Most people who know of the name 'CM Punk' will immediately think of the WWE. The man was one of the most popular wrestlers of the modern era; Punk's anti-authority personality spoke to a lot of people the same way that Stone Cold Steve Austin's personality did years earlier. Everything about CM Punk was counter-culture: the man did what he wanted, no matter what anyone said.
That was the in the ring, though, and outside of the squared circle, CM Punk is really Phil Brooks: mild-mannered nerd. Brooks has made absolutely no secret about his love of everything comic books and Marvel. Now it seems that one of the man's dreams is coming true: Marvel has just announced that Brooks will be joining the writing team for Thor Annual #1 this February as part of the anthology issue.
Very few details about the issue have been revealed, and the only thing that's really known at this point is that Brooks will be writing one of the several stories included in the issue. Brooks will make his Marvel debut alongside rookie artist Rob Guillory, and the two will work together on the same story. Otherwise, no plot- or artwork-related information has been released.
Before working with Marvel, Brooks was held back by the punishing WWE schedule. Most people don't know just how brutal the travel schedule can be (on top of all the injuries and such), and it stopped Brooks from working in comics entirely. It wasn't until Brooks abruptly left WWE earlier this year that his schedule opened up, and after years of talking with Marvel, a deal was finally made. Fans may be upset that CM Punk no longer fights, but it allows Phil Brooks to write for Marvel instead.
Brooks also spoke about possible future collaborations with Marvel. Fans have known for sometime that Brooks is a major fan of the Punisher, and it seems like the former superstar has some big plans in store for Frank Castle:
"...I think, my original pitch to Axel Alonso in 2011 was, 'Let me write Punisher.' In my mind, for some odd reason, I've just got this Punisher story in my head, and I think it's super, super awesome...So everything I do for Marvel is going to be leading up to, 'Please just let me write my Punisher story.'"
Who knows, maybe Brooks and Marvel working together could become a long-term commitment?
Thor Annual #1 is scheduled to hit shelves in February 2015.
Photo: Marvel
