It’s always good to start the week on a positive note. To help bring make that happen I wanted to talk about the positive things going on in the comic book industry. So on that note I’m starting a new ongoing feature for us here at the Revolution called “Good Vibe Monday.” This feature will put a spotlight on exciting news, great comic book creators, positive moves in the industry and much more. With the announcement from Marvel that Jonathan Hickman is going be working on the X-Men franchise I figure this is a good way to start the first Good Vibe Monday.
During Marvel’s “Next Big Thing” C2E2 panel they announced that Hickman will be writing two X-Men mini-series comics. They are titled “House of X” and “Power of X.” From the currently released information these two series will explore the entire history of the X-Men, including their past, present and future. In their announcement Marvel leadership stated:
“We are excited to have Jon back with the Marvel family, and we could not have asked for a better creative team to help usher the X-Men into a whole new era,” says Marvel Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski. “While we can’t reveal too much about the story just yet, these new stories will redefine the X-Men and their place in the Marvel Universe. This is a historic moment both new and passionate fans won’t want to miss.”
While it is still vague what House of X and Power of X will fully be about the fact that Hickman is writing both X-Men comics is more than enough of a selling point. At this point Hickman has become legendary thanks to his runs on Avengers and Fantastic Four along with his indie comic books that also have a large fanbase. It will be his work on Avengers and Fantastic Four that will excite Marvel fans on his two X-Men mini-series.
BREAKING NEWS FROM #C2E2! The next chapter for the X-Men arrives in #HouseOfX and #PowersOfX, two new series from writer @JHickman coming in July: https://t.co/NirPwsBltD pic.twitter.com/EGeLdpt0pU
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) March 23, 2019
What makes things even more exciting about Hickman’s upcoming X-Men work is how it will define the franchise in the future. When it comes to leaving a mark on Marvel only Brian Bendis match what Hickman has done to define what the Marvel Universe is in the modern day. You can see how important Hickman’s work has been as elements from his Avengers run are visible in recent Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Endgame in particular had signs of how Hickman wrote the Avengers and Thanos during the Infinity event back in 2013.
Along with his Avengers work Hickman showed he knows how to write a great family dynamic during his time in Fantastic Four, which was equally epic and arguably officially ended in Secret Wars. The family dynamic in particular is something that is very important to who the X-Men are. As a group of misfits the X-Men have become a family. Whether its fighting with the Shi’ar Empire or simply Cyclops and Wolverine arguing, the X-Men being a family is at the core of everything they do.
With the promo art showing the X-Men in their different iteration and their possible children in the future Hickman looks dive deeper into that part of the franchise. That is a great choice since the past, present and future has been explored a lot with the X-Men. That history being used in House of X and Power of X is something I’m sure Hickman will use to give further depth to both mini-series’ comics.
Having Pepe Larraz, R.B. Silva, and Marte Gracia handling the art duties will only strength Hickman’s story. Larraz, Silva and Garcia all have a history working on big X-Men stories in recent years. Through those stories they have shown that they understand how to capture the iconic nature of each X-Men character.
Hickman’s work on the X-Men is something that all fans of the franchise should be excited about. With how much Matthew Rosenberg has improved Uncanny X-Men with recent issues this is just another positive for the franchise. If you are an X-Men fan, whether new or lapse, this is a great time to be reading their comics. Knowing Hickman’s past work House of X and Power of X are sure to be memorable X-Men stories.
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