Category: Comic Books

Oni Press expands EC Comics line with ‘Cruel Kingdom 2,’ treasury edition collection

The publisher continues its EC Comics revival with another round of its fantasy-horror miniseries and a treasury-sized collection of the imprint’s best stories so far.

Oni Press is continuing its EC Comics line with two new September releases.

First up is Cruel Kingdom 2, a second helping of the dark fantasy-horror miniseries that launched last year. The six-issue miniseries will kick off with stories by writers David M. Booher, Matt Bors and Jude Ellison S. Doyle, and artists Ryan Kelly, Lukas Ketner and David Lapham.

The anthology-style series continues the EC tradition of ironic, gruesome morality tales set in a medieval fantasy world. Future issues will include contributions from John Arcudi, Ramón F. Bachs, Sarah Gailey, Sami Kivelä, Curt Pires, SOM and Alison Sampson, among others.

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Guillem March brings the romantic thriller ‘Ofiusa’ to Image Comics in September

The ‘Karmen’ creator returns with a six-issue miniseries that weaves a love triangle across two timelines.

Guillem March will write and draw Ofiusa, a six-issue miniseries coming from Image Comics in September.

The series follows two parallel storylines: a romance between the irresistible Mar and a young entrepreneur named Joan, and, in another timeline, Joan meets the enigmatic Isla on a paradise island. The two threads form a love triangle built around hidden secrets and a dark revelation waiting to surface.

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Steve Skroce’s ‘Tales of Wonder’ takes flight at Skybound this September

The artist returns to superhero comics with a story about two estranged Golden Age creators whose comic book creations turn out to be real.

Former Ektokid and Gambit artist Steve Skroce returns this fall with Tales of Wonder, a new limited series he’ll write and draw, with colors by Ian Herring and letters by Pat Brosseau.

The six-issue series will debut from Skybound/Image Comics in September.

The series follows Stu and Jake, two comic book creators whose friendship was forged during World War II and whose Wonder Comics creations grew into a cultural phenomenon, until the partnership collapsed under the pressures of the industry. Decades later, the two reunite to launch a cinematic universe based on their old characters, only to discover their superheroes and monsters are real, forcing them to set aside old grudges to help save the world.

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DC announces José Luis García-López Artist’s Edition for March 2027

The 240-page oversized hardcover, curated by Scott Dunbier, collects original art from one of DC’s most influential artists.

DC has announced José Luis García-López’s DC Classics Artist’s Edition, a 240-page oversized hardcover collecting original art from the artist’s six-decade career at the company, arriving next March.

García-López’s work on the DC Comics Style Guide shaped the DC characters’ visual identity for decades, and his runs on titles like Superman and The New Teen Titans established him as one of DC’s defining illustrators. The collection includes seven complete stories along with a curated selection of covers and rare pieces, with stories written by Alan Brennert, Gerry Conway, Paul Dini, Michael Fleisher and Paul Levitz, among others.

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Deadpool + Punisher collide in Benjamin Percy’s ‘Big Guns’ crossover this September

The four-part crossover launches runs through ‘Wade Wilson: Deadpool’ and ‘Punisher.’

Marvel Comics is marking June 16 — that’s “616 Day” — with the announcement of “Big Guns,” a four-part crossover launching in September that runs through Benjamin Percy’s Wade Wilson: Deadpool and Punisher series.

The crossover kicks off in Wade Wilson: Deadpool #8, which is illustrated by Geoff Shaw, then continues in Punisher #8, which is drawn by José Luis Soares.

“When you’re writing The Punisher, and you’re writing Deadpool—two street-level characters with opposite personalities—the math works itself out,” Percy said. “I had to bring them together. Violently. Get ready for non-stop mayhem, the re-invention (and glow-up) of a classic villain, and the introduction of the Merc-mobile (a rolling HQ I’m pretty damn excited about) as well as a new weapon that will change the 616 forever. Unlike Frank and Wade—who naturally despise each other—Geoff Shaw and José Luis are a perfect pairing, the best pens drawing the biggest guns.”

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Marvel announces ‘The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe’

The Muppets will team with Marvel heroes in a one-shot featuring stories by Chip Zdarsky, Pete Woods, Kyle Starks and more.

It’s time to play the music, it’s time to thwip the thwips … it’s time for Marvel and the Muppets to throw down.

The two Disney-owned entities are teaming up for The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1, a one-shot coming in September that celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Muppet Show.

The anthology will feature stories by Chip Zdarsky and Pete Woods, Kyle Starks and Mike Henderson, Ashley Allen and Paco Medina, MacKenzie Cadenhead and David Baldeon, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Adam F. Goldberg, E.J. Su and Áthila Fabbio, among others.

“With the great power of two iconic properties comes great responsibility. I promise to not let down Kermit, Fozzie and Animal the way Spider-Man let down his Uncle Ben,” Zdarsky said. “It’s impossible to overstate how excited I write for Miss Piggy, who I consider to be one of the greatest icons of the last hundred years, a character who speaks to every generation. I also got to write Deadpool. And Pete Woods is turning in the most stunning, detailed and joyous pages. Seeing his take on these characters interacting is a real delight.”

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Mike Mignola returns to ‘Hellboy in Hell’ with artist Cyrille Pomès

The two-issue miniseries begins in October and revisits the period following Satan’s death in the underworld.

Dark Horse Comics has announced Hellboy in Hell: Nothing But Blood, a two-issue miniseries from Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and French artist Cyrille Pomès, with colors by longtime Mignola collaborator Dave Stewart. The series marks Pomès’ debut in the Hellboy Universe.

The story is set after the death of Satan and the fall of Pandemonium, as chronicled in Hellboy in Hell #8, with Hellboy intervening when he sees a young woman being chased by winged beasts amid a demonic uprising.

