Last year, Marvel underwent a relaunch (not a reboot) of their major titles. This new initiative was known as Marvel NOW! and it acted as a great jumping on point for new readers who may have just gotten into reading comics, as well as the long-time readers as well. Now this year, the event will continue as the second wave of titles have been planned to hit comic book stores sooner rather than later.

According to Marvel Editor in Chief Axel Alonso in his weekly Comic Book Resources column, there are some big plans for Marvel NOW! in the coming months. First, he starts by that that these new books will “generate the same amount of excitement amongst retailers and fans that the first wave did”. He goes on to get into a few vague specifics:

“From ‘Uncanny Avengers’ to ‘Thanos Rising’, Marvel NOW! has been a hit, and we’re far from done. Look for exciting new series, starting in July and carrying through next year.

We’ll be making an announcement soon about three intriguing limited series, featuring eyebrow-raising talent, that fall under the creative umbrella of a much-loved sub-brand. I’m not at liberty to say much more. Oh, and we have more MAX limited series planned, as well.”

Word on the street is that this “much-loved sub-brand” is going to be the ‘What If?’ series. According to Comic Book Movie, it’s already been confirmed that there will be a four-part ‘What If? Avengers Vs. X-Men’ series written by Jimmy Palmiotti and illustrated by Jorge Molina coming in July, so could that be the sub-brand that he’s speaking of? Or will it be something completely different? I guess we’ll get our answers this summer.

What series are you hoping to see in the second wave Marvel NOW! titles? Are there any heroes that you’d like to see get their own solo books as part of this group of books? And who do you think will be featured in the MAX limited series? Share your theories in the comment section.