Wizard World Los Angeles Report

I received an email from an X-fan who attended the X-Men Panel at Wizard World yesterday and spoke the writers and editors in attendance, and has a bit of information for Rachel fans on the status of the Starjammers:

The only news on Rachel & the Starjammers from the X-Panel was that their story continues in the Divided We Stand limited series.

A Havok fan asked the panel a question about what was next for the Starjammers, and the way Jim McCann (Marvel's marketing director) answered the question made it seem like Havok may appear in both issues of Divided We Stand.

Matt Fraction was announced as the new co-writer of Uncanny X-Men, and he may be better suited to write Rachel than Brubaker. Fraction said he liked the Paul Smith/JR, Jr era Uncanny and characters like Magma that Brubaker doesn't like.

The panel was asked about Selene returning, and there wasn't a clear answer, but both Marc Guggenheim (Young X-Men) and Yost & Kyle (X-Force) said they might be using her. Since Wolverine nearly killed Rachel the last time an X-Man tried to kill Selene, X-Force facing off against her would be interesting.

A couple other things (not to get anyone in trouble for revealing this):

- Rachel, Alex and Lorna will return to X-books, eventually.

- Rachel & the Starjammers' story will likely continue in Uncanny X-Men.

- No Annihilation or Guardians of the Galaxy tie-in with the Starjammers are planned.

No idea when Rachel will return to Uncanny. It seems to be going in a completely different direction with the relocation to San Francisco. (The Uncanny X-Men will be based out of San Francisco starting in #500, which is the location where the X-Men were when Rachel faced off against the Beyonder).

Uncanny X-Men will have a new rotating penciling team of Terry Dobson (hurray!) and Greg Land (boo!). Dobson told Newarama that there are plans to do more than 12 issues a year, maybe 14, although both pencilers are known for being late...


Update:

Today at the Mondo Marvel Panel at WWLA, a question was asked about the Imperial Guard:

Q: Will we see the Imperial Guard on Earth?

McCann said that they'll be involved, somehow, in a Secret Invasion tie-in.

This could be in the X-Men Secret Invasion tie-in. Yesterday at the Secret Invasion Panel, McCann said that there would be an X-Men Secret Invasion tie-in but "but they're not going to announce anything specifically yet."

Tom Brevoort, the editor for Secret Invasion, talked a little about the X-Men's involvement in Secret Invasion to IGN last month, and mentioned that there would be a tie-in to avoid disrupting anything going on in the individual titles.

Although that is unlikely to be resolution readers have been hoping for, it is at least a positive sign...

What If? X-Men: The Rise & Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire Preview

Comic Continuum has a six page preview of the What If: RaFotSE, which is out on December 5th.

From the first look art that was released several weeks ago, it looks like a good Summers Family issue.

Shi'Ar Mini-Series Coming In The Fall

In the letter page in Uncanny X-Men 487, it says, "a mini-series that will be coming out in the fall, expanding on events in the Shi'Ar Empire storyline. So Havok, Marvel Girl and Shi'Ar fans -- prepare to have your faces rocked off."

No word yet on who the creative team will be. Brubaker confirmed that he is not writing the Starjammers mini-series. Top candidates to write it would include Christopher Yost (who Brubaker suggested should write it at WWLA), Christos Gage or Chris Claremont.

Of course, there have been mini-series announced in letter pages that have gotten fans hopes up and then never been released.

Uncanny X-Men 486 Spoilers

If you don't want to know what happens in UXM 486, don't read this. (Spoilers, obviously):

- Vulcan kills Corsair and remains Shi'Ar Emperor
- Rachel does very little in the issue
- Alex becomes the new leader of the Starjammers
- Rachel, Korvus and Lorna join the Starjammers
- The Starjammers' mission is to avenge Corsair's death and restore Lilandra to
the throne.
- Since they aren't X-Men any longer, they are free to kill Vulcan.

Updated to add more details:

- The team becomes split-up when Lilandra tries to get Xavier away from Vulcan and Alex, Lorna, Rachel and Korvus are all left behind.
- They're stuck in space, but send a message back to Xavier and Beast that they're going to stay and fight Vulcan.
- The team that returns to Earth consists of: Xavier (repowered), Nightcrawler, Warpath, Darwin, and Hepzibah

If you recall from the X-Panel at Wizard World Los Angeles in March, Ed Brubaker and Marvel marketing exec Jim McCann said there are no plans for a Starjammers series, but there might be if there is enough demand. We aren't falling for their trap. Just Say No to the Starjammers!

