Following in the footsteps of Secret Wars and Civil War II, Secret Empire becomes the third consecutive Marvel event series to add an extra issue, which, let’s be honest, we all probably saw coming. Although this may not help with the publisher’s recent plea asking readers to have patience with the controversial storyline, there are those of us who’ll savor it because, quite frankly, the book is pretty damn awesome.
Tom Brevoort, Marvel’s Senior Vice President/Executive Editor, had this to say about affording series writer Nick Spencer a little more breathing room:
“Nick [Spencer] has constructed each issue of Secret Empire so that it ends with a climactic twist or a big reveal or a shocking development, and issue #9 is no exception. So moving into the finale, with issue #10, the heroes across the Marvel Universe will be pushed to the breaking point as we race to the exhilarating climax we’ve been planning for months. Oh, and let me say again: we’re not going to use the Cosmic Cube to simply reverse everything away – the stakes matter, maybe more than they ever have before.”
Beyond that, it’s been announced that Steve McNiven will return to provide interiors for what’s sure to be an explosive finale that’ll allow “the cataclysmic story to wrap up as intended.” And although the Cosmic Cube seemingly won’t play a pivotal role in the event’s conclusion, we do know it will be key to its marketing.
As of now, no exact release date for Secret Empire #10 has been given, but it’s a solid bet that it’ll arrive in either late August or early September.
