Marvel – Page 2 – SMASH PAGES

Chris Condon + Stefano Caselli carry on the Ultimate Universe’s legacy in ‘Reborn: Ultimate Impact’

The story of the Ultimate Universe’s Origin Boxes continues in the 616 this May.

The end of the Ultimate Universe is just the beginning for a new set of heroes that’ll appear in the regular Marvel Universe.

Today Marvel announced Reborn: Ultimate Impact, a five-issue miniseries by Ultimate Wolverine writer Chris Condon and Ultimate Black Panther artist Stefano Caselli.

The miniseries spins out of Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion, which saw Miles Morales and his baby sister arrive in the Ultimate Universe for a madcap game of “get the baby before the Maker’s cronies do.” Their adventure ended with them back in the regular Marvel Universe, a.k.a. the 616, but they brought home some souvenirs — several of the “Origin Boxes” the Maker used to collect the powers of various heroes before they could experience their secret origins. (You might remember seeing them distributed by Tony Stark and company to many of the heroes in the Ultimate titles).

Miles ended up with a whole bunch of unused ones, and someone’s after them, of course. The series will show the boxes “giving birth to new heroes and villains with familiar powers, but very different journeys.”

“I am so excited to be a part of this book and to be working with this fantastic team,” Condon said. “To be able to play with the idea of these universes colliding in a truly unique and interesting way like this, and to have the opportunity to create new and lasting creations within them – both characters and settings – is a dream for any creator in this industry. I’m having so much fun working on this book with artist Stefano Caselli and Editor Tom Groneman. I hope that shines through when readers pick up their copies of what I think will be an exciting new piece of the Marvel Universe.”

Rest in peace, Sal Buscema

The Marvel legend passed away this month at the age of 89.

Sal Buscema, a classic Marvel artist whose work spanned decades for the publisher, passed away Jan. 23 at the age of 89, just a few days shy of his 90th birthday.

Buscema pencilled and inked a number of comics for Marvel throughout the years, including Avengers, Fantastic Four, Thor, Marvel Team-Up, Sub-Mariner, Daredevil, Nova, Eternals, Marvel Two-In-One, New Mutants, Iron Man, Ghost Rider, Ms. Marvel, Howard The Duck, Master Of Kung Fu, and three major Spider-Man series — Amazing, Web of and Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man. He pencilled key runs on Captain America, ROM: Spaceknight and The Defenders, and a 10-year run on Incredible Hulk.

His death was reported by artist Sterling Clark on Facebook, who worked with Buscema on a project. “When I think back on my childhood and all of the comic books that I read, Sal’s name seems to have appeared in just about all of them,” Clark said. “I didn’t just read the books that he illustrated, I studied them. Every nuance in his pencils and his inks I saw and tried to mimic. He was definitely one of the greats during those years at Marvel, when handling more than three titles a month was not just a requirement but a necessity.”

Sugar, We’re Goin’ Cosmic: Patrick Stump writes ‘Eternals’ for Marvel

The Fall Out Boy singer joins Phil Noto, Dale Eaglesham, Ralph Macchio, Michael Cho and more on ‘Eternals 50th Anniversary.’

When you’re in a band named after a superhero sidekick, it’s not surprising to find out you’re also a comic fan. Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump joins his bandmates Pete Wentz and Joe Trohman in leaving his mark on comics, as he contributes to the upcoming Eternals 50th Anniversary #1.

The one-shot marks five decades since Jack Kirby’s Eternals debuted. First introduced in 1976, the Eternals embodied the King of Comics at his most ambitious, with ancient gods, science-fiction divinity and grand ideas about humanity’s place in the cosmos. This oversized issue will serve as a tribute to that legacy with stories from Stump and several other creators.

“It’s fitting that Marvel’s version of God, its One-Above-All, was drawn in the likeness of Jack Kirby,” Stump said. “Through his cosmic work on titles like Tales of Suspense, Fantastic Four, Thor and climaxing with his mythologically inspired space opera The Eternals, he created the center of gravity all of Marvel’s galaxy is still orbiting. So when I was tasked with the responsibility of introducing a Lost Eternal, I turned to the same sci-fi and mythology that got his mighty imagination spinning to begin with. I’m beyond honored to be part of celebrating 50 years of the Eternals, and while I can’t imagine some rock singer like me doing a titan like Kirby justice, I can promise you this has definitely been as much of a passion project as any album I’ve ever made or film I’ve scored.”

Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen + more enroll in ‘Spider-Versity’

Class is in session this April.

If you’ve been keeping up with Amazing Spider-Man, you know that while Peter Parker went off into space, Norman Osborn took over as the Spider-Man on Earth. Now he’d like to take all that knowledge he learned while under the mask — no, not his Spider-Man mask; his Green Goblin mask — and pass it on to the next generation of Spider-heroes.

