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Slugfest | Marvel in June brings us Godzilla, Silver Surfer, Joe Quesada and more

Miles Morales got Ultimate, the X-Men go Giant Sized, Deadpool turns 350 and much more in Marvel’s June solicitations. Did we mention Jeff the Land Shark?

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on Marvel’s June 2025 solicitations. Hit the links for more information.

Godzilla’s all over the place, whether you’re talking about all his various series over at IDW, the June DC solicitations that find him meeting the Justice League again or in Marvel’s own solicitations, where he once again is touring around the Marvel Universe and facing off with Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and, in June, with the Avengers.

David F. Walker and Georges Jeanty present the latest Godzilla vs. Marvel one-shot, as Godzilla continues his trip through time and comes into conflict with the Avengers team circa Brian Michael Bendis’ run in 2004 and beyond.

“As a child, I was raised on Godzilla movies, and as an adult, the New Avengers was a beautiful reminder of why I love comics,” Walker said. “The lineup of iconic characters in the New Avengers was a beautiful mix of quirky personalities and big adventures that kept me coming back every month. Bringing Godzilla and the New Avengers together for an epic showdown has allowed me to work with characters I have loved for a long time, in a way that I hope is as entertaining for fans to read as it was for me to write.”

Lil’ Jinx, Betty + Veronica would ‘Please, Please, Please’ like to meet their idol in ‘Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest’ #334

Check out a preview of a new story by Timmy Heague and Dan Parent coming next month from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to share a preview of Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #334, which arrives in stores April 30.

The story features Lil’ Jinx, who has been starring in the Archie Horror line as of late, but the only thing scary in this story are some rabid ~~Sabrina~~ Serena Carpenter fans — maybe they had too much Espresso. Betty, Veronica and Jinx have entered a contest to meet their idol, and the competition is fierce. This one is written by Timmy Heague, with artwork by Dan Parent and Bob Smith, colors by Glenn Whitmore and letters by Jack Morelli.

This will be the second appearance of Jinx as a teenager in the classic Archie universe, as she’ll also appear in World of Archie Digest #149, which comes out next week.

Check out the preview below, along with some classic Archie material that’ll appear in the digest.

Christopher Monfette + Miguel Martos explore the supernatural South in ‘TexArcanum’

Dark Horse Comics will publish the miniseries beginning in July.

Dark Horse Comics has announced the “horror in the Heartland” comic TexArcanum, a fun play off of Texarkana, the city that sits close to the Texas-Arkansas border. The title will mesh “unfamiliar mythologies and American identities into one new story,” according to the publisher.

The miniseries is by television writer/producer Christopher Monfette (Star Trek: Picard, Marvel’s Vision, 12 Monkeys) and artist Miguel Martos. They’ll be joined by colorist Patricio Delpeche and letterer Michael Heisler.

“Avery might wear a cowboy hat, drive a pick-up and talk with the dry wit of a Middle-American noir-PI, but he travels through pockets of culture and folklore that are seldom explored and yet the very definition of this country,” said Monfette. “American horror is too often defined by Western European scares – vampires, werewolves, Victorian-style ghosts – and the truth is that this country is made up of communities who’ve brought their own unique folklore along with them.”

‘Marvel United: A Pride Special’ will feature stories by Al Ewing, Wyatt Kennedy, Kei Zama + more

After receiving criticism in 2024, the publisher will publish a Pride anthology with ‘Pride’ in the title.

Marvel has announced plans to release Marvel United: A Pride Special this June in conjunction with Pride Month. The anthology will feature four stories “celebrating LGBTQIA+ creators and characters” and is a return to an anthology that calls out “Pride” in the title, something they received criticism for last year.

In 2024, Marvel received criticism for X-Men: The Wedding Special, which replaced the usual Marvel’s Voices: Pride special they published for three years prior. While the content was similar to a Pride anthology, as it featured multiple stories about LGBTQIA+ characters in addition to the main story about Mystique and Destiny’s wedding, dropping “Pride” from the title came at a time when many companies were facing backlash for their Pride activities. Everyone from Target to Budweiser were being raked over the coals by conservative groups, and many felt that it looked like Marvel was backing away from potential backlash of their own. Add to that, last year also brought a line of “ally” covers that did not go over well for the publisher, as it looked like they were putting a focus on straight characters during Pride Month.

(I should note that Marvel does have plans for a line of Pride Month variant covers again this year, but they have not revealed them yet. Hopefully they are a bit more dynamic than last year’s covers).

Slugfest | Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, round 2

DC’s June solicitations bring us a Trinity miniseries, Superboy by Mark Waid and Skylar Patridge, George Perez tribute covers and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on DC’s June 2025 solicitations. Hit the links for more information.

Last year’s king-sized crossover featuring King Kong, Godzilla and the Justice League gets a sequel series in June, as Brian Buccellato and Christian Duce once again helm the follow-up, Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2.

The sequel will feature Amanda Waller trying to create her own titans to combat any future kaiju attacks, as the Justice League travels to King Kong and Godzilla’s world and enters Hollow Earth. King Ghidorah, Rodan and Mothra will all appear, as well as a kaiju-sized Killer Croc.

Martian Magic: Cosmo enlists Sabrina’s supernatural skills in this exclusive ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ preview

Check out a preview of a new story by Bill Golliher and Jim Amash coming in April from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to share a preview of a new story appearing in Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #360.

Recently Cosmo the Mighty Martian made first contact with the Archie gang, and in this story he returns to Riverdale looking for his missing friends — who they determine are in Greendale, home to everyone’s favorite teenage witch. Queue a trip to visit Sabrina, who has some history on Mars herself. Bill Golliher writes and draws this new story, joined by inker Jim Amash, colorist Glenn Whitmore and letterer Jack Morelli.

