Sam Humphries Dives Into Marvel’s “The Black Vortex”

Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men: The Black Vortex was announced at the recently concluded Cup O’ Joe panel at the New York Comic-Con. This marks the second meeting between the two teams in a crossover between Guardians of the Galaxy, All-New X-Men, Captain Marvel, Cyclops and the Legendary Star-Lord. The story is being shepherded by Star-Lord writer Sam Humphries, who I got a chance to speak with here.

Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men: The Black Vortex has all the makings of a really fun crossover, particularly since these books have been very close-knit. Should we expect characters that are outside of these titles to appear within this story?

Absolutely! Guardians of The Galaxy and X-Men: The Black Vortex is a Marvel cosmic event, and you should expect tons of surprises! In terms of alien races ALONE, we’ve got the Kree, the Badoon, the Spartax, the Brood, the Shi’ar, the Titans…so in terms of characters, you can expect even more surprises and reveals! 

Looks like you guys are going all out for this one! Now, Peter Quill and Kitty Pryde have one of the most interesting long-distance relationships I’ve seen. Will that play a major role here?

Oh totally. Peter and Kitty unite the two teams of the event! Watch their relationship take a turn in The Legendary Star-Lord issues 6-8, and then see their relationship be tested in a big way during the event. By the way, the Black Vortex itself makes its first appearance in The Legendary Star-Lord issue 5!

You guys are juggling a rather large cast of characters in the story, who would you say is going to stand out the most?


Peter and Kitty, like I said, they bring the two teams together, so they sit directly in the center of the event. But also look out for major moments for Captain Marvel, Nova, Storm, Beast, Magik, the Original Five X-Men…plus some secrets I can’t talk about yet. 

Coordinating an event with writers like Brian Bendis, Kelly Sue DeConnick and Gerry Duggan can be a daunting task, how would you describe the process behind putting the story together? 

Awesome and vital. The story started with me, but truly came alive with the contributions of my co-authors, plus our editors Mike Marts and Katie Kubert, not to mention all the amazing artists. The lineup of talent on these books is probably the only thing that can dwarf the lineup of characters in the books! Most of all…we are all great admirers of each other and we have a great time together. 

What do you think sets this crossover apart from other recent events? What does the Black Vortex offer that you won’t see anywhere else?

The Black Vortex is an ancient artifact with the power to unlock the cosmic potential within yourself. Imagine the metamorphosis that turned Norrin Radd into the Silver Surfer…or Jean Grey into Dark Phoenix…available to you. 



But of course, no amount of power comes without a price. Even encountering the Black Vortex will force characters to consider devastating truths within themselves they might prefer to ignore. That kind of deeply personal conflict is going to be front and center in Guardians of The Galaxy and X-Men: The Black Vortex. No one is going to be the same


And the characters that decide to submit to the Black Vortex, and unlock their cosmic potential? Forget it. The cosmos itself will burn.

On the art side, I’ve followed Ed McGuinness’ work since his early days on Deadpool, and I’ve seen him tackle every other superhero situation you can think of…but his cosmic stuff on Nova and Guardians is really something to behold. That said, what made Ed the clear choice to draw the book?

This event is an epic story and we knew we needed an epic artist to bring it to life — and Ed McGuinness is a titan. I’m working on a theory to explain his killer talents — I think he might be Thanos’ brother.

This also happens to be your first time working with him. That in mind, Ed’s art style really shines on big action scenes, and your writing excels on character moments. How would you describe your process while working with him? 

That means is you’re about to get the best of both worlds! Guardians of The Galaxy and X-Men: The Black Vortex is going to deliver dynamite character moments and devastating action scenes, all played out against the epic backdrop of the Marvel Universe. 

Readers can expect Guardians of The Galaxy and X-Men: The Black Vortex this coming February.