Category: Comic Books

DC’s Absolute villains unite in ‘Absolute Evil’ this October

See what DC has in store for the Absolute titles as they celebrate their first year.

Almost a year to the day that DC announced their “All In” publishing plans and the birth of the Absolute Universe, the publisher has revealed what October has in store for our Absolute heroes (and villains).

October of last year brought the first Absolute titles, as Absolute Batman, Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman made their way to comic shops. Those first issues went on to achieve phenomenal sales and critical acclaim, and DC continues to issue reprints for those and subsequent issues.

In a universe that’s built on putting our heroes at a disadvantage, this October will see several villains from across the Absolute Universe join forces and target the heroes. The Absolute Evil one-shot will bring that alliance to the forefront.

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Dan Abnett returns to Marvel to assemble ‘Imperial Guardians’

The former writer of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and other cosmic titles teams with Jonathan Hickman and Cory Smith for an ‘Imperial War’ tie-in.

Dan Abnett, who alongside Andy Lanning helped redefine the Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova as the characters we know today, will return to Marvel’s cosmic arena with Imperial War: Imperial Guardians, a one-shot he’ll co-write with Jonathan Hickman. The duo will be joined by Cory Smith on art.

“It’s great to be back telling cosmic stories as part of the Imperial event,” Abnett said. “My time spent with Nova and the Guardians back in the day was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in comics, and Jonathan’s orchestrating exactly the kind of epic-SF-scale, character-driven and drama-packed epic I love to sink my teeth into. This is quite some ride, and the Galaxy—and the Guardians—won’t be the same again! I’d say it’s the best jumping-on point for Marvel Cosmic since the original Annihilation.”

Imperial Guardians is the fifth one-shot accompanying the Imperial miniseries that finds several cosmic empires dealing with a conspiracy/murder mystery. It will follow issues spotlighting other players in Imperial, including Black Panther, She-Hulk, Nova, and Professor X and Lilandra.

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‘Rogue Storm,’ ‘Sinister’s Six’ + more new titles revealed as part of the ‘Age of Revelation’

Gail Simone, Lucas Werneck, David Marquez and more will continue this new era of X-Men titles.

Marvel continues to roll out more details on Age of Revelation, the X-Men event that’ll jump 10 years into a future where Doug Ramsey, former New Mutant and current heir to Apocalypse, rules over the world.

Marvel revealed that they’ll publish (at least) 16 titles as part of the event, with fun twists on existing titles and characters like Cloak or Dagger and Undeadpool. Five titles and their creative teams were revealed yesterday.

Like yesterday’s announcement, today’s reveal shows that some of the creative teams for these titles can be mapped back to the current line-up — Gail Simone will continue writing the stories and characters we’re seeing in Uncanny X-Men, while Storm writer Murewa Ayodele is writing a Storm vs. Rogue title. Cavan Scott and Ruairi Coleman will revisit the relationship between Emma Frost and Tony Stark that we saw form at the end of the Krakoa era, while David Marquez (who has been showing his writing chops on titles like The Unchosen) and Rafael Loureiro bring together six random characters to pull off a heist for Mr. Sinister.

Check out the four titles announced today, all of which kick off Oct. 15, and I expect we’ll get more as the week goes on.

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Brenden Fletcher, Karl Kerschl + Becky Cloonan re-enroll at ‘Gotham Academy’

The creative team behind the fan-favorite series team with new interior artist Marco Ferrari on ‘Gotham Academy: First Year.’

Class is back in session this fall at Gotham Academy, as original creators Brenden Fletcher, Karl Kerschl and Becky Cloonan are joined by new interior artist Marco Ferrari for the six-issue Gotham Academy: First Year.

“I’m so excited to return to the world of Gotham Academy with Becky and Karl,” Fletcher said. “It’s a joy to be back with the original team, and to welcome the incredibly talented Marco Ferrari to the fold. His work brings such life to these characters and to the halls of the Academy itself.”

The miniseries will focus on Olive Silverlock’s first year at Gotham Academy and is set before the events of the previous series. With Ferrari on interiors, Kerschl will provide covers for all six issues. Like this one for issue #1:

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‘Amazing X-Men,’ ‘Longshots’ + more will debut in October

Jonathan Hickman, Gerry Duggan, Jed MacKay, Mahmud Asrar, Stephanie Phillips, Giada Belviso and more will usher in a new era of X-Men titles.