Mike Carey said he wanted to do a Rachel & Cable reunion! Rather than Rachel rotting in space, Carey should get Rachel in Adjectiveless X-Men!!!


The Bring Rachel Home campaign has been launched!!

Uncanny X-Men 486 Full Preview

Pop Culture Shock has posted a six page preview of Uncanny X-Men 486. Rachel does not appear, but there are some major developments for the Summers family. The issues will be in stores May 16th.

Uncanny X-Men 486 Early Preview

Marvel has the full cover for Uncanny X-Men 486 (which includes Rachel) and three pages of art (Rachel is on the last page).

Marvel describes the issue as:

It's been a long year for the team of mutants in Uncanny X-Men, as writer Ed Brubaker has put them through the paces for the last 11 issues, all leading up to this moment! Uncanny X-Men #486 brings readers the conclusion of "The Rise and Fall Of The Shi'ar Empire" and not everyone will be returning to Earth! We've got the M'Kraan Cystal, a psychotic man atop the Shi'ar throne and a girl with the power of the Phoenix Force - what more do you need to know?

Flashback to April 1984

Marvel Editor Tom Brevoort posted Marvel's direct sales figures from April 1984. (Direct sales are to comic book stores. In 1984, most of Marvel's sales was to convenience and grocery stores).

April 1984 was a big month for Rachel Summers, since that marked her first appearance in X-books since Days of Future Past.

Uncanny X-Men #184 was the second highest selling Marvel comics with 223,500 copies sold (to comic book stores). Next on the list was New Mutants #18 (where Rachel first arrived) which sold 184,500 copies.

Nowadays, Uncanny X-Men averages around 84,000 copies direct sales.

Uncanny X-Men 485 Preview

Pop Culture Shock has posted a six page preview of Uncanny X-Men 485. Rachel doesn't appear, but there are some interesting developments. UXM 485 will be in stores April 11th.

Updated News on the Don't Leave Rachel In Space Campaign

It seems like our little campaign has gotten the attention of the X-Office.

Uncanny X-Men Editor Nick Lowe had this to say, "We value [Rachel] as a character and we�ve got big plans for her. We just can�t talk about them yet."

Let's all just hope that those "big plans" includes her returning to earth and continuing to appear in X-books.

Pre-emptive Strike: Don't Leave Rachel In Space

This contains spoiler speculations about the final two issues of the Shi'ar arc and Rachel's fate.

Brubaker and the Uncanny Editors have teased since the beginning of the Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire arc that many of the characters would not be returning home.

The solicitation for Uncanny X-Men 487 says that half of the team will not be returning home. Already from the information released about the next arc and other crossovers like World War Hulk, we know Nightcrawler, Professor Xavier and Warpath are safe. That means the half of the team that doesn't return is Rachel, Havok and Polaris, and possibly Darwin (although Brubaker said that we would see more of Darwin at Wizard World).

Reports from Ed Brubaker's appearance at Wizard World Los Angeles have made this news more alarming. There are no plans for a Starjammers series. According to a report on CBR, Brubaker told fans at the X-Men Panel that the characters that say behind would go into character limbo and would be a dangling plot that someone could pick up in a few years. There will not be a spinoff or sequel detailing that happens to them.

A Rachel fan that spoke to Brubaker was under the impression that it was a foregone conclusion that Rachel will remain in space.

There is no proof that that is true. However, we can either choice to act now before the issue has been finished or wait until it is too late to make a difference in May.

Coming up this summer will be several crossover events that would be amazing to see Rachel involved in and those lead-up to the major X-Event in November. Rachel needs to be apart of these events and not back in character limbo!

Several months ago, Mike Carey said he was interested in writing Rachel and reuniting Rachel and Cable (Nathan Summers):

From Livewire: "Yes, I like Rachel a lot. I haven't heard that rumour but I do know that not all of that team are coming home. I'd love to write Rachel..."

He also posted on his blog that "Marvel Girl is a great character and interacts very interestingly with Cable." and "Askani - I can promise you that some of your wishes will be granted. (re: interaction between Cable and Rachel) And I agree 100% about the Cable/Rachel interaction."

So, it looks like there are two options: Rachel stranded in space for the next few years or Mike Carey getting to do the Cable/Rachel interaction he wants to do.

That's why a pre-emptive strike is necessary. Before Uncanny X-Men 486 comes out and everything is set in stone, Rachel fans need to take action. Rachel needs to come home and Mike Carey needs to be allowed to write Rachel and Nathan together:

You can email the X-Editors at officex@marvel.com

And write to them at:

X-Mail
c/o Marvel Comics
417 5th Ave
NY, NY 10016

Write and email as often as you can! Fans need to rally together and make sure that the editors don't let Rachel go into character limbo! Rachel needs to go to Mike Carey's X-Men! He wants to use her. Why should she be left in space when a writer wants to use her and reunite her with her family?

June Marvel Solicitation for Uncanny X-Men

CBR has posted the X-Men solicitations for June, including the description for the first post-Shi'ar issue of Uncanny.

SPOILER WARNING! This includes spoilers for the end of the Shi'Ar arc and potentially very bad news for Rachel:

UNCANNY X-MEN #487
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils and Cover by SALVADOR LARROCA
THE EXTREMISTS Part 1 (of 5)!

The X-Men are back from space! Well, half of them, anyway. The team is shattered, broken and separated. The group that has returned to earth is finding it much worse than how they left it-- especially underground. Attacks in the Morlock Tunnels immediately grab the X-Men's attention. What do these attacks have to do with the future of the mutant race? Maybe special guest-star Storm can get to the bottom of all this! 32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

Uncanny X-Men 484 Preview

Pop Culture Shock has posted a six page preview of UXM 484. Rachel appears on the sixth page. UXM 484 is due out on March 7th.

Another Brubaker Interview & Uncanny 484 Preview

Newsarama has posted an interview with Ed Brubaker about the final three issues of the Shi'ar Arc that includes preview pages from Uncanny X-Men 484.

May Marvel Solicitation

CBR got an early look at the Marvel solicitation for Uncanny X-Men 486:

UNCANNY X-MEN #486
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Penciled by BILLY TAN
Cover by JOHN WATSON

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SHI'AR EMPIRE

This is it! The final chapter to Ed Brubaker's Uncanny X-Men epic! Who lives? Who dies? And who gets left in outer space?! It's the action packed finale that sets the X-Men and the Shi'Ar Empire into whole new directions! Part 12 (of 12)!
32 PGS./Rated T+$2.99

Uncanny X-Men 486 is due out on May 16, 2007.

Brubaker Interview

Livewire World has interviewed Ed Brubaker. He does reveal some details about the next arc and rumors about Rachel's future. Here are some excerpts: (SPOILER WARNING!)

Q: There are persistent rumours of Rachel, Marvel Girl, staying out in space and maybe getting her own mini-series or something at the end of the Shi'ar arc. Is this something you can comment on?

Brubaker: Wait - rumours about Rachel doing what?

Q: Staying out in space, not coming back with the team, getting her own mini set out in space

Brubaker: I don't want to talk about who's coming back and who's not coming back but some of them aren't coming back. Some of the characters who are in this storyline - the last five or six issues - don't live through it and the last two issues are pretty much a non-stop battle, which has been a lot of fun to fight. There's some really evil stuff that goes on and I think that people are going to be sorta shocked. There's a storyline that's left hanging at the end of it all - I tie up as much as I can but this was part of a story - The Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire was kinda the sequel to that and there's room for another sequel after that - what happens next?

Everything is shaken up and it leaves a whole new status quo out there in outer space and my main goal for the whole Shi'ar storyline was to de-sissify the Shi'ar. I thought they started out as this really badass group and the Imperial Guard were like this evil Legion of Super-Heroes - all that stuff was really cool because they were the bad guys; but then the minute D'Ken goes insane and falls into a coma and Lilandra becomes the Emperor, then they're like nice and you can't go from Caligula to nice. I wanted to see more of the Caligula-style Shi'ar where you're worried they're going to come to Earth.

There's some of them not coming back and Rachel might be one of them.

Q: Does that mean those characters will, in effect, be in limbo?

Brubaker: Yes. They won't be in Uncanny X-Men for a while.

Rachel is not in Uncanny X-Men 483

Uncanny X-Men 483 is the final all-Vulcan issue of the Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire arc and Rachel doesn't appear and isn't mentioned.

April Marvel Solicitation

UNCANNY X-MEN #485
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils and Cover by BILLY TAN
"THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SHI'AR EMPIRE"

War rages across the entire Shi'Ar Empire! Emperor D'Ken is back and his new right hand man, Vulcan, plans on doing some truly terrible things to Charles Xavier! But the X-Men and Starjammers are en route to save him. This could turn into a suicide mission quicker than you can say M'Kraan! Part 11 (of 12)!

