Artists, Writers, and Artisans will launch its shared superhero universe with The Resistance, a six-issue series by J. Michael Straczynski and Mike Deodato, Jr. in early 2020, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The pair had a run on Amazing Spider-Man at Marvel in the early 00s edited by Axel Alonso, and this new series reunites the trio on the linchpin launch title for the well-funded comics start-up led by former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Alonso and former Marvel Publisher Bill Jemas and (and co-founded by former News Corp. CEO Jon Miller).  Covers for the series, including the one accompanying this article, are by Rahzzah.

The concept takes a run at reinventing the superhero genre for the current era with a boldly different approach.  "DC, which came to prominence in the 40s and 50s, a very conservative time, was peopled largely by authority figures," Straczynski told THR, while "…Marvel hit its stride during the anti-authoritarian 60s, and that's reflected by its heroes…"

The Resistance is set after a global pandemic that kills hundreds of millions and leaves behind 15 to 20 million people that have acquired superpowers as a result of the disease.  That generates "…a character story filled with people from every walk of life, from every part of the world, told against a backdrop as big as the planet itself, which sets the stage for a shared universe approach that has never been attempted before in comics," Straczynski said.

AWA announced an initial round of unrelated titles in March (see "AWA Announces First Comic Titles"), and recently revealed that it will also launch a horror line with Hotell, by John Lees and Dalibor Talajic, as the first title.