Tag: David Marquez

NYCC | ‘X-Men: Shadows of Tomorrow’ will follow ‘Age of Revelation’

Marvel has announced yet another X-Men publishing initiative that’ll come in the wake of their current crossover.

X-Men: Age of Revelation is just a little more than a week old, so it must be time to announce what comes next. At the New York Comic Con, Marvel revealed Shadows of Tomorrow, which will include 11 new/returning titles in the X-Men line.

To catch you up: in the wake of the well-regarded Krakoa era of the X-Men, spearheaded by Jonathan Hickman and continuing for a number of years, Marvel launched X-Men: From the Ashes, which was a return to a more traditional approach, where the world once again hated and feared mutants. Rather than living on a mutant paradise island, the characters were scattered, from Alaska to New Orleans, where they tried to pick up their lives again.

Reception has been tepid, at best, to the new line, with several of the launch titles not making it very far itno their runs. Then all of them ended in September to make way for Age of Revelation, a story set 10 years in the future, where Doug Ramsey, the former New Mutant turned Heir of Apocalypse, ruled with an iron fist. That story is just getting started and is set to run through December, a short-term event like Age of Apocalypse, but the nature of comic news, retailing and solicitations means it’s time to turn to January.

If you were a fan of the From the Ashes books, the good news is that several of the creators who worked on them will return to the characters they were working on after Age of Revelation. There are also some new titles coming, with a big focus on solo X-titles/duos vs. team books (although we’ll see those, too). Let’s have a look:

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‘Rogue Storm,’ ‘Sinister’s Six’ + more new titles revealed as part of the ‘Age of Revelation’

Gail Simone, Lucas Werneck, David Marquez and more will continue this new era of X-Men titles.

Marvel continues to roll out more details on Age of Revelation, the X-Men event that’ll jump 10 years into a future where Doug Ramsey, former New Mutant and current heir to Apocalypse, rules over the world.

Marvel revealed that they’ll publish (at least) 16 titles as part of the event, with fun twists on existing titles and characters like Cloak or Dagger and Undeadpool. Five titles and their creative teams were revealed yesterday.

Like yesterday’s announcement, today’s reveal shows that some of the creative teams for these titles can be mapped back to the current line-up — Gail Simone will continue writing the stories and characters we’re seeing in Uncanny X-Men, while Storm writer Murewa Ayodele is writing a Storm vs. Rogue title. Cavan Scott and Ruairi Coleman will revisit the relationship between Emma Frost and Tony Stark that we saw form at the end of the Krakoa era, while David Marquez (who has been showing his writing chops on titles like The Unchosen) and Rafael Loureiro bring together six random characters to pull off a heist for Mr. Sinister.

Check out the four titles announced today, all of which kick off Oct. 15, and I expect we’ll get more as the week goes on.

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Two X-Men teams come to blows in ‘Raid on Graymalkin’

The four-issue crossover begins in December.

Two of the three flagship X-Men titles will cross over this winter in a story called “Raid on Graymalkin.” The crossover will run through X-Men #8-9 by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman, and Uncanny X-Men #7-8 by Gail Simone, David Marquez and Javier Garron.

“It’s been an exciting time being part of the launch of the line of X-titles, but now we’re really getting into it- our first crossover!” MacKay said. “’Raid on Graymalkin’ is going to push the X-Men of both Alaska and Louisiana to their breaking points and set the tone for the future, and it’s been great to work with a legend like Gail in bringing it to life!”

If you’ve been following both titles, you know there’s some tension brewing between Cyclops and his crew of soldiers, who live in Alaska, and Rogue and her family of mutants, who reside in Louisiana. That tension will come to a head as both teams decide it’s time to do something about Graymalkin Prison, the former site of Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in New York, where mutants are being held by Dr. Corina Ellis, including Professor X.

“Writing in the X-World has been one of the most fun and rewarding experiences of my career,” Simone said. “Best characters, best art team, best editors and best fellow creators, particularly Jed Mackay, who is just an idea machine. We’ve been throwing ideas back and forth nearly every day since we all started putting together the bones of what the X-Verse would be like, and I think it helps tremendously that we like and respect each other’s work.”

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Slugfest | Spawny returns to kill off … Spawn?

Plus: News and announcements on ‘Uncanny X-Men,’ ‘Gilt Frame,’ Godzilla, Blacksad, ThunderCats and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you that we haven’t otherwise covered. Hit the links for more information.

McFarlane Productions has been on a roll introducing Spawn into various genres, and this summer they’ll return to the world of humor and satire with Spawn Kills Every Spawn. Like the previous Spawn Kills Everyone and Spawn Kills Everyone Too, this comic features the tiniest Spawn, Spawny, deciding to kill another set of comic characters — the Spawn universe.

Written by John Layman and illustrated by Rob “Sketchcraft” Duenas and colorist Robert Nugent, the five-issue miniseries sees Spawny arrive at a Spawn convention filled with Spawns from around the multiverse, all of whom are more popular than him. So he decides to become the most popular by eliminating the competition.

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Marvel reveals nine new X-titles as a part of ‘From the Ashes’

Gail Simone, David Marquez, Eve L. Ewing, Carmen Carnero, Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman will plot a new course for the X-Men following the end of the Krakoa era.

