Author: JK Parkin

The X-Men pay tribute to Krakoa in ‘X-Men: Hellfire Vigil’

Gail Simone, Jed MacKay, Stephanie Phillips and more will contribute to the one-shot.

With Krakoa gone, there’s no Hellfire Gala planned for this year, but the X-Men will mark the occasion with a vigil for their lost nation.

X-Men: Hellfire Vigil sounds more solemn than what we saw in the party-filled Hellfire Gala specials of years past. But Marvel is promising “a night of joyous celebration, delicious drama, and, of course, super hero high fashion,” so maybe it won’t be as depressing as it sounds.

The one-shot will feature the work of several current X-Men creators, including Gail Simone, Jed MacKay, Eve Ewing, Stephanie Phillips and more.

“We’ve been working towards the Hellfire Vigil for a year now, and all of the assorted X-creators came together to make this a moment of significance for the X-Men and their world as a whole,” X-Men Editor Tom Brevoort said. “If you’ve been wondering when somebody was going to encounter somebody else, the answer is right here in this book! It’s a capstone to events that began in From The Ashes and sets up major movements that will be playing out across the coming months. Plus it’s full-packed with great art and great character moments.”

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Smash Pages Playlist | Happy Superman Day

Faster than a speeding ballad, here comes a bunch of songs about the Man of Steel.

Action Comics #1 debuted on April 18 in 1938, and would go on to become the most expensive comic on the planet. More importantly, though, it also introduced a new superhero to the world, Superman.

Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman set the stage for superhero comics as we know them today, serving as the archetype for the whole genre. He’s starred in his own titles, in radio serials, in movies, on TV and Broadway, action figures, on T-shirts and cereal boxes, … and in songs!

Which brings me to today’s Smash Pages Playlist. The word “Superman” appears in a lot of different songs, both in reference to the character but also in many instances as a concept — a.k.a. someone who is strong, stands up for others or (in love songs) knows how to treat their partner right. I’ve tried to include songs here that at least make reference to the comic character and his traits, but some are more Superman-y than others. I’ve also mixed in theme songs from various Superman films and TV shows (I’d totally forgotten Remy Zero did the Smallville theme). Anyway, enjoy, and feel free to suggest some of your favorite Man of Steel songs I missed (because there are plenty more!)

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Take a look inside June’s ‘Superman: The World’ hardcover

Creators from all over the world will share their takes on Superman in this anthology.

Back in 2021 DC celebrated Batman Day with the release of Batman: The World, an anthology graphic novel featuring stories about Batman by creators from all over the world. But Bruce Wayne isn’t the only global trotter in the Justice League (and let’s face it, it’s easier to do when you can fly) — this year, as part of their “Summer of Superman” initiative, DC will release Superman: The World in June.

The graphic novel will include contributions from creators from 15 different countries, including Dan Jurgens, Jorge Jimenéz, Satoshi Miyagawa, Stepan Kopriva, Dr. Ejob Gaius, Jefferson Costa Sylvian, Lee Weeks, Jorge Jimenéz, Kai Kitago, Michal Suchánek, Jefferson Costa, Marcial and more. 

“The Man of Tomorrow usually soars through the skies in Metropolis, but no matter where in the world a cry for help comes, Superman will always be there to save the day,” the press release read.

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Corner box art will return just in time for the ‘Summer of Superman’

This summer’s Superman titles will feature an old staple with new art by Dan Mora.

Comic fans of a certain era will remember the days when a comic cover from Marvel or DC included not only a logo, but also a corner box that included the price, the Comics Code Authority symbol and artwork featuring the characters in the book. DC is bringing them back this summer as part of their “Summer of Superman” initiative, featuring stellar artwork from Dan Mora.

DC revealed five new Superman-themed corner boxes that will appear on Supergirl, Superman Unlimited, Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton, Superman and Action Comics. The new corner box images “celebrate the classic look of beloved DC comic book covers, which traditionally featured at least one of the stars of the title in miniature on the upper left corner of the comic,” according to DC.

