Phillip Kennedy Johnson + Adam Gorham unleash ‘Hellhunters’ this winter

The five-issue miniseries spinning out of ‘Incredible Hulk’ begins in December.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s run on Incredible Hulk has introduced all sorts of new monstrous characters into the Marvel universe, with one of them being a World War II era Ghost Rider — Sergeant Sal Romero, who fought the Nazis alongside several other Marvel characters you might recognize. Now Sergeant Ghost Rider is getting an origin story, courtesy of Johnson and artist Adam Gorham.

“Ghost Rider ’44 is definitely my favorite guest star that’s appeared in our Incredible Hulk series so far,” Kennedy Johnson said. “I had a fully-realized origin story for Sergeant Sal Romero in my head before my partner Nic Klein brought him to life with his art, and the character turned out so unbelievably cool and fun, we knew the ‘War Devil’ arc wouldn’t be his last appearance.”

The five-issue miniseries, Hellhunters, will feature appearances by Wolverine, Nick Fury, Peggy Carter, Bucky Barnes, and, from the pages of Jason Aaron’s Avengers, Soldier Supreme.

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‘Incredible Hulk’ #800 will bring a ‘complete status quo reset’

Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Nic Klein,Greg Pak, Benjamin Percy, Torunn Grønbekk, Geoff Shaw and more will contribute to the milestone issue.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein’s monster-filled Incredible Hulk saga will come to a head in Incredible Hulk #19 this November, which because of math doubles as the 800th issue.

They’ll be joined by Greg Pak, Benjamin Percy, Torunn Grønbekk, Geoff Shaw, Lynne Yoshii, and Lan Medina, who will contribute stories to the oversized issue.

“It’s a tremendous honor to write a landmark issue of one of the biggest titles in comics, and we are NOT wasting the opportunity,” Johnson said. “Fans are finally going to see the throwdown between Hulk and Eldest, Nic Klein’s craziest Hulk transformation to date, an INSANE reveal featuring Hulk’s sidekick Charlie, and a complete status quo reset that will propel us into uncharted territory in 2025 and beyond.”

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Slugfest | DC’s October solicitations bring new creative teams + storylines

Plus: A new Creature Commandos title by David Dastmalchian and Jesus Hervas!

DC’s October solicitations arrived this week, showcasing all the new storylines and changes to creative team that Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson promised in their video earlier in the week. Yes, the sun has set on the Dawn of DC, and now we’re moving into the All In era.

 I pulled out some of the highlights below. To see DC’s full solicitations, you can find them over on The Beat.

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Return to a ‘lake of goo’ in ‘Venomverse Reborn’

Hang with Venoms from around the multiverse in the new anthology series.

Rumors about the death of the Venomverse were apparently exaggerated, as Marvel has announced a follow-up anthology, Venomverse Reborn, for this summer.

Each issue will feature multiple stories by different creators starring different Venoms from around the multiverse. They’ll also include a framing sequence by Venom writer Al Ewing and Danilo S. Beyruth that will “lay the groundwork for the next symbiote epic.”

“I’m doing the framing sequence for these issues, and that means I get to see every one of these new symbiote sensations hit my inbox before anyone else outside editorial, and that’s definitely a perk of the job,” Ewing said. “As for what’s in that framing story—if you’ve been a fan of some of the more cosmic aspects we’ve brought to Venom of late, you should be more than happy. But the beauty of an anthology series like this is that there’s something to please everyone who dives into our lake of goo.”

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Phillip Kennedy Johnson + SOM snap their jaws down on ‘Crocodile Black’

The new series kicks off from BOOM! Studios in May.

Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist SOM will team for a new “macabre thriller” from BOOM! Studios, Crocodile Black.

It’s about a COVID-era kid who goes through a “dark reinvention,” highlighted by his new black crocodile boots.

Crocodile Black is a story about dark reinvention. It’s about hidden trauma, unchecked obsession, the power that masks give us, and a dead man’s black crocodile-skin boots. It’s about a COVID-era kid with no prospects finding something he never knew he wanted, and using it to become someone he never knew he wanted to be: a dangerous man,” Johnson said.

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Hulk, Werewolf by Night make the leap into ‘Blood Hunt’

Marvel reveals the final two comics in their Blood Hunt crossover event.

It looks like we’ve finally made it to the end of the list of tie-ins for Marvel’s Blood Hunt event, the big vampire apocalypse crossover that’s coming this summer. I mean, maybe we have — there’s always a chance they could add in an epilogue or whatever. But these final two one-shots at least fill in the scorecard they shared.

The final two one-shots will feature the Hulk and Werewolf by Night, which both feature regular old humans who can transform into something more monstrous.

Jason Loo and Adam Gorham will show us what Jake Gomez, the new Werewolf by Night, is up to during the event in Werewolf by Night: Blood Hunt. While started as an artist, working on the Eisner-winning Afterlift with Chip Zdarsky, he’s proven to be an accomplished writer on several Marvel projects.

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Hulk leaps into a ‘Giant-Size’ special issue next April

Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Andrea Broccardo will introduce a new threat named Patchwork Jack in the oversized issue.

Marvel’s giant-sized celebration of the anniversary of their Giant-Size line goes Hulk-sized next April, as Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Andrea Broccardo team up for Giant-Size Incredible Hulk.

