I also have the sneaking feeling that JB and we loyal fans would be much better served if it WAS only published here, outside of a failing and flailing system which could throw all sorts of wrenches into the machinery.

Anyway, being exposed to the DARK PHOENIX trailer (Oy!) recently got me thinking about how exciting it will be to see a fresh take on this era, an era where so many of the characters were still feel of the barnacles they’d later accumulate. Not quite a righting of wrongs, exactly, but rather a fun way to see what might have been. I firmly believe that—later developments and consequences aside—the published X-MEN # 137 was the right way to go for that story, but it’s still fun to get a sense of the road not taken.

JB has long blamed himself for the effect that the death of Phoenix had on the industry, but that storyline is easily in the top five that Marvel’s ever published. And, whereas the (soon to be) two film adaptations have tried to cram and compromise and mangle all of that story into two tidy hours, the comic story took four years of slow buildup. Seventeen years, really, since so much of the story’s power depended of all of those years of slow character and relationship growth. That’s also why # 138 works so well as an epilogue: # 137 capped off the biggest and best X-Men story up to that point (and, arguably, ever), and it only became the biggest and best because it took a long time and a lot of chess moves to get there.

And now we’ll see how the game will go when that one crucial chess piece—the death of Phoenix (or lack thereof)—is played differently!

I still remain hopeful that Marvel and JB can work something out. This may be a true labor of love, and I am grateful that JB plans to share it with us fans one way or another, but it would be nice to see it get published officially so JB could reap some financial benefits for his work.

These delays all sound like 'legal' issues to me. 

JB is willing. CB is (was) willing. 

So, unless there is someone on the X-Books with more pull than CB, it seems the wrinkle has to be somewhere else, right?.

I'm guessing legal. No idea what, as that is a large broad stroke 'Legal'.

There is/was a common declaration across Publishers that said they would not pick up work that had already been done (Perhaps removing their 'voice' from the process). So, if you came to them with something already produced, they wouldn't take it. (Not sure if that is just a rule for the many and not for the Legends among us!)

There has to be a reason for that broad rule.

Obviously, my hope is that CB/Marvel and JB figure out a way. Marvel would take a giant step back to being "Marvel" with John back there.

I'm hugely grateful that John found out that he had this itch and that it has stuck around long enough (Likely due to that lack of soul-sapping interference) that he can see so far down the road with the project.

(As an aside: Marvel may wait until they know there's an end to the project. There may be different implications between a 12 issue series and an ongoing project with no foreseeable end. Marvel should title series "My Way:" That way they could invite a creator to choose any of their titles at any point in time and do it 'their way'. So Walter Simonson on Thor (again), John Byrne on the X-Men, Neal Adams on the Avengers etc.) 

Edit: 'There' replacing 'Their'.