Following their announcement last week of an Age of Apocalypse-style event for the X-Men line called Age of Revelation, Marvel has revealed the first five reimagined titles that’ll kick off the event.

Like the 1990s event — which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year — Age of Revelation will show us an alternate world and bring the relaunch of several X-related titles for the duration of the event. The titles are all somewhat new yet familiar, and the first five to debut will be Amazing X-Men, Binary, Longshots, World of Revelation and Laura Kinney: Sabretooth.

Many of the titles can be mapped back to the current line, with Jed MacKay writing Amazing X-Men, featuring Cyclops and many of the characters we’re seeing in the current X-Men title — plus interior artwork by Mahmud Asrar. Phoenix writer Stephanie Phillips will write Binary, which is about the Phoenix force, and Erica Schultz will continue to write Laura Kinney, albeit with the character taking on a different (but familiar) name. Longshots, meanwhile, is the odd one in the bunch, as it is about Longshot and Mojo, but also features Kraven, Wonder Man, Bishop, Hellcat and Rhino in a story written by Gerry Duggan and former Krakoa-era architect Jonathan Hickman.

Here’s more details on the first titles Marvel has revealed, with more expected in the coming days.

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‘Age of Revelation’ will take over the ‘X-Men’ titles in October

The Age of Apocalypse-esque event will see Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman jump 10 years into the X-Men’s future, where the Heir of Apocalypse rules a mutant utopia.

Marvel has announced an Age of Apocalypse-style event for the X-Men-related titles called Age of Revelation. Like the 1990s event — which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year — Age of Revelation will show us an alternate world and bring the relaunch of several X-related titles for the duration of the event.

The event will begin in October with Age of Revelation Overture #1 by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman, but if you want to get a sneak peak at what’s to come, Marvel is offering select retailers a “Shadow Drop Variant” next week of X-Men: Age of Revelation #0. (Which sounds similar to what they did with the #0 issue of Moon Knight following last year’s Blood Hunt event).

So what’s the story behind Age of Revelation? Well, if you’ve been following the X-Men titles over the last couple years, you know that Cypher, aka Doug Ramsey of New Mutants fame, has become the heir of Apocalypse. He won a tournament in the X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse miniseries, and most recently reappeared in MacKay and Stegman’s adjectiveless X-Men title as Revelation. He’s gotten a huge power boost, taking his natural mutant power of talking to things to the next level, as he now “commands Earth itself with his voice.” So he decides to make his own mutant haven/paradise, and then we jump 10 years into the future to see how it all works out. (Which is probably not well for the X-Men …)

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Robert Kirkman + David Finch’s brutal fantasy epic ‘Skinbreaker’ arrives in September

An old chief and his reluctant heir try to keep their world from falling into ruins.

The Walking Dead co-creator and Skybound chief Robert Kirkman continues to fill up his dance card for the fall. In addition to taking over writing Transformers, Kirkman is also teaming with artist David Finch of Batman and New Avengers for Skinbreaker.

The fantasy epic is about a tribal chief who attempts to pass his mighty sword, Skinbreaker, down to his reluctant heir. Kirkman and Finch are joined by  colorist Annalisa Leoni and letterer Rus Wooton on the title.

“I have wanted to work with David Finch for the entirety of my career,” said Kirkman. “We’ve gotten close many times over the years, but we wanted our collaboration to be something truly special. Skinbreaker is that series. I feel like this book is a high-water mark for both our careers. An action epic that is unrelentingly brutal but also contains a ton of emotion and heart. It’ll shock you and make you cry.”  

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Thor walks the Earth as a mere mortal in ‘The Mortal Thor’

Al Ewing + Pasqual Ferry present a shift in tone and story following the end of ‘Immortal Thor.’

Marvel has announced a title tweak and revealed the full cover for their upcoming Thor relaunch, now title The Mortal Thor.

With the final issue of Immortal Thor arriving this week, readers of that issue have already seen what the future holds for the son of Odin — which is a shift from the story Al Ewing has been telling.

SPOILERS WARNING if you haven’t read the issue yet …

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Robert Kirkman + Dan Mora take over ‘Transformers’ with #25

A new era for the Energon Universe title begins in October with an oversized issue.

