In 2013, writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark brought what has since become one of Image Comics’ landmark series to life: Lazarus. Set in a near-future dystopia, the world of Lazarus is one in which society has settled into feudalism, ruled by sixteen extremely powerful Families. The story follows Forever Carlyle, the genetically enhanced super-soldier military type enforcer for the powerful Carlyle Family who is controlled by her father Malcolm Carlyle. However, a dozen years later, Lazarus is entering a new — and final — chapter, one that changes everything and could see the end of not just the Carlyle Family but the social order as the world knows it. That chapter is Lazarus: Fallen, the first issue of which will hit stores on June 25^th. ComicBook had the opportunity to do an early review and, without getting into spoilers, the final chapter of the Lazarus story is one that fans of the series won’t want to miss and one that newcomers to the story will quickly find themselves engrossed in as well.

When Lazarus: Fallen #1 picks up, the Carlyle Family is on the hunt, specifically for Forever Carlyle. She’s finally broken free from her family’s control and has a new mission: burn it all down, even if that means burning her own Family down as well. It is an exciting premise and issue #1 pays off on it, wasting no time dropping readers into the situation as it sets up the early hours after Forever is declared rogue by the Carlyle Family. This is not a spoiler; first looks at Lazarus: Fallen reveal a strike team infiltrating the Hock Wellness and Preservation Facility 074 on the hunt for Forever only to find that she’s not there, having been aided by her own mother in escape. From there, the story moves forward to reveal time passing with Forever still rogue and the brutal lengths Malcolm is willing to go to get her back, lengths that include manipulation and control of his own family.

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I can’t get into more details about what those lengths entail — or about the twist in the final pages of issue #1; we’re doing this spoiler free. What I can get into is how seamless the story is. It’s been three years since the last issue of Lazarus (Lazarus: Risen #7 arrived in 2022,) but Rucka hasn’t missed a beat with the storytelling. For those already familiar with Lazarus, this latest installment fits in perfectly with everything readers already know and one can nicely hit the ground running. For readers coming to the world of Lazarus with Fallen #1 as their starting point, while going back to the beginning is an absolute must so as to get the full story, you still get an intriguing hook and the turn on the final page will have you quite literally trying to turn the page to get more (don’t worry, a second issue will follow in July, you’ll get more and what Rucka is doing here is already very much worth the wait.)

But while Rucka’s writing is impeccable — The Old Guard creator is highly regarded for a reason — it’s not the only element of Lazarus: Fallen #1 that stands out. Lark’s art here is superb. The book has a look and feel that is both realistic — there are moments when Lark’s work almost looks like a photograph, it’s so crisp and clean — and beautifully textured. It’s the balance between these two elements that give the book a cinematic feel, reminding readers that this is a big story told on a big scale even within the more intimate parameters of the comic book format. That, interestingly, is particularly noticeable when you get into the details: freckles smattered across a character’s nose, the way a body crumples on the floor, the look of resignation in the eyes of one character and the sort of conspiratorial gleam in another’s. Lazarus has always been good, with both Rucka and Lark delivering fantastic work, but Fallen is not only the story at its peak, but both creators doing some of their absolute career-best work. The result is something that is gritty and elevated in equal measure.

To put a finer point on things, Lazarus changed what is possible with sci-fi dystopian stories in comics and created something really special when it arrived in 2013 and now, the final chapter Lazarus: Fallen is not only starting off as a very worthy next part but is poised to perhaps be even better than the original. With excellent writing and art that may be some of the best of both creators to date, Lazarus: Fallen #1 may see Forever Carlyle on a mission to burn everything down, but it looks like this story is going to go out in a blaze of glory.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Lazarus: Fallen #1 goes on sale June 25th from Image Comics.

The post Lazarus: Fallen #1 Is an Epic Beginning of the End appeared first on ComicBook.com.

In both reality and fiction there may be one thing that is more dangerous than power and its secrets. On their face, the idea of secrets — information withheld or concealed, usually to avoid a consequence — doesn’t seem like such a terrible thing. People keep relatively harmless secrets every day in the name of basic privacy. But not all secrets are benign and when you combine secrets with the volatility of a world containing superpowered beings it’s not just feelings that could be in the balance but the fate of the entire world. This is where The Power Fantasy from Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard brings us in issue #9 and it’s the revelation of a couple of secrets in particular that could save the world or be its entire undoing.

