Category: Comic Books

Ewing + Rodríguez pit the Defenders against the Beyonder in June

Blue Marvel, Loki, Tigra and more team up to face a Jheri-curled threat from beyond.

Al Ewing and Javier Rodríguez will re-team for another Defenders miniseries later this year, titled Defenders: Beyond. The new story will focus on a different set of characters than last year’s miniseries and will feature the return of the cosmic being The Beyonder.

“So in this book, we’re going on a magical journey into the Mystery itself, mapping the Marvel Godhead and bringing back knowledge that ties into what has gone before, some seismic things to come… and if we’re lucky, maybe a little off-the-page magic to feed your hungry head,” Ewing told Marvel.com. “We’ve got an eclectic new crew of Defenders chosen for the task by the final spell of Stephen Strange – I’m saying what’s probably a final goodbye to a lot of stuff from the past 10 years with this one, and for at least one character, this will be the last adventure. Hope you survive the psychedelic experience, pilgrim!”

This new miniseries will star Taaia, the mother of Galactus, who was introduced in the previous series, along with Blue Marvel, America Chavez, Tigra and Loki.

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Jessica Jones teams with herselves in ‘The Variants’

Gail Simone and Phil Noto teams up multiple versions of the cantankerous P.I. from across the universe.

Jessica Jones will meet her match in June, and that match is herself. Herselves? I don’t know if that’s really a word, but Marvel’s favorite super-powered P.I. is getting a new miniseries this summer where she’ll team up with different versions of herself from across the multiverse.

Gail Simone and Phil Noto will team for The Variants, a five-issue miniseries that will have Jones “question everything she thought she knew about her life and her choices.”

“First, let me get this out…when Tom Brevoort offered me this project, I went and re-read all the Jessica stories, from the classic, groundbreaking [Brian Michael] Bendis stories to the more recent and fantastically good Kelly Thompson stories (that you definitely should read!), and they’re just exciting, compelling reads. There isn’t another comics character like her. That was immensely exciting,” Simone told Marvel.com.

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DC’s 2022 Free Comic Book Day line-up

Super Pets, ‘Dark Crisis’ and a new hero arrive on May 7.

DC Comics has announced the rest of their Free Comic Book Day titles for 2022, following last week’s announcement of Dark Crisis and its debut on May 7.

Joining Dark Crisis #0 FCBD Special Edition will be Galaxy: The Prettiest Star Free Comic Book Day Special Edition and DC League of Super-Pets: The Great Mxy-Up Free Comic Book Day Special Edition. Both offer previews of upcoming graphic novels from DC that will arrive in stores 10 days later on May 17.

Here’s more info on all three:

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‘Thunderbolts’ returns in May from Zub + Izaakse

Jim Zub and Sean Izaakse bring together Hawkeye, Spectrum, America Chavez and more for a new take on the classic team.

A new iteration of Marvel’s Thunderbolts will strike in May, courtesy of writer Jim Zub and artist Sean Izaakse.

The new team springs from the events occurring in Devil’s Reign, the event series featuring New York’s heroes running up against former-crime-boss-turned-mayor Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin. In that series, the Kingpin has enlisted his own team of villains to serve as his law-enforcing Thunderbolts, but this new team is another animal completely. While previous Thunderbolts titles have featured, for the most part, villains seeking redemption, this new team is heavy on the heroes.

“My elevator pitch for this series was essentially ‘Ted Lasso by way of the Avengers,'” Zub said in an email. “I wanted to craft a story that was full of heart and interpersonal struggles and I’m incredibly proud of how it’s all coming together. I’ve built a reputation for writing team dynamics well and this book has already been one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had doing just that.”

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Milestone’s ‘Blood Syndicate’ returns in May

Geoffrey Thorne, ChrisCross and Juan Castro bring Wise Son, Holocaust, Tech-9 and more back to Dakota later this year.

The Blood Syndicate miniseries announced at last year’s FanDome event now has a creative team and a release date. Geoffrey Thorne, ChrisCross and Juan Castro will bring Tech-9, Wise Son and Fade back to Paris Island and the Dakotaverse this May for a six-issue series.

