Newsarama: FUTURE FOUNDATION Launches Into the MARVEL Multiverse…

Will Robson and I had a chance to talk with Newsarama contributor Zack Smith about the future of The Future Foundation.

Nrama: What do you feel makes the book unique among the other superhero titles out there?

Whitley: I take the pedigree of this book very seriously. There are only two writers who have written a book called “Future Foundation” before now – Jonathan Hickman and Matt Fraction. Those are two of the best writers working today and I don’t intend to be the one who drops the ball. We’re going big from the first issue and you’ll never finish an issue and not want the next one right away, I promise that.

Robson: This book to me is the X-Men of space. Young heroes struggling to find their place not only in this world, but on many. 

Smith, Zack. “FUTURE FOUNDATION Launches Into the MARVEL Multiverse With ‘Rainbows & Lasers’, Newsarama. 5 August 2019.

Click here to read the rest of the interview. You’ll also get to preview pages from issue #1 and issue #2, which will be out in September.

The Future is Here!

Adventures in Poor Taste rates Future Foundation #1 an 8.5!

The Future Foundation is a fairly recent addition to Marvel’s teams, but they are a natural addition to the universe that have felt like they belonged from their inception. Whitley and Robson have delivered a wonderful return for the team, showing exactly what makes them stand out from the rest of the universe and why they’re so fun to read. 

Gullapalli, Vishal. “Future Foundation #1 Review”, Adventures in Poor Taste. 7 August 2019.

Weird Science Marvel Comics offers up a few spoilers, and gives the book an 8.3/10!

Whitley sprinkles in subtle humorous elements and banter between the characters showing the family dynamic of the team while introducing the cast of characters for new readers who are leaping into the series with a fresh take on the Fantastic Four series. New readers will fall in love with this team while old fans of Hickman’s FUTURE FOUNDATION will latch on to this incarnation awaiting the clever tales to come. The only aspect missing from the issue was Valeria and Franklin Richards. This reviewer hopes they can rejoin the team in the future.

dispatchdcu. “Future Foundation #1 Review”, Weird Science Marvel Comics. 7 August 2019.

It’s Future Foundation Day!

Honestly, I don’t know if it’s luck that my Marvel stories keep getting @JoeCaramagna as a letterer or if they just see my scripts and go “only Joe can save this one” but I’m extraordinarily grateful either way.— Jeremy Whitley, Soda City Comic Con, Aug 10-11 (@jrome58) July 31, 2019

The Future Foundation makes its first appearance today in a 10 page story in Fantastic Four #12!

To All My Agents of G.I.R.L.

This letter comes from the final page of The Unstoppable Wasp #10.

I love that I have a job where I get to tell stories. It’s the job I’ve wanted since I was five and I haven’t gotten tired of it. Sometimes there are roadblocks and sometimes there are stories that you just have to finish, even though you may not feel enthusiastic about them. That’s what makes it a job and not a hobby. And as you do it more, you start to realize that not every story has the luxury of being “important.” Some stories are fun. Some stories are puzzles and once they’re solved there’s little novelty to them. Some stories are just gigs.

But as I write this, we are putting the finishing touches on Volume 2 of the UNSTOPPABLE WASP and while I feel a sense of loss that Nadia won’t be in my life ever day, the thing I feel the most is profoundly thankful. I’m thankful to Marvel Comics, to C. B. Cebulski, to Tom Brevoort, to Guirihiru, to Alti Firmansyah, to Joe Caramagna, to Espen Grundetjern, to Mark Waid, to all of my consultants, all of my Agents of G.I.R.L (both in the book and on Twitter) and most of all, I’m thankful to Alanna Smith. Alanna has been my editor for both volumes of UNSTOPPABLE WASP and she’s just as much a part of this as Nadia, Janet and I. It has been her guidance that helped me turn this from a well-intentioned story to a truly well-told story.

“Nadia,” the name, means “hope.” That has been the driving force of this book from Day 1. From the Pakistani pastry shop and the immigration office to G.I.R.L. Expo and Shay’s hospital room, it has been the one constant. Nadia spreads hope to young girls, to female scientists, to friends and strangers and sometimes enemies. That’s what makes her special.

Telling a story where Nadia had to face her own mental illness and, for a time, lost sight of hope was a difficult and sometimes exhausting task. After I finished issue #5 of this series, I couldn’t write for two weeks. I kept convincing myself that I had done something terrible and I kept going back over the pages. I consulted with people who both treat and deal with mental illness every day. I talked to other writers. I talked to Alanna. I panicked. Maybe that story got better for my anxiety. I don’t really know. But I know something else for sure.

