Exclusive Marvel preview: New Avengers #6 adds the Avengers of 20XX to the fold

Al Ewing is currently the writer doing the best work with Marvel’s Avengers franchise, penning two books—New Avengers and The Ultimates—that combine bold concepts and diverse casts to offer different takes Marvel’s premier superteam. His current arc of New Avengers features the return of the Avengers of 20XX, which Ewing introduced in last year’s excellent Ultron Forever miniseries with Alan Davis. And next week’s New Avengers #6 has the future team traveling to the present to stop the threat of Billy “The Demiurge” Kaplan and the demon that has taken possession of him.

An Avengers team from the future isn’t an especially fresh concept, but Ewing’s roster, featuring Luke Cage and Jessica Jones’ daughter, Danielle, serving as Captain America, Monica Brashear as Marvel Woman, and an undersea Iron Man called the Iron Mariner, is. The sleek, exaggerated artwork by Geraldo Sandoval brings a lot of energy to these preview pages of talking heads, and Dono Sánchez Almara’s coloring has elevated Sandoval’s linework with smooth rendering that adds considerable dimension to the visuals. (Just look at the wrinkles on Billy’s cloak and the smoke billowing from his hand.) Next week’s issue also features guest art from Phil Noto and Mark Bagley, and given Ewing’s commitment to exploring the strengths of his artists, it will be exciting to see how these new voices influence Ewing’s storytelling.