Essential The Official Comic Book Discussion Thread [Support @Neuromancer’s book!]

23Barrettcity · May 6, 2015

O

Dirty Mcdrawz said:
i was skeptical about secret wars but that first issue

@ convergence just needs to end shyt has been since day 1

at least convergence isn't required reading. That darkseid /anti monitor war though :banderas:

Dirty Mcdrawz · May 6, 2015

23statcity said:
O
at least convergence isn't required reading. That darkseid /anti monitor war though

i mean it's not required but everything they're releasing is convergence related.

my money is on darkseid :banderas:

BelowTheMasonDixon · May 6, 2015

Dirty Mcdrawz said:
i was skeptical about secret wars but that first issue

@ convergence just needs to end shyt has been since day 1

Any idea how the tie ins are gonna work?

BelowTheMasonDixon · May 6, 2015

COMICS SPINNING OUT OF SECRET WARS
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The House of M reigns once more.JESSE SCHEDEEN AND JOSHUA YEHLUpdate: This article was updated on 3/31/2015 with Siege.

Marvel's massive Secret Wars event is kicking off in May, and it looks like it''s going to impact all corners of the Marvel Universe. The publisher is busy announcing new mini-series and ongoing books that will spin out of Secret Wars. As previously revealed, these new projects will fall under one of three brandings - Last Days, Battleworld and War Zones - depending on when they take place and how they fit into the larger framework of Secret Wars.

Here's What All Those Marvel Teasers Mean - IGN News
00:57

We've put this article together to summarize all of Marvel's announcements in one place, including what these comics are about, who's working on them, and when they're scheduled to debut. Keep checking back as we update with more announcements and details about what's coming from Marvel this summer.

House of M

Creative Team: Dennis Hopeless & Kris Anka

Release Date: July 2015

Branding: Warzones

House of M is another Secret Wars series originally teased last fall. Hero Complex revealed this book, which will take a similar approach to Hopeless' Inferno series and showcase a world where the House of M reality never ended. As in the original mini-series, Magneto and his children rule over a vast mutant empire. The only difference is that this empire is now just one of many Battleworld domains. There's no word yet whether the recent revelation that Magneto isn't the father of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will factor into this series.

"The original House of M is about the Avengers waking up in and then bringing down this Magneto dream world. Secrets were revealed, the family was torn apart and Wanda depowered most of the mutants on Earth. Our story is a different thing altogether," Hopeless told Hero Complex. "This House of M is alive and well. Magneto, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch have the kind of complicated relationships you’d expect amongst members of a ruling family but their world isn’t crumbling around them (at least not at first). They drive each other nuts for all the normal reasons."

Siege

Creative Team: Kieron Gillen, Felipe Andrade, & Various Artists

Release Date: July 2015

Branding: Warzones

Siege is the latest Marvel event to be revisited during Secret Wars, though apart from the name and the cover dress, this new series appears to share little with the original. Marvel.com revealed this new book from writer Kieron Gillen and artist Felipe Andrade (who will be joined by various guest artists like James Stokoe). Gillen compared the cast of characters to the Night's Watch from Game of Thrones, as it focuses on a ragtag band of soldiers tasked with defending the Shield barrier from the evils that lay south of the barrier. Gillen also promised that Siege is a "spiritual sequel" to his short-lived S.W.O.R.D. comic. The cast includes many familiar faces from the writer's past work, including Agent Brand from S.W.O.R.D., Miss America Chavez and Kate Bishop from Young Avengers, Leah from Journey Into Mystery, Illyana from Uncanny X-Men, and a group of Baron Sinister's clones called "The Endless Summer."

“The Shield’s purpose is to stop everything that’s south of that point going north of that point,” Gillen told Marvel.com. “It’s because everything south of the Shield is entirely ungovernable. They don’t pay taxes. They jaywalk. They want to eat you. Being deposited on the Shield is a punishment for a mixture of people who are entirely too battle-hungry or entirely too heroic. It’s deliberately a Sisyphean task, for reasons that I can’t really go into yet. As the series tagline says, ‘They can't ever win—they can’t afford to lose.’"

He also teased, “Oh yeah—the Shield’s also sentient, but we’ll get to that eventually.”

