§ The May solicits for both Marvel and DC are up.

§ J. Michael Stracsynski is no longer exclusive with Marvel, breaking up the old Millar/Bendis/JMS troika just a bit. He’ll be announcing his newest projects at WonderCon.

So I’m now in a comfortable place to opt out of exclusivity. Consequently, a few weeks ago, I contacted Joe Quesada and Dan Buckley to let them know that I would no longer be exclusive after the first of February, 2008. They were gracious and understanding and I have nothing but praise for both individuals. That Joe and I have disagreed over stuff from time to time, as will happen in any working relationship, that has no impact on how I perceive him as an editor and a stand-up guy. Stuff is just stuff; it has nothing to do with the person. Ditto and then some for Dan Buckley, who has always been an absolute mensch. They understood the importance of being able to grow by working in different universes, and have been completely supportive in this decision.

So what’s next? I will continue to write Thor, finish up The Twelve, and as time permits, take on occasional limited-series special projects for Marvel. I’m not leaving Marvel, only opting to widen the creative horizons a bit to include some of the other amazing comics universes out there.

§ House of Mystery is coming back via Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges.

§ Writer Simon Oliver talks about the Exterminators, ending with issue #30, 20 issues before a planned 50 issue run (30 issues is still pretty good in this day and age.)

Yeah, I’d had a magic number of 50 planted in my head. The ways things came down I was a few issues ahead and that left something like three and half issues to wrap things up. It was tough. At one point I called Jon to try and sell on him the idea of not finishing it, have it just end, with no closure. It felt rushed to [end the series] so quickly, especially as I prefer a fairly relaxed pace so the characters have more room to breath. But Jon, as he tends to be, was right and I wrote an ending, with some degree of closure.

§ Greg Rucka is leaving CHECKMATE and Bruce Jones is taking over.

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