Marvel have released a trailer with editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski and chief creative officer Joe Quesada announcing that May 2018 is a fresh start for the company, with “new series,” “new creative teams,” “new directions,” and “new beginnings.”
The news may be unsurprising to those who heard “Black Panther” is getting a new #1 in May. This is the latest of several renumberings Marvel’s titles have had in as many years: Cebulski describes this as their biggest relaunching since ‘Marvel NOW!,’ but doesn’t specify if he means the post-“Avengers vs. X-Men” initiative in 2012, or the post-“Civil War II” rebranding in 2016. In between those we had 2013’s ‘All-New Marvel NOW!,’ 2014’s ‘Avengers NOW!,’ 2015’s ‘All-New, All-Different Marvel,’ and just last year we had ‘Marvel Legacy,’ which actually restored many series’s original numbering.
The artwork by Jim Cheung shows many of the characters Marvel whose film and television rights they possess and have pushed over the years, like the Avengers, Defenders, Champions and the Punisher, but also notably features characters who haven’t been as important to the company of late, like the Fantastic Four’s Thing (starring in “Marvel Two-in-One”), or the X-Men’s Jean Grey (“X-Men Red”) and Gambit. There’s a strong mix of Legacy characters like Nadia van Dyne (Wasp) and Miles Morales (Spider-Man) with the original bearers of titles like Captain America, Thor Odinson, Tony Stark as Iron Man, and (the resurrected) Wolverine and Hulk.
Hopefully we can expect Marvel’s May solicitations soon, including those who will write “Avengers,” “Captain America” and “Amazing Spider-Man” (their names are still being withheld on the Free Comic Book Day issues). As always, stay tuned to Multiversity Comics for the latest, and let us know what you think in the comments: do you think Marvel can make this relaunch stick? Or you disappointed characters like Laura Kinney are nowhere to be seen?