The Power Fantasy sees the Superpowers in a strange and strained situation. Jacky Magus has previously entered into an alliance with the U.S. government after Etienne killed the president, it’s discovered that Heavy has a secret Superpower son who could end up being a dangerous player in the mix, and Masumi is already hanging by a very delicate emotional thread. All of that threatens to blow up in everyone’s faces in the issue (potentially literally). We start to realize that Heavy may not have the biggest handle on things when it comes to his secret son and that he’s not necessarily entirely confident about his own stance. We also finally see Isabella be honest with Masumi, revealing their own bitter feelings about how the Atomics (and particularly Masumi) survive over and over while humans die in droves when things go wrong. It’s a huge risk, but opening up that secret both unburdens Isabella and seems to do some good for Masumi as well.

[RELATED: No, The Power Fantasy Isn’t Watchmen (But It Might Be Better)]

But it’s the big secret that gets revealed in The Power Fantasy #9 that may be the most dangerous thing the story has faced to date, something that is poised to be more of an issue for how it could upset the balance of power and what it means for the already delicate dance the Atomics are doing. Jacky Magus has been doing some sneaky stuff for a while and everyone’s been trying to get Eliza on their side, but as it turns out, what’s really going on with Jacky goes back to the catastrophic Second Summer of Love in 1989. It also turns out to have major, major connection to Eliza and how she’s ended up the way she is. The issue hits Eliza — and the reader — with the gut punch that Jacky isn’t exactly who he seems to be.

I’m not going to spoil the reveal — that should be read for itself — but it’s one that changes everything and not only does Gillen set it up brilliantly with the writing but Wijngaard’s art, particularly as Eliza realizes what she’s being told, is absolutely phenomenal. Gillen tees things up perfectly, with Etienne commenting on the random nature of how big revelations of truth really are. He’s speaking about Matsumi when he talks about luck and stakes, but he may as well be speaking about what Jacky reveals to Eliza except while we see how Matsumi’s luck plays out the reader is left to wonder what will come with Eliza. Wijngaard’s art gives nothing away, but somehow simultaneously captures every nuance of relief and horror in Eliza’s face as so many pieces start to fall into place for her. She’s very much our window into this moment and it in a way that feels like screaming without a sound. To put it another way, it’s a cliffhanger that hits as though you’ve already fallen right into the ground at top speed. You know something has broken, but you’re also in no position just yet to take stock of just what.

That is perhaps what makes The Power Fantasy as a title work so well generally, but this issue specifically excel. The things you expect to be catastrophic — powers, Matsumi having to deal with emotional distress, Heavy’s secret son — are somehow less dangerous than the thing you didn’t really see coming, the secret so well-kept that it’s really more of a bomb, one that no one might survive. The Power Fantasy has always been a story of layers and complicated relationships, but issue #9 takes things to a completely different level — and it may be the best of the series to date.

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Power Fantasy #9 is on sale now from Image Comics.

The post I Don’t Know How The Power Fantasy is Gonna Top That Latest Gut Punch Reveal appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The comic book industry has given readers many beloved characters, from the iconic superheroes we all know and love to relatable characters with memorable backstories. Then there are the animal companions in comics, providing endearing moments of peace and happiness every time they arrive. One of the best parts about comics is the sheer number of cats that grace these vibrant pages. Every major publisher has a solid list of cats to remember, including Marvel, DC Comics, BOOM!, and beyond. In other words, there’s a plethora of feline friends for readers to fall in love with, and we are here for it.

These days, it isn’t hard to spot cats in comics. DC has long been introducing feline friends for the likes of Catwoman. Likewise, Marvel has introduced plenty of friends for their counterpart, Black Cat. More recently, Marvel really embraced this cat-loving trend, going so far as to create an Infinity Comic series titled Marvel Meow. Truthfully, every cat in every comic deserves all the love, but there just isn’t time to list them all.

An honorable mention to all the adopted cats of superheroes. We love that these heroes have taken saving the day to a whole new level, opening their homes and hearts to these faithful pets: Alpine (Bucky Barnes), Lupin, Raffles, Simon, Irene (Black Cat), Alfred (Damian Wayne), Isis (Catwoman), and countless others.

10) Zabu

Zabu will never be mistaken for a housecat, but he still fits within the category. Zabu is the last living saber-toothed tiger, hailing from Earth-616. He lives in the Savage Land and has made many superhero friends, including Ka-Zar and the X-Men. He’s also a superhero in his own right, as he is a member of the Pet Avengers (they’re adorable and they save the day, what more could a person ask for?). Zabu is a loyal ally but a dangerous enemy, as his heightened sense of smell and hearing make him an excellent tracker – there will be no escaping his wrath.

Thankfully, Zabu has a life pretty common to heroes in comic books, and as such, he’s gone through many experiences and adventures. For example, he was exposed to some strange gases in the Place of Mists, which granted him slowed aging and near-human intelligence. In other words, this bright cat is going to be around for quite some time, or so we can hope.

Zabu’s adventures can be found in Marvel Comics.

9) Tinker

Tinker, aka 2, is a modified cat hailing from the We3 program, and as such, she was designed to be a dangerous killing machine, complete with shockingly large armor and cybernetic implants. In other words, this is not the housecat to mess with! Tinker is famous for her battles against a group of biorgs (it’s complicated), though arguably she should probably be better known for her somewhat salty attitude.

Tinker is one half of a pair, with her counterpart being Bandit. They’re the classic cat/dog pairing, meaning that Tinker is everything Bandit is not, and vice versa. The dynamics may feel a bit strange in a sci-fi battle scenario, but the duo makes it work. However, there’s no denying that Tinker’s ‘tude steals the show on more than one occasion.

Tinker’s story can be found in We3.

8) Elsie, Lord Fluffy Britches & Patch

Elsie, Lord Fluffy Britches, and Patch are three housecats thrown into a situation they were never prepared for. Think Homeward Bound, but with the equivalent of zombies thrown into the mix. These anthropomorphic cats are smart enough to understand the danger they’re in, and okay, yeah, that’s pretty terrifying for readers! Their story is by the creators of Stray Dogs, so it’s a heavy-hitting adventure right from the start.

Elsie, Lord Fluffy Britches & Patch are up against seemingly impossible odds, which alone makes them worthy of rooting for. The fact that they’re adorable cats simply gives readers more reason to hope for their success, as they dodge rabid beasts while they try to find their way home.

Elsie, Lord Fluffy Britches & Patch’s story can be found in Feral by Image Comics.

7) Lou

It isn’t every day that cat lovers get a whole series dedicated to their favorite critters, but it does happen occasionally. Little Lou is the leading protagonist of Strayed, a sci-fi dystopian tale. Lou is an astral projecting cat who adores his owner, Kiara, with all his little heart. He was born into a world (universe) that wanted to use and abuse him for his abilities. However, Kiara loved him too much to stand by and let it happen, and thus a revolution began.

Lou’s tale only lasted five issues, but it’ll tug at the heartstrings of any cat-lover. It’s easy to see how one human and her cat may feel inclined to change the entire intergalactic system, if that’s what it takes.

Lou’s story can be found in Strayed by Dark Horse Comics.

6) Master Ren Mormorian

There are complicated characters, and then there’s Master Ren, a nekomancer with many faces. Even Ren’s name is complicated, as his full name and title are Commander Ren Mormorian, Apprentice Nekomancer to Two-faced Zorian of Whiteclaw.

Ren is famous for his two tails – but it’s perhaps his two faces he should be better known for. Originally tasked with betrayal, readers watch as Ren grows a stronger and heavier conscious as the series continues. Ren has gone through a lot since his introduction, including a changing of sides, an experience with torture, and more. On the bright side, he’s also made friends. Little Kippa is probably the best at bringing his sweet, hidden side to the surface, making it easy for readers to love this cat.

Master Ren’s story can be found in Monstress by Image Comics.

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5) Streaky the Supercat

The Superman family is pretty famous for adding new members, ranging from children from a different timeline to loyal pets, and everything in between. One such hero on the team is Streaky the Supercat. Streaky has been around for ages, and as such, his/her story has changed quite a bit over the years. For example, Streaky was once a male cat, but lately, DC Comics has been portraying the cat as a female feline. Likewise, her origin story has had a few changes over the years.

Streaky the Supercat is Kara Zor-El’s cat and best friend. She is the natural counterpart to Krypto, not to mention a superpowered member of the family. She has many familiar powers, including flight, heat vision, invulnerability, and superspeed. There’s no doubt about her ability to keep up with the rest of her family!

Streaky’s story can be found in DC Comics.

