UPDATED: LAI BROTHERS NEW THOR ART TEAM

[MattBrady]

<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Marvel/Thor61c.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Marvel/Thor61c_t.jpg" width="175" height="263" border="0" alt="THOR #61 by Ben and Ray Lai" align="right"></a>Updated with information about the future of Radix

Marvel announced Wednesday that artists Ben and Ray Lai, a one-time discovery of CrossGen and mostly lately creators of their own Image Comics series Radix, will join writer Dan Jurgens on the Thor series as the title’s new regular art team with March’s issue #61. Ben provides pencils while brother Ray inks.

"They've got a nice, detail-oriented style, and their storytelling is strong and sharp," stated editor Tom Brevoort. "When I looked at their version of Colossus in Ultimate X-Men #26, I saw that they excel at depicting massive, powerful characters --which Thor is certainly packed with!"

Regarding what this news means for their creator-owned title, Radix, which had been published through Image, Ray Lai told Newsarama that the series will be undergoing some changes before it returns. “First we're going to have to find a new publisher for Radix since I don't believe that today's Image comics is the right place for it,” Lais said. “But Radix is not dead, just delayed. We're waiting for the right time to bring it back.”

When asked if their previous problems with MIT (the Lai’s armor designs from Radix were lifted from the series, and used, without their permission, in a grant submitted by MIT to the government, which was successfully funded) had anything to do with Radix’s extended hiatus or the decision to move back to work for hire, Lai said yes.

“The situation with MIT definitely had something to do with our decision to go to Marvel,” Lai said. “What happened with Radix would have never occurred if it was a Marvel title. At least now, we don't have to worry about some other institution getting government funding to develop a super hammer to go with the Radix armor.”

The move to Marvel, according to Lai, began before the Lais’ problems with MIT – when editor C.B. Cebulski approached the two in March. IT wasn’t until September that the two took up Cebulski’s offer. Lai said that he couldn’t say how long exactly he and his brother will remain on Thor, but plan to stay with Marvel for as long as the publisher keeps finding offering them work.

[Reaper]

Oooh, looks great!

-Tim

[csGuy]

cool!!
i'm looking forward to that.

Thor is pretty much the last book to be touched by 'new' marvel and I for one hope they keep away from it.

[Dave Cummings]

Uh.. They already did CSGuy, well sort of . Remember back last year when Odin was killed and Thor became ruler of Asgard.


But, Thor is among the older characters of Marvel, the ones that they will not shake up too much.

~Dave

[Cliffy]

As a reader of Sigil from the beginning, I have some problems with the Lais' style (their faces are often indistinguishable), but Brevoort's certainly right about their storytelling ability, which is critical in comics, especially action/adventure comics like most superhero books. They have always had a real ability to convey what's going on in each scene.

--Cliffy

[Chris Hunter]

Sweet!! I just might pick this up.

[thefuuma]

The Lais have a clean crisp style-- certainly one that readers of Thor have been subjected to after Raney's term on the book. They are capable artists and should do well, but probably won't affect Thor in any which way.

My question is what happens to Radix? I knew it was in limbo after the MIT altercation, but does this mean the title is dead? If so, add it to the ever-growing list of short-lived Image titles. I think it hurts Image as a brand to have titles suddenly stop (as in the case with the Gorilla titles); it doesn't bode well with consumer confidence.

[Wade @ Sighnub.com]

Matt,

Any updates on the Lai v. MIT debacle?

[MattBrady]

[quote]Originally posted by Wade @ Sighnub.com:
<strong>Matt,

Any updates on the Lai v. MIT debacle?</strong><hr></blockquote>

barring any word to the contrary from the Lais, I think the matter is dead - MIT apologized, the lead researcher apologized, and everyone on the MIT side basically fell on their swords. Last I checked, the Lais weren't moving forward with it.

MattB

[csGuy]

Dave, what i meant was a change to a more mainstream, "accessible", screw-continuity direction.

Well, thats what i feel has been done to many the other books in any case and not to Thor.

Hope this makes sense.

[ZOD]

Excellent news. I love Thor's current armor outfit, I hope they never change it.

ZOD

[Aaron]

I strongly disliked the Lai's early work on SIGIL (as Cliffy said, the characters were nearly indistinguishable) but that shot of Thor looks awesome. Here's hoping they've improved their style since their CrossGen days.

Aaron

[MindTricked]

Sweet! Thank whatever comics gods are out there (not intentionally punning, but...) that a good artist(s) and storyteller(s) was/were picked for this title. JR Jr started it, Kubert continued (briefly), Immonen spotted, Raney came and went, and now the Lais, who'd I'd never previously heard of. The previous posts encouraged me, and I'm looking forward to it.

[IanZL]

Thor must be happy, look he broke his own arm in celebration

[GregNIMBUS]

Another great Brevoort hire! Excellent to see some fellow Canadians doing well - congrats to the Lai's - lookingf orward to their work on Thor!

