Age of Ultron, a 10 issue Marvel crossover event, is currently two issues in, and is already causing some confusion among comic readers. Among other things, the return of Ultron has left a lot of fans scratching their heads at when and where this series fits into the rest of the Marvel universe.
Well, it's about to get even stranger. This morning, the New York Times revealed that Neil Gaiman would be making a return to Marvel Comics, and he's bringing one of his characters with him.
Angela, the heavenly bounty hunter and on-again, off-again love interest of Spawn, will soon be making her Marvel comics debut sometime during the Age of Ultron arc. This isn't a crossover event with the Spawn universe however, Neil Gaiman is actually the copyright holder to Angela, and several other characters that appeared in the issue he wrote. Just last year, Todd McFarlane and Gaiman reached a settlement over the ownership and royalties owed to the latter for his characters. As a result of that settlement, Gaiman now has full control over where his Spawn characters appear.
The New York Times piece also mentions that plans for the Angela crossover have been underway for "quite some time," with Gaiman and Marvel deciding that Age of Ultron would be a good entry point for the character. She won't just be limited to this story arc either, it was also revealed that her next Marvel appearance will be in Guardians of the Galaxy #5, which will be co-written by Gaiman.
Age of Ultron began earlier this month, and will run through June. It features a storyline by Brian Michael Bendis. Bryan Hitch will provide art for issues one through five, Brandon Peterson will cover six through eight, Carlos Pacheco will handle parts of the final two issues, and in an effort to keep the ending a secret, Marvel CCO Joe Quesada himself will draw the final pages of the book.