Slugfest | BOOM! announces a second ‘I Heart Skull-Crusher!’ arc

Today’s round-up includes news on SDCC, Power Rangers, Something is Killing the Children, Groo, Venom War and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. With the San Diego Comic Con rapidly approaching, you’ll probably see more of these over the next few weeks. Hit the links for more information.

As a part of their annual “Road to SDCC” announcements, BOOM! Studios has revealed that Josie Campbell and Alessio Zonno’s I Heart Skull-Crusher! will continue in October.

The BOOM! Box series was announced late last year and began in March as a miniseries, but it looks like it has grown into something more.

“Josie Campbell and Alessio Zonno have even more action-packed, hilarious hijinks in store for us,” said BOOM! Studios Editor Elizabeth Brei. “The new arc is funny, chaotic and shockingly touching, just as you’d expect from Trini and the rest of her Screaming Pain Ball teammates! We’re so excited for readers to discover the surprises still to come!”

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Nova 2099’s story will continue in October in ‘Conquest 2099’

Spinning out of ‘Annihilation 2099,’ the new miniseries will feature Dracula 2099, Spider-Man 2099 and more.

Marvel introduced — or, actually, re-introduced; sorry, it’s complicated — Nova 2099 this past week in the pages of Annihilation 2099, another miniseries penned by Steve Orlando and set in Marvel’s futuristic cyberpunk universe. But this new character wasn’t so new — the first issue revealed that under the helmet, Nova 2099 is actually …

(I should add a SPOILERS WARNING and a jump here …)

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Mystique is up to her old tricks in a new series by Declan Shalvey

The shapeshifting super-spy fights to protect mutants in a five-issue miniseries that starts in October.

Declan Shalvey has proven he has a very particular set of skills when crafting espionage stories, and this fall he’ll apply them to the greatest spy in mutantdom, Mystique.

As a part of the X-Men: From the Ashes initiative, Marvel has announced a new series starring the former leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Shalvey will write and draw a five-issue miniseries, which will feature Mystique sifting “through the dark underbelly of the Marvel Universe for an unpredictable tale of action and espionage.” Nick Fury’s appearing in it as well.

“Mystique is hands down one of the most compelling characters to come from the Marvel Universe,” Shalvey said. “To have an opportunity to put my own stamp on such an iconic character and showcase her in a series of her own is a unique privilege.”

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Alex Paknadel + Justin Mason upgrade the ‘Sentinels’ this fall

Lawrence Trask and a team of enhanced soldiers will hunt dangerous mutants in a five-issue miniseries.

An old X-Men mainstay receives an upgrade in October, as Alex Paknadel and Justin Mason bring a new version of Sentinels to Marvel and the From the Ashes X-Men reboot.

But these aren’t the giant robots you may be familiar with, or even the upgraded Nimrod version — these Sentinels are a squad of soldiers, “each one scarred from Earth-shattering super hero conflicts and upgraded with nanotechnology,” who hunt dangerous mutants.

“As an X-fan going back to my first set of teeth, I couldn’t be prouder or more excited to share Sentinels with the fans,” Paknadel said. “This book is about flawed human beings doing a dirty job for a dirty cause, and Justin Mason and I are determined to make you care about each and every one of them. Whatever your expectations are going in, I promise this book will surprise you.”

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Marvel surprises fans and retailers with a new Moon Knight comic

A variant edition of ‘Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu’ #0 arrived at some comic shops this week.

[If you have not read yesterday’s Blood Hunt #4, SPOILERS ahead!]

Marvel has surprised the world with a new Moon Knight comic, spinning out of the events of this week’s Blood Hunt #4.

Jed MacKay, Alessandro Cappucio, Rachelle Rosenberg and Devmalya Pramanik are the creative team for Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu, whose first issue arrives in October. But a “special surprise shadow drop variant edition” of Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #0 shipped to some retailers this week. Marvel is also now taking orders for the zero issue, with plans to release it in mass on July 3.

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‘Blade: Red Band’ by Bryan Edward Hill + C.F. Villa will launch in October

The new title will spin out of ‘Blood Hunt’ and come polybagged to protect the squeamish.

While Blood Hunt has raised a lot of questions about what’s going on with Blade, we know that the crossover event won’t be the end of the Daywalker’s story. Marvel has announced a “Red Band” title featuring the vampire hunter will launch in October.

Writer Bryan Edward Hill, who wrote the Blade comic that preceded Blood Hunt and the Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt miniseries that’s picked up on some of those threads, will write the title, with C.F. Villa (Avengers) on art. This is the second Red Band title coming out of Blood Hunt; Marvel had previously announced a Werewolf By Night title that is also labeled as Red Band. The “Red Band” label means it’ll come polybagged and have a “Parental Advisory” label on it, “to keep those weak of heart from experiencing its intensity.”

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Marvel’s ‘Star Wars’ titles draw to a close this September

The post-Empire Strikes Back era will end, preparing for something new later this year.

Marvel’s current Star Wars line will end in September to make way for “a different era of the galaxy, far, far away.”

Longtime readers of Marvel’s Star Wars comics will remember back to 2019, when Marvel’s post-Star Wars, pre-Empire Strikes Back comics came to an end, only to be rebooted a few months later in a post-Empire Strikes Back timeline. With the current storyline getting closer and closer to the Return of the Jedi, it makes sense that something new is coming up. Could it be something set post-Return of the Jedi? One can only hope, as that’s a pretty unexplored, fertile era for stories, at least when you’re talking about Luke, Leia and the gang. There are also plenty of other characters now for them to interact with, as we’ve seen in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, Ashoka and the like.