“Making Blood Syndicate the fourth pillar of this new Dakotaverse was just a matter of time,” said Milestone’s Reggie Hudlin. “Holocaust’s recruitment of ‘Bang Babies’ in Static Season One was a big hint that we’d eventually address the impact of the ‘Big Bang’ on Paris Island. Landing Geoffrey Thorne and CHRISCROSS as writer and artists for the series was pretty much the icing on the cake; they’re the perfect team for telling this story.”

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DC announces ‘Dark Crisis’ event series

Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere team up for a crossover that spins out of ‘Justice League’ #75 and pays tribute to DC’s past.

DC has announced their next big “Crisis” crossover series, following on a long tradition of using the term, whether said crisis is Infinite, on Multiple Earths, Final or, um, “Identity.” (Maybe it’s best to skip that last one).

This particular crisis ties back to Crisis on Infinite Earths, the landmark 1980s series by Marv Wolfman and George Perez that reduced the multiverse to a single Earth and introduced us to Pariah, who watched multiple universes die after his own did. It also has roots (appropriately) in one of my favorite stories from Swamp Thing, issue #50 by Alan Moore and Stan Woch, which saw Swamp Thing and his allies attempting to save Heaven from “The Great Darkness.” Finally, it’ll spin out of Justice League #75, due out in April, where the team will die at the hands of “a new  Dark  Army  made  up  of  the  DCU’s  greatest  villains.”

Dark Crisis will run for seven issues and is written by Joshua Williamson, featuring art by Daniel Sampere, colors by Alejandro Sánchez and lettering by Tom Napolitano.

“Dark Crisis is an epic DCU event about legacy,” said writer Joshua Williamson. “It will have all the giant, fun cosmic battles and Multiversal set pieces, but it’s not about reboots, retcons, or rewriting time and space. At its core it’s about the characters and the relationships that we’ve seen built over DC’s great history. Dark Crisis spins out of Justice League 75 ‘Death of the Justice League’ and connects all the story threads across the DCU since Infinite Frontier #0 in a major way. Unifying the new legacy of the DCU as we honor the classic. You can’t miss it!”

Here’s a teaser trailer:

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Gedeon + Johnson turn the Justice League into dinosaurs in ‘Jurassic League’

DC’s flagship team gets prehistoric in this new miniseries from Daniel Warren Johnson and Juan Gedeon.

If you thought 1999’s JLApe was the height of majesty for DC Comics, think again — Daniel Warren Johnson and Juan Gedeon are teaming up for Jurassic League, which will feature the familiar team as dinosaurs.

“Jurassic League is all I want to draw: dinos and epic fights,” Gedeon said. “My own version of a ’90s cartoon or video game. Expect a story about survival, unity and hope where the strong protect the weak in a world where danger lurks in every corner.”

Johnson and Gedeon are co-writing the six-issue miniseries, with Gedeon providing interior art and Johnson doing the covers. In it, Wonder Woman is a triceratops, the Joker is a dilophosaurus, Batman is an allosaurus and Superman is a brachiosaurus.

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‘Only the Savage will survive’ in Pepose + Magno’s ‘Savage Avengers’

A new team led by Conan the Barbarian takes on an evil Deathlok in the series, which debuts in May.

The Savage Avengers will return in May with an eclectic line-up and a new creative team, as David Pepose and Carlos Magno pit Conan and a new team of “loners, berserkers and killers” against an evil Deathlok cyborg.

Joining Conan on this time trek are Anti-Venom, Black Knight, Cloak & Dagger, Weapon H and Daredevil — aka the assassin formerly known as Elektra.

Pepose, whose credits include Scout’s Honor, Going to the Chapel and The O.Z., makes his Marvel debut on the title.

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Archies collide when ‘Archie Meets Riverdale’ in May

Writer Daniel Kibblesmith and artists Pat and Tim Kennedy will bring the different versions of Archie and the gang together in a new one-shot.

Two versions of Archie Andrews will meet in May when the happy, fun comics version of Archie meets the dark,broody Archie from TV’s Riverdale.

The new one-shot by writer Daniel Kibblesmith and artists Pat and Tim Kennedy will arrive in stores in May.

