Tag: Journey Into Mystery

SIF Journeys Into Mystery

 

Journey Into Mystery #646 courtesy Marvel

Lady Sif takes you on a new journey this week!

Kathryn Immonen takes over Journey Into Mystery with issue 646 and talked with Marvel about her take on the new lead character for the series.

“We talked at length as far as what her story could be, and it came down to a single question: What does she want? For Sif, what she wants above all is to be a better warrior. How far would she go for that? She makes some terrible decisions and puts a lot of people in peril,” explains Immonen of the lead change.

“One of the really interesting things about Sif to me is that she’s defined by absence, with her lover, Thor, and brother, Heimdall, always away from her.

‘What’s most interesting to me about the Asgardians is the inevitability of them. So much of their conflict is internalized because they don’t have alter egos. They’re also almost more human because of that.”

Immonen sets out the journey she’s planned for Sif and the change in tone of the title.

“Sif is not just a warrior. We’ve often seen her leading the charge, but I don’t feel like we’ve ever seen her in charge. Bear with me, but she’s kind of like my dog. He’s very committed to his pack, but never looks back because he assumes everybody else is as committed as he is. Sif is the same way.

I see a similarity between Sif and Loki because neither of them can ever be Thor. I think that has more effect on her then she’ll admit. She’s been told she’s capable of anything, but at the end of the day, she will never be Thor. It’s a matter of finding out how to be enough anyway.”

Sif is an action hero. Loki is not. They’re fundamentally different. I don’t use the talking to get to the fighting, I use the fighting to get to the talking.” says Immonen.

  Journey Into Mystery #646 out this week with Valerio Schiti as the new artist.

Jaime Alexander played Sif in Thor on the big screen. With this kind of higher comic book exposure could we see a bigger role for Sif in Thor: The Dark World.

By Editor

Thor & Kid Loki Burn

 

Journey Into Mystery #642 courtesy Marvel

  Asgard Inferno! Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen are torching Thor and Kid Loki’s realm with Everything Burns. This crossover marks the final chapters of Fraction on The Mighty Thor and Gillen on Journey Into Mystery with the Aesir/Vanir War. Fraction tells Marvel.com how this war surpasses the previous war – one of the darkest moments of Asgard history.

 

Journey Into Mystery #642

  “Well, historically, it’s a big chunk of the Norse cycle that’s just been lost. The Marvel-Norse myth, however, has no duty to its source and has been pretty freely rewritten over the years. One of the biggest missing components to the Marvel-Norse stuff is, quite frankly, the women; for whatever reasons, whereas women are extraordinarily vital and important in the original cycles, they’ve been kind of shunted off to the sides over here. Of course there are exceptions, and important ones at that, but these merely prove the rule rather than right the wrong.

The Mighty Thor #19 courtesy Marvel

  Anyway I started wondering if I could tie the two together: the legendary lost Aesir/Vanir War, and a boys vs. girls story that would explain the Marvel-Norse patriarchy. And so here we are. This new flare-up, pardon the pun, is a proxy war waged by Surtur; a war hidden inside a war, bigger and bloodier than anything. Even Ragnarok is simply a cycle’s end and rebirth—but this is the end of everything, the very extinguishing of light and life in the universe.”

The Mighty Thor #19 courtesy Marvel

  Fraction says the Odinson’s biggest fear is losing all because he was wrong about Loki and warns “Thor’s greatest fear cripples him at the worst possible time.”

  “Loki’s prime fear remains what it always was: that he’s exactly what everyone else thinks he is. He’s a destroyer, a chaos-bringer,” adds Gillen. 

  The legendary Alan Davis and Carmine Di Giandomenico provided the art on this crossover ending the Fraction and Gillen runs on the Asgard icons. For more of their interview here’s the Marvel.com link.

  Fraction is moving on to Fantastic Four and FF. Gillen is taking on Iron Man. Jason Aaron unleashes Thor: God of Thunder in November. Kathryn Immonen makes Sif the new star of Journey Into Mystery.

By Editor

GeekGirlCon Update: Female Power In Comics

Avengers Assemble courtesy Marvel.com

  One of the big topics at GeekGirlCon in Seattle this past weekend was the lack of female comic book writers and lead characters. Somebody is listening. This week two creative announcements should geek girls and (any fan of great writing and characters) celebrating.

 Marvel Comics revealed Kelly Sue DeConnick will be the new writer on Avengers Assemble. This a newer comic book designed to appeal to fans of the blockbuster movie.

 “These are the AC/DC Avengers. When I saw the movie, I managed to keep in together until Iron Man came onscreen and Back in Black blared. I bounced up and down in my chair. That’s the moment I’m writing for,” declares DeConnick. 

  DeConnick will be the first female writer on an Avengers title.

  “I’m very interested in making sure women knowing that wanting to work in this industry is not peculiar. There is not anything in heroism or sci-fi that is exclusively masculine. The hero ideal is as important to my daughter as it is to my son. But I don’t want to represent all women in comics…particularly because I blow things sometimes!” says DeConnick.

  For longtime Executive Editor it’s about having the right writer on Marvel’s biggest franchise.

  “It’s a nice factoid, but I didn’t hire a woman to write Avengers, I hired Kelly Sue to write Avengers for the same reasons I’ve hired and will continue to hire writers,” said Brevoort

  DeConnick will add Spider-Woman and Captain Marvel to the team. Last month Ms. Marvel was promoted to Captain in a brand new book written by DeConnick too. Captain Marvel #1 was a sold out smash.

