It looks like Marvel will be playing a slight game of musical chairs come July (but in this version, everyone wins). “Scarlet Spider” artist Ryan Stegman will be joining Jonathan Hickman on “Fantastic Four” starting with #609, and Khoi Pham will be taking over in “Scarlet Spider” for Stegman.
It sounds like a pretty good transition all around, with some good upcoming stories: In “Fantastic Four”, the Fantastic Four have to deal with the destruction of Nu-Earth as well as battle the Maestro, an evil alternate-version of the Hulk from the 90’s the future. “Scarlet Spider”, on the other hand, deals with Kaine battling against Marvel’s favorite evil corporate empire ROXXON which will be setting up an upcoming arc.
Stegman is great at illustrating really vibrant characters, which is what has made his “Scarlet Spider” work so great. It’ll be interesting to see him bring that essence into “Fantastic Four”, but we’re pretty stoked on that. Plus, look at Khoi Pham’s “Scarlet Spider” cover for his first issue — that is, to borrow a phrase, “absolutely boss.” Can’t wait to see his interiors for this.
Look for both title transitions in July.
