Tag: Murewa Ayodele

Murewa Ayodele + Lucas Werneck unleash a ‘Storm’ at Marvel

The new ongoing series featuring the Omega-level mutant begins in October.

Marvel has revealed more details on the upcoming Storm solo title, which was teased in the initial X-Men: From the Ashes line announcement. The new title will be written by Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods writer Murewa Ayodele and drawn by Immortal X-Men artist Lucas Werneck, and will feature Storm in an enhanced role: prime protector of the planet.

“As a fan of Storm, her duties to the X-Men and what she stands for in various real-world communities, I would like to assure the audience that Storm is in danger. Extremely so,” Ayodele said. “We love Ororo Munroe, and that is why we have crafted a thrilling story that will put the strength of her character on wide-open display.”

Storm will operate out of Atlanta from a new headquarters, where she will be “making decisions that will forecast the future of the Marvel Universe.” Oh yeah, and she’s also joining the Avengers.

“But when you’re an Omega-level mutant, few things can test your limits, and even fewer things can shatter those limits,” Ayodele said. “For our Storm series, one thing we would like fans to remember is that there are threats that are beyond Omega. Prepare yourselves for an extraordinary display of superheroism that leaves knuckles bloody, knees bashed in, and mountains cratered.”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Murewa Ayodele + Dotun Akande on ‘Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods’

The creators of ‘I Am Iron Man’ discuss their new Yoruba-influenced barbarian tale, which Oni Press will release in April.

Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande made a splash on their native continent as the founders of Collectible Comics NG, their own Nigeria-based comics studio, and as the creators of comics like My Grandfather Was a God. They then broke into the U.S. market first with New Men from Action Lab, followed by several stories for Marvel, including the I Am Iron Man miniseries.

Their latest project is Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods, which Oni Press will publish next month. It’s an oversized three-issue miniseries that combines their love for Western comics and animation like Conan the Barbarian and Samurai Jack with Yoruba mythology, bringing an African lens to the traditional sword and sorcery tale.

“According to Yoruba mythology, we were all made by a drunk god, and during one of his drunken stupor, he made horrific monsters also. The first of the gods to visit this new, twisted world was the erratic god of war,” Ayodele said. “When we discovered this little bit of our culture’s mythology, we knew we wanted to tell a gritty fantastical story set in this primordial African world — a world of barbarous violence, monstrous creatures, and gods who give in to primal, destructive urges.” 

I spoke with both creators about the new series, their love for mythology and comics, and more. My thanks to both of them for their time.

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Oni Press announces four new titles for 2024

“Oni 2024” will bring new comics from Olivia Cuartero-Briggs, Zac Thompson, Roberta Ingranata, Chris Condon and more.

Following their partnership announcement with the Nacelle Company, Oni Press heads into New York Comic Con by announcing several new miniseries that will land the first months of 2024, dubbed “Oni 2024.”

Including Invasive by Cullen Bunn and Jesús Hervás, which was announced in San Diego this summer, the initiative begins with five new titles “that will fully embrace the potential of the comics medium to invert, collide and reinvent the foundational genres of horror, science fiction, crime, fantasy and beyond throughout the new year.” More titles are planned for subsequent months.

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Marvel will launch a second Iron Man title in March

‘I Am Iron Man’ by Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande will tell stories set throughout Iron Man’s history.

With Iron Man’s big 60th anniversary coming up next year, Marvel is doubling down on the number of titles featuring the Armored Avenger. In addition to Invincible Iron Man, which debuts in December, Marvel will also launch I Am Iron Man next March.

Writer Murewa Ayodele and artist Dotun Akande will tell stories set at different points in Iron Man’s career. The duo actually have a back-up story in tomorrow’s Iron Man #25, which wraps up Christopher Cantwell’s run on the character with an oversized issue.

“Iron Man has been my favorite character in all of fiction for years now,” Ayodele said. “I’ve loved the character for so long that I had written a proposal for this series even before Dotun and I broke into comics. So, we are super grateful that Marvel made our wildest dreams come true by giving us this opportunity to tell stories that celebrate 60 years of the awesome existence of Tony Stark… Every issue of I Am Iron Man is set in an iconic era of Iron Man, explores some deep emotional wounds of Tony Stark, is adrenaline-pumping with exciting set pieces, and is rendered in beautiful illustrations by Dotun Akande (my favorite comic book artist and best friend). It’s the series for Iron Man fans and anyone that has ever wanted to get into Iron Man comics.”

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Cantwell’s run on ‘Iron Man’ will wrap up with the oversized ‘Iron Man’ #25

Marvel celebrates 650 issues of ‘Iron Man’ in November with stories by Christopher Cantwell, Angel Unzueta, Kurt Busiek and more.

November brings not only the 65oth issue of Iron Man, if you go by Marvel’s “legacy numbering” system, but also the finale of Christopher Cantwell’s run on the title.

Iron Man #25 is an “oversized celebration” of Iron Man, featuring stories by a variety of creators, including Murewa Ayodele, Dotun Akande, Kurt Busiek, Ben Dewey and more. But the main story will focus on “Iron Man Day” in New York, as Cantwell and Angel Unzueta bring their run to a close.

“I have come to love this guy so much. This book has been a highlight of my career,” Cantwell said on Twitter. “I will miss Tony. I already do.”

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