Becky Cloonan Only Woman Writing a Marvel Title with a Male Lead, and Other Comic Announcements
Just when we think we’ve got this All-New, All-Different Marvel line-up down, they drop more titles on us. Ahead of MCM Comic Con in London (which started today!), Marvel announced five new titles, bringing the amount of All-New, All-Different first issues to 71. But seriously, though, where’s our America Chavez book? An ongoing Gamora title? Oooh…an ongoing Nebula title…
One of the biggest pieces of news was Marvel’s new Punisher title, written by Becky Cloonan and drawn by Punisher veteran Steve Dillon. Cloonan now happens to be the only woman in the All-New, All-Different universe writing book with a male protagonist. Because, guess what? You don’t have to hire women only to write female characters! Believe it or not, they’re good at writing a bunch of stuff! It’s a whole thing.
But if you think that the writer of DC’s Gotham Academy can’t get dark enough for Frank Castle, think again. In an interview she did with ComicBook.com, Cloonan warns, “If you are a young child and enjoy Gotham Academy, you probably shouldn’t be reading this Punisher run.” She goes on to say:
[The Punisher] definitely falls waaaay outside of the realm of ‘good guy.’ He does bad things for good reasons, and we are constantly left wondering if the ends justify the means. (I’m not sure they always do, but that’s just part of Frank’s charm!) Chances are if the Punisher is coming after you, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself. If you are a criminal, the Punisher is basically Jason Voorhees.
Meanwhile, in the more suave corner of the Marvel Universe is a new Iron Man title called International Iron Man that seems to really want to ramp-up Tony Starks James Bond vibe. What I don’t get is…does he need a new book to show off how “international” he is? Doesn’t he always go all over the world anyway? I mean, he wears a suit in which he can fly.
Still, I’m excited for the Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev team-up on this book, as one of my favorite comic series in the world is their awesome Spider-Woman limited series. In a chat with Entertainment Weekly, Bendis seems just as excited to be working with Maleev again:
Alex is an artist, one of the very few in the business, who can illustrate subtext. That means you look at Tony’s eyes and you know he’s saying “yes” when he means “no.” I don’t have to write it, you can see it. He’s good at drawing smart people whose wheels are turning. That adds to the level of storytelling that we’re allowed to tell.
We’ve also got a new Nighthawk book coming out, with writer David Walker at the helm (artist TBD). Now, Nighthawk and Hyperion (whose solo book you’ll hear about below) are both being brought into the post-Secret Wars Marvel universe as part of a Secret Squadron book (Marvel’s Justice League?) with James Robinson and Leonard Kirk at the helm that’s coming out in December. However, Nighthawk is also getting this solo title in which he’s basically Marvel’s Batman. An “extreme” hero, Nighthawk fights crime in Chicago and “the police are as terrified of him as the criminals are.”
The most exciting thing for me about this book is that Walker says he hopes to revive “black and Latino characters who haven’t gotten any significant play in the last 20 or 30 years.” By all means, please do.
As for that Hyperion book I mentioned; that title is being written by Chuck Wendig with art by Nik Virella. If Nighthawk is Marvel’s Batman, then Hyperion is Marvel’s Superman. According to Newsarama, Wendig is focusing the story around the aftermath of Hyperion having lost his universe during Secret Wars:
Hyperion is about the titular character coming to grips with just who the hell he is. Here’s a guy who lost his universe and now exists as part of a group where he feels more and more alienated (pun not intended until now). He’s supposed to be a father, a teacher, and he has all these precepts in mind for how he is supposed to be, but little practice or understanding as to what that means. He takes America and its people as his “adopted children,” but that also means he has to get to know his, um, “new kids.” So, we put him smack dab in the American heartland—in all its rust, corn and gun-fed glory—and see what happens.
And last, but certainly not least, is this digital-first mini-series, X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever, written by Max Bemis with art by Michael Walsh. This out-of-continuity mini-series tells the story of a new mutant named Bailey Hoskins, who’s apparently a misfit even among misfits. Awww. Seems pretty cute.
Which of these new titles are you most looking forward to? And what’s your favorite part of the All-New, All-Different universe so far? Tell us in the comments!
(via Comic Book Resources and Comics Alliance)
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