In an interview with iFanboy, Jonathan Hickman revealed that his current Marvel work is coming to an end. As he shared, he’s off “Fantastic Four” at the end of the year, that “SHIELD” is wrapping up, and that his last issue of “Ultimates” was turned in last week.
This is interesting for a few reasons.
1. His work on “Fantastic Four” has been undeniably great, and that part of the Marvel world is at its strongest point its been in a long, long time.
2. He’s off at the end of the year, which is the same non-descript timeframe that Bendis said he’d be off the Avengers books.
3. “SHIELD,” a book that is all about the secret history of the Marvel universe, is going away.
All of these things are coming on the coattails of “Avengers vs. X-Men,” an even that we’ve theorized could lead into their own DC style reboot. Is something like that becoming more likely with the concurrent departures of Bendis and Hickman from the books they’ve become so respected for driving? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s definitely something to watch for, even if it easily could just be stereotypical fanboy conspiracy theories by yours truly.
Either way, while it’s a shame to see Hickman step away from those books, we can’t say we’re too bummed with “The Manhattan Projects” and “Secret” on the horizon.
