J. Michael Straczynski (“The Amazing Spider-Man,” Babylon 5) and Mike Deodato Jr. (“The Amazing Spider-Man,” “Dark Avengers”) will launch a new shared superhero universe early next year, with Artists, Writers & Artisans’ “The Resistance.”
The six-issue series will be the first superhero title published by former Marvel execs Bill Jemas and Axel Alonso’s latest publishing venture, and will set the tone for the kinds of superhero stories that Artist, Writers & Artisans plans to deliver.
“‘The Resistance’ is the series that lays down the foundation for our shared universe — a universe that is rooted in the 21st Century,” said Alonso, in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, which announced the new series. “[It’s] world-building at its finest by two elite creators working at the height of their talents.”
According to The Reporter, “The Resistance” is set “in the wake of a global pandemic that kills hundreds of millions, but leaves some of its survivors with superhuman powers.” In imagining the series, Straczynski says he sought to tap into the current zeitgeist, and figure out what hopes and fears a new generation of superheroes should embody.
“DC and Marvel are products of the times that produced them,” said Straczynski. “What Axel and I did in beginning this process was to ask … ‘What’s the paradigm now? Where are we as a people, a country, a world, and what stories do we need to hear not just to entertain but to ennoble and uplift?’ We wanted to give readers, especially millennials, something that would impart a measure of hope without undue cotton candy, while confronting dead-on the real challenges we face as a people.”
“This series is the most important series AWA will publish ever, because that is where and when everything starts,” said Deodato Jr. “This is a big leap for me, a new adventure. Having the opportunity to create an entire universe from scratch is the most satisfying thing.”
If you want to learn more about how you can get in on the ground floor of AWA’s new superhero universe, be sure to click over to The Hollywood Reporter, where you can learn more and see exclusive preview pages from “The Resistance.”
