PETER MILLIGAN
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DF Interview: Peter Milligan delivers a reunion of the X-Statix – or not – with ‘The X-Cellent’ By Byron Brewer They were loved by their adoring fans. They were reviled by the harsh press. They lived, they loved, they fought and they died...a lot – all for the sake of fame. They were the X-Statix, a team of mutant celebrities fighting for a brighter world and an even brighter spotlight! But they're old news now, because there's a new mutant team that will live harder, love harder, fight harder and die a whole lot harder than those has-beens! Peter Milligan, Michael Allred and Laura Allred return to introduce the best new superhero team you didn't know you needed! Meet… The X-Cellent! And you can bet with that creative team reassembled that I would be among the first in the interview queue, and so I was. Old buddy Peter Milligan and I sat down and I quizzed the scribe on the return of the X-Statix… sorta. Byron Brewer: Peter, right out of the gate, as we say here in horse country (Kentucky), why is this comic called The X-Cellent and not The X-Statix? Along with anticipated Milligan manic puns, the real reason? Peter Milligan: Quite simply, this is a new comic, a new title. It features a new group of mutated maniacs who call themselves the X-Cellent. They exist in what we might call the X-Statix universe, that strange corner of the Marvel X-World. X-Statix appear in this book and indeed the leader of the X-Cellent is someone who anyone up on their X-Statix lore will recognize. Byron: How does it feel being re-teamed with your former X-Statix artist, Michael Allred? Peter Milligan: It’s been terrific. From the first pencils and inks from Mike, to the insanely lovely colors from Laura [Allred], it was obvious that not only the old magic but also the old desire and the enjoyment we had together on X-Statix was still there. Byron: For those who did not have the pleasure of reading the brilliantly creative comic of the 2000s, summarize, if you will, the meat of what X-Statix was please. Peter Milligan: Here’s a group of X-mutants whose powers, when compared with some of the other X-Men knocking around, were pretty paltry. But what they were really good at, what they were exceptionally good at, was being famous. They were in this sense the epitome of the modern celebrity, who is often good at nothing much other than being a celebrity. They live in LA. They have agents. And more than one has substance abuse problems. Byron: Can you X-plain (hee-hee) how X-Cellent spins off the old comic’s saga and what its logline is? Peter Milligan: The biggest connection is Zeitgeist. This dude was leader of X-Force, before X-Force changed its name in a re-branding strategy to X-Statix. It’d been presumed that Zeitgeist suffered a very messy death, along with many other X-Force members. Maybe one part of Zeitgeist DID die. Because the Zeitgeist that emerges as a key player in X-Cellent seems very different. He now leads a group called the X-Cellent. And he wants to be much more than a simple X-Statix-style celebrity. Logline? Using all the underhanded means of the modern cyber world, a team of offbeat X-mutants tries to take control of the future. Byron: Introduce us please to the core cast of superheroes who make up this team. (I am assuming they are all mutants, thus the X?) Peter Milligan: There’s a high death count in this book, so it changes, but here are a few of them: Zeitgeist: I’ve already spoken about him. After raiding a certain magus’ Sanctum Sanctorum, he gets ideas that are way above his station. Uno: It would almost be possible to feel sorry for this grotesque orb, this thing – if he weren’t just so horrible and horribly loyal to Zeitgeist. Pood: Zeitgeist’s mysterious and creepy sidekick and adviser. A kind of dark, anti-Doop. Jenny Spiegel AKA Mirror Girl: Look into her mirror… and you’ll see your real self. Problem is, when Jenny looks into her own mirror she really doesn’t like what she sees. There are others: The charmingly attractive but dangerous Toodle Pip. The hairy-chested unreconstructed sexist known as Fluff. These and others are all, in their own way, X-Cellent. Byron: Not to complicate anything, but if these ARE mutant heroes, what is their present connection to/relationship with Krakoa? Peter Milligan: Everything and nothing. Especially nothing. Byron: Peter, what other projects in which you are involved, inside or outside comics, can you tell readers about? Peter Milligan: You never know quite what you should or shouldn’t talk about, but Pyrate Queen is coming out from Bad Idea. We’ve also got Out of Body over at AfterShock. I have something else I’m working on with the good AfterShock people too. Human Remains is happening at Vault. I also have some very exciting new projects with AWA in the pipeline being worked on right now, one of these being another collaboration with Mike Allred. Which brings us rather neatly to an end. Dynamic Forces would like to thank Peter Milligan for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. The X-Cellent #1 from Marvel Comics is slated to be on sale February 2nd! For more news and up-to-date announcements, join us here at Dynamic Forces, www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/, “LIKE” us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dynamicforcesinc, and follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/dynamicforces. X-CELLENT #1 SIGNED BY MICHAEL & LAURA ALLRED ALL NEW MIRACLEMAN ANNUAL #1 JEFF SMITH VARIANT CGC GRADED! ALL NEW MIRACLEMAN ANNUAL #1 JOE QUESADA VARIANT CGC GRADED! ALL NEW MIRACLEMAN ANNUAL #1 SIGNED BY MIKE ALLRED! TERMINAL HERO: THE DEATH AND LIFE OF RORY FLETCHER TRADE PAPERBACK
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