here is the readers digest Nightcrawler version:
CWN: I come to you, hat in hand, hoping for a crumb of spoiler... Okay, tell me what about each of YOUR core characters made you want to keep them on YOUR team.
Nightcrawler. I love Kurt. He's one of the most interesting characters in the Marvel Universe, to me. He's had the worst life you can imagine. Thrown into a waterfall by his mother to die shortly after his birth, raised by stranger, killed his brother, hounded and hunted because he looks like a blue devil, and yet he's got a great spirituality and sense of humor. He takes it all and keeps smiling, or will, anyway, once I take over I'm personally sick of the angsty, mopey, depressed Nightcrawler.
Iceman. Bobby's great. Incredible power, awesome personality. But I think he's been underdeveloped in recent years, and I think people have missed the core of his character. He's the Iceman. He's got a sense of humor, but it comes from a different place than Kurt.
Kurt has a good spirit, and a warmth of personality that comes from having nothing and believing he's in for more in life. Kurt has hope. Bobby had a family life and came from a comfortable home, and his personality extends from what he sees is lacking in his life. He's not as old as the others. Not as respected. Lorna wants Alex and not him. He's petulant and moody. Kurt is "the glass is half full". Bobby is "the glass is half empty". I know some people won't like that, but it is who he has always been, if people pay attention to the character.
Bobby's humor and personality have always been more interesting when he's causing problems with his immaturity and acid tongue. Kurt's sense of humor is derived from something more inside him that makes him strong. Bobby's sense of humor is derived from something missing inside him that keeps him inherently weak and lashing out. The same reason he hasn't pushed his powers to the limit. I plan to get into what it is that's missing and why he is the way he is and has been, and hopefully, have him fill that hole
The other characters are still secret, but I have great reasons for keeping them, too. It all comes down to making the characters an interesting mix of blended personalities. If they strike all the right chords, then we're in business. Powers are meaningless, ultimately. It's the people and who they are and how they relate that matters.
(read the rest of his characters descriptions as well... he really *gets* these guys)
CWN: When I look at your recent bio I see that you are more closely associated with individual character books then a team, how's the transition for you?
CA: Tougher than I thought. My goal is to give everyone a moment to shine in each issue, but focus on one particular character per arc, and that's working well so far. But it's leaving things tight and difficult to manage, sometimes. I finish scripting every issue and then hit my head Homer Simpson-like and saying "D'oh! I forgot Kurt!" (ok that's not really relevant but i thought it was cute, and Kurt better not be the character he's constantly forgetting to include)
CWN: There is just so much untapped continuity to grab from. Are there any REALLY old daggling plot lines you might look at?
CA: My first question when I took over was "What happened to Krakoa? Is he still floating around out there in space? Did he re-enter the atmosphere?" That's a dangling plot thread that goes back to the very re-introduction of the X-Men. Come forward from there and you trip over at least two an issue.
Why was Mystique being chased by those villagers? How could she toss her own child over a waterfall?
Does anyone remember there were elves in issue #102? What was that all about and what happened to them?
And the biggest dangler of all ... who's the third Summers brother?
Some of those will be answered during my run. All of them, if sales go up and I stick around.
(woo boy and here comes a reeeealy long chunk, it deals wiht both Nighty and Northstar re: Northies homosexuality defining him, and Kurts religion defining him.)
CWN: I hope that you will be exploring Northstar's character beyond him being gay, which is important to him but should not be a DEFINING character aspect.
CA: Okay.
CWN: The same can be said about Nightcrawler's religion...
CA: All right. Are there questions you want to ask me about this, or is this the opinion part of the interview?
CWN: Questions? In a way they were.
CA: I know. I just felt like being literal and giving you a hard time because I knew there'd be a round two of questions. Never take me too seriously.
CWN: I'm curious how much you are going to play with those aspects of these respected characters.
CA: Nightcrawler's religion takes a big role in the first year, and comes to a spectacular head that will shock and anger people with any deep-seated religious convictions. It's going to be awesome, and completely logical within the continuity that's been established. (YES!!!! he's gonna tick off deeply religious peoplel so that means....
: )And Northstar's homosexuality is what it is. Part of him without defining him. I've had many friends over the years who are Gay, both men and women, some of them very close, personal friends, and homosexuality has never been the defining sense in their lives any more than being straight is the defining element of who I am, but it is a factor in varying different ways, depending upon the person. In fact, I wrote a scene with Northstar and one of the X-men, a straight male, where they're discussing Gambit.
X-MAN: "I don't get it. What do women see in that jerk?"
NORTHSTAR: "He's a babe. I'd sleep with him in a heartbeat."
X-MAN: "Oh yeah. I keep forgetting you think that way."
That's Northstar's existence in the X-Men in a nutshell. "Oh, yeah. I forgot you think that way."
Personally, I view homosexuality as like eye-color. It's a part of the individual that they may like or dislike, but it's what they've got and they live with it. You can wear colored contacts, or you can be proud of you color.
CWN: The "Church of Humanity" is a story line that Joe Casey left intact when he left, does this mean you have plans?
CA: Oh, do I have plans. I would have just let it go, but this damn continuity thing seems to upset folks so much if you ignore it completely. The Church will play an important role in an upcoming story with Kurt that explores the nature of his choice to become a priest. It has some surprising aspects to it that should please and shock long time fans. It will bring an end to the Church storyline that Casey left dangling. Of course, if my sales drop out of the top 25, Casey will be back telling his version, so stay tuned.
CWN: I don't recall ever hearing about Kurt becoming ordained prior to Casey's run, when did this happen? Off "camera"?
CA: Yeah, that was annoying, wasn't it. Kind of like Kurt's entire priestly experience. Off-camera. I think Casey did that because he really wanted to do his Nightcrawler/Church of Humanity/"Holy War" series, so he slipped it through as part of his own agenda and left me with a dangling thread that sticks out like a sore thumb. I'll have to thank him for that, someday.
out of sequence but thought i should include it:
CWN: Can you give us an approximate arc-by-arc breakdown?
CA: #410 - #414, HOPE, and it's epilogue. It makes some sweeping changes in the X-Men and brings in a couple of new additions to the mansion. It's also a good jumping on point for new readers, as it's very friendly and re-introduces Xavier, his dream, and his mansion and students. It also brings in Northstar.
#415: A stand-alone story involving Mystique and her relationship to Nightcrawler...
#416: A stand-alone story with the various members of the X-Men dealing with recent changes to the team and the mansion.
#417 - #420 An arc dealing with Archangel and Betsy, as well as a secondary story bringing Havok back.
#421- 422: A mini-arc, which includes Alpha Flight.
#423-#424: A Nightcrawler 2 parter.
#425: The wedding.
:
into Uncanny! :austen
This just seems great!
(*hope I won't regret saying that later*)
The Librarian ~ Keeper of Elfin Facts 
I'm sick of my subconscious...it's like it's got a mind of its own... 
