Astonishing X-Men has an important place in the X-Men’s history. The landmark Astonishing X-Men #51 is known for Marvel Comics’ first gay wedding. It’s almost been a decade since that issue was released in 2012, and its effects are still being felt throughout Marvel comics. Marjorie Liu is credited as the writer for the landmark issue and run, but that’s not her only contribution to the X-Men. Laura Kinney’s (Known as X-23 or more recently, Wolverine) first solo series was written by Liu as well, giving the character an excellent opportunity for growth.
During our conversation with Liu about Monstress and Wingbearer, we briefly spoke to the Eisner award winning writer about X-Men, her time with Marvel, and the Krakoa era.
Of course, it makes the most sense to go back to the beginning of it all. “The first X-Men series I ever read was Operation Zero Tolerance, which I thought was great and introduced Dr. Cecilia Reyes, one of my favorite characters,” recalls Liu. Liu would later write Reyes in her Astonishing X-Men run 15 years later. giving the character a significant role on the X-Men roster.
Almost 20 years ago, Marjorie Liu began her writing career, focusing on paranormal romance. “I was told ‘readers don’t buy books that take place in international settings’ and ‘readers won’t buy books written by someone with a Chinese last name’ and ‘you should make more of your characters white.” Says Liu. “I had to be resolutely and stubbornly deaf to all these comments; a thick skin is something I developed early on. But, on the bright side, the romance genre was (and is) a part of publishing written by women for women and edited by women — and that was something I’d never experienced, not before and not since. “
“Then I began writing comics, which was a part of publishing overwhelmingly white and male. What a transition! And even though many women read comics, the general idea at the time was that this was a medium for men,” Liu says. “Which, of course, was total bullshit, but it was the perception, and perceptions are very powerful and hard to shake once they’re entrenched. There was also the perception that ‘because women don’t read superhero comics’ they couldn’t write them.”
“Only because I had wonderful editors was I able to push ahead, but ultimately I saw that there were clear limits to what was going to be offered to me — there was, shall we say, a glass ceiling — and by the end of my X-Men run I realized that I needed to move on.”
I asked Liu if there was any chance of her returning to X-Men, maybe to be a part of the already excellent Krakoa era started by Jonathan Hickman. “I was lucky enough to write my dream X-Men book, beginning with X-23 and then transitioning into Astonishing X-Men,” She said. “Gambit, Jubilee, Warbird, Iceman, Cecilia Reyes…all of my favorite characters made appearances. It would be hard to return after that amazing experience, and I’m having a lot of fun right now creating independent comics.”
“My time at Marvel was positive and life-changing in the best possible ways — but Image gave me the space to finally spread my wings, expand my voice, and tell a story that was authentically me. That creative freedom was, and is, priceless,” she says.
What might surprise some readers, is that Liu isn’t familiar with what’s going on in the Krakoa era at all. “I have not been keeping up! I don’t always read in the same medium or genre I’m working in. I’ve more or less spent the last six years reading romance novels, graphic memoirs, poetry, some YA, and nonfiction science and history books.
So what does Liu recommend reading right now?
“Just off the top of my head, I highly recommend Robin Ha’s Almost American Girl, Coyote America by Dan Flores, and Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism.”
