EXCLUSIVO: capa de "Avante, Vingadores!" #2, por Mark Bagley.

Título incluindo a formação da equipe referente a sua primeira adaptação cinematográfica, seguindo o embalo do filme.

Marvel Announces "Avengers Vs. X-Men" For 2012

Avengers VS X-Men
The biggest comic book event in history begins in April 2012

This April, The Avengers and the X-Men—the two most popular franchises in comics history—go to war! Marvel is proud to announce AVENGERS VS X-MEN, a landmark 12-issue pop culture event bringing together the world’s greatest super heroes—Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Magneto and more—for an unforgettable battle beginning in April 2012.

AVENGERS VS X-MEN is written by a team of the top-selling authors in the comic book industry today: Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction. This unprecedented assembly of acclaimed writers is joined by a trio of the industry’s superstar artists: John Romita Jr., Olivier Coipel and Adam Kubert.

The Avengers and X-Men have learned that the all-powerful embodiment of both death and rebirth known as the Phoenix Force is on a crash course for Earth…and it needs a new host to unleash its immeasurable power. But what is the shocking decision tied to the Phoenix’s return that will pit the Avengers against the X-Men? And when good friends become bitter enemies, what does this mean for the future of the Marvel Universe?



Shipping twice monthly, this epic 12-issue limited series will be available in comic stores and on the Marvel Comics app on the same day—additionally, each print issue of AVENGERS VS X-MEN includes a code for a free digital copy of the issue on the Marvel Comics app at no additional cost to fans or retailers.

“AVENGERS VS X-MEN brings together the most powerful forces in comics for a super hero war like you’ve never seen before and will never see again. We all want to see the best of the best go against each other—Lakers & Celtics; Ali & Frazier; Yankees & Red Sox; and in comics it’s the Avengers fighting the X-Men, ” said Axel Alonso, Editor in Chief, Marvel Entertainment. “We’ve brought together the biggest writers, biggest artists and biggest characters for the biggest story we’ve ever told. This is the kind of high-octane action-packed story that fans demand while also having a profound effect on every character involved—and reshaping the Marvel Universe in its wake.”

Plus, for the first time ever, fans can watch and take part in the groundbreaking AVENGERS VS X-MEN Live Kickoff beginning at 3:00pm ET, Wednesday, December 7, on Marvel.com and http://new.livestream.com/marveluniverse. A unique event produced in collaboration with Livestream.com’s cutting edge streaming services and the Hangout functionality provided by Google+, we’re bringing the writers and editors of AvX directly to the fans. Make sure to follow Marvel on Google+ as five lucky fans will be chosen to join in on the AvX hangout with their favorite writers and editors! Even if you’re not part of the Hangout, your questions can still be answered via Facebook and Twitter. using hashtag #AvX—just make sure to send in your questions before the event ends!

You’ve heard It’s Coming—and this April the War Is Here in AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1! All your favorite super heroes enter—and only one team will emerge victorious!

Fonte oficial



For months, Marvel Comics has been promising something big coming down the pike for readers invested in the Marvel Universe. The planned 2012 project has been described by Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso as "not part of a cosmic event, but a Marvel Universe event," adding, "Very soon, we're going to reveal all. Three simple words that speak to the hardcore Marvel fan and the guy or gal on the street who's seen one or two super hero movies."

Today, those three words became clear: "Avengers Vs. X-Men."

In a story published on the USA Today website, the publisher announced a 12-part bi-weekly series debuting in April. The core "Avengers Vs. X-Men" title will be co-written by Marvel's "Architect" writers -- Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction -- and drawn by big-name artists John Romita Jr., Olivier Coipel and Adam Kubert.

The appeal of the series is obvious, Alonso told the newspaper: "You've got two populations whose motivations are simple and understandable and defensible. That's part of the beauty of this. You're seeing a story that evolves out of 'What would you do?'"

In a separate article, the mechanics of the title and its promotion were laid out, from each issue being scripted by one writer who then hands the story off to another for the next issue, to plans to integrate Google+ into the ongoing promotional efforts.

On a story level, the focus of 2009's X-Men "Second Coming" crossover, Hope Summers, will once again be the center of attention in "Avengers Vs. X-Men," as the presumed host for the returning Phoenix Force. In fact, it's the threat of the returning Phoenix Force that will instigate the conflict in the first place, Alonso says. "The Phoenix Force is the spirit of destruction and rebirth. It razes worlds to create something new. It's bad news if you happen to be living on the world about to be razed. It's great news if you're what's going to be the outcome of that world."

Also taking center stage in the series prologue issue is the Scarlet Witch, who, in many ways, instigated this conflict years ago when she used her reality-altering powers to all but erase mutantkind from the planet. Bendis, who scripts her story, told the newspaper,"She's been on a road of almost impossible-to-perceive redemption over the last few years and now is going to come face-to-face with the Avengers."

