Tag: Matt Fraction

Fantastic Fraction: The Four and the “Other” Four?

Fantastic Four #1 courtesy Marvel

  After writing X-Men, Invincible Iron Man and The Mighty Thor, Matt Fraction is taking on Marvel’s First Family and their extended family. This November get ready for Fraction and Mark Bagley’s Fantastic Four #1 and Fraction and Mike Allred’s FF #1.

  The Marvel NOW! relaunch sees Reed, Susan, Ben and Johnny taking the kids on a cosmic vacation in Fantastic Four while a select team of heroes stands in for them back on Earth in FF. Fraction tells Marvel.com why he’s chosen the Richards bunch.

  “The family unit of it all; adventure dad, adventure mom, that whole thing, when you’re a kid, is great. And The Thing. Greatest comics character of all time, or super greatest?  Now I’m struck that in 102 issues, Stan and Jack pretty much built a universe. That’s a tall order, creatively, an impossibly high bar. 

  I want to tackle that kind of challenge, to take on a book whose mandate, whose creative soul, means to invent wildly and with reckless abandon.”

FF #1 courtesy Marvel

  Fraction follows an epic run by Jonathan Hickman. What is the tone of the new title?

 “The Incredibles.” That “The Incredibles” was kind of the perfect modern Fantastic Four story and wasn’t a Fantastic Four story is, like, a provocation of creative war, y’know? Again, talk about impossibly high bars, but there you go. Can there be a Fantastic Four that’s wildly new, wildly inventive, and that appeals to everybody that might encounter it, regardless of their age or how many comics they’ve read? Let’s find out.”

For more of Fraction’s interview here’s the Marvel.com link.

My Geek Wish: Reed Richards vs. Dr. Nemesis in a mental clash of the scientific titans! I loved how Fraction wrote the X-Club on his Uncanny X-Men run. It would be great fun to see Reed put the arrogant genius in his place!

By Editor

Hawkeye Solo Book

Hawkeye #1 courtesy Marvel.com

  The Avenging Archer’s solo comic book debuts this week. Hawkeye #1 marks the reunion of writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja. The duo (along with Ed Brubaker) last worked together on The Immortal Iron Fist.

  Aja told Marvel.com his lifelong love for Clint Barton is what led to the reunion.

 “Hawkeye was one my favorite characters when a kid,” he recalls. “One of first Marvel comics I read was Avengers #25, and I [fell] in love with [the] guy; he acted as real person, was a complete jerk, so I suppose I identified with him.”

  For Fraction Hawkeye represents a challenge after taking on the X-Men, Iron Man, and Thor.

  “Never had the chance to write a character like him, or to do a book like this before,” the writer reveals. “And I wanted to chronicle him in an ongoing series because it’d keep me from getting bored. Repetition bores me to death. I had this idea for how to do a book that wasn’t like anything else we’d seen him in before, wasn’t like anything I’d done before, and couldn’t stop thinking about.”

Hawkeye #2 courtesy Marvel.com

  Fraction went on the describe this series as Clint’s life outside of team and what drives him after the events of AvX. I was excited that Kate Bishop (you could call her Lady Hawkeye of the Young Avengers) will be in the series.

  “She’s his junior partner, his apprentice,” says Fraction. “It’s a very Avengers relationship—meaning Steed and Peel—and she’s as adrift as he is. What the hell are these two doing with their lives? Turns out, helping people is what they have to do to get through the night. In costume, in life, doesn’t matter. Good guys don’t punch a time card at 5:00.”

  For the more from Fraction and Aja here’s the Marvel.com link.

  Fraction is one of the luckiest writers at Marvel. Iron Man and Thor movies were released during Fraction’s early runs on the those series. I don’t remember his clever quote exactly (at an Emerald City Comicon panel) but I think it went something like “nice of Marvel to do a million dollar promo for my comic book.”

  Hawkeye awareness will be at an all time high with the success of  Marvel’s The Avengers then Jeremy Renner (who played Clint Barton) is on the big screen again this month for The Bourne Legacy. Good timing for a Hawkeye launch.

 Hawkeye also is currently leading Secret Avengers  by Rick Remender. No word on if Clint will be part of Jonathan Hickman’s Marvel NOW! Avengers relaunch.

By Editor

 

Iron Man Team Revealed?

courtesy Marvel.com

  Marvel revealed this teaser- let the speculation begin!

  Invincible. Kieron Gillen. Greg Land. Coming November 12.

  Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca are ending their run on Invincible Iron Man. This tease has to mean the Uncanny X-Men team of Gillen and Land are taking over with a brand new series starring the Armored Avenger.

  Marvel NOW! starts in October 2012 and will include 20 new titles from the publisher.

  Here’s a link to the Invincible Iron Man Omnibus Volume 1 collecting the start of the Fraction/Larroca run.

  If Gillen is taking over – I hope new villain UNIT will face Tony Stark – if Tony is still wearing the armor!

 By Editor

By Editor

 

In Defense of the The Defenders 3 – Case Closed

Defenders #1 courtesy Marvel.com

  Not that long ago…on a post not so far away I explored why Marvel’s non-team was getting another shot at a series…this time with the Uncanny X-Men dream team of Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson.

  The Defenders by Matt Fraction Trade Paperback is out this week collecting the first six issues of the series.  

  In the aftermath of Fear Itself  this odd mix of heroes is recruited to stop a monster’s rampage. I won’t spoil the hero that summons Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer, Iron Fist, Namor and Red She-Hulk into this latest incarnation of Marvel’s non-team.  

  The book has action, humor and strange twists. How does the idea of Dr. Strange hooking up, monsters and zero gravity kung-fu in the first chapter strike you? The misfits discover threats and mysteries on Wundagore Mountain and deep in the sea. Fraction has said the book is filled with characters he really wanted to write and you can feel the love for each of them. Dodson’s bold art captures the big screen fun, supernatural twists and enthusiasm Fraction pounds into the script.

Defenders by Matt Fraction cover courtesy Marvel.com

 With so many other Marvel teams why would you need the Defenders? Why would a concept that’s been tried so many times he another reboot. Check out Defenders By Matt Fraction and you’ll see why.  If only Fraction could find a way to bring Hellcat back on the team!

By Editor

 

SPOILER ALERT Avengers vs X-Men Unexpected Game Changer!

  Marvel teased that the final chapter of the AvX first act would be a game changer. After reading Avengers vs. X-Men #5 I was left stunned and surprised.

 

WARNING

 

SPOILERS AHEAD

 

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ AVX #5 STOP READING NOW

 

SERIOUSLY

 

HERE IT COMES

 

OK – I DID WARN YA!

 

  Iron Man made have showed off why he’s a genius badass but he made a serious miscalculation. The Phoenix Force was meant to bond with Hope but it’s now bonded with five of the most powerful X-Men: Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus and Magik. The Avengers now have to deal with five cosmic powered mutants who were already pretty ticked off at them – guess we know why Marvel has been teasing No More Avengers.

Avengers vs X-Men #6 courtesy Marvel

“The mutants are now the Earth’s mightiest heroes, capable of doing all this cosmic-scale, epic (stuff). And the Avengers are scrambling to keep up and keep things in perspective,” writer Matt Fraction told USA Today. “They’re wildly evolving the world overnight. They’re doing the work of a Phoenix, only instead of one there’s five and each one has their own personality and thoughts, and things are great at first. But they’re the X-Men. They’re going to stop getting along at some point, and batten down the hatches.”

“There’s a specific reason it resonates that it would be these five,” Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso added. “It has to do with what our master plan for these characters has been for some time.”

Avengers vs X-Men #6 interior art courtesy Marvel

Thanks to Comic Book Resources for the quotes and preview images – you can read and see even more there.

I feel like you really have to read Uncanny X-Men #13 this week too. I have to wonder if the Five Lights (the mutants of Generation Hope) were intended to be the Phoenix Five instead of the adult members of Cyke’s Extinction Team. Maybe Kieron Gillen’s use of the extinction team moniker was appropriate because Cyclops and company certainly have the power to destroy and reshape the human race.

  As I read this week’s AvX issues I could help think back to Greg Pak’s Warsong and Endsong epics. I hated them – hear me out – because the stories were so gut wrenching the watch because I loved these characters – which is the sign of great writing. I sense we’re going to that kind of storytelling with act two. 

  John Romita Jr deserves huge accolades for his final chapter in the epic. The smaller cast in the moon battle allow the artist to show his best work of the story so far. The determination of a scorched Wolverine, the fear in Hope’s eyes, Tony Stark’s sense of awe as he tries to kill a God like force are standout moments.

  The act one twist takes us into new territory (maybe darker shades of House of M?) The writers have shown us anything can happen next.

