The NZA Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 source Entertainment Weekly Exclusive on Marvel NOW! A lot of this information is still trickling out, and the whole initiative will be unveiled at San Diego Comic Con, but here's what's been hinted at or confirmed so far: -Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that the relaunch is officially being branded "Marvel NOW!". -unlike with DC's "New 52," this will not be a complete or partial continuity reboot with an entire slate of new #1s. -instead Marvel is positioning this new initiative as an entry point for new and lapsed readers, to ease them into current Marvel continuity. -between October 2012 and February 2013, Marvel will be launching or relaunching one or more new series each week, but not every series is getting a relaunch. -Marvel's current creative lineup is being shaken up considerably, with many longstanding teams being moved from their current assignments to new ones. -books branded as part of the Marvel NOW! initiative will be clearly labeled as such, feature digital download codes, and have more "Augmented Reality" features like AvX. -some characters will be sporting new costumes if the leaked artwork is anything to go by. -Jean Grey will be returning, but now how you think. Here are the CONFIRMED new series and creative teams as of update: -Uncanny Avengers by writer Rick Remender and artist John Cassaday Remender describes this as “a bridge book, something that can delve into both worlds. It has a natural purpose for existing after AvX, where we can focus on human-mutant relations. The broad strokes are: Captain America comes out of AvX and recognizes that he hasn’t done enough to help the mutants.” The book will be drawn by John Cassaday, and will include heavy-hitters like Cap, Thor, and Wolverine, but Remender is also excited to focus on some less well-known characters, like Cyclops’ little brother Havok. “Havok’s always been the black sheep rock-and-roller of the Summers family. He can’t do that anymore. You’re going to see Havok become one of the biggest players in the Marvel Universe.” Perhaps appropriate for a team that comprises a vision for the Marvel Universe’s future, the Uncanny Avengers’ first villain will be, literally, a ghost of the past. “In 1943, Arnim Zola, who was this bio-fanatic engineer, recorded the Red Skull’s consciousness, and set it to wake up 70 years later. So the Red Skull [in Uncanny] is right out of 1943-44. Prime Nazi scumbag. In his mind, he’s taking that vitriol and hate and Nazi horror and methodology, and pointing it at the mutant species.” And Remender stresses that the mash-up philosophy of Uncanny extends beyond the team’s lineup. “I’m not just smashing the heroes together, I’m smashing the villains together. It becomes something unlike anything we’ve ever seen, with stakes that are so huge, it takes a team comprised of the best Avengers and the best X-Men to go take care of it.” (Starts in October) -All-New X-Men by writer Brian Bendis and artist Stuart Immonen “The X-Men is a tough nut to crack,” says Brian Michael Bendis. “It’s the Robert Altman movie of comics. There’s thousands of characters, all of which have a website dedicated just to them. I wanted to make sure I had a take that was unique.” So when it came time to plan for Marvel NOW!, Bendis — who’s been Marvel’s go-to Avengers guy for close to eight years — remembered an idea that had been floating around the Marvel writers’ retreats for a long time. “It was about the original X-Men. If they saw what the Marvel universe was now…well, it’s so much worse than the Days of Future Past that they’re always worried about. This would scare the crap out of them. Thus: All-New X-Men, a time-travel story with the original X-Men jumping to the present. We’re talking Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Marvel Girl. They’re teenagers. They’re wearing blue-and-yellow outfits. They’re seeing their older selves, and they don’t all like what they see. Bendis is literally drawing the teenaged X-Men from a specific panel in the original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby X-Men series, “a moment where they’re at their most feisty.” And although he can’t talk too much about the mechanics that get the old-school X-Men into the present, he promises this is not a dream sequence. “No Danger Room, no imaginary story. This is actually happening.” (In a statement guaranteed to calm at least some of the skeptics, Bendis swears: “The space-time continuum is of utmost importance to me.”) Bendis stresses that All-New X-Men is most of all a character story: the tale of young, idealistic people who are suddenly faced with a bleak vision of their own future. “Here’s the big question that the original X-Men are gonna be faced with: We’re gonna grow up, and this is what we’re going to get? That is not acceptable.” And of course, the time-travel shenanigans at the center of All-New X-Men will bring fan-favorite character Jean Grey