Slugfest | SDCC news + more

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you from comics creators, publishers and more. Today’s edition includes some San Diego news we didn’t get to this past week, plus a few other items to note. Hit the links for more information.

If you read the Hellfire Gala 2023 special this week, then you know Ms. Marvel is playing a big role in what happens next to our favorite mutants. At San Diego, Marvel revealed more about Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant, the Fall of X miniseries featuring the recently resurrected Inhuman/mutant.

Here’s a look at the covers for the first three issues, along with the solicitation information (which was “hidden” when Marvel originally released their solicitations, to keep everything a surprise).

MS. MARVEL: THE NEW MUTANT #1 – 75960620701500111
Written by IMAN VELLANI & SABIR PIRZADA
Art by CARLOS GÓMEZ & ADAM GORHAM
Cover by SARA PICHELLI
On Sale 8/30

Kamala Khan is back… and she’s an X-Man! That’s right—the good news is that fresh off her world-saving death, Kamala has been brought back via Krakoan Resurrection Technology! What a way to learn that she’s a mutant! The bad news is her debut at the Hellfire Gala didn’t go exactly as planned, and now all of mutantkind are being hunted worldwide! Into this world of hate and fear, Kamala has a secret mission to pull off for the X-Men, all the while struggling to acclimate to this new part of her identity!

MS. MARVEL: THE NEW MUTANT #2 – 75960620701500211
Written by IMAN VELLANI & SABIR PIRZADA
Art by CARLOS GÓMEZ & ADAM GORHAM
Cover by SARA PICHELLI
On Sale 9/27

Undercover under Orchis’ nose! Ms. Marvel’s mission makes her a target for Orchis, but they have no idea they’re looking for a completely normal teenage girl in their summer science program. Thankfully, Iron Man and Emma Frost are able to stop by and show Kamala how to fly under the radar!

MS. MARVEL: THE NEW MUTANT #3
Written by IMAN VELLANI & SABIR PIRZADA
Art by CARLOS GÓMEZ & ADAM GORHAM
Cover by SARA PICHELLI
On Sale 10/25

And what Marvel series would be complete without a collection of variant covers, of which Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant will have many, and they pay tribute to various past X-Men covers:

Dark Horse announces OPERATION SUNSHINE

At the San Diego Comic Con, Dark Horse announced Operation Sunshine, a new miniseries written by Henry Zebrowski and Marcus Parks, the hosts of The Last Podcast on the Left. They’re working with artist David Rubiin, colorist K.J. Diaz and letterer Ferran Delgado on the story, which is about a group of young vampires trying to steal a mystical artifact that can turn them back into humans.

Joe Casey returns to DC

During the convention, DC announced a new title by Joe Casey and Dan McDaid — Kneel Before Zod, which they didn’t reveal much about beyond the fact that it’ll kick off in January.

Dark Horse will publish Satan’s Swarm, a horror graphic novel by Steve Niles, Piotr Kowalski, Lovern Kindzierski and Nate Piekos next year. Here’s the description:

Dr. Philip Morgan invites entomologists, young influencers, and a reporter, amongst others, to his secluded coastal research facility for a mysterious and bizarre study. What they find is a zoo of death, where local residents have been eaten to the bone, and the specimens they have come to understand have them on the menu next.

The graphic novel will arrive in stores beginning April 2.

Marvel will collect their 1970s calendars into a book

From 1975 to 1981, Marvel released some very fun calendars, featuring various Marvel characters, as well as birthdays, fist appearances and other fun tidbits. You see art from them pop up on the internet, in particular on Tumblr, all the time, especially when the dates align for with a current month. These calendars will be collected in the Mighty Marvel Calendar Book: A Visual History, which hits stores in December.

Tamaki + Patridge team up on SUpergirl Special

As revealed by artist Skylar Patridge on Twitter and in DC’s October solicitations, DC will publish Supergirl Special #1 by Mariko Tamaki and Patridge on Oct. 31:

After joining the Superman Family and their heroic efforts in Metropolis, Kara thought she had found her place in the world. But there’s only room in town for one Supergirl, and Power Girl’s sudden reappearance has made her redundant. Her identity and role are both in question as she looks for answers. Will they lead her out of the city or out of this world?

Dc announces two new middle-grade OGNs

During their “Books for Young Readers” panel in San Diego, DC revealed two new projects:

• Jeffrey Brown is writing a sequel to his Batman and Robin and Howard middle-grade graphic novel, with the next installment titled Batman and Robin and Howard: Summer Breakdown,  a three-issue comic book series set to be released starting in March 2024. 
• Author Sherri L. Smith arrived in secret to announce her first DC graphic novel, a new middle-grade graphic novel called Lightning: Changes, featuring art by Lily J Allen, hitting shelves in Fall 2024. Lightning: Changes follows young Jennifer Pierce as she navigates a difficult summer—if growing up wasn’t enough of a challenge, add unexpected lightning powers connected to it!

Attack of the variants

Let’s end things with a few variant covers …

Marvel finishes out the Disney 100 variant cover program they’ve been running all year with three more covers that will appear on Amazing Spider-Man issues in October, November and December:

They’ve also got a “Marvel Super Stories” variant covers set that will begin in October. The theme for these is essentially “Marvel characters reading Marvel comics,” and it starts with Thor reading a copy of G.O.D.S. #1 on the cover of Immortal Thor #3 by Giuseppe Camuncoli:

And then there’s a set of “New Champions” variant covers coming in October, which, in the vein of Spider-Boy, imagine new sidekicks for other Marvel heroes. It seems odd for Marvel to create all these characters just for a set of variant covers, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some of them again.

And finally, we know that Moon Knight’s days are numbered, and to commemorate the occasion, Marvel has announced the Knight’s End variants, which will appear on many of their November titles.