Breaking News: Brubaker to Write Secret Avengers

Marvel is continuing full steam with their barrage of Avengers news and the latest bit is a doozy, as acclaimed Captain America writer Ed Brubaker will be writing a second new ongoing Avengers title when Marvel relaunches the franchise this spring. Joining him on the book, which will be titled Secret Avengers, is popular artist Mike Deodato.

Over the last couple weeks, of course, Marvel has made one announcement after another. First they dropped the bomb that all four ongoing Avengers titles were being canceled at the end of the Siege crossover event; then they followed that up by revealing that their new event, The Heroic Age, would be jump started by the relaunching of Avengers by the team of Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr.

Though most old school fans were excited at the prospect of the classic Avengers re-uniting, including Captain America, Thor and Iron Man all back on the team, their enthusiasm (okay, our enthusiasm) was leavened by the fact that Bendis would be continuing on as writer, which seemed to torpedo speculation (by myself among others) that Ed Brubaker would get the gig. Brubaker, after all, has been grabbing accolades for years for his work on Captain America, which itself has often resembled a team book thanks to the presence of a large and strong supporting cast including Bucky, Falcon, Sharon Carter and Black Widow.

Now, though, it looks as though Brubaker will be getting an Avengers book after all and judging by the title, Secret Avengers may well play to his pulp and crime strengths. Though the promo images being released are in silhouette to keep things "secret," my guess is that some of his cast from Captain America will be on board for this book, possibly joined by holdovers from New Avengers such as Luke Cage and Jessica Jones (who seems poised to "return" to her costumed identity Jewel). The title also suggests that the fell of the book may be closer to that of New Avengers, which has been an underground movement since Civil War, than a full-on superhero title.

Overall, this announcement (which was coupled with the release of another Heroic Age teaser that seemed more in line with a Secret Avengers type of roster than the original promo) looks like a win-win for Marvel, as it likely satisfies both Brubaker fans and fans of New Avengers. And by all accounts, Deodato has come a long way from his 90's days, when he would farm out a lot of his material to subpar studio artists and slap his name on their work. If he buckles down and turns in some solid art, this title could be a winner, even if the title is unfortunately reminiscent of 90's crapfest Secret Defenders.



No idea who that's supposed to be in the Secret Avengers teaser, though. It looks kind of like the Lizard, which seems highly unlikely, but guesses on the internet range anywhere from Beast to Spider-man to Gorilla Man. Personally I think it's one of Jack Kirby's Rorschach tests, so maybe it's the Demon Etrigan. But who knows. One thing's for sure: at this pace, chances are Marvel will be releasing some new image any minute for us to speculate about instead so there's no reason to get worked up about one shapeless blob when we have several more shapeless blobs still to come.

Read More

First Look at John Romita Jr. on Avengers

Marvel is starting to pull out all the stops as it hypes the upcoming Heroic Age event that will see Marvel return to its classic roots beginning with the relaunch of Avengers. The latest bit of news from the House of Ideas: artist John Romita Jr. will be joining writer Brian Michael Bendis to form the creative team for Avengers when it reboots this May.

Before we get into the commentary too much, here's a look at the first bit of promo art from Romita Jr., courtesy of Marvel (and, as always, click on the picture for a bigger version):





So, what does this mean for Earth's Mightiest Heroes? Well, from my point of view, that will depend greatly on who will be inking Romita Jr., a detail Marvel has yet to announce. There's no question that Romita Jr. has the chops to pull this off, as he has been one of the steadiest and most reliable artists in the Marvel stable for the past three decades. Actually, steady and reliable don't really do him justice, as he has a unique style that, at its best, calls back to classic artists like Kirby and Steranko while still being uniquely specific to Romita Jr.

The only issue with JR Jr, really, is that style, which in the wrong inking hands can become perhaps too stylized. When inked with bold blacks instead of the tiny crosshatchings he seems to favor, JR Jr's art really takes off; but when it gets to sketchy, it loses its power for me. This bit of promo art is actually one of the sharpest JR Jr pieces I've seen in recent years (not that I can claim to have been following him too closely); if the finished product on Avengers is done in this style, then I for one think this is a great move, as this depiction of the new Captain America is particularly sharp.

Whether or not Bendis and Romita Jr. form a good working team, of course, is something that is more difficult to predict, but for now, anyway, this seems like a good start towards giving the new Avengers book a strong foundation.

