So what is ZODIAC RISING? Where’d the idea come from?
Mark Bousquet: It's been so long I can't remember all the origin events, but I can remember that I was looking to do something special for the FF Annual, and I wanted it to involve other titles. Russ really took to the idea and ran with it and we eventually decided on including books that weren't involved in the KREE/SHI'AR WAR crossover.
Russ Anderson: In reverse order:
The idea came after Mark Bousquet sent out a call last year asking for volunteers for a massive Annual crossover. The volunteers kicked ideas back and forth for a while, and it was decided that I'd start the story off with a Silver Surfer Annual... which I promptly put on the back burner in favor of other projects. Months later, wracked with guilt and wanting to do something with the 1,000 words I'd already written on the project, I sent out the call again and gathered a new group of suckers/volunteers, many of whom were around for the first go.
As for what it is: It's a big-ass throwdown between a bunch of folks in funny underwear and a cosmic entity who could beat the crap out of them without breaking a sweat. It's also a chance for the folks and titles that didn't get a chance to participate in the Kree-Shi'ar War to have their own massive MV1-shaking storyline/crossover.
Are we dealing with an established villain here, or some new threat?
Matt Wang: Well both actually. Zenith is a new cosmic entity while its emissaries are composed of second-string and third-string villains who are 'blessed' by Zenith and thus become more powerful.
What heroes/titles are involved?
Sam Everett: What heroes AREN’T involved?
Stephen Crosby: Silver Surfer has to be involved, as are the Fantastic Four. They made up the bookends of the crossover, leaving room in between for various heroes to fight the various heralds as they manifest. These heroes vary from powerhouse teams such as X-Men, Avengers West, Guardians of the Galaxy, and New Warriors, to street-wise guys like Spider-Man, Black Panther, and the Punisher. It's just a huge amount of variety, guaranteed to please every fan!
How do each of the titles fit into all this?
Anderson (SILVER SURFER): The Surfer kicks it all off by accidentally drawing this new cosmic entity's attention to Earth. He's also the one that's going to have to warn our fair planet what's coming after it.
Scott Chamberlain (AVENGERS WEST COAST): The AWC are basically the proverbial deer in the headlights. Taurus and Aquarius roll into Los Angeles with Zenith's and their own agendas, and the Whackos try to put the kibosh on them. Before we know it, the Avengers find themselves in space, way over their heads, fighting Zenith herself.
Jason Snyder (WEB OF SPIDER-MAN): My title, WEB, features Malcolm McBride, who most people know used to be the Spider-Man villain Carrion. However, Malcolm's been free of the Carrion virus for over a year now and wants to live a normal life. Of course, it doesn't turn out like that, when things begin to go wrong for Malcolm, and he finally just wants to call it quits. A strange voice invades his mind and guides him, too. You'll pretty much need to read it to find out the how and why for everything.
Crosby (X-MEN): The X-Men have a rather small part in all this. After all, it's common knowledge that the X-Men either have a small part in a crossover, or they pretty much are the crossover. I took this opportunity to join the crossover and do my part to advance the plot and introduce two of the heralds, but there's so much more that has nothing to do with the crossover. This issue is the link between Shawn Connelly's run and Will's Short, dealing with various continuity problems, and setting the stage for plots that have already been touched on in the X-Men title.
Mike Exner III (THE PUNISHER): The Punisher basically gets caught up in the arrival of a few of Zenith's heralds. He's way outclassed and he knows it, but he does his best to stop the forces anyway, as any good Punisher would do. The story is just a pit stop for two of the heralds, but a hell of a ride all the same.
Everett (BLACK PANTHER): In BLACK PANTHER ANNUAL #3, a foe from the deep emerges, and we ain’t talking about the Loch Ness Monster! Attuma is lost, confused, and powered to the gills thanks to Zenith! If the Scourge of Atlantis is willing to turn on his loyal followers, imagine what he’ll do to us poor surface-dwellers in the name of his new mistress! On top of that, a special guest star--but is it a friend or a foe?
Adrian Watts (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY): What vacation through time would be complete without helping the era's heroes save the world from a brand new threat? Really though, the Guardians just happened to be walking down the right street at the right time.
Wang (NEW WARRIORS): The New Warriors get involved as they keep tabs on one of their former enemies who forms a cult that is dedicated to Zenith.
Bousquet (FANTASTIC FOUR): FF gets to wrap everything up! Basically, I get to try and pull everything together and bring it to a satisfying conclusion. I'm looking to include as many of the characters from other titles as I can, so it should be quite the All-Star event.
Are each of the annuals going to be accessible to all readers, or do we have to read the whole crossover to understand its individual parts?
Exner III: Another beautiful key to the crossover is that the only issues that are necessary for the reader to get the low-down on the crossover are the bookends. The bookends are SILVER SURFER, which starts the crossover, and the FANTASTIC FOUR, which ends it. Everything else is just details and while I highly suggest you read them all, it's not a necessity. So if you want, just read your faves.
When are the issues scheduled to come out? At what intervals? Weekly? Monthly? Basically, is this KREE/SHI’AR WAR...or another CRIME WAVE?
Chamberlain: It's neither. Unlike CRIME WAVE, it's going to be completed. As I write this, it's almost already done. Also, it'll be a lot less haphazard than KSW. The parts have been well coordinated. We authors involved have stayed in close contact with each other. The issues will all be coming out in a 4 week period. Russ's SILVER SURFER and Biscuit's FANTASTIC FOUR serving as the bookends with the other parts going in the two middle weeks.
Snyder: It'll be a weekly event. If I remember correctly, the SILVER SURFER comes out the first week, AWC, WEB, and X-MEN come out the next week; BP, GotG, NW, and the PUNISHER come out the following week, and, finally, FF comes out the last week to close out the event.
Okay, tradition here, Z-Men: All of the heroes gathered for ZODIAC RISING vs. Zenith herself...who wins?
Watts: Tsk tsk. Now that would be telling...!