“Yes, I too thought Hellboy in Hell was a closed book—But a while back I discovered the work of Cyrille Pomés and instantly fell in love with it,” Mignola said. “We actually met and when he said he’d like to do a Hellboy story, well, how could I say no to that? I still had half an idea for a Hell story rattling around in my head and invited him to flesh that out, so now what you have is a true collaboration on the story and his absolutely wonderful art and storytelling. I’m so happy to introduce this guy to the American comic book audience.”

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Daniel Warren Johnson’s ‘Beta Ray Bill’ miniseries is getting an Artist’s Edition

The oversized collection of Johnson’s acclaimed 2021 Marvel miniseries arrives in February 2027.

Act 4 Publishing and Skybound have announced Beta Ray Bill by Daniel Warren Johnson Artist’s Edition, a 144-page, 12-by-17-inch collection of Johnson’s 2021 Marvel miniseries, arriving in comic shops Feb. 3, 2027.

The Artist’s Edition format, developed by Act 4 founder Scott Dunbier when he was at IDW, presents original art at its original size, making ink gradients, blue pencil and other nuances of the physical pages visible. The collection includes the complete five-issue Beta Ray Bill miniseries, which Johnson wrote and drew, along with an introduction by Walt Simonson, who created Beta Ray Bill during his epic run on Thor in the 1980s.

“I’ll never forget the first artist edition I bought: Jack Kirby’s New Gods. It’s still in my studio, treasured, inspiring me to this day,” said Johnson. “It’s an honor to have Scott Dunbier give my story the same treatment.”

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Dare to Be Super: Weird Al Yankovic teams with the World’s Finest in September

Batman, Superman and the king of musical parody unite to save two dimensions from a plague of boringness in a new one-shot.

Weird Al Yankovic is no stranger to comics, having edited an issue of MAD Magazine, appeared on various covers at DC and even had his songs turned into comics over at Z2. But now he’s going one step further by teaming up with Batman and Superman in Batman/Superman/Weird Al: World’s Weirdest #1.

The 40-page one-shot from writer Mark Waid and artist Dan Schoening, with “vibes” by “Weird Al” Yankovic himself, arrives in September. Naturally, it features Mr. Mxyzptlk.

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Marvel celebrates 50 years of Spider-Woman in September

Ann Nocenti, Dan Watters and more contribute to the one-shot.

Jessica Drew is the latest Marvel character to hit a big anniversary — almost 50 years, having debuted in Marvel Spotlight #32 — and to celebrate, Marvel is dedicating a one-shot to the character with stories by Dan Watters, Andrea Broccardo, Ann Nocenti and more.

Spider-Woman 50th Anniversary Special #1 will arrive in September and brings Nocenti back to a character she has some history with. In the 1980s, Nocenti wrote the final four issues of Spider-Woman’s ongoing series, not only ending the original series with issue #50 but also killing Jessica Drew off in that final issue. But you can’t keep a good hero down, so she was resurrected in the pages of Avengers a short time later.

“In the 1980s editor Mark Gruenwald gave me the assignment to ‘retire’ Spider-Woman, ending the book’s run with issue #50, so returning to write a story about how Jess’s friendships and battles are hard won feels redemptive,” she said. “Added bonus—with art by the spectacular Stefano Raffaele, the story will be gorgeous!”

Nocenti will team with Raffaele for a detective story set in L.A. that features the Flying Tiger.

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Marvel revisits the Mangaverse for its 25th anniversary

The weekly event series returns to the manga-inspired alternate Marvel universe this September.

Marvel is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Marvel Mangaverse with five weekly one-shots releasing throughout September, bookended by a two-part story from writer Joe Kelly, his son Jack Kelly and artist Kenny Ruiz.

The Mangaverse launched in 2000 as a line of one-shots presenting manga-inspired re-imaginings of Marvel characters, and this anniversary event picks up as if the line had been publishing continuously ever since.

“Every week my dad and I talk for hours about everything that’s happening in our favorite comics and manga, so being asked to do this for Marvel has been an honor,” said Jack Kelly.

The original Mangaverse kicked off with Marvel Mangaverse: New Dawn, written and drawn by Antarctic Press founder Ben Dunn. It introduced a female Iron Man, a kaiju Hulk and President Steve Rogers. A sequel, New Mangaverse, followed in late 2005 and early 2006. The line was a mixed bag, with an ambitious concept but an uneven execution, with its alternate-universe Spider-Man becoming the most enduring character to emerge from it thanks to all the Spider-verse books we’ve had in recent years.

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Surprise, it’s Rom! Skybound surprises ‘M.A.S.K.’ blind bag buyers with a new ‘Rom’ #1

Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici bring the space knight into the Energon Universe in a standalone issue available only through the blind bag program.

Today brought another signature Skybound surprise, kind of like that time they ended The Walking Dead without telling anyone it was ending, included a Spider-Man comic in their mix of Battle Beast #1 blind bags and stealth-launched the Energon Universe.

Today’s surprise, really shouldn’t be a surprise based on their track record, but it’s a fun one: some of the blind bags for M.A.S.K. #1 included completely different comics, with one of them being Rom #1, a standalone issue by Void Rivals co-creators Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici that introduces the space knight into the Energon Universe.

In a press release, Skybound said the character has been a fan request since Skybound launched the shared universe. Longtime Marvel fans know he previously published by them in the 1980s, following his introduction as toy by Parker Brothers. The toy was kind of a dud when it launched, but the comic proved popular, as he was integrated into the Marvel Universe and met everyone from the X-Men to Galactus. Later IDW Publishing reintroduced him to comics when they held the Hasbro license.

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