comic books – Page 3

Geoffrey Thorne + Marcus To will bring X-Force back ‘From the Ashes’ this summer

Forge, Betsy Braddock, Rachel Summers and more will headline the rebooted X-title.

Forge, the X-Men’s resident inventor, has a plan to repair the world, and that solution is X-Force. Geoffrey Thorne and Marcus To will helm the new team book with a familiar title this summer as a part of Marvel’s “From the Ashes” X-Men reboot.

First launched in the early 1990s by writer/artist Rob Liefeld, X-Force has long held the role of the team that would go to extremes to help mutantkind. In this latest iteration, Forge “will bear witness to everything broken in the world,” and he assembles an “off the books” team to fix it that includes Rachel Summers, Betsy Braddock, Sage, Surge and Tank.

“I cannot believe the reaction to my pitch with, ‘That sounds like X-Force to us,'” Thorne said. “It’s a new vibe and a different mission, but it’s still X-Force. Looking at all the books coming out under this banner, I’ll just paraphrase the prophet, Sheryl Crow: ‘All I wanna do is have some fun.’ Looking at what I’m getting to do and what the others are bringing, I’m absolutely not the only one.”

‘Dark Knights of Steel’ sequel ‘Allwinter’ begins in July

DC enlists fantasy novelist Jay Kristoff and Spanish artist Tirso to continue the Elseworlds story.

As announced last year at the New York Comic Con, DC has several Elseworlds projects in the works for 2024. While June will bring Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #1 by Andy Diggle and Leandro Fernandez, DC has shared more details on July’s Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter this week.

The spinoff of Dark Knights of Steel will continue the story of a medieval world populated by versions of DC characters. It’s by fantasy novelist Jay Kristoff and Spanish artist Tirso, who recently signed an exclusive contract with the publisher.

The duo will continue the story from the first volume by Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri. Taylor returns to write a back-up story for the miniseries, with art by Riccardo Federici.

“Dark Knights of Steel was one of my favorite reads; it combines a super-attractive universe with an unbeatable team dynamic,” Tirso said. “Working as a team with Jay, in this universe, has been one of my best professional experiences so far.

Slugfest | Black Widow gets ‘Venomous’ in a new one-shot

Plus news and announcements on Hellverine, Misty, Nick Cagnetti, Paul Pope, Blood Hunt, Briar, Joy Operations and more!

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you that we haven’t otherwise covered. Hit the links for more information.

If you’ve been reading Venom of late, you know that the Black Widow — who already has a cool spider name — has gone and gotten herself a symbiote. This summer, writer Erica Schultz and artist Luciano Vecchio will “unleash Natasha Romanoff’s full potential as a symbiote warrior” in a new one-shot.

Black Widow: Venomous will not only show the super-spy figuring out how to work with her new partner, but will also set the stage for the upcoming Venom War event.

“Who doesn’t want to write Natasha Romanoff? And with a badass symbiote, it didn’t take much to convince me,” Schultz said. “Luciano Vecchio’s art is so amazing. It’s been so fun to delve into Nat’s spy craft techniques, and you just may learn something new about her.”

‘Robin Lives!’ will show what might have happened if Jason Todd never died

‘From the DC Vault: Death in the Family: Robin Lives!’ kicks off in July.

The death of Jason Todd at the hands of the Joker — aided by a 1-900 number and 5,343 fans — is a story that has lived in infamy within the annals of comicdom since “Batman: Death in the Family” first hit comic shelves in 1988. But what if Robin hadn’t died? What if 73 more people had called the number that asked DC not to kill him?

Writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Rick Leonardi will explore that alternate reality in From the DC Vault: Death in the Family: Robin Lives! (Which is quite the title; maybe they should have just called it “Life in the Family”) The four-issue miniseries follows last year’s “faux-simile” edition of Batman #428, which featured the alternative ending to the story that Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo created back in the 1980s in case fans showed Jason Todd mercy.

“Continuing this classic, and controversial, story and following in the footsteps of Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo, two creators I greatly admire, has been both a challenge and a joy,” said DeMatteis. “This is a great opportunity to tell a story that’s big on action, but also takes a very deep dive into the heads of our main characters as we ponder what would have happened if Jason Todd had survived The Joker’s brutal attack. And having a master like Rick Leonardi bringing it to life visually? I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Mad Cave announces the supernatural horror series ‘The Last Wardens’

Elliot Sperl, Amit Tishler and Rui Silveira head back to the 1970s for a grindhouse-inspired adventure.

