Category: Comic Books

Marvel’s newest teen heroes assemble in ‘New Champions’

Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli helm a new series featuring the heroes who appeared in recent issues of ‘Spider-Woman.’

Last year Marvel released a series of “New Champions” variant covers where they asked different artists to design new sidekicks for Marvel characters, following the debut of Spider-Boy. At the time I remarked that it seemed odd for Marvel to create all these characters just for a set of variant covers, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some of them again.

And we have — in the pages of Spider-Woman (as The Assembly), Ultimate X-Men and the upcoming Ghost Rider: Robbie Reyes Special. And now we will see many of them again, as they assemble for a New Champions series by Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli.

“As soon as I saw the New Champions variants, my mind started racing dreaming up possible origins and powers and codenames for these imagined sidekicks,” Foxe said. “Reverse-engineering the cast from the covers was unlike any other creative process I’ve ever been involved in, and I’m beyond stoked to debut a whole new class of Marvel heroes (and a few villains!) in New Champions alongside Ivan Fiorelli, who makes each and every one of these new additions feel like they’ve been part of the fabric of the universe all along.”

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Skybound unwraps some holiday horror in the ‘Creepshow Holiday Special’ this December

Tini Howard, Blake Howard, Stevan Subic, Rob Williams, Pye Parr and more will contribute tales of mirth and terror.

Skybound’s Creepshow Holiday Special will return this December with two tales of holiday horror, courtesy of Tini Howard, Blake Howard, Stevan Subic, Rob Williams, Pye Parr and more.

“The holidays wouldn’t be the same without a cheerful dose of horror, mayhem and cannibalism,” said Creepshow editor Ben Abernathy. “Our annual Creepshow Holiday Special is a treat to be enjoyed with your loved ones.” 

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Two X-Men teams come to blows in ‘Raid on Graymalkin’

The four-issue crossover begins in December.

Two of the three flagship X-Men titles will cross over this winter in a story called “Raid on Graymalkin.” The crossover will run through X-Men #8-9 by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman, and Uncanny X-Men #7-8 by Gail Simone, David Marquez and Javier Garron.

“It’s been an exciting time being part of the launch of the line of X-titles, but now we’re really getting into it- our first crossover!” MacKay said. “’Raid on Graymalkin’ is going to push the X-Men of both Alaska and Louisiana to their breaking points and set the tone for the future, and it’s been great to work with a legend like Gail in bringing it to life!”

If you’ve been following both titles, you know there’s some tension brewing between Cyclops and his crew of soldiers, who live in Alaska, and Rogue and her family of mutants, who reside in Louisiana. That tension will come to a head as both teams decide it’s time to do something about Graymalkin Prison, the former site of Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in New York, where mutants are being held by Dr. Corina Ellis, including Professor X.

“Writing in the X-World has been one of the most fun and rewarding experiences of my career,” Simone said. “Best characters, best art team, best editors and best fellow creators, particularly Jed Mackay, who is just an idea machine. We’ve been throwing ideas back and forth nearly every day since we all started putting together the bones of what the X-Verse would be like, and I think it helps tremendously that we like and respect each other’s work.”

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The Funtastic Four: Marvel x Disney recast Mickey + friends as the Fantastic Four

Writers Steve Behling and Riccardo Secchi, and artist Lorenzo Pastrovicchio revisit the early days of Marvel’s first family, with a Disney twist.

Marvel will continue their series of one-shots that feature Disney characters as Marvel heroes in What If Mickey and Friends Became the Fantastic Four?, which will come out early next year.

Yes, the Fab Five — or at least four of them — will become the Fantastic Four, with Mickey as Mister Fantastic, Minnie as Invisible Woman, Donald Duck as the Thing and Goofy as the Human Torch. Oh, and Pete as the Mole Man! Co-writers Steve Behling and Riccardo Secchi, along with artist Lorenzo Pastrovicchio, will pay tribute to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s creations, who look to have a pretty big year next year with their new film arriving next summer.

This is the fourth Marvel/Disney mash-up Marvel has announced in recent months, following one-shots featuring Donald Duck as Wolverine and Thor, and Minnie Mouse as Captain Marvel.

