Of sorts.
There’s also reviews for some of the individual issues on there, but those aren’t too long and are mostly me just nerding the fuck out.
The Marvel ‘Switcheroo’.
Avengers vs X-men concludes in September, and the buzz is that Marvel is using the opportunity to shift around creators on their comics. I’m currently a big Marvel buyer, so I thought I’d do a post about what I think of the current ‘rumours’.
Firstly, I should point out, that the creator/s on a title is more important to me than the character. Sure, I love Captain America and Iron Man, but creator voices and runs on those characters are more interesting then just another Cap story. There are many examples of this, from Walter Simonson on Thor, to Brian Bendis on Avengers. I don’t mind a creator telling a long-term story, so long as its good.
It seems that Marvel is taking this into account. Giving creators chances on characters they haven’t worked on much previously in the past. So here we go:
- Astonishing Avengers/An Avengers title from Rick Remender & Jeremy Opena. I currently read Rick Remender’s Secret Avengers, and it’s a very good science fiction superhero team book. I enjoy it month to month, so chances are, I’ll read this. Especially since it’s likely to spin out of what Remender is currently doing on Secret Avengers.
- Avengers from Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic. Okay, I’ve been buying Avengers every month for over two years now, and I’m one of the few that like it. Also, I fucking love Hickman’s Fantastic Four. But after a long run from Bendis on Avengers, I’m not sure if I want it followed by another. Hickman has said he wont do another three year story, like he did with Fantastic Four. If he plans to do mainly 1,2,3 issue arcs, with a longer plot thread running throughout, then I’ll pick it up. If not, I’ll trade wait and buy it in hardcover, like I do with Fantastic Four.
- Fantastic Four from Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca. Would you really want to be the guy to follow Hickman on Fantastic Four? I used to be a fan of Fraction, but lately I’m slowly getting turned off his work. I couldn’t get my head around his Thor, I got bored with his Iron Man and his Defenders started strong but I feel it already slipping. His Casanova is as good as ever though, when it comes out. And I really don’t fancy Larroca’s style on Fantastic Four. I picture in my mind him drawing Franklin and Valeria and it doesn’t look good. Unless he has a change in style, which is unlikely, I’ll probably pass on this. But, while I’m on the subject of Fraction, I will be giving Hawkeye a shot.
- X-men from Brian Michael Bendis. I fucking. love. Bendis. I don’t care. I know people shit on him a lot, which I sometimes get, but I owe him a lot thanks to his work and I’m not getting into that whole thing now. Whatever he writes after Avengers, I’ll, at the very least, be trying it out. Plus, he always gets the best artists. So it’ll look good.
- Avengers Assemble from Mark Waid. This is a rumour I read on bleedingcool. Are we allowed nice things like this? I’d love Waid to write ANY Avengers title, even if its just a couple of arcs. But yeah, I’m not holding my breathe.
- Iron Man from Kieron Gillen and Greg Land. Bleedingcool seem pretty confident this will happen, and since Bendis will likely take over Uncanny X-men, and Journey into Mystery MAY finish around October/November, I think this is likely to happen. And I’d read it, cause I like Gillen as a writer and as a person. But Greg fucking Land, really? I know Larroca is currently on the book, and their styles are kind of similar. But if there’s one artist I actively avoid, it’s Greg Land. I’ll read this, but only when Land isn’t on art.
I also think they should do away with FF and New Avengers. If Jonathan Hickman isn’t writing FF, what’s the point? The same with Bendis on New Avengers.
