When it was announced that ‘Young Avengers’ would be returning as part of Marvel NOW with the creative team of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, fans went wild. Then, when the first issue debuted, the book featuring the new team of Wiccan, Hulkling, Hawkeye, Noh-Varr, Prodigy, Miss America, and Kid Loki quickly became one of the most talked about comics in the Marvel line up. At this year’s New York Comic Con, I had the opportunity to chat with Gillen about his book and what’s coming next, but he was tight-lipped about whatever was happening after the New Year. Now, we know exactly why: The series is coming to an end.
Earlier this week, the solicits for Marvel’s February releases were released and included a number of All-New Marvel NOW titles like ‘Ms. Marvel’, ‘Fantastic Four’, and more. But one thing noticeably absent was ‘Young Avengers’. The writer took to his Tumblr to explain to fans that this did indeed mean that their run on the book was ending. The team was planning on making the announcement at their panel at Thought Bubble next week, but the news came out prematurely, so Gillen decided to address the elephant in the room:
“Jamie and my plan was always to do a season telling a contained story, leaving room to continue it if we felt we had something else to say. When the time came around and Marvel asked if we wanted to do more issues, Jamie and I decided we’d actually made our statement, and should leave the stage.
When we did that, Editor Supreme Lauren thought ‘Well, Young Avengers has always been in seasons. It’s never been a traditional ongoing. It exists in these short runs, where the creators do what they wish, then step away. Rather than becoming just like everything else, we should institutionalize that.’
In other words, while ‘Young Avengers’ is going away after issue 15, I’m sure it’ll be back in an excellent new form at a future point.
We’ll be talking a bunch more at the panel and in future press, but that’s the core of it. It’s for the best. If Young Avengers ever became just another Superhero book it would depress the living hell out of me. I’d always rather be a firework rather than a low-watt bulb.”
While I understand why they’re leaving and know that ‘Young Avengers’ has never really been a normal ongoing title, that doesn’t mean that I have to like it every time their series ends for the time being. This most recent run has been one of the most fun books that I’ve picked up in a while, so I’m not looking forward to seeing it go. At least we have four more issues to enjoy before the end comes after the New Year.
Are you sad to hear the news of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s ‘Young Avengers’ ending? What do you think will happen to the cast after the series wraps up? Actually, we know that Loki is getting his own book, but what about everyone else? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below.