CM PUNK Brings Down the Hammer in THOR ANNUAL #1

Look in my eyes, what do you see? A Marvel writer comes in February.

After having left the WWE on terms that can be seen anything but amicable, CM Punk has found a new job, that of a comic book writer. The “Best in the World” has been tapped to pen Thor Annual #1, with Rob Guillory handling art duties.

Punk said on an interview with Marvel.com that the idea to write a comic book, specifically Thor, has been in the works for quite a while. “I was always just so busy. I think I just pestered all the right people and the right things kind of popped up. How exactly it came up, I can’t really, exactly remember. I can’t remember who said, “Hey. Wanna do Thor?” You know what I mean? That pretty much blew my mind. I have to say, it’s been a long process.”

The Chicago-born former WWE Champion — whose real name is Phil Brooks — is a well-known and well-documented fan of comic books. Having a tattoo of the Cobra symbol from G.I. Joe, as well as having “It’s clobbering time!” as his battle cry, which also happens to be The Thing’s, before he headed out to the ring for a match is just one of the many prime examples of his passion and admiration of the comic book medium on display.

Though he has never written a comic book, Punk said that he’s “learning on the job” and feels he is able to bring something to the table. “You know, I think I’m more suited for it just because I’ve been reading comic books my entire life. Wearing tights in front of thousands of people and kind of, almost play-acting, I think down the road, it might give me some sort of insight depending on what kind of characters I’m writing and what the story is, but I’m not really sure it prepared me so much for being able to script a comic book.” he told Marvel.com

Marvel and CM Punk have had a bit of history together, as the straight-edge grappler had written the foreword to the hardcover collection of Avengers vs. X-Men, the mega-event released by the House of Ideas back in 2012. Call it coincidence, but this was not the first time CM Punk and Thor have crossed paths as well, as while he was WWE Champion, Punk got to meet Thor actor Chris Hemsworth. Not only that, but his appearance at Nerdist News as one of the people covering San Diego Comic-Con this year had him being “adopted” by a cosplayer in a Thor costume.

The title of Thor may currently be held a woman, but Punk says that his contribution on the Annual will focus on the original Thor. It will focus on the God of Thunder “as kind of a brash, bratty teenager who’s like, ‘I’m totally worthy of this hammer. My dad’s full of [expletive]. I don’t know why I’m not ‘worthy’ of the hammer. Look at all this cool stuff I did.'”

Aside from Punk and Guillory, two other stories will also be featured on the Annual: one from the debuting team of Noelle Stevenson and Marguerite Sauvage focusing on the current female Thor, and one from current Thor writer Jason Aaron and artist Timothy Turner with their story arc starring King Thor from the future.

Although we may never hear Living Colour’s Cult of Personality blare out on our TV screens again, nonetheless all his fans surely wish him the best in all his future endeavors, whether it be hosting awards shows, covering conventions or writing comics. Punk sets out to blaze trails once again, but this time around he’s off the ropes and rings and now working panels and pages.