In his weekly column over at CBR,
Marvel E-i-C Axel Alonso (2011-current) fielded his usual number of far-reaching questions including the acquisition of retired pro-wrestler CM Punk to write a
Thor comic book, Chris Samnee and Mark Waid ending their acclaimed
Daredevil run and more. On Punk, Alono stated---
"I met CM Punk at the Marvel party at [Comic-Con International in San Diego] a couple years ago and we hit it off. I don't follow wrestling, so we were just two guys talking, you know? We started talking about [Vertigo/ DC Comics'] "Preacher," which I edited back in the day -- he was a big fan -- and that got us talking about comics in general and then zombies came up and -- BAM! -- it was on! We talked about George Romero, "The Walking Dead," fast versus slow zombies, how we were both preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse. And it got me to thinking if he'd be interested in writing a story. I mean, a professional wrestler is a storyteller, right? -- he's got to build a character, a narrative -- so I asked him if he'd ever thought of writing a comic book. And of course, he had. [Laughs] Without a doubt [there's huge crossover with wrestling and comic book fans]. Comics and wrestling both feature costumed heroes and villains that fight, sometimes heroes and villains switch sides, and there's long-term continuity to the stories. There's a lot of overlap. "
In February of next year, Samnee and Waid are entering the final arc of their Daredevil run. Since joining forces, Samnee and Waid have combined their talents to make Daredevil one of Marvel'smost well-regarded titles so the news was not recieved well by fans. Alnsono confirmed the news, dissapointing those hoping that the solicitation was somehow incorrect.
"They are going out on their own terms. They had a story to tell, they're wrapping it up, and I really look forward to seeing what they do next."
Answering fan questions, Alonso also stated that Marvel Comics will look to capitalize on the increased brand awareness for Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage in their respective Netflix series. The "outlook is good" apparently for the trio to teamup soon in a comic book. And on Iron Man's turn to the dark side, Alonso cautions that things aren't necessarily black-and-white in terms of Tony Stark being a full-blown villain. "Well, everyone knows about Tony Stark's enormous ego, so to see him really succumb to it -- that's fun stuff. But this isn't Tony in full-blown, mustache-twirling villain mode, he's just an uber-capitalist inventor that believes he's giving people what they want -- a chance at perfection -- and is going to charge them a premium for it. Just like the last time we saw Tony in Machiavellian territory -- "Civil War" -- some fans will disagree with him and some will side with him, or at least see the upside of his point of view."