-Greg
<a href="http://www.nimbuscolor.com" target="_blank">http://www.nimbuscolor.com</a>

[Capfan]

Very nice. Am I the only one who thinks the current Thor threads are pretty rad? Still love the classic look, but Thor's looking pretty sharp in his kingly garb.

[KittyPop]

I'm trying to cut down my titles!! Not add to them dagnabbit!! :p

[quote]Originally posted by csGuy:
<strong>Thor is pretty much the last book to be touched by 'new' marvel and I for one hope they keep away from it.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Excuse me..

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHA

Ok...

I couldn't agree with the above more... kindda pathetic how less than a year ago 'new' Marvel was the greatest thing there was and now readers 'pray' for 'new' Marvel to stay away from fan favorite books...

[Taylor Porter]

[quote]Originally posted by ManofTheAtom:
<strong>
kindda pathetic how less than a year ago 'new' Marvel was the greatest thing there was and now readers 'pray' for 'new' Marvel to stay away from fan favorite books...</strong><hr></blockquote>

I wouldn't call that pathetic. For every title, there's always people who don't want it to change, and people who do. This is nothing new. I, for one, buy a lot more Marvel comics since Quesada took over, but still don't buy Thor. If they changed it, they would surely lose some of these loyalists, but they might attract attention of others (like me). There's other people who would agree with me, and there are people who would disagree. But this kind of thing definitely predates Quesada and the new Marvel, and it doesn't only apply to Marvel.

[Cloak & Dagger]

Hopefully, they can draw more than 4 issues of the book before quitting. I'd like to see Thor getting more attention. The character has potential to be great, but has been very mediocre for too long.

Tom Brevoort makes a very nice addition. He's always been good at finding talented creators so I'm happy with this decision.

[mojo]

Don't really know these guys but the sample up top gives me high hopes about the whole thing. To echo some of the others: I only hope they stay on for a substantial run, as Thor has been sore need of some continuity in the art department ever since JRJr left the title. Dan Jurgens IMHO, has been doing a very good job in writing Thor and is more than welcome to stay as long as he wants. I've even noticed that Marvel has been plugging Thor quite often in the past few weeks, hopefully this signals a more direct push for this fanfavorite title.
Needless to say, I'm gonna be eagerly awaiting this new team to see what they can bring to the table.

[neverhere]

Speaking of Thor, especially the art chores ,go check out the dotcomic preview of Thor#58(the 1st part of the 'Standoff' Avengers crossover).Some outrageously gorgeous Alan Davis art.Id love to see him as the regular artist on one of the core Marvel Heroes books once his run on Killraven is done.

[heeBGB]

[quote]Originally posted by thefuuma:
<strong>My question is what happens to Radix? I knew it was in limbo after the MIT altercation, but does this mean the title is dead?</strong><hr></blockquote>

Did you even read the whole article?

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:
<strong>Regarding what this news means for their creator-owned title, Radix, which had been published through Image, Ray Lai told Newsarama that the series will be undergoing some changes before it returns. "First we're going to have to find a new publisher for Radix since I don't believe that today's Image comics is the right place for it," Lais said. "But Radix is not dead, just delayed. We're waiting for the right time to bring it back."</strong><hr></blockquote>

[MattBrady]

original article updated with information regarding the future of Radix.

MattB

[Johnny Triangles]

[quote]Originally posted by IanZL:
<strong>Thor must be happy, look he broke his own arm in celebration</strong><hr></blockquote>

HAHA! That's so funny, you're right!!

[Cliffy]

[quote]Originally posted by heeBGB:
<strong>Did you even read the whole article?</strong><hr></blockquote>

That part wasn't in there when the article was first posted. (Which is why it is slugged as an update.)

--Cliffy

[Kevin T. Brown]

[quote] THOR GETS LAI'D <hr></blockquote>

Ok, that has to rank as one of the worst headlines ever at Newsarama. :D But great news otherwise...

[dexstar]

Hey Ben and Ray, nice piece. :) By the way, you knocked the snot out of them when you kill'em. ;)

[MattBrady]

[quote]Originally posted by Kevin T. Brown:
<strong>Ok, that has to rank as one of the worst headlines ever at Newsarama. :D But great news otherwise...</strong><hr></blockquote>

I spent hours, hours coming up with that one, man...

MattB

[AvengerPhil]

The faces in Radix looked the same as in Sigil. I can't say I'm so glad to see them on my favorite Marvel title.

I'll wait and see.

[Tom Daylight]

Shouldn't that be Ultimate X-Men #27? As far as I know, based on solicitations (and the preview dotComic!), Adam Kubert and Danny Miki are illustrating #26, while the Lais are on the January issues #27-28.

