It’s all change for another Marvel franchise post-Avengers vs. X-Men; not only will Brian Michael Bendis be leaving the Avengers books after years of faithful service, but now the publisher has confirmed that Jonathan Hickman will be leaving Fantastic Four and FF with the October issues:
I always had an end point in mind, but along the way I really fell in love with writing Marvel’s First Family and I also had all these dangling bits to clean up, so I agreed—[and] wanted—to stay on. Then all the gears started turning on all the [Avengers Vs. X-Men] stuff and what comes after and it just became obvious that October would be a good time to hop off.
Hickman is also leaving Ultimate Comics Ultimates soon, meaning that his plate will soon be very empty indeed in terms of Marvel work… Start your speculation engines about what new projects will change that very soon, of course.
March 2nd, 2012 at 11:19 am
Well that’s a huge bummer, but atleast he’s wrapping up his fantastic ‘Fantastic Four story’ – its one of the all-time best FF runs, IMO (others being Stan/Kirby and John Byrne runs). I hope Marvel releases a killer Hickman ‘Fantastic Four’ Omnibus!
Also sad to hear he’s leaving ‘Ultimates’ – that book has been great and reminds me of the killer early days of Wildstorm.
*Hickman’s ‘Secret Warriors’ was also great, coming soon to Omnibus form!
March 2nd, 2012 at 11:25 am
To many books. FF and Fantastic Four at the same just doesn’t work. Just give us one great book. Instead of two books that have too many fill in
artists.
March 2nd, 2012 at 12:23 pm
how fun would it be to hand him the keys to the legion of super heroes?
March 2nd, 2012 at 12:28 pm
I agree. The FF books have way too many fill in artists and not all of them good. Personally, I’d like to see Ron Lim take over one of the FF books. I miss him drawing the cosmic related titles for Marvel.
March 2nd, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Never warmed up to Hickman’s work. I still miss Waid.
But who I really want, and have for years, is Karl Kesel.
March 2nd, 2012 at 12:43 pm
I miss Waid too..how cool would it be for him to take over?!!
Hickman started out okay and brought some interesting ideas, but I felt he quickly had too many plates spinning and plotlines back-burnered and the book began to feel crowded and kinda Claremont-esque.
March 2nd, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Suddenly makes me wonder if Bendis and Hickman aren’t just swapping titles…Bendis on FF and Hickman on Avengers.
March 2nd, 2012 at 1:04 pm
God NO, please NO, ANYONE on FF besides Bendis. He CANNOT write the Thing, as evidenced in his Avengers appearances. Personally, with a few exceptions, I think Bendis has been getting stale for a long time. I’d love to see someone totally out of left field like Warren Ellis (who can do cosmic) or even someone from DC, like Gail Simone (a woman writer on the FF would be a first) or someone from Image / outside the mainstream like Hickman originally was.
March 2nd, 2012 at 1:05 pm
Certain comments from Bendis have indicated he’s moving to the X-Men comics after Avengers vs. X-Men and Hickman will be moving on to the Avengers comics which has me super-excited
March 2nd, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Bendis leaving Avengers, Fraction leaving Iron Man, Hickman leaving Fantastic Four. Too coincidental. It seems clear that Marvel is doing a post-Avengers versus X-men creator re-shuffle and that all their top writers will be changing franchises. Hickman on Avengers is obvious, maybe Bendis on an X-book and Fraction on Fantastic Four. And wait for the “surprise” announcement that Aaron or Gillen is leaving the X-men.
March 2nd, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Marvel needs to do outreach to Christopher Priest to bring him on to do both titles, or at least Fantastic Four.
March 2nd, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Wow that would be a huge change up if bendis went to the xmen comics. wow id like to see that if he actually did a good job with it though, not mess it up. and hickman has been doing a good run on the ff so it would be cool to see him on the avengers run. but all i know its major things are gonna change cause of avengers vs xmen though
March 2nd, 2012 at 1:30 pm
The alliance Osborne out together for the current Avengers story seems to me a set up for future pay off and if I’m right, that pay off doesn’t seem possible if he goes to an X-Book. F4 would be great and I’d love to see what new and what resurrected from the F4′s history he would use. Hickman on Avengers? Well, I hadn’t bought an Avengers book in years before Bendis so I suppose I could go a few more years without them again…
March 2nd, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Just couldn’t get into Hickman’s F4 or Secret Warriors but I loved his creator-owned stuff (Nightly News, Pax Romana). I was looking forward to Hickman staying on The Ultimates indefinitely though. Sounds like Marvel will be shuffling the writers deck.
March 2nd, 2012 at 1:59 pm
I’d like someone decent to be writing FF, but if it will keep Bendis away from my X-Books, then I suppose it would be tolerable to inflict him on poor Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny…
March 2nd, 2012 at 2:39 pm
hickman blatantly clearing the deck for a run on avengers.
March 2nd, 2012 at 3:42 pm
I loved the first three issues he wrote when Eaglesham was doing the art. After that, I just could not get into it at all and his stuff really put me to sleep. I kept waiting for something to simply happen. I guess it all led up to the current event but his stuff usually just strikes me as boring. I did like issue 600, lots of action and events moved along.
