UPDATE:

We have your first look at the fully colored gate-fold cover for the Age of Apocalypse #1 variant issue by artist Gerardo Sandoval and colorist David Curiel. This image will also be divided to make the covers for issues #1-5.

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Age of Apocalypse #1 will have a three-part gate-fold cover.

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The Age of Apocalypse will return in July as part of Marvel Comics' big Secret Wars event. The series will be written by Fabian Nicieza and drawn by Gerardo Sandoval, and as with the rest of the Secret Wars series that have been announced , Marvel has yet to reveal if it will be an ongoing or limited series.A writer on several of the original Age of Apocalypse comics back in the '90s, Nicieza returns to the famous Marvel storyline that he helped create. He's joined by Sandoval, whose art you may recognize from his work on Cable & X-Force and Wolverine.Age of Apocalypse features a world where Professor X's death allowed Apocalypse to take over the world, leaving Magneto to lead the X-Men against him.Of course it's worth mentioning that Fox has the X-Men: Apocalypse movie scheduled for release on May 27, 2016. While plot details are sparse, it'll be the first time we've seen ol' blue-lips on the big screen.This won't be the first time the Age of Apocalypse universe has been revisited. Most recently, writer Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force paid a visit to the alternate universe and utilized characters like Nightcrawler and Dark Beast, and then writer David Lapham did a 14-issue run that picked up where that crossover left off.Marvel teased this comic back in November 2014, so while the reveal of this series isn't a surprise, the fact that Marvel got Nicieza to write it certainly is.It's of special note that this new series will feature a new version of the Age of Apocalypse universe and won't be a continuation of the original one. The reason being, quite a few major characters died by the end of the story, so this will allow Nicieza and Sandoval to play in an Age of Apocalypse world where all of the best characters are still alive.Check out the solicit information for the first two issues, some uncolored preview art, and our email interview with Nicieza where he talks about returning to the Age of Apocalypse, working with Sandoval, and how this comic ties into Secret Wars.

Written By FABIAN NICIEZA | Art and Cover by GERARDO SANDOVALHis war has been won. The few humans left alive are enslaved, the mutant rebellion crushed. EN SABAH NUR, the APOCALYPSE, rules his BATTLEWORLD kingdom without mercy, but the terrorist X-MEN plan to end his reign. Success means finding one very special mutant named CYPHER and unleashing a weapon that will kill Apocalypse -- and possibly all mutants, too!Written By FABIAN NICIEZA | Art and Cover by GERARDO SANDOVALThe hunt for CYPHER brings MAGNETO's X-MEN into confrontation with CYCLOPS & HAVOK's ELITE MUTANT FORCE! Meanwhile, ANGEL has to protect a "flatscan" named JEAN GREY and DR. NEMESIS plans to sabotage DARK BEAST's quest to become APOCALYPSE's newest HORSEMAN.

At New York Comic Con last fall, X-editor Mike Marts told me they were "event planning" and he was hoping to get me involved. I have worked with Mike on projects for going on 20 years now, so when he says, “Jump,” I usually say, “How high?”Well, actually now when he says, “Jump,” I say, “My back hurts” and he lets me slide.Over the course of the last few months, Mike was able to relay more information on the main Secret Wars project and how Age of Apocalypse would fit into all of that.Initially, it was surreal. It’s no secret that for me as a writer for Marvel back in the mid-90s, Age of Apocalypse was "the best of times, the worst of times.”I always thought the concept was exciting and the cojones it took to put together such a risky publishing program were substantially large (and yes, not publishing most of Marvel’s top selling titles for 4 months was considered a HUGE risk back then and we got tremendous blowback for it until the series actually came out).Conversely, it was also a very challenging time creatively as communication within the editorial office at that time had deteriorated pretty badly and when I voiced concerns about a lot of aspects of the storyline, they were ignored, which made working on the individual titles a difficult and unrewarding task.So while most people talk about Age of Apocalypse with either fondness for the story or respect that we managed to pull it off, I always looked at it as the point where I knew I was done with the X-titles.All that being said, any uncertainty or nerves I had honestly flew right out the window when my finger hit the first keystroke when putting together my initial outline.In many ways, the world I am writing is very different than the original, but in other ways it is exactly the same. I feel like I am getting a chance to have my cake and eat it too, regarding the positives of the original story world while still doing something very new.Because the original world can’t really exist as it was within the parameters of how Battleworld is set up in the Secret Wars storyline. I’m also pretty sure the original world ceased to exist during the original series. The original world of Age of Apocalypse was intended to be a fractured reality that had to be “rewoven” back into the normal timeline.So anyway, the Secret Wars Age of Apocalypse is, in nearly all ways, an even WORSE world than the original – if you happen to be human or an X-Man!Both humans and the X-Men are in a far more compromised, desperate state of existence and time is running out for both of them.No.Just kidding. I can elaborate a little: Cypher not only interprets language, he can also discern meaning and intent behind what is said. In their desperate attempt to save themselves and possibly prevent a greater war across Battleworld, Magneto’s X-Men need Cypher to expose the true plans of both the desperate human faction led by Peter Borbeau and Carol Danvers and Apocalypse.Am I only allowed to list one thing? The passion behind every line he draws! The excitement in his work is palpable. It’s like a combination of Joe Madureira and Texas Chainsaw Massacre! Unrelenting energy!It takes place, as all the series do, on Battleworld, but it’s not the kind of storyline where someone sneezes in Secret Wars and someone says, “Gesundheit” in Age of Apocalypse. Our story is very self-contained, but the actions and the decisions of the characters could have ramifications to the greater Secret Wars story world.Three things:1) It’s the Age of Apocalypse! It was one of the most popular alternate storylines ever created in the history of superhero comics and we get to revisit it with a fresh spin!2) I’m writing the X-Men after 20 years (give or take a Gambit series and some other stuff, but you know what I mean)! And you all love me (or at least you used to love me)! And even if you don’t love me (or never loved me), most of you didn’t hate me either!With that kind of conflicted uncertainty, you just know you have to check it out!3) A trained monkey could be typing this thing (and yes, I am well-trained) and you should check it out because Gerardo Sandoval’s art is so ridiculously hot that just turning the pages is going to make you sweat!

Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Game of Thrones, Green Lantern, or Super Smash Bros. are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN