Spoilers follow straight from Marvel Comics!
Building on Marvel Comics initial announcement of Secret Wars, its 13 event redux and reboot of an All-New Marvel as everything ends, comes even more info of Marvel’s 2015 multiverse event. That includes a look at Marvel’s 2015 Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) offerings. Plus the all-Thor cover to Secret Wars #2!
Marvel Comics also announced three branding strategies for Secret Wars starting with an announcement about SECRET WARS: LAST DAYS:
- The skies go dark and the world begins to fracture. Secret Wars is coming, and with it the destruction of the Marvel Universe as we know it. Today, Marvel is proud to announce LAST DAYS, the first of three different types of series taking place during the upcoming, highly anticipated Secret Wars!
“What would you do if you learned today was your last day on Earth?” says Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso. “That’s the question your favorite Marvel heroes are going to ask themselves in their LAST DAYS story lines as they brace for Secret Wars and the end of the Marvel Universe.”
Battleworld is set to transform the Marvel Universe as you know it. But before Secret Wars can begin, this chapter may come to a close. What will our heroes do with their final hours? What secrets will be unearthed? Who will they want to spend their LAST DAYS with?
“LAST DAYS is the first of three new brandings for series unique to Secret Wars,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “Each branding will bear its own unique trade dress and logo treatment, clearly defining its relationship to the main Secret Wars story. This will make it easier for fans to experience the full scope of Secret Wars. Don’t dare miss these epic tales as our heroes face their impending obliteration!”
Before Secret Wars can begin, the Marvel Universe must end. And it all starts this May as the entire planet faces their LAST DAYS!
Marvel Comics also announces SECRET WARS: BATTLEWORLD:
- The Marvel Universe has been destroyed! One by one, each and every universe across the cosmos has been eliminated. All that exists is a new, patchwork planet made up of the remains of decimated universes. Today, Marvel is proud to announce BATTLEWORLD, which joins LAST DAYS as two of the three unique umbrella brands of titles launching during Secret Wars!
“If you want the full story of what’s happening across the surface of this new planet, BATTLEWORLD branded titles are for you,” says Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso. “Who polices Battleworld? How do the various domains interact? What happens when those domains go to war? What strange, never-before-seen creatures inhabit this world? What familiar faces will make appearances? Fans who want to fully understand how each sector interacts with the others can’t miss out on these books!”
Titles carrying the BATTLEWORLD banner will focus on the interworking and interaction of all the domains now fused together throughout the one and only remaining planet! The Secret Wars are waged as the last remaining fragments of dead universes fight for survival. Who rules these domains? Who comes out on top? Who lives? Who dies?
“The inner machinations of Secret Wars happen here,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “BATTLEWORLD branded titles will be clearly marked through the Marvel Previews solicits as well as with well distinguished cover trade dress, this way both retailers and fans will know what they’re getting. Think of these as the new core monthly titles.“
What secrets are about to be revealed? Find out this may as Secret Wars enters BATTLEWORLD!
Marvel Comics lastly announces SECRET WARS: WARZONES:
- The future begins here! When everything ends, there is only Secret Wars. Today, Marvel is proud to announce WARZONES!, the final umbrella of titles launching during Secret Wars! WARZONES joins LAST DAYS and BATTLEWORLD as the three different categories of titles launching throughout Secret Wars, each with their own unique type of story to tell!
“If you want a glimpse of what the future holds, you’ll find it in the WARZONES titles,” says Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso. “Our creators let their imaginations run wild as they lay down the foundations for the future. Whether we’re revisiting the most popular events from Marvel’s past or telling completely new stories, you won’t believe what we’ve got in store for you.”
All that remains in the cosmos is Battleworld, the strange, patchwork realm playing host to countless realities, all existing side-by-side, fused into a single planet! Titles carrying the WARZONES! banner tell stories of the individual dominions of Battleworld. What happens within their borders? What heroes guard their skies? What villains conspire within? How does over 75 years of Marvel’s epic history play out now that Battleworld is all there is?
“To be clear, WARZONES! titles are not fill-ins. These are the event caliber books, magnified to the Nth degree,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “Secret Wars has afforded us a completely unique opportunity to tell huge, epic, event-sized stories within the framework of this new, patchwork planet – events within events. These titles will lay the building blocks and groundwork for what’s next, if that gives any indication of how important they are!”
While the Secret Wars rage on, the foundation of a new Marvel Universe take shape within the war-torn domains across Battleworld. The future of Marvel begins in the WARZONES!
So, what does Stan Lee, the architect of the Marvel Universe have to say about this? In an interview with Newsarama he noted that despite having a fondness for his creations as they were back in the day, this reboot may be a good thing:
- “It’s probably good. Anything they do that’s unexpected and different usually captures the attention of the fans. People will want to follow it to see what happens and where it will lead. Marvel cannot keep doing the same stories over and over again. You always have to come up with new angles and new approaches to things. I think it’s probably a good idea. It sounds intriguing to me.”
I’m intrigued by Secret Wars, but after generations of Marvel executives slagging DC Comics for its multiversal events, I’m curious how Marvel will do it “better” than DC has in the past or as it will do with Spring 2015’s Convergence.