Here’s a look at the revised cover for Supergirl #1, which features artwork by Sophie Campbell:

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DC resurrects a classic format this July with ‘Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All’

The Summer of Superman adds a treasury-sized story by Dan Jurgens, Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas.

As a part of their big “Summer of Superman” plans, DC is bringing back their classic “treasury-sized edition” formatting for a “larger than life” story by Dan Jurgens, Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas.

Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All will come in at 10 1/8” x 13 5/16” — the format used for several “Vs.” titles starting in the 1970s, like Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali and the Marvel/DC crossover Superman Vs. Spider-Man.

“Since Superman is the cornerstone on which our entire industry is built, the term ‘Treasury Sized Edition’ seems to be the perfect vehicle for him,” said Jurgens. “As a kid, the term ‘Treasury Edition’ meant that it was sure to be a special project and one that I just had to have. From the very start, most of those projects focused on Superman.”

Jurgens actually worked on the last treasury edition DC published, Superman vs. the Fantastic Four — which seems appropriate to mention, given it brought together characters who will be battling it out at the box office this summer.

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Marvel heads back to the beach this summer in ‘Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes, Rivals’

The iconic special returns with a new story by Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs and Nick Bradshaw.

A staple of Marvel’s summer comics line-up will return in July as the company resurrects its infamous Marvel Swimsuit Special.

The special will feature swimsuit pin-ups of Marvel characters by Nic Klein, Marguerite Sauvage, Luciano Vecchio and many more, along with a story by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs — the Local Man team — drawn by artist Nick Bradshaw.

Carla Hoffman revisited the classic Marvel Swimsuit Special back in 2021, noting that these would feature a whole bunch of cheesecake pin-ups as well as a story that explained why Captain America was wearing a bathing suit on Monster Island:

What was thought to be utterly salacious drivel by my mother when I tried to get a copy in my youth, the ‘93 Marvel Swimsuit issue has a story. Seriously: the Infinity Watch play a poker game, Pip the Troll wins, so he makes them all use the Infinity Stones to gather all the superheroes of the Marvel Universe to a party at Monster Island. When they are all suddenly transported there by the Space and Time Gems, they are forced into not fighting one another and having a good time by the Mind Stone, so a big beach party breaks out and Pip the Troll takes pictures of everyone in their swimsuits.

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Exclusive | Take a look inside Andrew Wheeler + Rye Hickman’s ‘Hey, Mary!’

The graphic novel about a Catholic teenager reconciling his feelings for another boy arrives in stores from Oni Press this week.

Courtesy of Oni Press, we’re happy to present this preview of Hey, Mary! by Andrew Wheeler, Rye Hickman and Hank Jones.

Hey, Mary! tells the story of Mark, a devoted Catholic who realizes he has a crush on another boy at school. The pages we have today show Mark’s struggle and also illustrate why it’s titled “Hey, Mary!” as Mark turns to his faith for answers.

“Hey, Mary is a book about a lot of things — most obviously, trying to reconcile being Catholic and being gay, but it’s also about first love and teenage anxiety and isolation and trying to find your feet as you learn more about the world,” Wheeler said. “This sequence is at the heart of those themes as Mark struggles with the enormity of the question, ‘Why is this who I am?’ Perhaps the worst part is that the very thing he’s been told will give him comfort, his faith, is actually the source of his pain. I love the expressiveness that Rye and our colorist Hank Jones have brought to these silent moments.”

The relationship with Luka is also on display. Luka clearly has feelings for Mark as well, and the two friends have grown apart as the thought of romance pushes Mark away.

“Mark’s conversation with Luka gives us the other side of Mark’s anxiety,” Wheeler said. “Mark and Luka think they’ve grown apart — the truth is that they haven’t found the language to bridge the gap between them. The panel with the two of them running into the park on either side of a painted line is perfect. Also, Rye and I had a lot of conversations about the boys’ personal styles, and Mark’s ‘Camp’ t-shirt is one of my favorite choices!”

