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.”

Continue reading “Slugfest | Black Widow gets ‘Venomous’ in a new one-shot”

The Krakoan Age will conclude in two new X-Men miniseries

Marvel announces ‘Fall of the House of X’ and ‘Rise of the Powers of X’ at the New York Comic Con.

All good things, as they say. The Krakoan Age, the current era of X-Men comics that began in 2019 when Jonathan Hickman returned to Marvel for House of X and Powers of X, will come to its official end next year in two miniseries announced today at New York Comic Con.

Fall of the House of X by Gerry Duggan and Lucas Werneck, will continue the story of Cyclops and his capture during Fall of X, as he’s put on trial and faces the death penalty. Rise of the Powers of X by Kieron Gillen and R.B. Silva takes place in the future as mutants attempt to stop Omega Sentinel and Nimrod from summoning “their binary god to consume everything in their accession.”

As they’ve done before, Mark Brooks and Richard Isanove supply the teaser image, which showcases Marvel mutants in various costumes from the comic’s history:

Continue reading “The Krakoan Age will conclude in two new X-Men miniseries”

Marvel returns to the ‘Edge of Spider-Verse’

Zander Cannon, Karla Pacheco, Pere Pérez and more present new stories starring Spider-Rex, Spinstress and more.

If you thought the Spider-Verse was ending — and why wouldn’t you? It was right there in the title, “End of Spider-Verse” — think again. Marvel has announced another Edge of Spider-Verse anthology miniseries that will feature more Spider-themed stories and characters.

The first issue will include a cover by Patrick Brown as well as:

Continue reading “Marvel returns to the ‘Edge of Spider-Verse’”

April’s Marvel’s Voices anthology will focus on the Spider-Verse

The anthology returns with new stories featuring Miles Morales, Silk and more.

Marvel has announced that their April Marvel’s Voices anthology will focus on a specific character family — Spider-Man and his, um, Amazing Friends. Marvel’s Voices: Spider-Verse will arrive in stores April 5.

Marvel has shifted their approach to their Marvel’s Voices anthology series, as they continue to expand the brand into different places. In addition to adding new digital stories under that banner to Marvel Unlimited, they’ve now announced two anthologies focused on specific character families. Marvel’s Voices: Wakanda Forever will land in February, just in time for Black History Month.

Continue reading “April’s Marvel’s Voices anthology will focus on the Spider-Verse”

Marvel’s Voices anthology launches on Marvel Unlimited

A four-part Iceman story by Luciano Vecchio comes to Infinity Comics for Pride Month.

Marvel has published several Marvel’s Voices anthologies over the last few years that focus on underrepresented characters and creators. Now that initiative is expanding to digital, as Marvel has announced new Marvel’s Voices stories as part of their Infinity Comics line on Marvel Unlimited.

The first, which launches during Pride Month, is a four-part Iceman story by Luciano Vecchio.

“As a queer creator, getting the chance to work as writer/artist on one of my favorite characters, and be part of the cultural conversation about queer rep in mainstream media with my own work, feels necessary and vital for me,” Vecchio told Out Magazine. “I had the chance before in the Marvel’s Voices specials to express my ideas about LGBTQ+ superheroes as a collective, and now I get to explore the individual experience of Iceman, which isn’t exchangeable to that of any other character.”

Continue reading “Marvel’s Voices anthology launches on Marvel Unlimited”

Mail Call | ‘That Texas Blood’ returns with a new story arc in June

Today’s round-up includes announcements and previews from Marvel, DC, Skybound, Image, Dark Horse and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

That Texas Blood, the excellent small-town noir series by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips, returns next month from Image Comics with a new story arc that delves into Ambrose County’s past, “blowing off some of that desert dust and seeing what lurks beneath,” Phillips said.

That Texas Blood #7 will arrive in comic shops on June 30.

