Marvel will release a series of team-up one-shots by J. Michael Straczynski

The prolific writer will team with Will Robson, Bernard Chang and more on team-ups featuring Spider-Man, Captain America, Galactus and Doctor Doom, among others.

Captain America writer  J. Michael Straczynski will write an eclectic series of one-shots for Marvel next year, each featuring a different art team and a different set of characters “in unexpected team-ups or action-packed showdowns.”

Straczynski will work with artists Will Robson, Bernard Chang, Elena Casagrande, Germán Peralta, Juan Ferreyra and Phil Noto on the one-shots, which feature oddball team-ups like Doctor Doom and Rocket Raccoon, as well as battles between the likes of Ghost Rider and Galactus.

“I like to go where the fun is, and the idea of putting together Marvel characters who had either never been paired before, or only minimally, seemed like it would be a ton of fun, and it was even more of a blast than I anticipated,” Straczynski said.

Continue reading “Marvel will release a series of team-up one-shots by J. Michael Straczynski”

The Funtastic Four: Marvel x Disney recast Mickey + friends as the Fantastic Four

Writers Steve Behling and Riccardo Secchi, and artist Lorenzo Pastrovicchio revisit the early days of Marvel’s first family, with a Disney twist.

Marvel will continue their series of one-shots that feature Disney characters as Marvel heroes in What If Mickey and Friends Became the Fantastic Four?, which will come out early next year.

Yes, the Fab Five — or at least four of them — will become the Fantastic Four, with Mickey as Mister Fantastic, Minnie as Invisible Woman, Donald Duck as the Thing and Goofy as the Human Torch. Oh, and Pete as the Mole Man!Co-writers Steve Behling and Riccardo Secchi, along with artist Lorenzo Pastrovicchio, will pay tribute to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s creations, who look to have a pretty big year next year with their new film arriving next summer.

This is the fourth Marvel/Disney mash-up Marvel has announced in recent months, following one-shots featuring Donald Duck as Wolverine and Thor, and Minnie Mouse as Captain Marvel.

Continue reading “The Funtastic Four: Marvel x Disney recast Mickey + friends as the Fantastic Four”

Thanos faces a new Illuminati in a miniseries by Cantwell + Pizzari

Marvel will release the first issue in November.

Mr. Fantastic, Doctor Strange and Iron Man will unite with Emma Frost and the Blue Marvel just in time to face Thanos, as the Mad Titan returns to Earth in a new four-issue miniseries.

“I’ve had the honor and joy of writing some of Marvel’s greatest villains, so you can imagine how excited I am to not only tackle the Mad Titan himself, but pit him against some of the most powerful brains and fists out there—this latest lineup of the Illuminati,” Cantwell said. “But I think folks will find the backdrop of this story quite unexpected, mischievously funny, and heartbreakingly human, for what has drawn Thanos back screaming into the universe is a singular pain and desire for connection that he believes only one essence in existence (and non-existence) can give him… while this being is in turn grappling with some deeper questions about what they are, and what they want to be. Plus, Thanos hot-wires a pickup truck.”

Continue reading “Thanos faces a new Illuminati in a miniseries by Cantwell + Pizzari”

X-Men news: Uncanny Avengers, Hellfire Gala, Negasonic Teenage Warhead

Marvel announces details on several new projects coming straight out of Krakoa.

The Unity Squad will return in a new title later this year as a part of the Fall of X event, Marvel revealed yesterday during a virtual event celebrating the 60th anniversary of the X-Men.

Uncanny Avengers will return to store shelves starting in August by the team of Gerry Duggan and Javier Garron. But before that they’ll appear in a story in Marvel’s Avengers/X-Men Free Comic Book Day title coming in May, and the need for their return will be revealed in July’s X-Men: Hellfire Gala one-shot, which kicks off the Fall of X storyline.

