Marvel’s Young Guns Next Wave

Marvel will announce a new class of “Young Guns” at Saturday’s Cup ‘o Joe panel. You’ll recall this programme began in 2004 with the announcement of six artists — Steve McNiven, Adi Granov, David Finch, Trevor Hairsine, Jim Cheung, and Olivier Coipel — who were destined for greatness — a.k.a high pressure assignments. It did seem everyone got a decent push. McNiven is pencilling CIVIL WAR, and Coipel penciled much of HOUSE OF M, although we seem to recall he had some deadline problems, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Anyway, you can read one of Marvel’s entertaining press releases (“The original Young Guns … continue to build upon their legends in comic history”) about the first Young Guns in the jump, but WHO WHO WHO???? will be the NEW Young Guns! Don’t be shy! Let your feelings be known!

Marvel’s Young Guns of 2004 showcased six artists on the rise and today they stand at the top of the comics industry. In such a short time, the original Young Guns have gone on to transform the industry with their dynamic work on Marvel’s greatest heroes.

Regarding the original Young Guns, Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada said, “When you look at the impact that the six previous Young Gun artists have had on Marvel and comics, it’s very clear to me that the Young Guns promotion was truly a huge success. Not only did it shine a red hot spotlight on six brilliant talents, but they in turn pulled out all the stops and proved to the comic’s world why they were chosen in the first place.â€?

Senior Executive Editor Tom Brevoort believes, “It’s no surprise that the previous Young Guns of 2004 have all gone on to be top artists in the industry, and the virtual backbone of our publishing plans. We have every expectation that the same will be true of the new line-up for 2006.â€?

One of the Young Guns, Adi Granov, says, “The Young Guns project made a clear cut in my career and brought my work into the mainstream. It was a privilege to be a part of such a great group of artists and it felt like something special was taking place.â€?

Here’s a brief glimpse into how the Young Guns of 2004 have skyrocketed:

· Steve McNiven is currently penciling the biggest comic event, possibly ever, in Civil War. His work on the blockbuster series has garnered both amazing reviews and a plethora of mainstream coverage. Plus, he penciled the “Sentryâ€? arc of the best-selling ongoing series of the past two years, New Avengers.

· Olivier Coipel penciled last summer’s crossover hit House of M, wowing fans with his dynamic take on the Marvel Universe. He also worked on New Avengers Annual #1 and is currently working on New Avengers #23, a Civil War tie-in issue focusing on Spider-Woman as well as a top-secret project to debut early next year.

· David Finch helped launch the New Avengers alongside Brian Michael Bendis, making it a consistent #1 book each month. Currently, Finch is reinventing Moon Knight with novelist Charlie Huston, taking the underutilized character and catapulting Marc Spector’s book into the Top Ten.

· Trevor Hairsine penciled the post-House of M X-thriller X-Men: Deadly Genesis with writer Ed Brubaker, making the mini-series one of the year’s biggest hits thus far. Next up for Hairsine is a Wisdom MAX series where Trevor lends his chilling pencils to supernatural secret agent tale involving New Excalibur’s Pete Wisdom.

· Adi Granov reinvented Iron Man with Warren Ellis in the landmark “Extremisâ€? story-arc. Granov’s work caught the eye of John Favreu, recently named director of the upcoming Iron Man feature film, and is currently help design the look of the Armored Avenger for the big screen while still providing covers for Iron Man and Fantastic Four.

· Jim Cheung co-created the Young Avengers with Allan Heinberg, making the book one of the most successful launches featuring new characters in the past few years. Cheung is currently working on New Avengers #25, a Civil War tie-in issue that spotlights Pro-Registration leader Iron Man, as well as providing the covers to Civil War: Young Avengers and Runaways.

The original Young Guns have made their mark and continue to build upon their legends in comic history. Now, a new group of future hall-of-famers are on their way. The Young Guns will be reloaded in three days…..