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Phillip Kennedy Johnson + Adam Gorham unleash ‘Hellhunters’ this winter

The five-issue miniseries spinning out of ‘Incredible Hulk’ begins in December.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s run on Incredible Hulk has introduced all sorts of new monstrous characters into the Marvel universe, with one of them being a World War II era Ghost Rider — Sergeant Sal Romero, who fought the Nazis alongside several other Marvel characters you might recognize. Now Sergeant Ghost Rider is getting an origin story, courtesy of Johnson and artist Adam Gorham.

“Ghost Rider ’44 is definitely my favorite guest star that’s appeared in our Incredible Hulk series so far,” Kennedy Johnson said. “I had a fully-realized origin story for Sergeant Sal Romero in my head before my partner Nic Klein brought him to life with his art, and the character turned out so unbelievably cool and fun, we knew the ‘War Devil’ arc wouldn’t be his last appearance.”

The five-issue miniseries, Hellhunters, will feature appearances by Wolverine, Nick Fury, Peggy Carter, Bucky Barnes, and, from the pages of Jason Aaron’s Avengers, Soldier Supreme.

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Chris Roberson + Michael Avon Oeming sit in ‘The Shadow of the Golden Crane’ this January

The adventures of B.P.R.D. agent Sue Xiang continue in a four-issue miniseries.

Chris Roberson and Michael Avon Oeming will continue the story of B.P.R.D. agent Sue Xiang and her family’s connect to the clandestine Golden Crane Society in The Shadow of the Golden Crane, which will debut in January.

Xiang’s connection to this mysterious group first surfaced about 10 years ago, in one of the first stories Roberson wrote that was set within Mike Mignola’s Hellboy universe.

“As far back as Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953 we have teased the idea that there is some connection between Susan Xiang, an agent of the B.P.R.D. with psychic abilities, and an organization called the Golden Crane Society, a secret society that protected the people of China from otherworldly threats for centuries,” Roberson said. “Susan was raised on stories of the Golden Crane, and when she was seven there was an incident involving her uncle and some jiangshi (Chinese ‘hopping vampires’) that we have so far only caught glimpses of. In The Shadow of the Golden Crane, we follow Susan and her fellow B.P.R.D. agents Hellboy and Victor Koestler as she uses her abilities to unlock the secrets of the Golden Crane Society.

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Tim Seeley + Zulema Lavina revisit a classic X-Men story in ‘Rogue: The Savage Land’

Marvel will publish the five-issue retro miniseries next year.

Marvel will revisit a classic Jim Lee-era X-Men story next year in Rogue: The Savage Land by veteran comics writer Tim Seeley and artist Zulema Lavina, who Seeley worked with on Hexware.

The five-issue “retro” miniseries will expand on the story from Uncanny X-Men #269 and #274-275, where a powerless Rogue teamed up with Magneto, Nick Fury and Ka-Zar to battle the sorceress Zaladane, who had stolen Magneto’s powers. This was a time when the X-Men were scattered after using the Siege Perilous to escape the Reavers following their years in the Australian Outback.

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Emma Kubert’s ‘Stoneheart’ returns in November

The creator-owned fantasy series Kubert writes and draws will return with a new arc from Image Comics.

Stoneheart, the creator-owned title written, drawn and lettered by Emma Kubert and published by Image Comics, will return for a new story arc later this year.

The series debuted last year and the first six issues were published monthly, but it’s been a year since we’ve seen a new issue. Which isn’t completely unexpected, as Kubert’s doing everything on the title in addition to her other freelance assignments.

“The new installment of Stoneheart dives deeper into the impending spiral of Shayde Whisper and the mysterious lore of Athea as we meet roguish pirates, confront cruel enemies, and battle leviathan-sized monsters,”said Kubert. “With every step of creation, it’s truly exciting to see the story unfold in such unexpected ways, intensifying the enigma that is Shayde Whisper and her magic. Make sure to catch up with Stoneheart Volume 1, and come along for the unraveling journey of a lifetime!”

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Magik will star in her own solo series next year

Writer Ashley Allen and artist Germán Peralta send the Darkchylde on a demon hunt in January.

Illyana Rasputin, a.k.a the mutant known as Magik, is getting a long-overdue ongoing series next year. Marvel has announced that Ashley Allen, who wrote the character earlier this year in her Blood Hunt one-shot, will work with Loki artist Germán Peralta.

