The X-Corporation (or X-Corp) was a concept first introduced in Grant Morrison‘s celebrated New X-Men run. It was a nonprofit organization dedicated to investigating mutants rights violation and acting as an international extension of the X-Men. After Morrison departed the X-Men, X-Corp was eventually dissolved like a real company. However, it looks like the company is making a comeback with the announcement of a new X-Corp ongoing series.
This is just the latest new title for next wave of X-Men books in the current Reign of X phase of this era of the franchise. Tini Howard, who has been writing the Excalibur series that launched almost two years ago and has been a key creative player in the direction of the X-Men comics franchise, including co-spearheading the recent X of Swords event, will be penning the book. She is joined by artist Alberto Foche making his Marvel comics debut with colors by Sunny Gho.
Fans may recall that X-Corp was actually stealth announced back in 2019 in the pages of Captain Marvel #11, with artist Carmen Carnero actually set to draw. However, as Jonathan Hickman explained in an interview with AIPT last December, plans and scheduling shifted.
“I can’t remember which month it’s actually going to debut because the company has some funky scheduling coming up and we’re shifting things around, but there will be a formal announcement with the creative team and roster and all that soon.”
Take a look at the cover for the first issue by David Aja, as well as a preview of Foche’s interior art and the full text of the announcement for the series below. Look for X-Corp #1 to arrive in stores on May 12.
X-CORP #1
Written by TINI HOWARD
Art by ALBERTO FOCHE
Colors by SUNNY GHO
Cover by DAVID AJA
On Sale 5/12
The X-Book every fan has been waiting for is finally here! X-CORP, written by Tini Howard (Excalibur) and drawn by Alberto Foche (Dan Dare) will hit stands this May. Taking Jonathan Hickman’s masterplan for mutantkind to the next level, the series will premiere a brand-new group of X-Men that will prove once and for all that mutantkind means business!
The deals have been made. Mutantkind is safe on Krakoa. As the Reign of X continues, what are the wants of the mutants who have everything? Leading the charge is X-CORPORATION, headed by CXOs Monet St. Croix and Warren Worthington, a duo as cutthroat and ruthless in the boardroom as they are on a battlefield. But X-Corp needs more than just its figureheads. As Monet sets out to staff their team with some of the brightest and most deviant minds in mutantkind, Warren finds himself in a tense confrontation with one of Krakoa’s first allies who wants to know the truth: on Angel’s wings, will X-Corp crash or soar?
Here’s what Howard had to say about the X-Men’s next big venture:
“Hello! Some of you have been waiting a while for this book, and I’m the one to blame. I first pitched this story because I absolutely love the weird corporate world within Marvel Comics – specifically books like New X-Men, All-New X-Factor, and the history of what the X-Corporation was before. But in a new mutant era of gates and deals, X-CORP’s ‘corporate embassy’ is a bit obsolete – and I refuse to sell you guys anything I wouldn’t buy myself.
“We shelved the book for a time (I had X OF SWORDS on my plate immediately after) and decided that X-CORP existed quietly in the background, there for us to debut when we had the right story to tell, the right public offering to make, if you will. Empyre: X-Men gave me a chance to test-drive some of the earliest concepts – Angel and Monet as dual CXOs, Jamie Madrox by their side, and the cleaning-up of some of Charles Xavier’s portfolio. Since then, I’ve reworked the book entirely – and you’ll know exactly why you’ve waited until now to see what they’re up to. I’ve got a corporate past myself, and it’s all going into this book. X-Corp: We’re Simply Superior.”
Artist Alberto Foche, known for his work on Dan Dare, makes his Marvel Comics debut with this bold new series.
“I´m very happy to contribute to the awesome X-Men comic universe and specifically with this series,” Foche said. “Tini’s scripts are intense and have a flair that I appreciate. I hope everybody enjoys reading this comic as much as I had making it!”
Grab hold as X-CORP introduces new concepts that will revolutionize the Marvel Universe as we know it when it arrives this May! For more information, including a first look at interior artwork, visit Marvel.com.
(NOTE: This post has been updated with a new version of one of the preview pages for X-Corps #1, which corrects the coloring of the skin on the character Monet.)