During their panel at South by Southwest today, Marvel revealed their plans for the X-Men post-Krakoa, which include three core titles sporting the name “X-Men” as well as six other titles.

As most fans likely guessed, Gail Simone will write one of the core titles, Uncanny X-Men, joined by artist David Marquez. Current Avengers writer Jed MacKay and artist Ryan Stegman spearhead the adjectiveless X-Men, and Eve Ewing and Carmen Carnero team up for Exceptional X-Men.

“The X-Men are fractured in the aftermath of the end of Krakoa, scattered across the globe without a central base of operation,” Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort said. “What that means in practice is that all three titles carrying the name X-Men are core X-Men series—they all center around one of the major aspects of what the team has been about at different points. This is very much by design. We want to field a wide assortment of X-titles with different styles and tones and approaches, an X-Men book for virtually any taste.”

The other titles teased at the panel include solo titles for Storm, Wolverine and Phoenix, as well as some familiar team titles — X-Factor, X-Force and NYX.

“I think X-Fans are special in that we identify with having something different about us…and you’re going to feel that in this book, and what it means to have that thing about you that’s different, or exceptional. We go deep into the emotional part of that,” Simone told the crowd in Austin.

More details on the three core titles can be found below …

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What Are You Reading? | ‘Batman: Killing Time’ and ‘Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to Be Kin’

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately. Today’s edition includes thoughts on Batman: Killing Time and a new Shaolin Cowboy miniseries coming this week.

Let us know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments or on social media.

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Bendis and Marquez jump-start the Justice League

A new era begins in ‘Justice League’ #59, which ‘includes a number of familiar, welcome elements, all deftly executed.’

[Note: This post contains spoilers for the lead story in Justice League #59. The issue also includes a Justice League Dark installment, which was creepy and suspenseful, but won’t be discussed here.]

Last year’s trip through the Justice League’s 60-year history got as far as the start of the “Snyder Era.” (No, not that Snyder — Scott Snyder.) Because some of us still have a slight Death Metal hangover, a post on those years is still TBA. Regardless, the “Bendis Era” began this week with May 2021’s Justice League #59. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, drawn by David Marquez and colored by Tamra Bonvillain, it includes a number of familiar, welcome elements, all deftly executed.

Chief among them is the notion that the Leaguers have lives outside this book. At the risk of being redundant, the point of an all-star team is the interaction of characters who can each carry their own features. Sure, you can craft a perfectly entertaining adventure by dropping a handful of heroes into a standalone story, but the best League runs have incorporated larger DC continuity to one degree or another. (Somewhat ironically, the Bendis Era begins just as DC has decided to have free-range continuity.)

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Mariko Tamaki to write ‘Wonder Woman’ beginning in June

The award-winning writer joins artist Mikel Janín on the title.

DC Comics has recruited Mariko Tamaki for one of their key flagship titles. The writer of This One Summer and Laura Dean keeps Breaking Up With Me will begin writing Wonder Woman with issue #759 in June.

“Writing for comics is pretty much a dream job, full stop,” Tamaki said. “It’s pretty fricking cool. Wonder Woman was the hero I grew up with, she was my little-kid-living-room-cosplay. I have always wanted a golden lasso and an invisible jet, and I feel like now, writing Wonder Woman, I’m one step closer.”

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DC reveals details for ‘Flash’ #750

The 80-page issue will kick off a new storyline, ‘The Flash Age,’ in addition to featuring stories by Marv Wolfman, Geoff Johns and more.

As revealed in their solicitations for February 2020, DC Comics has announced the line-up for next year’s Flash #750, a prestige format issue with contributions by Marv Wolfman, Geoff Johns, Bryan Hitch, Francis Manapul, David Marquez, Riley Rossmo and more, in addition to series writer Joshua Williamson.

“The Flash is one of my favorite DC characters,” said Williamson in the press release, “so it’s an honor to work on The Flash #750 with so many returning Flash legends! It’s a showcase of awesome talent, each telling a story that celebrates what we love about the Flash and the Flash family. And what a perfect place to kick off our next epic storyline ‘The Flash Age!’ 2020 is going to be a big year for The Flash. It all starts in this massive issue.”

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All You Need to Know: ‘Invincible Iron Man’ #1

Invincible Iron Man #1 Variant Covor
Iron Man needs some work…

I have a love-hate relationship with the comic works of Brian Michael Bendis. Wait, that’s too strong a sentiment; I have a like-meh relationship with his comics.

On one hand, Bendis is a well-respected, intelligent author who has reformed a lot of how comics are being written these days, done a few landmark runs with Marvel characters and has pretty much set the tone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On the other hand, reading his books gets redundant, feels like you are going nowhere and doing nothing, and is choc-a-bloc with blithe dialogue that feels less like impassioned superhero speech than something overheard by a Starbucks barista. They can be a slog to get through at times, because they rarely feel like there’s going to be a payoff at the end of the storyline. Jonathan Hickman can be a similar slog, but at least by the end of the Fantastic Four run, for example, you’ve seen characters grow, change and come out the other side as new people. Bendis just feels like he puts the pieces back too carefully or breaks them irrevocably.

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