Jonathan Hickman’s reimagining of Marvel’s cosmic comics adds ‘Imperial War’ one-shots

‘Imperial War: Black Panther’ and ‘Imperial War: Planet She-Hulk’ will arrive in August.

Jonathan Hickman, Iban Coello and Federico Vicentini’s Imperial project is growing in scope, as Marvel has announced the four-issue miniseries will be accompanied by five one-shots that “spotlight individual characters and groups as they navigate the startling developments and explosive conflicts sweeping the stars.”

In case you missed it, Imperial is the latest project from Hickman, the architect of Marvel’s very successful Ultimate Comics relaunch as well as the Krakoa era of the X-Men line. He’s working with Coello and Vicentini to redefine Marvel’s cosmic characters in this new miniseries that kicks off in June.

From what’s been revealed so far, Imperial looks like it’ll showcase a huge battle between various cosmic factions, including the Kree/Skrull Alliance, The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda and New Sakaar, which will bring characters like Hulk, She-Hulk and Amadeus Cho into space.

The first two one-shots will help flesh out Black Panther and She-Hulk’s roles in the story. Hickman will work with writer Victor LaValle and artist CAFU on Imperial War: Black Panther.

“Working with Jonathan Hickman on an interstellar epic—who wouldn’t be thrilled by that idea?” LaValle said. “I’m excited to start working on the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda because there’s not enough stories about Black folks in outer space. There could always be more. By the time I’m done, T’Challa and Shuri will have constellations named after them, in some distant galaxy.”

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G. Willow Wilson + Gleb Melnikov steal the spotlight with a new Black Cat series

Felicia Hardy has a change of heart, maybe, in her new solo series as a superhero.

Career thief Felicia Hardy will have a change of heart* in her new solo series by G. Willow Wilson and Gleb Melnikov this summer, as the former super thief takes on some of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes.

The new series will debut in August from Marvel. The stopry will spin out of Joe Kelly and John Romita Jr.’s run on Amazing Spider-Man, as the notorious cat burglar will have a change of heart after Spider-Man’s upcoming battle with the new villain Hellgate. “But is her most recent change of heart for purely altruistic reasons or simply a way to pull off her greatest heist yet?” Well, why can’t it be both?

“As soon as Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood dropped and people saw the Black Cat story, readers began to ask me, ‘When are you going to write more Felicia?’ Well, the answer is: right now,” Wilson said. “Black Cat is so much fun to work with. She’s a supporting character with main character energy. And she has such a rich history that there are tons of tantalizing story threads to pull on.”

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Jeph Loeb + Simone Di Meo resurrect the ‘Age of Apocalypse’ this fall

‘X-Men of Apocalypse’ will bring Blink, Sabretooth, Morph and other Age of Apocalypse characters to the 616.

Marvel will return to one of the most popular X-Men crossover events from the 1990s in the upcoming X-Men of Apocalypse miniseries by Jeph Loeb and Simone Di Meo.

The story will be set up in this summer’s Giant-Size Age of Apocalypse, one of several one-shots that’ll explore past X-Men-related events. Loeb and Di Meo will have a back-up story in that issue. Loeb worked on the original Age of Apocalypse storyline, as he wrote the X-Man miniseries and co-created the character with artist Steve Skroce.

Also, in a nod to the original crossover, the story will start with an “alpha” issue, followed by a four-issue miniseries, and will conclude with an “omega” issue.

“Thirty years ago, The X-Men of Apocalypse took the comics world by storm and I was lucky enough to be part of it,” Loeb said. “There were new characters! New designs! Heroes who were villains and villains who were heroes! Now, for the 30th anniversary, an all-new, all-different story with spectacular art by Simone Di Meo brings us to this uncanny team that shouldn’t even exist — and they are coming here! Join Gambit, Sabretooth & Wild Child, Blink, Forge and Morph and more as they try to save one universe without dooming another!”

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Mad Cave Studios will serve up ‘Eat Your Young’ this summer

There can be only one in the new series by Brian Buccellato, Mattia Monaco and Buddy Beaudoin.

The battle for immortality will begin in August in Eat Your Young, a knock down, drag out free-for-all between members of an immortal family. The six-issue miniseries by writer Brian Buccellato, artist Mattia Monaco and letterer Buddy Beaudoin will begin in August.

Eat Your Young is my kind of chaos—immortal family feuds, bloody betrayals, and a violent journey through the pop culture that raised me,” said Buccellato. “It’s been incredible collaborating with Mattia again and bringing it all to life with Mad Cave fully behind us.”

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Greg Rucka + Nicola Scott reunite for a Justice League heist story

‘Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League’ features a group of villains targeting the Justice League Watchtower.

The Black Magick team of Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott will re-team for Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League, a heist story featuring a group of villains robbing the Justice League Watchtower.

Rucka and Scott will be joined by colorist Annette Kwok and letterer Troy Peteri on the six-issue DC All In series.

“I won’t bury the lede,” said Rucka. “This is a crew of villains, or at least nominal bad guys. Not one of them has access to—let alone would be welcomed aboard—the Justice League Watchtower. We’re not making this easy on them. But for Cheetah especially, this is an all-or-nothing play—she needs to do this job, and she’s not going to let anything, or anyone, keep her from getting what she’s after.”

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Turns out it was ‘New Avengers’ all along

Appropriately, there’s a twist to the New Thunderbolts* comic as well.

