In a lengthy interview with Comic Book Resources, writer Brian Michael Bendis has confirmed that he'll be standing down from writing duties on The Avengers and New Avengers next year. "I'm going to wrap up 'Avengers' and 'New Avengers.' At the same time the first storyline of 'Avengers Assemble' will be done. It's a good time to move on to other things. Before I go, though, I'm ending things big. I'm in countdown mode. You know when you're watching a show like 'Breaking Bad,' and every episode feels like the second to last episode? That's where I'm at. I've been on the Avengers longer than anybody in the history of the book. When you take everything into account, I've written over 200 issues. I'm very, very proud of that, and what we have coming up this summer gives me the opportunity to go out on a high note. I know enough about showbiz to know that's a great time to go."
Before that deadline, Bendis has plenty of stories left to tell including the return of Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers. You can read the interview in full by clicking on the link below, but here's one final tease from the writer. "There's a lot going on in 2012 with the Avengers. We've got the movie, and there are some announcements coming. I can reveal that there is an 'Avengers' #24.1 coming by me and Brandon Peterson. It's the first time we've ever worked together, and I'm pretty excited about that. Much like the 'New Avengers' point one issue I did with Neil Adams, it's going to unveil where the book is headed for the summer."