32 PGS./Rated T+ $2.99

Uncanny X-Men 485 is due out on April 4, 2007.

Uncanny X-Men 482 Preview

Comics Continuum has posted a five page preview of UXM 482. Rachel appears on the first three pages. UXM 482 is due out on January 4th.

March Marvel Solicitation

UNCANNY X-MEN #484

Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils and Cover by BILLY TAN

"THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SHI'AR EMPIRE"

It's war! The Shi'ar Empire is back doing what it does best, conquering and killing! The X-Men, Star Jammers, and the ousted Lilandra must fight their way through legions of the mighty Shi'ar in the hope to free the imprisoned Charles Xavier!

32 PGS./Rated T+ $2.99

Uncanny X-Men 484 is due out on March 7, 2007.

Major Developments for Rachel in Uncanny X-Men 481

SPOILERS!!! The latest issue of Uncanny X-Men was released today and includes several major developments for Rachel- including a new costume and a new boyfriend.

Uncanny X-Men 481 Preview

PopCultureShock has posted a five page preview of UXM 481. Rachel appears on the last two pages.

Wizard's Review of Uncanny

Wizard reviewed nearly all of the X-Titles and had a lot of nice things to say about Uncanny X-Men.

They also had this to say about what's coming up:

"What's coming up?" asks Brubaker. "Xavier in a mano-a-mano battle of the wills with some bad, bad, bad Shi'ar. A new man in Rachel's life- a serious badass who takes on anyone who gets in his way. And nothing going the way anyone planned, even me."

February Marvel Solicitation

UNCANNY X-MEN #483

Written by ED BRUBAKER
Penciled by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover by JOHN WATSON

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SHI'AR EMPIRE
Now begins the fall of the Shi'ar Empire! Vulcan and Deathbird have started their coup and they brought help: former mad emperor, D'Ken! Part 9 (of 12)!

32 PGS. Rated T+ $2.99

Uncanny X-Men 483 is due out on February 7, 2007.

No Rachel in Uncanny X-Men 480

Uncanny X-Men 480 came out today and unfortunately Rachel doesn't appear and isn't mentioned. This is the Vulcan focused issue with pencils by Clayton Henry, so it's that wasn't unexpected. But the issue does really expand Gabriel Summers' character and has some major developments for the arc.

January Marvel Solicitation

UNCANNY X-MEN #482
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by BILLY TAN

The X-Men team-up with the Starjammers for a rescue mission that could mean everything for the future of the Shi'ar Empire! Meanwhile, Darwin and Xavier are trapped in the clutches of the enemy! Part 8 (of 12)!

32 PGS./Rated T+ $2.99

No cover art is available.

Uncanny X-Men 482 is due out on January 3, 2007.

December Marvel Solicitation

UNCANNY X-MEN #481
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by BILLY TAN

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SHI'AR EMPIRE

The Shi'Ar Empire is crumbling at the hands of Vulcan! The X-Men, with Professor X captured, search for the one group of heroes that can save them and all of the Shi'Ar...the Starjammers! Part 7 (of 12)!

32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

Uncanny X-Men 481 is due out on December 6, 2006.

Will an X-Man Die in Uncanny?

The current issue of Wizard Magazine features an interview with Ed Brubaker, where he hints that a character might be killed...

WIZARD: Will all the X-men make it back alive?

Bru: Some will not be back. [And] the ones that make it back will make it back alive, but not unchanged.

WIZARD: Who will die?

Bru: Who's your favorite? That one. Actually, one of my all-time favorite characters in the X-books will not see the end of this storyline.

Ed has said that Rachel is one of his favorites, so there's some concern it could be her.

However, X-editor Mike Marts had also hinted at character deaths in X-Talk with Marts from May 9, 2006:

Mike Marts -- I'll do you one better Trevor. Out of these sixteen characters atleast one of them will die, two of them will get married, two characters will quit one team to join another, and one of them will be the unnamed Uncanny member.

The sixteen characters are:

Corsair, Cyclops, Darwin, Deathbird, Gambit, Havok, Hepzibah, Lilandra,
Petra, Polaris, Pyro, Cecilia Reyes, Sunspot, Sway, Vulcan & Warpath

"All you Rachel fans will love next issue" - Ed Brubaker

Ed Brubaker posted the following on CBR hyping Uncanny X-Men 479:

All you Rachel fans will love next issue, which is Billy's finest art to date on the book, by a mile, honestly. There's a double-page spread of his hanging on my wall right now that's so good it's not funny.