Nate1234- Can you tell us a bit of what GENERATION X: CROSSROADS will be about?

J. Steven York- The basic premise was that we wanted to load Gen X into a couple of motor-homes and take them ona cross-country trip. Think "MTV's Road Rules" with mutants. The kids fly into Seattle and drive back to the school as a summer trip, via Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, Mt. Rushmore, the Mall of America, and Chicago.

The intention of this (beyond that it was just a fun idea) was to address several nagging problems I had with the X books as I saw them at the time. Keep in mind that I initially pitched this book more than a year ago, and my feelings about the current X-books are much different. But back then--

First, I felt that they were so insular. There was no sense of connection with the world at large, regular Joes on the street, and with the real America beyond the confines of the X installations or some super-villain's headquarters. Second I was annoyed with how one-dimensional the anti-mutant hysteria had become. Even if most people did feel mutants were a threat, there should be (as with any real issue) a whole range of feelings, from people ready to commit violence, to people who just wouldn't want their sister to marry one, to human friends of mutants. I wanted to show the Marvel Universe as a real and complex place. And third, I wondered where all the other mutants were. Not all of them could have cosmic level powers. Not all of them would choose to be super-heroes. Not all of them would end up hated or hunted. So, where were all the "little" mutants? We explore that in some detail, and introduce three college-guys who are mutants with "lesser" powers. They're Chill (the oldest of the three, with basically Iceman's powers but at about 1/100th the level), Dog Pound (He's telepathic, but only with animals, and he's discovered that animals aren't good listeners, and don't have much of interest to say), and the youngest Recall (has a limited power to find lost objects and people, which turns out to be much more useful than he ever imagined).

These guys are also on a road-trip to Recall's home in Chicago, and they mix it up with Gen X along the way. Recall has a crush on Husk, so they just keep "accidentally" meeting up.

Nate1234- What drew you to writing a Generation X novel?

York- Money. Nah, but actually it wasn't my choice. I wanted to write a Marvel novel, and I'd written a Wolverine/Jean Grey story for THE ULTIMATE X-MEN anthology that apparently made some impression on Keith DeCandido, my editor. Generation X was what was available, so I jumped on it.

To be honest, I'd never really read the book before then. Gen X started during a time when I was getting very frustrated with the X books and stopped reading most of them for a year or so. I've been reading X-Men since the original, since they all had the original yellow and blue uniforms. I followed the book all the way up to its cancellation, then jumped right back on for the "New" X-Men. For years, I never missed an issue of any of the expanding family of X-titles. But then things seemed to drift off course. The disruptive crossovers, the "stunt" covers, and especially a move away from basic characterization and storytelling. One day I just decided they weren't the X-Men I'd once loved, or anything like them, and I walked away. I still followed other Marvel titles, and I sometimes would pick up an issue that looked interesting of an X-book, but it was near to cold turkey. When I did the story for THE ULTIMATE X-MEN, it got me back in the habit of buying X-books against (and I've since had to go back and scramble to buy all those back-issues I missed), but somehow Gen X just didn't get on my buy-list.

The concept looked interesting, and so I'd glance at it in the comic shop, and then put it back on the rack. It seemed like I'd missed too much to pick up the book at that late date. So, when I found out I was doing Gen X, I had to go buy the back-issues and cram up on them. I found I really liked the concept and the characters. I also found the book frustrating for some of the same reasons many readers did. Danglers that never resolved, slow-moving plots that went nowhere, and ill defined powers. But despite the problems, I loved the concept and saw what great potential the book had. I'm REAL fond of the kids now, and devoted to the book through thick and thin.

Nate1234- In the original Gen X novel written by Scott Lobdell and Eliot S! Maggin, a character was introduced to us just for the novel (Statis). Will there be any new Gen X members in the novel?

York- No new Gen Xers. We do introduce some new mutants though, the three mentioned [earlier]. Really, we aren't allowed in the novels to make any sweeping changes to the group or the characters, so if I'd added anyone new, I'd either have to have killed them off or contrived a way to get them out of the group by the end of the book.

Nate1234- Who're the bad guys?

York- There are two really, though in different ways. The first is Walt Norman. Norman hosts a top-rated nationally syndicated phone-in radio talk show. He sells anti-mutant hatred all wrapped up in jokes, songs, and skits, sugar coats it for the masses. The kids discover this show and are horrified. Paige, Husk, decides that she can't let him go unchallenged. She calls the show and gets on the air. Her appearance creates so much interest, that she keeps calling back, but Norman manipulates her each time, making her and the mutant cause look bad.

Second is a mysterious international arms-dealer code-named the Expatriate. He has a special interest in Gen X, a special reason for hating mutants, and a surprising connection with the Walt Norman show. He has a henchman, an ex-KGB agent named Ivan, who shadows the kids across the country and causes trouble for them.

But this isn't a super-villain slugfest. There are several big battles during the book, but most of it focuses on the kids as people, simply dealing with being mutants and how the world reacts to that.

Nate1234- Can we expect to see any romance between Chamber and Husk or any other Gen X members?

York- Well, like I said, we're limited in the books as to how much we can develop this, but the Husk/Chamber relationship does fuel a major sub-plot. One of my new mutants, Recall, has a crush on Paige (he's a genius who graduated from high-school early, and is about her age, even through he's in college). When Paige sees Jono dancing with a beautiful Mutant "groupie" (one of the Genogoths we'll talk about later), she gets jealous, so she doesn't discourage Recall's attention. So we have a kind of romantic triangle/quadrangle thing going throughout the book.  But don't expect major new developments.

