Marvel Comics announced today that Avengers #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita JR will hit comic book stores in May!
I was, of course, all in for this book despite no sign of the rightful Captain America, but now with Romita on-board I'm really in!
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Some rights reserved.
Yeah, this is what I’m talking about. Have Bendis and Romita Jr. worked together before? I know I should know this.
I was burned out on Avengers and planning on stopping reading when Siege ended, but JR Jr? I’m can’t say no to him!
Also shame on you Conor! Mr. Barnes is my Captain America!
romita jr will get me to buy anything
Is anyone else not a big fan of JRJR’s newer stuff? I just feel it’s not for me.
Hmm, is the shield cracked, or is that some odd shadow?
I will read anything that has JRJr drawing it. And Bucky isnt a bad Cap, i like him, but Steve is still gonna be around, right?
…Right?
Whoo!!!!
I am putting a candle in my window for Immonen.
Isn’t it time marvel gave someone else a chance to write the avengers? I like Bendis but it would be nice to see a change
F YA! Now I’m really in.
What’s the over/under before they relaunch this title under the original Avengers numbering?
Bendis writing it? Romita drawing? On board!!!
Team Bucky forever!
i can’t wait for this to start
JrJr? Well i guess we don’t have to worry about delays!
Maybe my bi-weekly prediction will actually be right.
I like Steve Rogers and want him to play a supervisory role for up and coming Avengers but I love Bucky as Cap so this cover makes me happy. The creative team on this also rocks so I will without question be picking this up.
Ugly ass pic looks like Buckys wearing a wok on his arm and Bendis! Let My Avengers Go!
I hope this means Immonem will get on a $2.99 book, because I’d love to buy that guy’s work again, on a monthly basis, anyway.
Is the shield supposed to have a crack in it?
I am so happy that Bucky is staying Cap and will be in the Avengers because Steve coming back and what DC appears to be doing with Bruce had me concerned. I love comics but the one thing that really bugs me about the industry is the static nature of most of the characters. Nothing can take away the fact that Steve Rogers is the first and original Cap and Bruce Wayne is the original Batman but I never understood why these mantles usually can’t be passed on in a manner that sticks. Buck being Cap and Dick being Batman doesn’t take away the greatness of Steve or Bruce but actually increases their legitimacy as characters because it shows that they both built their mantle to such a level that it needs to be passed on. It also allows other characters to grow. Many will say that a change cannot be made because the mainstream won’t understand it. Personally, I want to see character growth and I don’t care if the mainstream doesn’t gets it because they don’t read comics anyway. If people want stories of Bruce as Batman or Steve as Cap, there are plenty out there already for them to pick up. A change also doesn’t take away the ability to tell more stories with the original characters because new stories can always be told in continuity about events that took place between the characters introduction and their retirement or death. A perfect example of not being constrained by the dead doesn’t mean dead rule is the Walking Dead. The reason why i love the walking dead is that everything counts and no one is safe so the characters and story can grow naturally and I never know what to expect next. I know that Rick can’t live forever and I wouldn’t be surprised if Kirkman killed him and allowed Carl to take over his father’s role because he isn’t constrained by the comic book rules.
So Bendis is writing–so I wonder who else he will pick to have on the team . . .
Cap, Thor, Iron Man.
I don’t think he can double-up the Spiders on this one. Spider-Woman would be a good replacement for Wasp, but I think he will stick with Spider-Man.
I don’t think he will try writing Pym, so Hawkeye will be on there.
He needs a mutant. Wolverine will probably remain on the team.
In the end, I think he will pick a solid line-up.
it’s not a crack, every single person that draws the shield lately puts shading on it like that, look it up.
@RoiVampire- yes, Mighty Avengers #15 (the Hank Pym shacking up with a Skrull disguised as a British co-ed [YES!] issue) featured layouts by JRJR.
and by the way, HELL YEAH!!
JRJR let it leak that Spidey was in the book. Now as an Avenger? Not sure.
I hope Bendis writes Avengers for AT LEAST another 5 years. The quality of writing is never higher in any Marvel book when it’s Bendis.
@ jspegele and amircat. That’s no crack!It is a sliver of the Void. Also, that’s no Bucky! That’s the Sentry dressed as Captain America!
This is going to be so cool. I love JRJR’s art.
well if he does need a mutant, I’d love there to be a Maximoff on the team
@Andrew No way!
It’s pretty obvious that Steve Rogers will be the new head of SHIELD. So Bucky wields the shield, but Steve wields the S.H.I.E.L.D. So we get the new Cap for a while longer, but also get Steve Rogers as an inspiring leader to herald a new Heroic Age– Gonna be fun!
