Hickman 0

[ExNihilo]

I realize this is old news, but it's brand new to me and I didn't see it mentioned anywhere here.  So I was on vacation last month and was thus (largely) away from the interwebs.  On top of that, I unsubbed from the Marvel subreddit to eliminate the chance of any Endgame spoilers (why I'm still perusing a comic book board is beyond me.  That's like playing with fire amiright?).  Anyways, so I've been happily oblivious to everything going on with the medium.

Fast forward to last night and i'm getting caught up on my stack (i'm like 1.5 months behind on reading at this point).  So I'm reading Jason Aaron's Thor, flip the page and I'm met with this ad/promo:

I literally stopped dead in my tracks for a solid minute to process it.  Was this really happening?  Or was it some cruel April fools joke?  I honestly sat there half dumbfounded, half over flowing with glee.  Out of everything I read last night, one simple word brought me the most joy I've felt reading a comic book thus far in 2019 (and that's not even an exaggeration).

Hickman is my favorite contemporary comic book writer.  I mean, his FF/Avengers/Secret Wars run has got to be my favorite run of all time.  I was so hooked after reading that run, that I went back and bought all the issues of SHIELD and Secret Warriors.  I even went and picked up a full East of West run and The Dying and the Dead (and even now, i'm trying to find a full run of the Black Monday Murders).  I mean, he's the guy where I'll buy any title he's attached to whether it's Avengers or My Little Pony.  And considering how woeful Marvel stories were following his departure (though, it's recovered recently with quality writers like Donny Cates and Al Ewing), I had yearned for him to return to the House of Ideas.

I'm just so absolutely stoked by this news and can't wait for whatever book he's on (it appears to be an X-Men title).

(PS: I realize this is a rather meaningless post, but I had nowhere else to share my elation considering I've temporarily exiled myself from other websites.)

[Bird]

Jonathan Hickman is also my favorite current superhero writer, although I haven't bought a new book in quite a while. But Secret Warriors, SHIELD (with awesome Dustin Weaver on art), his FF run, I loved it all. 

[ExNihilo]

26 minutes ago, Bird said:

Jonathan Hickman is also my favorite current superhero writer, although I haven't bought a new book in quite a while. But Secret Warriors, SHIELD (with awesome Dustin Weaver on art), his FF run, I loved it all. 

I was hoping we would get another Hickman/Weaver collaboration.  I don't even care if it's a creator owned Image title.  Those two together are fantastic.

[the authority]

I was hoping he would finish up East of West before rejoining Marvel. Great writer. Makes sense why EoW is still delayed despite the fact he’s been otherwise invisible. 

[ExNihilo]

3 hours ago, the authority said:

I was hoping he would finish up East of West before rejoining Marvel. Great writer. Makes sense why EoW is still delayed despite the fact he’s been otherwise invisible. 

Yeah, if anything, that is the biggest complaint against him as a writer.  Every creator owned project is massively delayed and I hope that his Marvel contract doesn't detract too much from those other titles.  Dying and the Dead has been on hiatus for almost two years (presently released 6 of issues of a planned 10 issue series).  Black Monday Murders has been stuck on issue 8 of a 12 issue series.  And East of West has been trickling out a book every 3 months it seems.  But if I've learned anything from his work it is that if time is what is required to produce quality work, then i'm all for waiting.

The part I don't understand is that the reason for the delays never make sense.  When the last two issues of SHIELD were delayed, I had heard rumors various rumors ranging from "the story is complete, the art is not" to the artist saying "I'm waiting on the final -script" which implies the writing was incomplete.  I think the same was said for Black Monday Murders.  I get the feeling that in order to meet his deadlines, Hickman must have plotted and written out 4+ years of X-Men stories by now just to ensure he remains on schedule.

[Ken Aldred]

On 4/12/2019 at 8:03 PM, ExNihilo said:

I realize this is a rather meaningless post

Hardly.

Always good to see someone genuinely enthusiastic about the comic book creators rather than more secondary market speculation. 

Happy that Aaron's being replaced by another very talented writer, concluding a long and excellent run.

Edited April 13, 2019 by Ken Aldred

[the authority]

...and maybe this will allow Aaron more time on Southern Bastards 🤔

[BobBain]

I've read he's returning to reboot/revamp the X-Men franchise and make them interesting again.
 

https://www.newsarama.com/44669-house-of-x-and-powers-of-x-first-look-and-story-details.html 

Edited April 14, 2019 by BobBain

[the authority]

That would be worth it to me. The X-men were special for a very long time. It would be nice to see them regain their throne. 

[fastballspecial]

Id like to see it too, but Brubaker couldn't do it. Maybe Disney will put an emphasis on them again as I don't even recognize
them anymore and I am was a huge fan.

 

Edited April 14, 2019 by fastballspecial

[Kramerica]

The success and failure of the X-Men is always defined by how well their villains are written. Not hive minds or techno organic viruses, giant robots or the 12th coming of the Phoenix (just let that one lie). No more past future past past futures. I'd like to see Apocalypse, the Shadow King and have Sinister reform the Marauders. These are the X-Men's best villains IMO. Magneto should be with the X-Men rather than a villain and I loved it when Namor was part of the mix. Hickman can do this but he needs to focus and avoid meandering and drawing things out. Secret Wars was great but getting there was a long arduous process.

[ExNihilo]

14 hours ago, Kramerica said:

The success and failure of the X-Men is always defined by how well their villains are written. Not hive minds or techno organic viruses, giant robots or the 12th coming of the Phoenix (just let that one lie). No more past future past past futures. I'd like to see Apocalypse, the Shadow King and have Sinister reform the Marauders. These are the X-Men's best villains IMO. Magneto should be with the X-Men rather than a villain and I loved it when Namor was part of the mix.

Regarding Mr. Sinister, judging by Hickman's recent tweet, it appears likely that he will have some sort of role to play in whatever story Hickman is telling

Quote

Hickman can do this but he needs to focus and avoid meandering and drawing things out. Secret Wars was great but getting there was a long arduous process.

I agree that aspects of the story took too long.  But for me the beauty in Secret Wars are the references to threads that began years prior in Fantastic Four.  For me, it was the first time I had really seen a writer build and return to a particular theme/idea over such an extended number of issues.  Reeds revelation in particular just felt so poetic.