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.”

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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:

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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.”

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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!”

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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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‘Runaways’ join the ‘One World Under Doom’ event in June

Rainbow Rowell and Elena Casagrande team for a five-issue tie-in miniseries.

Fans of Rainbow Rowell’s Runaways will happy to know that she’s returning to writing their adventures this June as a part of the One World Under Doom storyline.

Rowell will team with artist Elena Casagrande on the five-issue miniseries, which will see the team — and their resident Doombot — pulled into the bigger event. Rowell previously wrote their adventures for about four years, from 2017 to 2021, and it’s nice to see her return.

“Everyone who knows me knows I will show up for any party the Runaways are invited to,” Rowell said. “They’re my all-time faves and my truest love. I can’t wait for Runaways fans to see Elena Casagrande’s take on the kids—they look so cool—and to see Stephanie Hans’ timeless covers.”

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Exclusive Preview | A brutal and bloody look at ‘Cruel Kingdom’ #4

Take a look at a new story by Greg Pak, PJ Holden and John McCrea before it arrives in stores in April.

Courtesy of Oni Press, we’re pleased to share a preview of one of the stories from Cruel Kingdom #4, which arrives in stores April 2.

Cruel Kingdom is a fantasy anthology from Oni’s partnership with EC Comics, the notorious and influential publishing house from the 1950s. The anthology features two stories per issue, and today’s preview comes from “Headmistress,” a tale by Greg Pak, PJ Holden and John McCrea.

Check out the preview, along with a look at covers by Adam Pollina, Gabriel Rodriguez, Albert Monteys and Rian Hughes.

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The new Spider-Girl leaps into her own series in June

Torunn Grønbekk and André Risso will reveal more about the character introduced recently in ‘Spider-Boy.’

The new Spider-Girl who has been hanging out with Spider-Boy in the pages of his comic will swing over to her own ongoing series this June.

Torunn Grønbekk and André Risso will tell new stories featuring the Hawaiian mutant, named Makawalu “Maka” Akana. She started her career as the villainous Funhouse, but broke away from her mentor, Bullseye, and became a hero. The new series “will shed light on the character’s backstory, reveal the full extent of her mutant abilities and reveal whether she can truly leave behind her villainous ways to stand as a hero.”

“Spider-Girl is a blast—joyful, irreverent, mischievous, and righteous. Leaving Bullseye behind, she’s starting fresh in New York, exploring her new home and embracing her Spider-Girl powers with fearlessness and a touch of innocence,” Grønbekk said. “She eagerly jumps into fights others would think better of (often against some of our favorite Spidey villains!), and her arrival has definitely caught the attention of the criminal underworld – but maybe not for the reason one would think.”

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Robert Kirkman, Benito Cereno + E.J. Su will unleash ‘Blood & Thunder’

The new series from Skybound will arrive in May.

Skybound has announced Blood & Thunder, the story of a bounty hunter and her talking gun, will kick off in May at Image Comics.

The new title is written by Benito Cereno (Tales from the Bully Pulpit) with art by E.J. Su, who will be joined by colorist MSassyK and letterer Rus Wooton. It’s based on a concept created by Skybound founder Robert Kirkman, who will consult on the story.

Blood & Thunder is a concept I’ve been dying to share with the world for quite some time. I’m so thrilled to be on the cusp of debuting what Benito Cereno, E.J. Su and I have cooked up,” Kirkman said. “Monsters! Aliens! Space! Talking Guns! I dare you to find a comic that’s more exciting! Blood & Thunder! Shut up!”  

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Chip Zdarsky + Valerio Schiti will chronicle Captain America’s early adventures in the modern era

Debuting in July, the new series explores Cap’s adventures after the thaw.

Batman and Daredevil writer Chip Zdarsky and G.O.D.S. artist Valerio Schiti are headed back to the past in July as the new creative team on Captain America.

Now typically when you hear about a Captain America series set in the past, it’s focused on his star-spangled adventures during World War II — but not this series. This one will be set right after Captain America was thawed out of the ice, as seen in Avengers #4 back in the 1960s, and it’ll flesh out the adventures he had before he joined the team.

“I’ve been a massive Captain America fan for decades. I loved writing the grizzled, older Cap in Avengers: Twilight, so getting to write the actual Captain America title feels like a dream!” Zdarsky said. “We’re exploring Cap’s early days in the modern era with a twist that I think is going to really surprise readers! I’m pretty excited to get this out there in the world, especially with Valerio and Frank’s amazing art!”

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Ryan North + Mike Norton team for ‘Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton’

The bestest boy fetches a five-issue miniseries this summer.

DC’s “Summer of Superman” initiative is going to the dogs in June, as the publisher announced this week that the team of writer Ryan North and artists Mike Norton and Ian Herring will return to Krypton to tell the story of Superman’s bestest friend Krypto.

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton will take our heroic canine — the breakout star of the Superman trailer — from Krypton to Earth.

“Krypto’s origin has always been done at kind of a high level,” North said. “The little guy starts out on Krypton, ends up on Earth, and helps Superman fight crime. The chance to really define Krypto—to show what a little lost dog would go through if he landed all alone on a strange alien world named Earth—was really enticing. And I also fell in love with the idea of treating Krypto as the actual dog he is: he doesn’t talk, and we don’t cheat by reading his thoughts in balloons either. Mike Norton’s art captures exactly what needs to be ‘said’ in every scene. Krypto tells us who he is and how he’s feeling like all dogs do: through his expressions and behaviour, through body language and barks and snuggles and licks and sighs. Dogs are some of the most expressive animals, and we absolutely love them, and I wanted to tell a story that really captured and honoured these animals—Krypto in particular.”

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Marvel will ‘Bring On The Bad Guys’ this summer

Doctor Doom, Mephisto, Loki and more will star in a series of seven connected one-shots.

Marvel will resurrect an old title for a new event this summer. The publisher will pay tribute to Bring On The Bad Guys, a collection of villain-focused origin stories published in the 1970s, with a connected series of seven one-shots.

Marc Guggenheim and Stefano Raffaele will kick things off with Bring On The Bad Guys: Doctor Doom in June, followed by comics featuring Green Goblin, Loki, Abomination, Red Skull, Dormammu and Mephisto, which will take us through August. Creative teams for subsequent volumes have not been announced.

These are the seven villains featured on John Romita Sr.’s cover of the original collection:

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