Marvel Comics kicked off its major convention operations and the era of Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski’s direct pitching to the fans Friday afternoon at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (better known as C2E2). Joining the recently-minted E-i-C were Marvel talent including Jason Aaron (Avengers), Charles Soule (Astonishing X-Men), Gerry Duggan (Infinity Countdown) and Skottie Young (Deadpool) alongside editors Tom Brevoort and Jordan D. White.
“I’ve been to every C2E2 and all the previous Chicago shows before, and every time I come the love you have for comics and Marvel is palpable,” Cebulski said getting the ball rolling. The incoming “Fresh Start” initiative took center stage with Cebulski promising new directions and also a new slate of #1 issues for many series, including June’s Thor #1 from Aaron and Mike del Mundo.
“Thanks to everyone who supported the Jane Foster story over the past three years,” the writer said, noting that the experience of shephearding the female version of the character was a watermark for his career and his life in general. “This new volume is pretty much the beginning of the third act of my Thor run…this is the beginning of the final one, and it’s as different from Jane’s story as Jane’s was from God of Thunder…everything is different for Thor now.”
Aaron praised del Mundo, his former collaborator on the Secret Wars: Weirdworld series, saying they wanted to “out-weird” their previous effort. Meanwhile, current Black Bolt artist Christian Ward will be illustrating backups featuring the far future King Thor character which will drive their way to the title’s second arc.
The writer’s incoming run of Avengers with artist Ed McGuinness is the marquee book of Fresh Start, and Aaron addressed his high concepts for the series. “We wanted to make this the biggest, most iconic Avengers team we could,” he said. “Right out the gate we’re dealing with these new dark Celestials…literally the biggest threat the team has ever faced…I want every arc to feel like an event-level threat.” The series will have a global feel where each new story will check in on another corner of the Marvel Universe to see what new threats lurk across the cosmos.
“Ed is doing work that can only be described as ‘brutal,’” Brevoort said of McGuinness, noting that the artist’s appealing, open style is the perfect launching-pad for a series that will shock the reader. He also said that Paco Medina and David Marquez will contribute to the series, and with issue #7, the narrative will shift for a single story to origin stories for the so-called Avengers of 10,000 BC with guest art by Sara Pichelli.
Al Ewing and Joe Bennet’s new run on The Immortal Hulk was next to take the spotlight. “He is the monster who hunts monsters,” Brevoort said. “It’s not really a superhero book. It’s more a horror fiction book. Even the Marvel Universe stuff that appears there will be seen through that lens. I think it’s going to be a really cool sleeper book.”
The full consequences of the resurrection of Professor X will come to a head in an arc in Astonishing X-Men #10 – 12 by Soule and artists like ACO and Ron Garney. The idea that the good professor has taken over Fantomex’s body. Soule said this new, young professor is very difficult to pin down or even trust, and the personality of this new Charles Xavier will upset the the status quo of a book already known for changing up things on a regular basis.
Soule will return to the story of Wolverine’s death he told several years ago with the Hunt for Wolverine one-shot with Marquez and Paulo Siquera. “It’s super fast-paced, super-intense…but it also has this great emotional core,” the writer said. “This is just the beginning. We have four mini series set to follow on this.”
Soule will also continue his lengthy run on Daredevil with Mike Henderson in the upcoming issue #601 which sees a new status quo thanks to a war for Manhattan’s mayor’s job between the hero and Kingpin. “This story that runs from issue #601 to 605 is called ‘Mayor Murdock,’” the writer said. “Matt is a battletime mayor for the city. He’s doing everything he can to keep it all together.”
Duggan and Chris Sprouse will also turn to the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen with a tie-in issue to the Infinity Countdown event where the supporting scum bag of the series Turk Barrett somehow ends up with his hands on one of the most powerful artifacts in the Marvel Universe.
Duggan also spoke to continuing his cosmic era with artist Aaron Kuder on Infinity Countdown. “We try to have fun on the page.” he said. “We’re at war for the control of the power stone. The power stone is the size of a building, and we don’t quite know why.” The series will see the long-awaited return of Adam Warlock to cosmic Marvel as well as a role for fan-favorite villain Ultron…or as he’s currently known “Pymtron.”
While the title changes name frequently, Duggan will soon be concluding a run with Deadpool that will have run well over 100 issues with Despicable Deadpool as it counts down to #300. “One thing Gerry always said is that since Deadpool can’t be hurt, you have to hurt him emotionally,” said White. The goal of the series overall was to give Wade Wilson everything he ever wanted and then watch him screw it all up. “That last issue #300 is 60 pages,” the writer said. “I sincerely think they’re our funniest and most messed up pages.” White added of the milestone-numbered issue, “People ask ‘What’s the one thing you always wanted to do with Deadpool, but they never let you do?’ and what used to be the answer to this question is now the first 20 pages because C.B. let us do it.”
The panel explained that the Deadpool run set a Guinness Book of World Records record with a cover that featured the most characters ever – more than 200 cast members appearing on the wedding cover. Cebulski teased that artist Scott Koblish (who drew the previous cover) pitched the company on a cover that will feature 300 versions of Deadpool for issue #300…and most of those versions have appeared elsewhere in the character’s history before.
June sees the arrival of a new Deadpool #1 by Young and artist Nick Klein. The writer called it a series akin to Grosse Point Blank where Wade goes back to his roots as a killer for hire. The film character Negasonic Teenage Warhead will serve as his sidekick in the book as Deadpool struggles to drum up business for his burgeoning business. Looking for an “event-level thing” to happen to his life, Wade will encounter a “big cosmic situation that will land on his doorstep for…story reasons! And he’s the only one who can stop this unstoppable cosmic god.”
“The last page of this first issue has a very unusual item of clothing,” Young said, noting that many of his designs have been used for clothing products in the past…but this one may prove difficult to get done.
The floor then opened up to questions from the audience, and the first was about the status of Old Man Logan after the “real” Wolverine returns. Soule referred to the character as “Logan Prime” while promising that the publisher had plans for all the various Wolverines in the Marvel U after Hunt for Wolverine concludes – more of which will be revealed later this weekend at C2E2.
Returning ideas kept coming up as the reconstituted Ultimate Universe from the end of Spider-Men II would be touched upon. Brevoort said “We’ll be vague and mysterious…there are always plans.” Then he said Marvel isn’t ready yet to reveal where that will show up…it may appear on the page without announcement just as it was revealed at the end of the II series.
The fate of the original five X-Men will be dealt with the upcoming Extermination event.
More of the in-universe fallout from Brian Michael Bendis wrapping his Marvel run is on the way, but for now, characters like Miles Morales won’t have a brand-new status quo once the longtime company staple is allowed to finish telling his many long-running stories in print.