Solve Everything: An Oral History of 2015’s Secret Wars and How It Came to Be - SKTCHD:

Event comics are designed to change the superhero universe they belong to. That’s their fundamental nature, acting as crescendos to recent, notable storylines. They’re also meant to sell comics, of course, but this usually feeds from that same transformative nature. “This story will change everything," the marketing for each of these titles tells us, again and again.

The problem is this doesn’t always happen. Many events are just big stories with enough oomph to warrant a more significant focus — or even arcs elevated in hopes of goosing orders — rather than something with actual line-wide significance. The rarity of a true universe-changing event, though, can mean that when they do arrive, they have an outsized impact.

One of those — maybe even the biggest of them all — was 2015’s Secret Wars. This nine-part mini-series from writer Jonathan Hickman, artist Esad Ribić, colorist Ive Svorcina, and letterers Chris Eliopoulos and Clayton Cowles was the culmination of not just Hickman’s preceding Avengers and New Avengers run, but arguably the totality of his time at Marvel up until that point. It told the story of Doctor Doom’s reign as a god on a newly remade Battleworld — built from Incursion points of other, destroyed Earths and filled with new versions of old favorites — as Reed Richards, Black Panther, Namor, and a small group of heroes (and villains) who still remembered what once was endeavored to end Doom’s reign and return the Earth to its rightful state.

It was a monster of a series, resulting in the temporary ending of Marvel’s entire line, the destruction of the Ultimate Universe, the migration of Miles Morales (and others) to Marvel’s primary 616 universe, the sunsetting of the bulk of the Fantastic Four for more than two and a half years, and an array of story points that continue onwards in Marvel stories to this day. It wasn’t just a big deal in theory either. It sold like gangbusters and had a deep impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, particularly Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In short?

Secret Wars changed everything.

This is its story.

Another amazing, comprehensive piece from the madman David Harper at Sktchd. I know, it’s a subscription site, but if you enjoy truly in-depth looks at the comics industry, the guy is doing the lord’s work.