Welcome to another creepy edition of X-Men on Monday at X-Fans, AIPT!
First, you might have used the internet to read X-Men Monday on Monday (sounds like a good life!) and missed last week’s edition. You can read it here (or reread it!).
I have to be honest, as it doesn’t get in the way, X-Fans – I’m not a gamer. Don’t get me wrong, I explode in the barcade, but the last “game” I bought was either a Nintendo 64 or a Sony PlayStation. So I don’t know how to play Marvel rivals, but I know it’s extremely popular. We also hear that “skin” is a big part of its popularity, so we’ll assume that Page Guthrie and Angelo Espinosa are at the heart of the plot.
We’ll also catch up with Marvel Unlimited’s Marvel Rivals Infinity Comic. That very X-heavy second arc will be sold as one comic this Wednesday (August 6, 2025). This opportunity seemed like a great time to invite comic writer Paul Aller to X-Men on Monday to discuss this unique series and the new arc featuring Jean Grey. Make sure Paul has to say.
Provided by Marvel Comics
AIPT: Welcome to X-Men Monday, Paul! I’d like to start a little about your personal history with Marvel mutants. What was your first X-Men experience?
Paul Aller: It was a rather slow life! I didn’t read comics as a kid. When the X-Men: Animated series became a hit, I was already busy being a bit of a juvenile delinquent.
Then the first film came out when I was in college and it seemed you know… “Yeah, it was pretty cool.”
But then, when I was working as a newspaper journalist in my late 20s, the dam absolutely broke. A colleague who was a big comic book fan has won my name in our secret Santa and gave me the first amazing X-Men trade I absolutely adore it. It set my life with my current course – I dedicated my body and mind to writing, editing, lettering and teaching about comic books!
Provided by Marvel Comics
The book is a very accessible starting point, and this is interesting. Because it picked up so much in a thread established by the previous Grant Morrison Run. But I didn’t know that until a few years later, when I read the new X-Men and it was like “Ohhhhhhhh.” And the book is of course extraordinary, very fresh, interesting and energetic, and it really solidified my love for the X-Men.
AIPT: Moving on to Marvel rivals, many of the X-Fans were encouraging to see Krakoa and Hellfire Gala in such a big spotlight in the second season of the Marvel Rivals. What was your knowledge about everything Krakoa goes to writing Hellfire Gala Story Arc? Were you a fan?
Paul: I was! I loved the first house of X and the power of X running over and over, and reread it. I also read a lot of things that followed. It was a great time to become an X-Men fan!
Provided by Marvel Comics
AIPT: Run the X-Men interview column! Our friend and senior Marvel editor Jordan D. White is compiling Marvel rivals’ Infinity comics. And he was, of course, the editor of the Lead X-Men throughout the Kracon era. Did you help us work with the editors who collaborated on source materials that inspired Marvel Rivals’ Hellfire Gala season?
Paul: Yes, even with Jordan on board it provided a real sense of security. He is a great editor and a great resource for any arc, but this means so much for so many readers, especially in this setting. It was great to know that if I accidentally ruined something, he would get me back on track.
Also, when we were making Zoom Calls in the gaming department, we saw early how much the Krakoa era meant to Jordan. It was clearly a pleasant moment for Jordan to see these places.
You will also need to provide props to the assistant editor Emerald Bensa Doon. She also doesn’t take Marvel for a year, but it’s definitely wild. Being an assistant editor for Big 2 is a crazy, complicated and tough job and I quickly mastered it!
AIPT: Marvel Rivals Infinity Comic’s Hellfire Gala Story Arc will be available for read on Marvel Unlimited for a while, but will be printed on August 6th in one 42-page comic.
Paul: If we did our job right, hopefully it won’t! I’m sure I’ll get this comic and follow along with you without the homework I’ve been assigned previously.
But very simply, several different realities are destroyed by one another. In other words, characters from different timelines and different dimensions live, work, fight and enjoy the gala of hell. And then the heijink continues!
aipt: And you can expect these same readers to find on the Marvel rivals page: Hellfire Gala?
Paul: During Hellfire Gala, a very unwelcome guest arrives in the form of Ultron. And he has a demonic plan. This represents a miserable and existential threat to all mutants! High stakes in comic books! That’s a new thing we’re trying to do and I think it’ll catch up.
Provided by Marvel Comics
Our characters – both mutants and non-mutants have very different ideas about how to handle this. For the most part, it’s because of their diverse timelines. Most notably, Captain America has a sharp disagreement with the mutants. But this Captain America is from a future timeline. He sees how dark things are going to be for mutants in the future, which informs his strong opinion of how to handle things in the present. It’s so fun and very complicated!
aipt: You’ve done a lot with these Marvel rival story arcs. It breaks down characters from multiple Marvel franchises (and reality) and mixes humor and character moments with high stakes that new readers can enjoy for years. There are a lot of direct draws from Marvel rivals and beyond, but how do you get into zero in the story you want to tell?
