Marvel’s next big idea could start with a writer, an artist, or a conversation between people who know these characters inside and out. That has been part of the publisher’s appeal for decades, with each creative team finding something new to explore in heroes readers already love. Now, with Stephen Wacker stepping into the editor-in-chief role, there’s plenty of curiosity about what the next chapter of Marvel Comics will look like.

Wacker brings his own attachment to the characters and a history of helping shape their stories. Speaking with Collider’s Maggie Lovitt at New York Comic Con, he discussed returning to Marvel, working with its editors, and completing his first Marvel Summit as editor-in-chief. The gathering left him enthusiastic about the publisher’s future, even after what he described as an especially demanding week.

According to Wacker, Kevin Feige joined the summit for a couple of hours, contributing to the discussion alongside the assembled comic creators. “Kevin sat with us for a couple hours and was there just sort of throwing ideas around with everybody else, just part of the room,” he told Collider. Wacker didn’t reveal which ideas came out of those conversations, but his description puts Feige in the room participating in the creative exchange. The summit also brought together talent from across the world, including some of Wacker’s favorite writers and artists. He told Collider:

“It’s been the most pressure-filled week, I think, of my entire career. It was really great. It really felt like we were at the start of something that’s gonna be incredible over the next few years.”

Stephen Wacker Wants Marvel’s Main Covers to Matter

*The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe* #1

Wacker’s ideas for Marvel extend to what readers see before they even open a comic. Discussing the publisher’s approach to cover art, he emphasized that a book’s main cover should be memorable and stand out alongside its variants. Those images can become inseparable from a reader’s memory of a particular issue, and he wants them to retain that importance. His enthusiasm also leaves plenty of room for collectors who enjoy a themed variant. Wacker floated the possibility of a series of covers resembling a tarot deck, spread across a year, although he described it as something he wants to pursue. Coming up with variant themes used to be one of his favorite parts of the job, and he said he still has plenty of ideas.

When it comes to the stories themselves, Wacker stressed his reliance on Marvel’s editors and writers. “It’s not my job to do their job for them,” he explained, while acknowledging strong affection for Carol Danvers, Spider-Man, and Kamala Khan. Specific plans from the summit remain under wraps, but Wacker’s first account offers an enthusiastic glimpse of the conversations shaping Marvel’s next several years.

Stay tuned to Collider for more from New York Comic Con.

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Marvel’s New Editor-in-Chief Explains Kevin Feige’s Role in the Comics’ Next Creative Era [Exclusive]