Marvel – SMASH PAGES

G. Willow Wilson + Gleb Melnikov steal the spotlight with a new Black Cat series

Felicia Hardy has a change of heart, maybe, in her new solo series as a superhero.

Career thief Felicia Hardy will have a change of heart* in her new solo series by G. Willow Wilson and Gleb Melnikov this summer, as the former super thief takes on some of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes.

The new series will debut in August from Marvel. The stopry will spin out of Joe Kelly and John Romita Jr.’s run on Amazing Spider-Man, as the notorious cat burglar will have a change of heart after Spider-Man’s upcoming battle with the new villain Hellgate. “But is her most recent change of heart for purely altruistic reasons or simply a way to pull off her greatest heist yet?” Well, why can’t it be both?

“As soon as Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood dropped and people saw the Black Cat story, readers began to ask me, ‘When are you going to write more Felicia?’ Well, the answer is: right now,” Wilson said. “Black Cat is so much fun to work with. She’s a supporting character with main character energy. And she has such a rich history that there are tons of tantalizing story threads to pull on.”

Jeph Loeb + Simone Di Meo resurrect the ‘Age of Apocalypse’ this fall

‘X-Men of Apocalypse’ will bring Blink, Sabretooth, Morph and other Age of Apocalypse characters to the 616.

Marvel will return to one of the most popular X-Men crossover events from the 1990s in the upcoming X-Men of Apocalypse miniseries by Jeph Loeb and Simone Di Meo.

The story will be set up in this summer’s Giant-Size Age of Apocalypse, one of several one-shots that’ll explore past X-Men-related events. Loeb and Di Meo will have a back-up story in that issue. Loeb worked on the original Age of Apocalypse storyline, as he wrote the X-Man miniseries and co-created the character with artist Steve Skroce.

Also, in a nod to the original crossover, the story will start with an “alpha” issue, followed by a four-issue miniseries, and will conclude with an “omega” issue.

“Thirty years ago, The X-Men of Apocalypse took the comics world by storm and I was lucky enough to be part of it,” Loeb said. “There were new characters! New designs! Heroes who were villains and villains who were heroes! Now, for the 30th anniversary, an all-new, all-different story with spectacular art by Simone Di Meo brings us to this uncanny team that shouldn’t even exist — and they are coming here! Join Gambit, Sabretooth & Wild Child, Blink, Forge and Morph and more as they try to save one universe without dooming another!”

Turns out it was ‘New Avengers’ all along

Appropriately, there’s a twist to the New Thunderbolts* comic as well.

Much like the film of the same name that debuted last week, Marvel has revealed that it’s upcoming New Thunderbolts* title won’t actually be called New Thunderbolts.

In a synergistic move, the new title is actually called New Avengers.

“Plot twist, it’s been New Avengers all along,” said writer Sam Humphries. “I promised surprises, and this is the first of many. It’s a thrill and an honor to continue the grand New Avengers tradition of team dynamics that are as explosive as the threats. And this era has two combustible teams: the New Avengers and the Killuminati!”

It’s open season on super heroes in ‘Predator Kills the Marvel Universe’

Benjamin Percy and Marcelo Ferreira continue the hunt across the 616 in August.

If there’s anything left of the Marvel Universe after Godzilla and Deadpool get done with it, they’ll face another threat, as the Predator expands his hunt to include just about everybody.

Writer Benjamin Percy will continue the bloodshed unleashed in Predator vs. Wolverine, Predator vs. Black Panther, Predator vs. Godzilla — wait, forget that one — and the current Predator vs. Spider-Man. He’ll team with the latter book’s artist, Marcelo Ferreira, for a collision that sees “the heroes of the Marvel Universe join forces to defend the world from an entire army of the galaxy’s greatest hunters.”

“That title? It’s not misdirection,” Percy said. “This one’s gonna hurt. Your favorite heroes and villains will fall — even as others rise up against this extinction-level event. The Predator King is here — the Yautja are armed with vibranium — and Earth is now a hunting preserve.”

The X-Men pay tribute to Krakoa in ‘X-Men: Hellfire Vigil’

Gail Simone, Jed MacKay, Stephanie Phillips and more will contribute to the one-shot.

With Krakoa gone, there’s no Hellfire Gala planned for this year, but the X-Men will mark the occasion with a vigil for their lost nation.

X-Men: Hellfire Vigil sounds more solemn than what we saw in the party-filled Hellfire Gala specials of years past. But Marvel is promising “a night of joyous celebration, delicious drama, and, of course, super hero high fashion,” so maybe it won’t be as depressing as it sounds.

The one-shot will feature the work of several current X-Men creators, including Gail Simone, Jed MacKay, Eve Ewing, Stephanie Phillips and more.

“We’ve been working towards the Hellfire Vigil for a year now, and all of the assorted X-creators came together to make this a moment of significance for the X-Men and their world as a whole,” X-Men Editor Tom Brevoort said. “If you’ve been wondering when somebody was going to encounter somebody else, the answer is right here in this book! It’s a capstone to events that began in From The Ashes and sets up major movements that will be playing out across the coming months. Plus it’s full-packed with great art and great character moments.”

