One of the first announcements to come when Marvel first revealed its Marvel NOW! relaunch was that Jonathan Hickman would be taking control of both Avengers and New Avengers when Brian Michael Bendis wraps up his long run this fall. But while we've seen some early preview art of Hickman and Jerome Opena's first issue of Avengers, we've heard surprisingly little about what the writer has planned for New Avengers. That all changed today when Marvel held its latest "Next Big Thing" press call. Hickman was present along with Senior Editor Tom Brevoort and Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso to discuss both books and how they relate to one another.
The main point to take away from the call is that both Avengers titles will feature separate casts and storylines, but will also be interconnected in various ways. The relationship between Hickman's Fantastic Four and FF books was brought up as a comparison. Hickman was quick to point out that readers don't need to read both books to get a complete story, but also that fans would see shared elements across both.
The Avengers #4 cover
This isn't the only way that Hickman's Avengers run is similar to his Fantastic Four work. "Jonathan plays the long game," said Brevoort. "The sort of planning that he brought to bear on Fantastic Four has now been brought to bear on Avengers and New Avengers." Brevoort described Avengers in particular as "a long-form science fiction novel." Fans of Hickman's graphic design elements and charts will be pleased to hear that as many as three graphs will be included in Avengers #1.
Hickman revealed that the first three-issue arc of Avengers will be called "Avengers World" and will establish the core direction of the book and the mission statement for the new team. The Avengers roster will number about two dozen characters in all (click here to see a portion of that roster). Hickman said that Captain America will be the leader of the team, with Iron Man and Captain Marvel taking on "second-in-command" positions. The team will feature a more diverse roster than usual, and Hickman will shift focus on more obscure characters after the first six issues. Some of these will be original creations, while others are revamped versions of older characters. In all, twelve of the team members will be either female or minority characters. Hickman noted his desire to have the Avengers, "look more like the world."
Hyperion and Eden Fesei were two new members specifically mentioned during the call. Hyperion of course, is the Superman-like hero from Squadron Supreme. For those who didn't read Hickman's Secret Warriors, Eden is the grandson of the Aboriginal mutant teleporter Gateway. Hickman said, "You'll learn a little bit more about his powers and how that's reflected across the Marvel Universe. He's way more important than we originally thought. Clearly I loved him, but now more people will have a chance." Hickman also promised that some of the S.H.I.E.L.D. elements from Secret Warriors will carry over, and Brevoort told fans to expect certain characters from that book to "pop up in one or two other places in Marvel NOW!".
New Avengers #1 cover
Conversely, New Avengers will be a smaller and more intimate book. The team is basically comprised of the Illuminati introduced during Brian Bendis' Avengers run - Captain America, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, Mister Fantastic, and Namor (who will rejoin his allies despite the fallout of Avengers vs. X-Men). Obviously Professor Xavier won't be returning. Instead, Beast will now be the mutant representative among the group. Interestingly, Black Panther will also be included, despite his adamant refusal to join the group in its original incarnation. Brevoort even went so far as to label Panther a "linchpin character" in New Avengers. Hickman revealed that the recent stories devoted to Black Panther and Black Bolt in the pages of FF will play into his plans for the characters in New Avengers. The current status quo of Wakanda following AvX will also be a major driving force in the series. And if the cover to New Avengers #2 is to be believed, so will the Infinity Gems.
Regarding the New Avengers team dynamic, Hickman said, "Do Black Panther and Namor get along? No. Do Namor and Beast get along? No. Do Iron Man and various other characters have problems as things get revealed? Yeah, absolutely. A lot of these guys have known each other for a long time. It's always been written as a loose affiliation. But I don't think I'm overstating it when I say that some of these characters over the course of this book and the direction we're heading in grow to hate each other immensely. It's not a cheery, happy story. It's the death Avengers."
New Avengers #2 cover
The general theme of the call seemed to be that the two books are very much the yin and yang to each other.Even the new logo for New Avengers, with the familiar "A" symbol merging with an omega, is a sign of that. Hickman said, "[The logo] speaks to the point of how the books work together. Avengers is the day book, and New Avengers is night. Avengers is how we want he world to be, and New Avengers is how it is. One book is about life, and the other is about death. So the logos reflect the themes and what's up in the books.
Avengers will kick off in December, with New Avengers following in January 2013. Because Avengers will be a bi-weekly series, it will feature a rotating cast of artists not unlike Amazing Spider-Man. Jerome Opena will tackle the first three-issue arc, and he'll be followed by Adam Kubert, Dustin Weaver, and Mike Deodato. New Avengers will be illustrated by Hickman's Fantastic Four partner Steve Epting. Though it'll be a regular monthly series, Marvel will double-ship the first two issues in January.
Stay tuned to IGN Comics for plenty more coverage as Marvel NOW! and NYCC kick off next week.
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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