Co-writers Elliot Sperl and Amit Tishler will team with artist Rui Silveira, colorist Francesco Segala and letterer Frank Cvetkovic for The Last Wardens, a “supernatural crime drama” coming from Mad Cave Studios this summer.

“The Last Wardens is a sheep in wolf’s clothing,” Tishler said. “It’s designed to subvert expectations! The setting, atmosphere and visual style are clearly inspired by classic horror films, but the story’s lore, setting and structure are more akin to modern epics. Chaotic violence clashes with complex emotional drama, as the comic explores the theme of FAILURE, and how to chew it up, spit it out and ask for seconds. The series is the brainchild of a creative collaboration between Elliot and me, and despite differing in tone from personal works, it has all the elements I love in a story: historical fiction, supernatural elements, a slowly unraveling mystery…and some ridiculous amount of gore.”

The story focuses on small-town girl Daneille, whose long-lost brother returns from the Vietnam War in the 1970s with a mutation and a team of paranormal misfits on his trail.

“I’m a huge fan of ‘Rubber Monster Suit’ horror movies, and creating a comic that harkens back to the VHS-era has been a blast! But packing references into The Last Wardens was never the end goal, EVERY design choice in this series is intentional,” Sperl said. “For example, the 1970s setting plays a major role in our cast’s journeys, skills and the tools they have at their disposal. But the story wouldn’t pack half the punches if it wasn’t told through the lens of our POV character. Danielle Pryer is the heart and soul of this story, and the heartbreaking choices she’s forced to make are what turn this mayhem-fueled adventure into something that readers can connect with on a deeper level.”

‘Misery’ doesn’t love company in this new Spawn Universe title

The new title by Todd McFarlane and Szymon Kudrański featuring a classic Spawn character kicks off in May.

The expansion of the Spawn universe continues in Misery, a four-issue miniseries about Cyan Fitzgerald, the daughter of Spawn’s wife, Wanda, who passed away in 2016. Cyan, now 17, has a “healing” power that forces her to distance herself from those she loves.

McFarlane will write the series, which will be drawn by Szymon Kudrański, artist of Blood Commandment. It’s part of the much bigger Spawn Universe that McFarlane is building out this year.

“Having two daughters myself, I watch them both grow older, see them flourish and struggle, as they become young women,” said McFarlane. “To also try and imagine that they’ve lost their biggest supporter, their mom—it would have been so very impactful on their lives. This was the inspiration for the idea of this book: What if, at the most crucial time in a young person’s life, instead of embracing all that life has to offer, they instead had to shield themselves from society. What would that do to their maturing personalities? That’s what this book will explore while also bringing in a dark element of horror that will haunt the Cyan character.”

Return to the world of ‘Mezo’ for ‘The Trial of Roden’ this May [Exclusive Preview]

Tyler Chin-Tanner, Val Rodrigues, Gab Contreras and Varga Tomi are joined by Jarred Luján for the next chapter in the magical Mesoamerican saga.

Things will go from bad to worse for Roden, the soldier who showed mercy to his enemy in 2022’s Mezo: Battle at Coban Rock. Creator and writer Tyler Chin-Tanner and artists Val Rodrigues, Gab Contreras and Varga Tomi return to the world of Mezo this May with Mezo: The Trial of Roden.

The five-issue miniseries from A Wave Blue World will kick off on May 1, when Chin-Tanner will welcome co-writer Jarred Luján to the team. While Mezo is set in a past where magic is real, the book’s strength comes from its gripping wartime adventure, political intrigue, old-world combat and character moments.

“There really is some beautiful character work in Mezo, and this entire volume, I think, speaks to that,” Luján said. “While the book obviously centers on Roden after his arrest for sparing Uhna’s life, one of my favorite parts really is Kyma and her quest for vengeance against Phegor. A lot has happened in two volumes of this series, but this really feels like the biggest collision point since Vuh started this war back in the debut issue.”

Courtesy of A Wave Blue World, we’re pleased to present an exclusive preview of Rodrigues’ art from the first issue.

“One of the things I was most excited for when we got back to Mezo was to see how Val would apply some of his new art techniques. He’s been visualizing this unique fantasy world through volumes 1 and 2, and he’s taking it to a whole new level with volume three. You can see how he’s starting to play around with page layout and make the visual style of this series his own,” said Chin-Tanner.

Check out the first issue’s covers, solicitation information and the preview below.

Marvel celebrates 10-ish years of Skottie Young variant covers with a new series of Skottie Young variant covers

Marvel will also release Young’s ‘Giant-Size Little Marvels’ in print.