The popular mutant has technically been around since the 1970s, as she debuted as a child in the pages of Giant-Size X-Men #1 by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. In the 1980s, due to magical shenanigans and a weird time lapse in Limbo, she was aged up to be a teenager and starred in the Magik: Storm and Illyana miniseries, which is also where we saw her mutant powers blossom and the debut of her soulsword. She’s been a member of both the New Mutants and the X-Men, but this is her first solo ongoing series.

“I’m beyond excited to be returning to write Illyana!” Allen said. “Supernatural stories featuring characters with hearts of gold are my favorite, so this series has been a dream to write! I can’t wait for readers to experience the adventure we take Magik on to slay some demons … and maybe accept some of her own.”

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Who is the ‘All-New Venom’?

Al Ewing and Carlos Gómez take Venom back to the streets in a new series this December.

In the aftermath of the Venom War, Venom will return to his own title in December — but who exactly is underneath the symbiote?

Writer Al Ewing teased to Polygon that All-New Venom will be a “scaled-down, earthbound continuation” of his Venom series, as Dylan Brock seeks to uncover who the new Venom is, with four suspects — Robbie Robertson of Daily Bugle fame, mob boss Madame Masque, perpetual sidekick Rick Jones and “Mayor Power Man” himself, Luke Cage. Ewing will work with artist Carlos Gómez on the relaunched title.

“If people have a strong hankering for something different from me, this is that. It’s almost more like a Spider-Man-level story,” Ewing told Polygon. “It is set on Earth, very much in the normal New York City. Everywhere we go in the story is a place you could go, or at least the type of place you could go. Obviously, when we go to a warehouse… well, I do have a tendency to look up actual warehouses, and then change them just enough to pass legal. So yeah, everywhere we go in this story is a natural place you can go in New York City.”

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Paul Tobin + Carlos Olivares ‘String’ together a new supernatural thriller at Mad Cave Studios

The first issue arrives in November.

Mad Cave Studios has announced String, a new series about a woman who can see the “strings” that tie together murderers and their victims. String by writer Paul Tobin and artist Carlos Javier Olivares, with colors by Sara Colella and letters by Taylor Esposito, will kick off in November. 

“I’ve always been fascinated by the differences in how people see the world, and Yoon is a culmination of my fascinations. She can see connections others can’t. Secrets others can’t possibly know,” Tobin said. “It’s fun stepping into her world. Intimidating, though, too! And working with Carlos has been the most amazing part of it all, because he and I are doing the exact thing I’m talking about–working the same world in different ways! Whenever he turns in art I’m like, “Ooo! I didn’t expect that! But he’s RIGHT!”

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Christopher Cantwell + Victor Santos ‘revive’ the forgotten comic ‘Kid Maroon’

Things get surreal in the publicity for Vault Comics’ new series.

Vault Comics has announced Kid Maroon, a “revival” of a “lost” and “forgotten” controversial comic strip from the 1940s.

Yep, that’s a lot of words in quotes. Vault first announced the project with claims that they’d obtained the rights to a 75-year-old comic strip that nobody remembers by legendary cartoonist Pep Shepard, who people also don’t remember. But wait, there’s a fan website and everything, with comments! So he’s gotta be real, right?

But then they announced the creative team, and suddenly everything made sense. The series is written by Christopher Cantwell, who wrote The Blue Flame for Vault (in addition to things like She Could Fly and Iron Man and that recent Thanos miniseries that got a little “meta” at times). But The Blue Flame, in particular, told the story of a street-level repairman-turned-hero trying to make a difference in his community — or was it about an Adam Strange-like hero who was put on trial by a galactic tribunal with the fate of the entire planet Earth at stake? Sometimes it was hard to tell what was actually real across the 10 issues (which were excellent, by the way; if you haven’t read it, I recommend it), and Cantwell and Vault seem to be taking a similar approach with this new title, including how they market it.

So take the quotes and such they’re sharing for what they are — something fun that’ll probably make the book that much more interesting. What you need to know is Cantwell is good at this sort of thing, and he’s joined by the wonderful Victor Santos, who drew Polar, Ginger’s Revenge, Violent Love and other noir series.

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