‘Marauders’ Sets Sail With A New Creative Team In January
by Tony Thornley
Fans have long suspected that some sort of relaunch is coming from Marvel Comics in the new year. At least one book got that confirmation this week, and it points to some exciting new paths for the X-Men line.
Marauders was one of the Krakoan X-Men’s biggest surprises. Now, the crew gets some fresh faces with January’s Marauders Annual #1, as Steve Orlando kicks off his first Marvel ongoing alongside artist Crees Lee! It’s not just the creative team that’s seeing new faces though, as Captain Kate Pryde and Lucas Bishop are joined by several new crewmates just as they prepare to renew their mission of mutant rescue across the globe.
Joining Kate and Bishop will be Daken, Aurora, Psylocke, Tempo and Somnus — the new mutant introduced in Marvel Voices: Pride earlier this year! And their first mission on tap: to rescue Daken (already!) from a fan favorite 2099 villain who’s making his presence known in the present for the first time. It’s Brimstone Love and his Theater of Pain versus the X-Men’s swashbuckling heroes. To add even more to the stakes, the Theater has set up on the lawn of the Xavier Institute, last seen in Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler!
“Taking the helm of Marauders is easily the most exciting moment of my career, especially when it’s my first-ever ongoing not just on Krakoa, but at Marvel in general,” Orlando said. “Exploding out of the team’s already-amazing adventures as part of Hellfire Trading, Captain Pryde’s new crew of Marauders will stop at nothing to bring endangered mutants to safety — to always go where they’re needed, not where they’re wanted. To mutant rescue, wherever it calls them!”
My personal favorite work of Orlando’s since he’s started working with Marvel has been his X-Men chapter of Curse of the Man-Thing, so I think this book is a great fit for his style. Plus, the cast he’s put together doesn’t just fit his writing style extremely well, but also creates (and continues) some interesting new dynamics for the X-line to come.
Be sure to pick up Marauders Annual #1 when it hits stores on January 12th from Marvel Comics!