Stand aside, mere comic book artists: Marvel has announced the next line up for its promotional Stormbreakers program, recognizing what the company describes as “next generation of elite artists in the industry.”

The 2023 Stormbreakers class is made up of Chris Allen (Miles Morales), Jan Bazaldúa (Legion of X), Elena Casagrande (Black Widow), Martin Coccolo (Deadpool), Nic Klein (Thor), Federico Vicentini (X Deaths of Wolverine), C.F. Villa (X-Men), and Lucas Werneck (Immortal X-Men). Across the next two years, the collection of artists will receive increased promotion from the publisher, including placement on high profile projects and variant covers on some of Marvel’s best-selling titles.

The Stormbreakers program, which officially began in 2020, is in fact a revival and renaming of Marvel’s earlier Young Guns program. That program, which ran from 2004 through 2019, similarly promoted a number of artists working on Marvel comics throughout the years, with luminaries including Jim Cheung, Steve McNiven, Sara Pichelli, Mike del Mundo, and Lenil Francis Yu having taken part.

A writer-centric program was also part of Marvel’s promotional plans for a brief period starting in 2010, under the name Marvel’s Architects; that group included Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Jason Aaron, and Jonathan Hickman.

The previous group of Stormbreakers was announced in 2020; it included Pat Gleason, Peach Momoko, and incoming Fantastic Four artist Iban Coello amongst its line up.

What else is Marvel working on? The answer includes a new Jonathan Hickman written project teased as ”Sandman for the Marvel Universe,” of all things…