And, in more from the burgeoning "what's old is new" file...
Marvel will be publishing a new "Secret Wars" by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Esad Ribic as a year-long event starting in May 2015, the publisher revealed at New York Comic Con at an offsite event at Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. in Times Square, according to a report on Comic Book.com. The story will commence at the conclusion of the currently running "Avengers" and "New Avengers" storyline, "Time Runs Out."
"This worked out for us pretty well a long time ago," Dan Buckley, Marvel's President and Publisher of print, TV and digital, said at the event. Buckley also added that it's a story Hickman has been planning since the start of his run on "Avengers" and "New Avengers" in 2012; saying he wanted to revisit the classic crossover but tell the story in a "different way."
"We've been sitting on this for a very long time," Buckley said. "When Jonathan brought this to us, we had an opportunity to just not celebrate this in publishing, so we're going to be extending this in a year-long program into 2016 with our merchandising partners, digital partners, and other partners."
Buckley's plans fit firmly in "Secret Wars" convention: the original 1984 story, one of the most influential mainstream comic book events of that era that was conceived and written by then Marvel EIC Jim Shooter with art from Mike Zeck and Bob Layton among others, was a year-long 12-issue story, and had a heavy merchandising aspect in the form of a toy line from Mattel. Three of the merchandising partners named for the new "Secret Wars" were current Marvel toy license-holder Hasbro, Gentle Giant and retail chain Hot Topic.
"There will be many more announcements leading up to May and beyond May," Buckley said.
Thursday's event also revealed that an ABC primetime special celebrating Marvel's 75th anniversary, titled "Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!" will air Tuesday, Nov. 4 in the usual 9 p.m. "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." time slot. The special will be hosted by "Revenge" star Emily VanCamp, who played Agent 13 in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."
