Have a nice summer, X-Men

Marvel announces an ‘X-Men: Hellfire Gala’ one-shot and a prelude issue for the upcoming Judgment Day crossover — keeping the X-Men plenty busy this summer.

Although they left their school in Westchester behind for the sunny shores of Krakoa, the gifted youngsters who make up the X-Men are really going to be longing for a summer break this year. In addition to a starring role in Marvel’s upcoming crossover event “A.X.E. Judgment Day” — with the A.X.E. standing for Avengers, X-Men and Eternals — they’ll also be hosting another Hellfire Gala in June.

Unlike last year’s gala, this year’s won’t run through the full line of X-Men comics. Instead, it’ll be a standalone special by Gerry Duggan, Russell Dauterman, Matteo Lolli, C.F. Villa and Kris Anka that Marvel promises will be “loaded with high-stakes drama, shocking character developments, and of course, showstopping Super Hero fashion.” Also: a new team of X-Men, including the winner of the latest fan vote.

“Last summer your host Emma Frost invited you to celebrate Krakoa with some fireworks. This year, it’s about celebrating mutantdom’s friendship with humanity,” Duggan said. “Once again, we have a murderer’s row of talent crafting a one-shot with revelations that will chart the biggest stories in the Marvel Universe. All that, and meet a new team of X-Men.” 

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Guest Column: Jarrett J. Krosoczka on his early influences

The creator of ‘Hey, Kiddo’ and the ‘Lunch Lady’ series shares his love for Batman, the X-Men, Gummi Bears and more.

Before becoming an award-winning cartoonist and the author of Hey, Kiddo, the Lunch Lady series and other books, Jarrett J. Krosoczka was a fan, wearing his love for the Smurfs, Gummi Bear, X-Men and more on the sleeve of his Batman T-shirt.

Now, with the re-release of the Lunch Lady series as two collected editions, we’re happy to present this guest essay from Krosoczka about those early influences on his work and the escape they provided for him as child.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | A new ‘Iron Fist’ emerges in this week’s comics

New comics and graphic novels arrive this week from Tim Seeley, Ilias Kyriazis, Greg Pak, Takeshi Miyaza, Garth Ennis, PJ Holden, Darryl Cunningham and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

Please note that I have changed the link above to the new Amazon page for comiXology. You can still get to the comiXology new releases page for now, but I’m not sure how long it’ll be around.

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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Judgment Day, Hellfire Gala + Bloodline headline Marvel’s ‘Free Comic Book Day: Avengers/X-Men’

Kieron Gillen, Dustin Weaver, Danny Lore, Gerry Duggan and more contribute to the title, which arrives for free on May 7.

Marvel has released more details on their third Free Comic Book Day title for 2022, Avengers/X-Men, which will feature three stories.

As announced earlier today, the first one will preview the Judgment Day event, in a prelude story by writer Kieron Gillen and artist Dustin Weaver (who drew the preview artwork accompanying the announcement.) The event will feature the Avengers trying to avert a war between the Eternals and the X-Men.

The second story, by Gerry Duggan and artist Matteo Lolli, will serve as the lead-in to this year’s Hellfire Gala. a storyline that’ll take place this summer. Last year’s gala brought a new team of X-Men, the mutant takeover of Mars and the death of the Scarlet Witch — so who knows what will happen this year. Quicksilver, watch your back …

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Marvel officially announces the event series ‘Judgment Day’

Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti will bring together the X-Men, Avengers and Eternals for a symphony of destruction.

Marvel will bring together the X-Men, the Eternals and the Avengers for Judgment Day, a crossover series coming this summer from Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti.

The story will revolve around conflict between the Eternals and the X-Men, as the latter target Krakoa and the Avengers try to play peacekeeper. With Gillen already writing Eternals and Immortal X-Men on deck, it makes sense that he’d bring them together — and write his first event series for Marvel.

“There’s a classic metaphor to describe the Marvel Universe – a toybox, which creators take toys out of, play with and put back. I get it, but it’s never quite how I’ve seen it – I think ‘play’ in another way. I think of a music shop, with all these instruments with their different qualities suggesting different songs, different stories,” Gillen said. “For all the Marvel instruments I’ve played, I’ve never written an event. Writing an event is something different. It’s not like playing an instrument. It’s having all the instruments in the Marvel music shop. That’s not like writing a song. That’s like writing a symphony.”

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Orlando + Carlini will relaunch ‘Marauders’ in March

Following his debut on Marauders Annual in January, Steve Orlando will write his first ongoing series for Marvel.

Steve Orlando and Eleonora Carlini will take the helm of Marauders in March, as Marvel relaunches the title with a new first issue, a new creative team and a new cast.

Orlando’s turn as captain of this particular ship will actually start in January, with Marauders Annual #1, which introduces the new team. The relaunch is part of Marvel’s bigger Destiny of X initiative, as the Krakoan age of the X-Men continues without its primary architect, Jonathan Hickman.

“Taking the helm of Marauders is easily the most exciting moment of my career, especially when it’s my first-ever ongoing not just on Krakoa, but at Marvel in general,” Orlando told Marvel.com. “Exploding out of the team’s already-amazing adventures as part of Hellfire Trading, Captain Pryde’s new crew of Marauders will stop at nothing to bring endangered mutants to safety—to always go where they’re needed, not where they’re wanted. To mutant rescue, wherever it calls them!”

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Kieron Gillen + Lucas Werneck convene for ‘Immortal X-Men’

The new title will focus on Krakoa’s Quiet Council ‘with all its muffled screams.’

The Quiet Council is about to get a whole lot louder, as the rulers of Krakoa will take the spotlight in Immortal X-Men, a new series coming from Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck next year. It’s part of Marvel’s Destiny of X line of titles, the fancy moniker they’re giving to the next era of X-Men titles.

Gillen returns to the X-Men titles after several years of playing in the Star Wars and creator-owned sandboxes, co-creating titles like Once and Future, Die and The Ludocrats in recent years. Werneck, meanwhile, is fresh off of the Trial of Magneto miniseries.

Gillen talked about the new title (and poked fun at departing Krakoan architect Jonathan Hickman) in a recent newsletter:

“Obviously, I was delighted when I heard that Jon was leaving the X-office, due to our ancient rivalry,” Gillen said in his newsletter. “It’s a complicated story, and involves several duels, all of which I lost. Suffice to say, I have sworn to never enter any office where he is present. When news reached me he was leaving, I realised it was time to sneak in the back door. For a good month or two, I was lurking around pretending to be Jonathan. I donned a disguise (a wig, a different accent, a series of gnomic diagrams as my zoom background) and sort of hung around, making pronouncements. I have since learned everyone realised it was me immediately, but felt so bad for me they decided I could stay.”

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The next X-Men era, Destiny of X, kicks off in the spring

Following ‘Inferno” and January’s dual Wolverine miniseries comes ‘The Second Krakoan Age of X-Men.’

Marvel has put a name to what they’re referring to as “The Second Krakoan Age of X-Men”: Destiny of X. This new era of X-comics will feature several new titles, creative team changes and “revolutionary status quo changes” for the few remaining titles in the X-line-up.

“The journey of the Krakoan Age is far from over!” Senior Editor Jordan D. White told Marvel.com. “Our long-term plan that all our creators have been working on in our secret Council Chamber has only just begun to come to fruition. With the filling of the two empty council seats, the Reign of X has ended, and it’s time for mutantkind to reach for their destiny!”

Marvel shared some teaser art by Leini Francis Yu and Sunny Gho, which also lists the titles you can expect to see next year:

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Mail Call | DC announces ‘Milestones in History’ anthology

Check out news, announcements and previews from DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Z2 and more.

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

DC Comics and Milestone Media revealed more details about the anthology they plan to release this coming February during Black History Month, which was initially announced during DC FanDome last month.

Milestones in History will feature Hardware, Icon, Static and more narrating stories “Black trailblazers from across human history,” including Hannibal, the Queen of Sheba, Alexandre Dumas and more.

The 96-page prestige one-shot will cost $9.99 and arrives Feb. 15.

Here’s the full solicitation:

Celebrate Black History Month the Milestone way, as the superpowered citizens of Dakota (including Static, Icon, Rocket, Hardware, and more) narrate the true stories of Black trailblazers from across human history! Witness the military campaigns of Hannibal and the Queen of Sheba, the literary accomplishments of Alexandre Dumas, the World War One dogfights of Eugene Bullard against the legendary Red Baron, and many, many more, all written and drawn by a who’s who of comics and literary talent! On sale February 15th, this 96 page anthology honors Black History from around the world in a beautiful, prestige format book.

Written by REGINALD HUDLIN, ALICE RANDALL, TOURÉ, MICHAEL HARRIOT, and more
Art by VARIOUS
Cover by CHRISCROSS
Variant cover by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
$9.99 US | 96 pages | Prestige Format | One-shot

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Participation trophy: X-Men fan vote runner-ups assemble for ‘Secret X-Men’

The one-shot by Tini Howard and Francesco Mobili arrives next February.

Remember the fan vote Marvel held to see who the new member of the X-Men would be? Polaris went on to win, but all the losers runner ups are getting a chance at the spotlight in Secret X-Men.

The one-shot will feature Strong Guy, Forge, Tempo (our choice!), Boom-Boom, Marrow, Armor, Cannonball, Sunspot and Banshee teaming up for a secret mission, written by Tini Howard and drawn by Francesco Mobili.

“We had to do it, yeah? And I jumped at the chance to tell the story while I had the time,” Howard told Marvel.com. “Cannonball was my vote, and Strong Guy? Tempo? Boom-Boom? This is the perfect team for an intergalactic X-Men mission. I hope they didn’t forget anything important!”

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Marvel will celebrate 200 issues of Black Panther in January

John Ridley and Juann Cabal send T’Challa to Mars to visit his ex-wife Storm in the oversized issue.

Marvel’s latest Black Panther series will only reach issue #3 in January, but if you add up all his previous series, you get 200 issues — so Marvel’s celebrating with an oversized issue.

The comic is already pretty special, as it’s the third issue of the new series by Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Ridley and artist Juann Cabal. Ridley follows Ta-Nehisi Coates on the title and promises the comic will be a “hybrid espionage-Super Hero thriller, but at its core, it’s a love story.”

The cover to the first issue teased an appearance by Storm, and she’s front and center on issue #200:

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Steve Orlando takes the helm of ‘Marauders’ in January

Marauders Annual #1 will reveal a new team of mutants and the debut of a new threat, 2099 villain Brimstone Love.

A new team of Marauders will take to the seas in January courtesy of a new creative team. Steve Orlando and Creees Lee will introduce a new team and new threats in Marauders Annual #1 this Janaury.

“Taking the helm of Marauders is easily the most exciting moment of my career, especially when it’s my first-ever ongoing not just on Krakoa, but at Marvel in general,” Orlando told Marvel.com. “Exploding out of the team’s already-amazing adventures as part of Hellfire Trading, Captain Pryde’s new crew of Marauders will stop at nothing to bring endangered mutants to safety — to always go where they’re needed, not where they’re wanted. To mutant rescue, wherever it calls them!”

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