Earlier this year, Marvel announced that they would be releasing a series of “Season One” graphic novels in celebration of their 50th year as a publisher. Today, Marvel has added three more books to that line-up, with some rather nice creative teams.
For the new titles, we’ll be given Ant-Man by Tom DeFalco and Horacio Domingues for July, Hulk by Fred Van Lente and Tom Fowler for August, and Doctor Strange by Greg Pak and Emma Rios for September (which, really, sounds like the best entry in this second wave — Rios is phenomenal for a character like Doctor Strange. These titles will be joining the likes of Fantastic Four by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and David Marquez for February, X-Men by Dennis Hopeless and Jamie McKelvie for March, Daredevil by Antony Johnston and Weillington Alves for April and Spider-Man by Cullen Bunn and Neil Edwards for May.
We haven’t seen any Marvel Season One graphic novels yet so we can’t judge them on any discernable grounds, but it is an interesting initiative to capture that mysterious and fabled New Reader that companies seek for so thoroughly. If nothing else, these will certainly help integrate younger readers into the world of comics, assuming that these books are All Ages (as they very much should be). Marvel does seem to be actively repeating itself with these re-telling of origins, though; they literally just had a month worth of Avengers Origins issues, including one for Ant-Man.
Never the less, I repeat myself that I am highly looking forward to Emma Rios illustrating a Doctor Strange graphic novel by Greg Pak.
For the full press release from Marvel as well as two more covers, check behind the cut.
Marvel: Season One, a line of all-new graphic novels, just got bigger as Marvel is pleased to add three titles to the highly anticipated line-up with Ant-Man: Season One, Hulk: Season One and Doctor Strange: Season One! These all-new complete stories offer fans a chance to immerse themselves in the Marvel Universe like never before. Journey into the unknown with Ant-Man, learn about the mystic arts with Doctor Strange and find out how Hulk balances humanity and monstrosity as each of these graphic novels offer new revelations for long-time fans and give new readers a fresh introduction to the character. With modern retellings of the world’s greatest super heroes seminal origins by some of the most critically acclaimed creators in the business, no fan can miss this! Each of these graphic novels also include a code to download each book for free, via the Marvel Comics app, making them must haves for every fan.
“As a result of the great response from fans and retailers, we realized we couldn’t just stop with one wave of titles” said David Gabriel, Marvel SVP of Sales. “We’re showing our continued support for this line by insuring that fans have a reason to come back into comic shops month after month to get the next volumes in the Season One line of original graphic novels.”
The complete second wave of Season One graphic novels includes:
- Ant-Man: Season One by Tom DeFalco (Spider-Girl) and Horacio Domingues (Incorruptible), on-sale in July 2012
- Hulk: Season One by Fred Van Lente (Alpha Flight, Herc) and Tom Fowler (Venom), on-sale in August 2012
- Doctor Strange: Season One by Greg Pak (Astonishing X-Men, Red Skull: Incarnate) and Emma Rios (Osborn, Spider-Island: Cloak & Dagger), on-sale in September 2012
