Seeing how AfterShock has immediately become a great publisher for innovation from well-known creators, when did you know you wanted to work with Mike Marts and co?

I worked with Mike Marts on a Cyclops short story for "Death of Wolverine." I really loved that project, and then Mike left sometime later to form AfterShock. He connected with me shortly after that and asked if I had any pitches. I was still absolutely brand new to the comics game, so I truly appreciate the risk Mike took on me. The guy has steered some of the greatest comic runs in modern history (Grant Morrison's X-Men/Joss Whedon's Astonishing... all of Batman) - so I was floored by the chance he took on me. Hopefully I don't completely blow it.

How did you assemble your team on the book (artist, letters, colors, etc)?

Gotta give credit to Mike Marts on this one. He brought Juan and Rachel on board, and they've absolutely blown me away.

How in the world do you juggle your comic work with your day job at Jimmy Kimmel?

Oh, I'm very lonely and have no life and cancel on a lot of friend dinners. But it's worth it.

Were comics in the back of your mind as you did more and more entertainment writing in your career?

Totally. It's a medium very close and personal to me. Writing for Marvel, and now AfterShock, has fulfilled a creative dream of mine that I didn't even know was possible. I get to write and perform comedy AND write comics? I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

You’re active not just on Twitter, but on Reddit as well. What drives you to interact with fans so directly like that?

Cause I am one, first and foremost. Some of my first memories on the Internet came from joining an online forum for X-Men Legends- the PS1 video game. I felt such a strong sense of creative community with all these lonely X-Men fans. We even joined up and wrote a flash-game together... we... were all very popular. Clearly.

And now that I'm on the professional side of things, I still try to read what the fans say and see how they react to things. I try not to let that affect the process thought. I still write the stories for myself. I'm not in the writing game to cater to fans or please the Internet... but I do meticulously read up on my stuff to see how it's playing... I probably shouldn't do that. I just open myself towards pain and rejection. Old internet habits die hard.

You are a well-known Cyclops apologist (your Cyke solo story in ‘Life After Logan’ was one of the best interpretations of the character I’ve ever read). I’m an OG Wolverine guy. Explain to me why I should like that skinny mutant radical?

Cause, deep down, we are Cyclops. We're all trying to keep ourselves together. We all feel awkward around others, maybe even detached because of who we are. I hate when Cyclops is presented as the boy scout or popular, preppy guy. He's totally not. He's boring, sure. But so am I. He's deeply repressed and trying his best... and he still always ends up failing and falling on his face. I relate a lot to the guy. I find him inspiring. Sometimes, we coddle our favorite characters. But Cyclops isn't written that way. He is put through the gauntlet constantly, and he rarely ever wins. He's written maturely. He can be an adult - an adult who totally makes the wrong call. I'd love to write more in his voice. He'll always be my favorite.