Good creative team. Not sure if I’ll read as I’m not a big Bendis fan, but JRJR is a big draw. It’ll depend on who is on the team. I’m really waiting to see if one of the other Avengers books is a West Coast one, as I would pick that one up.
As long as Wolverine isn’t on the team anymore you can sign me up for another awesome run
Sentry’s will be the new Avengers gopher. He’s good at running off at a moment’s notice.
I love Romita Jr. on Spidey and Kick-Ass but I just don’t know if his style will appeal to me for an Avengers title.
I love Romita, Jr but I have just hated Bendis on the Avengers the last few years. I may actually pass on this one.
I’m not trying to be "that guy" but i just don’t get the draw (pun!) of JRJR’s work. Faces feel really wide and the whole thing looks rushed. Again, i’m not trying to be a dick, but can someone explain it to me?
@DWarren: It is often hard to expain the appeal of art, which is usually a personally visceral experience.
Uh oh! Conor pulled the Visceral card!
ps- Dont play him in Scrabble. Anyone that drops "personally visceral" when just "personal" will do, will just SMOKE YOUR ASS!
Nuttin but love for ya!
Very true, i should have thought of that. Different strokes and all that. So does this mean that the days of all the flavors of Avengers are over? Excellent.
@DWArren If u mean New Avengers, Avengers:Initiative, etc, then you definitely will see the end. They are cancelled. This New… err LATEST Avengers title is slated to be the only Avengers title during the Heroic Age.
No it isn’t slated to be the only Avengers book. Immonen will likely draw an Avengers book and Avengers Academy has been talked about for months.
GAK!
Avengers Academy? Crap. How did that slip past me?
Oh lets get some New Mutants/Avengers Academy soft ball games! God I miss those types of issues.
@Abirdseysview, I took your advice and looked it up. No jagged, crack-like shadows by Hitch, Guice, Ross, Immomen, or Larocca.
Romita Jr as artist? Sold!
That looks like a crack to me…
Just chiming in to say that I’m tired of Bendis on Avengers. Am I a huge Avengers fan, though? No. So maybe what I think doesn’t matter. But the fact is that if it were any other writer except Bendis doing an Avengers book with JRJR art…then I would pick it up. But because it’s more Bendis Avengers, I give it a pass. That said, I’ve picked up the few Avengers-related issues that Bendis did with Chris Bachalo. So it’s not like I’m dead-set against Bendis. It’s just that in general it’s not enough of a creative change to win over a casual Marvel fan.
drooool
JRJr on the Avengers with Spiderman maybe? It’s like I’m a kid again, awesome.
HEY! I’ve hear of those guys!
Sticking to your own legacy is definitely the way to go when forging. I forged some other dude’s legacy this one time and, needless to say, he was pissed.
Will it come out faster than Kick-Ass?
@blulew23: Yes.
It’s not a crack — it’s the way many artists used to draw a metallic sheen (Walt Simonson comes to mind). However it stands out because of the modern coloring. The coloring includes everything needed to give that metallic sheen, so JRJR’s inked lines stand out in a way they shouldn’t.
I’m happy to have Bucky-Cap. And I think JRJR is a good fit for the Avengers. So I’m definitely into this.
I must be the only person who doesn’t like Romita Jr art. Am I?
Little by little, JRJR’s art is starting to look more and more like Jack Davis’s art. Also, I always felt that JRJR was never suited for team books. Anyway, that said still looking forward to this. I’m tired… TIRED! of mass death and destruction in my Avengers stories. Between World War Hulk, Civil War, Secret Invasion and now Siege it’s a miracle the United States is still intact. The body count from all those events is just beyond ridiculous. How do the Marvel universe citizens of NYC decide that town is a good place to live and work?
1: "Was that a Galactusquake?"
2: "Nah. Felt more like the Hulk. Don’t worry about it."
Bring on the Heroic Age!
I’m with you, Mush3000. I like JRjr in smaller doses, but I’m not so stoked about this developement. Well, wait and see…
well i’m gonna have to start buying avengers now.
Nice team up! Yep, Im ready for this Avengers! Go Bendis go! And put some man-pants on! Or not! JR now has to pay for dinner cuz all those kick-ass checks are gonna be fat yo!
When the heck did I turn gangsta?!?!?
@mush3000 – no you’re not. But that doesn’t make you right.
