by Matt Sernaker, Editor-In-Chief

ComicsOnline is back for another year of coverage at San Diego Comic-Con!

We are proud to kick off our 2024 exclusive interview series with our friends Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing (Thunderbolts, Star Trek, Batman Beyond: Neo-Year). The dynamic writing duo are making their mark on the latest wave of X-Books with their hit debut of NYX. Since the new book was launching the week of SDCC 2024, we wanted to make sure to get some quality time with the guys to learn more about this particular entry in the new “From the Ashes” era of X-Men.

ComicsOnline: It’s rare that we see X-Books that aren’t about a class or specific team, so I’m curious to hear if the consideration process was unique as well. How did you go about selecting the core characters for this community-driven book?

LANZING: As with everything in the Hivemind, it starts with a conversation. We knew our objective on NYX – which was to tell a story that centered around the mutant community and used many different perspectives to examine the post-Krakoan diaspora. So what we looked for was what characters could hold an entire issue to themselves, who had something to learn or a place to grow. And so, of course, we began with our favorites. I picked Ms. Marvel – genuinely my favorite character at Marvel and the obvious central character for an ongoing series, since she has just become a mutant.

KELLY: I chose David Alleyne, Prodigy. First pick. He’s a character I’ve loved since his time with Academy-X, in those halcyon days when it seemed like the worst thing that could happen is that your team would lose the class competitions. But then, tragedy after tragedy hammered these kids – and David, as the natural leader (as much as he would reject that call, we all know it’s true) – felt that brunt keenly. Then, when you consider how close he got to being on the prime team…only to have his life once again DETONATED…there was just too much story potential to leave him on the table.

LANZING: I chose Laura Kinney – both as a direct response to the original NYX, which began her journey, and as a way to put the character on the ground following the extremely wild things she encountered while on Krakoa. If Kamala is our Superman, the Wolverine gets to be our Batman – a character who knows the true violence that lies underneath the superhero game… and the world of being a mutant in general.

KELLY: Anole was next on my list, and I think we all can see my pattern. While Prodigy was the smartest kid in school, Anole was that little weirdo – and to the surprise of no one, the character I most empathized with. But as he’s matured, he’s one of the few named mutants who has truly rejected the call of the uniform – my guy just wants to serve quality cocktails at responsible prices. As you so correctly point out, this isn’t a book about a team, and no mutant should have to fight for their survival; no one represents that better than Victor…but some things just can’t be avoided…

LANZING: And we both knew we needed a Stepford Cuckoo – and Sophie’s special status as the most recently-returned and the most overtly heroic meant she made a clear pitch for becoming the emotional center of the first five issues of the book.

I know that you’re fans of the Academy X gang, so how did that influence your pitch? In your minds, is this a spiritual successor to that series?

KELLY: That’s a huge part of this book’s DNA, yes. We’ve grown up with these “young” mutants…which is actually something rare for comics. We’ve gotten to see these characters age, as – just like us – they’ve lived through *unprecedented times*; from M-Day to the ‘23 Hellfire Gala and everything in between, they have lived through a succession of traumatic events that have shaped the people they’ve become. For these characters we love so much – even those like Kamala and Laura, who had nothing to do with Xavier’s – this time in their lives is crucial, as they synthesize the lessons of their youth, and it’s a massive honor to help them become the best people they can possibly be.

Plus, Anole has Big Arm, which is rad.

ComicsOnline: There were a lot of amazing character dynamics in play during this first chapter, but I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly (and seamlessly) Kamala and Sophie became best friends. Did you just channel your friendship when writing these characters?

LANZING: Honestly, that one just came about naturally – we put those characters in a room and they basically immediately became best friends. Sophie and Kamala couldn’t be more different, yet somehow their energies perfectly complemented one another. Ultimately, that’s because Sophie has a lot to teach Kamala about being a mutant… but Kamala has way more to teach Sophie about being an individual… and a friend.

ComicsOnline: I loved that Prodigy was teaching a class on the impact of Krakoa, and I appreciated the focus on empathy. Since Collin is a professor in real life, I would love to hear about how you shaped Prodigy’s teaching style.

KELLY: Here’s a fact: students, of any age, are feral. Someone will always be there to challenge you, and you – as the professor- have to have the determination to stand against them with unshakable confidence…even if, inside, you feel like a complete fraud. At the same time, it’s soft power that controls a crowd; that combination of strength and empathy was what we wanted to channel in David’s opening moments, the feeling that he is the exact right teacher to guide your education. Even if the student challenging him is one of his oldest “friends”. So yeah, that’s what I brought to the pages from my own experience…that, and the fact that you don’t sit down; to hold the power in the room, you’ve GOT to stay standing. That’s just public speaking 101.

ComicsOnline: The Last Krakoan recently sparked many engaging discussions on the internet, and now he stands revealed as… Hellion!? I loved the call out that Julian was MIA during the Krakoan Era.

LANZING: This was the last character in our little “draft” – Collin has been a lifelong fan of Hellion and wanted to see him get a story that really paid tribute to his hard-knock time as a young mutant. He’s always been a fascinating character, but what interested me was lensing our story in on a person who had a genuine grievance in the post-Krakoa era and was properly set up to take on a kind of street-level Magneto role. After all, isn’t that the thing about Magneto – that you can genuinely empathize and agree with his point of view? Like Magnus/Erik/Max before him, the Krakoan has a point… but it’s coming from a place of deep scarring on his soul.

KELLY: Julian – just like a certain pink haired troublemaker – was a white boy of privilege with incredible power, who expected the world to fall in line with his intent. But then, over the years, he has been HAMMERED with the hard fact that that presumption is completely and utterly wrong. Now, he is rising as this force, this Krakoan…but whether this is a high point for him or his lowest… we’ll soon discover.

ComicsOnline: Now that the secret is out, we learned that a new Quiet Council is moving behind the scenes… I know you can’t go too far into spoilers, but how would you summarize their take on the new status quo of the X-books?

KELLY: I don’t know about all of them, but a certain mind-controller senses one hell of an opportunity.

LANZING: Krakoa was an island with a lot of mutants on it. New York’s an island with a lot of mutants on it.

KELLY: You do the math. Cuz trust me: they did.

LANZING: And putting down what they’ve got planned is going to require a lot more than a team of X-Men.

Special thanks to Collin and Jackson for joining us once again at ComicsOnline. Grab your copy of NYX #1 at your local comic book store.

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