back to the mainstream comics continuity for the first time since her (second) death in 2004. “It’s the one thing X-Men fans have always asked for is: They want Jean Grey back. But they want Jean Grey. Not reincarnated Jean, or the ghost of Jean. Well, you’re getting Jean back. And Jean is gonna be looking at a world that rattles her.” And Bendis brings up an intriguing personal connection when he talks about writing the beloved character: “I love feisty redheads. I’ve been married for many years to a very feisty redhead. But I’ve never applied that to writing before. I didn’t even realize what I was doing, but Stuart Immonen is drawing the book, and looking at it I realized: ‘Ha ha, I’m doing my wife!’” (November) -Avengers by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Jerome Opena Jonathan Hickman tells big stories. During his run on Fantastic Four, the writer has become known for meticulously plotting out stories years in advance in what Alonso describes as “his Unabomber-sized notebook.” And he’ll bring that maximal aesthetic to Avengers. “It’s not six Avengers, it’s 18 or more,” he teases, promising a diverse mix of popular characters, B-listers, and new characters. (Jerome Opena will have his work cut out for him as the Avengers artist.) Unsurprisingly, Hickman’s favorite Avengers stories veer toward the cosmics: the Korvac Saga, the Kree-Skrull War, and the time-scrambling Avengers Forever. Hickman’s first story arc on Avengers is called “Avengers World,” but even the term “world” sounds a bit too micro for Hickman’s ambitions. In the wake of AvX and a new era of Marvel, “The obvious solution is for the heroes to become something bigger and larger, a more appropriate response to an ever more dangerous time.” Avengers will be published twice a month, and Hickman is currently planning to mix together longer five-to-six-issue story arcs with one-off stories that focus on individual characters. As for those characters, Hickman is mostly keeping mum about the lineup right now, but he revealed one teammate to whet our appetite. Kids, we’ve got six words for you: Shang-Chi, master of Kung Motherf—ing Fu. (Starts in December) And here are some of the rumored new creative teams and books being launched: -Captain America by writer Rick Remender and artist John Romita Jr -Wolverine by writer/artist Frank Cho -Iron Man by writer Kieron Gillen and artist Greg Land -Fantastic Four by writer Matt Fraction and artist Salvador Larocca -Guardians of the Galaxy by writer Brian Bendis and artist ??? -Nova by writer Jeph Loeb (or Brian Bendis) and artist Ed McGuinness -Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. by writer Jeff Parker and artist ??? -Avengers Assemble by writer Mark Waid and artist ??? Contrary to what was first reported, the illustration above by Marvel's Joe Quesada is NOT cover artwork from Remender's Uncanny Avengers, according to Marvel representatives. As others speculated, it appears to simply be a piece of promotional artwork to showcase characters who will be getting a big new push from the Marvel NOW! initiative. The artwork also highlights some of the visual changes characters and their costumes will undergo in the coming months. Link to original image Get more Marvel NOW! updates at Bleeding Cool Cassady on Avengers >>>>>>>>>> JRJR so that's cool, bendis + immomen book i'm all over, and ill try almost anything Hickman writes. the rest are wait & see for me, though i dig Fraction, and kinda feel bad for Nova fans potentially getting Loeb. and before baytor/anyone else asks: no, i have no idea what the fuck the Hulk is wearing, either. edit: little more info: ...In what will surely be seen as the publisher's response to DC Comics' New 52 which set it sights on new and lapsed readers with issue #1 jumping on points, Marvel NOW is being promised as an easy entry point into the classic Marvel U. Throughout October, Marvel will launch a number of brand new series -- often more than one a week -- with additional new series and relaunches for some classic books rolling out through February of next year... ...Aside from the core creative changes, all books branded with the Marvel NOW banner will feature a full slate of digital bells and whistles as part of the "Marvel ReEvolution" products that have played a part in "AvX's" launch. For example, every Marvel NOW first issue will feature AR enhanced recaps embedded in their covers, and the books will all carry a code for a free digital download of the issue through the Marvel App. In addition, the publisher is promising other creative shakeups outside the shuffling of their big name talent on their big name franchises. Marvel NOW books will feature new "cinematic" cover designs, and their characters will sport redesigned costumes, many shown off in a new piece by Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada, a scan of which appeared on the CBR forums in the early hours of this morning. "but NZA how did black fury get" I'M GLAD YOU ASKED the