Nate1234- What part of the CROSSROADS do you think readers will enjoy the most?

York- That probably depends on the reader. One thing I hear a lot of on RACXM are complaints that the kids don't just spend enough time being kids, doing the school thing and just hanging out.  Well, the kids are on summer-break, so we don't do much schooling, but at least I have an excuse!  But we do get the Gen X hanging at the mall, Gen X shooting the breeze, Gen X being bored and hanging around the hotel pool, Gen X crashing a college party, and Gen X playing tourist at some of our county's most famous monuments.

Another thing is how we've woven together bits of Marvel lore and tried to see how they might blend into a realistic world. We get a look at how the news media cover the mutant situation. We see what supermarket tabloid headlines in the Marvel Universe look like. We get to find out a few things the Marvel Universe internet has that ours doesn't. And Razorback. We've got Razorback.  Not to mention a Marvel Universe tourist attraction called "Little Latveria."

Nate1234- Why's Razorback in CROSSROADS? I've never even heard of him until I saw a pic of him on your page.

York- Precisely because you've never head of him. I have a weak-spot for odd and obscure characters, and there's simply no odder or more obscure mutant than Razorback. He's only made a handful of comic appearances (in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN and SHE-HULK, never an X-book), he's only a mutant by virtue of a John Bryne retcon in his second appearance, and he has one of the lamest mutant powers of all time. He's goofy, he's interesting, he's fun to write about.

Nate1234- Which of the Generation X characters did you have the most fun messing around with?

York- Paige, Husk, she was the most interesting to me. She's really the central character in this book.  But I also have always liked Jubilee and Angelo. Je's a lot of fun. He's a troublemaker, and I could always count on him to stir things up. And I like Synch. He's such a straight-arrow, so darned normal compared to the others. He was a good straight-man for Angelo. M was far and away the most difficult to write. This was mostly written before the whole twin business had been resolved, and I didn't have any advance information to work with. How could I get into her head when I didn't know who or what was in there? So I kept her in the background, kept her mostly a cipher, and used her as a foil for Jubilee. She gets some good lines though.

Nate1234- What can you tell us about GENERATION X: GENOGOTHS?

York- Well, keep in mind that this is still at the outline stage, and Marvel hasn't made their final comments on that outline. Everything beyond the basic premise is subject to change. But in CROSSROADS we introduce the Genogoths. In CROSSROADS it just seems that they're mutant groupies, hangers-on of sorts. They consider it cool to hang with mutants, and they're a pretty tough bunch. They watch out for all those "lesser" mutants, and provide a network of informants on the street to warn of anti-mutant activity.

But it turns out that there's an inner circle to the Genogoths, an organization that has been protecting those lesser mutants, and the legacy of the X-gene that they represent, since the time of Darwin. They feel that mutants are the next stage of human evolution, and are concerned more with the preservation of the gene than with the protection of any one individual. They believe that high-profile mutants like the X-Men, Magneto, and the like, endanger all mutants by drawing attention to themselves. In fact, the Genogoths have actively been hiding many of the less powerful mutants from Xavier, Magneto, the Hellfire Club, and others. So, while the Genogoths are strongly pro-mutant, they have their own agenda.

The story starts when Espeth, the Genogoth who Jono dances with in the beginning of CROSSROADS, shows up on their doorstep at the school. She tells them that their friends Recall, Chill, and Dog Pound have been kidnapped and are being held at a secret government compound. The Genogoths have refused to help, not wanting to bring unwanted government attention onto other mutants, so she's broken rank and betrayed their secrets. But her betrayal only goes so far. She refuses to let them bring in the X-Men, and when the Genogoth's and their leader, Black, show up, it isn't certain where her ultimate loyalties rest. The kids go on a mini road-trip using one of the motor-homes left over from CROSSROADS. They'd driving to South Carolina where their friends are being held. But the Genogoths are on their trail, and Gen X have no idea just how much trouble their friends are in, or the sinister plan the government has for them.

There will be more action and intrigue in GENOGOTHS than in CROSSROADS, but again, it isn't a super-slugfest. It's a story about friendship, loyalty, and betrayal.

Nate1234- So the Genogoths are going to become regular characters in Generation X novels?

York- If you count two appearances as "regular." Seriously, unless things change, there will only be one Gen X novel a year. If I do another book, Gen X or any other X characters, I might try to work them in. It's also possible one of the other novel writers will pick them up. We swap ideas and characters around.

Plus, it's fun to rescue a character from oblivion.  If I can't bring back Blink or Mondo, at least I can bring back Razorback.

Nate1234- Are there any X-Men in CROSSROADS?

York- Not unless you count Banshee. The Beast doesn't appear, but he gets mentioned a lot early in the book.  A campus mutant support organization he and Iceman founded way back in THE NEW DEFENDERS plays an important role. But other than that, the book keeps its distance from the established X-verse. That was a conscious decision.  I wanted to show Gen X interacting with real people and the "common mutant," not established folks in spandex.

Nate1234- Does Penance play any part in either of these stories?

York- Penance isn't in CROSSROADS at all. I left her at him. Somebody made out of razor-blades in the close confines of a motor-home seemed kind of hazardous! Plus, at the time, little was known about her. She didn't talk, I didn't know enough to go inside her head, and so I just couldn't find much to do with her. She's a very visual character, better suited to the comics than the novels. She undoubtedly will appear in GENOGOTHS though, if only in the beginning of the book. Maybe by the time I write GENOGOTHS, things will have developed in the comics in a way that will change that.

Nate1234- If you were offered a job right now writing Gen X (the comic), would you accept?