanny, while Joss would be on New X-Men.

[ edited by Telltale on 2003-12-29 18:01 ]

Niels | December 29, 20:01 CET

God, I hope this isn't true. I've been X-Men free for almost 20 years (not counting the movies), and I don't want Joss putting that monkey on my back again.

bookrats | December 29, 20:40 CET

LOL, bookrats, you sound like I feel. All of the addict nomenclature rings true. I wish there was a way to keep up with my stories (now I'm using daytime soap nomenclature, aren't I cool) without spending a mint.

brother_grady | December 29, 23:32 CET

I'm with BookRats on this one. I quit collecting comics regularly around the middle 1980s. I don't want to return to that addiction. I don't want to know what's happened to my favorite characters. I heard Kitty Pryde got married and that alone makes me not wanna go back.

Back in '85 I was spending my parent's money. Today I'd be spending my own, and it's all going to bills. If Whedon started writing X-Men I'd have to start that addiction up again and I really just can't afford it. So he should stick to film and TV for the sake of all the fans who don't have such disposable income.

ZachsMind | December 29, 23:49 CET

Hm. Should Joss care about the fans' addiction, or continue to work for embarassingly large stacks of money. Tough decision.

In terms of him being a new parent, I think it'd work because this may be a thing he can do at home. Unless his son tears the crap out of everything.

But I still don't want Joss to do this. They've ruined comics and stories and Joss has enough to work on. If the day comes that someone is rewriting Buffy comics and Willow marries.. Xander, or something, I'll freak.

Christopher | December 30, 00:41 CET

You know what really sucks about comics? There basically is no recourse if you don't have the coin to pay for them at the price they are offered. And don't tell me about graphic novel compilations -- they cost too much, too. Think about it. With movies, and now TV shows, you have the possibility of watching them in syndication and renting/buying them on DVD used or new.

With books you can buy them used at the store or online or check them out at the library. But with comics, find me the library that carries them in any kind of real numbers or at least their graphic novels. Try finding them used online or otherwise for LESS than the cover price. Doing that is the exception rather than the rule.

We are so lucky to have the Whedonverse, sans comics, accessible to us.

brother_grady | December 30, 01:11 CET

Lot of negativity against comics here, which I really don't think they deserve. And god forbid we should have to pay for buying something. As if dvds are so cheap. ;-)


And Zachsmind, don't worry, Kitty Pryde certainly never got married. She's currently in college, and working in a bar, of all places.

Niels | December 30, 02:24 CET

Strange attitudes here. 'I used to love comics and collect them and now I hope they won't make me like them again'....ookay.

With Chris and Alan on Uncanny, and possibly Joss and Cassaday on New, I'm pretty excited. And Joss might be able to pull it off with only one show going on. Perhaps they did give him a headstart.

Never gave a rat's behind for any of the Ultimates. They are restarts to appeal to teenagers who don't know, care or want to do either about the old stories. That's fine, but I'm not a teenager and those old stories were fine to me. Don't need to see them retold. Especially since not a single character even resembles the characters I know and have followed for 25 years.

I remember Joss at the Comic Con last year. Joking about Ultimate Spiderman. "Yeah I think I'll do ULTIMATE-Ultimate Spiderman because you know, that book is 37 issues old already and today's youth can't identify." Got a big laugh.

I've been so-so on Grant's run. Some good stuff, some ridiculous stuff and some stuff that just left me cold. I'd be curious to see what Joss does with it. Say, has anyone ever seen that original X-Men script of his? Is it on the net somewhere?

EdDantes | December 30, 02:55 CET

Comic books right now are where amazing stories are being told. I read CLA$$WAR and Channel Zero today for the first time and was blown away by how writers are telling tales that would never be shown on TV.

Simon | December 30, 02:59 CET

One Word: Starman.

jack knight | December 30, 05:45 CET

I've adored Grant's run on New X-Men. It's not quite Invisibles-level genius, but it's pretty great. The start of the second "year" (Weapon XII, Fantomex, etc) is pretty blah and crippled by crap art since Quitely was too slow to get it done, but it's been lovely otherwise.