In any event, September brings two oversized, 50-page issues: Star Wars #50 and Star Wars: Darth Vader #50:

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All the Ghost Riders unite in ‘Spirits of Vengeance’

Sabir Pirzada and Sean Damien Hill bring together Johnny Blaze,Danny Ketch, Robbie Reyes and more this fall.

The many heroes (and villains) who have hosted the Spirit of Vengeance will assemble in a new title this September by writer Sabir Pirzada and artist Sean Damien Hill.

The aptly titled Spirits of Vengeance will bring together Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, Robbie Reyes, The Hood and Kushala, as well as Michael Badilino, aka Vengeance.

“It’s finally time for Michael Badilino to make his long-awaited return as Vengeance, aided by the likes of Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch and more,” Pirzada teased. “The bloody new era for the Spirits of Vengeance starts here—with a shocking ending you won’t see coming.”

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Donald Duck proves himself worthy this fall

‘What If Donald Duck Became Thor?’ by Steve Behling, Riccardo Secchi, Lorenzo Pastrovicchio + more brings the thunder in September.

We’ve seen everyone from Captain America to Beta Ray Bill to even Wonder Woman deemed “worthy” to hold Thor’s enchanted hammer, Mjolnir, and this fall you can add another name to the list — Donald Duck.

Following Marvel’s foray into the world of Disney’s Duckburg later this month in Uncle $crooge and the Infinity Dime #1 and July’s Donald Duck/Wolverine mash-up, What If Donald Duck Became Thor? will explore what happens when Donald Duck discovers an ancient cane that allows him to transform into Thor — much like another Donald, Donald Blake, did back in the 1960s. It sounds like you can expect the one-shot to pull from a lot of that early Thor lore.

“When we saw the designs for the Stone Ducks of Saturn and The Destroyer we literally laughed out loud,” the book’s editor, Mark Paniccia, said. “I can honestly say I never thought I’d see something like this in my career. I gotta pinch myself to make sure it’s not a dream.”

This particular mash-up comes courtesy of writers Steve Behling and Riccardo Secchi and artist Lorenzo Pastrovicchio.

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Exclusive: Clover Press brings back a popular tier for their ‘The Marvel Art of Michael Turner’ Kickstarter

The art book collects much of the work that the creator of ‘Fathom’ and co-creator of ‘Witchblade’ did for Marvel before his death in 2008.

Boutique publisher Clover Press has been working with Marvel to crowdfund high-end art books centered on some of their top artists, including David Mack, Alex Maleev, David Nakayama, Russell Dauterman and more. Their latest Kickstarter is for The Marvel Art of Michael Turner, and we’re pleased to share exclusively this morning that they’re bringing back a popular rewards tier to the campaign.

“The Ultimate,” as they billed it (AKA Tier K), included everything you’d find in previous tiers — including a slipcase edition of the hardcover book, art prints, metal trading cards, stickers, a puzzle and more. That includes everything being offered in the “Mystery” tier, so you get “get absolutely everything on the campaign (so far),” according to Clover Press.

It initially sold out in a few hours, so you’ll want to act fast if you’re interested.

“Michael Turner became a fast fan favorite, and this book is the clear evidence as to why,” said Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz. “We’re ecstatic to bring such a comprehensive collection of Turner’s Marvel work together in one volume.” The campaign surpassed its goal quickly, and right now is at over $160,000.

Here’s what you’ll find in the returning tier:

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Marvel’s 2024 Pride Month plans received internal criticism

An article in the Advocate quotes a Marvel employee who thought Marvel’s ‘ally’ covers were a ‘prank.’

Marvel’s approach to Pride Month this year received not only external criticism but also concern from their own employees, as an Advocate article revealed last week. An anonymous Marvel employee spoke to the publication about their reaction to an internal email about Marvel’s “ally” variant covers, which many have said put the spotlight on non-LGBTQ+ characters during a month aimed to spotlight and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. “I thought, ‘they’re really erasing us,’” the employee told the publication.

What was different about Marvel’s approach this year? First, they opted not to call this year’s Pride special a Pride special. The Marvel’s Voices: Pride anthology, as they’ve called it in years past, was replaced with X-Men: The Wedding Special — which featured the wedding of Mystique and Destiny, the first time a wedding between two women was shown in a Marvel comic. The comic also featured additional stories that tied into the main story, by creators like Yoon Ha Lee, a trans science fiction author, and M. Louis, creator of the webcomic Agents of the Realm. While it served a similar function, showcasing stories about LGBTQ+ characters, it did so without the word “Pride” in the title (although it did sport an emblem on the cover that noted it was “A Very Special Edition of Marvel Voices: Pride.”)

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Celebrate 50 years of Deathlok with Denys Cowan, Justina Ireland, Christopher Priest + more

‘Deathlok 50th Anniversary Special’ arrives in September.

Marvel will celebrate 50 years of Deathlok this September with a special that will include contributions from Christopher Priest, Justina Ireland, Denys Cowan, Dale Eaglesham, Matthew Waite, Luke Ross and more.

“I’m always excited and humbled to write anything in the Marvel universe, but Deathlok as a character is especially important to me because as a U.S. Army veteran, his origin story really resonates in a horrifying way,” Ireland said. “So I’m excited to dig into the emotional core of what makes Deathlok so unique, while also having some fun.”

Ireland, the writer of Dread Nation, Deathless Divide, Ophie’s Ghosts and several Star Wars books, served as an Arabic linguistics expert in the U.S. Army. In addition to writing, she works as a supervisor in logistics for the Department of the Navy.

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