Read More

Marvel Unveils Heroic Age

Marvel has officially confirmed the rumors and speculation surrounding the end of their Avengers franchise, announcing in today's USA Today that Avengers will in fact be relaunching this fall as the cornerstone of their new Heroic Age event. As I theorized earlier this week, they also confirmed that the Heroic Age signals a new, more hopeful direction for the company and its characters, with the emphasis being on old fashioned superheroics: good guys will be good guys again and bad guys will be bad guys. One figure whose position as good guy or bad guy depends on your point of view, however, will remain central to the direction of Avengers: Brian Michael Bendis.

"The 'brand new day' of the Heroic Age presents a tonal shift to optimism, a world filled with hope but quite hellish villains," Bendis, who as most of you know is a frequent target of abuse around these parts, told USA Today. "The heroes realize it's a blue-sky world worth protecting."

"This was always the whole point — the reunion, the Avengers getting back together, because this is what the world needs right now," Bendis added. "Now we get to the good stuff."

Whether or not Bendis can actually deliver good stuff, of course, depends on your point of view; personally, I think he's fine doing solo books where he can present character studies and the like but has fallen flat on his face in team books like New Avengers. However, considering that his titles have consistently been Marvel's top selling books over the past seven years, it's not a huge surprise to learn that he will in fact be remaining on Avengers when it relaunches later this year (incidentally, it is launching with a new #1 rather than picking up where the old series left off, though another renumbering when it hits 600 seems inevitable).

But even those in the Avengers and comics communities who are skeptical about Bendis's take on the team have to be pleased with the overall change in direction for Marvel (okay, they don't have to be -- someone has been buying this dark stuff, after all -- but many older fans who have been turned off by the post-Civil War era are certainly rejoicing).



"Heroes will be heroes again," Marvel EIC Joe Quesada said. "They've gone through hell and they're back to being good guys — a throwback to the early days of the Marvel Universe, with more of a swashbuckling feel."

Interestingly, USA Today almost totally glossed over the connection to the upcoming Avengers movie, which may or may not be a major reason for this tonal shift at Marvel. Instead, they chose to focus on the (much less likely, to my mind) possibility that Disney dictated this change so that the characters would be more family friendly now that they are buying Marvel. Quesada and Bendis quite rightly laughed off that suggestion, which I'm sure makes sense to the general populace but seems a bit forced for comics fans.

Creating a product that is synergistic with the expected blockbuster Avengers movie, on the other hand, could be one possible factor for this change though, as Bendis says, this seems to have been the idea all along. When Disassembled and Civil War took place, the main aims stated by Marvel at the time were to position the Avengers at the center of the Marvel Universe and to shake up the status quo, as they felt heroes were too chummy and comfortable with each other as opposed to the early days of Marvel where they were often suspicious of or even at odds with other heroes. Now that the light at the end of the tunnel is finally shining, it can be said that they have achieved both of these aims spectacularly, though, of course, the means they did it with resulted in nearly a full decade of stories I would rather punch myself in the face than read again.

With Avengers #1 now a reality, though, and the dark age of Marvel seemingly coming to a blessed end, speculation can turn to lighter, fan friendly fare such as: what will the roster of the Avengers be? Some people are under the impression that this promo art for the Heroic Age (which, I might add, looks kind of slapped together -- what's with that cheesetastic logo?) represents the Avengers lineup, but that's not really clear. Nine members is an awful lot (though it's barely one one-billionth of your typical X-Men roster) and a couple of these seem a bit out of left field (Gorilla Man and Thing?), though in general it would be an intriguing line-up.

Of more immediate importance to hardcore Avengers fans is the return of Clint Barton as Hawkeye, which I think will elicit a giant "Hell Yes!" from all right thinking Americans. And then there's the question of just which Captain America that is; the costume seems to be Bucky, though as some have pointed out, in this picture Cap has blue eyes rather than brown, which normally would indicate Steve Rogers. Plus, the USA Today article says that this will be reuniting a "reborn" Cap with Iron Man and Thor, neither part of which would be true if it's Bucky beneath the mask. Personally, as much as I love Steve Rogers, I wouldn't mind Bucky in the role either, so it's not a big deal for me though I'm sure it will be the cause of a blogosphere meltdown in some corners of the internet.

Whoever ends up being on the team (conspicuous by his absence, for instance, is current Mighty Avengers leader Hank Pym), though, one thing is certain: the Heroic Age appears to be answering the prayers of a lot of disenchanted and disenfranchised Marvel (and comics) fans. It Marvel can recapture that audience while still retaining the fan base Bendis has cultivated -- something that can be done simply by telling good stories -- then this may truly be one event worthy of the name.

Read More