Paul: Great diligence. There’s a lot to balance out and there’s no way I tend to handle it. It depends on the individual arc, how much freedom I have, the brief description for that story, the character combination, the tone of the story, if there are specific settings and skins I need to use, and if it is on.
Provided by Marvel Comics
But one thing I’m trying to do is start with the emotional core of the character, then work outside from there, and layer it with all the other requirements, humor and everything else.
So the Hellfire Gala story begins with this existential threat to the X-Men and how it leads our mutants to make a truly awful, courageous decision without ruining it. Again, Captain America tries to stop it. Because he thinks they carelessly put mutant Kinds at risk, and he simply cannot forgive them.
And while it’s all happening, things, Rocket Raccoon, Jeff the Land Shark, and squirrel girls are all hanging out on the beach. And the emotional core of their story is… “Party, Party Party!”
Provided by Marvel Comics
AIPT: As a writer, do you enjoy playing with Scrolling Infinity Comic Format? I really enjoyed some of the “camera tricks” that you and your artistic collaborators employed. Specifically, how artist Luka Claretti’s infinite waves of the virus tribe approaches the leader in issue 7, and how artist Daniel Scalici zooms the camera to Emma Frostpunch’s Virgne in issue 9.
Provided by Marvel Comics
Paul: Ah, thank you, that’s great! Yes, that’s right. Comic Medium, especially American monthly comics, is very consistent, and it’s fun to push that boundary aside and see what you can do with it. But then… but then… when you get a whole new format? Yes, I’m going to take it and run with it!
But of course, like you said, it couldn’t be done without the extraordinary artists of these books! I was incredibly lucky. They all brought so much humanity, action and passion to these pages, and together with colorist Dee Kanniff and letter Joe Sabino, they did their usual star job and put it all together. What a team!
Provided by Marvel Comics
AIPT: Of all the X-Characters you could write in Hellfire Gala Arc, did you have the most enjoyable writing?
Paul: Emma Frost, all day, all night, all day. I love the characters who drive everyone away to protect themselves. And she does it in a very fun and deeply evil way.
Provided by Marvel Comics
But they all had so much fun, and I’m so excited to see more mutants enter the Marvel rival universe! And who knows if this will happen, but there are certain stories that I intend to pitch immediately if I have at least 18…
AIPT: Ongoing in Marvel Unlimited, featuring the next Marvel Rival Ark – Phoenix-powered Jungley. Is there anything I can share about writing Jean?
Paul: Oh, does Jungrey like characters? Interesting, interesting. I have to keep that in mind for the future…
Provided by Marvel Comics
But even more serious, the new arc dropped last week at Marvel Unlimited, Phoenix-powered Jean Gray said! If you have Marvel Unlimited, you can read it now. If not, it will be printed this October as Marvel Rivals: King in Black.
AIPT: Finally, I’d like to read more of X-Fans: Hellfire Gala and Paul Allor-Penned Comics, enjoying Marvel rivals, what would you recommend?
Paul: Misquoting Gary Oldman in Leon: Professional The Professional, I recommend everything.
(What does it mean, everything?)
Everythingithiiiiiiii!
ahem. But if you want to start a place, I’ve done a lot of work with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
On the creator-owned side, we check out Hollow Heart, a very strange monster love story where emotions, romance and sexual tension all push up to 11.
Courtesy of Vault Comics
It’s a good place to start. But seriously… everything. Especially on the part owned by the creator. If you are new to my job, exploring it more is a beautiful gift you will give yourself.
And you’re worth it.
aipt: It’s a really exciting note that ends. Thank you for that, Paul and for stopping by the X-Men on Monday! X-Fans, Marvel Rivals: Hellfire Gala is on sale this Wednesday!
And here, courtesy of artist Nicoleon and Marvel friends, we look exclusively at what comes next in Marvel rival Infinity Comics.
Provided by Marvel Comics
Provided by Marvel Comics
Provided by Marvel Comics
Next X-Men Monday – August 11, 2025
The next edition of X-Men Monday will be attending Fan Expo Boston 2025 as a press, so that’s a bit of homework for me (and a field trip!). Last year I had a great conversation with Steve Orlando, Jerry Daghan and Marguerite Saubage. This year, I’ll see who I’m talking to this year. X-Fans!
Follow my Fan Expo Boston Adventure via my X (@Chrisahassan) and BlueSky account (@chrishassan.bsky.social) – assuming I remember to post.
Provided by Fan Expo Boston
Until next time, X-Fans will remain exceptional!
