UPDATE: From your editor… Turns out, this was the plan all along. Although the initial promo artwork billed simply “Zeb Wells. Joe Madureira. Ongoing Series,” Marvel Editor Steve Wacker points out on twitter that Joe Mad was always planned on having some rotating artist support, a fact mentioned in the backmatter of the first issue. The direct quote from Wacker in the book stated:
“Each issue Zeb Wells and Joe Madureira (occasionally joined by some of the other top talent from around the Marvel Universe) will be bringing some of Marvel’s biggest guns together with the world’s greatest super hero just to start some trouble, hit some faces and blow your minds.”
While that doesn’t give specifics, that, coupled with the initially announced three-issue first arc does give an indication that fans don’t need to get Mad about Mad: he’ll be back. The initial solicitation text for Avenging Spider-Man #4 does use the phrase “drop in” as well.
So, Greg Land is a fill-in artist on the title, Joe Madureira will be back (and is considered the ongoing artist), and other fill-in artists will be used as needed to make sure Mad’s style/timing don’t get thrown off in the process.
Wacker did let us know that a different “huge artist” will be on issue #5, too, and that it’s all part of the plan!
Original Story: Please tell me that I’m not the only person who finds it hilarious that Avenging Spider-Man has a new artist as of #4… and that it’s Greg Land. The only real question now is whether Joe Madureira will return to the title after Land’s arc, or whether he’ll be quietly forgotten. Between this and the “Marc Silvestri Incredible Hulk #2 has five pencilers” thing from last week, Marvel’s high-profile artist launches are really looking somewhat underwhelming right now.
November 16th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
According to an interview with Stephen Wacker:
“After this first three part arc, we’ll have a few issues by some other big name artists and Zeb. Then we get back to Joe’s second arc which is also going to be huge. So I think we’re going to see six to eight issues from Joe every year, which I think holds up with just about any other book.”
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=35394
November 16th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?
November 16th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
I thought this was the plan all along? Joe Mad for about half the year, with other artists filling in around him.
November 16th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Aw hell no. Why does he still work?!?
November 16th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
I guess Graeme doesn’t read the book he is trying to be snarky about. Wacker says in the back about rotating Joe Mad with other artists. And in interviews leading up to the release Wacker has said the same thing.
Non-story.
November 16th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Wacker previously stated that Mad would do every other arc and it is usually has become standard practice on some books. I don’t see the hilarity.
November 16th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Tracer Land is yucky. Nightwing-era Land is still pretty good.
November 16th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Yes, because an editor has never claimed one thing only for the opposite to happen…
I’d be more trusting if it were an artist who had a proven track record of producing work in a timely manner.
November 16th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
I’m surprised joe made it to issue 3
November 16th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Here’s the bait.
SWITCH!!!
November 16th, 2011 at 11:48 pm
It’s a non-story alright as it’s not news.
You can tell because Bleeding Cool “reported” it too.
Guess you have to rack up the page views in some way.
November 17th, 2011 at 3:20 am
I’m not going to bash Greg Land’s artwork.
I just think his photo-realistic artwork is the wrong fit for a comic book that is fun, zany and satirical.
November 17th, 2011 at 9:03 am
Graeme, are you going to expand on the original post here since it springs from an incorrect assumption?
I assume not, but I wonder why.
SW
November 17th, 2011 at 9:14 am
Weird. Am i being blocked?
November 17th, 2011 at 9:26 am
Graeme, I thought you were a good enough blogger to, you know, fact check stuff. I guess you were too busy finding this hilarious.
November 17th, 2011 at 9:49 am
@Matt:
If you thought that, you clearly don’t read enough of his posts.
November 17th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Whenever I’m having a bad day I just stop and think about how there’s going to be a fill-in artist on a comic book and how hilarious that is and I just LAUGH AND LAUGH AND LAUGH AND LAUGH.
November 20th, 2011 at 10:39 pm
I thought it was announced from the start that Joe Mad would be sharing art duties on this book with Humberto Ramos and J. Scott Campbell. I was pleased by that at the time, as they’re three of my least favorite artists at Marvel. Adding Greg Land to the mix is appropriate.
June 19th, 2012 at 8:16 am
Yeah, I know nobody will see this – so far down the blog that it now is – but I’m just wondering. When exactly is Joe Mad coming back?
Hmmmmmmmm. Seems Graeme is vindicated.
chris
February 5th, 2013 at 8:30 am
Hey Stephen Wacker, do you still think Graeme was out of line for questioning whether Joe Mad would ever come back to Avenging Spider-man?