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.
Gene Luen Yang and Dike Ruan’s run on Marvel’s Shang-Chi has focused both on family and legacy, and in the third issue Marvel’s Master of Kung Fu finds out he has yet another sibling — and she’s a mutant.
Zhilan is a mutant warrior with a dazzling power: she can turn music into solidified energy. According to Marvel.com, she was exiled by Shang-Chi’s evil father years ago, and now Shang-Chi is seeking her out — as is the Krakoa mutant nation, which will lead to a confrontation with Wolverine.
Check out the variant cover by Michael Cho, along with some preview pages by Ruan, below:
‘King Spawn’ ascends to the throne in August
Image Comics and Todd McFarlane have released some additional artwork and details about the upcoming King Spawn #1, which arrives in August. Above you can see the comic’s main cover, variants by Greg Capullo and Sean Gordon Murphy, and interior artwork by Javi Fernandez and FCO Plascencia.
“My goal is to give fans twice as much Spawn to read than they had before… and at the lowest price possible! And by the end of the year, there will be a Spawn-related book available for fans every week of the month,” McFarlane said. “We will be introducing new heroes and villains along with classic characters as we expand the Spawn universe into the future.”
Marvel announces 30th anniversary X-Force special by Rob Liefeld
Marvel has announced X-Force: Killshot by Rob Liefeld, a one-shot commemorating the 30th anniversary of 1991’s X-Force #1.
“X-Force was a huge gamble that paid off big for Marvel, paid off big for retailers and it changed my life forever.” Liefeld told Marvel.com. “I’m thrilled and honored to share Killshot with everyone. Thirty years in the making, I intend to make every page a huge kick for fans new and old.”
Per Marvel, this one-shot will feature Cable and his counterparts assembling “five separate X-Force squadrons – from various points in time – to converge on Asteroid S for an all-out assault to defeat Stryfe once and for all.”
Bunn, Mutti, Sebela + scare up stories for Grimm Tales From The Cave
Mad Cave Studios has announced Grimm Tales From The Cave, an anthology of horror stories inspired by Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Cullen Bunn, Andrea Mutti, Christopher Sebela, Nadia Shammas and Stephanie Phillips — as well as several winners from the 2020 Mad Cave talent search.
“It’s exciting to take a fairy tale–one, I’ll admit, I was not familiar with until Andrea mentioned it to me as one of his favorites–and turn it into something modern, poignant and even darker than the source material… which was pretty dark to begin with!” Bunn said. He and Mutti’s tale will run for 20 pages, as will one by Mark London and Luisa Russo.
You can check out the cover and some preview pages above; it arrives in stores in October.
Last Flight Out blasts off from Dark Horse in September
Dark Horse will kick off a new miniseries in September from Marc Guggenheim, Eduardo Ferigato, Marcelo Costa and Diego Sanches — Last Flight Out tells the story of “an absentee father trying to make amends with his daughter during the end of the world.”
“The idea of a story about a father trying to reconnect with his daughter during the end of the world has been burning a hole in my notebook for several years now,” Guggenheim said. “Fortunately, the pandemic gave me the time to finally write this story and I’m indebted to Kyle Higgins for introducing me to the superlative Eduardo Ferigato and to Dark Horse for so enthusiastically embracing this project.”
The details from Dark Horse: With Earth rendered uninhabitable, humanity has chosen to evacuate to the stars. However, with just 24 hours left until the last ark leaves forever, its designer’s estranged daughter goes missing. Can he find her before time runs out and repair the relationship before it’s too late? Family, fatherhood, and the hunt for forgiveness shape this thrilling apocalyptic tale.
The first of six issues arrives Sept. 1.
Jamie McKelvie will draw a story for Captain Marvel #30
Even though he designed the costumes for both Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel, artist Jamie McKelvie has never had the chance to draw one of their stories — until now. McKelvie has written and drawn a story featuring both characters that will appeared in the oversized Captain Marvel #30. Check out some preview art:
“Despite designing both Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel, I never had the chance to work on stories about either of them,” McKelvie said. “So I was excited to be asked to contribute to this issue, and get to tell a story that gets to the heart of how I see both Carol and Kamala.”