[OM]

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:
<strong>“The situation with MIT definitely had something to do with our decision to go to Marvel,” Lai said. “What happened with Radix would have never occurred if it was a Marvel title. At least now, we don't have to worry about some other institution getting government funding to develop a super hammer to go with the Radix armor.”</strong><hr></blockquote>

"...Coming up next on CNN: the Army reveals its new war hammer for field troops. What will 'Mjolnir' mean for America's enemies? But first, here's a clip from the new Britney Spears Christian Pop video, 'I'll Do It For Jesus, I'll Do It To You'!"

[Nikolaos Zlatintsis]

Cool news!

Does anyone happen to know whether Brian Reber is going to color the Lai issues?

Best regards,
NZ

[John Osen]

quote:
AnthonyL, the word is whether. Weather is what you go outside in without an umbrella.

Dear god no! Not my spelling!!!

Spelling the word "weather" correctly when you meant to write "whether" is not a spelling error. You simply didn't know the difference between two words with completely different meanings. Now's the part where you respond "Get a life, Pointdexter" like you did with Blues Brother. Let the flaming begin.

[Kevin T. Brown]

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:
<strong>

I spent hours, hours coming up with that one, man...

MattB</strong><hr></blockquote>

I just attribute it to too many sleepless nights now that Mike has left and you're all alone....

:D

[MattBrady]

[quote]Originally posted by Kevin T. Brown:
<strong>I just attribute it to too many sleepless nights now that Mike has left and you're all alone....
</strong><hr></blockquote>

If you didn't watch last night's South Park, this will make no sense, but...

"Kevin....godammit."

MattB

[Elayne Riggs]

[quote]Originally posted by neverhere:
<strong>Speaking of Thor, especially the art chores ,go check out the dotcomic preview of Thor#58(the 1st part of the 'Standoff' Avengers crossover).Some outrageously gorgeous Alan Davis art.</strong><hr></blockquote>

And the inking ain't bad either. ;)

As usual, available <a href="http://dotcomics.marvel.com/menu_flash.htm" target="_blank">here</a> from Marvel, and (ironically?) you need Flash to view it.

- Elayne

[CylverSaber]

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:
<strong>
“First we're going to have to find a new publisher for Radix since I don't believe that today's Image comics is the right place for it,” Lais said.

****

“What happened with Radix would have never occurred if it was a Marvel title. </strong><hr></blockquote>

Why?

[MattBrady]

[quote]Originally posted by CylverSaber:
<strong>Why?</strong><hr></blockquote>

Not to speak for them specifically, but I believe Ray means that, had Radix been a Marvel title, it would have had a higher profile, and been more visible, therefore no one would have lifted the art, thinking that no one would notice. Of course, that's opinion...

MattB

[Joel Harris]

Well, I'll withhold final judgment until I see the interior pages, but that cover looks great... except for Thor's right foot, which is buggin' me.

[eric_image]

[quote]Originally posted by thefuuma:
<strong>My question is what happens to Radix? I knew it was in limbo after the MIT altercation, but does this mean the title is dead? If so, add it to the ever-growing list of short-lived Image titles. I think it hurts Image as a brand to have titles suddenly stop (as in the case with the Gorilla titles); it doesn't bode well with consumer confidence.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Publication of RADIX was actually suspended long before the MIT debacle, and at the Lai Brothers' request.

As for the "ever-growing list of short-lived Image titles," you might want to keep in mind that creator-owned titles rise and fall on the merit of sales. If a series isn't performing to a creator's expectations (and those expectations, by and large, involve making enough money to make the series a worthwhile venture), it's well within their right to ask us to cancel it.

-e.s.

[CylverSaber]

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:
<strong>

Not to speak for them specifically, but I believe Ray means that, had Radix been a Marvel title, it would have had a higher profile, and been more visible, therefore no one would have lifted the art, thinking that no one would notice. Of course, that's opinion...

MattB</strong><hr></blockquote>

Hmm, that'd seem to be self-defeating logic. Radix likely would not have gotten published at Marvel, precisely because it wasn't high-profile. I thought he might be implying that Image didn't back him up in his legal efforts against MIT, whereas Marvel would have.

[CylverSaber]

[quote]Originally posted by eric_image:
<strong>

Publication of RADIX was actually suspended long before the MIT debacle, and at the Lai Brothers' request.</strong><hr></blockquote>

That's not what the Lais say. From their website:

The first installment of Radix was published in December 2001 with Issue #2 released in February and Issue #3 released in April. Horizon subsequently suspended production due to legal issues created by MIT’s use of the image.

<a href="http://www.horizoncomics.com/radix/" target="_blank">http://www.horizoncomics.com/radix/</a>

[Tom Daylight]

Seems that it actually IS Ultimate X-Men #26 after all.

Interesting that the Lais are going down the same route that Tom Raney did; he drew an issue of Ultimate X-Men and began his Thor run a few months after.