Topps DigiCon 2022 continued today with Marvel Comics writer Simon Spurrier, who discussed the evolution of Mutantkind in Marvel Comics and his upcoming “Legion of X.”
Spurrier, who is known for his work on a slew of X-Men-related comics as well as the Star Wars series “Doctor Aphra,” has his highly anticipated “Legion of X” series set to debut on May 25th.
The writer was asked about some of the other writers who influenced his career.
“The two biggest names for me which come out of that field, they’re both writers, they’re both men, Alan Moore, obviously. A stone-clad genius. I’ve had the immense privilege and pleasure of working with him and becoming friendly with him in my career,” Spurrier said. “John Wagner is the other name. He’s an exceptionally clever writer. He wrote a lot of “Judge Dredd” and still does. He taught me, through doing deep dives of his work, the importance of pace.”
Spurrier was also asked about some of the challenges he faced when starting his career and getting to where he is now.
“We like to say ‘it’s not really about who you know, it’s about whether you’re any good or not,’ but that sort of slightly reduces the reality which is that you have to be capable of networking,” Spurrier said. “You have to be capable of extending your footprint. And that’s a real challenge for somebody like me. I’m socially awkward, I’m not the best in terms of mental health.”
With an impressive portfolio of beloved comics built up already, Spurrier was asked about what work he has been most proud of and had an interesting answer.
“When I’m lying on my deathbed, the things that I’ll look back on with pride, that mattered to me, they probably won’t be the sorts of things that drive my ambition now,” Spurrier said. “I think what he will worry about is ‘did I write stuff that I believed in?’ ‘Did I write stuff that mattered?’ ‘Did I write stuff that changed peoples’ lives, especially my own life?’”
Expanding on that, Spurrier talked a bit about what it has been like for him to meet fans of his work.
“Meeting the fans is such a privilege, isn’t it, in this industry,” Spurrier said. “Cosplay is incredible. When somebody comes and finds you, wearing the outfit of a character that you’ve written or even created, that’s a really strange moment but it’s so moving and profound.”
Having a hand in telling the stories of iconic characters like some of the X-Men, Spurrier was asked about the evolution of Mutantkind throughout the history of Marvel Comics.
“The simple quiddity of the Mutantkind idea can be accessed as a wealth of really cool metaphors and important metaphors,” Spurrier said. “That’s what matters to me is being able to disguise as pop culture fun with character moments and action and bold colors and all the things we love in our comics, the really important, meaningful stuff that is going to gradually change the world and change peoples’ lives.”
And speaking of recent mutant-based comic, Spurrier was asked about the upcoming “Legion of X” and what he could share about it before its release.
“It’s about a team in Krakoa-era Mutantkind, it’s a crime procedural about a dysfunctional group of peacekeepers trying to prevent a densely packed populous of superheuman from going kaboom any time one of them lose their temper or get over excited. The precinct house is a sheriff’s office inside a psychedelic bubble universe inside the head of a godlike mutant. The sorts of cases they deal with are things like ‘one of our gods have gone missing,’ ‘there’s a skinjacker on the loose possessing people’s body,’” Spurrier said. “We’ve got Banshee rocking out to try to sneak into the X=Force HQ for nefarious reasons, we’ve got Nightcrawler being soulful and wonderful and swashbuckling and great, we’ve got Juggernaut, we’ve got Legion, we’ve got Pixie, we’ve got Dr. Nemesis, I could go on and on. It’s just amazing fun. It’s a thoughtful take on justice, law and peace that is full of crazy, bold, wonderful moments.”