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Few comic book writers have had the impact on the industry that Chris Claremont enjoyed. From 1975 through 1991, he was the core writer on Marvel’s X-Men, building the title up from obscurity to become the most successful franchise in the business at the time. Released online Tuesday via Vimeo on Demand, a new documentary, Comics in Focus: Chris Claremont’s X-Men, takes a look at his groundbreaking work and success.
“More than any other comic book characters, the X-Men’s popularity is due entirely to the effort of one writer,” director Patrick Meaney — who has directed similar profiles of other comic book creators, including Grant Morrison — tells THR in an email. “Chris Claremont took a title that had just been canceled, and together with his artistic and editorial collaborators, turned it into the most successful comic book franchise of the 40 years.”
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The documentary, available here, features Claremont, editors Louise Simonson, Ann Nocenti and Jim Shooter, and others discussing his work on the book during his historic, 17-year run guiding the destinies of some of Marvel’s most successful characters.
“His stories defined these characters and inspired the X-Men films, animated series, and also a new generation of writers, like Joss Whedon and Alan Moore, and his struggle to maintain creative integrity in the face of a corporation intent on endlessly exploiting his creations is increasingly relevant in a world of endless sequels and reboots,” Meaney says. “How can you make something new in a corporate storytelling system? Chris showed us how it’s done.”
In this THR-exclusive clip above, Claremont talks about his take on Wolverine, the character he transformed from a one-time Hulk villain into one of the mainstays of the Marvel Universe (and someone who’d one day anchor a movie franchise for Fox, much to Hugh Jackman’s delight).
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