Nextwave
Encyclopedia
Nextwave is a comic book
series
by Warren Ellis
and Stuart Immonen
, published by Marvel Comics
between 2006 and 2007.
. Each issue begins with a humorous FAQ
, in which questions are answered with enthusiastic marketing copy that veers into the strange or disturbing, also used to answer questions posed by uninformed readers.
The Nextwave series features a collection of minor Marvel superhero
es: Monica Rambeau
, the former Captain Marvel
; Tabitha Smith
, formerly of X-Force
; Aaron Stack, the Machine Man; monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone
; and new character the Captain
, previously called Captain ☠☠☠☠ (the obscured words being so horrible that Captain America
allegedly "beat seven shades of it out of [him]" and left him in a dumpster with a bar of soap in his mouth). These individuals are assembled by H.A.T.E.
, the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort, to fight Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction (U.W.M.D.s). The Nextwave team learns that H.A.T.E. is funded by the Beyond Corporation, an organization formerly known as terrorist group S.I.L.E.N.T.; as a result, the heroes leave H.A.T.E., stealing a vehicle called the Shockwave Rider. They destroy the U.W.M.D.s that the Beyond Corporation and H.A.T.E. have hidden around the United States, while pursued by H.A.T.E. Director Dirk Anger
, a parody of Nick Fury
. The U.W.M.D.s include Fin Fang Foom
, Broccoli Men, Ultra Samurai, and the Mindless Ones
. Using the Shockwave Rider as a mobile base of operations (the vehicle is larger on the inside than out, much like the TARDIS
of Doctor Who
), Nextwave is able to rapidly mount missions in widely separated locations including central Illinois
, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Nevada
.
Nextwave consistently features extreme violence and comedy, and simultaneously satirizes
and celebrates Marvel's superhero
comics. The series frequently uses flashback
scenes in which existing Marvel characters such as Captain America
, Ulysses Bloodstone
and the Celestials
act grossly out of character for comedic purposes. In an interview, Ellis said, "I took The Authority and I stripped out all the plots, logic, character and sanity." "It's an absolute distillation of the superhero genre. No plot lines, characters, emotions, nothing whatsoever. It's people posing in the street for no good reason. It is people getting kicked, and then exploding. It is a pure comic book, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. And afterwards, they will explode."
In a 2005 interview, writer Warren Ellis commenting on his Nextwave stories stated, "I think it has to be a self contained universe. It takes from Marvel history, but I wouldn't necessarily want to drag mainstream Marvel into it for fear of what I would do to it." In 2006, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada
stated that "for the time being" Nextwave was to be considered set in a universe separate from the main Marvel continuity. In contradiction to these earlier statements, recent Marvel publications such as Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and Civil War: Battle Damage Report seem to portray Nextwave's activities as occurring in the mainstream Marvel continuity. To further complicate matters, Nextwave's entry in Civil War: Battle Damage Report states: "Recent intelligence suggests some or all Nextwave members unknowingly had their memories and/or personalities altered by their new employers (H.A.T.E.)."
and was cancelled after issue #12 which was published in February 2007
. The entire run of the series was written by Warren Ellis
, drawn by Stuart Immonen
and colored by Dave McCaig
. Warren Ellis (on his website) stated in October 2006 that he had initially planned to write the series for twelve issues, then pass it off to another writer. However the initial plan was changed and the series was placed on hiatus until Ellis should choose to return. According to Ellis, this was at least partly because monthly sales could not justify keeping artist Stuart Immonen on the project at his then current pay rate. Ellis has stated that "there will be more Nextwave to come, presented as a sequence of limited series."
Starting with issue #3, Marvel had changed the series title to Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. Artist Stuart Immonen has stated that the title change was due to trademark issues.
A variant edition of issue #5, called the "Crayon
Butchery Variant", was printed in black and white on newsprint. Marvel (through the website Comic Book Resources
) encouraged readers to color the issue with crayons and enter the results, for a chance to win original artwork from the issue. The winner was announced in the letter column of the tenth issue. Issue #11 contains a series of splash pages that Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen devised so that in order to get the full impact of the scene, a reader might have to purchase six copies. On the last of the pages, a caption reads, "Nextwave: Blatantly wasting your money since 2006."
