Hickman and Ribic: The Most Prestigious Pairing in Comics
Aliens vs. Avengers has reunited the dynamic duo
Superhero comics have a long history of creative duos who bring out the best in each other. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. These are partnerships that have become legendary for their work within the industry. The latest addition to the club would have to be Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic. Seeing both of their names on a comic book makes it an automatic purchase for me. There is simply no question in my mind that it will be of the highest quality. What makes this pairing different from most of the other most iconic creative teams is that their body of work together is surprisingly small. They had collaborated on a total of nineteen comic book issues (eighteen of which were from only two titles) prior to this past week. To put that in perspective, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were responsible for the first one hundred issues of Fantastic Four alone. That was just one of many titles that the two became famous for working together. How can Hickman and Ribic be held in such high regard as a duo with so few instances of collaboration? I would point to just how iconic and beloved their work together has become.
Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates #1-9 (2011-2012)
Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic first worked together in 2011 on a relaunched series following the Ultimates called Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates. Really rolls off the tongue. This series holds a special place in my heart. It is the series that reignited my love for comic books after having stopped reading them regularly for a while in the latter half of the 2000s. I couldn’t even tell you for sure what drew me to it in the first place. Maybe it was because it reminded me how much I loved Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics when I was a teenager. Regardless of the reason why I snagged it, I was instantly rewarded for my purchase. The original Ultimates series by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch was famous for popularizing the “widescreen comics” movement with its huge scope and cinematic artwork. Hickman and Ribic took things to another level.
The Ultimate line of comics was in the midst of a major overhaul in 2011. The Ultimatum event comic from Jeph Loeb and David Finch in 2009 had been used to kill off numerous characters and wrap up multiple storylines that had been running for years at that point. That allowed for creators to come in and tell new stories within this universe. The two new series that made the most of this new status quo were Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli that followed a brand new Spider-Man named Miles Morales, and Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic that focused on a new global threat named The Maker who was planning to remake the world in his own image. He’s a cold, calculating super genius who has figured out a way to create a domed city operating under an advanced artificial intelligence (named The City) where time passes significantly faster within its confines than outside of them. This allows him to create a race of super evolved people named The Children (creativity in naming is not The Maker’s forte) that he uses to begin eliminating all threats to his power. This includes committing genocide in Asgard against the Norse gods (only Thor survives), conquering all of Europe, going to war with Xorn and Zorn, and nuking Washington D.C. Also, it turns out he’s this universe’s Reed Richards.
This kind of story is where Hickman and Ribic both shine. It’s nothing but big ideas and even bigger action that are executed at such a high level that I devoured each issue immediately and then reread it over and over until the next one came out. For my money, superhero comics don’t get better than this.
Unfortunately, it was not a series that could be sustained. An artist as detailed as Ribic needs time to finish his magnificent illustrations, and that can be difficult to achieve on a monthly title. That leads to other artists stepping in to complete some pages in order to hit deadlines. It’s totally understandable, but it’s noticeable when someone has a style as unique as Ribic. Ribic would ultimately leave the book after the ninth issue. On top of that, Sam Humphries was brought in as a cowriter along with Hickman beginning with the tenth issue. Hickman would leave the book completely after the twelfth issue, and Humphries would stay on as the lone writer. The reason for this seems pretty clear to me. In 2012, a little movie called The Avengers came out and smashed the current record for largest domestic box office opening with $207 million and ushered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the biggest box office draw in the world. Marvel Comics capitalized on this success by launching three new comics starring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in 2012 and 2013. Two of those were written by Jonathan Hickman (Avengers and New Avengers). In other words, he got called up to the big leagues as the Ultimates are just the Avengers for the Ultimate line. Hickman would use his time on these books to further develop ideas he had first begun exploring during his time on Fantastic Four. Ribic would even show up to illustrate some pages of Avengers #24. As the two series rolled on, it eventually became clear that everything that Hickman had written for Marvel dating back to S.H.I.E.L.D. was all part of one giant metanarrative that was going to culminate in the end of the entire Marvel multiverse.
Secret Wars #1-9 (2015-2016)
Here’s the big one, folks. Secret Wars is considered by many to be the greatest event comic ever published, and you won’t hear any arguments from me on that point. Who do you get to tell the most ambitious and large scale story in mainstream superhero comics? You get Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic. Duh. It’s a story so epic in scope that the series was extended from eight issues to nine as it was being published in order to fit everything into it.
The premise is a bit complicated, so bear with me. A race of cosmic beings that exist outside of space and time called Beyonders have been having a fun little experiment where they plant a being on every Earth in every universe in the multiverse that are all connected to each other on a molecular level. This individual is the classic Fantastic Four villain known as the Molecule Man. The Beyonders are using him as a multiversal bomb that when triggered will annihilate every universe in the multiverse. Why are they doing this? Because they were bored. Gee, thanks. Different groups and beings throughout the multiverse had steadily begun to become aware of the Beyonders and their plans, but the only individual in all of the multiverse who had been able to conceive a plan to stop them was Doctor Doom of Earth-616. He managed to capture a heaping helping of Molecule Men, turn them into a makeshift bomb, and launch it at the Beyonders. As these cosmic gods were killed, Doom was able to absorb their awesome powers of creation and destruction and use them to smash the shards of every remaining universe together into one brand new universe where he had crowned himself God Emperor Doom. This could be a problem.
This new world was dubbed Battleworld and was governed by various barons in a kind of feudal system where these barons were loyal to Doom. He also had assembled an army of Thors from various realities to serve as his police force. The only people in this new reality who remembered the way things used to be were Doom himself, Doctor Strange (serving as Doom’s sheriff), and two small groups of refugees who had survived the end of the previous multiverse aboard specialized escape crafts. The first group of survivors was The Cabal and consisted of Thanos, Namor, Terrax, Black Swan, Maximus, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, and The Maker. The other group of survivors included Reed Richards, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Star-Lord, Cyclops (hosting the Phoenix), Thor (Jane Foster), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), and Spider-Man (Miles Morales). I should also mention that Doom has taken Sue Storm as his wife and Franklin and Valeria Richards as his children just because he’s a petty bitch and wants to stick it to Reed Richards whom he doesn’t even think is alive. What a guy!
This series has become known more for its incredible action sequences and mashup of different characters from all different realities than anything else, but that isn’t what makes it special. Don’t get me wrong. Those things are ridiculously awesome. Who doesn’t love seeing a legion of Thors fighting Apocalypse from the “Age of Apocalypse” reality? Or an army of Hulks serving the Maestro from the “Future Imperfect” reality launching themselves into battle? Or how about God Emperor Doom ripping the skeleton out of Thanos? That image has become ubiquitous on social media ever since the Avengers: Secret Wars movie was announced.
The thing that makes this series so special is how it boils down over fifty years of Marvel Comics history to the personal rivalry between Reed Richards and Doctor Doom. The vast web of the Marvel Universe was spun out of Fantastic Four by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. So much of what we love about this universe comes directly from that series and those two creators. Hickman and Ribic utilize Secret Wars to pay tribute to those men and their creations. While the Doom killing Thanos page is the one that has become the most infamous from this series, it’s a page consisting only of dialogue that sticks firmly in my mind.
It’s a conversation between Reed and Sue. Doom has taken everything from Reed. He has remade the multiverse in his own image and stolen Reed’s family out of spite. Reed is talking to his wife who has no memory of him whatsoever. He’s understandably displeased with the situation, but he maintains his composure and explains that Doom is the one who has killed Doctor Strange earlier in the story and framed him for it. Sue corrects Reed and tells him he means God (referring to him as Doom being heretical in this reality). Instead of playing along, Reed responds, “I mean Victor.” It’s the coldest line Reed has ever uttered. He’s usually so analytical in the way he speaks, but in this moment he has been pushed to his breaking point. He has had enough of Victor, and he’s going to do something about it.
