Recently I added Fantastic Four to my pull list. This was due to all the buzz and reviews I've read about Hickman's run on Marvel's first family. Unfortunately it seems I've joined the party too late as according to various rumours, Hickman is leaving the FF family and moving onto the Avengers. Apparently replacing him on Fantastic Four will be Matt Fraction and I have no intention of spending any money on Fraction based on his current writing standards. So anyway I'm considering replacing Fantastic Four with the Avengers once Hickman leaves Fantastic Four. But what about you guys? Do you think Hickman being the new Avengers writer is a good or bad thing?

He writes the Ultimates, and he has a done pretty run there so far, in my opinion, he is one of the best things that would happen in the Avengers in ages.

I am a GREAT fan of Hickman, his stuff has everything I always want in a comicbook.

I started noticing Hickman because of Fantastic Four and since then noticed a few of his other works. I have noticed one thing. He is a very go big or go home writer. If anything you will get big story.

Well this is a sad day as I find his work on Ultimates incredibly boring.

I love Hickman, I have every issue of his independent work at Image and I also love his Fantastic Four HOWEVER I don't want him on Avengers, Hickman excells at righting crazy dimension hopping sci-fi storys and that is exactly what Fantastic Four for a Marvel Cosmic book should be like but it is not what the Avengers should be like. 

@Deadcool said:

He writes the Ultimates, and he has a done pretty run there so far, in my opinion, he is one of the best things that would happen in the Avengers in ages.

I am a GREAT fan of Hickman, his stuff has everything I always want in a comicbook.

^^this

I think it would work.Hickman is really good at crazy,cosmic science but he also "gets" the characters.Example would be Panther in AvX #6 and FF last week.He would make the book more about the characters as opposed to Bendis' desperate avengers-wives BS.

@Deadcool said:

He writes the Ultimates, and he has a done pretty run there so far, in my opinion, he is one of the best things that would happen in the Avengers in ages.

I am a GREAT fan of Hickman, his stuff has everything I always want in a comicbook.

I'd forgotten that Hickman writes the Ultimates. Another sign that he'll be used to working with the Avengers.

@jubeiyagyuX said:

I think it would work.Hickman is really good at crazy,cosmic science but he also "gets" the characters.Example would be Panther in AvX #6 and FF last week.He would make the book more about the characters as opposed to Bendis' desperate avengers-wives BS.

Totally agree with this. A lot of writers can do one of these things but Hickman is able to do both superbly.

@spiderbat87 said:

I love Hickman, I have every issue of his independent work at Image and I also love his Fantastic Four HOWEVER I don't want him on Avengers, Hickman excells at righting crazy dimension hopping sci-fi storys and that is exactly what Fantastic Four for a Marvel Cosmic book should be like but it is not what the Avengers should be like.

Hickman might not take that route all the time. Given his work on the Ultimates, he might be up for writing more grounded threats for the Avengers to face. In any case, I fear the 'crazy dimension hopping sci fi stories' you mentioned may lose their charm once Fraction starts writing the book.

Am I the only one who hasn't heard about him writing the Avengers? Anyway, sweet! Time to consider picking up the Avengers in single issues instead of TPB.

I'm excited....he's done an amazing job with Fantastic Four and S.H.I.E.L.D. is one of the most in depth stories ever....with what he's been doing he's been basically rewriting the history of the Marvel Universe without anyone ever noticing....with him on the Avengers he'll have pretty much ultimate control over all of Marvel and I think we'll see more of his S.H.I.E.L.D. stuff leaking into the present day Marvel Universe

I love Hickman, I have every issue of his independent work at Image and I also love his Fantastic Four HOWEVER I don't want him on Avengers, Hickman excells at righting crazy dimension hopping sci-fi storys and that is exactly what Fantastic Four for a Marvel Cosmic book should be like but it is not what the Avengers should be like.

Hickman might not take that route all the time. Given his work on the Ultimates, he might be up for writing more grounded threats for the Avengers to face. In any case, I fear the 'crazy dimension hopping sci fi stories' you mentioned may lose their charm once Fraction starts writing the book.

@spiderbat87: Hickman doesn't just excel at cosmic-type work. His breakout, after all, was "The Nightly News", which is anything but cosmic.

Personally, I can't wait. Haven't been a regular Avengers reader since the days of West Coast Avengers, but I will be checking in to read his work on Avengers.

@spiderbat87: Hickman doesn't just excel at cosmic-type work. His breakout, after all, was "The Nightly News", which is anything but cosmic.

Personally, I can't wait. Haven't been a regular Avengers reader since the days of West Coast Avengers, but I will be checking in to read his work on Avengers.

@spiderbat87: Oh, definitely high-concept, but that's something I think that the book could use. As I say, I haven't been buying regularly, largely because I haven't really enjoyed the Bendis talking heads when I have picked it up to look at what's going on.