chris View Public Profile Send a private message to the chris Find More Posts by the chris ya'll remember when batman's suit got black after the 80s movie and spidey got organic web shooters for a bit after the 2000's one? yeah, this is a bit more blatant than those times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ganny McVagflaps Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I actually "lol'd". Outstanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panch Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Nova by Jeph Loeb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iambaytor Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 So wait, they replaced Nick Fury entirely? AGAIN? Also what is with Cyclops costume, I thought that was Daredevil for a minute. Why is the Hulk wearing armor? Why is Ironman wearing black armor? Fuck this shit, I'm going back to the 70s Spider-Man issues. There's a Marvel team-up where he teams up with the original cast of Saturday Night Live that seems less contrived than this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ganny McVagflaps Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 So wait, they replaced Nick Fury entirely? AGAIN? It's his son. Treat yourself to Nza's spoiler. It is most splendid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iambaytor Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Oh no, I got that, but I was under the impression that Ultimate 616 Nick Fury was coexisting with original Nick Fury, not replacing him. I hope he can be poignant and carefully plotted like his ultimateverse counterpart who bemoaned the lack of a Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles in the alternate universe he was living in. The black man likes fried chicken, that's some good characterizin' there, Lou. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtype Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 is cyk's diver costume all that different? i assumed it's just the redness of him lighting up for the pose. glad Cable's back again, and i don't really mind Stark's black armor there, but i was kinda into the look he recently had prior: kinda prefer Thor there too, but yeah, that was a nice look for Iron Man, i thought. Again im not even touching the Hulk-armor thing, gotta figure it's a throwback to Planet or something with all the Hulks running around right now. With Secret Warriors tragically over, and Fury only in his Max book right now (far as i know, though i think Panch said he's in charge of Winter Soldier, a bru book ill inevitably get around to), are we safely assuming sam jackson-fury is here to replace him, rather than just lead the Avengers or something? ps coming around to Rocket Racoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hakujin Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 What should fans say to Marvel after that press release? "Um, thanks for telling us how your giant AvX crossover will end mid-way through the run." "but NZA how did black fury get" I'M GLAD YOU ASKED the chris View Public Profile Send a private message to the chris Find More Posts by the chris ya'll remember when batman's suit got black after the 80s movie and spidey got organic web shooters for a bit after the 2000's one? yeah, this is a bit more blatant than those times More blatant and much more significant. *sigh* Does this mean Ultimate Nick Fury will now be a white guy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 How did you guys miss the new Fury thing? I think it was Arch that was in here swearin' up a storm when it happened. Nevermind. I answered my own question. Sooo, judging by that promo image...does this mean we're definitely getting a Cable movie now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Sooo, judging by that promo image...does this mean we're definitely getting a Cable and Rocket Raccoon movie now? fixed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Sooo, judging by that promo image...does this mean we're definitely getting a Cable movie now? Because Rocket Raccoon is in Guardians of the Galaxy, which is already confirmed, and I don't feel it's necessary to be forced to point that out. fixed fixed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Sooo, judging by that promo image...does this mean we're definitely getting a Cable movie now? Also Rocket Raccoon confirmed for his own solo movie because i don't want to live on a planet that gives Howard the Duck his own and not RR. fixed fixed fixed fixed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I could fix you all night. Hey, what's that floaty helmet looking thing between Hulk and Jean Grey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 yeah, was hoping one of ya'll who was keeping up would know - S.H.I.E.L.D. logo's all i got. i wish it was a Nextwave leftover or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keth Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Invisihead. Lord of the realm of.... floating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panch Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Wait. Is... is that... Power Man Luke Cage to the far left?! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 All outta +1's fool! I love that Wonder Showzen will live on eternally as that .gif. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panch Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Better Haku me, muthafucka! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 Huge info-dump! Axel Alonso and Tom Breevort talk in-depth about Marvel NOW! with CBR "'AvX' is very much an epilogue for the stories that we've been telling for the last 8-9 years. It effectively wraps a red ribbon around the era that more or less started with 'Avengers Disassembled' and 'House of M' and then carried through 'Messiah CompleX' and all of the big stories we've done since then," Axel Alonso told CBR News. "So when the story comes to a conclusion you'll see how it book ends and wraps up all these previous stories and leaves the Marvel Universe changed and ready for the future. So in that sense it's both an epilogue and a perfect prologue to what we want to do now. It kicks off our next decade's worth of stories." "A lot of our writers have been on books for several years or more and a lot of good comes from change and mixing things up," Alonso continued. "So we told our creators, 'Don't answer us now, but start thinking about what books you would love to write and what books you really think you could knock out of the park and why.' When people came back with their answers we ended up with a really fantastic mix of talent on the right books." "I think it starts with our core readers because the long and short of it is that this is not a reboot. We don't transform our world. We don't go back in time. This is all taking place in the Marvel Universe that readers are already invested in. It's characters that they already know and the important thing is that the Marvel Universe is entering into a new era, where among other things the line between mutant super hero and other super heroes might not be as big as it was before," Alonso remarked. "'New Avengers' had seismic impact when Spider-Man and Wolverine joined the team, and you'll see a similar impact here. You're going to be looking at a very different reorganization of our teams." The evolution of the mutant predicament will allow creators to plunge the X-Men into the thick of future non-mutant specific Marvel Universe events. "As a former X-Men group editor I learned firsthand how segregated the X-Men were from the rest of the Marvel Universe," Alonso said. "It wasn't a surprise to me to learn that 99% of their stories were about the X-Men confronting yet another threat to their existence. That makes for interesting stories, but what about the story when they go and save the world? Or where they stop a villain from blowing a building up? So we asked ourselves, how can the X-Men be integrated into this universe and what are the limitations of that integration?" Tom Brevoort added, "At some point in the '90s the X-Men books sort of skewed off from the rest of the line, sitting technically in the same world, but feeling very much at a remove from the rest of the Marvel U. That's something that we're going to be looking to change going forward." ... "In essence, as we attempt to bridge the divide between the Avengers and the X-Men as entities within our publishing world, 'Uncanny Avengers' will be the primary bridging book, a place where the team is as likely to battle Apocalypse as the Red Skull, and where long-established X-characters will stand side-by-side with long-established Avengers characters, in a very public manner," Brevoort continued. "Among the characters who'll make up the team are Captain America, Wolverine, Thor, the Scarlet Witch, Rogue and Havok, with a few other surprises waiting in the wings." "We're not ready to tell you any more about it, but Jonathan (Hickman) will also be writing 'New Avengers' as well as 'Avengers. I mention that because the second thing you need to know is that, like 'Amazing Spider-Man,' 'Avengers' is going to be shipping twice a month. So there'll be three Hickman-written Avengers comics coming out every 30 days -- two issues of 'Avengers' and one issue of 'New Avengers,'" Brevoort explained. "And that's important because while Jerome Opena is launching the series and drawing the opening story, Adam Kubert will be the second artist, Dustin Weaver will be the third, and Mike Deodato will be the fourth. I'm sure as we get deeper into the series other guys will be contributing as well, but this powerhouse line-up of illustrators will take us through the first six months of the title. ... The situations the Avengers must face will crop up quite frequently and build upon each other. "In typical fashion, Jonathan has laid out plans for literally years of stories -- at our recent Editorial Retreat, I worked out that he'd broadly