That said, much as I love Joss, I don't think he's right for the attitude New X-Men has developed. A great writer no doubt, but I don't think his style would work well in the environment and situations Morrison has created. Though there are a still a few issues to see how it all pays off, so perhaps Whedon'd be left with a little more leeway.

friarfunk | December 30, 12:10 CET

No negativity here against comics, I just know that I can't afford the addiction any more. I was an X-Men fan, the comic in focus here, and it and its characters basically split into about 6 books. Uncanny, Amazing, Ultimate, Classic, not to mention, X-Force, X-Factor, Wolverine. If you wanted to follow the characters you liked each month you had to buy at LEAST three, and sometimes more, at $2 - $3 a pop. That's a lot of coin.

Most of the addict comments are tongue-in-cheek, though. I read something this week that said comics engage both sides of the brain in a unique way because they require reading along with the artwork. I know that there is great work being done in comics, that's what makes it so hard to be missing them.

brother_grady | December 30, 17:47 CET

Just thought I'd throw in that I mentioned this to my boyfriend who used to read X-Men avidly, and his comment was something like 'Good, maybe he can save it' because he's felt the series has been utter crap lately. (There's always the exceptions... but overall.)

And I'd also like to point out that this month, Whedonesque has had the highest amount of comments ever. :)

Greyflowers | December 30, 19:10 CET

I'm negative towards today's comics but not for lack of artistic integrity. I find the economics atrocious. Twenty years ago they were reasonably priced. Today they're outrageous. I went to a comic book store about six months ago, for the first time in years specifically cuz I was looking for Buffy comic books. The show was over and I needed a fix. After looking over the prices though I was cured of a need to use comics to appease my addiction.

I mean sure okay fine people who make comics happen deserve to get paid, but I just don't make that kinda moolah, and I can't help but think that somehow the prices for comics past and present are being artificially inflated.

ZachsMind | December 30, 19:20 CET

I don't see how kids of now and tomorrow will have comics as a part of their lives. The prices are for adults, I would say. And in the logical entertainment/economics comparison to video games, they are much more of a liquid asset -- most used video game stores trade them 2 for 1.

I'm a grown man, and I'm looking forward to the time I can afford to buy the graphic novels I want.

brother_grady | December 30, 19:49 CET

Well I've been collecting comics for most of my life and I'm fast reaching the point where I will be giving up the monthly, serialized issue-to-issue method of buying and just get everything in collected trade or graphic novel format. For one thing they're easier to read, to display and to recommend/loan to others, and for another it's cheaper that way. And right now I've got an entire ROOM full of comic boxes and I'm looking forward to not having to reorganize those every three months with all the new issues I've bought.

Haunt | December 30, 20:51 CET

Yeah I've been a regular comic collector for 25 years (started young!) and it's costly. I've become very picky in what I buy recent years.

Funny thing is, when I was around 13 the average age of comic readers was 13. Now I'm 32 and guess what, the average age of comic readers is 31.....funny. Dying breed I guess.
Although I am happy that the trade paperback market has taken off, and bookstores carry loads of them. Maybe we will survive.

Oh and a funny thing, on a comic board, they say that it's now rumored that Joss will plot New X-Men and David Mamet will do the dialogue......I somehow doubt that one.

EdDantes | December 30, 21:34 CET

I just read that thread as well. Seems strange that a former New X-Men artist would be making it up about Mamet and Whedon.

Simon | December 30, 22:08 CET

If Whedon were allowed to plot a story without being derailed by others who thought they were improving his stuff, I'd be looking forward to this maybe. I'm still hoping that one day Joss'll be able to make a DVD commentary about Alien 4 so he can describe just where they screwed him over on that one. I'm certain if he was given script duties on X-Men 3, unhindered, he'd hit one out of the park. There's just too many cooks spoiling the broth. Even in the comic book field you got editors and publishers and all kinds of suits.

The glass is half empty.

ZachsMind | December 30, 23:00 CET

Yeah so often you hear how things got fragged up by studios/editors/suits....it's frustrating.

" I'm still hoping that one day Joss'll be able to make a DVD commentary about Alien 4 so he can describe just where they screwed him over on that one"

Hah! That's EXACTLY what I said when I heard about the big Alien DVD box set. I thought the movie was entertaining, if a bit flat. But as soon as I heard how much Joss loathed what they did I've been so curious as to what exactly he felt was done wrong (I know: "Everything!") And that a commentary from him should be really interesting.

But they're not going to put that on a DVD are they, hehe...

EdDantes | December 31, 02:16 CET