If there’s one artist who has become synonymous with Marvel variant covers, it would have to be Skottie Young, who has been drawing his “Little Marvels” versions of their characters for more than 10 years now. Gentle Giant even released statues based on his art.

Marvel plans to celebrate that milestone with a new poster, the print release of the Giant-Size Little Marvels Infinity Comic in June and, you guessed it — a series of variant covers.

“It’s hard to believe that we’re celebrating 10 years of my Young Variants,” Young said. “It’s easier to believe that we’re celebrating 10 years of my covers on the 12th year of me doing them. I mean, it’s Marvel Comics. Everyone’s crazy busy and it’s hard to keep track of every anniversary. And hey, we love playing fast and loose with numbering of things, right? Joking aside, it’s a been such a fun 12 years of getting to make people smile and laugh with my take on the Marvel Universe. Here’s to 10-ish or 12-ish more!”

The ‘Minor Threats’ universe expands again this summer with ‘Barfly’

Kyle Starks and Ryan Browne team up the tale of a humanoid mutant fly.

Kyle Starks and Ryan Browne are two creators who I would have sworn had worked together before doing a quick Google search to discover that no, I’m apparently wrong. I do think they have similar sensibilities, if you look at their previous work, from Browne’s collaborations with Charles Soule on Cursed Words and 8 Billion Genies to Starks’ Assassin Nation or Sexcastle, as both go out with wild ideas and even wilder executions … so maybe you can see why I thought that.

So I am pleased to see that will soon change, as they’ll team up on another Minor Threats spin-off at Dark Horse Comics, titled Barfly — which is about a humanoid mutant fly. Minor Threats is the 2022 miniseries by Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum and Scott Hepburn that has produced a previous spinoff and a sequel miniseries that begins in April, and that universe will keep expanding this summer.

“I’m so excited to be invited to add to the tapestry that is the wonderful, super-powered world of Minor Threats that Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt have brought to comics,” Starks said. “To get to do it with incredible, unequaled Ryan Browne is an unbelievable cherry on top of an already delicious great comic ice cream sundae. I truly think people are going to fall in love with the lovable loser Sh*teater – a sweet little fella who’s just trying to find his place in the world after years of being a nameless minion!”

‘Joker: The World’ will feature creators from 13 countries

The anthology will arrive in September, just in time for Batman Day.

Back in 2021, DC’s Batman: The World anthology brought together Batman stories by creators from around the world. DC has announced a similar project for this September titled Joker: The World, which will again bring together international creators to tell stories about the Clown Prince of Crime.

The book will include stories by creative teams from 13 different countries, with contributions from Geoff Johns, Satoshi Miyagawa, David Rubin, German Peralta, Alvaro Fong Varela, Jason Fabok and more. In the press release, DC said the stories will be “tailored to the authentic style, tone and cultural sensibilities of different nations around the world.”

Greg Pak + Diego Galindo bring ‘Lawful’ to BOOM! Studios

The new series explores the difference between what’s right and what’s the law.

Imagine if the rules Pinocchio lived by applied to a whole city, but instead of their noses growing when they lied, they slowly transformed into monsters. That’s the premise behind Lawful, a new series coming from BOOM! Studios this summer.

Greg Pak of Incredible Hercules and Mech Cadet Yu fame and Diego Galindo, artist of Stranger Things: The Voyage, team up for a new series about a city where breaking the law comes with an interesting price.

“Lawful may be simultaneously one of the most personal and fantastical stories I’ve ever written, and I’m so grateful to be working with this brilliant team to bring it to life,” Pak said. “If you’re a fan of gorgeous, lush, organic art that takes you somewhere you’ve never been and tales of young heroes struggling to do the right thing in a world of impossible mandates, this book is for you.”

DSTLRY announces ‘The Big Burn’ by Joe Henderson + Lee Garbett

The new series begins in July.

Hell is a casino in the new series The Big Burn, coming this summer from DSTLRY. And what better place for a couple of condemned thieves to try and break into, to steal their souls back?

Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett, who worked together on Skyward and Shadecraft at Image Comics, will bring this new vision of the underworld to life.

“Creating these worlds with Lee is always an absolute dream, and I’m excited to introduce readers to our unique and deeply twisted take on Hell this summer,” Henderson said. “While The Big Burn features a darker tone than our previous work, the emotional journey of our star-crossed thieves Owen and Carlie maintains the same heartfelt storytelling we’re known for. It’s exciting for us to challenge ourselves with this book, and I always love a good heist.”

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