March 2nd, 2012 at 4:55 pm
Maybe DnA will take over the book they were born to write. They would rock the Explorer angle well.
I love Waid but to see him on FF without Ringo would be…
wrong?
March 2nd, 2012 at 5:42 pm
Everybody seems to think that Bendis is getting the X titles and Hickman is getting The Avengers, but Bendis all but said that he isn’t taking over X-Men and that it’s something far crazier than that.
Now, to me, Bendis on Fantastic Four is crazy, but again, that’s just me. But Hickman on the X titles? I’d friggin buy that. And we all know what a Morrison fanboy Hickman is, so you know he’s got to have at least thought about it.
March 2nd, 2012 at 5:45 pm
too bad, since Hickman is the only one who gets the FF. “The artists are different..” what freakin’ fan wusses!!!
March 2nd, 2012 at 9:07 pm
I also would love to see Karl Kesel write the FF. Since I sincerely doubt it would happen, I second DnA. Or what about giving Dan Slott a shot? Unproven on the more cosmic side of things but he would nail the personalities.
March 2nd, 2012 at 9:08 pm
I guess that all the changes are going to give Marvel a chance to make all their books $3.99.Not to mention the lousy flimsy covers and the 18-20 pages of story. Great jumping off point for me.
March 3rd, 2012 at 1:43 am
Its been a great run, and as an old claremont fan I dont mind the longview plots… the 6 issue-for-trade plotting in recent years is so limited.
Hickman got me back into F4 after years away, so it’ll be good to see what he does next.
That said he has had the advantage of having his own little corner of the Marvel U and hasn’t had to compromise to the big events as much as others have. The Thing was a key player in Fear Itself, but Hickman never had to muddy his hands or divert storytime to it. His statement about post-AVX could be interpreted to suggest maybe that freedom is coming to a close. So maybe he wont do so well on the avenger books… unless they are stripping them back to one title…
I’d like to see Gillen come to F4. hes got the opposite of what Hickman has – a really good writer with new, fresh ideas that are hampered by the tangled continunities of the books he’s on. He just always ends up tying up other peoples loose ends. He deserves to get his own corner to play in for a bit
March 3rd, 2012 at 6:23 am
I dont read Fantastic Four, but I’m curious – has Johnny Storm returned?
March 3rd, 2012 at 8:48 am
my bet is Bendis or Fraction will be taking over the Ultimates title, with Hickman and moving to an Avengers title. Waid- X-men or FF. I just hope Gillen or Aaron dont leave the X-men titles they are currently writing. that’ll be a shame! It seems to me they’ve stabilized the xmen titles, and know what they are doing with them.
March 3rd, 2012 at 8:51 am
i forgot look for Hickman on iron man when Fraction steps off
March 3rd, 2012 at 11:02 am
Maybe Hickman will move over to DC and pick up the Justice League of America when Johns and Lee depart. Though I’d love to see Hickman joined on the title by Eaglesham, it would probably be to similar to the JSA, which would not be a bad thing in my opinion, for him to seriously consider doing it.
March 3rd, 2012 at 9:53 pm
Ive heard that Sam Humphrise is taking over Ultimates- not that I care, that whole line should be cancelled.
Hickman on Iron Man/Thor would be good.
Dan Slott on FF.
Bendis over to DC
Fraction to just go away forever
Jason Aaron on Avengers
Peter David/ Mark Waid on the XTitles
Just me…
March 3rd, 2012 at 10:46 pm
Kesel – Grummett – and Kesel this has been the team that should have been givcen the keys to this title years ago….
and Waid-Ringo overrated
Lee/Kirby
Byrne
Hickman a few more years he could have rivaled Byrne
March 4th, 2012 at 10:02 am
Apart from Waid’s DD in trades, I no longer read any Marvel (or any particular other) comics – EXCEPT Hickman’s work. It’s mind-blowingly good, and it’s a shame he can’t stay on FF for longer. I’ll follow him onto Avengers or wherever, though.
March 4th, 2012 at 7:35 pm
If it walks like a line wide universe reboot,
and it quacks like a line wide universe reboot…
March 5th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
I agree that I’d love to see Karl Kesel take over but honestly after Jack and Stan and then John Byrne’s run pretty much any FF run is just ordinary.
March 5th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
I may have liked the Hickman run if I liked the art. It’s not that the artists involved were bad but their styles never felt like the FF to me.
March 5th, 2012 at 8:15 pm
same here. also Eaglesham really did do it at first….
I would love someone that could do a Kirby/Sinnot pastiche but kerep it fresh sort like the OMAC giffen
March 10th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
okay since no one wants to say it I will: jonathan hickman to DC comics! batman, detective comics or superman ,action comics or green lantern-I just blew your mind!!
August 4th, 2012 at 4:28 am
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March 13th, 2013 at 1:48 pm
I love comic books I think i probably had about a thousand of them when i was a kid but I was never very good to them. I think we ended up throwing them out at one point. What an idiot i am lol.