Avengers: Jonathan Hickman Q+A

[SilverZeal]

This isn't a cover portraying people on Hickman's team. As far as I know, it's part of a big series of interlocking covers featuring every Avenger ever.

Gat dammit...

[SoupStainedTie]

Or Photon/Monica Rambeau former leader of d Avengers

He already said he won't be using Monica Rambeau because Warren Ellis ruined her forever.

[BizzleTheBear]

How are you able to juggle a huge cast and appropriate ample time to the roster? Is it hard? What is your approach?

[WolfOfMibu1991]

Hello Mr Hickman let me start by saying I think you're a idea machine and the next Grant Morrison and I am constantly kissing your ass on these forums personally, and honored to do so.

I want to say from what I have ascertained after reading countless previews, and many interviews of yours relating to your avengers run. It sounds more and more a lot like Grant Morrisons JLA. Biggest threats vs the best team in the world. How much of that widescreen action focused character moments with BIG universe spanning threats style of Grants JLA is influencing this book?

Once again thanks for giving me and my fellow comic book junkies this cherished once in life time chance to ask you questions.

[Hypestyle]

Mr. Hickman--

broadly speaking (spoiler free), how does one go about establishing a sense of danger for this group of characters (the Avengers), when they, collectively, are a force that can (potentially) overthrow countries if they wanted? I ask this because of the much-reported expanded roster premise that the series will allegedly involve.

[Dark Phoenix]

I think all my questions have been asked so I just wanted to say Thanks for taking the time to do this. With all the books you are writing I know your time must be valuable so its much appreciated.

I also wanted to say Thanks for the Fantastic 4 / FF run. Through the years, the FF were characters that just never clicked for me, no matter who was writing them (and some of my favorite creators have taken a go at them). I would try the book out with each creative team change and stop reading soon after.

When you took over, for the first time ever, I truly "got them". Thanks for making me a fan. I cannot wait to see what you do on Avengers. I just imagine it will be epic!!

[CMBMOOL]

Mr. Hickman,

I know you're a busy man, and I thank you for giving us some of your spare time to answer some of our questions concerning your upcoming run in the Avengers... So I'll just be brief with my questions..

1. Within New Avengers it shows the return of the Illuminati, I have to ask given the last time the team came together ended with Captain America being made a member of the group, so my question is, will Captain America have knowledge of this meeting with the Illuminati ?

2. Another question I was hoping you would tackle is the reasons of why the Avengers need the aid of the original Hulk on the team, especially given the history of the Green Goliath and his relationship with Earth Mightest heroes ?

3. Will either Avengers titles have ties to the Uncanny Avengers title and/or any X-men team titles, given Captain America's promise to help Mutants in a better light ?

4. I was very surprised by your choice of having Cannonball and Sunspot becoming Avengers, after their long period ties of being X-men, what made you chose these two outside the other X-men heroes ?

[Mark_S]

Thank you for doing this Mr. Hickman.

My question is more of a general theme question than a specific one. In your replies in #43 and #194 you mention the trust and everyone wanting to kill each other. I can understand this far more easily than any of them wanting to fight a supervillain together. I have been puzzled for many years now why many of these characters even talk to each other and to tell you the flat out truth when I read a marvel comic these days I usually root for the supervillain. Given what the characters have done to each other I've really lost track of the difference between heroes and villains in the mu. There is for instance very little that Norman Osborn did when he was in charge that Tony Stark didn't do first and as for Dr. Doom being merciless Reed matched him with the 42 prison.

That being said I don't really want to read about characters who hang together only because they hate the bad guys more than they dislike each other. While I can understand She-Hulk wanting to push Tony into an anti-matter reactor or Thor wanting to whip Reed around like a used rubber band I'm not sure I want to read a book where I'm constantly waiting for it to happen or wondering why it isn't happening. If I want to read that I'll break out my old "War of the Spiderqueen" books. Tension of course is part of the drama of any team and I enjoy that, but how much tension and the cause is my question. I'm sorry if this sounds rude but I'd like there to be some principled reason to favor one side against the other and not just be watching a rumble between the Jets and the Sharks when I see the Avengers fight aliens or supervillains. Because truthfully I thought that after cw the skrulls conquering Earth would have been a step on on the moral scale of governance. Then when I saw what SHIELD did to captured Hulk foes and when I thought of all of the times that the US government has gone after the mutants I wondered how can anyone know that an invading alien race might not be better than what they have in the mu?