Hickman has shown that he has a knack for writing stories that are plot-driven, but still have very complete characters. I have been reading his FF run, and I feel that this is even stronger when he's drawing on established characters' canon, and has the great "feedback" effect, where the known attributes of characters inform what he wants to do with story.

Don't get me wrong, I think Slott would be great, but given the extremely high profile of Avengers right now, doing something suitably epic and high-concept might be just what's needed for the book to capitalize on the buzz from the film.

@spiderbat87: Ah my bad. Forgive my fumble on the Ultimates. And to add to the amount of crap Marvel is doing, Hickman is being replaced by Fraction on Fantastic Four. Given that I haven't enjoyed what he's done with two of my other favourite Marvel characters, Thor and Iron Man, I'll be dropping Fantastic Four once Hickman leaves. Fraction won't be getting any of my money! But anyway given that Hickman's stories tend to consist of brilliant plots, fantastic storylines and interesting characters, I hope that Hickman will keep that going into the Avengers which I'll pick up once Hickman starts writing.

Not to be a disagreeing Dan, but maybe X-Men could benefit from a little time with talking heads. It might create some opportunities to have Cyclops say something new, as opposed to the religious zealot he's appeared to be lately. Bendis does love to have people talk, after all...

Yes! It's a very good thing!

Not to be a disagreeing Dan, but maybe X-Men could benefit from a little time with talking heads. It might create some opportunities to have Cyclops say something new, as opposed to the religious zealot he's appeared to be lately. Bendis does love to have people talk, after all...

@spiderbat87: Given the number of "formerly evil" characters living on X-Men Isle, having a few of them go randomly insane might be just what's needed to get back to more of a status quo, especially if more "righteous" mutants are in the works after AvX.

@spiderbat87: Given the number of "formerly evil" characters living on X-Men Isle, having a few of them go randomly insane might be just what's needed to get back to more of a status quo, especially if more "righteous" mutants are in the works after AvX.

@spiderbat87: It's only regression if the "return to status quo" doesn't include any forward progression of the character's motivations. For example, it would be well within the realm of possibility to see a conversation like this:

Erik: "Scott, you've gone too far. You're becoming the very thing you hate."

Scott: "How can you say that? You, of all people. I've been trying to stop you from creating a mutant utopia my entire life, and now that I'm so close to achieving it, you say I've gone too far?"

Erik: "I was a young and angry man. I couldn't see my own hypocrisy, being born of genocide, yet seeking to perpetrate another in pursuit of that utopia."

Etc, etc...

In other words, it's all in how it's written. Every one of these characters has progressed and, to a certain degree, regressed in their 40+ year history. What matters most is moving the story forward in a way that is engaging and adds to the larger mythos in a positive way.

@spiderbat87: It's only regression if the "return to status quo" doesn't include any forward progression of the character's motivations. For example, it would be well within the realm of possibility to see a conversation like this:

Erik: "Scott, you've gone too far. You're becoming the very thing you hate."

Scott: "How can you say that? You, of all people. I've been trying to stop you from creating a mutant utopia my entire life, and now that I'm so close to achieving it, you say I've gone too far?"

Erik: "I was a young and angry man. I couldn't see my own hypocrisy, being born of genocide, yet seeking to perpetrate another in pursuit of that utopia."

Etc, etc...

In other words, it's all in how it's written. Every one of these characters has progressed and, to a certain degree, regressed in their 40+ year history. What matters most is moving the story forward in a way that is engaging and adds to the larger mythos in a positive way.

@Gambit1024: I take it you'll be checking this out then?

@spiderbat87: If it leads to the return of a large mutant population, I'd have to call AvX a net-positive event. The resonance of mutant-kind as an analogy for repressed segments of society really takes a hit when you shrink the numbers so much.

I would also disagree that it's a "complete disservice", because there are definitely people who enjoy a whole lot of punchy-punchy with little else. I'm not one of them, but have fellow fans who are. THEY'RE being served. I just don't buy it. :)

@Lvenger: My favorite team is finally getting a writer that matters. Hell yeah I'm checking this out, lol.

@Gambit1024: If his work on the Ultimates is anything to go by, Hickman might blow Justice League out of the water. I'll be buying both once Hickman starts so that'll be an interesting comparison. Are you going to buy it monthly or trade? I remember you saying that you're more of a trade buyer.

@Lvenger: I've been saying for a while now that once Marvel hires decent writers for my favorite characters, I'll start buying monthly again (I haven't done it since.... Idk, around the time Bucky was just starting to be Captain America). Now that Hickman's on, I'll gladly throw my money his way month-to-month. And if it's really that good? I may even splurge on the hardcover trade. The 616 Avengers haven't had a story worth reading in decades.

