It’s been hyped.
It’s been lauded.
It’s been editorialized.
It’s been late.
And now? It’s finally here. The secret that wasn’t so much a secret is finally out in the open for all of us to see and read.
Follow me after the jump for all the goods on the final issue of the Marvel Universe’s magnum opus, nearly a half decade in the making:
Secret Wars #9!
Secret Wars #9
Written by: Jonathan Hickman
Illustrated by: Esad Ribic
Published by: Marvel Comics
So, the final issue of Secret Wars, issue #9 was supposed to come out last fall. The eight issue miniseries somehow managed to became a nine issue series right around the seventh installment of the story.
Why?
Because there was so much going on, so many characters, so many plot threads, it soon became apparent to everyone involved that the originally solicited eight-issue story would require more work from everyone. The somewhat unwieldy story that had its genesis in writer Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four series from the last decade had also become unwieldy to Marvel Comics. The publisher had gone so far as to introduce a new “All-New, All-Different” line up of monthly comics – a sort of re-starting of all of their major characters and brands, to coincide with the conclusion of Secret Wars. A big business deal, to be sure.
But that didn’t happen.
The final issue of Secret Wars was delayed, and the world of “All-New, All-Different” Marvel Comics launched without readers really knowing how that world came to be.
Look, it’s the poison of creating a tent-pole comic book series: everyone loves the line-wide, bigger-than-life stories, and, for a myriad of reasons, they’re published consistently late. It doesn’t matter what company they’re coming from either: Marvel Comics or DC Comics (who have done these things often enough that they should have perfected the process by now). It’s the dark side of the blockbuster game. The world of superheroes and the inherent continuity that readers demand is often put to the sword by constantly missed deadlines.
That said, when talking about Secret Wars, who cares?
The series has been an absolute delight to read. The whole Hickman storyline, which originated within the pages of the previously mentioned Fantastic Four series he wrote, grew in the telling within his Avengers and New Avengers comics from four years ago (during the first “All-New” Marvel publishing re-launch). It’s a wonderful, science fiction series that has the Fantastic Four family, at the heart of it. And issue #9, finally released today, concludes with what will only be remembered as a ground-breaking tale and one of the best examples of long-form superhero storytelling…ever.
It’s a secret no longer – shout it from the rooftops: Secret Wars #9 is here…and the Marvel Universe will never be the same!
Make the run to your local comic book shop today and pick up the final chapter of one of the greatest comic book story runs, courtesy of writer Jonathan Hickman and brilliant illustrator Esad Ribic, of the modern era – with Secret Wars #9!