Check out the preview below, along with a complete classic story by Bob Bolling featuring Little Archie and Mad Doctor Doom.

Marvel will relaunch ‘Fantastic Four’ in July

Ryan North and Humberto Ramos send Marvel’s first family on an adventure through time.

Marvel’s first family is getting a reboot this summer, just as their big-budget Hollywood film hits the screen.

Current Fantastic Four and One World Under Doom scribe Ryan North will continue to tell stories featuring Reed, Sue, Ben, Johnny and the gang, and he’ll be joined by artist Humberto Ramos.

June’s Fantastic Four #33, appropriately retitled as Fantastic Zero, will be the final issue of the current series. The new series will find the team split up in time, as their battle with Doctor Doom finds each of them stranded in a different era.

Hickman, Vicentini + Coello reach for the stars in ‘Imperial’

The trio will redefine Marvel’s cosmic titles in a miniseries that blasts off in June.

Jonathan Hickman, the architect of Marvel’s very successful Ultimate Comics relaunch, will next turn his attention to Marvel’s cosmic characters in Imperial, a four-issue miniseries that kicks off in June.

Hickman will be joined by two artists, Federico Vicentini and Iban Coello, who will present new takes on everyone from Nova to the Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as exploring the legacies of Planet Hulk and the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.

“I’m very excited about this project as I’m obviously a huge fan of all things Marvel Cosmic,” Hickman said. “The goal here is to kind of do what we did with the recent Ultimate line for all of our space titles, except having the setup book be more of an event than a world building exercise. The art team is killing it, and we’re all just very excited for what’s happening in this special corner of the Marvel Universe.”

DC announces its annual Pride anthology, webcomics + more for June

Alan Scott will take center stage in the anthology, which includes contributions by Vita Ayala, Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Maya Houston, Sam Maggs, Tim Sheridan, Max Sarin and more.

DC’s annual Pride anthology will return in June for its fifth year, with stories featuring Green Lantern Alan Scott, the Question, Midnighter and Apollo, Harley Quinn and more.

The collection will include a framing story starring Alan Scott by Tim Sheridan, Emilio Pilliu and Giulio Macaione, as the Justice Society’s resident Green Lantern returns to a bar that once served as the center of queer life in Gotham City. With the bar unexpectedly closing, many other LGBTQ+ heroes and villains with ties to it return for one last visit — with unexpected consequences:

Sam Humphries + Ton Lima bring together a new team of Thunderbolts

Marvel adds a cinematic asterisk to ‘New Thunderbolts*’ in June, as Winter Soldier and Black Widow lead a team of ‘dangerous loners and antiheroes.’

Just in time for the debut of Thunderbolts* on the big screen, Marvel has announced New Thunderbolts*, an ongoing series by Sam Humphries and Ton Lima that’ll debut in June.

The title marks Humphries’ return to Marvel after an absence of about five years or so, as he works with up-and-comer Lima on the title. And while the Thunderbolts have returned recently as a part of One World Under Doom — bringing together a mix of original team members and characters who will appear in the Thunderbolts* film — this title features a cast of characters not normally associated with the team, except for Bucky Barnes and Black Widow.

“I love every iteration of Thunderbolts,” Humphries said. “I’m thrilled to continue the franchise’s proud tradition of hard hitting action, powder keg personalities, and explosive surprises into a new era. This is a gang of seven of the biggest badasses and loose cannons from different corners of the Marvel Universe. Assembling a super team is like inviting the right combination of guests to a dinner party. So I imagined a dangerous, disastrous, unhinged Marvel dinner party, and went with that.”

Amy Chu + Andrea Di Vito revisit the early days of ‘Emma Frost: The White Queen’

The five-issue miniseries kicks off from Marvel in June.

Before Exceptional X-Men, the Quiet Council or Tony Stark, Emma Frost was one of the X-Men’s greatest villains. Amy Chu and Andrea Di Vito will return to those days in a new five-issue miniseries, Emma Frost: The White Queen.

“If there’s one character I’ve always wanted to write after Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death, it’s Emma Frost, especially BAD Emma Frost,” Chu said. “This is going to be a whole new Emma-focused story set in the classic days before she joins the X-Men. We’re going around the world to expose the inner workings of the Hellfire Club in a way you’ve never seen before and introducing some new baddies. I can’t believe Marvel is letting me do this, it’s so exciting!”

Jay & Silent Bob will meet the Riverdale gang in a one-shot this summer from Archie Comics

Kevin Smith,Fernando Ruiz, Rich Koslowski, Matt Herms, and Jack Morelli will bring the two stoners together with the Archie gang this July.

Archie, Veronica, Betty, Jughead and the rest of the gang will get two unexpected visitors this summer, as Kevin Smith’s Jay & Silent Bob will make their way to Riverdale this July.

Clerks creator Smith will write Archie Meets Jay And Silent Bob, which will feature artwork by Fernando Ruiz, Rich Koslowski, Matt Herms and Jack Morelli.

“I believe it was Stoic philosopher Epictetus who first said, ‘Everything’s Archie.’ And he was right,” Smith said. “Whether it be Veronica in Clerks or the Mister Weatherbee conversation in Chasing Amy, the influence of Archie Andrews is mixed into the brick and mortar of my pop cultural foundation. So, there was no way I was passing up this incredible opportunity to collide the worlds of Riverdale and the Askewniverse, and introduce icons on the order of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Moose, Reggie, and Josie to reprobates like Jay and Silent Bob.”

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