4) Chester, Marigold & The Rest of the Lumberjanes Kitties

Throughout Lumberjanes, the Roanoke cabin has made many allies, including many feline friends. Early in the series, Ripley wished everyone had a cat, and she got that wish ten times over. The cats that popped into existence aren’t normal cats. For example, Marigold is a stunning cat who is just as sweet as she looks. However, she can also drastically change her size. While she can be as small as an ordinary housecat, she can also become large enough to ride. Readers don’t actually know if there’s a size limit for this fuzzy feline. Barney was quick to adopt this cutie!

Other feline friends introduced during this wish include Chester (a white cat with wings), Jessica (an electric kitty), Mr. Chips (laser eyes), Peanut (can become very heavy – seriously), and Plops Town (telekinesis). Each cat has an adorable ability to go with their personality, and yes, we want to collect them all.

Chester and Marigold’s stories can be found in Lumberjanes by BOOM! Studios.

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3) Chewie (Chewbacca Sassy Danvers)

Chewie is arguably one of the best-known cats from Marvel Comics, though technically, she’s a Flerken. Flerkens are an alien race that pass for human cats, so that’s a good enough reason to let her stay on this list! Chewie is Carol Danvers’ cat (Captain Marvel). She’s a sassy pet who first met Carol in 2006, and for the longest time, Carol believed she had accidentally adopted a cat from another universe. Then they learned the truth of Chewie’s biology, just in time to welcome a massive litter of Flerken-kittens. Yes, it’s as cute (and chaotic) as it sounds, and fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) know Chewie by another name, as she goes by Goose in the movies. On the bright side, she maintained her Flerken status and even added to the franchise’s lore, leaving a permanent mark on the likes of Nick Fury. Chewie is easily one of the most dependable pets out there, even if she does tend to scare off all of her cat-sitters.

Chewie’s adventures can be found in Marvel Comics, within Captain Marvel’s story.

2) Dex Starr

There’s no denying that Dex Starr wins the award for the most tragic backstory, possibly of all time. Once upon a time, Dex Starr was an adorable and abandoned little housecat. He was fortunate enough to be rescued by a kind woman, who showed him what it was like to be loved and adored. Unfortunately, Dex Starr’s owner was brutally murdered in front of his eyes. Alone once again, Dex Starr couldn’t get over the burning rage in his heart, making him the perfect candidate for a Red Lantern Ring.

With this new power, Dex Starr swore he would one day track down the person who killed his owner and exact his revenge. Until then, he has been working hard to earn a reputation for himself, and boy, has he succeeded there. Dex Starr is not a being anybody wants to cross, that’s for sure.

Dex Starr’s story can be seen in DC Comics’ Green Lantern & Red Lantern Corps Series.

1) Lying Cat

Lying Cat is possibly the most iconic cat in comics, at least in modern times. She is a massive cat with blue/green/teal skin and vibrant yellow eyes. She’s been around since the first issue of Saga, though she’s not always present for every adventure (which has certainly helped her survival). Lying Cat is famous (and named) for her iconic phrase – “lying.” She can tell when a person is lying, and thus will happily growl out “lying” when appropriate.

Lying Cat first appeared at the side of The Will, a bounty hunter responsible for tracking down the leading couple of the series. Since then, she’s worked with a few different characters in the series, and it’s safe to say she’s always been a fan-favorite (we will riot if anything ever happens to her).

Lying Cat’s story can be found in Saga by Image Comics.

The post 10 Best Comic Book Cats, Ranked appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Image Comics is leading fans on a journey through Spawn’s secret history in a brand new series, and we’ve got an exclusive first look preview to give you a taste of what’s in store. The new series is titled Bloodletter, and will introduce the world to a new anti-hero named Tasha Thornwall and her connection to Al Simmons and Spawn. Crafting this new adventure is the dynamite team of Joseph P. Illidge (Batman, Milestone Universe: The Shadow Cabinet), Tim Seeley (Revival, Hack/Slash), Christian Rosado (Vampirella, Skull and Bones: Savage Storm), DC Alonso (Avengers), and AndWorld Design, and Illidge took the time to break down several scenes from the anticipated series in our first look preview below.

The first page features a bloody throwdown that ends rather brutally for Bloodletter’s enemies, and despite the numbers advantage, she makes quick work of them and more than lives up to her name. There’s also a slick homage to the universe’s other well-known hero who happens to wear a red cape to boot.

“This is the first time we see Tasha Thornwall taking people down, and she’s both smooth and brutal,” Illidge said. “A mix of her spy history from past days in the CIA and her memorable methods of murder, which helped make Tasha an urban legend throughout the world as ‘The Bloodletter’. I just love how Christian has her trench coat flapping outward like a cape. Does anyone else we know in this universe sport a red cape? ;)”.