plotted through issue #63 at this point. And like his work on 'Fantastic Four' and 'Secret Warriors,' the scale just gets bigger and bigger and bigger as you go, with payoff leading to payoff leading to payoff," Brevoort said of Hickman's grand plans, "'Avengers' is the crown jewel of the Marvel publishing line, especially after the juggernaut success of the movie, so we're going to be treating it as such--with the best characters, drawn by the best artists, coming out on a frequency that will help to propel story velocity and that will reward readers month after month after month in a big way." A large number of titles will be part of the Marvel NOW! initiative, but that doesn't mean that every book Marvel publishes will be restarted with a new #1 issue. "Anything that has a story hook tied into this initiative will be branded Marvel NOW!" Alonso explained. "So there will be a lot of new #1 issues including 'Thor' #1, an 'Iron Man' #1, and a 'Captain America' #1, but there might be some other titles, like 'Daredevil' for instance, which won't go through a creative change or have a new #1. Mark Waid is doing a fantastic job on that book and his run is still very new. So we have no interest in interrupting that book. Of course, if Mark and Steve Wacker come up with a great hook that legitimizes things the book would become part of the Marvel NOW! line up." The Marvel NOW! initiative doesn't have a set number of books to it and will be comprised almost entirely of ongoing series. That means there will be quite a few new volumes and new Marvel titles coming in the months ahead, but no existing Marvel titles are being phased out to make room for the Marvel NOW! books. (NOTE: articles goes on to say that books may be ending for "unconnected reasons," aka low sales. --Spike) The price of Marvel's comics will also be unaffected by the Marvel NOW! initiative "My understanding is that price points will remain what they are," Alonso said. "There shouldn't be any unpleasant surprises on that front." "In the past covers have always been designed with the news stand in mind with the logo placed at the top of the cover 95 percent of the time and indicia at the bottom. We're taking a more holistic view now with covers in understanding the logo and everything are all part of the overall design, much the same way as they are in movie posters or book covers," Alonso explained. "So we're trying to think progressively in terms of how we approach covers." The new covers will also make use of the digital technology Marvel began employing during "AvX," specifically the Marvel AR app. "We're hoping that lapsed readers and new fans will visit their local comic stores after hearing about how accessible the books in the Marvel NOW! initiative are. Once they're there they'll be able to take their iPhone or iPad and scan a book's cover and that will give them the full bit of information about the book, a 'trailer,' so to speak, that will sum things up and get you in. Newsarama interviews Axel Alonso on Marvel NOW! Nrama: ... so to whatever extent you can discuss it right now, what is the nature of the post-AvX "change"? Is it more in the way characters end up at the close of the story, or is it a bigger, House of M, "no more mutants" type shift? Alonso: Like I said, this ain’t a reboot. We don’t go back in time, into the future, or to an alternate universe. Earth isn't transformed into a square or an oblong — none of that type of stuff happens. What happen is, events compel the Avenges and the X-Men to re-think themselves as organizations — who they are, what they stand for, how they operate. For one team, that starts with new leadership, and a new challenge to that leadership. For the other team, it means rethinking the philosophy of how it operates and how it is composed and dealing with the loss of a major character, who must embark on a new mission that requires he goes elsewhere. Nrama: Marvel has categorically denied the possibility of a reboot at every step. Does that mean that it's something that, at this point, you're dogmatically opposed to? Alonso: I hate making statements like "dogmatically opposed." Nothing good comes from cutting off discussion at the root. What I will say is that it would take an incredible hook for us to consider a line-wide reboot. I can say that with 99.99 percent certainty. But I’ll never say "absolutely no." There's always that point-zero-one-percent chance that someone will come along with the idea that you never saw coming. But again, Marvel NOW! is not a reboot. It’s a new chapter set in the Marvel Universe that everybody's invested in. The Avengers and the X-Men, and everybody in between, will be inherit a changed world after AvX. Nrama: We're in a world where an Avengers movie made $600 million, so is there a consideration given to catering to that audience? Alonso: Catering is making the characters in your comics look exactly like the characters in the movie, and we definitely aren’t doing that. Indeed, I