Fonte

Now Marvel Cancels Destroyers Series From Fred Van Lente And Kyle Hotz

Two issues may have been fully pencilled by Kyle Hotz. Marvel had announced the mini-series Destroyers a couple of months ago with a targeted promotional campaign. But no sooner had that happened than the book appears to have been cancelled by Marvel.
That’s before orders could even have been received on the book. It hadn’t even been solicited. Replying to enquiries on Twitter,writer Fred Van Lente tweeted;

"Sorry, dude, that series got the axe weeks ago.
There was no announcement. The book hadn’t been solicited yet, and just wouldn’t have.
The biggest bummer about DESTROYERS was Kyle Hotz had #1-2 pencilled, and it looked grrrrreat. Ah, well. That’s showbiz for you."

However he did assure fans;

"Also, I’m working on a Marvel book right now with an artist I’ve long wanted to work with they haven’t announced yet."

DEFENSIVE MEASURES: Doctor Strange & Nul

Series writer Matt Fraction talks with CBR about "Defenders" leader Doctor Strange and the team's main nemesis, Nul



When you live in the Marvel Universe, things like robots, high-tech battle suits, mutants and super powers are impressive, awe-inspiring and often downright scary. Though advanced technology and super powers gained from things like radiation may be fantastic, on some level they're understandable because of their basis in science, and are therefore not as scary as magic and the supernatural. And while it's true that magic and monsters have rules of their own to follow, they're more mysterious and harder to explain, making supernatural phenomenon even more frightening.

Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson's upcoming "Defenders" series, launching in December, will explore all the corners of the Marvel Universe -- including the mysterious realm of magic and monsters. In today's installment of DEFENSIVE MEASURES, our week-long look at "Defenders," Fraction joins us for a discussion about two of the series' characters who are firmly rooted in the supernatural corner of the Marvel U: Doctor Strange and the monstrous entity known as Nul.

DOCTOR STRANGE

Series artist Terry Dodson's concept sketch for the new-look Doctor Strange



For many years, Doctor Strange was the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, a position that made him the planet's most powerful and chief mystical defender. In recent years, however, Strange had made several bad decisions, choices that ultimately cost him that title. He still uses his mystical abilities to fight evil, but when "Defenders" begins, he's haunted by some of the poor choices he's made in the name of what he thought was the greater good, from joining the Illuminati to taking part in their decision to launch the Hulk into space to using the malevolent entity known as Zom to fight against the Hulk when he returned to Earth looking for revenge on those responsible for his exile.

"There's a line that Hulk has in the first issue, while Strange is gathering up all the old gang. The line is, 'I hate myself and I want to die, but not today.' It sort of occurred to me, that resonated with a lot of the cast, deep down. So we have a very specific notion of Doc," Fraction told CBR News. "He's like an occult William S. Burroughs that knows martial arts. Very much like we were seeing him way back when in 'Strange Tales.'

"Editor Ralph Macchio, who recently retired from Marvel, gave me one of the greatest gifts ever when he leaned over during an editorial retreat and said, 'You know, Doctor Strange studied the martial arts as well.' I immediately saw somebody doing kung fu -- but with Steve Ditko hands. That was the missing piece," Fraction continued. "Suddenly, it came to me: William S. Burroughs, occult researcher and martial arts aficionado! So I get to write a very physical Doctor Strange who is connected with all kinds of weirdness, both great and mystic, small and gnarly. He's a dark, strange, spooky guy at his roots, who's prone to making bad decisions."

Doctor Strange's impressive kung fu skills are just one of the many reasons he's still a formidable opponent ,even after dropping the title of Sorcerer Supreme. Other reasons include his spell casting abilities, which are still very potent, and some new tricks and skills that he'll be displaying in "Defenders."

"I think magic should be no different from any other super power in the Marvel Universe. The more you use it, the more tired you get. People are better at it than you, people are worse at it than you. It's a profound physical and mental ability. Strange is still powerful enough to be an Avenger, but he isn't the supreme guy any more. That's fine too, because it opens up a world of weird, small things to see," Fraction explained. "I want to work actual mentalist and magician trade craft into Doc, here and there. I want to make him more physical. I want to make him creepy. I want to make him weird. I want to play with that William S. Burroughs thing, the suit and waistcoat and head filled with bad ideas. He's got all these little ways of hacking the human body and hacking the human consciousness for specific means that aren't necessarily about the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. I want a more terrestrial, grungy, spooky Doc. That's what we're getting."

When "Defenders" begins, Strange is forced to become a major player in the team, responsible for assembling their initial ranks and even becoming a sort of de facto group leader.

"Strange doesn't mean for it to happen, and he doesn't strike me as a guy who would want to belong to any club that would have him for a member. At the end of 'Fear Itself,' though, you saw it was the Hulk who sought him out. You'll see more about that in November's 'Point One' anthology. This is ultimately all the Hulk's fault, and there will inevitably come a day where he'll say that line. So as things go really bad, it's Hulk who needs a favor and the only people he trusts are his former teammates on the Defenders -- even though some of them were part of the Illuminati, like Doc and Namor," Fraction stated. "Some of them feel like they owe him. Some of them will feel a past loyalty to him because of their history together. It's the outsider quality of the Defenders that the Hulk plays on, and Doc is sort of the centerpiece of that part. It also helps that Doc has a fixed address and Hulk knows where to go."