A theme song was created by series editor Nick Lowe
and his brother Matt, by their band Thunder Thighs. It was advertised on their MySpace
page and lyrics printed in the "Director's Cut" edition of the first issue. The tabs and lyrics are also in the Volume 1 hardcover collected edition.
:
In March 2010, all twelve issues were collected into a paperback Ultimate Collection
(ISBN 0-7851-4461-7).
universe in Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
where they engage in battle with the infected superheroes. They are killed off-panel by the infected Power Pack
.
(YALSA) has released their Best of 2007 lists and Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. were named among the 2007 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens. Nextwave writer Warren Ellis was happy to learn of the title's recognition by YALSA, saying, "I do it all for the children." In keeping with the off-beat humor of his book, Ellis added, "It is good to know that the young people of today are ready and waiting for me to form a Church."
Nextwave also won three Eagle Awards
for Favourite New Comicbook, Favourite Comics Story Published During 2006 (for issues #1-6), and Favourite Comics Villain (for Dirk Anger).
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series
Ongoing series
The term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...
by Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, who is well-known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and through his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
and Stuart Immonen
Stuart Immonen
Stuart Immonen is a Canadian comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Nextwave, Ultimate X-Men, The New Avengers and Ultimate Spider-Man...
, published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
between 2006 and 2007.
Concept
The series was written exclusively in two-issue story arcs, a choice deliberately bucking the trend in modern American comics toward decompressionDecompression (comics)
In comics, decompression is a stylistic storytelling choice characterized by a strong emphasis on visuals or character interaction, which, in turn, usually leads to slower-moving plots.The style is often used with widescreen comics.-History:...
. Each issue begins with a humorous FAQ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
, in which questions are answered with enthusiastic marketing copy that veers into the strange or disturbing, also used to answer questions posed by uninformed readers.
The Nextwave series features a collection of minor Marvel superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es: Monica Rambeau
Monica Rambeau
Monica Rambeau is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. Initially known as Captain Marvel, the character became a leader of the Avengers...
, the former Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)
Captain Marvel is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Most of these versions exist in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe.- Publication history :...
; Tabitha Smith
Tabitha Smith
Tabitha Smith is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by Jim Shooter and Al Milgrom, the character first appeared in Secret Wars II #5 . She later appeared as a member of the X-Force and, more recently, as a member of Nextwave...
, formerly of X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
; Aaron Stack, the Machine Man; monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone
Elsa Bloodstone
Elsa Bloodstone is a fictional character, appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appears in Marvel's Bloodstone mini-series of 2001 written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning...
; and new character the Captain
Captain (comics)
The Captain is a fictional character, a satiric Marvel Comics superhero appearing in the book Nextwave...
, previously called Captain ☠☠☠☠ (the obscured words being so horrible that Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
allegedly "beat seven shades of it out of [him]" and left him in a dumpster with a bar of soap in his mouth). These individuals are assembled by H.A.T.E.
H.A.T.E.
The Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort, better known by its acronym H.A.T.E., is one of two antagonistic organizations in Marvel Comics' Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., a series created by Warren Ellis....
, the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort, to fight Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction (U.W.M.D.s). The Nextwave team learns that H.A.T.E. is funded by the Beyond Corporation, an organization formerly known as terrorist group S.I.L.E.N.T.; as a result, the heroes leave H.A.T.E., stealing a vehicle called the Shockwave Rider. They destroy the U.W.M.D.s that the Beyond Corporation and H.A.T.E. have hidden around the United States, while pursued by H.A.T.E. Director Dirk Anger
Dirk Anger
Dirk Anger is a satiric Marvel Comics character appearing in the book Nextwave. He was created by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen.Anger is a thinly veiled, over-the-top parody of Nick Fury...
