Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on Marvel’s May 2026 titles … mostly. Hit the links for more info.
Marvel not only revealed news on several upcoming comics projects at last week’s ComicsPro meeting, but also released their solicitations for May as well. So here’s a look at several of the new projects they’ll release in May, along with a few other comics for later in the year that have come to light.
Starting off, Marvel Comics will publish Civil War: Unmasked, a five-issue limited series revisiting the 2006 event. Written by Christos Gage with art by Edgar Salazar and colors by original Civil War colorist Morry Hollowell, the series tells previously unseen stories set before, during and after the events of the original crossover, spotlighting Iron Man, Spider-Man, Goliath, Tigra and Captain America.
The first issue sends Tony Stark on a mission into the Days of Future Past timeline, where a glimpse of an apocalyptic future forces him to reconsider everything he believed about the Superhuman Registration Act.
Gage has a personal connection to the era — his one-shot Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War was his first high-profile Marvel project, also published during the original Civil War in 2006.
“In 2006, I was a rookie comic book writer when a short delay in the production of the epic Civil War event limited series led to me being offered the one-shot Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War. It was my first really high profile project at Marvel, a big hit, and 20 years later, they still haven’t managed to get rid of me! So it’s a thrill and an honor to revisit that troubled time with Civil War: Unmasked, in which I have the privilege of joining with brilliant artist Edgar Salazar and trend-setting original Civil War colorist Morry Hollowell to reveal never-before-told stories from that milestone event,” Gage said.
The main cover is by Geoff Shaw, with a variant by original Civil War artist Steve McNiven. The first issue arrives May 6.
As part of the Death Spiral crossover running through Amazing Spider-Man and Venom this spring, Marvel will publish Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral Body Count #1, a one-shot revealing the origin of Torment, the new super-powered serial killer whose killing spree puts Spider-Man, Venom and Carnage on a collision course.
The one-shot is written by Charles Soule with art by Kev Walker.
“Spider-Man was always a favorite of mine, and getting to write him a bit – not to mention Venom and Carnage – how could it get better? Well, adding a new villain to his rogue’s gallery, and even getting to design his origin… that would probably do it,” Soule said. “Torment is a pretty intense character, and figuring out a beginning for him that could build to what we see him do in Death Spiral was a fantastic challenge. I think readers will be chilled and thrilled!”
The one-shot arrives May 13., with a cover by CAFU and a variant by Iban Coello, which i s made up of all of Coello’s character-focused variants from the crossover.
Marvel will republish issues #1 and #3 of Kurt Busiek and George Pérez’s 2003 crossover JLA/Avengers as facsimile editions, while DC publishes issues #2 and #4 — making the full four-issue series available in its original format for the first time in years. The series, which brought together every member of both teams in one blockbuster story, remains one of the most celebrated crossovers in comics history.
X-Men of Apocalypse Omega #1, the conclusion of Jeph Loeb and Simone Di Meo’s series, arrives with variant covers by Joe Madureira, Simone Bianchi and Mark Brooks. Marvel is promising betrayals, deaths and a shock ending.
This year’s Marvel’s Voices: Pride one-shot, Wiccan & Hulkling: Raid of Ultron #1, arrives as a 32-page one-shot with a main cover by Russell Dauterman. The anthology-style issue features stories by Josh Trujillo, Wyatt Kennedy, Zoe Tunnell, Luciano Vecchio, Rachael Stott and more, set around the fan-favorite couple’s wedding anniversary celebration, which is crashed by Ultron.
When Marvel launched the Imperial event last year, it spun off several ongoing series including Planet She-Hulk, Nova: Centurion and Imperial Guardians. The solicits tell a different story: Imperial Guardians is now listed as a five-issue miniseries, and many are noting that Planet She-Hulk and Nova: Centurion appear to be heading toward early conclusions as well, with neither appearing in the solicits for May. Planet She-Hulk writer Stephanie Phillips addresses it, as much as she can, in this podcast interview.
Astonishing Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1 is a 40-page one-shot collecting the first six issues of the digital-first Infinity Comic series in print, with art by Alessandro Miracolo and Ig Guara and a cover by Taurin Clarke.
Marvel has revealed redesigned looks for two key players in the upcoming Queen in Black crossover event. Mary Jane Watson debuts a new symbiote costume in Venom #259, which arrives in June 17, following a major confrontation in May’s Venom #258 that forces her to fully embrace her bond with the Venom symbiote. Writer Al Ewing described the new look as “a levelling up” that represents “a reassessment of her relationship with the symbiote — just in time for an even bigger threat looming on the horizon.”
Meanwhile, Knull #5, the finale of the current limited series, sees Knull emerge from the Lightforce Dimension with a new power source and a new look to match, designed by Queen in Black cover artist Ryan Stegman. It arrives May 13.
Marvel Comics will release five one-shot comics celebrating the 10th anniversary of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, each set just before the events of the film and focusing on a key character. The series kicks off in May with Star Wars: Rogue One — Cassian Andor #1 by Benjamin Percy and Luke Ross, set during Cassian’s final mission before the film’s opening scene at the mining colony of Kafrene.
June brings Star Wars: Rogue One — Jyn Erso #1 by Ethan Sacks and Ramon Rosanas. July’s Star Wars: Rogue One — Saw Gerrera #1 comes from Marc Bernardin and Gabriel Guzman, followed in August by Star Wars: Rogue One — Chirrut & Baze #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Kieran McKeown. The series wraps in September with Star Wars: Rogue One — Darth Vader #1 by Chris Condon and Luke Ross, featuring a variant cover by Walt Simonson. Main covers throughout are by David Marquez.
Marvel Comics will publish X-Men: Outback, a five-issue limited series by writer Steve Orlando and artist Stephen Segovia, arriving in June. The series returns to the late 1980s period when the X-Men, including Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Colossus, Psylocke, Dazzler, Longshot and more, operated in secret from an Australian desert base while the world believed them dead.
The series will explore why the team chose the Outback as their base, the tensions that nearly tore the group apart and a familiar foe threatening to expose their greatest secret.