Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

ing for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including '' Uncanny Avengers'' and '' All-New X-Men''. Described as a shifting of the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians o ...

following the conclusion of the "

Avengers vs. X-Men ''Avengers vs. X-Men'' (''AvX'' or ''AvsX'') is a 2012 crossover event that was featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The event, consisting of an eponymous limited series and numerous tie-in books, involves the return of the Pho ...

" storyline, Marvel Now! entailed changes to both the publishing format and the universe to attract new readers. Publishing changes included new creative teams for each of the titles and the in-universe changes included changes to character designs and new storylines. It marked the next stage of the Marvel ReEvolution initiative, which began in March 2012. The original run went through several waves before coming to an end in May 2015 at the start of the "

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with ...

" storyline. A second Marvel Now!, Marvel Now! 2.0, debuted in 2016 following the "

Civil War II "Civil War II" is a 2016 comic book crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in June of that year, it is the sequel to 2006's "Civil War" and consists of a nine-issue eponymous core limited series, by writer Brian Michael Bendi ...

" storyline. Marvel Now! 2.0 was followed in 2017 by Marvel Legacy.

Publication history

first announced the launch of Marvel Now! in July 2012. Marvel

Editor-in-Chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

Axel Alonso Axel Alonso () is an American comic book creator and former journalist, best known as the former editor in chief at Marvel Comics, a role which he held from January 2011 until November 2017.Marston, George (November 17, 2017)"AXEL ALONSO Out, CB C ...

described it as "the next chapter in the ongoing saga of the Marvel Universe." Alonso further explained, "From October through February, we’ll provide at least one great reason for readers—old, lapsed or new—to go into a comic store each week: a new issue #1, featuring an exciting new creative team and driving concept, that’s an easy entry-point into the

." Marvel

Chief Creative Officer A chief creative officer (CCO) is the highest ranking position of the creative team within a company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, and branding associated wit ...

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...

stressed that unlike

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

, it is not a

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

, but a shifting of the Marvel Universe following the events of ''

''. Quesada explained that there will be "a lot of changes to the character status quos, alter egos, costumes, creator shifts, design shifts, the way that we do our covers,

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals ** Digital camera, which captures and stores digital ...

shifts and the way we start delivering our books". In March 2013, Alonso announced that Marvel would be launching a new wave of Marvel Now! titles, dubbed ''Wave Two'', in the summer of that year. Alonso stated, "There are plans for a Marvel Now! Wave 2—a new wave of titles that will generate the same amount of excitement amongst retailers and fans that the first wave did. From 'Uncanny Avengers' to 'Thanos Rising,' Marvel Now! has been a hit, and we're far from done. Look for exciting new series, starting in July and carrying through next year". It was announced a week later that ''Avengers A.I.'' would be the first of these new titles. In September 2013, Marvel announced a next phase of Marvel Now! in the aftermath of the "

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions am ...

" storyline, (which led into the " Inhumanity" storyline) called "All-New Marvel Now!" which will see new series being launched and will also provide entry issue to existing series. These entry issues will be branded as .NOW issues. For example, ''Avengers'' #24 was billed as ''Avengers'' #24.NOW. Several new series, such as ''

Inhuman Inhuman may refer to: Comics * Inhumans, a fictional race in Marvel Comics ** ''Inhuman'' (comics), a comic book series focusing on Inhumans ** ''Inhumans'' (TV series), a television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe *Kristoff Vernard ...

'' and '' All-New Invaders'' were also announced. In January 2014, Marvel announced that following the conclusion of the Ultimate Marvel miniseries ''Cataclysm'' in April 2014, and coinciding with the

All-New Marvel Now! launch, three new Ultimate series will debut from April 2014, under the banner Ultimate Marvel Now!. The three series are: '' Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man'', '' Ultimate FF'', and ''

All-New Ultimates The Ultimates is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from '' The Ultimates'' #1 (March 2002), as part of the company's Ultimate Marve ...

''. In July 2014, Marvel announced that a fourth wave, Avengers Now!, would launch in October. The wave focuses exclusively on solo titles for individual Avengers, and takes place in the aftermath of the ''

Original Sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 ...

'' event. Marvel Now! officially ended in May 2015 at the start of the ''

'' storyline, which saw the end of the Marvel Universe. Following the conclusion of ''Secret Wars'', the universe is scheduled to be relaunched again in ''

All-New All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline " Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...

''. Alonso stated that the relaunches are reminiscent of the North American television season, explaining "I think that the comics industry – certainly, we are – slowly working into a season model that's not too unlike what we see in our favorite cable TV shows: a seasonal model that offers accessible entry points for new readers and is respectful of long-term fans. We did Marvel Now! and All-New Marvel Now!, which were both two very successful campaigns. And ll-New All-Different Marvelis the latest campaign." In May 2016, Marvel announced the return of Marvel Now! following the conclusion of the "

" storyline. Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort stated that the relaunch is timed to coincide with "Civil War II" as means to "refresh and revitalize" the titles explaining, "One of the things a big event story is judged on, rightly or wrongly, is what kind of an impact it has on the Marvel Universe in its aftermath. That just becomes a condition of these big event stories: what is it at the end that changes the landscape?"

Titles

In other media

* On December 13, 2012, a special "Marvel Now!" category was featured on the television quiz show, ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'' * A costume based on the Marvel Now! title ''Indestructible Hulk'' was made available in the game '' Marvel Super Hero Squad Online'' in November 2012.

References

External links

Marvel Now!
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{{Marvel events 2012 comics debuts Comic book reboots

Publication history

Titles

In other media

See also

References

External links