Robert Kirkman, the founder of Skybound who briefly sat in the writer’s room for the Transformer films, is getting his chance to chronicle the adventures of the Autobots and Decepticons. After ushering in the Energon Universe era with Void Rivals, Kirkman and Superman artist Dan Mora will take over the ongoing Transformers title with issue #25 following Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge Corona’s epic run.

Kirkman and Mora will join colorist Mike Spicer and letterer Rus Wooton in October with an oversized issue that celebrates the series’ second anniversary. The issue will also feature a second story written by Kirkman and drawn by Corona.

“Holy smokes, I’m writing a Transformers comic!” said Kirkman. “I’ve been so invested in this series since the beginning. I’ve marveled at what Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge Corona have brought to some of my all-time favorite characters. When Daniel’s run came to an end, I could stand on the sidelines no more! I just had to get in the ring! It’s a tremendous honor to be a small part of the legacy of these amazing characters. This world has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. I can’t wait for everyone to see what the legendary Dan Mora and I are cooking up!”

Here’s a look at issue #25’s main cover by David Nakayama:

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Dark Horse announces their first ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ title

The Fallbacks jump from prose to comics this fall.

After announcing last year they partnered up with Wizards of the Coast to make comics based on the very popular Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game, Dark Horse has announced their first D&D title — Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks.

The four-issue miniseries features characters from Jaleigh Johnson’s prose novels — including Tessalynde the rogue, Cazrin the wizard, Baldric the cleric and Lark the bard. It’s by the team of Greg Pak the writer, Wilton Santos the artist, Edvan Alves the inker, Raul Angulo the colorist and Nate Piekos the letterer.

“When I read the Jaleigh Johnson prose novel where the Fallbacks first appeared, my primary takeaway, which is also my highest praise, was that it felt like an actual D&D campaign I might play with my funniest, most subversive, and biggest-hearted friends,” Pak said. “We’re bringing that vibe to full-color glory on the comics page with incredible interior art by Wilton Santos, Edvan Alves, and Raul Angulo, sharp letters by Nate Piekos, and glorious covers by a slew of artists including Marguerite Sauvage. Can’t wait for y’all to join the campaign!”

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The Laphams return with ‘Good as Dead’ this fall

David and Maria Lapham reveal ‘how far a small town will go to keep its secrets’ in a new crime comic coming from Skybound this September.

Legendary Stray Bullets creator David Lapham has a new series, Good as Dead, launching at Skybound this fall with co-writer Maria Lapham and colorist Dee Cunniffe. The story was co-created by Chris Black, creator and showrunner of the Apple+ show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Skybound CEO David Alpert.

“I can’t tell you how excited Maria and I are about this book coming out,” said David Lapham. “Chris Black and David Alpert provided us with their initial concept and outline and generously gave us the room and edict to ‘do our thing.’ And we went for it. It’s both completely what you’d expect from us based on our Stray Bullets work and at the same time, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever done before, combining elements of the surreal, science fiction, conspiracy, horror and, of course, classic noir.”   

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Exclusive | Check out Lane Lloyd’s variant cover for ‘Toxic Crusaders’ #2

The five-issue miniseries will feature the Toxic Avenger and other characters from the 1990s animated series.

Courtesy of the fine folks at Ahoy Comics, we are pleased to debut Lane Lloyd’s variant cover for The Toxic Crusaders #2, which will arrive in stores in October.

The five-issue miniseries will debut in September and is written by Matt Bors, former editor of The Nib and current writer of The Toxic Avenger Comics. He’s joined by artist Tristan Wright on the series, which will feature the Toxic Avenger teaming up with several other mutants who appeared in the Toxic Crusaders animated series back in the 1990s, including No-Zone, Junkyard, Major Disaster and the all-new character Fungirl.

Lloyd has drawn many comics and covers for Oni Press, Ahoy, Image Comics, Legendary and more, and I’ll point you to Someone’s Died at Adventure Mountain, his current project that’s up on Kickstarter.

“In the aftermath of the chemical spill that created Toxie, other mutants arose — and they have united to wage war against an alien conspiracy,” Bors said. “We are taking everything from the original Toxic Crusaders cartoon —gross mutations, evil aliens, and over-the-top ecological action — to bring readers a must-read mutant monthly.”

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