Return to a ‘lake of goo’ in ‘Venomverse Reborn’

Hang with Venoms from around the multiverse in the new anthology series.

Rumors about the death of the Venomverse were apparently exaggerated, as Marvel has announced a follow-up anthology, Venomverse Reborn, for this summer.

Each issue will feature multiple stories by different creators starring different Venoms from around the multiverse. They’ll also include a framing sequence by Venom writer Al Ewing and Danilo S. Beyruth that will “lay the groundwork for the next symbiote epic.”

“I’m doing the framing sequence for these issues, and that means I get to see every one of these new symbiote sensations hit my inbox before anyone else outside editorial, and that’s definitely a perk of the job,” Ewing said. “As for what’s in that framing story—if you’ve been a fan of some of the more cosmic aspects we’ve brought to Venom of late, you should be more than happy. But the beauty of an anthology series like this is that there’s something to please everyone who dives into our lake of goo.”

Continue reading “Return to a ‘lake of goo’ in ‘Venomverse Reborn’”

Darth Maul slashes his way into his own ‘Black, White & Red’ miniseries

The first issue by Benjamin Percy and Stefano Raffaele arrives in April.

Following in the footsteps of Darth Vader, Darth Maul gets the Black, White & Red treatment this spring in a new miniseries coming from Marvel.

Each issue of the four-issue series will be by a different creative team, but the stories will run a full issue — rather than containing several shorter stories like previous BW&R series have. The first issue will feature a story by Wolverine writer Benjamin Percy and artist Stefano Raffaele, who has worked on previous volumes featuring Darth Vader and Moon Knight

“I’ve been a lifelong, obsessive fan of the Star Wars galaxy — it’s such a foundational part of my imagination — and it’s a thrill to be able to contribute to it now. My mind is busy with nightmares, so it’s especially a treat to step into the mind of Darth Maul, one of the great villains of this galaxy far, far away,” Percy told StarWars.com. “The silent assassin has a busy inner world. He is loyal to Palpatine, but that does not make him a puppet or a tool. He is willing to make his own decisions — ones that could shake the very fabric of the galaxy — as is the case in this chiller and thriller of a story, ‘The Final Occultation.'”

Continue reading “Darth Maul slashes his way into his own ‘Black, White & Red’ miniseries”

The new, evil Ghost Rider will release his vengeance in March

A Marvel villain takes the mantle from Johnny Blaze in ‘Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance’ by Benjamin Percy and Danny Kim.

After teasing that Johnny Blaze would drop the Ghost Rider mantle to someone unexpected, Marvel has revealed who exactly will become the new Spirit of Vengeance — and it is Parker Robbins, aka the street-level supernatural villain The Hood.

The Hood will assume his new role in Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance in March, by regular Ghost Rider scribe Benjamin Percy and artist Danny Kim.

“The Hood wants a taste of the big-time. And he’s made a deal with the devil to help him on his way,” Percy said. “This is what happens when the Spirit of Vengeance is stripped from Johnny Blaze and grafted on to a character who has no moral compass. An epic crime saga—flavored with horror—awaits readers in Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance.”

Continue reading “The new, evil Ghost Rider will release his vengeance in March”

Marvel will unleash a new Ghost Rider in ‘Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance’

Benjamin Percy and Danny Kim team up to reveal a new chapter for the Spirit of Vengeance.

Johnny Blaze’s long ride as Ghost Rider will reach its end (again) as a new Ghost Rider debuts next year in Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance.

Yes, his 50-year ride comes to an end … minus all the years when he wasn’t Ghost Rider, which was from 1983, when the original series ended and Blaze became demon-free, until the early 2000s, when he was demon-cursed again. So maybe more like 30 years, with a nice gap in between runs when he was living the good life with his wife Roxanne and their kids?

Anyway, this time someone new is going to become Ghost Rider. No, not Danny Ketch, or Robbie Reyes … or that guy who rides the mastodon, or Ghost Rider 2099, or Cosmic Ghost Rider, or the one who was also sorcerer supreme … ah, hell, just take a look at Greg Capullo’s variant cover:

Continue reading “Marvel will unleash a new Ghost Rider in ‘Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance’”

Wolverine + Sabretooth will go to war again in the 10-part ‘Sabretooth War’

The story by Benjamin Percy, Victor LaValle, Cory Smith and Geoff Shaw begins in January.

