Wrestler-turned-MMA-fighter CM Punk has been dipping his toe into the world of comic books, writing one-off gigs with Marvel (Thor Annual #1) and DC Comics (Strange Sports Stories). Marvel was apparently impressed enough with Punk’s work to give him a brand-new ongoing series, starring one of its most popular characters from the movies.
Punk will co-write Drax, starring the green-skinned, tattooed bad-ass from Guardians of the Galaxy. The news was announced by Marvel over the weekend at C2E2, the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. This will be the first solo series for the character, who’s always appeared in the Guardians ensemble or as a villain in assorted Marvel Comics storylines.
Here is the cover for Drax #1, illustrated by Ed McGuinness.
Punk’s co-writer for Drax has not yet been announced, nor has the interior artist for the series. No word on whether or not those creators have been hired, or Marvel is perhaps waiting until the summer (Comic-Con, maybe?) to roll out another announcement leading up to a winter 2015 release. But the premise of the series has been established, with stories following Drax from “the intergalactic octagon to the far reaches of outer space.”
“I think we’ll be drawing from the cinematic Drax because that’s what’s mainstream right now,” Punk told the crowd during a panel at C2E2. “The Drax that I know is like, the Infinity Gauntlet Drax. He’s big and green and he’s dumb. The new Drax is completely different.”
Before he was revamped as a bruising brawler and shrewd hunter for the new version of Guardians of the Galaxy, Drax was more of a cosmic villain for Marvel, at one point nearly like a version of the Hulk in space. But one thing that has always been consistent for the character is wanting revenge on Thanos for killing his family. Surely, that will be something visited repeatedly in this ongoing series.