No, seriously, JRJr has his own style. He’s kind of the bridge–or at least the first few planks on the bridge–between older, traditional comic art, and modern, stylized representation. One thing to note. When he was on Amazing Spider-Man in the 80s, he was great. When he moved to the X-Men his art got a little weak. I used to think this was because he couldn’t handle a team book. But since then he’s shown he can handle just about anything he puts his mind to.
@jspegele- ok, I exagerrated. I was thinking of some recent images by Finch and Quesada.
and @daccampo- thanks for backing me up, I too often ponder the redundancy of traditional shading techniques with modern coloring.
I saw this on twitter earlier. I AM SO EXCITED!!! If he’s really gonna keep up on a monthly schedule this is gonna be fantastic.
I too am not a big JRJR fan. In fact, during the days of McFarlane and Lee, et al at Marvel, I always felt bad for him. I thought Marvel only hired him based on who is father was; I didn’t know people actually liked his work. I hate the way he draws over-sized fists and the faces he draws always look boxy and flat. His recent run on Amazing Spider-Man felt rushed. Harry Osborn, Jr. was almost unrecognizable, and his girlfriend (forget her name but she became a Goblin clone) didn’t even look female, let alone human.
I don’t mind the way he draws Spidey himself. It’s just everyone else that looks bad. I will give him that he’s a decent storyteller, and you can follow the story based on his layouts alone. I just don’t like his pictures. But, hey, to each his own.
Jrjr on anvengers? Even more sold. I am loving mighty so I hope some of the make it. Maybe stature? Vision? I really think pym could be interesting with bendis’ writing
I love me some JRJR, but I have lost all interest in Bendis’s Avengers since Secret Invasion.
@skeets really? the recent avengers issues were pretty good. =)
I’m interested to see JRjr drawing the team. I wish i can see Jim Cheung doing it though. =(
wow, didn’t think i’d be buying this, but JRJR has me intrigued.
I thought JRJR was going to be doing Thor…?
@flapjaxxx you are not alone. I was kind of bummed when I saw that Bendis for the writer. I love Powers and I’ve been reading Ultimate Spider-Man for nearly half my life (wow, thats weird to think about), but I’ve just gotten sick of his writing in the Avengers titles. I dropped New and Dark and stuck with Mighty because even if Mighty Avengers isn’t the best comic out there it is a breath of fresh air. Give the writing position to Fraction or Kirkman or Remender. Honestly, I would to see what a Brubaker-penned Avengers team would look like. Bendis has had the reigns for 6 years, let someone else have a shot
As for JrJr: love his work in Spidey and Kick Ass, but that cover to FCBD Thor that he did looks awful, so I’m on the fence. I will buy the first issue of this, not sure about the second
@excalipoor – yep, Bendis hasn’t impressed me since Daredevil/Alias. I’m tired of Osborn, tired of the Hood, tired of the Sentry dying every issue, tired of Mamet-speak, and tired of the Avengers sitting around talking all the time. Maybe he’ll turn things around with the new status quo, but right now I have no interest in anything he’s writing.
@slockhart – JRJR is just doing the FCBD issue of Thor that I guess kicks off Fraction’s run, the ongoing artist hasn’t been announced as far as I know.
Conor kind of hit the nail on the head for me when it comes to just loving on JRJr’s pencils. As far as my preferences on art goes, there are certain through lines that connect all of my favorites, except for JRJr. There’s something about the weight and energy to his work that, although not my usual cup o’ tea, makes him undeniable as one of the greats. You don’t have to take my word for it, check it out at your local library…
Is that an Election poster?
Bendis & Romita Jr? this is gonna be great.. or.. it might suck a whole heap. but probably not.. then again.. perhaps it will be astoundingly mediocre.. it is Marvel after all..
They’re tossing out Mighty and Initiative for a Bendis book.
Great, just great.
bendis and romita?
yeah spider-man will be in this book. which he should be. real sick of that. but it will be a fair trade if beast is an avenger.
And….I’m in.
YES!
Bucky is my Captain America.
I’m really excited to see that Ed’s work bring back Bucky and fitting him for Cap’s suit looks like it’s going to stay.
Hoping for the best with Bendis and Romita.
JRJR drawing – big plus
Thor back on the Avengers – big plus
Bendis writing – big minus. Tired of reading tedious odd sounding conversations between avengers. Haven’t been impressed with anything Bendis has done at Marvel to be honest (outside of the early Ultimate Spider-Man stuff) so will probably skip this.