If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that at some point, Wolverine and Sabretooth are going to fight again. This time around, that battle will last for 10 issues of Wolverine’s regular title and will be “the most violent Wolverine story ever told,” according to Marvel.

“Sabretooth is the definition of big bad—one of the nastiest, cruelest, scariest villains in the 616 and Wolverine’s greatest nemesis,” Percy said. “Which is exactly why we haven’t allowed their stories to intersect—during this age of Krakoa—until now. The tension has built up painfully, and now these two savage titans are going to claw and slash their way into each other’s lives again in what will be the most violent Wolverine story in Marvel history.”

For the story, Percy will joined by novelist Victor LaValle, who has written several series featuring Sabretooth in recent years. Each chapter will be “led” by one of the two main characters, with Cory Smith drawing the Wolverine issues and Geoff Shaw drawing those featuring Sabretooth.

Continue reading “Wolverine + Sabretooth will go to war again in the 10-part ‘Sabretooth War’”

It’s a battle for the ages in ‘Predator vs. Wolverine’

X marks the spot as The Predator hunts a very lethal target in the upcoming crossover from Marvel.

Claws will be poppin’ in the new miniseries Predator vs. Wolverine, which brings 20th Century Fox’s Yautja into the Marvel universe to hunt Wolverine.

This is the only logical reason for Disney buying 20th Century Fox, so that this story could exist.

Writer Benjamin Percy will be joined by multiple artists on the project, including Greg Land, Andrea Di Vito, Ken Lashley and Kei Zama, as a Predator hunts the former Weapon X across Canada, Madripoor and more in a decade-spanning story.

“The mythologies of both are ingrained in me so deeply they might as well be strands of DNA or wisps of soul,” Percy told Marvel.com. “The guns, claws, beef and blood of both franchises have been stewing in my brain since 1987, when I read myself to sleep every night with a stack of Marvel comics and my friends and I used to play ‘Predator’ with Nerf guns in the woods and river near our neighborhood.”

Continue reading “It’s a battle for the ages in ‘Predator vs. Wolverine’”

Marvel reveals more about ‘Fall of X’ at MegaCon

Kate Pryde becomes Shadowkat again and gets a new costume, Colossus leads X-Force and Tony Stark teams with Emma Frost.

Marvel shared several tidbits and teasers about the upcoming Fall of X crossover event during a panel at this weekend’s MegaCon. The panel featured Senior Editor Jordan D. White, writers Gerry Duggan and Benjamin Percy, and artist Joshua Cassara.

We don’t know a lot about the overall Fall of X storyline just yet, but we do know a few things. For one, it’ll kick off in this year’s Hellfire Gala special, after getting a preview of sorts in four one-shots. It’ll also involve non-mutant heroes like Iron Man, as Tony Stark lost his company to X-Men villain Feilong and it’s now making its own Sentinels. While the overall plot is still unknown, it’ll involve “danger, conspiracy and sacrifice” that “threatens to shatter everything mutantkind accomplished on Krakoa.”

One thing revealed at the panel is a teaser image that lists all the crossover titles that will be part of the event, including several new titles that we haven’t heard about yet. The list includes current titles like X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force, Immortal X-Men and Invincible Iron Man, as well as the new (yet familiar in some cases) Astonishing Iceman, Children of the Vault, Uncanny Spider-Man, Alpha Flight, Dark X-Men, Realm of X and the previously announced Uncanny Avengers.

Here’s the teaser image by Bryan Hitch:

Continue reading “Marvel reveals more about ‘Fall of X’ at MegaCon”

Ghost Rider + Wolverine will team up this summer in ‘Weapons of Vengeance’

Two Marvel anti-heroes reunite courtesy of writer Benjamin Percy and artist Geoff Shaw.

Writer Benjamin Percy has been tearing it up in the pages of Ghost Rider and Wolverine, and come this summer he’ll bring the two characters together for Weapons of Vengeance.

The event will kick off, naturally, with an Alpha issue, titled Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons of Vengeance. Drawn by Geoff Shaw, the Alpha issue will recount the first encounter between Johnny Blaze and Wolverine.

“Wolverine is metal. Ghost Rider is metal. Together, their adamantium and chrome weigh in as HEAVY METAL!” Percy told Marvel.com. “You know how Metallica and Iron Maiden have toured together, shredded out songs, wailed on music videos? This is a little like that. I write the sheet music that Geoff Shaw brings to pyrotechnic, guitar-smashing life. You’re in for a head-banging good time, I promise.”