Come to think of it I do have one question that you might be able to answer simply. Is SHIELD a UN, US force or is it completely independent like the Men In Black?

[videofarmer]

Reed knows what passes for Inhuman Battle Language (their version of sign language).

Why didn't Blackagar learn to type? Not a skill with which to sully royal fingers?

[A_Nominus]

Hi Mr. Hickman, after going through the thread I've seen a lot of things clarified and I'd like to thank you for that. I'd like to ask if since the Illuminati are being covered in a book called New Avengers, does that classify them as another branch of the wider roster of Avengers (even if the rest of the teams don't know about it)? There's been some debate over at the marvel database wiki on whether or not to include them in the team members section along with the already present Uncanny Avengers, Secret Avengers, Avengers Academy, etc. I figure if the book is called Avengers and the team's made of at least half Avengers than they must be Avengers right? That aside thanks a lot for this thread and thanks a million for some incredibly awesome books.

[Maddiemark]

Mr. Hickman..did you want Scarlet Witch on the 18 Avengers' member team? Or was she off limits?

[Rheged]

Mr. Hickman, I'm glad to see that New Avengers will NOT double ship. I'm a big fan of having one artist on a book as it leads to a consistent vision of that fictional world for me, and that's impossible for books that double ship. That said, will Steve Epting (who is AWESOME) be the only artist on New Avengers, barring unforseen events, of course?

In the Bendis' Illuminati mini-series, I could get quite tipsy playing a drinking game for the myriad times other characters said, "Namor is right." Will I be stone cold sober or passed out drunk playing this game reading your New Avengers? And no. I don't have an alcohol problem.

[Rotis09]

Avengers will be hopeful, optimistic and utopian.

I just cried a little at that. Because you know. Utopia was in reach. And Cap.... Yeah.

[havok1977]

I will offer this: The most 'important' book in the most successful corner of the Marvel Universe will be New Avengers, people just don't know that yet. It may not sell quite as high as Avengers, but the things going on in that book will affect the broader MU, and it's a good thing for the character that BP is in there.

Very interesting, I was kinda on the fence about the book; just secured a spot for NA in my pull list.

Mr. Hickman, I'm glad to see that New Avengers will NOT double ship. I'm a big fan of having one artist on a book as it leads to a consistent vision of that fictional world for me, and that's impossible for books that double ship. That said, will Steve Epting (who is AWESOME) be the only artist on New Avengers, barring unforseen events, of course?

Agree with this, in fact I'd prefer for both books to have a regular schedule; but that's just me and I understand that its an editorial decision.


Looking forward to experiencing this new era of the Avengers, wish you lots of success Jonathan

[JoeGlass]

Slightly tangential question as I'm still catching up on Secret Warriors myself:

1. You mentioned a GLBT character was in Secret Warriors...from what I've read so far, which is most of it, was that Stonewall? (I kinda always thought so, because of his name, y'know)
2. As for the GLBT representation in Avengers/New Avengers, is it a character we already knew to be GLBT? A new creation? Or someone we know, but a new way of looking at the character?
3. If you were to do the New Universe content in the comics, would it be the original New Universe, or the newuniversal? (I know, I'm kinda pushing it with this one)
4. You've tackled most of the big cornerstones of the MU now you're on Avengers...any hope to cover the X-Universe at some point? Given that AvX#6 was my favourite issue of that whole event, I loved how you handled the characters.
5. In fact, on that topic, any involvement with that kind of god-like power in your characters in Avengers? I thought you most eloquently wrote the Phoenix Five as believably beyond human.
6. Aside from the possible survival of Xavier, anything else you'd have done differently in AvX if you had solely held the reins?
7. Is Reed in New Avengers? If so, how does his appearance fit in with his 'family outing' in Fantastic Four?