, a parody of Nick Fury
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
. The U.W.M.D.s include Fin Fang Foom
Fin Fang Foom
Fin Fang Foom is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Strange Tales #89 Fin Fang Foom is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Strange Tales #89 Fin Fang...
, Broccoli Men, Ultra Samurai, and the Mindless Ones
Mindless Ones
The Mindless Ones are fictional monsters appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. Their first appearance was in Strange Tales They are extra-dimensional creatures summoned via magic to do the bidding of others . They appear to have a thick, roughly humanoid shape standing taller than most men and a...
. Using the Shockwave Rider as a mobile base of operations (the vehicle is larger on the inside than out, much like the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
), Nextwave is able to rapidly mount missions in widely separated locations including central Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Nextwave consistently features extreme violence and comedy, and simultaneously satirizes
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
and celebrates Marvel's superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
comics. The series frequently uses flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
scenes in which existing Marvel characters such as Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, Ulysses Bloodstone
Ulysses Bloodstone
Ulysses Bloodstone is a fictional character, an immortal monster-hunter in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:John Warner has explained the development of Ulysses Bloodstone: "Len Wein and Marv Wolfman came up with the spark that would become Bloodstone—the premise of a man who fights...
and the Celestials
Celestial (comics)
The Celestials are a group of fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters first appear in Eternals #1 and were created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
act grossly out of character for comedic purposes. In an interview, Ellis said, "I took The Authority and I stripped out all the plots, logic, character and sanity." "It's an absolute distillation of the superhero genre. No plot lines, characters, emotions, nothing whatsoever. It's people posing in the street for no good reason. It is people getting kicked, and then exploding. It is a pure comic book, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. And afterwards, they will explode."
In a 2005 interview, writer Warren Ellis commenting on his Nextwave stories stated, "I think it has to be a self contained universe. It takes from Marvel history, but I wouldn't necessarily want to drag mainstream Marvel into it for fear of what I would do to it." In 2006, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada
Joe Quesada
Joseph "Joe" Quesada is an American comic book editor, writer and artist. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom...
stated that "for the time being" Nextwave was to be considered set in a universe separate from the main Marvel continuity. In contradiction to these earlier statements, recent Marvel publications such as Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and Civil War: Battle Damage Report seem to portray Nextwave's activities as occurring in the mainstream Marvel continuity. To further complicate matters, Nextwave's entry in Civil War: Battle Damage Report states: "Recent intelligence suggests some or all Nextwave members unknowingly had their memories and/or personalities altered by their new employers (H.A.T.E.)."
Publication history
Nextwave debuted in 20062006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
and was cancelled after issue #12 which was published in February 2007
2007 in comics
-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
. The entire run of the series was written by Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, who is well-known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and through his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
, drawn by Stuart Immonen
Stuart Immonen
Stuart Immonen is a Canadian comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Nextwave, Ultimate X-Men, The New Avengers and Ultimate Spider-Man...
and colored by Dave McCaig
Dave McCaig
Dave McCaig is an artist and colorist born in Canada. He also works in the animation industry.Comics he has worked on include Adam Strange, X-Men, Star Wars, Superman: Birthright, The Matrix Comics, Nextwave, New Avengers, Northlanders , American Vampire and Nemisis.Animation projects have included...
. Warren Ellis (on his website) stated in October 2006 that he had initially planned to write the series for twelve issues, then pass it off to another writer. However the initial plan was changed and the series was placed on hiatus until Ellis should choose to return. According to Ellis, this was at least partly because monthly sales could not justify keeping artist Stuart Immonen on the project at his then current pay rate. Ellis has stated that "there will be more Nextwave to come, presented as a sequence of limited series."
Starting with issue #3, Marvel had changed the series title to Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. Artist Stuart Immonen has stated that the title change was due to trademark issues.
A variant edition of issue #5, called the "Crayon
Crayon
A crayon is a stick of colored wax, charcoal, chalk, or other materials used for writing, coloring, drawing, and other methods of illustration. A crayon made of oiled chalk is called an oil pastel; when made of pigment with a dry binder, it is simply a pastel; both are popular media for color...
