X-Men Monday #301 – Jeph Loeb Talks ‘X-Men of Apocalypse’

Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!

And will you look at that — No. 301. I guess we’re officially on the road to 400! Seriously, though, thank you to everybody who read, shared, and engaged with X-Men Monday #300!

After a short, post-milestone break, we’re back and looking ahead to September with comics superstar Jeph Loeb. If you consider yourself a comic book fan, you’ve likely read something Jeph has written, from Batman: The Long Halloween to Spider-Man: Blue (both incredibly illustrated by the late Tim Sale). But for us X-Fans, it’s hard to hear “Jeph Loeb” and not think of his work on series like Cable, X-Force, and Wolverine. In fact, as I started reading X-Men comics religiously a few issues before the “Age of Apocalypse” (AOA) mutated the X-line, Jeph’s stories were quite foundational for me.

That’s why it’s eXtra special that Jeph agreed to stop by X-Men Monday to discuss X-Men of Apocalypse, his and artist Simone Di Meo’s upcoming event series, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the AOA. Read on as Jeph breaks down his return to Marvel and the AOA, teases potentially revisiting one of his ’90s co-creations, and more.

 

AIPT: Welcome to X-Men Monday, Jeph! And welcome back to Marvel’s X-Men universe! How did the opportunity to revisit the “Age of Apocalypse” for the fan-favorite event’s 30th anniversary come about?

Jeph Loeb: It all started with a call from Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski asking if there was something interesting I wanted to do back at Marvel. It had been a long time since I’d written for them [but] C.B. is a talent magician and I was clearly a rabbit he wanted to pull out of his hat.

We talked about a lot of things, and he provocatively said, “Don’t you have unfinished business with the X-Men Office?” I laughed because all of those people are now gone, so in my reality, no, not really. However (and isn’t there always a “however”?), what always bothered me about AOA was that, besides X-Man coming over to the 616 — it was like a dream episode of TV. We had the biggest event of the ‘90s, and there were no consequences (besides saving the universe, which the X-Men do every day of the week). [Laughs]

So, C.B. being C.B. said, “What if you could change that?” And here we are.

The next and even more important part is that it’s not what the story is about that concerns me, it’s who is going to draw it? Having a background in film and TV, it’s like committing to a project and not knowing the actor and/or the director. I need to know who I am writing for.

I was in Lake Como and Simone Bianchi — who is a dear friend — introduced to me to Simone Di Meo and I just fell in love with his style and storytelling. I brought Simone Di Meo to Tom Brevoort, who he already knew — and Marvel said we could do it!

Now, it may all sound easy, but it took about a year to put it all together. [Laughs]

AIPT: When you reflect on your time working on the original AOA, did you and your collaborators realize you were creating something special? And why do you think the event still resonates with fans 30 years later?

Jeph: First off, I have to give credit to where credit is due. While dozens (literally) of people worked on the original AOA — Scott Lobdell was the architect. He took me under his wing and navigated a lot of what I did (including making sure X-Man got his own title). So much of what is cool about the AOA came from his amazing brain.

Secondly, while every artist put their hearts into it (some of my favorite Kubert brothers stuff), Joe Madureira EXPLODED with his story. Not since the boys at Image had there been an artist who dominated the business like Joe. (And yes, that’s the reason we had to have him back to do the X-Men of Apocalypse covers!)

I don’t know why it still resonates — but it was a very different time. There was no internet. No social media. Most importantly, NO SPOILERS! For a storyteller, this is gold.

So when Marvel announced that the top-selling books (by far) were all getting cancelled — people went crazy! There were no leaks. It just… happened. In a weird way, what happened to the X-Men happened to the readers. It was all rebooted! New costumes! New teams! New titles! New versions of classic characters! Nothing was impossible!

And I’m pretty sure you couldn’t do it that way ever again.

AIPT: I was one of those readers thinking the X-Men as I knew it was over. But back to the present — readers have already had a taste of what you’re cooking in Giant-Size Age of Apocalypse. But what about what comes next? What’s your elevator pitch for the X-Men of Apocalypse event?

Jeph: What if the AOA didn’t end? What if those X-Men (let’s call them XOA) — who were the fiercest, most loyal, and deadly — could go on?

