Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!
Last week, we got a head-start celebrating Wolverine’s 50th birthday. Here at X-Men Monday, we’re all about fairness, so it’s only right that we do the same for Howard the Duck… right? In honor of the infamous Marvel movie star‘s 50th year, the House of Ideas will release Howard the Duck #1 this Wednesday, featuring — you guessed it — Howard the Duck!
Oh, and the X-Men!
Better yet, the issue’s X-story is written by friend of X-Men Monday Jason Loo, who as you’ll learn, is busier than ever. How could we not take a break from the Fall of X to embrace the Fowl of X with Jason? Let’s get started!
Courtesy of Jason Loo and John Keigher Photography
AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Jason!
Jason Loo: Thanks for having me, Chris!
AIPT: Before we dig into Marvel’s new Howard the Duck comic, what’s your personal history with Howard?
Jason: I remember as a kid, seeing clips and stills of Howard the Duck the movie and being both amazed and weirded out to see a live-action cartoon duck, like, “Wow! Hollywood really did it! Looks kinda weird, though, but wow.” But my first comic experience with the Duck had to be his appearances in Generation X, riding along with Chamber and Skin. He added to the wackiness of the series and made it fun to read.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Nice! Steve Foxe and I recently talked about the Generation X issue that comes right after that one. Back to the present, how did the opportunity to contribute to Howard’s 50th-anniversary comic come about?
Jason: Editors Wil Moss and Michelle Marchese reached out to me and gave me a few different suggestions for Whaugh If ideas. It was around the time when news broke that Ms. Marvel was becoming an X-Man. So I thought, “Wouldn’t it be also neat to turn this other beloved Marvel character into an X-Man?”
AIPT: Truly, it’s a question X-Fans have been asking for 50 years: Whaugh if Howard the Duck joined the X-Men? What can they look forward to in you and artist Derek Charm’s story?
Jason: I wrote this as if I was trying out for Mad Magazine, hahaha. But imagine Howard the Duck discovering himself to be a mutant and joining the X-Men at the early height of their popularity and going through the seasons with them up to the ’90s. Derek perfectly captured the nostalgic vibes of the characters. I hope Marvel revisits Classic X-Men and gets Derek to retell the early Chris Claremont stories in his style. That’s something I want to see more of.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Ah, so Howard grows with the X-Men through the decades. That makes sense. I was going to say, based on preview art, It looks like Howard is joining the Chris Claremont/Paul Smith-era X-Men. I wasn’t sure if that era was chosen for any specific reasons. This story isn’t getting added to all future From the Ashes collections?
Jason: I wish, haha! That was the era I grew up with through the X-Men arcade and animated pilot. But also, it’s a nice throwback among other classic throwbacks. ’80s and ’90s X-fans will be in for a treat.
AIPT: The X-Men franchise is fascinating in that Wolverine and the gang are always protecting a world that fears and hates them, or on the verge of total extinction — but have also managed to have tons of fun along the way. In many cases, that fun comes from characters like Nightcrawler, Iceman, Multiple Man, Strong Guy, and Beast (though, not lately with Hank). In the spirit of what I assume is a fun X-Men-Howard the Duck team-up, what’s your favorite “fun” X-Men story?
Jason: That’s tough… the ones I can remember where the X-Men are having fun usually end abruptly with something bad. Skin and Synch building a treehouse for Artie and Leech is a nice wholesome moment, but very short. The New Mutants checking out their first Lila Cheney concert reads like a fun teen rom-com, so relatable to my teen years of being excited to check out shows at small, sweaty venues.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Yes, it’s X-Men Monday, but you’re here already and doing so much cool stuff beyond the X-universe I’d be a fool not to ask about The Sentry and Infinity Paws. Why should X-Fans check out these two (I’m going to assume) very different stories?
Jason: Because as an X-Men fan myself, I was able to throw in some references to the X-universe. In The Sentry, one of the Sentry-enhanced individuals is a mutant who is laying low from Orchis.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
And in Infinity Paws, you can expect appearances by three feline friends that belong to a certain prominent X-couple.
AIPT: Anytime X-Men Monday spotlights Rogue and Gambit, I get cat questions. So this news is purrfect (sorry). Now, speaking of Infinity Paws… favorite X-pet?
Jason: I’m going to be biased and give a shout-out to Ross and Rachel, the two mutant teapoles from my X-Friends adventures, haha. I hope they survived what’s been going on in Krakoa. Oh! I also forgot, Lockheed will be in Infinity Paws!
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Finally, folks who follow you on social media know that picking up classic Marvel trading card packs and opening them up for the internet to see has become your new obsession. No doubt, you’ve probably developed more than a few opinions about the various collections you’ve been revisiting. So, what would you want to see from a modern X-Men trading card set?
@jasonloomakescomics SAURON PRESENTS Jason Opening Another Pack of X-Men Trading Cards! Cards from Toronto Collective. #tradingcards #xmen #unboxing ♬ Dark, general style trap beat. Long Version(1451928) – Koko ni studio
Jason: Those retro trading card packs are like time capsules to me. There are quite a lot of cards from Marvel Masterpieces and Fleer Ultra X-Men that still hold up and would be amazing to see blown up onto a poster. As for a modern X-Men trading card set, I would love to see art from Joshua “Sway” Swaby, David Nakayama, Jamal Campbell, and Pepe Larraz just to name a few.
AIPT: Let’s do it, Marvel! But on that note, that’s all I have for you, Jason. Thanks, as always, for taking the time to stop by X-Men Monday!
Alright, X-Fans, get out a pen and paper…
Howard the Duck #1, featuring Jason’s X-Men story, is on sale this Wednesday, November 29. Here’s an eXclusive page, featuring Derek Charm’s artwork — and Proteus at a bar!
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
The Sentry #1 goes on sale December 6. Here’s an eXclusive page from the first issue featuring Luigi Zagaria artwork and new mutant Farhad.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
No eXclusive looks at Rogue and Gambit’s cats in Infinity Paws, unfortunately. But look for that event on Marvel Unlimited later in 2024.
Until next time, X-Fans, stay exceptional!
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