Butchery Variant", was printed in black and white on newsprint. Marvel (through the website Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
) encouraged readers to color the issue with crayons and enter the results, for a chance to win original artwork from the issue. The winner was announced in the letter column of the tenth issue. Issue #11 contains a series of splash pages that Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen devised so that in order to get the full impact of the scene, a reader might have to purchase six copies. On the last of the pages, a caption reads, "Nextwave: Blatantly wasting your money since 2006."
A theme song was created by series editor Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe (comic books)
Nicholas Albert "Nick" Lowe, is the senior editor of the X-Men titles at Marvel Comics. He was responsible for the Nextwave title, along with The Eternals by Neil Gaiman.-Early life:...
and his brother Matt, by their band Thunder Thighs. It was advertised on their MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page and lyrics printed in the "Director's Cut" edition of the first issue. The tabs and lyrics are also in the Volume 1 hardcover collected edition.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a number of volumesTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. Volume 1 - This Is What They Want (2006), collects issues #1-6
- Hardcover edition: ISBN 0-7851-2278-8
- Softcover edition: ISBN 0-7851-1909-4
- Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. Volume 2 - I Kick Your Face (2007), collects issues #7-12
- Hardcover edition: ISBN 0-7851-2855-7
- Softcover edition: ISBN 0-7851-1910-8
In March 2010, all twelve issues were collected into a paperback Ultimate Collection
Marvel Ultimate Collections and Complete Epics
Marvel Ultimate Collections and Complete Epics are large, full-color trade paperbacks typically containing 300-500 pages. Ultimate Collections collect an entire run of one title, or related titles by one creator...
(ISBN 0-7851-4461-7).
Marvel Zombies
A version of the team appears in the Marvel ZombiesMarvel Zombies (series)
Marvel Zombies is a comic book metaseries published by Marvel Comics. The series features zombie versions of Marvel Universe superheroes who have been portrayed as both protagonists and antagonists through the different limited series within the metaseries....
universe in Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness is a five-issue 2007 comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in association with Dynamite Entertainment, an intercompany crossover in which Ash Williams, hero of the popular Evil Dead film and comic book, finds himself in the Marvel Zombies...
where they engage in battle with the infected superheroes. They are killed off-panel by the infected Power Pack
Power Pack
Power Pack is a fictional team of comic book superheroes consisting of four young siblings who appear in books published by Marvel Comics. They were created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman and first appeared in their own series in 1984. The series lasted 62 issues...
.
Awards
The Young Adult Library Services AssociationYoung Adult Library Services Association
The Young Adult Library Services Association , established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. The mission of YALSA is to advocate, promote and strengthen service to young adults as part of the continuum of total library service, and to support those who provide service to...
(YALSA) has released their Best of 2007 lists and Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. were named among the 2007 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens. Nextwave writer Warren Ellis was happy to learn of the title's recognition by YALSA, saying, "I do it all for the children." In keeping with the off-beat humor of his book, Ellis added, "It is good to know that the young people of today are ready and waiting for me to form a Church."
Nextwave also won three Eagle Awards
Eagle Awards
The Eagle Award is a series of awards for comic book titles and creators. They are awarded by UK fan voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's Eagle comic, the awards were set up by Mike Conroy, Nick Landau, Colin Campbell, Phil Clarke and Richard Burton, and launched...
for Favourite New Comicbook, Favourite Comics Story Published During 2006 (for issues #1-6), and Favourite Comics Villain (for Dirk Anger).
In other media
The entire Nextwave team was represented in Heroclix form in the Giant Size X-Men (GSX) set. The team of five figures equals an even 500 points.External links
- "The Next Generation: Lowe talks 'Nextwave'". Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
. January 6, 2006. - Review: This Is What They Want and I Kick Your Face at Comics BulletinComics BulletinComics Bulletin is a website with an emphasis on the American comic book industry, updated daily with news, reviews, interviews, and editorial content. Coverage ranges from mainstream to independent/small press comic book and graphic novel publishers.-History:...