It starts with the idea of what do soldiers do when they come home from war? Or worse, what if it’s a never-ending battle? How do you end it?

AIPT: Given AOA’s popularity, there have obviously been multiple follow-up stories over the past 30 years. X-Fans Bill, Dalibor the Indie Hype Man, Jenny, and Joey Dunn are all wondering how this story fits with what’s come before. Does your story play with any of that other AoA continuity, or is X-Men of Apocalypse blazing its own path?

Jeph: I always try to respect the past and the different choices other writers make, but I also feel a responsibility to the readers and fans to come up with something that feels familiar but has enough twists and emotion that it can stand on its own. We’ll see if it’s still in print 30 years from now! [Laughs]

AIPT: We’ve already talked a bit about him, but you’ve got an amazing collaborator in Simone Di Meo. How has it been working together, and how does having an artist of Simone’s caliber impact how you’re writing this story?

Jeph: How we met, I covered earlier. But we had never worked together before, and that’s a curve I needed to navigate. Fortunately, he’s incredibly collaborative and has that same feel Joe Mad had 30 years ago. His pages excite me, and by now, I feel like I’m trying to keep up with an F1 racecar driver. The action and drama are on equal par. On top of which, he’s inking and coloring his own work, and that always brings out something special and astonishing.

AIPT: Is there a particular X-Man of Apocalypse you’re having the most fun writing?

Jeph: It’s a team book, so everyone has to shine. All these characters each have their own history and their own personalities. This particular group hasn’t ever worked solely together, so there’s bound to be great conflict. Conflict in an X-Men book is critical!

AIPT: And given the X-Men of Apocalypse come to the main Marvel Universe… is there a particular meeting you can’t wait for X-Fans to read?

Jeph: No spoilers — but there is ONE particular moment I’m pretty sure will knock people’s socks off and I know Simone will kill it!

AIPT: X-Fan CG asks if we can expect any new AOA universe characters who weren’t in the original AOA to make their way into this story.

Jeph: Ah, that would be telling. But there will be surprises. Even in the very first few pages!

AIPT: Your co-creation X-Man remains popular, as X-Fans Bill, T.J., and Eybar Lugo are all wondering if you might revisit Nate Grey in this event.

Jeph: Again, no spoilers — but when you see the cover of X-Men of Apocalypse #1 (on sale in November), there will be smiles.

AIPT: Finally, you’ve had runs in Cable, X-Force, Wolverine, X-Man, and other X-series. Is there one X-story of yours you’re particularly proud of or have fondness for?

Jeph: They are my favorites. The artists I worked with were relatively unknown (Skeve Skroce, Adam Polina, Ed McGuinness, Ian Churchill) and all went on to become superstars. Deservedly, as they are exceptional storytellers. I was incredibly lucky and even more so as we’ve all remained friends.

The one story that always gets brought up happened almost by accident. I got a frantic call from The X-Office that in the rush to get all the X-titles ready for cancellation and gear up for AOA, they had forgotten to have a final beat — where all the X-Men could say goodbye.

I was asked if I could do this critical issue. It was a huge step for me, given that I was only on the X-books for about six months (I would stay for three to four more years).

The result was Cable #20, “An Hour of Last Things,” with fantastic artwork by Ian Churchill (our first collaboration). The comic changed my career because after that, the X-Office was much more comfortable letting me sit in with the Bosses. It is an emotional love letter to the most beloved characters at Marvel. Huge responsibility. Huge chance to fail.

People tell me it works. Who am I to argue? [Laughs]

See you in the XOA!

AIPT: See you there, Jeph — and thanks for stopping by X-Men Monday!

X-Fans, X-Men of Apocalypse Alpha #1 goes on sale September 3, 2025. As that’s still quite far off, here’s an eXclusive look at three unfinished pages of Simone Di Meo art!

Next X-Men Monday — July 21, 2025

In the next edition of X-Men Monday, writer Murewa Ayodele returns to discuss “Thunder War,” the three-part saga that kicks off in July 23rd’s Storm #10. Oh, and maybe he’ll also talk about whatever that just-announced Age of Revelation Rogue Storm series is about. Murewa did mention “Rogue Storm” in his very first X-Men Monday appearance — worth a reread!

Until next time, X-Fans, stay eXceptional!