First Avengers vs. X-Men Tie-in revealed

Marvel held another press call today to talk about the company's next big event: Avengers vs. X-Men. However, the conversation wasn't focused on the main AVX series; instead, Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, Senior Editor Nick Lowe and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort discussed the only sister title to the Avengers vs. X-Men proper: AVX Versus. AVX Versus is a six issue mini-series that starts in April 2012 with a rotating cast of creative teams. The first teams on the book in issue #1 are Jason Aaron with artist Adam Kubert, and Katherine Immonen with artist Stuart Immonen. What We Know About Avengers vs. X-Men Right out of the gate, Tom Brevoort jumped in front of the microphone to frankly tell us that AVX Versus is "the least essential read of AVX, yet will probably be the best selling." Marvel is literally labeling this book the "fight book." "It is wall-to-wall, page-to-page, cover-to-cover combat in a large scale, widescreen format, drawn by the best artists we can throw at it, taking moments of conflict within the main, core AVX series and expanding on them," explained Brevoort. Brevoort went on to say that AVX Versus is not the book you'd turn to for subtext to the greater Avengers vs. X-Men plot. In fact, the Marvel editors joked later on in the call that AVX Versus represents the "anti-Front Lines," trading in grounded drama amidst large-scale conflicts for nonstop, balls-to-the-wall action. "There isn't going to be long walks through the avenues, introspection and conversations, or characters sitting around tables talking," expressed Brevoort. "Literally, from the first page, someone is going to punch someone else, and by the last page, someone is going to shoot someone else in the face." AVX Versus represents that "quintessential Marvel fan" book, according to Brevoort. The premise spawned from those conversations longtime Marvel fans would have about who would beat who in a fight. Now, Marvel is answering those longtime debates against the backdrop of Avengers vs. X-Men. The reasoning: there just isn't enough space in the core book to do justice to every Avengers member fighting every X-Men character. But AVX Versus will allow the creators involved to flesh out some of the bigger, marquee brawls of the event. As Marvel EIC Axel Alonso so eloquently put it, "This is truth in advertising. This book is all about versus." As previously mentioned, the first creative teams tackling the book with AVX Versus #1 are Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert, as well as Katherine and Stuart Immonen. Each issue of AVX Versus will be split into two separate throwdowns. For instance, Aaron and Kubert will be handling Iron Man vs. Magneto, while the Immonen duo will be tackling Namor versus Thing. "It's [AVX Versus] just going to be a big, fun hoo-hah type of a title," concluded Brevoort. AVX Versus kicks off in April 2012 alongside the main Avengers vs. X-Men series. Are you interested in seeing some of the bigger brawls from AVX fleshed out in Versus? Or would you rather see a "Front Lines-esque" series complementing the bombastic action of Avengers vs. X-Men? Sound off in the comments below.