“Everything we’ve been working towards in our third act is coming to a head this summer,” Duggan said. “The Uncanny Avengers have existed to provide an example of unity between humanity and mutantdom, and they will need to work extra hard at that now as relationships and friendships have frayed in the events of Fall of X.”

Continue reading “X-Men news: Uncanny Avengers, Hellfire Gala, Negasonic Teenage Warhead”

Daredevil & Echo reunite in a new miniseries by Taboo, Earl + Noto

Echo is back to her old self as she teams with Daredevil to fight an ancient evil beneath New York.

Fresh off of Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Black Eyed Peas member Taboo and co-writer B. Earl will continue their tour of the dark side of the Marvel universe in Daredevil & Echo, which will feature the return of the Demogoblin and an ancient evil that lives underneath New York City.

Echo, who has been rockin’ the Phoenix Force over in Avengers, is back to her normal self in this four-issue miniseries that’ll feature artwork by the incomparable Phil Noto.

“First off, Benny and I are blessed and thankful to be continuing our journey as Marvel writers,” Taboo said. “It’s an honor to be rocking this new Daredevil project along with the amazing mighty matriarch Echo. We are about to have a blast bringing the heat to Hell’s Kitchen! Can’t wait for the world check out this crazy ride! One love!”

Continue reading “Daredevil & Echo reunite in a new miniseries by Taboo, Earl + Noto”

‘The Rocketeer’ returns for a one-shot in May

Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Adam Hughes, Jae Lee and more contribute stories to the anthology.

IDW will publish an anthology one-shot featuring Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer, with stories by Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Adam Hughes, Jae Lee and more.

The idea for the project sprang from 2022 documentary Dave Stevens: Drawn to Perfection by Kelvin Mao. Mao found out that The screenwriters for The Rocketeer movie, Bilson and De Meo, had written a Rocketeer comic book script featuring the Rocketeer teaming with Amelia Earhart. Hughes will draw that story, while Mao and Windom each wrote a new story for the one-shot.

Continue reading “‘The Rocketeer’ returns for a one-shot in May”

Four ‘Before the Fall’ one-shots precede the next X-Men event

Before Fall of X kicks off this summer, four one-shots will ‘put all the pieces in place’ for the big crossover event.

Marvel has revealed that this year’s Hellfire Gala, an in-book event the X-Men have held since the launch of the Krakoa era, will tie into Fall of X, the upcoming X-Men-themed summer crossover event. But prior to Fall of X, Marvel will release four one-shots that will “tie up long-simmering plotlines, reintroduce major players and put all the pieces in place for the dramatic events of the third annual Hellfire Gala.”

They also plan to hold another fan vote for membership into the X-Men, as they’ve done for the past two years. It kicks off tomorrow.

Each of the one-shots will be written by a current X-title scribe — Kieron Gillen, Al Ewing, Steve Orlando and Si Spurrier — and will feature everything from the return of Apocalypse to a big showdown between Legion and Nimrod.

According to Marvel, Fall of X will answer the question, “Can Krakoa last forever?” which seems to indicate a change is coming to the current X-Men status quo. We know that at one point Jonathan Hickman, the original architect of the Krakoa era, had two more chapters planned in his bigger X-Men storyline, but he backed away from the second part when he realized the creators making Krakoa-focused comics were having such a great time. That suggested Krakoa would go away or change in some way … could that plan be back on?

I guess we’ll find out this summer, but for now, check out the covers and info for the “Before the Fall” books:

Continue reading “Four ‘Before the Fall’ one-shots precede the next X-Men event”

Jessica Jones teams with herselves in ‘The Variants’

Gail Simone and Phil Noto teams up multiple versions of the cantankerous P.I. from across the universe.

Jessica Jones will meet her match in June, and that match is herself. Herselves? I don’t know if that’s really a word, but Marvel’s favorite super-powered P.I. is getting a new miniseries this summer where she’ll team up with different versions of herself from across the multiverse.

