DC announces ‘Dark Crisis’ event series

Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere team up for a crossover that spins out of ‘Justice League’ #75 and pays tribute to DC’s past.

DC has announced their next big “Crisis” crossover series, following on a long tradition of using the term, whether said crisis is Infinite, on Multiple Earths, Final or, um, “Identity.” (Maybe it’s best to skip that last one).

This particular crisis ties back to Crisis on Infinite Earths, the landmark 1980s series by Marv Wolfman and George Perez that reduced the multiverse to a single Earth and introduced us to Pariah, who watched multiple universes die after his own did. It also has roots (appropriately) in one of my favorite stories from Swamp Thing, issue #50 by Alan Moore and Stan Woch, which saw Swamp Thing and his allies attempting to save Heaven from “The Great Darkness.” Finally, it’ll spin out of Justice League #75, due out in April, where the team will die at the hands of “a new  Dark  Army  made  up  of  the  DCU’s  greatest  villains.”

Dark Crisis will run for seven issues and is written by Joshua Williamson, featuring art by Daniel Sampere, colors by Alejandro Sánchez and lettering by Tom Napolitano.

Dark Crisis is an epic DCU event about legacy,” said writer Joshua Williamson. “It will have all the giant, fun cosmic battles and Multiversal set pieces, but it’s not about reboots, retcons, or rewriting time and space. At its core it’s about the characters and the relationships that we’ve seen built over DC’s great history. Dark Crisis spins out of Justice League 75 ‘Death of the Justice League’ and connects all the story threads across the DCU since Infinite Frontier #0 in a major way. Unifying the new legacy of the DCU as we honor the classic. You can’t miss it!”

Here’s a teaser trailer:

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Love is in the air for this week’s comics

Check out new comics this week from Tini Howard, Francesco Mobili, Brian Michael Bendis, Sanford Greene, Simon Spurrier, Aaron Campbell, P. Craig Russell and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week. With Valentine’s Day coming up next week, there are several love-filled comics and graphic novels to choose from.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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Gedeon + Johnson turn the Justice League into dinosaurs in ‘Jurassic League’

DC’s flagship team gets prehistoric in this new miniseries from Daniel Warren Johnson and Juan Gedeon.

If you thought 1999’s JLApe was the height of majesty for DC Comics, think again — Daniel Warren Johnson and Juan Gedeon are teaming up for Jurassic League, which will feature the familiar team as dinosaurs.

Jurassic League is all I want to draw: dinos and epic fights,” Gedeon said. “My own version of a ’90s cartoon or video game. Expect a story about survival, unity and hope where the strong protect the weak in a world where danger lurks in every corner.”

Johnson and Gedeon are co-writing the six-issue miniseries, with Gedeon providing interior art and Johnson doing the covers. In it, Wonder Woman is a triceratops, the Joker is a dilophosaurus, Batman is an allosaurus and Superman is a brachiosaurus.

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‘Only the Savage will survive’ in Pepose + Magno’s ‘Savage Avengers’

A new team led by Conan the Barbarian takes on an evil Deathlok in the series, which debuts in May.

The Savage Avengers will return in May with an eclectic line-up and a new creative team, as David Pepose and Carlos Magno pit Conan and a new team of “loners, berserkers and killers” against an evil Deathlok cyborg.

Joining Conan on this time trek are Anti-Venom, Black Knight, Cloak & Dagger, Weapon H and Daredevil — aka the assassin formerly known as Elektra.

Pepose, whose credits include Scout’s Honor, Going to the Chapel and The O.Z., makes his Marvel debut on the title.

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Archies collide when ‘Archie Meets Riverdale’ in May

Writer Daniel Kibblesmith and artists Pat and Tim Kennedy will bring the different versions of Archie and the gang together in a new one-shot.

Two versions of Archie Andrews will meet in May when the happy, fun comics version of Archie meets the dark,broody Archie from TV’s Riverdale.

The new one-shot by writer Daniel Kibblesmith and artists Pat and Tim Kennedy will arrive in stores in May.

“Some of the best fun we have here at Archie Comics is when we take two wildly different concepts and jam them together and watch the chaos unfold afterwards,” said Mike Pellerito, Archie Comics’ new editor-in-chief/president. “The cult classic Archie Meets Punisher’ crossover from the 90s is a great example of taking two things that couldn’t be further apart in terms of tone and delivering a story that stands the test of time while holding true to both franchises.”

That’s certainly true; Archie has turned into one of the most flexible characters when it comes to crossovers or simply re-imagining the concepts, whether you’re talking about The CW’s Riverdale, the Archie Horror line or the countless crossovers with everyone from the Punisher to Predator to KISS.

“When the idea of doing a crossover between the classic versions of the Archie Comics characters with the gritty and dramatic Riverdale versions first came up, we knew we had to get someone with a great appreciation for both takes that could deliver everything we were looking for,” Pellerito said. “We’re so thrilled to have Daniel Kibblesmith on board, and together with Archie veterans Pat and Tim Kennedy, they’ve put together a story that is an absolute must-have for all Archie Comics and Riverdale fans!”

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Judgment Day, Hellfire Gala + Bloodline headline Marvel’s ‘Free Comic Book Day: Avengers/X-Men’

Kieron Gillen, Dustin Weaver, Danny Lore, Gerry Duggan and more contribute to the title, which arrives for free on May 7.

Marvel has released more details on their third Free Comic Book Day title for 2022, Avengers/X-Men, which will feature three stories.

As announced earlier today, the first one will preview the Judgment Day event, in a prelude story by writer Kieron Gillen and artist Dustin Weaver (who drew the preview artwork accompanying the announcement.) The event will feature the Avengers trying to avert a war between the Eternals and the X-Men.

