Marvel Comics has changed the schedule for the launch of its Midnight Universe, which was originally supposed to roll out with new titles in August, September, and October (see “Marvel Launches New Horror Universe in August”). The new plan calls for all three series, Midnight X-Men, Midnight Fantastic Four, and Midnight Spider-Man, to launch on October 7, and they will be the only Marvel releases that week. Marvel also advised retailers to watch their Marvel Mailers for promo items, orderable incentives, and special variants.
Dan Buckley, who will leave his post in 2027 (see “Buckley Moves On”), will be the Executive Editor for the series, a horror version of the Marvel Universe with reimagined characters. The first three series will be are Midnight X-Men, by Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte, which is set in a vampire war in New York City; Midnight Fantastic Four, by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker, in which the title quartet are the twisted creations of a mad scientist; and Midnight Spider-Man, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc, in which the Oscorp Corporation turns a young man into a grotesque spider hybrid.
The main covers for all three will be “Cloaked Covers,” which will hide the art until the reader opens the comic. The main cover artists are Dike Ruan for Midnight X-Men #1, Kev Walker for Midnight Fantastic Four #1, and Steve Beach for Midnight Spider-Man #1.
“Let’s be honest: any other circumstances, Marvel wouldn’t let me write the Fantastic Four,” Percy said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “Because I’m too mean and evil for the first family. But this is the dark continuity of the Midnight Universe—a fresh origin story for the characters that channels cosmic, Lovecraftian terror—which makes it a perfect match for me. Mad science and cults and hidden realities await. The pacing is patient and full of dread and mystery and rich with a mythology that will feel both familiar and uncanny.”
“I want to see a Spider-Man that was conceived by H.R. Giger, directed by David Cronenberg, adapted for the comic page by Junji Ito,” Johnson said. “I want Peter’s origin to be so upsetting it haunts me, and to see the Lizard and Doctor Octopus through the lens of a John Carpenter movie or a Resident Evil game.”
“The more we talked about Midnight, the more we realized it was far more than just the birth of another new universe—it was on an entirely different scale creatively, a doorway to something that was not only immediately exciting, but had immense long-term promise,” Buckley said.
“The world these creators are building is truly special and the passion behind the stories they’re envisioning was palpable,” he added. “We wanted to match their ambition with this unique launch plan, one that allows both retailers and fans to fully immerse themselves into this new line right from the start.”
Click Gallery below for covers!
Source: ICV2
