Mark Millar is no stranger to hype. The Scottish writer of both mainstream superhero hits like "Ultimate Comics Avengers" and his own comics turned film properties like "Wanted" and "Kick-Ass" has made a name in fandom for his enthusiastic and hyperbolic project pitches, usually delivered on his personal Millar World message boards.
And earlier this week, Millar began to pepper his site with another series of pre-announcement pitches, promising to his fans a Friday morning debut regarding his new series with artist Steve McNiven. "Enjoy your last thirty-six hours of life before this announcement. Obviously, things are going to change forever after you see what we have in store," said Millar of his "new event."
What followed this morning was the following image:
The "Nemesis" project marks an immediate continuation of the collaboration between Millar and McNiven who broke recent sales records with the Marvel crossover "Civil War" in 2006 and just finished the post-apocalyptic Wolverine serial "Old Man Logan" in September.
No publisher or format was specifically mentioned for the series, though fan speculation in the thread ranged from it being a creator-owned project to being a Marvel book tied to "Captain America," and as Millar told CBR last summer of his plans for the future, either is a possibility: "There's three new creator-owned projects I want to get out over the next twelve months. The first one will be out about the new year. I expect the next one around summer all with really huge artists. Leinil Francis Yu and I are talking about something. Steve McNiven and I are talking about something. McNiven and I have got a Marvel project as well. And Dave Gibbons and I are talking about something, which is really exciting. But I also want to do "Kick-Ass 2" because, my God, the movie's coming out and I'd be stupid not to capitalize on it. Also, it was always planned at three books, so I'm dying to get into the next one."
Of course, "Kick-Ass" – the big screen adaptation of Millar and John Romita, Jr.'s Icon series of the same name – will hit theaters in 2010 as directed and independently financed by Matthew Vaughn and distributed by Lion's Gate. The writer's movie plans also extend into the expected sequel to "Wanted" (based on he and J.G. Jones' graphic novel) from Universal as well as a promised adaptation of the yet to be completed "War Heroes" from Millar and Tony Harris as Image, which was optioned last year by Columbia Pictures.
Whether that means a film deal will be inked for "Nemesis" is yet to be seen, but before anything else happens, comics readers will get a taste of the next chapter of Millar and McNiven's oeuvre next year. Stay tuned to CBR for more news on the project as it becomes available.
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Keywords: mark millar, steve mcniven