He may be easy to find and have a past connection to the team, but the primary reason Strange plays a large role in this new "Defenders" series is because of his small role in Fraction's "Stark Disassembled" arc of "Invincible Iron Man." Ever since that arc, the writer has been looking for a way to revisit the character.

"Every time we have a creative retreat and Doctor Strange comes up, it ends with me banging my head on the desk. This is perhaps as close as I'll get to come to a Doctor Strange book for a while," the writer said. "Everybody who already loves Doctor Strange, I hope I can speak your language. And for everyone who's never known what to do with the guy, I hope I can show you why he's such a great character."

NUL

Nul is the physical manifestation of the entity inhabiting Hulk's hammer during "Fear Itself"



Readers of "Fear Itself" #7, in stores now, got their first glimpses of Nul in the issue's fourth prologue. The monstrous, mystical entity was trapped inside the hammer the Hulk wielded as one of the avatars of the Serpent, the main villain of "Fear Itself." While he wielded the hammer, the Hulk was possessed by Nul, so in order to free himself, Hulk smashed the hammer -- accidentally letting Nul loose into the world.

"The root of the idea for Nul was, what if Hulk could 'Hulk' out? What if he got so angry that even he would turn into something? Nul is the Hulk's Hulk. It's this monstrous thing that's unleashed on the world because of him," Fraction explained. "One of the biggest dangling threads from the end of 'Fear Itself' is that Nul is still out there. Hulk is so mighty, so strong, that he could physically crush the hammer, and while that freed him from Nul's sway, it also freed Nul to roam the Earth. Nul is here, rampaging his way to a very specific location, destroying everything in his way, and Hulk knows that he's going to be blamed for it if Nul is not stopped. So Hulk goes to the Defenders because he believes the Defenders will help him and he believes they will be discrete about it. Nul is a chance to personify Hulk's living, walking nightmare. He's a thing more hateful, more angry and in more agony than even the Hulk is on a moment to moment basis."

Nul's mind may be full of rage and pain, but it's not acting on pure instinct. It's actually an intelligent entity with a goal. "Terry's depiction of Nul gives you this feeling that the air on his skin would hurt him. He's almost like a giant, raw, exposed nerve. Simply being alive causes Nul to feel nothing but agony. The air on his skin makes him scream out loud constantly. So -- so he's here, he's driven and he's on a mission," Fraction remarked. "This is his story. This is about how Nul tries to get home and about how the Defenders try and stop him."

Over the course of their quest to stop Nul, the Defenders will uncover an immensely powerful and dangerous conspiracy tied into the heart of the Marvel Universe. Fraction's long-form story for the series details how the "Defenders" cope with this discovery and the battle to tear this secretive cabal down.

"The first issue gets the band back together. They determine where Nul is headed and they race off to the very Marvel Universe-specific location he's heading towards, a place full of weird and wonderful Marvel stuff. 'Defenders' is a book that will explain why he's headed there and what it really means," Fraction said. "Why are there so many super heroes in Manhattan? There's a reason. Why is there so much weird shit that happens at this one mountain in Europe? There's a reason. Why is there a Savage Land? Celestials? Infinity formula? All of it will be explained. This book is Marvel's grand unification theory; a concordance. Nul is the loose thread on the sweater that threatens to unravel it all. The very cohesion of the Marvel Universe -- of everything -- is at stake. When I say there's an impossible threat coming, that's pretty much what I mean."





Clique aqui para maiores informações.

DEFENSIVE MEASURES: Fraction's "Defenders" Origins & Expectations

The Marvel Universe's major superhero teams tend to provoke strong and clear reactions from the general public, whether it's love for the Avengers and the Fantastic Four or fear and hatred directed toward the X-Men. One team that's never had a clear-cut relationship with the public-at-large, however, is the Defenders. Traditionally , the "non-team" has boasted lineups composed of a unique collection of heroes, including characters prone to destructive rages like the Hulk and Namor, mysterious and powerful beings like Doctor Strange and the Silver Surfer and quite often lesser-known and more esoteric heroes like Nighthawk, Valkyrie and Gargoyle.

This dangerous and eclectic nature have made the Defenders a fan-favorite team over the decades, and in December, a new misfit grouping of diverse Marvel U residents is brought together in an all-new "Defenders" #1 by writer Matt Fraction and artist Terry Dodson. To help fans prepare for the new ongoing series, CBR News today kicks off DEFENSIVE MEASURES, a week-long look at the new "Defenders" title and the various characters to be featured within its pages. We begin by chatting with Matt Fraction about the origin of the book and the types of stories it will feature.

The seeds for "Defenders" were planted when Fraction began to look for a book to work on once he was he finished with the recently concluded event miniseries "Fear Itself." During that time, he was approached by Marvel Editor in Chief Axel Alonso and SVP/Executive Editor Tom Brevoort.

"They wanted me to consider a new 'Defenders' book. They believed it could be a big tent pole franchise for Marvel like The Avengers. It's flattering to be asked, but at that time, I didn't have any particular knowledge of the series. It just wasn't something I hadn't read as a kid, so I didn't really know much about them," Fraction told CBR News. "The book has got a legacy and such a cult following that I thought I might be the wrong guy for it. Axel though, to his eternal credit, said something to the effect of, 'Think about it like: it's Doctor Strange, it's Silver Surfer, it's anyone else you want to write that's having trouble supporting a book in this marketplace right now.' That became the key for me.

"Since we can't do a Doctor Strange series, he's here right now," Fraction continued. "I also get to do a Silver Surfer series. I get to write my Namor book, now. I get to do a She-Hulk series and I get to come back to Iron Fist. Other characters will join the cast over this first year or so, and eventually, we'll have a book starring most everybody I'd want to write about anyway. I get to do all this stuff and everybody gets a chance to shine."

As he was assembling his cast, Fraction was also researching the history of the team. "It's impossible not to think of Steve Gerber as the writer who ultimately defined the Defenders. He was the first to say, 'Okay, these are the crazy guys. Let's write the crazy book.' It's not hard to draw a line from Arnold Drake's 'Doom Patrol' to Gerber's 'Defenders' to Grant Morrison's take on 'Doom Patrol,'" Fraction said. "When he's really cooking, he's a guy unashamed to embrace the magic -- and often silliness -- of comics. He doesn't hide from the weirdness and, as the saying goes, he 'turns into the skid.' That's ultimately how I got to know the Defenders; from reading everything I could of Gerber's. Subsequently, then, I read pretty much read everything else that's existed."

Fraction feels that the misfit and outsider quality Gerber first emphasized is one of the essential qualities that defines the Defenders as a team, which he fully plans to embrace in his series. "In my book, there's a secret that defines this version of the Defenders and binds them all together. The secret prevents them from telling other people about it. It's a secret with a cloaking device, almost," the writer explained. "They can't recruit for more help. Suddenly, they find themselves -- the weirdos, the odd fits in any lineup of Avengers -- in a position where they have to save us all from this impossible threat."

Once Fraction had his misfit band of heroes and had a purpose, he began to think about the stories he wanted to tell. "A lot of my thinking involved where to go after 'Fear Itself.' This isn't a spin-off, even though our first story launches out of one of the big, dangling plot threads from 'Fear Itself.' So I wanted to see what comes next," Fraction remarked. "'Fear Itself' was so much work and I worked on it for so long that I feel like I said everything I needed to say and wanted to say about comics like that. I think that makes sense now, too, since the world, the market and the superhero mainstream are all changing.

"I wanted to do something new and unlike anything I had done before. I didn't want to just pick up another book. I wanted to find a space where I could do stories with sizes and shapes that were different from what anyone else was doing," Fraction continued. "When I pitch a book, I usually have a ton of ideas for it. I had even more ideas than usual for 'Defenders.' When I got into the nature of what the story is, it inspired so many ideas and no one in editorial was saying, 'No,' or, 'This goes to far. This is too weird. This is too big.' I got to plan this giant Marvel comic that is about the Marvel Universe itself. So every idea I had, I could find a place to fit just because of the very nature of the story that we're doing."



Fans have been given a hint of what Fraction's first "Defenders" story is about in the fourth epilogue of "Fear Itself" #7, in stores now. The epilogue showed that the Hulk's actions at the end of "Fear Itself" had unleashed a powerful and dangerous entity know as Nul, Breaker of Worlds. At the end of the prologue, the Hulk approaches his old Defenders teammate, Doctor Strange, asking for help in taking Nul down.

"The end of our first storyline, 'Breaker of Worlds,' will reveal that there's a very good reason why these guys are called the Defenders. It's because they're literally defending us from something. It's a threat that's so big, so secret and so world-shattering that people are going to ask, 'Why don't they just go to Captain America and the Avengers?' As I hinted earlier, there's a reason for that. They're on their own against this threat and this secret they face. So they're going to need some powerful and highly skilled team members.

"When the book begins, Doctor Strange is sort of our hub character because he's the one who starts assembling this team," Fraction continued. "When the lineup is complete, we'll have a team where every member is an expert in their own unique field in the Marvel Universe. Whatever their particular corner is, they're the master of that field, which is great. By the time we get to where we're dealing with this reality-spanning cosmic nightmare that affects every corner of the Marvel Universe, the Defenders have every corner of the Marvel Universe covered by their roster."

The unique lineup will allow Fraction to take the Defenders all over the Marvel Universe and tell any kind of story he wants. "'Defenders' is designed to be a series that any body that loves Marvel Comics can read. It's lots of short arcs and self-contained stories," Fraction stated. "It's a different kind of comic for different times. It's much more like how Marvel books used to be. We're doing a different thing now.

"I want 'Defenders' to be fueled by that same kind of raw imagination that fueled Marvel so vitally in the early years. I want 'Defenders' to be as wildly inventive as those books. I want to write a comic where you have to stop every few pages because you hit something that makes you go, 'Whoa!' I want to bring back the whoa factor and the wow factor as a going concern."

Some of that sense of awe and wonder will come from the insanely powerful foes that the Defenders must face. "I wanted to take this ghettoized team and put them in the middle of a threat to the entirety of everything. The underdogs, the weirdoes, the freaks fighting against this amazing, huge, thing. Discovering who it is and why is the story of the book, but by the time the book is done, you'll know why everything in the Marvel Universe happened the way it did," Fraction said. "You'll know why a radioactive spider gave Peter Parker his powers. You'll know why cosmic rays turned four rogue astronauts into the Fantastic Four. You'll know why there are mutants. You'll know why Steve Rogers was one in a million and became Captain America and not just another kid injected with an arm full of weird goo. Why it all happened, who was behind it all and what is yet to happen. It's ambitious and broad and covers the entirety of the Marvel Universe territory as a space, as an idea and as a fictional place we all visit from time to time.

"Like I said," Fraction continued, "the nature of this secret conspiracy they're dealing with hides itself from the rest of the Marvel U. They can't go to characters like Captain America, Thor and Iron Man because every time they try to talk about it, the words are stolen from right out of their minds. It's a big spooky, weird, crazy thing -- it's something I think is fitting for the Marvel Universe."

The Defenders aren't able to tell others about their war against their mysterious enemies, but that doesn't mean they'll be abandoning their other Marvel Universe obligations or that the new title won't be able to engage with the larger Marvel U. "Everyone sort of comes and goes, and there will be character-specific issues. We'll have lots of different narrators and points of view," Fraction stated. "Anything I can do to take advantage of comics as an artform. The Defenders is what these guys do on Sunday. Everybody else goes out Monday through Saturday with the Avengers or other groups, but on Sundays, they get together at Doctor Strange's place and try to deal with this crazy thing. They're quite literally bound to each other by this secret."

The way the Defenders deal with that secret and their mysterious enemies is part of the long form story Fraction is telling in the book. For inspiration he looked at things like Walt Simonson's "Surtur Saga" during his run on "Mighty Thor" which featured many smaller tales, but when combined together told one grand saga.



"I've got the story mapped out and I don't know if I have an escape hatch," Fraction said with a laugh. "So this might be one of those things like the TV series 'Crime Story' where we end with a cliff hanger that's never resolved." Fraction said. "But I want to commit to the book. I believe in it and I believe in the story we're telling. It's everything about Marvel superhero comics that I love. I think it's the kind of the book we need right now. So we're going to tear into it and do our best to make a book that people will kick themselves if they miss."

Can't miss books don't just feature compelling stories, they include striking visuals as well. For "Defenders" the art is being provided by one of Fraction's collaborators on "Uncanny X-Men," artist Terry Dodson. And in a nod to the Defenders' old-school credentials, the artist is working on the new title "Marvel Style" -- a method pioneered in the early days of the publisher where writers submitted plots to artists instead of full scripts.

"There were a couple reasons why we decided to do this Marvel Style. One was, while I was working on 'Fear Itself,' I noticed all these gimmicks, tricks, short cuts and tropes that I used in my writing, and I wanted to cut some of those out. I wanted to get to a place of uncertainty, discomfort, danger and anxiety. I wanted a project with some kind of worry and risk involved," Fraction explained. "Plus, Terry is a tremendously gifted storyteller and I don't know if we've ever gotten to see him at his maximum potential over here because he's been given full scripts to do.

"What ultimately convinced me to do this was listening to a conversation about it between Joe Quesada, Brian Bendis and Jeph Loeb at last years C2E2 convention. It was really Joe trying to goad, provoke and annoy Brian as they are wont to do. They sort of bicker like an old married couple," Fraction joked. "Joe was talking about the foundation books of Marvel all being done Marvel Style, which led to all these sensational visual moments that full script doesn't allow for. When you think about the cornerstones of the Marvel Empire, they were books written in the Marvel Style. Joe's argument was that it gives the artist the ability to open up more. The more I heard of that conversation, the more anxiety I felt at the thought of writing Marvel Style. Then I thought, 'Maybe it's something you should try because it makes you nervous.' I was interested in doing it because it forced me out of my comfort zone and I wanted to try new things."

"I sat down to tell Terry the mission statement for the book and what I wanted to do. He lit up at the idea. Once we started talking about it, he told me that he didn't feel like an artist. He said he felt like a collaborator," Fraction explained. "Right away, he felt more invested in the book because he felt more like an architect and a designer instead of just an artist. It makes him feel more connected to the process. So I thought, 'He's excited to do it. I'm terrified to do it and things in comics need to change. So let's see what happens.'"

Surrendering control has made Fraction more than a little nervous, but so far he's been immensely pleased by Dodson's work on the book. "There are moments where I've written someone who's a background character, but often Terry goes through and invests so much into them that they become more than a character who just appears in a panel. So it's still awkward, weird and a little uncomfortable for me, but the art that's coming in looks great.," Fraction remarked. "Already in this first issue, there's a bit where Danny Rand sort of invents Zero G Kung Fu. In that scene, you could see Terry figuring out how to draw Danny. Then he said he had to go back and redraw Danny because he had it wrong before. That level of commitment is exciting, and sure enough, you can see it in the scene. There's Terry Dodson's Danny Rand -- and it's great! This is a fun, exciting and dangerous project for me. I'm made wildly uncomfortable and nervous by it, but I think that's good for the soul."

Clique aqui para maiores informações.

Marvel Comics Solicitations for January, 2012

INCREDIBLE HULK #4
JASON AARON (W) • WHILCE PORTACIO (A)
COVER BY LEINIL FRANCIS YU
VENOM VARIANT COVER BY TBA
• The fight everyone’s been waiting for: HULK VS. BANNER!
• Banner unleashes an army of Hulked-out monsters!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3 .99



DEFENDERS #2
MATT FRACTION (W) • TERRY DODSON (A/C)
VENOM VARIANT COVER BY TBA
VARIANT COVER BY TBA
I AM A DEFENDER VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLE
• First mission – first fatality?
• What is the secret of Wundagore Mountain?
• The Defenders vs. the Breaker of Worlds!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99



HULK #47
JEFF PARKER (W) • ELENA CASAGRANDE (A)
COVER BY CARLO PAGULAYAN
• RED SHE-HULK shows up to confront big daddy!
• The return of the villainous villainess, ZERO/ONE!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

NYCC EXCLUSIVE: Bendis & Bagley Reunite for "Avengers Assemble"

The Avengers are a world wide phenomenon in the Marvel Universe. Their adventures are usually large, bombastic affairs involving threats that place the entire world in peril. This May, the Avengers just might become a global sensation in the real world when a blockbuster feature film adaptation hits theaters. The titular characters in the film are a combination of the team's founding and most popular members including Captain America, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Hawkeye and the Black Widow.

That line up will also take center stage in the Marvel Universe this March when they and several other unrevealed characters become the stars of the all-new ongoing "Avengers Assemble" series by the legendary team that created Marvel's "Ultimate Spider-Man" series, writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley. CBR News spoke with the creators about the project, which was announced by Marvel today at their "Cup O' Joe" panel at New York Comic Con.

Bendis has been the guiding force behind the Avengers franchise for the past seven years and currently writes both the "Avengers" and "New Avengers" titles. Several months ago when Marvel began working on a new series that would capitalize on the release of the Avengers feature film, he was naturally at the top of their list.

"Marvel came to me and said, 'We're really happy with the plans we have, but the movie is coming and we we're wondering if you could come up with something that featured the cast of the movie in a way that felt organic to you?'" Bendis told CBR News. "They made it clear to me that if I didn't have something it was okay and they would approach other people, but I did have something. And that was also right around the time that Bagley made it clear that he'd like a crack at the Avengers. I was approached about this book literally a week after he told me that, so I quickly said yes."

Editor Tom Brevoort then approached Bagley about the project. "Basically, Tom called me up and asked, 'How about you and Brian doing an Avengers book?' He laid things out for me and it's exactly the assignment I've been wanting to do for years," Mark Bagley said. "I made it pretty clear that I was dying to work on the Avengers right around the time I left Marvel to do some work with DC, and I loved working with Brian. He's just been killing on his Avengers work. Of the comics I buy, Brian's Avengers work is some of my favorite. I'd be reading those books going, 'Damn! I wish I could be drawing this.' So they figured we'd make a really good team, have a book that would come out on time, and cause a lot of excitement."

Bagley made his return to Marvel this year after spending several years at DC drawing comics like "Trinity" and "JLA." His first story back was "The Death of Spider-Man" storyline in "Ultimate Spider-Man." He will follow that up with the November's "Fear Itself: The Fearless" miniseries, a project that helped him become reacquainted with some of the characters that will appear in "Avengers Assemble."

"I've drawn Captain America a few times in 'The Fearless' and I've drawn him before so I'm pretty comfortable with Cap. It takes me a little time to get used to drawing a character, though. I haven't really had a chance to get completely comfortable with all of the characters yet." Bagley stated. "I'm always trying to improve my take on different characters.

Bendis knows there's a potentially huge audience for his and Bagley's take on the Avengers; both established readers and new ones who have discovered the team through the feature film. For that reason, he wanted "Avengers Assemble" to be a book that was accessible and full of surprising revelations.

"This will be an example of everything we are doing right at Marvel coming at fans of the current set of Avengers books. It's in continuity and it will focus more on the movie cast, but the difference is it's not going to be some clumsy tie-in. I told Marvel that it would be really great if the book had some stuff going on that was pretty surprising and shocking to both fans of the book and fans of the movie. They said that would be great," Bendis explained. "I was writing 'Daredevil' right around the time when the movie came out. I liked that the stuff I got to do was so shocking that people could go, 'Oh did you like the movie? Check this out.' And I wanted to do something similar with 'Avengers Assemble'; something that wasn't just a regurgitation of the movie or a soft pedaled version of the movie. It was about using certain movie elements that we all found attractive and building upon them to create this new story that would really blow the roof off the place.

"My place on the Marvel Creative Committee has allowed me to see everything in the movie," Bendis continued. "I'm just so proud of it and so happy to be part of it that this is kind of my valentine to the film. It's also my valentine to all that we've done so far and all that we can still do in comics. It's a great thing."

"Avengers Assemble" also afforded Bendis the opportunities to explore some characters that haven't really appeared in any of his books and revisit others that he wanted to do more with. The Incredible Hulk falls into the former category. In "Avengers" Bendis got to write the new Red Hulk character, but "Avengers Assemble" marks the first time the writer has penned the original jade giant in a starring role.

"I had a couple of moments with him in 'The Illuminati' and some stuff here and there, but in this book he's certainly going to be a big deal as far as screen time is concerned," Bendis said. "This will tie in to where Jason Aaron's ' Incredible Hulk' series is at come March, and I've had a lot of Hulk ideas rolling around in my head thanks to some of the conversations we've been having about his cinematic counterpart. Those discussions have been my favorite part of the various talks we've had over the years about the Avengers film. They got me pretty excited about writing the character."

Bagley was also excited about the chance to work with Hulk. "I've drawn the character before. He guest-starred in a couple issues of 'Thunderbolts,' but I've never had a chance to really work on him and get comfortable enough to nail him down. I did a special 'Requiem' issue of 'Ultimate Spider-Man' with the Hulk. That was the last time I got to draw him and that was so much fun. I guess I should also mention that I did the comic adaptation of the Ang Lee's 'Hulk' film, which worked out really well," the artist joked.

Bendis has written characters Captain America and Iron Man many times before, and Bagley has drawn them each several times, but that didn't stop the artist from having some trouble with the latest incarnation of Iron Man.

"That new Iron Man armor is tough to draw!" Bagley said. "I'm working it out, but when I first started I had to have four different shots of it sitting on my desk to draw it for the cover that we're doing. It's got some real funky lines to it. I miss the old simple armor."

Iron Man, the Hulk and Captain America are some of the most powerful and well-known members of the Avengers, but the film adaptation and "Avengers Assemble" will also feature cast members like Hawkeye and Black Widow. Both characters have a long history that connects them to the Avengers and each other.

"I'm very interested in exploring their history together," Bendis said. "I enjoyed writing the Widow in 'Mighty Avengers and I had plans for her in that book that I never got to. I've actually been a fan of hers from the get go. It's funny, people think I created the character Snapdragon that's appearing in 'Moon Knight' right now, but that character is from the 'Marvel Fanfare' issues that Ralph Macchio wrote and George Perez drew that featured the Black Widow. I also liked her as an Avenger. In the Roy Thomas issues her entrance into the Avengers was so contentious; she was in, she was out, she was good, she was bad, and she ended up there anyhow. So I liked that about her."

Hawkeye and Black Widow are also connected in the fact that they lack any real super powers. That doesn't mean they'll be any less important than some of the high-powered characters like the Hulk. "There are things that Hawkeye and Black Widow can do that those guys can't. Strength isn't always the answer," Bendis explained. "For instance, Black Widow is a super spy. Like Wolverine, she's someone Captain America can go to when he needs some dirty work done."

Bagley can't wait to depict some of the unique feats Hawkeye and Black Widow are capable of. "They're both fun characters to draw," the artist stated. "The Black Widow is the Black Widow in this series, but Hawkeye is going to have a costume that's more reminiscent of the one he wears in 'The Ultimates' and the movie. I'm going to miss drawing that funky mask, but I like drawing full faces as well. It's going to be good."

His costume may be different in "Avengers Assemble," but the facial and physical features of Hawkeye and the rest of the cast are staying the same. "I don't want to give the impression that I'm doing likenesses of the actors in the movie," Bagley stated. "Hawkeye has a costume that's a little more like the movie, but aside from that I don't believe there's really any other pure, strict visual connections to the movie. I'm not even thinking about doing likenesses because my likenesses are terrible."

In the past, some Avengers teams have come together because a handful of random heroes happened to have the good fortune to all be fighting the same villains at the same time. In this case, the cast of "Avengers Assemble" is going to be a unit hand picked by Captain America. The Sentinel of Liberty brings them together to combat the newest incarnation of a classic Avengers threat, the villain group known as the Zodiac.

"I've loved the Zodiac concept ever since I was a kid and they've been on my 'to do' list of characters and concepts ever since I started working on the Avengers books," Bendis explained. " I know some people know Zodiac as the name of the character that Joe Casey just used, but I'm talking about the old school villain group. I love them. We're going to get back to that and reinvent them for the modern age.

"There were a lot of things I loved about the Zodiac. They truly were an Avengers level threat and there was some great imagery associated with the characters," Bendis continued. "I also loved that they were working by their own set of rules. I'm always a big fan of when the villain has their own set of rules that flies in the face of whatever rules the Avengers are living by."

The new Zodiac will be a very mysterious group of characters when "Avengers Assemble" begins. The only thing that will be immediately clear about the group is that they threaten the entire world.

"I wanted to take the Zodiac concept and scrape some of the cheese off of it to get to the scary part, like how we did with the Skrulls in 'Secret Invasion.' So what we have now is a story line specific to these characters. Captain America puts this group together specifically to deal with the Zodiac," Bendis said. "I don't want to give too much away because what they want is going to be a reveal. What they want and who the Zodiac really are is going to be interesting. Who they really are is a mix of familiar faces, some surprising faces, and a couple of new faces.

"If I say anything more about the plot, it will give some stuff away," Bendis continued. "This is a very large story that involves an Avengers level threat that puts the whole world in peril on every conceivable level: physically, mentally, and spiritually."

While an epic world in peril story is nice, fans of Bendis and Bagley's work on "Ultimate Spider-Man" know that the duo really shine on stories with some intense emotional moments. "This is a story geared towards Mark. There's a lot of emotional baggage involved. Things are going to happen to the Avengers in this book that will surprise people who think this story is only being told because a movie is coming," Bendis said. "Yes, there is a movie coming, but here's a surprise. We're going to knock your socks off with some deep emotional moments and situations for the characters. It's what Mark does best."

Bagley has only just begun his work on "Avengers Assemble," so the artist hasn't quite perfected the overall style he'll use to bring the book to life. "Usually when I get into a project it happens naturally for me. My drawing style tends to adapt automatically to what the subject matter is. If it's a dark, moody, horror story than all of a sudden I'm channeling Bernie Wrightson. Not intentionally, it just happens," the artist explained. "I've done team books before, but I've done them with such different writers, and you don't really know how you have to structure a page to finish what the writer has written until you start working on a book. Last time I did a team book was 'JLA' and James Robinson is a much different writer than Brian. So I don't know yet. I could be doing three panel pages or eight panel pages.

"Working off a full script makes team books even more of a challenge because the choreography is just important. When you work off a plot like I did on 'Thunderbolts,' 'New Warriors,' and 'Strikeforce Morituri' it makes a team book easier for me to draw because instead of having Brian or a writer telling me exactly what they need, they give me an idea and I visually tell it. So if it's coordinates in a sequence there's a hundred different ways you can avoid certain things as long as you're not locked in," Bagley continued. "This will be a feeling out process. Brian and I have never really worked on a team book together, so it will take some doing. Although if his other team books that he's been doing for years now are any evidence, he handles those aspects pretty darn well."

Bendis knows that some fans might find the news that he's writing a third Avengers book a little distressing. The writer sees it as a sign of commitment though. He's put a lot of work into the various "Avengers" titles and would love for "Avengers Assemble" to become a vital and important part of the franchise.

"I know there will be some people that will be going, 'He's writing three 'Avengers' books? Is that what I'm hearing?' And the answer is, 'Yes.' There are people that are annoyed that I'm writing any 'Avengers' books, but the idea that I'm writing three should delight them. And for those of you who were annoyed at me when I was writing two, you have to appreciate on some level how obnoxious I'm being. There's got to be a level where you go, "You know what. I've got to give it to him. That's completely obnoxious. It's not half ass obnoxious,'" Bendis joked. "I love these characters and I'm thrilled that people have stuck with our Avengers stories for all these years and have done so with a verve and a passion. They scream at me when they think I fucked up. They applaud when they think I'm doing well and I take that very, very seriously. I know I joke around that people get overly angry with me, but their passion is insanely important to me. I love it and I never go out of my way piss anybody off, but I knew when I signed on to this that it would piss somebody off.


"The fact that Marvel continues to trust me with the most important brass ring of all of Marvel Comics is a blessing. I get to do this book how I want to do it and I'm working with the best artist in the world. It's a fantastic thing. Will I be on all three 'Avengers' books forever? No, that's insane. We have huge plans for this upcoming year though," Bendis continued. "You don't even know all the crazy stuff that's coming your way this year in the Avengers line of books. Starting here with 'Avengers Assemble' and headed towards the rest of the year I promise you every month is just going to be wild."

"Avengers Assemble" launches in March.

Clique aqui para maiores informações.

Marvel Teases Destruction with Beast, She-Hulk.

Marvel Comics has released the following teaser image featuring She-Hulk, Beast and a group of some of the publisher's mightiest and monstrous characters. Accompanying the image is the simple headline "DESTROY!" and the following press release.

Official Press Release



Old Foes, Friends Return in Bendis' "New Avengers"

Marvel Comics Solicitations for November, 2011

Marvel Comics Solicitations for November, 2011.

AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #1
Written by ZEB WELLS
Pencils & Cover by JOE MADUREIRA
Variant Cover by JOE QUESADA
Variant Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS
Variant Cover by J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
Blank Variant Cover also available
GET MAD!
This is what you’ve been waiting for! The return of legendary artist Joe Madureira (X-Men, Battle Chasers) and fan-favorite Spidey writer Zeb Wells in a brand new, highly anticipated, monthly Spider-series that teams the wall-crawler up with some of the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe. In our first issue, Spider-Man and Red Hulk take on a Moloid army during the New York Marathon! Stay safe until November because you’ll want to be here!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99



HULK #44
Written by JEFF PARKER
Pencils & Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER
HULK OF ARABIA CONTINUES!
General Ross, a.k.a. Red Hulk, proceeds with his unsanctioned mission to find the mysterious Dagan Shah, the man Rulk believes responsible for the death of a former friend. But as Red and his new ally Machine Man fight through ancient monsters and treacherous terrain, are their answers closer than they even imagined? Wondrous word-slinger Jeff Parker and master draftsman Patch Zircher forge one of the most highly anticipated Hulk stories yet!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99