Batman #10 The Court of Owls have manipulated Gotham City and Bruce Wayne. The sinister society’s assassins have invaded the Batcave and threatened innocent lives. Batman takes the fight to them! DC promises that we’ll discover the mastermind behind the Court.
Avengers #27 Earth’s Mightiest Heroes betrayed by one of their own. Why this hero may have to kill his teammates to execute his own secret agenda. How the return of the Phoenix Force is tied to one of the most powerful alien empires in the Marvel Universe.
Deathstroke #10 Three words: Deathstroke, Liefeld, Lobo! Need more? Earth’s most ruthless mercenary/assassin written/drawn by Rob Liefeld out to hunt the most bad ass bounty hunter in the universe.
Uncanny X-Force #26 A clan of killers grown from one of Wolverine’s deadliest enemies. A brand new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Logan’s covert team has their hands full and Psylocke reunites with the ex-lover she killed.
Spider-Men by Jim Cheung courtesy Marvel.com
Spider-Men #1 Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales meets Friendly Neighborhood Peter Parker. Two Spideys. One historic story.
No head? No problem! The meanest mutant of all is back! Jeph Loeb, Simone Bianchi and Editor Jeanine Schafer are the team behind Sabretooth Returns kicking off in Wolverine #310. The Loeb & Bianchi pick up where they left off in Evolution when Logan beheaded Victor Creed. The trio answered questions on today’s Marvel.com Next Big Thing event.
“We always said Wolverine: Evolution was only half the story. We thought it be great if Sabretooth would be off the table for a while, though none of us thought it would be for five years. Axel Alonso and Jeanine Schaefer really stood on the wall and kept him out until we were ready to come back,” Loeb revealed.
Wolverine #310 courtesy Marvel
“This isn’t a story where we pick the needle up off the record and then drop it back down on the same song. Between Evolution and now, some really talented people have worked on Wolverine. In particular, Daniel Way advanced a lot of the story lines we put together and we wanted to acknowledge what had happened. A lot of this revolves around Romulus, and when we last saw him, he had been sent to the Darkforce Dimension by Cloak. When our story opens, something has happened to bring Cloak to the top of the Empire State Building. Romulus, Sabretooth, Cloak and Dagger are all tied together,” Loeb said.
Wolverine #310 courtesy Marvel
Evolution was the first arc but as Loeb revealed it’s a major theme of his upcoming arc.
“This story is very much about the nature of being a villain. No villain wakes up in the morning and sees himself that way. They have a point of view and it happens to be the antithesis of the hero. How do you embrace that side of Sabretooth? He has an opportunity, being reborn. What has his death taught him?”
Wolverine #312 courtesy Marvel
“There is a brand new character who I hope will join Wolverine’s rich cast of characters. I’m excited to add to that. One of the things I like about working with Simone is his extraordinary ability to design looks that will stand the test of time.”
Creed recently turned up as a “mentor” to Kade Kilgore of the new Hellfire Club in Jason Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men.
“I love Wolverine & The X-Men and what Jason Aaron is doing, but there are times when you want Wolverine to feel more like a singular character. This really is more of a story of Wolverine, Sabretooth, the nature of their relationship and the lies they’ve been told through the years,” Loeb said about guest stars from the Jean Grey School.
“Romulus said some stuff in Evolution that was really bold and outrageous. He’s the villain. If you saw Empire Strikes Back in the theaters, you didn’t automatically believe that Darth Vader was telling the truth about being Luke’s father.”
“I can only tell you that the way Sabretooth returns is through a way that was planted in the first story and comes from a well-known place to do with one of our characters,” Loeb revealed about the new character.
For more quotes and variant covers here’s the Marvel.com link. The 4-part arc kicks off July 4, 2012.
Wolverine and the X-Men #11 may be my favorite chapter (even if it’s a tie-in) in Avengers vs. X-Men so far. The issue is packed with action and humor with AvX battles on six fronts. Jason Aaron must love a challenge because not only does he balance all these story threads but he brings on the Shiar is a big way.
Logan is haunted by the Dark Phoenix Saga and questions if he really can be the best at what he does – if it means killing a child. Aaron writes Wolverine like no one else. Logan doesn’t know if he should save Hope or kill her to save humanity. The debate is interrupted by the Shiar Death Commandos. The alien assassination squad is on Earth to eliminate the potential joining of the Phoenix Force to its human host. The battle is brutal, inventive and reveals the true threat Hope poses.
One of my favorite elements of Aaron’s run is how he handles Bobby Drake. The original Iceman still provides comic relief but he’s maximizing his power like never before. Bobby is an Omega level mutant and now he’s flaunting it. The Red Hulk tries to make crushed ice out of Bobby but Iceman’s new power level and cool factor smashes the Rulk.
Kid Gladiator is a breakout new star of the series. Aaron is pitch perfect with how he writes the arrogant, brash heir to the Shiar Empire who defies his father and frustrates his classmates. Lord Kubark may have taken on more than he handle but we’ll have to wait until next issue plus his daddy dearest arrives for one helluva parent-teacher conference!
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 courtesy IDW Publishing
America’s Got Powers #2 Super teens compete in the world’s biggest reality game show. A kid who thought he’d only be comic relief has the chance to be the ultimate hero. This is an action packed cautionary tale that skewers our obsession with youth, reality television and media manipulation.
Batman Annual #1 Forget Ar-NULD – this Mr. Freeze is not joke. The ice-cold criminal makes his New 52 debut. How it he connected to the of Court of Owls? Is Freeze an ally or a target for assassination.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who Assimilation #1 Two of the biggest science fiction franchises together! The Captain Picard and crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise and Doctor Who join forces when Borg and Cybermen form an unholy alliance threatening the galaxy.
Wolverine and the X-Men #11 Will the Red Hulk turn Iceman into crushed ice? Kid Gladiator takes on the Avengers! Which side will Logan’s students choose in the war between Avengers and X-Men? They better choose quick. Gladiator and the Shiar Death Commandos are headed for Earth.
X-Men Legacy #267 Rogue vs She-Hulk was just a warm up! When Avengers showed up at the Jean Grey School to put the students under house arrest it didn’t sit well with the X-Men. I love Rogue but can she defeat Iron Man?
Hugh Jackman says The Wolverine will start shooting this August. The actor revealed via Twitter while chatting with fans today. Production will be in Australia. The story is based on the classic story by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller featuring Logan’s adventure in Japan fighting the Yakuza, the mutant Silver Samurai and falling in love with Lady Mariko, daughter of a crime lord.
This art you see if from Jason Aaron’s recent storyline that featured Wolverine’s return to Japan.
If you’re like me you’re still geeky giddy with the news that legendary Neal Adams will write and draw The First X-Men. This retro but in canon tale will feature Wolverine and Sabretooth.
In the latest Axel-In-Charge column on Comic Book Resources Marvel Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso revealed interior pages of the series. I wanted to share this interpretation of Victor Creed by Adams. Alonso revealed the balance the retro story with modern readers.
The First X-Men #1 interior art courtesy Marvel, a Comic Book Resources exclusive
“It’s a challenge. Neal pitched us a really great concept for a Wolverine story that we realized, with a little bit of work, might actually fit as an official piece of X-Men history. A story that illuminated the connection between Wolverine’s, Professor X and Sabretooth and, indeed, the very concept of a mutant super-team. The few months Neal and [writer] Christos [Gage] and [editor] Nick [Lowe] work-shopped that story really paid off — it became so much richer and important and relevant, considering surprises that have yet to be revealed in “Avengers Vs. X-Men.” I commend Neal and [writer] Christos [Gage] and [editor] Nick [Lowe] for their ability to take this story and make it count.”
I’m definitely excited for this new series. If you want to experience Neal Adams first X-Men stories then check out Essential X-Men Volume 3. Writer Roy Thomas and Neal Adams energized the series especially with the introduction of Havok, the Living Monolith story and future X-Man from Japan, Sunfire.
Avengers vs. X-Men #4 Wolverine chose the Avengers. Now Logan is abandoned on his own rogue agenda. Hope is flaring up with violent bursts of power – she already deep-fried Wolverine! The Phoenix Force is bearing down on Earth and Thor could make the ultimate sacrifice to stop it.
AvX Vs #2 Spider-Man against the Colossal Juggernaut, Captain American against Gambit. Those are the fights on the awesome cover but are we going to see the aftermath of the Iron Man/Emma Frost battle?
Winter Soldier #5 Bucky and Black Widow versus machine gun armed super gorillas and a squad of sleeper agents trained by the one time Captain America as they face to prevent all out war in the homeland Doctor Doom.
Manhattan Projects #3 A twisted tale of science fiction and alternate history. Creating the atomic bomb was nothing compared to the infamous government think tank’s creations in Jonathan Hickman’s series that pushes storytelling to a new level.
Nightwing #9 Showdown at Gotham City Hall as Nightwing must prevent an assassin from reaching its target. Bruce and Dick’s friendship has been tested by the exposure of a long kept secret but will any of the heroes survive the Night of the Owls.
A brand new, old school adventure with Marvel’s mutants by a living legend. The First X-Men will be a new 5 part limited series written and drawn by Neal Adams with Christos Gage scripting. In today’s Next Big Thing event Marvel revealed the story behind last Friday’s The First X-Men teaser.
“You guys probably know I was at one time associated with X-Men…then they canceled the book. I had great fondness for the original X-Men, had the time of my life, then they canceled it,” said Adams referring to this era (1969-70.)
“At the beginning, Stan and Jack were experimenting. You had Professor X, bald and in a wheelchair. These strange kids already in costume. It seems to me like this was not the beginning of the story, but the middle.”
“Of all the mutants on Earth, Professor X could easily pass as a human. Why would he want to get involved in this? Maybe all this was going on before Professor X was Professor X…when Professor X was a teenager. Maybe mutant kids were getting abused by the military, by the government. Somebody would have been looking out for them, but maybe that person came to Charles Xavier, realizing he couldn’t protect these kids. That was my pitch,” Adams revealed.
“Marvel was very generous to provide Christos Gage to me, who is an expert in all this stuff. He’s taking my pitch and turning it into scripts that are in my opinion groundbreaking. It’s the X-Men before there were X-Men,” Adams said about his partner.
The First X-Men by Neal Adams courtesy Marvel.com
From the preview it appears Logan is the leader of this team before the team.
“How deeply is Wolverine entrenched in the X-Men? Why was this first team…maybe a failure? Lots of questions to answer.
It takes place before the original X-Men and at a time when the government was snatching mutants up and doing scary things to them. Logan notices this and thinks somebody needs to look out for them. He recruits Sabretooth, who asks ‘Why?’ and so he pays him. Professor Xavier is a young man studying at Oxford, who’s engaged and wants nothing to do with this,” Adams reveals about the lineup.
“In those early X-Men stories, everybody hates and fears them, but we never really know why. It’s so core to the concept, but it was there before the series started. Here we found out why mutants are so hated and feared in a way that is different from any other super heroes,” adds X-Men Editor Nick Lowe.
Wolverine targets the future master of magnetism for his team. Gage says “They recruit this guy Erik Lensherr who is out there killing Nazis…”
“The natural instinct is that this is like the ‘X-Men: First Class’ movie, but it’s not,” Adams states but adds, “We didn’t mind stealing the Nazi Hunter version of Magneto though.”
Gage calls Wolverine a soldier putting together a unit not a school in this series and Adams reveals more of Logan’s team.
“There’s a character who calls himself Bombastic Aghast, but they call him Bomb. Wolverine saves him from a cave-in then gives him a leather jacket that fits like a tent. He looks ridiculous, but he thinks it’s his costume. Later, Wolverine buys him a jacket that fits, but he throws it back in his face. That jacket means so much to him and represents his relationship with Wolverine. That’s the origin of his costume,” Adams confirms.
Fans may assume this retro tale is from an alternate timeline but the X-Office says this is not
“This is firmly set in continuity. This is not a What If. This is canon. This is key to Wolverine’s history and his relationships with other characters. This will answer questions that have been out there for decades,” says Lowe
“They do encounter ‘hobo’ Sub-Mariner at one point.” Christos Gage reveals. “He throws a car at Wolverine!” adds Adams
“We wanted this to be something you could hand to somebody who just saw the X-Men movies and they’d enjoy it as a good X-Men story. At the same time, for giant nerds like me, FBI agent Fred Duncan from the early stories is in there, and when Professor X talks about his brother you know it’s Juggernaut,” says Gage.
“There will be early versions of the Sentinels. I did the giant ones, now I’m getting to do different one,” revealed Adams
The First X-Men by Neal Adams courtesy Marvel.com
“Wolverine was a mercenary, and mercenaries make a lot of money. Wouldn’t it be interesting to find that Wolverine’s mercenary work funded…” Adams teased.
“The concept that Charles Xavier could pass for a human I don’t think has ever really been explored. At some point in his life, he made the difficult decision to step forward as leader of the X-Men and as a mutant. He could have wiped all of this out of the world’s collective mind. Why didn’t he? Stuff to think about,” Adams says of the mutant leader.
The First X-Men arrives this August. For the entire transcript here’s the Marvel.com link.
This is NOT what I expected. What do you think of the concept?
