2003 PREVIEW
written by James McDonough
transcribed by Vu

1. JLA/AVENGERS
WHEN: Summer 2003
MAJOR PLAYERS: Writer Kurt Busiek (Astro City) and artist George Pérez (The Avengers)

WIZARD: THE COMICS MAGAZINE #137 (Feb 03) COMICS' SUPER BOWL. Fans have waited 20 years to see this official, "yes-it's- really- happening" wraparound cover to JLA/Avengers by Pérez.

THE LOWDOWN: After 20 long years, it's finally going to happen. The biggest guns in the Marvel and DC Universe will collide when the Justice League of America and the Avengers go toe to toe in the most anticipated comic book crossover of all time.

"It's the JLA. It's the Avengers," barks Busiek. "The premier superteams of two worlds, together at long last. A threat big enough to menace two realities. Cosmic action. Marvel heroes versus DC villains and vice versa."

Featuring an amazing set of wraparound covers, the four-issue crossover series can only be described by Busiek as "a full, 200 pages of cross-universe, superteam Pérez-y goodness."

As for plot details, both Busiek and Pérez remain hush-hush in the hopes the excitement and suspense will snowball even more than their high expectations. However, they insist that one thing fans can bank on is that the story will not focus solely on a handful of stars.

"Two teams, two groups, two pantheons of heroes," recites Busiek. "More Avengers than you can count. More JLAers than the Avengers can count. There's a reason we need 200 pages."

While a project of this magnitude - not to mention the high expectations- is daunting enough, it's the two superteams' distinct philosophies on taking on baddies that provided Busiek with one of his toughest challenges.

"I expect we'll see ways in which the teams are different, as well as some of the similiarties they share," explains the writer. "The first thing we did is pitched a DC villain [Starro] at the Avengers that the JLA usually have to puzzle out a solution to and a Marvel villain [Terminus] at the JLA that the Avengers usually have to smack down big time, and see how each team handles it. But that's just the start. After that, things gets stranger and far more dangerous.

And that stranger danger may result in the icons from both squads pitted against one another. But which encounter has fanboys salivating the most?

"Going into it, the one conflict I was asked about the most was Batman and Captain America," relates Busiek. "I think it's a perfect clash and not what people will expect. But Cap's got more to deal with than the Caped Crusader."

Legion of fanboys worldwide aren't the only ones pinching themselves over this dream event.

"I never dreamed of tackling a project like this - not for real," laughs Busiek, who heard about the original crossover while working for a fan magazine that initially announced the event nearly 20 years ago.

"I hadn't broken in as a writer yet, so I figured the crossover would be long-finished and published before I wrote comics professionally," Busiek recalls. "Even when it fell through, I never expected to actually get the assignment to write either book regularly, much less both of them in the same project." Many years and several false starts later, Busiek's career is coming full circle now that his wildest fantasy is coming true as he finds himself in the driver's seat of this massive project.

And speaking of anticipation, not even the most hardcore fanboy seems as excited about the project as veteran artist George Pérez.

"I'm so jazzed at some of the stuff that Kurt has come up with," giggles the Florida-based artist. "Believe me, I'm glad this project is causing such a stir. I know realistically that JLA/Avengers has had 20 years of anticipation which I hope I live up to."

Busiek has no doubts the modern-day master of the superteam has the only choice to take on a project of this visual size and scope.

"He was born to do the ultimate superteam crossover. He's one of the best artists ever on both series," gushes Busiek. "Plus, he's been champing at the bit to do this book - and do it right - for 20 years. It's hard to compete with that kind of energy. George was there first, and when he's going pedal-to-the-metal, nobody else could keep up."

Pérez sees the project as a labor of love long in the making. "For a man who's been working in this business now [for 29 years], to be able to work on stuff I really really want to do, to do the ultimate superhero book - I've been very lucky," marvels Pérez, who's quick to admit he's even found a way to work in his beloved Teen Titans, which he co-plotted and illustrated during the early '80s. "Hey, I have certain things I must do."

PROJECTED SALES: No. 1 at 150,000 copies for each issue. There's no better marketing tool than 20 years of fanboy anticipation. Plus, with Busiek and Pérez taking their time to ensure this book stands out as one of the greatest crossovers of all time, it's an event that will appeal to readers across the board.