On Marvel's goals for 2013. Alonso: There's always a goal for the year. In 2012, the goal was to make "AvX" a huge hit that set the stage for Marvel NOW! In 2013, the goal is to remind fans why our playground is called the "Marvel Universe." From deep space to the Negative Zone, the stakes have never been just Earth; in 2013, we'll close the gap between Earth and the so-called Cosmic Universe like never before. Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy -- and a few other characters we've yet to reveal -- will be just as important to the fate of the Marvel Universe as the Avengers or X-Men.
Alonso talks more about the cosmic books (what else are we supposed to call it, Axel?). Alonso: It's a mistake to label this the "Cosmic line." Nova, the Guardians of the Galaxy are as deeply woven into the fabric of the Marvel Universe as Spider-Man or the X-Men, and we're going to remind readers of that in 2013. The Guardians won't be fueling up their spacecraft on the planet Gronk when the $#!% hits the fan -- they'll be right in the thick of it.
Look, "Marvel Studios' The Avengers" underscored the fact that the heroes fought for Earth in the context of a larger universe -- hello, Thanos! -- and we'll be doing the same thing in 2013. The creative teams on "Nova" [Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness] and "Guardians of the Galaxy" [Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven] have put their heart and souls into telling exciting and accessible stories that exist in -- and will be relevant to -- the Marvel Universe and reflect deep affection for the characters and their history. And the art? Oh my God. Ed McGuiness and Steve McNiven are killing it! You won't find two better-looking books on comic racks.
On Beast's redesign and the controversy of 'Cat Beast'. Alonso: It come as no surprise to us that this has become a hotly debated topic amongst fans -- because it was hotly debated amongst us!
[X-Men Group Editor] Nick Lowe absorbed a lot of body punches for his strident defense of "Cat Beast" at two editorial summits! [Laughs] Ultimately, Beast's redesign made sense in the context of Brian's story, so we did it.
Yeah, it's status quo.
There's more from Alonso over at the source so click the link below to read the interview in full? Like what you hear from Alonso about Marvel's 2013 future plans? The disgruntled fan in me says it would've been nice to shine more of a spotlight on DnA when they were doing some epic stuff with the cosmic line (again Axel, I really don't know what to call it)a few years back. Still, Bendis and Loeb are FAR from slouches so consider Marvel's 2013 plans to be can't miss.
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