“Returning to Ambrose County and these characters is like going home in many ways. They feel like old friends more than old creations and none more so than Sheriff Joe Bob Coates. I’m beyond excited to explore a bit of Joe’s past in this next story arc as we travel back in time to 1981. We’ll see new places, meet new people, and explore ideas we haven’t before. I’ve always believed that the beginning years of any decade are the hangover of the previous one, and I am absolutely thrilled that we are allowed to dissect this over the next six issues with our merry band of Ambrose Countians,” said Condon. “But don’t be fooled, we aren’t viewing the past through rose-colored glasses. I’ve said before that Texas is America’s mystical land, but every fantasy world has a minotaur lurking in the dark or a dragon breathing through smoking nostrils over armor-clad corpses. Our Texas is no different. The shadows there stretch to the horizon, devouring all light. But there are some who see the darkness and strike a match to light the way. I hope that you’ll join us on our trip down Highway 90, into the heart of Ambrose County and into the dark depths of the past. But don’t you fret, we’re not out of matches yet.”

Check out the first issue’s covers:

Continue reading “Mail Call | ‘That Texas Blood’ returns with a new story arc in June”

Marvel will debut the new character Somnus in ‘Marvel’s Voices: Pride’

Steve Orlando, Claudia Aguirre and Luciano Vecchio bring the new character to life.

The Marvel’s Voice: Pride anthology arrives in June, and when it does, it will bring the debut of a new character — Somnus, who will appear in a story written by Steve Orlando and drawn by Claudia Aguirre.

“Somnus, Carl Valentino, is inspired not only by my own family history, but by my experiences with past generations of LGBTQ+ folks from across the country, people I wouldn’t have met without comics,” Orlando said. “While there is still plenty of work to do, we’ve also come a long way as a community. Somnus is a chance to explore how my own late queer relatives may have felt, living in more prejudiced times. He’s also a chance to celebrate past generations as a whole and acknowledge the strides we’ve made that they may not have lived to see.”

The character was designed by artist Luciano Vecchio, who also provides a variant cover featuring Somnus:

Continue reading “Marvel will debut the new character Somnus in ‘Marvel’s Voices: Pride’”

Marvel announces ‘Marvel’s Voices: Pride’ #1

The anthology will feature new stories by Kieron Gillen, Olivier Coipel, Steve Orlando, Anthony Oliveira, Tini Howard, Vita Ayala, Kris Anka, Javier Garrón and more.

Marvel has announced their plans for Pride Month, which include a new issue of their Marvel Voices featuring their “first-ever queer-centered special spotlighting Marvel’s growing tapestry of LGBTQ+ characters.” They also plan to have a series of variant covers drawn by Phil Jimenez.

Contributors to the anthology issue include Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung, Kieron Gillen, Olivier Coipel, Steve Orlando, Anthony Oliveira, Tini Howard, Vita Ayala, Kris Anka, Javier Garrón and Luciano Vecchio, who provides the issue’s cover.

Continue reading “Marvel announces ‘Marvel’s Voices: Pride’ #1”

Mail Call | DC reveals more details on April’s relaunch of ‘Green Lantern’

A round-up of recent news on ‘Aliens,’ DC Future State, IDW’s Canto and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

When Green Lantern returns later this year after the events of Future State, Geoffrey Thorne and Dexter Soy will chart a new path for John Stewart, Sojourner “Jo” Mullein from Far Sector and Teen Lantern, the hacker Green Lantern who appeared in Young Justice.

Here’s how DC describes the first issue: With the majority of Green Lanterns called back to Oa, John Stewart arrives alongside Teen Lantern Keli Quintela, whose homemade gauntlet could be one of the most powerful and unstable weapons in the universe. With the entire landscape of the universe in flux, is this the end of the Green Lantern Corps…or a new beginning?

Continue reading “Mail Call | DC reveals more details on April’s relaunch of ‘Green Lantern’”

What Are You Reading? | Ironheart, Midnighter and more!

See what the Smash Pages crew has checked off their “to read” list lately.

Welcome once again to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately. You can play along in the comments if you wish.

Now here we go …

Continue reading “What Are You Reading? | Ironheart, Midnighter and more!”