Category: Comic Books

Almost 50 titles announced for Free Comic Book Day 2025

Diamond reveals the silver sponsor titles, which include Godzilla, The Phantom, Black Mirror, Herobear and the Kid, and more.

Diamond has revealed the remaining Free Comic Book Day titles for 2025, which, along with the Gold Sponsor titles announced earlier this week, brings the number of titles that will be available to retailers and fans on May 3 to 46 — and that’s before DC reveals what they might be doing, as they aren’t included in this batch.

Some of the highlights include:

  • BOOM! will celebrate their 20th anniversary with a special issue that I’m guessing will be an anthology.
  • Fantagraphics has a Lost Marvels title featuring Dominic Fortune on the cover that’s promoting a collection of “never-collected Marvel comics”
  • IDW will have two FCBD titles, one featuring Godzilla: The New Heroes and one collecting stories from their new IDW Dark line.
  • Mad Cave and their all-ages imprint Papercutz are going all in on FCBD, with Speed Racer and Phineas and Ferb in the gold tier, and The Phantom, an all-ages Flash Gordon and Herobear and the Kid in the silver.
  • Graphic novel previews that will land on FCBD include Vault’s Def Leppard, Skybound’s all-ages Transformers book and Scholastic/Marvel’s Hulk Teach.
  • The list includes a couple of licensed comics I wasn’t aware of, including a Black Mirror comic from Twisted Comics and Diablo from Titan.

Check them all out below:

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Marvel is finally publishing their ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ adaptation

Delayed since the early days of the COVID pandemic, the five-issue series by Jody Houser and Will Sliney will feature scenes that weren’t in the film.

Marvel’s long-delayed adaptation of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will finally see print almost five years after the film originally debuted.

The miniseries by Jody Houser and Will Sliney was originally intended for release in June of 2020, a year marked by the COVID pandemic and related shutdowns. It was a tragic and tumultuous year for everyone, and the comic industry was no exception. The Rise of Skywalker was one of several comics Marvel delayed or cancelled when Diamond went into shutdown mode as a result of COVID, and I never expected for it to see the light of day.

But now that Marvel is shifting their Star Wars timeline from the post-Empire Strikes Back period to a post Return of the Jedi period, set before the most recent trilogy, maybe it felt like a good time to dust this one off. It’ll also have scenes that weren’t in the film’s final release.

“There’s a resurgence of interest in these characters, especially Kylo Ren, Darth Vader’s blood heir,” Editor Mark Paniccia said. “Jody’s script captures the impact of these iconic moments between the film’s heroes and villains, while the art by Will Sliney and dazzling colors by Guru-eFX give a visually unique experience of this epic finale.”

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Stan Sakai will pay tribute to his late brother in the next ‘Usagi Yojimbo’ miniseries

The five-issue ‘Usagi Yojimbo: The Thousand Plums’ will debut in March.

Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo will return in a new miniseries next March, featuring two different stories — “Ten Thousand Plums” and “Tabo.” That second story, in particular, has significant meaning for Sakai, as it pays tribute to his deceased brother.

“‘Tabo’ is very personal to me,” Sakai said. “It was written as a tribute to my younger brother, Kenneth, a month after he passed away and was inspired by his struggles during his last days. I cherish the time growing up with him in Hawaii. When she saw how deeply I felt about this story, Emi (Fujii) volunteered to color it as she knew Kenneth and his gentle spirit.”

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Solomon Kane will return to comics next year

Patrick Zircher will write and draw a new series coming from Titan Comics in 2025.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures, who own the Robert E. Howard stable of characters, will team up for a new Solomon Kane title coming next year.

Solomon Kane joins the myriad of Conan titles that Titan is currently producing, and the character appeared in the recent Conan-centered crossover series Battle of the Black Stone. Patrick Zircher will write, draw and color the series, he confirmed on BlueSky.

Mike Mignola did the first issue’s cover:

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Your 2025 FCBD line-up includes Spider-Man, Speed Racer, VR Troopers + more

Free comics from Marvel, Archie, Dark Horse, Mad Cave, BOOM! and more will be available next year on May 3.

Diamond has revealed the “Gold Sponsor” comic publishers and titles for Free Comic Book Day 2025, which includes Marvel, Mad Cave, BOOM!, Dark Horse and more. Thirteen comics from the gold sponsors will be available during next year’s event, which is scheduled for May 3.