Red Skull

Creative Team: Joshua Williamson & Luca Pizzari

Release Date: July 2015

Branding: Battleworld

Even the Red Skull will be getting his own book during Secret Wars. But as revealed by Newsarama, this project is more about the legacy of this fascist villain than anything. The three-issue mini- series takes place after Skull has been exiled across the Shield and into the wastelands of Battleworld. Though believed dead, rumors of Red Skull's return have galvanized his followers and inspired a new wave of resistance against Battleworld's leaders. This series follows a Thunderbolts-esque team of villains (including Magneto, Lady Deathstrike, Winter Soldier and Electro) tasked with finding Skull's body and proving that the villain is indeed gone.

“Essentially it’s a team of villains… and past villains with nothing left to lose,” Williamson told Newsarama. “Going over the Shield is a death sentence. This team was chosen because the mission has to be off the books. No one can know that Red Skull could actually be alive. This team could keep it quiet… if they survive. The Red Skull’s legend needs to be buried… and this is the best team to do it. If you need to go kill a villain… who better than a bunch of villains?”

Williamson wouldn't reveal exactly which universe this version of Red Skull hails from. “The Red Skull’s identity is part of the mystery of the book, so I can’t say just yet. He’s still one of the most evil b*stards in the Marvel Universe. Still someone to hate. A master manipulator with a black heart,”

Spider-Island

Creative Team: Christos Gage, Tom DeFalco, Paco Diaz & Ron Frenz

Release Date: July 2015

Branding: Warzones

Comic Vine revealed this Secret Wars tie-in, which actually offers a double dose of Spider-Man. Writer Christos Gage and artist Paco Diaz will tackle the main story in each issue, set in a Battleworld domain where the Spider-Queen's takeover of Manhattan in the original Spider-Island crossover was never thwarted. With most of Marvel's heroes infected by the spider virus and controlled by the Queen, Agent Venom leads a small resistance group. The members of this group are heroes that have already been transformed and are immune to the virus (Cap-Wolf, Lizard Hulk, etc.)

Gage told Comic Vine, "When Nick [Lowe] approached me about doing this one. I know what some of the other Secret Wars stories are about, and the common thread they have is a lack of limits. You can go nuts and let your imagination run wild. It reminded me of the old-school WHAT IF? tales. Accordingly, it was pretty logical to start from a place where the good guys lost and the Queen runs Spider-Island...but as for where it goes from there, I just threw off the shackles."

Meanwhile, writer Tom DeFalco and artist Ron Frenz will tackle the backup stories, which continue the saga of Mayday Parker as the MC2 universe becomes a part of Battleworld. This storyline features the same version of May fans have come to love over the years, and it picks up where Spider-Verse left off with her family.

Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders

Creative Team: Al Ewing & Alan Davis

Release Date: July 2015

Branding: Warzones

Al Ewing's Mighty Avengers saga will take a very different turn during Secret Wars. Blastr revealed this new two-issue series, which will see former Captain Britain and the MI:13 star Faiza Hussain reclaim the mantle of Captain Britain (which she previously held during Age of Ultron). Her team includes She-Hulk, White Tiger, Kid Rescue and Hobie Brown. These Defenders will fight to keep the peace as one Battleworld domain forcibly annexes another.

Ewing teased, "We're set on the border between two smaller principalities -- I don't know if we're even on the map, unless there's been an update recently. On the one hand, we have the fascist futuropolis of Mondo City, originally invented by Jeff Parker, which is an analogue for a certain sci-fi mega-city I've written about in the past, one that British comic readers -- and fans of cool, cult sci-fi movies -- will be very familiar with. It's ruled over by the Bosses, who are judge, jury and executioner. Toughest of them all is Boss Cage, aging but still undefeatable clone of Luke Cage's grandson Danny."

He continued, "On the other hand, we've got Yinsen City, from an alternate world I made up in Iron Man: Fatal Frontier, where Ho Yinsen survived the origin of Iron Man instead of Tony Stark, and used his own medical tech to create the Rescue Armor. His influence turned Marvel-Earth into a utopia of peace and plenty, peacefully colonizing space. As you can imagine, when Mondo City decides it wants some of that peace and plenty for itself -- all in the name of the law, or course -- the kind and generous people of the Yinsenverse are going to have trouble standing in their way. Or are they?"

BelowTheMasonDixon · May 6, 2015

Hail Hydra

Creative Team: Rick Remender & Roland Boschi

Release Date: July 2015

Branding: Warzones

Comicbook.com revealed that Rick Remender's Captain America saga will take a new form during Secret Wars. Remender will reunite with Winter Soldier: The Bitter March collaborator Roland Boschi for a series set in a Battleworld domain where Hydra has ruled America for centuries. Nomad is the "fish out of water" protagonist navigating this tricky realm, and he'll be battling Hydra-ized versions of Marvel heroes like Venom and the Avengers.

"We’ve always seen Hydra's attempts at world domination foiled, so this story gives us an opportunity to dig into a world where Hydra was not only never stopped but had insinuated itself into the American system and took over the country hundreds of years ago," Remender told the site. "In this world, we'll see a New York City where Hydra was like the Freemasons of history. Hydra is now the American Dream."

As for why Remender chose to focus on Ian Zola rather than Steve Rogers or Sam Wilson, he said, "What’s cool about Ian is that he drifted from one dimension to the next in the main Captain America series, and now he's drifting into this dimension. It kind of gives meaning to the name 'Nomad,' because he really is drifting from one place to another. That's what made him the right choice for the story.

Civil War

Creative Team: Charles Soule & Leinil Yu

Release Date: July 2015

Branding: Warzones

CNN revealed this mini-series, which will offer a new spin on Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's mega-popular Civil War mini-series. This time it's Charles Soule and Leinil Yu at the helm. Despite being a Secret Wars tie-in, it seems this project is also aimed at newcomers interested in the Civil War concept because of the upcoming Captain America: Civil War film.

Soule told CNN, "If you look at the ideas that that story had, Iron Man thought superheroes should have to register with the government, and become something of a police force. Captain America thought that that was restricting the central freedoms of this country. It was a debate of security versus freedom. We're taking that basic idea and expanding it to a larger canvas. The Registration Act is all in the past at this point. It's more of a world drastically changed based on a superhero war, and it's a huge story and it's fun to be able to involve every Marvel character there is."

He continued, "The idea is to take some of the events in the original storyline and spin them off into entirely new stories. Without spoiling, this deals with a world that has been ravaged for quite some time when we pick up the story. I felt the original Civil War explored those questions very well. If I was going to play in this sandbox, I wanted to ask my own questions."

Age of Apocalypse

Creative Team: Fabian Nicieza and Gerardo Sandoval

Release Date: July 2015

Branding: Warzones

The Age of Apocalypse returns for Secret Wars by original AoA writer Fabian Nicieza and Cable & X-Force artist. It's of special note that this is an alternate version of the Age of Apocalypse universe where all of the major characters are still alive -- allowing the creative team to make full use of the AoA cast.

"In many ways, the world I am writing is very different than the original, but in other ways it is exactly the same. I feel like I am getting a chance to have my cake and eat it too, regarding the positives of the original story world while still doing something very new," Nicieza said. Check out our interview with Niciezafor full details. CONTINUES

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If you're still bitter about Marvel wiping away the Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson marriage in One More Day, you'll definitely want to check out Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows. As reported by Entertainment Weekly, current ASM writer Dan Slott is exploring a version of Peter that stayed married to MJ, had a daughter and is now juggling his superhero and family responsibilities. This series takes place in a Battleworld domain called The Regency, which is ruled by a mystery villain known only as The Regent. Slott teased that other classic Spidey villains will appear, including the Eddie Brock Venom and Kraven the Hunter.

“Spider-Man, when you get down to it, is a character about responsibility. And the second he’s a father and a husband—he has a responsibility to share his powers with the world, but suddenly he has two people that are his whole world. That changes everything, the complete dynamic of what it means to have great power and great responsibility,” Slott told EW. “You need to be there for your daughter, you need there for your wife—in a way that he hasn’t had to be there for anyone else. And that drastically changes what it means to be Spider-Man.”

Slott confirmed via Twitter that Renew Your Vows will take the place of the core Amazing Spider-Man series for the duration of Secret Wars. As for what lasting impact this mini-series might have on Spidey's world? “What I can tell you? No matter who or what or how Spider-Man comics will be made in the future—elements from this story will go on into the next incarnation,” said Slott. “Elements. Of this. Yes.”

1602: Witch Hunter Angela

Creative Team: Kieron Gillen, Marguerite Bennett, & Stephanie Hans

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Warzones

The current Angela: Asgard's Assassin series will be getting a significant overhaul during Secret Wars, as revealed by BuzzFeed. While the core creative team will remain the same, the setting will shift to the alternate universe of 1602, which is now becoming one of the many Battleworld domains. Considering that writer Neil Gaiman crated both 1602 and Angela, it's a sensible pairing. Angela and her partner Sera will take on the role of Witch Hunters for King James, putting them in the path of familiar 1602 veterans and new additions like Bucky Barnes and the Guardians of the Galaxy. The series will also retain the structure of Asgard's Assassin, meaning each issue will feature a five-page interlude story alongside the main tale.

When asked if Angela's connection to Asgard would play into this series, Bennett said, "Yes, they have a similar backstory! Asgardians I can’t confirm, but we will definitely see a lot of familiar 1602 characters. We want to make the series our own; I’m a huge fan of Neil Gaiman and the original run, but we really didn’t want to just retread something that was already very beloved, we wanted to go out and explore the furthest corners of that universe. So you’re going to see people who never appeared in the original series. We’ve got a 1602 Bucky Barnes, and we’ve got 1602 Guardians of the Galaxy, which has never been done before! So yeah, we’re very excited to have fun with it and tear off full speed ahead."

X-Men '92

Creative Team: Chris Sims, Chad Bowers & Scott Koblish

Release Date: May 2015 (digital) / June 2015 (print)

Branding: Warzones

Per Polygon, Marvel announced another '90s-themed X-Men comic for Secret Wars, but this one is different fro two key reasons. First, X-Men '92 is a continuation of the popular 1992-97 animated series rather than a comic. Second, the series will debut digitally as one of Marvel's Infinite Comics, though a print version will also be published. The animated X-Men will occupy their own Battleworld domain during Secret Wars, one where President Robert Kelly now serves as Baron.

"I was ten years old in 1992," Sims told Polygon, "and that was the perfect time to get into the X-Men. There was just so much going on, and all those complicated stories and over-the-top characters were just so enticing, and not just because they were time-travelers with huge guns and scrappy little dudes with knives on their hands. It was this whole weird, complex world that I wanted to see more of, and now we're getting the chance to go in and make it even weirder."

Click here for more information on X-Men '92.

Armor Wars

Creative Team: James Robinson & Marcio Takara

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Warzones

Another of the Secret Wars tie-ins originally teased last fall, Armor Wars updates the classic '80s-era Iron Man storyline. Comics Alliance revealed this tie-in, which follows the example of many Secret Wars books in offering a new spin on a familiar conflict. Armor Wars takes place in a Battleworld domain known as Technopolis, a place where disease has forced everyone to wear a suit of Iron Man armor. Tony Stark and his brother Arno are rival manufacturers in this domain, and are reluctantly brought together to solve a murder mystery. The series will feature Iron Man-style versions of several Marvel heroes, including James Rhodes suiting up as Thor.

Robinson explained the appeal of the murder mystery angle to Comics Alliance. "I just wanted to give the readers something they might not expect. Don’t worry, there will always be a big 'armor war' in each issue. But I love crime fiction, so the idea of making the series a murder mystery where it’s the solving of the crime that leads to so much action, is, I think a novel twist."

Years of Future Past

Creative Team: Marguerite Bennett & Mike Norton

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Warzones

Another iconic X-Men story is returning during Secret Wars. Years of Future Past (which was among the titles originally teased last fall) offers a new spin on the Days of Future Past storyline from 1981. As reported by Comic Book Resources, YoFP explores what would have happened if Kate Pryde had remained in the dystopian world of 2013 to continue fighting for mutant survival rather than traveling back in time to prevent her future from ever coming to pass. The series unfolds in a Battleworld domain known as the Sentinel Territories.

Bennett told CBR, "This is a very different story from the source material. As much as I love the original story, it is perfect as it stands, and to try and repeat it would be just that: Repetitive, if I pulled it off, or diminishing, if I didn't. I wanted to explore that world without fumbling to mimic the same beats and parrot the words of masters. We've gone off the tracks."

She continued, "Years of Future Past is bombastic and '80s in tone, but is as much about youth as age, about the search to be a force of good as much the consequences of evil. A part of me set out to write an adventure story, and instead I wrote a coming-of-age in the post-industrial military complex. And you know what? Mike [Norton] and FCO [Plascencia] killed it. We're into something wild, weird, and new."

BelowTheMasonDixon · May 6, 2015

Squadron Sinister

Creative Team: Marc Guggenheim & Carlos Pacheco

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Warzones

Writer Marc Guggenheim has tackled the Squadron Supreme franchise before via the mini-series Supreme Power: Hyperion vs. Nighthawk. But Marvel.comhas revealed that he'll be tackling a more old-school incarnation of the team during Secret Wars. Squadron Sinister brings back the original and much more villainous incarnation of the Squadron as seen in The Avengers #69 and #70 back in 1969. This Squadron rules a domain of Battleworld known as Utopolis.

“This series is really rooted heavily in the new politics of Battleworld, which you’ll really get more of a sense of in Secret Wars,” Guggenheim told Marvel.com. “Our guys live in a province called Utopolis which they rule with an iron thumb. Basically the ruler of Battleworld gives the barons of the provinces pretty wide birth, but at the same time, if you screw up the repercussions are pretty severe.”

The writer teased that the first issue will depict a battle between the Squadron Sinister and the modern Squadron Supreme that doesn't end well for the latter. “I’m a big fan of the Supreme Power versions that were done a number of years ago so I thought, ‘Let’s not hold off. Let’s immediately have the Squadron Sinister fight the Supreme Power group.’ It was fun to write them too because it was keeping with—this was back when Marvel was doing the MAX lineup and there was all this profanity they could use—so they’re like cursing up a storm and they’re coming into the fight very confidently. And, spoiler alert, the Squadron Sinister just lays waste to them. It was a fun way to introduce these guys, tearing apart their own analogues.”

Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps

Creative Team: Kelly Sue DeConnick, Kelly Thompson & David Lopez

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Warzones

Kelly Sue DeConnick's ongoing Captain Marvel saga will be getting a big revamp during Secret Wars. As revealed by Fast Company, DeConnick and new co-writer Kelly Thompson are crafting a new series that pairs Carol Danvers with an all-female squadron of fighter pilots. Some of these characters will be returning faces from the Banshee Squadron team introduced earlier in DeConnick's run. According to DeConnick, these characters will, "set about helping Carol try and answer a question about where she is from, and that puts them in conflict with some of the greater forces of the Marvel Universe."

"Carol Corps" is also the name fans of the Captain Marvel series use to identify themselves, and this series looks to be a celebration of that fanbase. "It's really meant to be a celebration of all of the women, and not even just women, all of the fans who flock towards Captain Marvel and Carol Danvers, who are really saluting her while they're reading about her at the same time," said editor Sana Amanat.

Future Imperfect

Creative Team: Peter David & Greg Land

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Warzones

For many readers, the mini-series Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect was the high point of Peter David's long, seminal run on Incredible Hulk. Not only is the Hulk's evil alter ego Maestro factoring into the current Hulk comic, he'll be the star of his own Secret Wars tie-in written by David himself. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news on this project, which sees Maestro battling Marvel's heroes in his own corner of Battleworld.

“Even though he’s the evil, future version of the Hulk, deep down he’s still Bruce Banner, and I think people find that intriguing,” David told THR. “They find it curious that the guy who’s currently here in the Marvel Universe, is the ultimate bad guy in the far future.”

David teased the return of several characters from the original Future Imperfect, but was reluctant to reveal too much about the story. “I will tell you this: there’s a character in the series referred to as ‘the boss,’ a person who oversees the battle against the Maestro. I feel pretty confident in saying that no-one will be able to guess that person’s identity until it’s revealed on the last page.”

1872

Creative Team: Gerry Duggan & Evan Shaner

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Warzones

This Secret Wars tie-in sounds reminiscent of 1602, except that it re-imagines Marvel's heroes through the lens of the Wild West stories. As revealed by The A.V. Club, 1872 features cowboy-themed versions of heroes like Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Bruce Banner. This Steve Rogers serves as sheriff of a town called Timely (an homage to Marvel's original publishing name) and who is forced to deal with new trouble when Stark and Banner roll into town. The emergence of the Kingpin only further complicates matters.

When The A.V. Club asked Duggan if familiar Wild West heroes like Rawhide Kid would appear in the series, Duggan said, "Yes! However, that’s not quite where our story opens. Those great Western characters are out there, and their time will come. This is not an exaggeration: I had close to 60 pages of notes and ideas on what this version of Marvel’s history contains before I began wrenching on an outline for the first arc. We’ll meet representations of many of these great characters...eventually."

The fact that Duggan referred to a "first arc" suggests that 1872 is intended as an ongoing series rather than a mini.

Weirdworld

Creative Team: Jason Aaron & Mike Del Mundo

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Warzones

If you thought Jason Aaron's previous Marvel work was weird, he's just getting started. USA Today revealed Weirdworld, a series that pays homage to various '70s-era sword-and-sorcery comics. Weirdworld will star Arkon, barbarian and former enemy to the Fantastic Four and Avengers, as he navigates this chaotic Battleworld domain and battles all manner of man and beast.

"He's in a place he doesn't understand, can't explain and doesn't know how he got there or know how long he's been there," Aaron told US Today. "He's really Weirdworld's first explorer, charting the strange realm and making a map of it while trying to just survive long enough to make it back home."

Aaron also revealed that the project came about because of his childhood fascination with sword-and-sorcery comics. "To me, the exciting thing is all the possibilities," he said. "I've always wanted to do my Conan story but there's not a lot of opportunities to do those stories in comics.

X-Tinction Agenda

Creative Team: Marc Guggenheim & Carmine Di Giandomenico

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Warzones

Secret Wars is shaping up to be quite the haven for fans of the late '80s and early '90s X-Men comics. As revealed by Comicbook.com, Marc Guggenheim is reviving the 1990 crossover X-Tinction Agenda. Unlike tie-ins like Infinity Gauntlet or Korvac Saga, this won't be a re-imagining of the original story. X-Tinction Agenda sounds more akin to something like X-Men Forever, offering an alternate history that arose from the events of the original crossover. In this book, Havok and Wolfsbane remained behind on the island nation of Genosha to lead its people and help rebuild. X-Tinction Agenda opens ten years later and explores the toll that mission has taken on both heroes.

Guggenheim said, "When we pick up with them, it's several years later and Havok's definitely his own man, he's not living under his brother's shadow. He's got a whole host of problems that are unique to him and unique to Genosha. It's kind of nice; I've always thought Havok was a really, really cool character and writing him is a real pleasure; I've never got a chance to write Havok before."

X-Tinction Agenda will pull in characters from other X-Men eras as well. More recent creations like Wicked and Triage will factor into the plot. Guggenheim even revealed that he'll be offering his own spin on the All-New X-Men formula. However, instead of bringing the original five X-Men into the present, Guggenheim will be plucking the Giant-Size X-Men #1 team.

BelowTheMasonDixon · May 6, 2015

Korvac Saga

Creative Team: Dan Abnett & Otto Schmidt

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Warzones

The classic storyline "The Korvac Saga" is one of many Marvel favorites being revisited during Secret Wars. Newsarama revealed that Guardians 3000 writer will be offering a new take on the titular villain during the course of Secret Wars. This version of Korvac will lead a Battleworld domain known as Forest Hills, while the Guardians serve as his personal bodyguards and defenders of the realm. Opposing this group is Wonder Man, who leads his own domain (Holy Wood) and his own team of Avengers (Captain Marvel, Jocasta, Black Panther, Hercules, Vision, Moondragon, Yellowjacket and Black Widow).

Abnett explained this power struggle, telling Newsarama, "In the hierarchy of Battleworld, Wonder Man is another lord, on a par with Korvac. They rule neighboring domains. The Avengers (a great line up) are Wonder Man’s retainers, the equivalent of Korvac’s Guardians. There’s a power struggle going on between these powerful lords and their kingdoms. It’s mainly political, but it could get physical at any moment. Exactly the wrong time for trouble to arise in Korvac’s domain."

While Abnett didn't clarify the fate of Guardians 3000 during Secret Wars, we assume the series is at least going on hiatus while Korvac Saga ships.

Runaways

Creative Team: Noelle Stevenson & Sanford Greene

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Battleworld

The Runaways are finally back in their own book thanks to Secret Wars, although this new team is very different from previous incarnations. CBR had the scoop on the new series, which will pair Lumberjanes co-writer Noelle Stevenson with Uncanny Avengers artist Sanford Greene. The new lineup will feature teen versions of familiar Marvel characters like Cloak and Dagger, Bucky, and Skaar, along with a new character named Sanna. The cover to issue #1 also features a character we're assuming is a teenage Valeria Richards.

Stevenson told CBR, "Most of the characters are established Marvel teens, but you'll find them a little different here. Although characters from many different teams will be represented here, this team is entirely its own, new thing and they'll all be called upon to play a role in it that they probably haven't before. I've been referring to them informally as The Breakfast Club, because they're a group who wouldn't necessarily choose to hang out with each other under normal circumstances -- and actually outright hate each other in a few cases -- but end up having to work together to survive and find out that they have more in common than they thought."

Marvel Zombies

Creative Team: Si Spurrier & Kev Walker

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Battleworld

It turns out that Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies won't be the only Secret Wars comic to feature the latter group of undead characters. As revealed byBloody Disgusting, Marvel Zombies takes place in a region of Battleworld called The Shield, a barrier keeping the Marvel Zombies and other horrors contained in the world's southern hemisphere. The protagonist of the series is Elsa Bloodstone, monster hunter extraordinaire and a heroine well-suited to Spurrier's brand of sarcastic humor. Elsa's journey will take her to the other side of The Shield as she defends a mysterious companion and deals with her troubled family legacy.

Spurrier told Bloody Disgusting, "In a way it touches on some of the same dichotomies I explored in X-Men Legacy (which is all about Professor Xavier’s kid son, to those who don’t know). It’s this idea that in order for someone to be 'great' in one sense, they probably wind up being kinda bad – or at least absent, cold or distant – in other senses. In the Elsa story it’s dealt with in a very different way (less trippy climbing-inside-of-one’s-own-head, for instance!), but yeah, there are some matching themes in there. Internalised trauma, stunted emotions, the sins-of-the-father, etc. It’s just that this time we’ve also got a protagonist who crotchpunches monsters and dropkicks their torsos."

Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde

Creative Team: Sam Humphries & Alti Firmansyah

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Battleworld

Comics Alliance revealed that Sam Humphries' Legendary Star-Lord comic will be going on hiatus during Secret Wars, but only to make way for a new comic that emphasizes the Peter Quill/Kitty Pryde romance. The twist with Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde is that this Kitty will hail from the Age of Apocalypse universe. Despite that, Humphries promises that this book will be a direct continuation of his work on the current series. He also hinted that the outcome of the current Black Vortex crossover will play into this new series.

Humphries told Comics Alliance, "I can say that the Kitty Pryde of the title is actually the Kitty Pryde from Age of Apocalypse. I can say this story takes place on Battleworld. I can say it is an action romantic comedy with some big, huge moments between the characters. Emotionally and spiritually, this is the continuation of the Peter/Kitty relationship from Legendary Star-Lord — with a couple really huge twists you won’t see coming. Whatever is about to happen, Peter and Kitty won’t be able to go back to the way they were after this."

Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies

Creative Team: James Robinson & Steve Pugh

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Battleworld

The All-New Invaders creative team of James Robinson and Steve Pugh will be reuniting for this Secret Wars tie-in, which was among the books teased last fall. Entertainment Weekly had the scoop. As the title suggests, this series takes place in a corer of Battleworld being fought over by the Marvel Zombies and Ultron's legion of killer robots. While this area is isolated from the rest of Battleworld, it turns out that other regions use it as a sort of dumping ground for undesirables. The series follows one such group, which includes Vision, Wonder Man, the Jim Hammond Human Torch, and a mystery character Robinson teases will be “a very cool surprise.”

Robinson described the series as "at times tongue-in-cheek in that I’m trying to capture the black humor of the zombies and their situation, in the spirit of the original series. However at the same time this is about what it means to be human and what it means to have that humanity taken from you, so there are some serious elements too. We’ll also see this bizarre scenario through the eyes of a character from a less technologically advanced domain where Ultron hasn’t been created. He must coming to terms with what he has the potential to/is capable of creating and then learning how to defeat it. And yes, it will be a story of survival too.”

Thors

Creative Team: Jason Aaron & Chris Sprouse

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Battleworld

Part of the fun of Jason Aaron's Thor saga has been the interplay between alternate versions of the god of thunder. That element looks to be the central focus of Aaron's latest Thor project. As revealed by Marvel.com, Thors is a new ensemble comic that unites many alternate versions of Thor, including the current female Thor, the Mjolnir-less Odinson, Beta Ray Bill, an Asgardian-powered Storm, Throgg, and several others. Apparently in the new landscape of Battleworld, the Thors serve as an interplanetary police force.

“This is basically me doing a cop story, but with hammers instead of guns,” Aaron told Marvel.com. “This is me getting to do ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ with lots of cosmic cops. It’s every version of Thor you can imagine, all walking beats, solving murders, getting yelled at by their commissioner and blowing off steam at their local Thor-cop bar.”

Whereas most Secret Wars tie-ins revealed so far look to be pretty standalone in scope, Aaron teased that Thors will be closely intertwined with the main event. “I’ll just say that this book is probably more of a direct tie-in to the main Secret Wars series than a lot of the other tie-ins you’ll see, in that the role of the Thors is something that is set-up quite extensively in Secret Wars #2. We’ll be seeing a few different corners of Battleworld in this series. The Thors go where the action is.”

There's no indication yet if Thors will replace Aaron's current Thor comic or run alongside it.

note - we accidentally listed Chris Samnee as the artist for Thors. Chris Sprouse is the actual artist.

BelowTheMasonDixon · May 6, 2015

Ghost Racers

Creative Team: Felipe Smith & Juan Gedeon

Release Date: June 2015

Branding: Battleworld

Though All-New Ghost Rider will be wrapping up next month, writer Felipe Smith isn't done with the saga of current Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes. As revealed by Newsarama, Robbie and various other Ghost riders will be featured in a new mini-series called Ghost Racers. In the realm of Battleworld, the Ghost Riders are forced to race for the amusement of others like the Roman gladiators of old. As you can see from the cover, various other familiar Ghost Riders will be returning. Think of Ghost Racers like the Spider-Verse of this particular franchise.

"Robbie Reyes is back in the driver's seat, this time in a heavily armored, fully weaponized and souped-up black Battle Charger," Smith told Newsarama. "With some hefty upgrades under the hood and some new maneuvers up his sleeve, he's ready to set the roads ablaze with scorching fury!"

Infinity Gauntlet

Creative Team: Dustin Weaver & Gerry Duggan

Release Date: May 2015

Marvel's final Secret Wars release for May was revealed via Hero Complex. Infinity Gauntlet shares the name with Jim Starlin and Ron Lim's epic 1991 event comic, but this looks to be a unique, almost Star Wars-influenced spin on the concept. The series centers around a girl named Anwen Bakian whose mother joined the Nova Corps and disappeared. Anwen and her family eke out a meager existence in a post-apocalyptic wasteland full of mutant bugs, until the day the young heroine discovers one of the Infinity Gems. The series will feature Thanos as its lead villain, obviously, but not the same version of Thanos readers are accustomed to.

Infinity Gauntlet will be co-written by Weaver and Duggan, with Weaver also providing the art. And while the series sounds pretty standalone in terms of the larger Secret Wars event, Marvel is promising that Infinity Gauntlet will have a major impact on their cosmic titles going forward.

Duggan told Hero Complex, "Anwen is the reader’s lens into this world, and having written another young hero for Marvel, I can tell that inexperienced characters are a real gift. They make mistakes … and may trust the wrong characters. Anwen is another great character in that great Marvel tradition. She’s a hero with just as many problems in her personal life as she’s got while she’s adventuring. Those problems are intertwined in this series. Anyone curious about the Marvel Cosmic Universe is going to get a real kick out of this comic."

Old Man Logan

Creative Team: Brian Michael Bendis & Andrea Sorrentino

Release Date: May 2015

Branding: Battleworld

MTV has revealed that writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Andrea Sorrentino will be returning to the world of Old Man Logan. This Secret Wars tie-in will pick up after the events of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's fan-favorite story that saw an older, gray-haired Wolverine traversing a United States ruled by supervillains.

With this announcement came the news that Sorrentino has exclusively signed to Marvel Comics. Bendis told MTV that after working with him on a pair of X-Men annuals, Sorrentino was his first choice. Bendis felt it was better to avoid using a McNiven look-a-like and instead utilize a new artist's unique style, of which Sorrentino has in spades. His dark, bold style make him an instant hit on DC's I, Vampire and Green Arrow comics, and now he's bringing his style to Marvel.

Ultimate End

Creative Team: Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley

Release Date: May 2015

Branding: Battleworld

Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley birthed the Ultimate Universe 15 years ago with Ultimate Spider-Man #1, and now they're teaming up to destroy it. Ultimate End is a mini-series that explores the final days of the Ultimate U. as it collides with the regular Marvel Universe and Battleworld is formed.

Marvel held a press call in January to discuss Ultimate End and the larger conflict that is Secret Wars. Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso said, “This is putting an endcap to decades of stories and starting a new era. When you see the scope of the event, [you will] see what we’re willing to do. This is a place where we’re going to be bringing new pieces onto the board and taking old pieces off. You guys will be yelling and screaming, loving and hating in equal measure.”

Inhumans: Attilan Rising

Creative Team: Charles Soule & John Timms

Release Date: May 2015

Branding: Battleworld

It seems the Inhumans franchise will be keeping writer Charles Soule plenty busy in 2015. In addition to the current Inhuman book and the recently announced Uncanny Inhumans, Soule will be penning the Secret Wars-focused Inhumans: Attilan Rising. This book will center on the increasingly troubled relationship between Black Bolt and Medusa and the chaos the formation of Battleworld is wreaking on their Inhuman empire.

“My initial concept was ‘life during wartime,’ looking at the Inhumans from almost a World War 2 French Resistance type of angle. " Soule toldMarvel.com. "The relationships we’re used to seeing will be different in this story. Huge drama, spies, glamour, action, betrayal, sabotage; my hope is that it won’t feel like anything else out there.”

BelowTheMasonDixon · May 6, 2015