Secret Wars was the culmination of everything Hickman had been working on during his time at Marvel. When the series concluded, so did his Marvel tenure. It seemed likely that we had seen the last of the pairing of Hickman and Ribic. Even when Hickman returned to Marvel at the end of 2019, no projects were announced with both creators on the same book. I certainly did not expect the two to work together on a book again when 2024 began.
Aliens vs. Avengers #1 (2024)
So imagine my surprise when it was announced this past April that Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic would renew their incredible partnership for a crossover comic pitting the Avengers against the Xenomorphs from the Alien film franchise in an Aliens vs. Avengers limited series. What?!
It’s no surprise that these two famous brands were mashed together. When Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, they also acquired the rights to the Alien and Predator franchises. That meant that Marvel Comics (owned by Disney) would be able to begin publishing comics starring the two extraterrestrial creatures. There had already been a few series revolving around them, and there had even been a crossover series in 2023 by Ben Percy and several artists called Predator vs. Wolverine with a Predator vs. Black Panther series (also written by Percy) debuting just a couple weeks ago. They’re fun books that deliver on exactly what they promise: Predators fighting popular Marvel superheroes. I was expecting something similar for whenever the Xenomorphs would tangle with some established heroes. Having Hickman and Ribic attached recalibrated my expectations. Having now read the first issue, I realize that I did not elevate my expectations high enough.
This first issue scratched an itch I didn’t realize had been lingering since the conclusion of Secret Wars. Both Hickman and Ribic have put out some of my favorite comics over the last several years, but there is just something about the way they level each other up that I have missed. The world of Aliens vs. Avengers is not the one that exists in current Marvel continuity. This is an alternate future where Wakanda is a galactic empire ruled by an aging T’Challa looking to hand power over to his son as he ages out of the Black Panther mantle. It’s a world where Krakoa never fell, and the mutant nation-state is still the status quo. It’s also a world where the Weyland-Yutani Corporation exists, and that means so do synthetics and Xenomorphs. Can Earth’s Mightiest Heroes prevent the world from following to the perfect organism? You’ll have to read the comic to find out, but things are looking pretty bleak after this first issue.
I was tempted to say that this is the best Ribic’s art has looked since Secret Wars, but it honestly might be the best it has looked in his entire career. The detail in the faces especially stand out. I don’t think Apocalypse and Hulk in particular have ever looked better.
Hickman also seems to be relishing the opportunity to tell a story divorced from the continuity of the main Marvel Universe. It allows him to have some shocking moments happen in the same way that Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates really let him cut loose.
It has only been one issue (and the second issue doesn’t come out until November), but it’s hard not to be excited by what we’ve seen thus far. I’m going to relish every page that we get from these two titans for as long as they’re working together, and I recommend everyone else do the same.
Couldn’t agree more with this assessment of the collaboration between Ribic & Hickman. Ultimates was the best comic on the stands that was unfortunately swallowed by the tsunami of the New 52. It’s still a work I revisit and love how so many ideas started there make their way into Hickman’s Avengers but their collaboration on Secret Wars still stands out as one of the definitive work (until now!). I love that you call out the personal character moments being the key and Esad’s character work is impeccable. We all remember character over spectacle. The moment that always stuck with me was Ben Grimm realizing Franklin is Sue’s son and refusing to fight him then being destroyed. The essence of the character boiled down to a single action and moment.
Regarding, Avengers vs Aliens, I was excited but i think this quote summarizes my immediate reaction "Having now read the first issue, I realize that I did not elevate my expectations high enough.". An absolute masterclass in world building and setting the stage while deeply understanding these character’s. Absolutely loved the first issue.
My one dream is marvel will release the eventual collected edition in an album size hardcover. Similar to Dodson & fraction’s Adventureman. Esad’s art deserves to be read on a larger canvas.