After Northstar?

Hey everyone! It’s been a great week working on the book, as I had the opportunity to go through interview transcripts and choose what will make it into the book versus what will remain on the cutting room floor. The good news is that there’s so much material and I have the luxury of working a lot of into the book. Concluding interviews was the last piece of creation for the book- now it’s all refining the manuscript for publication.

While I was chatting with Simon Furman I went outside the scope of the book (well, sort of) to ask a question related to the team and his time writing the characters. Buried in the letters page in issue 129 is an editorial response to a reader question regarding what was next for the team and the conditions under which the title was cancelled. In their response, editorial wrote Alpha Flight was, “not cancelled to make room for another X-book, but for the Northstar limited series…and other short-term Alpha-related projects.” When I first read this, I heard a record scratch- Northstar definitely had his own limited series, but nothing came of anyone else. So I asked Simon and he gave me a little more information. “Northstar just had the coming out issue and the press around it [meant there was] a little more cachet as a solo title” for our favorite speedster. “I don’t think any other [solo titles] were locked in,” continued Furman, “but it would have been absolutely wonderful to have done a Wild Heart series. That would have been my pick to go for the next character.” So there you have it! And now we can spend the rest of eternity contemplating a world where we got a bunch of limited series after Northstar’s, starting with one focused on Wild Heart and going on from there. Who would you have liked see have their own limited series in the mid-90s?

Editor Laura is busting through so much of the book and I begin my editing process next week. Her skills are phenomenal and she is able to tighten up what I’m trying to say so it reads as best as possible for all of you. One of the big things is pronouns. Listen, it makes sense in one’s brain when one’s tossing out “she” or “he” when describing what’s happening in a comic, but it’s actually really confusing when there is a whole team doing stuff at the same time. It’s these little things that will go a long way in making the book as best it can be and it takes an outside perspective to see that stuff sometimes! As much as I hate reading my own writing after I word vomit it onto a page, I recognize that a good editor makes a world of difference between what I want to say and what I actually say.

Aside from preparing for reviewing and making edits, I decided to switch things up and work on some promotional materials for the book. The whole self-publishing process is really a lot of project management and that includes promoting the book- not only with virtual appearances (don’t worry, I’ll let you know where I’ll be appearing so you can tune in), but preparing for in-person appearances, like an official book launch (news on this next week!) and selling books. I’m a crafter and I decided a fun way to use a bunch of excess copies of the comic (I buy raggedy copies of comics specifically for crafting, just ask my husband) was to make buttons! So I will have some really fun 2.25” buttons for sale with the book and separately; I’ll also be giving out the buttons at select appearances. Of course, I kept a few for myself to sport, too.

Alright, I’m off to work these quotes into the narrative and then relax a little this weekend. Thanks for reading! As always, shoot me a message at [email protected] if you have questions or comments!