“I feel like teenage friendships are The Most, no matter what’s going on in your life, so I’m very excited for readers to relate to our protagonist, Mark, going for a jog with his estranged friend Luka,” Hickman said. “The secret sauce here, though, is that Mark has a big ole crush on Luka and all signs point to Luka also wanting more than friendship. No spoilers, but there’s friction -Luka has rainbow shoelaces and Mark prays for help with the fear he has about being gay himself- so hopefully you’ll pick up the book and find out how that friction resolves!”

Check out the preview below. Hey, Mary! is available in comic shops and bookstores now.

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | The ‘Summer of Superman’ starts here

New comics arrive this week by Dan Slott, Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Jorge Jimenez, Gerry Duggan, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrew Wheeler, Rye Hickman and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights for this week below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So check with your retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.

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Alien Books will bring Zorro back to comics

The publisher will start by crowdfunding a hardcover collecting Alex Toth’s work on the pulp character.

Alien Books has announced they’ve acquired the license to publish comics featuring Zorro, the legendary swashbuckling rogue created by pulp writer Johnston McCulley more than 100 years ago.

They’ll start with a hardcover reprinting Alex Toth’s Zorro comic from 1958 with remastered colors and lettering, as well as a story by Howard Chaykin and Eduardo Risso, premiering for the first time in English. Toth first drew Zorro in Four Color #882, which was published by Dell and adapted the first two episodes of the Walt Disney TV series starring Guy Williams. Toth drew several other Zorro comics around that time, both for Four Color and for the Zorro title Dell published.

Alien will launch a Kickstarter for the deluxe hardcover on April 23.

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Mike Mignola + Giuseppe Manunta bring a prose Hellboy story to comics

The one-shot ‘Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Professor Harvey is Gone’ is based on a ‘Weird Tales’ story by Mignola and Christopher Golden.

A prose Hellboy story by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden will find new life in comics, as Mignola and artist Giuseppe Manunta team up for the one-shot Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Professor Harvey is Gone.

The story originally appeared in the prose magazine Weird Tales, but Mignola said he reworked it into a comic script for Manunta to draw.

“I’m a big fan of Giuseppe’s work so I was thrilled when he told me he wanted to do a Hellboy story—the only problem was that I had sort of (finally) run out of Hellboy stories,” Mignola said. ”My head is so much in my new Lands Unknown series now that for a while I was really drawing a blank. Then I remembered a plot I had given to Chris Golden a while back. He wrote it up as a Hellboy story for Weird Tales magazine (The City in the Sea—Weird Tales issue 367) but that was an unillustrated prose story and there were (I thought) some terrific visuals in that story so I thought Giuseppe would be a terrific artist to put those on paper. So I reworked that original story and idea, and turned it over to Giuseppe to work his magic.”

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It’s Werewolf by Night vs. Dracula in a new special by Michael Giacchino + David Messina

The one-shot arrives at the end of July.

Michael Giacchino, director of the excellent Disney+ Werewolf by Night special from a couple years ago will return to the character in a new comic, Werewolf By Night: Blood Moon Rise.

He’ll be joined by artist David Messina for the one-shot, which will feature Jack Russell going head-to-head with Dracula. Current Werewolf by Night: Red Band writer Jason Loo will contribute a back-up story.

“It could be a lost story from the original run, in a way,” Giacchino told Entertainment Weekly. “There’s a fun twist to it that I think is going to be really interesting for people who are into Jack Russell and that lore.”

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Gerry Duggan + Javier Garrón team for ‘Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe’

The five-issue miniseries kicks off in July.

Godzilla’s trip through the Marvel Universe in recent time-spanning one-shots will culminate in a new five-issue miniseries, Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe.

Writer Gerry Duggan and artist Javier Garrón will pit the king of all monsters against just about everyone in the Marvel, starting in July.

“Godzilla was as important to me as Marvel Comics growing up,” Duggan said. “My father enjoyed watching baseball on TV, and I would root for rain outs so the NYC stations would run a Godzilla movie. When I discovered that Godzilla had appeared in the Marvel Universe, I obsessively collected every issue. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be contributing to the tradition of Godzilla rampaging in the Marvel Universe.”

Mark Brooks provides the wrap-around cover for the first issue:

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