Marvel has this idea now that, to help make Annuals a bit more exciting (instead of having them regularly be one-off stories in-between continuity that don’t pay off for quite some time if at all) that they will begin turning various Annuals into trilogies. Such is the way of the upcoming annuals for Uncanny X-Men and … Steve Rogers: Super Soldier and Namor?
According to Marvel.com, an upcoming arc will tie the three books together entitled “Escape from the Negative Zone.” As the press release reads, in March of 2011, these titans of the Marvel Universe will cross over in X-Men/Super-Soldier: Escape from the Negative Zone, written by James Asmus with art by Nick Bradshaw and Ibraim Roberson. The story kicks off in UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #3 before moving on to STEVE ROGER: SUPER SOLDIER ANNUAL #1 and drawing to a close in NAMOR: THE FIRST MUTANT ANNUAL #1 and pivots on a conflict with a powerful Marvel villain Marvel’s mutants have not tangled with in years. Nick Bradshaw will be handling the art for Uncanny X-Men’s annual, with Roberson handling the Steve Rogers annual and Namor’s artist hasn’t been named at this time.
It’s a bit odd because Steve Rogers has a four-issue mini and Namor has had two issues, but se la vie. Ibraim Roberson is quite a talented artist, and the preview art up on Marvel.com is pretty awesome. So who can we expect to see? Blastaar for one. As king of the N-Zone, it’s only right that he makes an appearance, as Asmus teases. But the big bad hasn’t been revealed yet, and assumedly won’t for quite some time.
So keep yourself ready because this spring break, some of your favorite heroes are going to get royally smashed.