Gail Simone and Phil Noto will team for The Variants, a five-issue miniseries that will have Jones “question everything she thought she knew about her life and her choices.”

“First, let me get this out…when Tom Brevoort offered me this project, I went and re-read all the Jessica stories, from the classic, groundbreaking [Brian Michael] Bendis stories to the more recent and fantastically good Kelly Thompson stories (that you definitely should read!), and they’re just exciting, compelling reads. There isn’t another comics character like her. That was immensely exciting,” Simone told Marvel.com.

Continue reading “Jessica Jones teams with herselves in ‘The Variants’”

‘Devil’s Reign’ gets all sorts of crazy crossover titles in January + February

Moon Knight, Spider-Man, Emma Frost and more get caught up in the Kingpin’s war on superheroes.

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s epic run on Daredevil will give way to a crossover event called Devil’s Reign in December, one of several “tentpole” events Marvel announced in August. And in the Mighty Marvel fashion, the main Devil’s Reign title will be accompanied by all sorts of tie-in titles in January, February and beyond.

In case you missed the news, Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto, the creative team for the ongoing Daredevil title, are also the creative team behind the crossover event’s main miniseries. It will run for six issues and will see the Kingpin “bring his full criminal and political power to bear on the super heroes who call NYC home.” Yep, NYC’s mayor is declaring war on the superhero community, and he’s got his new team of Thunderbolts on his side.

Let’s take a look at what’s coming in January and February …

Continue reading “‘Devil’s Reign’ gets all sorts of crazy crossover titles in January + February”

Marvel celebrates 35 years of ‘Aliens’ with ‘Aliens: Aftermath’ #1

Benjamin Percy and Dave Wachter return to the scene of the crime in a new one-shot.

Marvel will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the movie Aliens with a one-shot titles Aliens: Aftermath by Benjamin Percy and Dave Wachter.

The double-sized issue features a story set in Hadley’s Hope, the terraforming and mining colony where the original film takes place.

“When I was a kid, I had a door-length poster of a xenomorph crashing through the wood, tearing off the hinges, creeping forward with a drippy fanged smile,” Percy said. “This is the image I would drift away to every night, which no doubt influenced my imaginative hard-wiring, along with the films and comics that I watched and read over and over and over. To this day, I can’t grip a knife without wanting to lay my hand on a table and tick-tick-tick the point between my splayed fingers—I can’t play a game of ping-pong or Clue without yelling, ‘Game over, man.’—I can’t scratch an orange tabby without whispering , ‘You are my lucky star….lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky.’ I’ve been in love with these stories most of my life, and it’s truly an honor and a delight to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Aliens with a script inked in acid blood.”

Continue reading “Marvel celebrates 35 years of ‘Aliens’ with ‘Aliens: Aftermath’ #1”

Mail Call | New ‘Avatar,’ ‘Abbott’ and a ‘Batgirl’ debut

Check out recent news and announcements from DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.

Following the end of the Joker War storyline, DC’s current Batgirl series will wrap up with its extra-sized 50th issue this Tuesday. DC has revealed that this issue will also see the debut of Ryan Wilder, the character taking over the Batwoman mantle on The CW’s Batwoman TV show.

Will this new character also take over as Batwoman in the comics? I guess we’ll find out. You can see a preview of that issue here.

Continue reading “Mail Call | New ‘Avatar,’ ‘Abbott’ and a ‘Batgirl’ debut”

Noto + Duggan team for a solo ‘Cable’ title

The mutant from the future leaps into a solo title again in March.

Cable is the latest mutant to get his own title in Marvel’s “Dawn of X” line, which seems to be expanding in ways we haven’t seen since … well, probably since the mutant explosion of the 1990s.

And by Cable, of course, I mean the young teenage version — Kid Cable — who has been running around the various X-titles since Extermination. Gerry Duggan will team up with Phil Noto for these new adventures of Cyclops’ favorite son.

Continue reading “Noto + Duggan team for a solo ‘Cable’ title”