Amazing Spider-Man: Spider-Versity by Jordan Morris, Joe Kelly and Pere Perez will put Norman and Spider-Woman into the roles of teachers for Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Boy, Spider-Girl, Arana and Silk. And the lesson plan includes how to fight the Green Goblin.

“Spider-Versity spins directly out of the events of Amazing Spider-Man,” Kelly said. “Norman has a definitive threat in mind that he’s trying to protect the young Spiders against. One he knows intimately. But even for a master planner like Norman, things may perhaps go awry, and the kids will face some unexpected threats. Nothing like learning on the job!”

Marvel announces the line-up for ‘Spider-Man/Superman’

The crossover one-shot arrives in April.

Following DC’s reveal of the creative teams working on Superman/Spider-Man, Marvel has now revealed the creators for their side of the crossover. Spider-Man/Superman will include stories by Brad Meltzer, Pepe Larraz, Dan Slott, Marcos Martin, Geoff Johns, Brian Michael Bendis and more.

Like the DC title — and the two Batman/Deadpool crossovers that proceeded it — Marvel’s title is also an anthology and will feature stories with not only Clark Kent and Peter Parker, but also Miles Morales, Steel, Gwen Stacy, Lana Lang, Wonder Woman, Jane Foster and more.

“I’ve been waiting 50 years to write this book,” Meltzer said. “Superman and Spider-Man have affected me more than most real people. I carry them with me everywhere — and our story cuts to the core of what it means to be a good person. I’m honored that Nick Lowe and everyone at Marvel even asked. Just wait until you see Pepe’s work. Get your capes and web-shooters ready…”

Slugfest | Wonder Man takes center stage in Marvel’s March 2026 solicitations

Plus: Fantastic Four battle Mad Thinker, Captain Marvel explores her dark past and Jed MacKay’s run on Avengers comes to a conclusion.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on Marvel’s March 2026 solicitations, which include some early April releases as well. Hit the links for more information. Also check out previous posts about the return of the Sentry, the relaunch of Daredevil, a Red Band series featuring Jessica Jones, a new Darth Maul mini, Dani Moonstar‘s first solo series, X-Men United and Imperial Guardians.

Wonder Man will not only debut in his own Disney+ streaming series next year, but he’ll also appear in a five-issue miniseries by Gerry Duggan and Mark Buckingham. Duggan recently wrote the character in West Coast Avengers.

“Wonder Man has always been a favorite of mine, and so’s Mark Buckingham,” Duggan said. “To be able to collaborate with one of the kings of comics and a true gentleman has been a thrill and a privilege. Simon Williams dreams of Hollywood, and his city and show business has had a rough go of it. Join us for a very special debut, starring Wonder Man, his chosen family and the one he was born into. This one’s going to be special.”

Paul Jenkins returns to ‘The Sentry’ in March

The co-creator of the character is working with artist Christian Rosado on a new miniseries.

Following his big on-screen debut in The Thunderbolts* film this year, The Sentry will return in a new miniseries by his co-creator, writer Paul Jenkins, and artist Christian Rosado.

The four-issue miniseries kicks off in March, as the Sentry battles cosmic forces, criminal empires and, of course, The Void.

“I am so proud and excited to be returning to Marvel after a long hiatus,” Jenkins said. “Even better, I get to work once again on the character I created – one who means such a lot to so many people – the Golden Guardian of Good himself: the Sentry! Words can’t express the thanks I owe to my amazing editors, Mark Paniccia and Lauren Amaro, as well as C.B. Cebulski and the entire Marvel crew. I’m back, True Believers!”

Clover Press announces a new art book celebrating ‘Marvel Masterpieces’ artist Dan Dos Santos

The Kickstarter will begin in the new year.

Clover Press is expanding their Marvel Art Of… series with a new volume dedicated to award-winning artist Dan Dos Santos, set to launch on Kickstarter next month.

The Marvel Art of Dan Dos Santos will showcase Dos Santos’ distinctive oil painting style, which brought Marvel’s heroes to life with remarkable realism. The artist is perhaps best known for hand-painting more than 135 traditional oil pieces for the 2022 Marvel Masterpieces trading card set, and this book collects all of those stunning works alongside pieces from the 2023 set and never-before-seen artwork.

“Over 30 years ago, as a young teen, it was my exposure to a similar collection of Marvel art that set me on the path of wanting to be a professional artist in the first place,” Dos Santos said. “So it is incredibly apt, and really thrilling, to see it all come full-circle in this new collection of my own. This book represents years of work, and contains hundreds of paintings that I feel are my finest work to date. I labored tirelessly to breath as much life and backstory into each of these modern mythological heroes as I could. It is my hope the next generation of young artists and fans will find these characters as inspiring as I found them so many years ago.”

