In an effort to introduce contemporary audiences to heroes and villains crafted in the '60s, Marvel Comics has announced a new line of "Season One" original graphic novels that will cast a more modern light on its past without rewriting history or establishing a new continuity. USA Today broke the news in an interview with Marvel senior vice president and executive editor Tom Brevoort yesterday, identifying the initial four titles to get the Season One treatment. First up? The Fantastic Four, X-Men, Daredevil and Spider-Man.USA Today laid out the following books for the first half of 2012:

•Fantastic Four: Season One by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Stephen King's The Stand, Glee) and David Marquez (Secret Warriors), due out in February

•X-Men: Season One by Dennis Hopeless (Legion Of Monsters) and Jamie McKelvie (Phonogram), on sale in March

•Daredevil: Season One by Antony Johnston (Daredevil) and Wellinton Alves (Nova), in April

•Spider-Man: Season One by Cullen Bunn (Fear Itself: The Deep, Sixth Gun) and Neil Edwards (Fantastic Four), arriving in May.

Brevoort made it clear that the stories are more about outreach than scrubbing what fans already dig about their favorite characters. New tech like cell phones will pop up, but the core of the characters will remain intact through retellings that are contextualized in an age where saying the word "groovy" might get you looked at funny.

"Everything you know about them, everything that's existed for the last 50 years still exists and is still there," Brevoort told USA Today. "These are individually new stories, even though they've got bits and pieces of old and formative origin stuff in and around them, as well."

No word on how much each OGN will retail for or if the stories will reach a digital format yet, but info is likely to trickle in over the course of Comic-Con.

See images promoting Marvel's Season One titles below:


[Via USA Today]

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