The second story, by Gerry Duggan and artist Matteo Lolli, will serve as the lead-in to this year’s Hellfire Gala. a storyline that’ll take place this summer. Last year’s gala brought a new team of X-Men, the mutant takeover of Mars and the death of the Scarlet Witch — so who knows what will happen this year. Quicksilver, watch your back …

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Can’t Wait for Comics | The X-Statix return, a Reckoning War begins and the Monkey Prince debuts

New comics and graphic novels arrive this week by Dan Slott, Carlos Magno, Peter Milligan, Michael + Laura Allred, Gene Luen Yang, Bernard Chang, Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt, Tyler Crook, Amy Chu, Sarah Stern, Kendra Wells and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Comics | The X-Statix return, a Reckoning War begins and the Monkey Prince debuts”

Marvel officially announces the event series ‘Judgment Day’

Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti will bring together the X-Men, Avengers and Eternals for a symphony of destruction.

Marvel will bring together the X-Men, the Eternals and the Avengers for Judgment Day, a crossover series coming this summer from Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti.

The story will revolve around conflict between the Eternals and the X-Men, as the latter target Krakoa and the Avengers try to play peacekeeper. With Gillen already writing Eternals and Immortal X-Men on deck, it makes sense that he’d bring them together — and write his first event series for Marvel.

“There’s a classic metaphor to describe the Marvel Universe – a toybox, which creators take toys out of, play with and put back. I get it, but it’s never quite how I’ve seen it – I think ‘play’ in another way. I think of a music shop, with all these instruments with their different qualities suggesting different songs, different stories,” Gillen said. “For all the Marvel instruments I’ve played, I’ve never written an event. Writing an event is something different. It’s not like playing an instrument. It’s having all the instruments in the Marvel music shop. That’s not like writing a song. That’s like writing a symphony.”

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‘Devil’s Reign Omega’ paves the way for a new ‘Daredevil’ series in June

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto will continue to tell stories about Matt Murdock and Elektra after the event series ends.

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto will continue their epic run on Daredevil following the end of Devil’s Reign, as both Matt Murdock and Elektra will star in a new title that promises “the darkest Hell’s Kitchen to date.”

Marvel gave the Daredevil comic a break as the two creators turned their attention to Devil’s Reign, the current event series featuring Mayor Kingpin trying to ban, blackmail and arrest all New York City superheroes. But following the end of the big event, Daredevil will be back in June with a new first issue.

“This is the start of our fourth year on the title! And the plan for it is about as big a swing as we could possibly take,” Zdarsky told Marvel.com. “I’m super excited for readers to see where we’re taking our Daredevils!”

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Vault announces the comedy-fantasy series ‘Quests Aside’

Brian Schirmer and Elena Gogou tell the story of a retired adventurer and his tavern.

Pour a cold one and get ready for some stories, as Vault Comics has announced Quests Aside, a new fantasy-comedy series about the local tavern and the retired adventurer trying to keep it open.

The new series is written by Brian Schirmer, writer of the excellent fantasy comic Fairlady, and drawn by Greek comics artist Elena Gogou (Campfire Stories, My City). They’re joined by colorist Rebecca Nalty and designer Tim Daniel, who brings a creative consistency to everything Vault publishes.

“I’ve always loved stories about the thief who wants to take One Last Score, or the outlaw who needs to take One Last Ride,” said Schirmer. “Their eyes are frequently fixed on retiring thereafter. Usually, things don’t work out as they planned. We take this conceit to a fantasy realm, where a legendary adventurer has already actually succeeded in taking One Last Quest, opened a tavern, and got to retire. That’s where we begin.”

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Titan Comics will adapt David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’

Dan Watters and Dev Pramanik will adapt the classic science fiction story into a graphic novel.

Titan Comics has announced plans to adapt the 1976 British science fiction film The Man Who Fell to Earth into a graphic novel by writer Dan Watters and artist Dev Pramanik.

The film starred rock icon David Bowie as an alien searching for water to save his planet, and finds wealth and fame on Earth — a parable about the current climate crisis.

The Man Who Fell to Earth is a masterpiece of a film with an awful lot to say; about men, about the Earth, and lots of things in between,” Watters said. “There are ideas in the film, about climate crises and corporate greed, that are more relevant now than they were when Nicolas Roeg set out to make it. And now here we are. I think it’s high time to look at the world through Thomas Newton’s mismatched eyes all over again. Perhaps he’ll see something we’ve been missing.”

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Ahoy Comics announces the time-travel dramedy ‘G.I.L.T.’

The new series begins in April.

Comics writer and novelist Alisa Kwitney and artist Mauricet will travel through time — not literally, but literary — in the new series G.I.L.T. from Ahoy Comics.

“G.I.L.T.” stands for “Guild of Independent Lady Temporalists,” and the comic features two women who travel back in time to the day they first met, in 1973. Ahoy describes it as “a snappy, stylish romantic dramedy.”

“G.I.L.T. follows two very different women whose lives become entangled when they both slip through a portal in time to the day they first met in 1973,” said Kwitney. “Trista is the Bill Murray of home health care aides, a cynical screw-up who doesn’t care for anything but her Fleuvog shoes and her paycheck. She meets her match in Hildy, a sarcastic second-wave feminist living on a steady diet of cigarettes and regret. When Hildy seizes her last chance to return to a fateful day in 1973, she accidentally takes Trista along for the ride. But as the old saying goes, there are no accidents in time travel. And Hildy and Trista don’t remember each other, but they met each other 40 years earlier—on Hildy’s wedding day. Now they’ve got to come to terms with the past before they accidentally dismantle the future.”

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