By Editor

Thor & Kid Loki Crossover- Updated

Everything Burns promotional art by Stephanie Hans courtesy Marvel.com

  Thor & Kid Loki team up to save the Nine Realms from Surtur in Everything Burns a 7 part crossover between The Mighty Thor and Journey Into Mystery by Matt Fraction, Kieron Gillen, Alan Davis and Carmine di Giandomenico. Marvel revealed the story, cover and promotional art at C2E2. 

  Updated: The crossover will kick off this August in The Mighty Thor #18-#22 and Journey Into Mystery #642-#645.  Fraction and Gillen talked with Marvel.com about the event.

 “It’s an epic,” Gillen says, explaining who will take on a prominent role in the story. “Thor and Loki are the heart of it all, but everyone else is the circulatory system around them, pumped full of fiery blood, ready to explode. Any significant player in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY at least has a moment, and several are absolutely key.”

The Mighty Thor #18 cover by Alan Davis courtesy Marvel.com

 “This story is about asking the question ‘What can break the bonds of brotherhood?’” Fraction asserts. “How long can Thor stand at Loki’s side? How many angles can Loki play at once? What Thor and Loki share is inconceivable to everyone but themselves. So whatever breaks it would have to be beyond comprehension, right?”

 For the entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.

 

  

Hawkeye Series by Fraction & Aja

Hawkeye #1 courtesy Marvel.com

  Matt Fraction reunites with David Aja for a brand new Hawkeye series debuting this August. The duo (along with Ed Brubaker) last worked together on The Immortal Iron Fist. The announcement was made at C2E2 in Chicago.

  Aja told Marvel.com his lifelonglove for the Avenging Archer is what led to the reunion.

 “Hawkeye was one my favorite characters when a kid,” he recalls. “One of first Marvel comics I read was Avengers #25, and I [fell] in love with [the] guy; he acted as real person, was a complete jerk, so I suppose I identified with him.”

 For Fraction Hawkeye represents a challenge after taking on the X-Men, Iron Man, and Thor.

 “Never had the chance to write a character like him, or to do a book like this before,” the writer reveals. “And I wanted to chronicle him in an ongoing series because it’d keep me from getting bored. Repetition bores me to death. I had this idea for how to do a book that wasn’t like anything else we’d seen him in before, wasn’t like anything I’d done before, and couldn’t stop thinking about.”

Hawkeye #2 courtesy Marvel.com

 Fraction went on the describe this series as Clint’s life outside of team and what drives him after the events of AvX. I was excited that Kate Bishop (you could call her Lady Hawkeye of the Young Avengers) will be in the series.

  “She’s his junior partner, his apprentice,” says Fraction. “It’s a very Avengers relationship—meaning Steed and Peel—and she’s as adrift as he is. What the hell are these two doing with their lives? Turns out, helping people is what they have to do to get through the night. In costume, in life, doesn’t matter. Good guys don’t punch a time card at 5:00.”

For the more quotes from Fraction and Aja here’s the Marvel.com link.

Fraction is one of the luckiest writers at Marvel. Iron Man and Thor movies were released during Fraction’s early runs on the those series. I don’t remember his clever quote exactly (at an Emerald City Comicon panel) but I think it went something like “nice of Marvel to do a million dollar promo for my comic book.”

  Hawkeye awareness will be at at all time high with Marvel’s The Avengers out May 3rd and then Jeremy Renner (who plays Clint Barton) is on the big screen again in August for The Bourne Legacy. Good timing for a Hawkeye launch.

  Hawkeye is currently leader of Secret Avengers under Rick Remender but that book is changing direction to tie-in with AvX. I hope after the event Hawkeye and his covert team return to their secret missions and Remender can continue The Descendants plotline he started.

By Editor

Matt Fraction at AvX Launch Party Portland

Matt Fraction at AvX party @ Excalibur Comics photo by Kyle Helstien of Happy Robot Photography

  Eager fans lined up to celebrate and be the first to get Avengers Vs. X-Men #1 at more than 1,100 comic book stores worldwide. Retailers voted to stand with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes or the Children of the Atom. Customers got exclusive posters, buttons and other swag celebrating their chosen team.

  AvX writer Matt Fraction and Editor C.B. Cebulski appeared at Excalibur Comics in Portland to get the party started. Thanks to Kyle Heinstiein of Happy Robot Photography. You can see more of this great shots at this Portland Pulp gallery link.

I was the first to buy at Zanadu Comics in Seattle. I “ooooooed” and “aahhhhhed” as Perry unloaded the copies, variants, buttons and lithographs!