“Some of the best fun we have here at Archie Comics is when we take two wildly different concepts and jam them together and watch the chaos unfold afterwards,” said Mike Pellerito, Archie Comics’ new editor-in-chief/president. “The cult classic Archie Meets Punisher’ crossover from the 90s is a great example of taking two things that couldn’t be further apart in terms of tone and delivering a story that stands the test of time while holding true to both franchises.”

That’s certainly true; Archie has turned into one of the most flexible characters when it comes to crossovers or simply re-imagining the concepts, whether you’re talking about The CW’s Riverdale, the Archie Horror line or the countless crossovers with everyone from the Punisher to Predator to KISS.

“When the idea of doing a crossover between the classic versions of the Archie Comics characters with the gritty and dramatic Riverdale versions first came up, we knew we had to get someone with a great appreciation for both takes that could deliver everything we were looking for,” Pellerito said. “We’re so thrilled to have Daniel Kibblesmith on board, and together with Archie veterans Pat and Tim Kennedy, they’ve put together a story that is an absolute must-have for all Archie Comics and Riverdale fans!”

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Judgment Day, Hellfire Gala + Bloodline headline Marvel’s ‘Free Comic Book Day: Avengers/X-Men’

Kieron Gillen, Dustin Weaver, Danny Lore, Gerry Duggan and more contribute to the title, which arrives for free on May 7.

Marvel has released more details on their third Free Comic Book Day title for 2022, Avengers/X-Men, which will feature three stories.

As announced earlier today, the first one will preview the Judgment Day event, in a prelude story by writer Kieron Gillen and artist Dustin Weaver (who drew the preview artwork accompanying the announcement.) The event will feature the Avengers trying to avert a war between the Eternals and the X-Men.

The second story, by Gerry Duggan and artist Matteo Lolli, will serve as the lead-in to this year’s Hellfire Gala. a storyline that’ll take place this summer. Last year’s gala brought a new team of X-Men, the mutant takeover of Mars and the death of the Scarlet Witch — so who knows what will happen this year. Quicksilver, watch your back …

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Marvel officially announces the event series ‘Judgment Day’

Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti will bring together the X-Men, Avengers and Eternals for a symphony of destruction.

Marvel will bring together the X-Men, the Eternals and the Avengers for Judgment Day, a crossover series coming this summer from Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti.

The story will revolve around conflict between the Eternals and the X-Men, as the latter target Krakoa and the Avengers try to play peacekeeper. With Gillen already writing Eternals and Immortal X-Men on deck, it makes sense that he’d bring them together — and write his first event series for Marvel.

“There’s a classic metaphor to describe the Marvel Universe – a toybox, which creators take toys out of, play with and put back. I get it, but it’s never quite how I’ve seen it – I think ‘play’ in another way. I think of a music shop, with all these instruments with their different qualities suggesting different songs, different stories,” Gillen said. “For all the Marvel instruments I’ve played, I’ve never written an event. Writing an event is something different. It’s not like playing an instrument. It’s having all the instruments in the Marvel music shop. That’s not like writing a song. That’s like writing a symphony.”

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Marvel will preview Wells/Romita Jr.’s ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ on Free Comic Book Day

Following the release of a new ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #1 in April, Marvel will showcase the new creative team’s work with a free issue in May.

Marvel has announced more details and revealed covers for two of their three Free Comic Book Day titles for 2022.

Last year’s Spider-Man/Venom FCBD title previewed the “Beyond” era of Amazing Spider-Man, where Ben Reilly and the Beyond Corporation took over the Spider-Man name from Peter Parker and Marvel re-introduced a “writer’s room” approach to the comic. With the Beyond era wrapping up soon, Zeb Wells — one of several writers currently writing the title — will team with the legendary John Romita Jr. for a relaunch of Amazing Spider-Man. And Marvel will offer a preview of their run in this year’s Spider-Man/Venom FCBD title.

In addition, like last year, Marvel will preview the work Al Ewing, Ram V and Bryan Hitch are doing on Venom. Here’s a look at the main cover by Romita Jr. and the variant cover for the FCBD issue by Jonboy Meyers. Is this the first time we’ve seen a variant cover on a Free Comic Book Day title? I can’t recall that being a thing before.

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