Captain (comics)

''Nextwave'' is a humorous comic book series by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, published by Marvel Comics between 2006 and 2007. ''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".

Concept

The series was written exclusively in two-issue story arcs. Each issue began with a humorous FAQ, in which questions were answered with enthusiastic marketing copy that veers into the strange or disturbing. It was also used to answer questions posed by uninformed readers.

The ''Nextwave'' series features a collection of minor Marvel superheroes: monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone; Monica Rambeau, the former Captain Marvel; Tabitha Smith, formerly of X-Force; Aaron Stack, the Machine Man; 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 im 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 being 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.

Publication history

''Nextwave'' debuted in 2006 and was cancelled after issue #12, which was published in February 2007. The 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

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