Iron Man 3 is taking over the world and Tony Stark is playing a critical role in Marvel’s next big comic book epic! Tony stars in Avengers and New Avengers as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the Illuminati fight to protect our world from alternative worlds obliterating ours. Both team books are building up to Infinity in which the Marvel Universe battles Thanos.
Writer Jonathan Hickman explains why Tony’s role in the three books with Comic Book Resources:
Marvel has announced The End of X-Factor is coming. Acclaimed writer Peter David will wrap up his incredible run with the misfit mutant detectives and already has a Marvel project in the works but it’s still top secret.
What will happen to the beloved cast of X-Factor Investigations? Time will tell but here are my hopes and dreams for the team. Continue reading X-Factor X-Pectations!
Free Comic Book Day is almost here! This unofficial geek holiday is like Christmas and your local comic book shop and the major publishers are Santa Claus! The first Saturday in May is when you can pick up FREE comic books. Different stores have different rules. For example, you may be limited to only two.
Just because they’re free doesn’t mean they’re just extra unsold copies! These FCBD issues are new and special. The Marvel Comics FCBD issue is a preview story for this Summer’s big event Infinity by fan favorite creators Jonathan Hickman and Jim Cheung. The Avengers rally all the Marvel heroes against the evil of Thanos – the villain seen at the end of The Avengers movie!
Superman Unchained #1 courtesy DC Comics
The DC Comics FDBD issue is part of Superman’s 75th Anniversay and a great way to get up, up and away for Man of Steel. The issue will include Superman, Last Son of Krypton by Geoff Johns, Superman and Superman II director Richard Donner and Adam Kubert plus a preview of Superman Unchained, the brand new series by Scott Snyder and Jim Lee.
Dark Horse Comics FCBD is a flip book with a Star Wars tale starring Darth Vader and Boba Fett and flip – a preview of the upcoming Captain Midnight series.
The Walking Dead fans should note the Image Comics FCBD issue stars the fan favorite Michonne.
Valiant’s FCBD showcases their first ever crossover, Harbinger Wars, starring Bloodshot and the kids from Harbinger.
Infinity is the event Jonathan Hickman has been building up to since he relaunched Avengers and New Avengers. Check out this Infinity #1 variant cover by Marko Djurdjevic!
It will be the cosmic rematch of the new century as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (and all the Marvel heroes) take on Thanos (also known as the big purple bad guy as the end of The Avengers movie.)
But if you look you’ll see new characters introduced from Hickman’s run including Ex Nihilo, the villain from Avengers #1 and the new Starbrand. How is Ex Nihilo connected to the Mad God of Titan?
Marvel is offering an Infinity preview story for its Free Comic Book Day issue out this Saturday.
The Avenging Archer becomes the target of an unusual assassin!
Eisner-Award Winning Artist Francesco Francavilla (The Black Beetle, Black Panther – The Man Without Fear) joins writer Matt Fraction with Hawkeye #10 this week.
If you’re not reading this book (you should!) this book is about the Hawkeye when he’s not an Avenger. Even in his off-duty hours trouble finds Clint Barton. This issue kicks off a new storyline.
“On HAWKEYE we’ve been blessed with not only one of the biggest writers in comics with Matt Fraction, but also some of the best artists like David Aja, Javier Pulido and now Francesco Francavilla,” said Stephen Wacker, Senior Editor, on Marvel.com. “Though he’s only on the series for issues #10 and #12, Francesco is going to leave his mark on Clint with some of the most beautiful art you’ll see all year!”
Robert Downey Jr. plays the Armored Avenger in a clash with the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 opening this Friday on the big screen.
In the comic books this week writer Kieron Gillen begins exploring The Secret Origin of Tony Stark. The acclaimed writer recently sent Tony into deep space in the Godkiller arc and now brings Avenger down to Earth and starts uncovering the Stark family history.