wouldn’t say we’re “catering,” at all. We’re just aware that the Avengers have more fans that ever, and doing our best to make the new stories accessible to anyone who decides to test-drive the comics. Nrama: Right, in fact, based on the teaser image, it appears that a lot of the Avengers characters — most notably Thor and Hulk — in fact look a lot different than people are used to seeing them. Alonso: Indeed, they do. And you’ll see why they do as the stories unfold. When fans hear the new creative teams and story hooks, and see the first images from these titles, they’re going to flip. Nrama: Then there's Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen on All-New X-Men, meaning that the rumors are true and that Bendis is indeed taking on the X-Men. And it's something of a time travel story involving the original X-Men? Alonso: Let me be clear — this story takes place in the present. It brings the Lee and Kirby X-Men into the present to see what the world has become. They see the hard road they’ve traveled and, indeed, who of them made it this far. These are characters that grew up in a particular era, believing a mantra taught by Charles Xavier, and they're going to come into a world that's very different from that dream. And they're here to stay. This is not a story arc or a limited series — they're here for the long haul, and that’s going to make for years of fascinating stories. Imagine Logan and Scott Summers of the present when they see young Jean Grey show up. Imagine her reaction: "What? Why are you guys looking at me so weird?" Nrama: So is the motivation for Bendis as simple as one would guess— he's never really written the X-Men outside of 12 issues of Ultimate X-Men, and after writing Avengers for eight years, he was looking for a new challenge? Alonso: Yeah, pretty much. When we toyed with the story idea, it was Brian who really stepped up to the plate with big ideas. Hardly a shock, because this story plays to his strengths. He excels at stories featuring young people who come to terms with new powers, new realities. Where he wants to take these characters, it's amazing stuff. Nrama: With a big initiative like this, one wonders what books might actually not be affected — I think of something like X-Factor, which tends to sit out most major events. Alonso: X-Factor is one of a handful of titles that won’t be profoundly affected. I can’t say more yet. ^^THANK GOD Nrama: So the new launches will be something of a combination of relaunches with a new #1, like Avengers, plus, new series like Uncanny Avengers, and maybe the return of some series that readers haven't seen in a while? Alonso: Without a doubt. Marvel NOW! promo image is a glimpse of the big things you’ll be seeing in the coming year. In October through February, readers — old, lapsed or new — will have at least one reason to go into a comic store: a new issue #1 that is an entry-point into the Marvel Universe. We have faith in each and every one of these launches, which is why we’re taking a patient approach and not crowding them together. And we are building them to last; don’t expect any creator shifts or cancellations around issue 4 or 5. At last week’s editorial summit, each writer shared their plans for their titles, and let me tell you, there isn’t a weak link in the chain. Uncanny Avengers info Marvel NOW! - on the covers: Marvel.com: What can you say anything else about the way the exterior appearance and the packaging of the books are going to change? Joe Quesada: We [are] taking a hard look at the way we design our covers. I’ll tell you the history behind this. Tom Brevoort runs these workshops for the junior editorial staff. Several months ago, he asked me to come in and do a talk on covers, cover design, what I feel makes strong covers, yadda yadda. So in preparation for that meeting, what I decided to do was, I wasn’t going to come in with a slide presentation or a keynote presentation of comic book covers that were successful. I wanted to look outside of comics and to the industry that I think is the most successful when it comes to poster work or cover work, which would be the movie industry throughout the ages. So I started going through all my huge library of movie poster reference, everything from the earliest days of filmmaking to today, the modern era, and I started pulling images from different eras of things that I think, images that I think work. Certain designs that I thought worked, whether they were abstract or literal, and presented this to the group. And as I was going through each one of the images, it really sort of dawned on me as I looked at the movie posters that we have a standard rule in the world of comic books which is the comic book logo should appear on the top third of the cover. Now, we’ll deviate from that every once in a while, but the norm you have got to say that 90 percent to 95 percent of comic books have the logo at the top third of the cover. And that is something that has historically been done