Much like the film of the same name that debuted last week, Marvel has revealed that it’s upcoming New Thunderbolts* title won’t actually be called New Thunderbolts.

In a synergistic move, the new title is actually called New Avengers.

“Plot twist, it’s been New Avengers all along,” said writer Sam Humphries. “I promised surprises, and this is the first of many. It’s a thrill and an honor to continue the grand New Avengers tradition of team dynamics that are as explosive as the threats. And this era has two combustible teams: the New Avengers and the Killuminati!”

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Space Ghost Summer: David Pepose + Jonathan Lau relaunch the classic hero in July

Following an annual in June, Dynamite will bring back the scion of the spaceways for another run.

Speed Racer isn’t the only cartoon from my childhood that David Pepose is helping bring to comics. Following the 12-issue Space Ghost series by Pepose and artist Jonathan Lau that ended earlier this year, Dynamite will wrap up the first year’s storyline with an annual in June, which will also bridge to a second series that’ll begin in July.

Starting with the annual, it will bring the Robo Corp storyline that’s been running through the title to a close, as readers learn the truth behind Dr. Xander Ibal’s plans for Blip.

“From the very beginning, Space Ghost has been a true labor of love from me and artist Jonathan Lau, bringing together the best parts of superheroes and science fiction — and we’re so excited for readers to finally witness the epic showdown that we’ve been building up to all along!,” said series writer David Pepose. “We’ve been so lucky to have an army of creators, fans, retailers, and press tirelessly champion our work, and I can’t wait for everyone to see what Jonathan and I have coming next. The future couldn’t be more exciting — or more dangerous — for Space Ghost and his intergalactic found family!”

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You better look alive: ‘Speed Racer’ returns to comics this July

Mad Cave will preview the rebooted property on Free Comic Book Day.

Writer David Pepose and artist Davide Tinto will chart a new path for Speed Racer, as Mad Cave Studios launches a new ongoing series for the popular character from Tatsunoko Production’s classic anime Mach GoGoGo in July

Mad Cave and Tatsunoko announced last year their plans to reboot Speed Racer as a comic series, following their partnership on Gatchaman comics. Pepose and Tinto will be joined by colorist Rex Locus and letterer Buddy Beaudoin.

“Buckle your seatbelts, comic fans… we’re putting the pedal to the metal with the return of Speed Racer,” Pepose said. “I couldn’t be more excited to launch this brand-new series based on the classic cartoon — think of Rocky in a race car, as we push Speed to his absolute limits and beyond in the high-octane Formula X Championship League. As he drives the legendary Mach 5, can even Speed move fast enough to save his family and bring justice back to the tracks? Starting this Free Comic Book Day, get ready for more action, heart and car chases than you can imagine in the pages of Speed Racer!”

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It’s open season on super heroes in ‘Predator Kills the Marvel Universe’

Benjamin Percy and Marcelo Ferreira continue the hunt across the 616 in August.

If there’s anything left of the Marvel Universe after Godzilla and Deadpool get done with it, they’ll face another threat, as the Predator expands his hunt to include just about everybody.

Writer Benjamin Percy will continue the bloodshed unleashed in Predator vs. Wolverine, Predator vs. Black Panther, Predator vs. Godzilla — wait, forget that one — and the current Predator vs. Spider-Man. He’ll team with the latter book’s artist, Marcelo Ferreira, for a collision that sees “the heroes of the Marvel Universe join forces to defend the world from an entire army of the galaxy’s greatest hunters.”

“That title? It’s not misdirection,” Percy said. “This one’s gonna hurt. Your favorite heroes and villains will fall — even as others rise up against this extinction-level event. The Predator King is here — the Yautja are armed with vibranium — and Earth is now a hunting preserve.”

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Garth Ennis + Becky Cloonan’s ‘The War’ jumps from ‘Hello Darkness’ to its own series

A story from the BOOM! Studios anthology will expand into its own miniseries, beginning in July.

After a three-part run in BOOM! Studios’ horror anthology Hello Darkness, The War by Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan will launch into its own series this July.

The three-part story by the two legendary creators explored themes of nuclear war and societal collapse, and will continue to do so this summer.

“As the world around us slides further into ruin, what better time to revisit the cheery subject of atomic obliteration?” Ennis said. “And who better to accompany me on this joyous journey than the wonderfully talented Becky Cloonan?”

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Patrick Horvath returns to Woodbrook for more cozy terror in ‘Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rites of Spring’

IDW will release the sequel miniseries, set 10 years after the first series, in July.

Patrick Horvath’s “cozy horror” series about a Richard Scarey-esque bear who likes murder will return with a sequel series this summer. IDW will publish the six-issue Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rites of Spring beginning in July.

The original series, which debuted in late 2023, was nominated for several awards in both 2024 and 2025, and made my personal “best of” list for 2024. It featured a teddy bear/serial killer named Samantha, who took down a rival killer in her small town. In the new series, “there are no secrets in the age of the internet… and those who lost loved ones to her dark temptations are still searching for justice.”

“I’m supremely excited to return to the quaint town of Woodbrook to continue the story of our psychopath bear, Samantha Strong,” remarked Horvath. “I continue to be blown away by the response to the first book. In my wildest dreams I never thought it would have caught such a huge wave that spread out to other countries and languages. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees continues to be a huge gift to me, and I’m grateful for all of the immense support from IDW, the retailers, critics, and fans.”

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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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