“We’re excited for another fantastic year of celebrating comic books and the shops that make them special,” said Ashton Greenwood, Free Comic Book Day spokesperson. “This year’s selection has something for every kind of fan. Whether you’re new to comics or a longtime reader, you’re sure to find a title that grabs your attention.”

An additional 33 titles in the “Silver Sponsor” tier will be revealed tomorrow, although Marvel has already revealed three more titles they’ll offer, in addition to their two gold titles. DC is not mentioned in the announcement, as their books are not distributed by Diamond, but I’m sure they’ll have something on FCBD as well.

Check out the list of titles below:

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Two Thunderbolts teams face off in ‘Thunderbolts: Doomstrike’

The ‘One World Under Doom’ tie-in series starts in February.

If you read the most recent Thunderbolts series you know that Bucky Barnes and company inadvertently did Doctor Doom a solid. That doesn’t sit well with Bucky, so he’s pulling the band back together — along with some new members — to face off with Doom and his own team of Thunderbolts.

The five-issue series is written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, with art by Tommaso Bianchi. In addition to characters like the Winter Soldier, Black Widow and Red Guardian, it’ll also feature the return of many of the original Thunderbolts, including Songbird, Moonstone, Atlas and Fixer.

“We can’t wait for folks to see what Ryan (North) and company have planned for One World Under Doom – a Marvel event with brains, heart and incredible scope,” Kelly and Lanzing said. “The Thunderbolts are a crucial part of the puzzle: this is the story of what happens when heroes openly oppose Doom… and how they’ll have to learn to fight differently if they’re ever to make a difference.”

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Thunderbolt Ross faces off with Doom in Benjamin Percy + Geoff Shaw’s ‘Red Hulk’

The One World Under Doom tie-in series begins in February.

The Sabretooth War team of Benjamin Percy and Geoff Shaw are moving to a new front, as they put the Red Hulk under the thumb of the new sorcerer supreme Doctor Doom … and as you can imagine, that doesn’t really work for Thunderbolt Ross.

Red Hulk #1 arrives in February, right around the time the character will make an appearance in the fourth Captain America movie. It’ll tie into Marvel’s bigger publishing initiative, One World Under Doom.

“When I learned about the One World Under Doom event, my mind immediately went to Thunderbolt Ross,” Percy said. “A global takeover would not be tolerated by a man who bleeds red, white and blue (but especially red). And his experience—as a soldier in the field, as a military strategist in the war room, as a walking weapon of mass destruction—would make him someone Doom would target well before he made his move.”

So Ross is Doom’s pick for his secretary of defense — I can think of worse choices. At least he’s qualified, right?

“I proposed a story in which Ross would be kidnapped by Doom and forced into a ‘Think Tank’ prison in which he would test out various war-time scenarios,” Percy said. “That’s where we begin: in a book that does not give you a second to breathe. It moves and moves and moves with constant action and tension.”

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Zatanna is ‘llA nI’ in a new series by Jamal Campbell

The six-issue miniseries will cast its spell next February.

DC will continue to roll out new series in February as part of their All In initiative, with Zatanna joining the line-up in a new miniseries written and drawn by Jamal Campbell.

Unlike the recent Black Label series, Zatanna: Bring Down the House, this one is set in DC’s current continuity and will feature several familiar faces like Blue Devil and Madame Xanadu. It’ll also introduce a new villain, The Lady White.

“Wonder, mystery, mischief, and fishnets make up the core of a quintessential Zatanna Zatara stage show, and it’s high time she returned to the spotlight,” said Campbell. “In her newest DC Comics series, Zatanna is dragged down a rabbit hole of cursed swords, hidden truths and multiple brushes with death. She’ll need all her wits and every spell she can muster in order to make it out the other side in one piece.”

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Cullen Bunn + Danny Luckert return to the world of ‘Beyond Mortal’ for ‘Jumpscare’

The duo introduce a new superhero with a unique super power that draws from horror movies.

Cullen Bunn and Danny Luckert’s Beyond Mortal graphic novel is getting a sequel of sorts in Jumpscare, a new miniseries by the writer and artist duo. The miniseries takes place after the events of the graphic novel and introduces a new horror superhero called Jumpscare. Jim Campbell is lettering the miniseries.

“Hands down, Jumpscare is some of the most fun I’ve ever had writing a comic,” Bunn said in the press release. “I absolutely love this character. She’s everything I love about horror movies, everything I love about superheroes, everything I love about comics, all rolled into one character. If you’re a horror fan, get ready to meet your new favorite superhero.”

Bunn added in his newsletter that the character is “a super-slasher who is a bit Deadpool, a bit Harley Quinn, a bit Tank Girl, and 1000% everything I love about what I do.”

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Marvel explores the legacy of the Jedi in two new comics next year

A pair of ongoing series will debut in February and March.

Marvel will explore the legacy of the Jedi Order in two new Star Wars comics coming early next year — Star Wars: Legacy of Vader and Star Wars: Jedi Knights.

Written by Charles Soule with artwork by Luke Ross, the ongoing Legacy of Vader shows Kylo Ren’s quest to learn more about his grandfather, Darth Vader. The leader of the First Order sets a course for everywhere from Mustafar to Tattooine to confront his own inner turmoil.

“When fans talk to me about my Star Wars work, two of my Marvel comic runs come up more than almost anything else: my 2017 run on Darth Vader with Giuseppe Camuncoli and my 2019 series The Rise of Kylo Ren,” Soule told StarWars.com. “I think both of those worked so well in part because they were set in parts of the Star Wars timeline full of unanswered questions about characters the audience really loves.”

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Tom Sniegoski + Craig Rousseau will bring ‘The Herculoids’ back to comics next year

A new series based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon will debut from Dynamite in February.

During the New York Comic Con this past weekend, Dynamite revealed more details on their upcoming Herculoids series, which was first mentioned in San Diego this summer. Tom Sniegoski and Craig Rousseau will bring Zandor, Tara, Igoo and the rest of the crew from the 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon series to comics.

“I can honestly say that getting the chance to write The Herculoids series for Dynamite is one of the highlights of my comics career,” Sniegoski said. “Having the opportunity to get into the minds of these characters has been a real challenge, but also incredibly fun. Who wouldn’t want to write a giant rock ape?! And equally exciting is seeing what artist Craig Rousseau is doing with my scripts. I think there are going to be some very pleased Herculoids fans out there when they see his art.”

If you’re not familiar with the cartoon, the Herculoids ran for 18 episodes in the late 1960s, with new episodes being produced in the early 1980s after its reruns gained a fan following. Set on the planet Amzot, the series blended science fiction and fantasy elements as Zandor, his wife Tara and their son Dorno led a team of alien creatures against an endless supply of villains, mad scientists, mutants, giant ants and more. Luckily Zandor and company had the help of the space dragon Zok, the rhinoceros-like Tundro, the rock ape Igoo and two shape-shifting balls of goo named Gloop and Gleep.

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‘Peacemaker Presents: The Vigilante/Eagly Double Feature!’ bridges the gap between ‘Peacemaker’ seasons 

Tim Seeley, Mitch Gerads, Rex Ogle, Matteo Lolli and James Gunn bring the MAX series to comics.

Warner Bros. MAX series Peacemaker will spill into comics next year with a miniseries meant to bridge the gap between seasons one and two of the hit show.

Peacemaker Presents: The Vigilante/Eagly Double Feature! will include two Peacemaker stories — one featuring Vigilante by Tim Seeley and Mitch Gerads, and another with Eagly, Peacemaker’s pet Eagle, by Rex Ogle, Matteo Lolli and John Kalisz. Pat Brosseau will letter both stories, while James Gunn will serve as a story consultant for both tales.

“When [DC editor] Katie Kubert asked me to do a short for DC’s Strange Love Adventures, I was stoked to write a Peacemaker story,” Ogle said. “So getting to dive back in and play with this iconic antihero again (and in a miniseries this time!) is a total dream. Part of what makes him so great is that at his core, Peacemaker is a hopeless optimist. He wants the world to be a better place, not just for himself, but for others. He doesn’t always go about achieving peace in the right way, but he brings an incredible levity to the violence that is already ever-present in our world. And sometimes we need to laugh at the bad—so we don’t break down and cry.”

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