Johnson, the writer of the ongoing Incredible Hulk series, has been bringing his A-game to the title, introducing and re-introducing all sorts of monsters for the Jade Giant to fight. In this oversized issue, the Hulk will encounter a new threat named Patchwork Jack.

“The North Star I’ve been following on Incredible Hulk is to make EVERY ISSUE a horror and action showcase for the rockstar artists I’ve been so fortunate to work with,” Johnson told Marvel.com. “I’ve pulled out all the stops to ensure readers don’t miss out on a single page of this book’s potential: new lore, new monsters, fan-favorite guest appearances from across the Marvel U, the most jaw-dropping fights imaginable, the gnarliest transformations Hulk has ever experienced… I want this to be a run that readers never forget. And when my editors asked for a Giant-Size Incredible Hulk one-shot, I knew we had to ramp all that up even more.”

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John Stewart returns to Earth in ‘Green Lantern: War Journal’

The new series kicks off in September.

John Stewart will spin off into his own title in September after appearing as a back-up in the current Green Lantern title. While this hasn’t been a secret — they teased a variant cover for the first issue at MegaCon — they have confirmed that the new title will indeed be called Green Lantern: War Journal, and it’ll kick off in September as part of the Dawn of DC initiative.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos will bring John Stewart back to Earth for a post-superhero life that doesn’t go as expected (at least not for him).

“The most epic ’80s sci-fi action movie you haven’t seen is coming, and it’s set in the DCU,” said Johnson. “That’s what Montos and I are giving readers. The prologue stories in the back of Green Lantern #1-3 have a clear sci-fi/fantasy feel, but when Green Lantern: War Journal #1 drops, it’s going to start feeling less like Dune and a lot more like PredatorThe Terminator and Aliens. Sometimes you just need ’80s James Cameron, and that’s what this is. By the end of this series, readers are going to know exactly who John Stewart is, and why he was born to be a Green Lantern.” 

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DC announces ‘Batman and Robin’ by Williamson and Di Meo

Plus, more Dawn of DC artwork was revealed this weekend at MegaCon.

DC is in full swing at MegaCon in Orlando this weekend, and they kicked off the show by announcing a new Dawn of DC title — Batman and Robin — as well as revealing more artwork from upcoming projects.

Batman and Robin, featuring the father-and-son team of Bruce and Damian Wayne, will launch in September from Joshua Williamson and Simone Di Meo. In it, the dynamic duo will be “investigating mysterious new cases and monsters in Gotham.” Plus, Robin gets his own Robinmobile.

Check out some preview artwork:

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Marvel announces a new creative team for ‘Incredible Hulk’

Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein will put the Hulk against an army of monsters.

The Hulk will get back to his monstrous roots in The Incredible Hulk, which Marvel will relaunch this summer by Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Action Comics) and Nic Klein (Thor).

The Incredible Hulk will see “a legion of the world’s most depraved creatures” coming after the Hulk, as the unite in “a fiendish new scheme” led by a mysterious immortal.

“The significance that we’re finally bringing back the classic title Incredible Hulk is not lost on me. It’s a tremendous honor, and Nic and I have the clearest possible vision for what we want to do with this story,” Johnson said. “Nic Klein is a genius, and working with him is pushing me to write a story worthy of his very best.”

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DC will launch new Titans, Cyborg + Green Lantern titles

Dawn of DC continues in May.

DC has revealed three more titles and their creative teams for their 2023 Dawn of DC publishing initiative, which Publisher Jim Lee called “one of our most ambitious initiatives ever” and “a chance for us to tell bigger and bolder stories across our line” when it was announced back in November.

Today brings news of three new titles featuring some old favorites, all of which will kick off in May:

  • Titans by Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott, which is not surprising given the end of Nightwing #100 earlier this month
  • Green Lantern by Jeremy Adams and Xermánico, which will feature a main story focus on Hal Jordan, with a back-up by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Osvaldo Montos focusing on John Stewart.
  • Cyborg by Morgan Hampton, a graduate of The Milestone Initiative Talent Development Program, along with Tom Raney.

They also released an updated infographic on their plans for 2023:

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‘Action’ #1050 kicks off a new era for Superman

Lex Luthor targets the Superfamily in this oversized anniversary issue.

With Clark Kent returning to Earth to reunite with Jon and Lois, DC has announced that Action Comics #1050 will be an oversized issue featuring the creative teams of Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Mike Perkins, Tom Taylor and Clayton Henry, and Joshua Williamson and Nick Dragotta.

The comic will come out on the last Tuesday of the year and will introduce a new era for the Superfamily, following the events of Warworld, Dark Crisis and everything else that’s been going on in the DCU over the past few years. Also, Lex Luthor seems to be retaking his rightful place as Superman’s no. 1 villain.

“Writing Action Comics for the past two years has been one of the most rewarding writing experiences I’ve ever had, and everything that’s happened in that time—Future State, Superman: Son of Kal-El, The Warworld Saga, and Kal-El Returns—has all been building to Action Comics #1050,” said Johnson. “Clark Kent has returned to Earth stronger than ever, Jon has fully come into his own, and the Superfamily is poised to make Metropolis the true City of Tomorrow. It’s no overstatement to say Action Comics #1050 is a NEW BEGINNING for Superman, and the era that’s about to begin is as bright and fun and exciting as anything fans have ever seen at DC Comics.”

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