The term “Marvel Now” has been bouncing around other geek sites for a day or so. I first read about it on Bleeding Cool (great site but they mis-spell KOOL). Bleeding Cool referenced an upcoming article on EW.com. That article finally was released here. It is detailed and if you are a Marvel Comic fan, you should check it out.
For those that want a synopsis, here it is in a nutshell. Marvel is not rebooting their current Marvel Universe but they are shaking things up. Starting in October and continuing over a five month period, Marvel will be creating new series and re-lauching existing series with new #1 issues. The current series will have new creative teams. Some of the characters will have new costumes or an updated version of their uniforms. Marvel has promising some big time changes with their mega event crossover Avengers VS X-Men and Marvel Now appears to bring some of those changes.
DC’s soft reboot last year was a huge financial success for them. They won the sales and sales dollars numbers over Marvel for the first time in years and continued it for months after their reboot. Marvel is counting on their Marvel Now to shake up to catch some of the magic that DC did last year without rebooting and changing characters. The regular Marvel Universe, 616, will maintain all the character history while mixing things up.
One of the new books will be a combination Avengers/X-Men book, Uncanny Avengers. This will be the Marvel Now flagship book. The Avengers VS X-Men conclusing will shake up the 616 Universe. Captain America will organize this group with the intent to make up for not standing up for the mutants earlier. The confirmed members are Captain America, Thor, Wolverine, and Havok.
Below is a couple of paragraphs from the EW.com article.
And Marvel is shaking things up. Entertainment Weekly is excited to exclusively announce Marvel NOW!, a massive new initiative that will launch new titles and relaunch old ones starting in October. Some of the company’s top storytellers are leaping from one corner of the Marvel Universe to another. Brian Michael Bendis is leaving the Avengers for a new X-Men book; Jonathan Hickman will end his run on Fantastic Four before kick-starting a new twice-monthly, jampacked Avengers book; and Rick Remender will begin work on the flagship title of the new era, Uncanny Avengers, a book that will blend Avengers and X-Men characters into one superteam. “I’m excited about taking creators out of their relative comfort zones,” says Alonso.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that a major comics publisher has inaugurated a new era with new creative teams and new #1?s: Just last year, DC Comics relaunched their entire line with The New 52. But Alonso is quick to draw a sharp contrast between DC’s initiative and Marvel NOW! “This ain’t a reboot. It’s a new beginning.” Unlike New 52, Marvel NOW! will roll out gradually over a few months, with creators finishing off their runs and then starting new ones. “I feel that it’s a much more humane approach for retailers and fans to tell them: ‘Look. In the months of October through February, every week you can go into a comic book store and find a few new jumping-on points for the Marvel Universe, a place you’re going to like visiting. Or revisiting.” EW.com
