Marvel Teases ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT MARVEL Line-Up

Promotional art by David Marquez.

Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso talked about the state of the Marvel Universe post-Secret Wars in a series of interviews with various media outlets, saying that the company will launch new #1 issues introducing all-new superheroes.

“We’ve been planning it for years,” said Alonso in an interview with Mashable. “We realized that [‘Secret Wars’] would be a game-changing moment that would allow us to create a big white canvas. It’s an unprecedented chance for us to tell new stories across all titles with new No. 1s.”

All-New All-Different Marvel will feature a line wide relaunch that comprises of 55 to 60 titles in total with new creative teams attached. And all titles coming out of the relaunch takes place eight months after the events of Secret Wars.

Furthermore, Alonso promises shake-ups and twists with some of Marvel’s classic characters. Some of them have already debuted such as Jane Foster as the new female Thor, Sam Wilson as the new Captain America, and Kamala Khan as the new Ms. Marvel. However Alonso stated that there are more new character shake-ups debuting in the relaunch that will make some fans angry.

“The all-new Hulk … this character is certain to cause debate,” he said. “The same people who went crazy with female Thor will have a field day with this one.”

Alonso is quick to say this is not a reboot, a term that Marvel repeatedly avoids using. “Comics publishing is slowly evolving into more of a seasonal model,” Alonso told Fast Company. “We’re allowed to hit a refresh button—not a reboot button, but a refresh button—which allows for the beginning of new stories, new creative teams, new directions, much the same way you see with your favorite binge-worthy cable-television show.”

The “seasonal model” seems to confirm Marvel’s new approach to comics publishing. In recent years, the company has relaunched several titles with new #1 issues, even if some of them had not reached more than 20 issues.

Promotional art by David Marquez.

Although no creative teams have been announced yet, the relaunch will involve Marvel’s top current writers including Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, G. Willow Wilson, Mark Waid, Dan Slott, Charles Soule and Jeff Lemire. New faces are also coming into the initiative as well. UFC fighter and former pro-wrestler CM Punk is set to write a Drax the Destroyer (Guardians of the Galaxy) solo comic book. Plus novelists and new talent “exhibiting diversity in terms of gender and ethnicity” also have new titles lined up, according to USA Today.

The moniker “All-New All-Different” may bring fresh changes to Marvel, but Alonso promises the new universe “resembles the Marvel Universe that 60 years of readers have come to love.”

Marvel will reveal the full lineup in a special edition issue of Marvel Previews to be released in July 1.