“There’s a really big idea at the core of it. When I had that idea, I was walking around the airport. I was thinking about Tony in space. Marvel had just emailed me and said that the 50th anniversary [of Iron Man] is coming up and maybe we can have a story that harks back to the beginning of Tony. I was immediately thinking “how on Earth could I possibly do this?” I have Tony Stark in deep space at this point! I stopped and laughed. I shook my head and took a couple of steps. I pitched this really big idea and Marvel looked it and said it make sense. And that’s what’s scary about it. It leads towards stuff that fundamentally changes Tony’s idea of self. That’s where it kind of came from,” Gillen told Marvel.com.
Infinity begins this Summer! Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers and New Avengers have been building to the epic return of Thanos. Marvel’s top writers and editors shared news, art and teases of what’s coming in the Marvel Now to Infinity panel at C2E2 in Chicago. Here are some of the highlights:
Uncanny Avengers #10 in July by Rick Remender and Daniel Acuna. Remender confirmed the “return” of Sentry, Daken, Grim Reaper and Banshee, who will be the Horsemen of Death.
“The Apocalypse Twins take the corpses of these dead heroes and infuse them with Death Seeds, resurrecting them and turn them into Deaths–servants of Apocalypse,” said Remender, “This is going to mean nothing good for the super heroes but we want nothing good to happen to them.”
The panel turned to Secret Avengers featuring a team including SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson by Nick Spencer.
“We’re taking the concept of this off the grid team of Avengers in a kind of grey area,” says Editor Lauren Sankovich, “We’re putting them through the action ringer and the emotional ringer.”
“This book was a dream come true for me,” says Spencer, “There’s a lot of shady stuff going on in this new world and our heroes are struggling with how to deal with it. The fallout’s going to be pretty catastrophic for the entire team… so lots of drama coming soon.”
Spencer was recruited by Jonathan Hickman to co-write Avengers in the march to Infinity.
Kieron Gillen announced Young Avengers #6 is a one-off issue with artist Kate Brown, a UK artist that will focus on Prodigy saying “Prodigy is basically working in the equivalent of a dead end job and he’s wasting his talent,” and later the team will go on a cosmic backpacking trip.
Avengers Arena #14 courtesy Marvel
The cover of Avengers Arena #14 showing X-23 in an homage to a classic Frank Miller Wolverine cover. The first season concludes in a story beginning in #14. The story is called “Boss Level.” It’s all about who lives, who dies and who wins.
Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi are exploring the origin of the villain of Infinity in Thanos Rising.
Issue #4 hits in July and “It’s as sick and twisted and dark as you’d hope in the depths of your heart that it would be,” said Editor Ellie Pyle.
Thanos rises again in Hickman’s big event Infinity.
The Infinity Free Comic Book Day (out next Saturday) issue features a new 10 page story by Jonathan Hickman and Jim Cheung.
Infinity will be 6 issues total from August to November. There will be Prelude to Infinity stories in Avengers in August. #14 and #15 by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer and Stefano Caselli. Continue reading From Marvel Now to Infinity
Will Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver appear in Avengers 2?
At the Iron Man 3 world premiere writer/director told Yahoo of the upcoming sequel:
“I try to think of this as its own movie. Sometimes, ya, I feel pressure, how do you not? And by the way, Shane [Black] not helping! Iron Man 3 not helping! Because I saw this and said, ‘Aw, man, he really got it right!’ The pressure continues! But you put that aside, when you’re in the story, when you’re dealing with these characters that you love, that everybody loves, when you got the new characters sliding in next to them, it’s very exciting. Then I don’t feel pressure. Then it’s like I’m reading my favorite comic.”
“I’ve done enough shows and movies to be comfortable with that. You do come to a point where we all agree. ‘Okay. Oh, I’ve got these two characters, two of my favorite characters from the comic book; a brother-sister act. They’re in the movie. That’s exciting.’ You know, you lock certain things in”