Journey Into Mystery #646 courtesy Marvel

  Marvel made another announcement this week. Kathyrn Immonen will take over writing Journey Into Mystery with issue #646. Lady Sif will be the new lead character of this book set in the Thor universe. Kid Loki was the previous lead character. Lady Sif is an Asgardian warrior and Thor’s great love.

  “We talked at length as far as what her story could be, and it came down to a single question: What does she want? For Sif, what she wants above all is to be a better warrior. How far would she go for that? She makes some terrible decisions and puts a lot of people in peril,” Immonen spoke of her protagonist.

 At GeekGirlCon 2012 there were a few geek gals in Thor costumes. Maybe next year we’ll see a Lady Sif or the new Captain Marvel?

 Two of the biggest success stories celebrated at the con were Batwoman and Wonder Woman. Along with Batgirl these three DC Comics books starring female leads are solid sellers which could lead to more female driven books. These two iconic heroines are joining forces. Wonder Woman guest stars in this week’s Batwoman #12.

Batwoman #12 courtesy DC Comics

  After attending GeekGirlCon I thought this week’s announcements were ironic and inspiring. The big publishers appear to be listening to the fans.

 Thanks to Marvel.com and DC’s The Source.

By Editor

Journey Into Mystery With Sif

 

Journey Into Mystery #646 courtesy Marvel

 Marvel revealed today that Kathryn Immonen will take over Journey Into Mystery with issue 646. Kieron Gillen left to take on Iron Man. The Gillen run starred Kid Loki. The warrior Lady Sif will become the new lead character.

 “We talked at length as far as what her story could be, and it came down to a single question: What does she want? For Sif, what she wants above all is to be a better warrior. How far would she go for that? She makes some terrible decisions and puts a lot of people in peril,” explains Immonen of the lead change.

  “One of the really interesting things about Sif to me is that she’s defined by absence, with her lover, Thor, and brother, Heimdall, always away from her.

  ‘What’s most interesting to me about the Asgardians is the inevitability of them. So much of their conflict is internalized because they don’t have alter egos. They’re also almost more human because of that.”

  Immonen sets out the journey she’s planned for Sif and the change in tone of the title.

  “Sif is not just a warrior. We’ve often seen her leading the charge, but I don’t feel like we’ve ever seen her in charge. Bear with me, but she’s kind of like my dog. He’s very committed to his pack, but never looks back because he assumes everybody else is as committed as he is. Sif is the same way.

  I see a similarity between Sif and Loki because neither of them can ever be Thor. I think that has more effect on her then she’ll admit. She’s been told she’s capable of anything, but at the end of the day, she will never be Thor. It’s a matter of finding out how to be enough anyway.”

 Sif is an action hero. Loki is not. They’re fundamentally different. I don’t use the talking to get to the fighting, I use the fighting to get to the talking.” says Immonen.

Journey Into Mystery #646 out this November. Editor Lauren Stankovich revealed up and coming Italian artist Valerio Schiti will provide art.

 Jaime Alexander played Sif in Thor on the big screen. With this kind of higher comic book exposure could we see a bigger role for Sif in Thor: The Dark World.

 

Fear Itself The Fearless #2 courtesy Marvel

  If you love the idea of Asgardian warrior women then I highly recommend Fear Itself: The Fearless. This 12 part epic starred Valkyrie on a mission from Odin. Valkyrie defied the Avengers on a quest that has personal implications for her and took us across the Marvel universe.

  I’m a huge Valkyrie fan. Hope she is part of Marvel NOW! too.

By Editor

New Mutants Journey Into Mystery

Exiled courtesy Marvel.com

  The New Mutants will take a Journey Into Mystery in Exiled, a crossover between the two books. A one-shot will kick off the 5-part story in May.

  Kieron Gillen (Uncanny X-Men, Journey Into Mystery) and Andy Lanning (New Mutants) joined Marvel’s Next Big Thing event to reveal more of the story.

  “This developed quite quickly and quite easily given the long history of the New Mutants in Asgard. We wanted to bring that to Earth rather than take them back to Asgard. It’s a little twist on how past stories have played out. There are some really cool reveals and surprises along the way that will hopefully play against type and expectation.” Andy Lanning

  Carmine Di Giandomenico will provide interior art.  Stephanie Hans will create covers. Gillen teases the art fans will see in this mythic collaboration.

  “Carmine’s image of Hell, for example, is unlike any other Hell I’ve ever seen in a Marvel book. I stared at one his panels for 10 minutes. He’s a very powerful artist.” Kieron Gillen

  “The Asgardians are fish out of water in this story, and that’s part of the fun.” Andy Lanning

  “The New Mutants are now older than the last time they were in Asgard, but Loki is younger. They’ve almost taken on the parental role. It’s fun.” Kieron Gillen

New Mutants #11 courtesy Marvel.com

  This is exciting news given the compelling history between the mutants and Norse Gods – especially Danielle Moonstar fans. This will continue subplots started in Siege when Dani made a deal with Hela to gain her Valkyrie powers back.

I highly recommend The Asgardian Wars trade paperback featuring X-Men, New Mutants and Alpha Flights’s adventures in Asgard caused by the adult Loki’s manipulations.

  For all the quotes from today’s event here’s the Marvel’s Next Big Thing link.