Marvel heads back to the beach this summer in ‘Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes, Rivals’

The iconic special returns with a new story by Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs and Nick Bradshaw.

A staple of Marvel’s summer comics line-up will return in July as the company resurrects its infamous Marvel Swimsuit Special.

The special will feature swimsuit pin-ups of Marvel characters by Nic Klein, Marguerite Sauvage, Luciano Vecchio and many more, along with a story by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs — the Local Man team — drawn by artist Nick Bradshaw.

Carla Hoffman revisited the classic Marvel Swimsuit Special back in 2021, noting that these would feature a whole bunch of cheesecake pin-ups as well as a story that explained why Captain America was wearing a bathing suit on Monster Island:

What was thought to be utterly salacious drivel by my mother when I tried to get a copy in my youth, the ‘93 Marvel Swimsuit issue has a story. Seriously: the Infinity Watch play a poker game, Pip the Troll wins, so he makes them all use the Infinity Stones to gather all the superheroes of the Marvel Universe to a party at Monster Island. When they are all suddenly transported there by the Space and Time Gems, they are forced into not fighting one another and having a good time by the Mind Stone, so a big beach party breaks out and Pip the Troll takes pictures of everyone in their swimsuits.

It’s Werewolf by Night vs. Dracula in a new special by Michael Giacchino + David Messina

The one-shot arrives at the end of July.

Michael Giacchino, director of the excellent Disney+ Werewolf by Night special from a couple years ago will return to the character in a new comic, Werewolf By Night: Blood Moon Rise.

He’ll be joined by artist David Messina for the one-shot, which will feature Jack Russell going head-to-head with Dracula. Current Werewolf by Night: Red Band writer Jason Loo will contribute a back-up story.

“It could be a lost story from the original run, in a way,” Giacchino told Entertainment Weekly. “There’s a fun twist to it that I think is going to be really interesting for people who are into Jack Russell and that lore.”

Gerry Duggan + Javier Garrón team for ‘Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe’

The five-issue miniseries kicks off in July.

Godzilla’s trip through the Marvel Universe in recent time-spanning one-shots will culminate in a new five-issue miniseries, Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe.

Writer Gerry Duggan and artist Javier Garrón will pit the king of all monsters against just about everyone in the Marvel, starting in July.

“Godzilla was as important to me as Marvel Comics growing up,” Duggan said. “My father enjoyed watching baseball on TV, and I would root for rain outs so the NYC stations would run a Godzilla movie. When I discovered that Godzilla had appeared in the Marvel Universe, I obsessively collected every issue. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be contributing to the tradition of Godzilla rampaging in the Marvel Universe.”

Mark Brooks provides the wrap-around cover for the first issue:

‘G.O.D.S’ will join the ‘One World Under Doom’ crossover this July

Ryan North + Francesco Mortarino bring Wyn and company into the fray in a one-shot this summer.

Doctor Doom’s dominance over the Earth following his ascension to Sorcerer Supreme has not gone unnoticed by the Marvel Universe’s cosmic players, and in July that’ll lead to a confrontation in G.O.D.S.: One World Under Doom by Ryan North and Francesco Mortarino.

Created by Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti, G.O.D.S. reimagined Marvel’s cosmic hierarchy, introducing the “Magic God” Wyn, his apprentice Mia DiMariato and several other cosmic players to the Marvel Universe. Wyn hung around a bit with Doctor Strange, so I’m sure he’ll have some opinions on Doom’s actions.

“I will say it is absolutely a fool’s errand to follow after Jonathan Hickman in a corner of the Marvel Universe that he personally invented, but G.O.D.S. are a lot of fun, and the chance to see where Mia and Wyn were after their story — and how Doom would intersect with all of it — was too alluring to let up, North shared. “If you’ve never read G.O.D.S., this is a great way to meet the characters and if you have —welcome back. Mia is not having a great time of it, but Emperor Doom sees something in her…”

Wolverine + Deadpool host Bring Your Daughter to Work Day in July

Cody Ziglar and Rogê Antônio will unite the Wolverines — Logan and Laura — and the Deadpools — Wade and Ellie — in a new miniseries.

Marvel has announced Wolverines & Deadpools, a three-issue miniseries by Cody Ziglar and Rogê Antônio that’ll debut this summer. It’ll feature both current Wolverines and both current Deadpools in a story about father/daughter bonding.

OK, I realize that may not be enough information, because when you take the multiverse into consideration, there are a LOT of Wolverines and Deadpools I could be talking about. This miniseries will feature the OG Wolverine, aka Logan, along with the former X-23, Laura Kinney, teaming up with the OG Deadpool, Wade Wilson, and his daughter Ellie Camacho (who is currently a “Deadpool” herself.)

Is that confusing? Well, here’s the cover, which shows all four of them:

Slugfest | Marvel in June brings us Godzilla, Silver Surfer, Joe Quesada + 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.”

‘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).

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