Marvel News from NYCC
Marvel was a huge presence at New York Comic Con this weekend, and just as we’ve come to expect from the House of Ideas, they had a contingent of creators on site to bring fans tons of teasers and break the news of what we can expect in the upcoming year. Of course, the plans are huge and thrilling; events, and new titles spinning out of what we are seeing now. 2015 is looking like another big year for Marvel; here are just some of the tidbits from the con:
Secret Wars
Art for 2015 Secret Wars event, courtesy of Newsarama.
The first huge reveal is that in May 2015, Marvel will kick off a year-long event story called Secret Wars. Based on their 1984 event of the same name, Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic will be the creative team behind the 12-issue event that will start at the end of the current Avengers and New Avengers story line Time Runs Out. In case you’re unfamiliar with the original Secret Wars, it was born out of a partnership with Mattel who wanted the rights to Marvel’s characters on the condition that they published a series to tie into the toys. The Secret Wars story linked all of the Marvel heroes and villains, who were also produced in toy form. Secret Wars is infamous for contributing the origin story of Spider-Man’s symbiote suit into the Marvel cannon.
End of Fantastic Four
The slide presented by Marvel at the end of the “Retailers Exclusive” panel, courtesy of Newsarama.
Geekpr0n looked at the legitimacy of the rumors surrounding the end of Fantastic Four back in June and now Marvel has released a teaser that seems to confirm the end of their founding family. At the end of the closed door “Retailer Exclusive: Meet MARVEL!” panel, a poster was shown reading, “The end is FOURever”. This coincides with Bleeding Cool’s discovery of a solicitation from publisher Hachette that read “Witness the closing act on the First Family of the Marvel Universe”. The solicitation confirms the end of the current James Robinson and Leonard Kirk run, but the title strongly implies the death of the famous family, at least for now.
“No More Mutants”
The teaser slide from the end of Marvel’s “Retailer Exclusive” panel, courtesy of ComicBookResources.
At that same “Retailer Exclusive” panel, Marvel released a second teaser, but this one was much more cryptic. The poster features Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch in front of the infamous phrase “no more mutants” and the date January 2015. In case you need a refresher, “no more mutants” is the phrase uttered by the Scarlett Witch at the end of House of M; it resulted in the near decimation of the mutant population. While the meaning of Marvel’s teaser poster is entirely unclear, Marvel editor Mike Marts told Newsarama that the X-Men aren’t going anywhere. He and Senior Vice President of Publishing Tom Brevoort confirmed it will be an Avengers story line spinning out of the currently running Axis event.
Spider-Gwen
Cover art for Edge of Spider-verse 2.
For everyone who has been reading Edge of Spider-verse, I have amazing news; Marvel announced that Spider-Gwen will be getting her own ongoing series. The book will kick off in February 2015, and will star the alternate universe Gwen Stacy who has Spider powers. Spider-Gwen first appeared in issue two of Edge of Spider-verse by creative team Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez and she was an instant fan favourite. Both Latour and Rodriguez will be returning to tell the rest of Gwen’s story.
Wolverines
Cover for Wolverines 1, courtesy of Marvel.
Wolverine fans who are traumatized by his imminent death can find a little comfort in Charles Soule’s new weekly project. Spawning from Logan’s Legacy which will tell the story of how those closest to Wolverine cope with his death, Wolverines will follow a dysfunctional team of people who knew Logan as they try to uncover the many secrets of his life. Charles Soule who wrote Death of Wolverine will be the pen behind Nick Bradshaw’s art.
Other tidbits
As if these announcements weren’t enough, Marvel had other little goodies to share. Volume two of Hawkeye, arguably one of the best ongoing superhero books in print, is getting a new creative team. Clint Barton’s future will be in the capable hands of Jeff Lemire and Ramon Perez. There was also a lot of X-Men news as well, including the revelation that the All-New X-Men who are now in the Ultimate Universe, might not return with all of their team mates. In other news Amazing X-Men are headed into an arc called The Return of the Juggernaut, and Spider-Man will be joining the Jean Grey School in December in Spider-Man and the X-Men.