Captain Marvel #30 arrives in stores July 21.
Captain America of Harrisburg debuts in July
The United States of Captain America miniseries kicked off last week, and in each issue a different creative team is introducing a “new” Captain America — an ordinary citizen inspired by the actions of the “real” Captain America. Issue #2, which comes out July 28, will introduce Nichelle Wright, the Captain America of Harrisburg, Penn.
Mohale Mashigo and Natacha Bustos will tell the story of Wright. “The thing I can say about Nichelle,” said Mashigo, “is that she is working day and night to bring change into a world where she feels defeated. Nichelle is a light in a dark time and she wants to take ownership of her community and space in America.”
Check out a variant cover, design sketches and some preview pages featruing the new Captain America below:
‘Children of the Plague’ arrive in September
Writer/artist Robert Love will team with colorist Jeffrey Kimbler and letterer David Walker for Children of the Plague, a new one-shot coming from Dark Horse Comics in September.
The plague in question comes from outer space and infects children with super powers, who are then rounded up by the evil Valmount Corporation to be tested and put into battle. The star of the story is Remy, an infectee who fights to free herself and her brother.
“This story is not about fighting monsters, it’s about Remy’s personal struggle. Although she has come to accept her pending death, her relationship with Valmount and her brother Peter is the greatest challenge she’s ever faced— not the fire-breathing monster she’s about to fight. I wanted to do a story about fighting to survive in an unrelenting world that you were not responsible for creating,” Love said.
The one-shot arrives Sept. 29.
Dormammu brings ‘THE LAST ANNIHILATION’ to Marvel
The villain for Marvel’s upcoming The Last Annihilation crossover event stands revealed — Doctor Strange’s greatest foe, the dreaded Dormammu, will unleash terror on the galaxy when he merges with Ego the Living Planet.
The crossover will feature the Guardians of the Galaxy, S.W.O.R.D. and the return of the original Cable, among other characters. Al Ewing is spearheading the whole thing.
“We wanted to pit our space heroes against an unexpected big bad – and I don’t believe anyone guessed Dormammu, so mission accomplished,” Ewing said. “With a possessed Ego the Living Planet in his grip, he’s even more horrifically powerful that you remember, and he’s got a new magical plan to take our entire reality for his own – one that might surprise you all over again.”
The event begins in Guardians of the Galaxy #16 on July 21.
Scarlet Witch takes center stage on these ‘X-Men: The Trial of Magneto’ #1 Covers
For someone who is supposedly “dead,” the Scarlet Witch is getting a lot of attention on these covers for the upcoming X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #1. The first one is the main cover by Valerio Schiti, followed by variants by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau and Elizabeth Torque. It goes on sale Aug. 18.
Orlando, Foxe and Sanchez team for ‘Party & Prey’ OGN
Steve Orlando, Steve Foxe and Alex Sanchez will tell “a taboo-breaking queer thriller” in Party & Prey, a new graphic novel coming from AfterShock Comics in October.
“There is a very valid, important time and place for affirming, uplifting queer stories, and both of us Steves thankfully get to work on a lot of those, too,” writers Orlando and Foxe said in a statement. “But there’s also a need for queer creators to be able to tell other kinds of stories, even those with difficult content or challenging going things to say about the community itself. That’s not to say the book is about gay misery or suffering—far from it, by the time you reach the last pages—but readers who pick up Party & Prey are going to find a thrill ride that isn’t afraid to ask some difficult questions.”
Look for it in stores on Oct. 6.
Preview: Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads
Peter David returns later this month to tell more tales of Symbiote Spider-Man with Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads. David teams up with Greg Land, Jay Leisten, and Frank D’Armata for a new miniseries that sees their alternate reality Spider-Man swinging into the Crossroads Dimension, where the Hulk resided for a short time back in the 1980s. The first of five issues arrives July 28.
Celebrate 10 years of Miles with variant covers
All throughout September — with some spillover into October — Marvel will celebrate Miles Morales’ 10th anniversary with a series of variant covers on many of their titles. Check out several of them above, and then head over to Marvel.com to see the full list.