Jessica Jones returns in ‘Alias: Red Band’

Sam Humphries and Geraldo Borges helm a five-issue, adult-oriented miniseries to celebrate the character’s 25-year anniversary.

Alias, the comic series that introduced Jessica Jones to the Marvel universe, turns 25 next year, and to mark the occasion Marvel will release Alias: Red Band, a five-issue miniseries by Sam Humphries and Geraldo Borges, with covers by David Mack.

“No one does it like Jessica Jones. She’s sharp, bitterly funny, and tenacious as hell. Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos snapped when they created her, a totally singular character with a unique POV on the superhero game,” Humphries said in an interview with Polygon. “I’m excited to push the limits of the kind of cases Jessica Jones can investigate, and how far she’ll go to solve them.”

He said making the series a Red Band series brings her “closer to her Max origins,” as the original series debuted as part of the adult-oriented Marvel line in 2001.

Penguin Random House officially announces Comics Giveaway Day for May 2

The first ever Comics Giveaway Day will coincide with next year’s Free Comic Book Day.

Comics distributor Penguin Random House has officially announced Comics Giveaway Day, their competitor/compliment to Free Comic Book Day, the annual comics event that is now owned by Universal Distribution.

Last week we learned that Universal Distribution and Lunar Distribution had teamed up to bring Free Comic Book Day back to comic shops in 2026, following the bankruptcy and dissolution of Diamond Comics Distributors. They announced they would offer free titles by the various publishers they distribute, including DC, Image Comics, Archie, Dynamite and more.

Missing from the list were any publishers that are now distributed by Penguin Random House, and now we know why — titles by Marvel, BOOM!, Dark Horse and others will be released on Comics Giveaway Day, which just so happens to fall on May 2 as well.

So, everyone wins, right? Free comics for everybody, even if some of them will have a different events log on them.

Skybound celebrates Invincible Month with Spider-Man/Invincible team-up reprint, more Battle Beast

Get ready for the return of the ‘Invincible’ animated series with several comic projects.

Skybound has declared next March as Invincible Month, which will coincide with the fourth season of the Invincible animated series on Amazon Prime. So far the publisher has announced two projects to help celebrate: a reprinting of an intercompany crossover and the return of Battle Beast.

Let’s start with that crossover. Back in 2005, Robert Kirkman was writing Marvel Team-Up and having a pretty good time with the title — while at the same time writing Invincible. Issue #14 of MTU turned out to be a very special issue for Kirkman fans, as he and Cory Walker brought their creator-owned character to the Marvel universe, teaming him up with Spider-Man (and the Avengers). It came at a time when Marvel wasn’t doing a lot of intercompany crossovers, so it was unexpected and fun.

The comic hasn’t ever been reprinted and was never collected by either Marvel or Image, for obvious reasons, but that changed earlier this year when Skybound introduced their “blind bag” variant cover program for Battle Beast #1 — and boy, these blind bag variant things have really taken off, haven’t they? Seems like just about every comic publisher is doing them. Anyway, Battle Beast took an interesting approach, not only offering variant covers, but also mixing in a few original comics for a few lucky fans who happened to buy the right bag — including the second issue of Battle Beast and copies of Marvel Team-Up #14.

Marvel will publish a prequel to the upcoming Darth Maul animated series

‘Star Wars: Shadow of Maul’ kicks off in March from Benjamin Percy and Madibek Musabekov.

Disney+ will launch a new series featuring the fan-favorite Star Wars villain Darth Maul next year, but before it arrives, Benjamin Percy and Madibek Musabekov will present the prequel comic series Star Wars: Shadow of Maul.

The animated Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord doesn’t have a release date yet, but we know it’ll be set afetr the events of the animated Clone Wars series and, of course, will feature Darth Maul. Maul first appeared in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, where he supposedly died at the hands (and lightsaber) of Obi-Wan Kenobi. As we say in comics, “he got better” after being bisected, with some help from his brother and the Nightsister Mother Talzin, and appeared in not only Clone Wars but also in Solo: A Star Wars series. In comics, he most recently appeared in the Darth Maul: Black, White & Red anthology, which featured a story by Percy.

“I’ve said it before: I’m a giant Star Wars nerd,” Percy said. “My previous experience writing in a galaxy far, far away—Darth Maul: Black, White & Red—was an absolute delight. But those were one-shots. Flirtations with the franchise. With Shadow of Maul, I’m able to share a more expansive story about one of my favorite characters, while also exploring a fresh angle on the Star Wars universe.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: