God Grant Me a Good S.W.O.R.D.

Marvel has announced at Chicago Comic-Con that S.W.O.R.D., the secret intergalactic defense government organization, created entirely by Joss Whedon and John Cassady in their now historic run on Astonishing X-Men, is getting it's own series. It will feature Agent Brand (the green-haired half-alien Beast-loving leader) and Sydren (the red alien minor telepath), both of which Joss created. Joining them will be X-Men's The Beast, Brand's boyfriend, and Lockheed, who worked as Brand's secret agent in the X-Men and who, now that Kitty Pryde is Missing In Space, has nowhere else to go apparently (except the pages of Pet Avengers.)


The image they released is also drawn by John Cassady, who will be doing covers, and who does the greatest covers in the world (Astonishing, Planetary, etc.) The writer and main artist are less well-known to me, but check out their interview at CBR here. One point of interest is how they're writing Lockheed; as the "Wolverine" of the team, considering how bestial and angry he is at the loss of Kitty.

S.W.O.R.D. stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department, the more aggressive, bigger picture, extension to S.H.I.E.L.D. and they operate in a space station in Earth's orbit called The Peak (expect some beautiful pictures of it.) As far as storylines go, I'm curious about two things really: whether or not they will deal with the whole Shi'ar/Inhumans/Kree/War of the Kings stuff going on out there, and whether, with Lockheed on board and a feeling of some responsibility (she saved the entire mission singlehandedly) they will begin the search for Kitty Pryde.

We all know she's not dead, just cheaply cliffhangered into a temporary oblivion by Whedon (who claims to love her more than anyone, and expresses it by inflicting pain and quasi-death on her. Get a new shtick man.) If neither of these stories are touched on, I might just not pick it up. Though I'd love to live in a room entirely plastered with John Cassady art.