Continue reading “Ghost Rider + Wolverine will team up this summer in ‘Weapons of Vengeance’”

Wolverine gets a fun new partner for ‘Destiny of X’

Following ‘X Lives of Wolverine/X Deaths of Wolverine,” Benjamin Percy and Adam Kubert will bring together Deadpool and Wolverine for a wild team-up.

Following the events of X Lives of Wolverine/X Deaths of Wolverine, which kicks off later this month, Benjamin Percy and Adam Kubert will continue as the creative team on Wolverine as the Canadian mutant picks up a new partner — Deadpool.

The team-up kicks off in April’s Wolverine #20, which returns after a brief hiatus due to the X Lives/X Deaths miniseries and is part of the Destiny of X line-up.

“For 10 weeks, the X Lives of Wolverine/X Deaths of Wolverine will take readers on an epic, time-shredding adventure that sets up the next era of the mutant books: Destiny of X. How do you follow up something like that? You keep raising the bar higher. Readers will not only experience a non-stop thrill ride, starting in April, but a kickoff story that is as irreverent and hilarious as it is heart-bruised,” Percy told Marvel.com. “We’ve been teasing Deadpool for some time now, and he’s bullying his way into the pages of Wolverine for a wild (and reluctant) team-up that feels like some cousin to Midnight Run and The Fugitive. Get ready for more Maverick mayhem, more CIA spycraft, and more DANGER (yes, you read that right) at every turn.”

Continue reading “Wolverine gets a fun new partner for ‘Destiny of X’”

The next X-Men era, Destiny of X, kicks off in the spring

Following ‘Inferno” and January’s dual Wolverine miniseries comes ‘The Second Krakoan Age of X-Men.’

Marvel has put a name to what they’re referring to as “The Second Krakoan Age of X-Men”: Destiny of X. This new era of X-comics will feature several new titles, creative team changes and “revolutionary status quo changes” for the few remaining titles in the X-line-up.

“The journey of the Krakoan Age is far from over!” Senior Editor Jordan D. White told Marvel.com. “Our long-term plan that all our creators have been working on in our secret Council Chamber has only just begun to come to fruition. With the filling of the two empty council seats, the Reign of X has ended, and it’s time for mutantkind to reach for their destiny!”

Marvel shared some teaser art by Leini Francis Yu and Sunny Gho, which also lists the titles you can expect to see next year:

Continue reading “The next X-Men era, Destiny of X, kicks off in the spring”

Percy + Smith are planning a new road trip for ‘Ghost Rider’

The new series launches in February.

Marvel has announced that Johnny Blaze will ride again as Ghost Rider in a new series by Benjamin Percy and Cory Smith.

“I’m a horror head. I grew up reading Stephen King, watching John Carpenter and listening to Black Sabbath, and when it came to comics, I always reached first for the dark and weird which means I read a hell of a lot of Ghost Rider. That flaming skull. That spiked leather jacket. That monstrous bike coughing out clouds of sulfurous exhaust. To this day, the sight of the character blazing along a midnight highway makes my heart rev like a four-stroke engine,” Percy told Marvel.com.

Continue reading “Percy + Smith are planning a new road trip for ‘Ghost Rider’”

Marvel celebrates 35 years of ‘Aliens’ with ‘Aliens: Aftermath’ #1

Benjamin Percy and Dave Wachter return to the scene of the crime in a new one-shot.

Marvel will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the movie Aliens with a one-shot titles Aliens: Aftermath by Benjamin Percy and Dave Wachter.

The double-sized issue features a story set in Hadley’s Hope, the terraforming and mining colony where the original film takes place.

“When I was a kid, I had a door-length poster of a xenomorph crashing through the wood, tearing off the hinges, creeping forward with a drippy fanged smile,” Percy said. “This is the image I would drift away to every night, which no doubt influenced my imaginative hard-wiring, along with the films and comics that I watched and read over and over and over. To this day, I can’t grip a knife without wanting to lay my hand on a table and tick-tick-tick the point between my splayed fingers—I can’t play a game of ping-pong or Clue without yelling, ‘Game over, man.’—I can’t scratch an orange tabby without whispering , ‘You are my lucky star….lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky.’ I’ve been in love with these stories most of my life, and it’s truly an honor and a delight to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Aliens with a script inked in acid blood.”

Continue reading “Marvel celebrates 35 years of ‘Aliens’ with ‘Aliens: Aftermath’ #1”