I got to write an important story here. I got to tell a story that incorporated issues with mental health, sexuality, gender expression, found family, race, ethnicity, culture and science. And the response I got from people both in person and online will never leave me. There has been some crying on both ends, and…the idea that thanks to these ten issues of comic books, I know for a fact that readers have both recognized themselves in Nadia and gone to therapy and at least one friend and reader has come out publicly about sexuality are the sorts of things that can’t be canceled. We’ve done something good here and, hopefully, along with Nadia, we’ve spread some hope. Thank you for being here and reading this, whether you’ve been with us from issue #1 or this is your first issue.

In the long scope of things, everything is a limited series. But hope…hope is ongoing. Share your love for the book and maybe we’ll get to come back to tell more stories. Alanna and Gurihiru and I will all have more books. In fact, I’m already writing FUTURE FOUNDATION as we speak. But in the meantime, please share these stories. Please share hope.

Jeremy Whitley

bpHope: The Unstoppable Wasp: Fighting Bipolar & Bad Guys

I’m honored that The Unstoppable Wasp was featured in bp Magazine. This magazine is part of an online community that strives to increase awareness of bipolar disorder as well as provide support for those in the bipolar community.

How did you go about creating a realistic, respectful portrayal?

I started off by doing some reading. Informative stuff about what the symptoms are, what the onset of bipolar looks like, especially in teenagers, but from that moving out to the personal. I worked with both a psychiatrist and a professor of psychology, but also with several people who either have first-hand experience with bipolar or who have friends and family members dealing with it.

Forbes, Elizabeth. “The Unstoppable Wasp: Fighting Bipolar & Bad Guys”, bpHope.com. Summer 2019.

You can read the rest of the interview online here. You can also catch it in print in the Summer 2019 issue of bp Magazine!

Talking Comics: Special Guest Host WHITLEYYYY!!!

I’ve double checked to make sure that I added the appropriate number of Y’s to the end of Whitley. I think I have.

Though I’ve been on a few podcasts, it isn’t often that I get a chance to host one! Special thanks to The Comic Book Podcast from Talking Comics for giving me the chance to play host for “Issue 394”. In this issue, Bob, Steve, Joey and I get to talk about Future Foundation, Princeless, and more.

Did you enjoy this podcast? If so, you can get more of Steve Seigh, Bob Reyer, Joey Braccino, Jessica Garris-Schaeffer, and Sarah Miles weekly on The Comic Book Podcast. Find them on Twitter @TalkingComics!

Newsarama: The Secret Origin of JEREMY WHITLEY

In this interview I discuss the origin of my love of comics, the complexities of breaking into the comics industry, upcoming projects, and hope for the future.

Marvel Comics

Nrama: Your work primarily focuses on all-ages/coming of age stories. What do you like about this form of storytelling?

Whitley: I feel like this is the home of what’s made comics great. All-ages comics are the foundation of modern comics. Telling stories that offer hope to kids and adults alike is important. There’s a place for dark and scary stories, and I have a few of those pitches too, but comics are about hope, love, and justice for me. And while I’m unlikely to say that the world needs another gritty deconstruction of the superhero mythos, we do need hope. We always need hope.

Calamia, Kat. “The Secret Origin of JEREMY WHITLEY (And His Love of All Ages Stories)”, Newsarama. 7 June 2019.

If you’d like to continue reading, head to Newsarama to read the interview in its entirety.

But Why Tho?: Writing ‘The Unstoppable Wasp’ with Jeremy Whitley

I sat down with Lizzy (Pilots and Petards) and Ash (Safari Zone Podcast and Skyhoppers) to talk about The Unstoppable Wasp, mental health, and the importance of representation in comics.

If you enjoyed the podcast, check out more from But Why Tho? The Podcast. You can keep up with them @ButWhyThoPC. You can also follow Lizzy (@lizzylynngarcia) and Ash (@ersatzash) on Twitter.

Marvel.Com: Exploring Mental Illness with “Unstoppable Wasp”

I got a chance to discuss The Unstoppable Wasp, and specifically, Nadia’s bipolar diagnosis, with Marvel.com.

Since the very beginning, Marvel Comics has presented its Super Heroes as, above all else, people. 


Matt Murdock manages his blindness, Bruce Banner copes with his anger, and Charles Xavier contends with his paralysis while, concurrently, Daredevil protects Hell’s Kitchen, the Hulk smashes Super Villains, and Professor X leads a school of gifted youngsters.


While these characteristics are what help make our heroes human, they do not define them or weaken them; they’re simply a part of who they are.


In the same way, today’s UNSTOPPABLE WASP #5 sees its eponymous hero at a crossroads in her life. As Nadia Van Dyne encounters her mental illness for the first time, she and the Agents of G.I.R.L. grapple with its powerful effects while never losing sight of their love for—and responsibilities to—themselves and each other. 


Written by Jeremy Whitley with art by Gurihiru, this story—covered today in the New York Times—is set to change everything about Nadia’s life.

Stevens, Tim. “Exploring Mental Illness with “Unstoppable Wasp”, Marvel.com. 19 Feb. 2019

You can read the entirety of the interview with Tim Stevens at Marvel.com.