in comics because historically comics were sold in a newsstand, and the way that books and magazines are racked on the newsstand, the only thing that you really get to see for the most part is the logo of the magazine or the book. And that’s what people look for, and they pull it out, and if the image grabs them they buy it or they don’t. So, looking at the world that we live in today where we really don’t have much of a newsstand presence anymore and looking at how our readership, even when they buy stuff at their local comic shop, very few comic shops actually rack their comics the way that a newsstand did. You can actually see the entire comic cover standing alone next to other comic covers, but the top third isn’t really all that important. Then I think about the readership that orders their books from their local comic shop in advance. What they do is they go through the Marvel catalogue and they see the covers, sometimes they’ll see a thumbnail of a cover, and that’s really what they’re basing it on—and obviously the synopsis of the story or whether this comic is their favorite book or no, And then, thinking about all the fans that are going to start picking up their books digitally, and the imagery that they will see in say their tablet, for example, it became very, very evident to me that there was absolutely no reason anymore to continue having our logos on the top third of the cover. That’s not to say that we won’t, but I thought about maybe we should give our cover artists the opportunity to design their covers in a way—because now they can do a whole image like a movie poster—so that your reader’s eye is captivated by and they want to buy that book while at the same time letting us know what that book is so that the logo doesn’t have to appear there. So now we’re going to start looking at our covers as design work as a whole, and placing the images in places that are most attractive and that catch the eye in the best way. So if that means that if it’s an Iron Man cover and Iron Man’s head is on the top left side of that cover and the logo is on the bottom right, if that’s the thing that’s going to grab the readership, then that’s what we’re going to do. So it’s a challenge to our cover artists to think more in terms of design. We’re leaving the canvas open to them to work with as much as we possibly can. Because our covers carry a lot of information. They have ratings, they have UPS, they have all these things. So we’re designing our covers so that all these things aren’t locked in a specific area of the cover so that for the most part the canvas is empty for the artist to do their thing. So we’re just going to look at different methodologies by which to attract readers to our books, because more than anything that top third thing—that’s thinking from the 1930’s. So it’s time for us to move on. also, this: The watchword of AVENGERS is going to be “bigger.” So bigger threats, bigger cast, bigger scope. There’ll be a core Avengers team consisting of more than a dozen characters, including a number of faces new to the team. It’s the same kind of massive world-building that Jonathan performed on FANTASTIC FOUR and SECRET WARRIORS, but built around the themes of AVENGERS. So the first year is broadly called “AVENGERS WORLD”, then comes “AVENGERS UNIVERSE”, then comes “AVENGERS INFINITE” and then--!!! i gotta admit, from what ive read here, i'm starting to get excited - definitely down for some changes and to move past these bogged-down events weve had for like a decade now. also, one for the road: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 CTRL+F Romita No matches found I'll confess, I thought Havok was Bullseye when I first saw that image. It took me all of 3 seconds to figure it out, but for a brief moment I was profoundly confused (and a little excited). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Visitant Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Jean Grey is coming back...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceManML Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) Wait. Is... is that... Power Man Luke Cage to the far left?! +1 for Logan.. That shit is fukin awesome lol Black armor is fookin SIK. Only thing I can say about that is FOOKIN FINALLY!!! There was a fantastic 4 team w hulk ghost rider wolvie n gambit.. This team shit doesn't surprise me anymore. But what DOES surprise me is I thought cyclops was goin off the deep end w his anti hero bullshit... For all the rest... Meh. They never change wolverine. I like that. correction: gambit=spiderman; was a long time ago. Edited July 11, 2012 by IceManML Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 Marvel NOW! Point One coming in October smart money's on Metta World Fury Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtype Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Fuck Marvel I'm done with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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