I’m delighted by the enthusiasm ping-pong this announcement has caused, if only in this thread. "Ugh! I’m out!" "Yay, I’m in!" "JRjr can’t draw!" "JRjr is my favorite!" "Thank God for Bendis!" "Is that clown still here?!" If their goal is to get people talking, they can rest easy.
Still: be sure to preorder it. They might cancel it at #5.
Romita’s the only reason I buy marvel books
@jimski well played sir. Also, glad to see Spider-Woman on the new teaser
Guess I was wrong.
I love me some Spider-Woman.
Two of my favorites. This team is looking good.
I hope they max out at seven members.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24674
I won’t be buying this, (maybe tradewait, depending on what the skuttlebutt and critical reaction is) but geez, it’s always good to see new JRjr work.
It would be funny if it was just the New Avengers line up.
"Uh Brian….what about some of the guys from the Mighty Avengers? The universe is full of characters to use…"-Joe
"No."-Brian. lol
@TNC – lol. Funny. I want to see this team of two defeat the universe-level threat Avengers books are known for.
Honestly, I’d buy that book in a heartbeat.
I love JRJR but I don’t think i’ll like him on this
I don’t know, i’m confused.
God help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know most people agree that JRJr’s best work involves Web Head, but I have to say I don’t think he’s ever been as good as he was during his Chris Claremont Uncanny X-Men run in the 1980s. I’m hoping the images above aren’t representative of the Avengrs book.
ok, so I am still all for this as long as JRJR does NOT draw Spider(Gorilla?)Woman from that angle. yeesh..
I am stoked. I really hope though the line up is fairly different then New Avengers. As much as I love Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Luke Cage on NA I have no desire to seem them on this book. I however would love to see characters like Vision, She-Hulk, Beast and Wonder Man return to the team. Yes I might be the only person that feels that way but I just can’t help it. And I am talking about Leisure Suit Wonder Man. I mean come on the fact that he dresses like that is awesome!
It should be noted that Spiderwoman was not in the Heroic Age teaser image that caused so much speculation regarding the Avengers new roster.
I’m kinda sick of Spider-Woman.
Will Deadpool be forced into this book, too?
I can only take Romita in doses. That picture of Spider-woman is horrifying.
I hope this team doesn’t have a lot of members or we’re going to be updating this post forever.
(I like the way Romita draws Spider-Woman)
YES!!! Iron Man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Conor – Ha! This has been how I’m keeping track of the new team, so the updates are appreciated. Also, I like JRJR. Just saying that in case someone is keeping a tally.
JRJR is my favorite artist working today, period, end of story. i would buy a Deadpool vs. Deathlock vs. milly the model book written by jeph loeb and scott lobdell if JRJR drew it. thats how much i love this man
hahaha, that’s some real love.
Currently we have the New Avengers line up.
I’m cool with it.
Man, Iron Man is a perfect subject for JRJR.
A strange premonition just came to me:
Daredevil is going to be on this team.
@ScorpionMasada: Is it because he also wears red?
Too much red, huh? The first arc can have Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Daredevil and Iron Man kick Captain America and Thor off the team for not matching the team color.
Red would be a bad reason to include him on the team and a bad reason not to include him as well.
Captain America tried to recruit him in the first arc of New Avengers.
I think it is time for Daredevil to come center to the Marvel Universe.
And I think he is a favorite of Bendis.
Iron Man really doesn’t want to hit dear. (This was a joke about all the lights on him.)
So when is the reveal for Wolverine & Spider-man? (Oh I misspelled in my last comment. *Deer* I feel dumb now)
@scorpionmasada Yes sir that is real love. I don’t hate any of those characters i mentione but i don’t like them either. However if its got JRJR on it i’m buying it. Teaming him with Bendis is just heaven.
@ScorpionMasada – As much as I’d like to see Daredevil as an Avenger, I think the reasons he gives for not joining in NA still stand. (and I agree with them)
I don’t recall the reasons, but I remember them making sense.
It was just a feeling about the team I got. I am cool with whoever Bendis puts on the team.
I don’t know..I like Romita but those shots just don’t look right..
@Conor I think it’s the mouth area that’s really bothers me. It just looks weird and sort of misshapen
Man if this keeps up we’re all gonna hafta go to page 2 of the articles for the rest of the team
The trend in comics for awhile has been to have bloated rosters of about nine.
That is why I want this team at seven, but there could very well be nine members next week.
Clint as Hawkeye!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOT!!!
Someone check Josh’s pulse, and wipe the drool off his chin.
This is so good, I just shat golden bricks. I hope they work together for a long run.