@Gambit1024 said:

The 616 Avengers haven't had a story worth reading in decades.

I second that motion. Bendis has had an overall poor run on the Avengers and the entire Avengers franchise has needed revitalising. Secret Avengers sort of started things off and now the Avengers is getting the treatment it deserves. I'll wait and see how I enjoy Hickman's last issues on Fantastic Four but it's likely that once Hickman finishes on that title, I'll drop it and move onto Avengers. Fraction's not getting any of my money either!

@Lvenger: I don't blame you. I haven't been reading Hickman's FF, so when he's done with it, I'll get the trades. I tend to stay away from Fraction, so I don't know how bad of a writer he could be. He wrote a pretty decent Iron Man, but I dropped it because it was all Tony and no Iron Man.

Yes, it is.

@Gambit1024: He's ruined Thor as well. The dialogue is terrible and the characters are written poorly. It's a shame JMS or Gilleon aren't still writing Thor. They understood the Asgardian mythology and could craft excellent stories that were original and reflected the part of the Marvel Universe Thor inhabits. Fraction fails to adequately handle Thor so he's not in my good books for that. Well at least Fraction isn't writing the Avengers. That would spoil everything. I wonder what direction Hickman will take with the Avengers...

@Lvenger: Oh, I can almost guarantee you that he'll take them to space. If I know Hickman, he likes big stories, and the Avengers have the biggest villains. No doubt that he'll probably bring in Loki, Kang, Ultron, and maybe even Thanos back on the map, as well as the Masters of Evil.

@Gambit1024: Space and big stories sound like good ideas. Loki's currently in good child form and Gilleon hasn't indicated he'll revert Loki back into an evil adult yet. Kang and Ultron would be awesome. EMH particularly endeared me to Kang but Ultron more so. Masters of Evil would be a perfect accompaniment to the Avengers but Thanos would open up holes from the Thanos Imperitive and probably result in Richard Rider and Star Lord coming back as well. Arguably that's a good thing for their fans but it repeats the whole death is cheap in comics again

*Points at his Ultimates run*

Yes, it is a very good thing.

Bendis' first 20 issues were okay, but after that its really poor, quite honestly.

It is beyond great that Hickman is writing the Avengers. Unfortunetly this does mean Bendis will probably take over other titles..... If he touches the X-Men I think I may very well lose my mind.

Hickman isn't a bad writer.I'm not a fan either though.

It revitalized the AvX event. Hickman can write anything.

But what he SHOULD do

is write for the Black Panther!

NOW HICKMAN!!!! NOW!!!!!!!!

Of course it is, Hickman is an awesome writer. Plus, almost anyone is a step up from Bendis when writing The Avengers.

@Blood1991: He will be writing X-Men afterwards I'm afraid. Permission to lose mind granted.

@ZombieBigfoot said:

Of course it is, Hickman is an awesome writer. Plus, almost anyone is a step up from Bendis when writing The Avengers.

QFT

@Lvenger: Like they weren't going to bring them back anyway? We have movies starring Thanos and the Guardians of the Galaxy on their way. I'd expect Thanos, Star Lord, Nova, and all the rest to pop in the Avengers soon enough. Sure, death in comics is cheap, but those are dudes who just can't die... not yet anyway.

@Lvenger:

I will find him. I will find him and destroy him.

I apologize for the cursing MODS

@Gambit1024: True but I figured Abnett and Lanning would be the ones to bring back Thanos, Nova and Star Lord due to their involvement with Marvel's cosmic titles. But given Thanos' appearance at the end of Avengers, I suppose a resurrection will be in order soon enough for those three. In any case it'll be nice to see the original Nova back rather than a young unknown who's just been randomly placed in AvX just to give him a place to start. And the ultimate Marvel villain would provide more than a sufficient challenge for the Avengers. Do you think Hickman will change the roster of the team or keep it the same?

@Blood1991: Nice gif. Hercules is my favourite childhood film and Hades one of my all time favourite villains. Anyway I know. It sucks doesn't it? I'm not an X-Men reader per se but that news annoyed me a great deal.

@spiderbat87: Well that's Bendis for you. Avengers Assemble is pure rubbish anyway. Can't believe it's canon.

@Lvenger: It just started to get better and now they throw them into the Bendis fire to burn.....

@Blood1991: I feel for you on this. If Bendis had taken over Fantastic Four I'd have been annoyed as well. Unfortunately a bad writer will still be relieving Hickman from FF. Fraction's work has been shoddy of late as has Bendis' so this isn't good news for either title. Fortunately I'll switch over to Avengers by then so it won't be my problem.

@Lvenger: I am seriously one bad event away from shunning new Marvel comics. Hell I still have plenty of trades on my Amazon wish list to buy.