On the second page, we see Bloodletter’s back and arms, which tie into her mystical powers, but she’s not alone. You can also see her all,y Casper, and Illidge teases some big reveals in regards to who she is and what she means to the book.

[RELATED: HBO’s Spawn Needs a Resurrection]

“The Bloodletter sports quite a number of tattoos and scars on her body, which connects directly to her mystical power…and her capacity for surviving fights with both angels and demons. As for who Tasha’s sidekick is on this page, her name is Casper, and she’s much more than most people realize,” Illidge said.

The final page gives us a look at the calm right before the storm, though I wouldn’t describe the world Bloodletter operates in as necessarily calm. “Bloodletter’s world isn’t one of James Bond-type villains in Stanley Kubrick-clean locales and shaken martinis. She operates in all the shadowy places in between, where the real engines of crime and magic exist. Tasha doesn’t realize the direction of her life is about to change in this grimy, smelly place…but that’s going to change in the next two minutes,” Illidge said.

“At its core, this story is all about synthesis,” Seeley said. “For our lead, Tasha, it’s that combination of espionage and street magic that makes her an unkillable survivor in a world where guys like Spawn, Overtkill, and Violator walk. And the comic itself is a synthesis too, of Joe, Christian, and me, something totally new none of us would have concocted on our own.”

“It’s blood, magic, it’s evil questioning itself, it’s also love and redemption,” Rosado said. “Tasha took on a life of her own, and what we do as a team is narrate it, chapter after chapter. In this transgressive and dark world, there’s a new character who is a privilege to draw. Joe, Tim, and I have that mission—to make her struggle known and what she has to tell us.”

The Bloodletter will hit comic stores on June 18th and is available for pre-order, and Bloodletter #2 will hit stores on July 23rd. You can find the official description below.

“Tasha Thornwall is THE BLOODLETTER, mystical mercenary of the world’s secret underground. A former CIA operative forced to live in the shadows after being outed by Al Simmons 10 years ago, Tasha is now out for revenge when she learns Al Simmons is alive as Spawn. The mission to hunt down and kill Spawn begins in this debut miniseries.”

Are you excited for The Bloodletter and learning more about Spawn’s history? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Image Comics Shakes Up the Spawn Universe in Bloodletter First Look Preview (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

DC and Image Comics are planning a crossover that brings Jim Lee back to the publisher that he helped found in 1992. Jim Lee is the current President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC, but before those lofty titles, he was one of six individuals who founded the creator-owned company Image Comics. One of the bigger hits at Image is Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Geiger, a cornerstone of Ghost Machine. Lee is back drawing interiors for the Batman story arc “H2SH” alongside Jeph Loeb. In a first for each publisher, Lee and Frank are teaming up to provide covers for each other’s titles.

Jim Lee’s cover of October’s Geiger #19 will be his first cover for Image since 2011’s Spawn #200. Lee helped found Image Comics alongside trailblazing creators Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, Whilce Portacio, Jim Valentino, and Rob Liefeld. Gary Frank’s cover for Batman #163 is set to hit stores in August. This is also a return to DC for Frank, who drew Batman: Earth One and Doomsday Clock for DC before founding Ghost Machine in October 2023 with Johns, Brad Anderson, Jason Fabok, Bryan Hitch, Rob Leigh, Lamont Magee, Francis Manapul, Brad Meltzer, Ivan Reis, Peter Snejbjerg, Peter J. Tomasi and Maytal Zchut.

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“Jim’s a great friend and inspirational artist,” said Frank. “When we first began talking about doing covers for each other’s projects, it instantly became a moment where you realize why you got into comics. The community, the friendships, the love of the medium and the appreciation of each other’s work is something unique to comics and its creators.”

“When Jim delivered his Geiger cover featuring The Glowing Woman, Ashley Arden, it was a special moment for all of us at Ghost Machine,” continued Frank. “It was also fun for me to dip back into the world of DC with a Batman image featuring the Dark Knight and some of his greatest villains.”

“I’m thrilled to be able to collaborate with the massively talented Gary Frank who I’ve had the good fortune to call a true friend since the early 1990s,” said Lee. “Gary is a consummate professional, a Bonafide artist’s artist, a master of capturing light and form, and he’s drawn some of my favorite comics ever.”

“We hatched this idea to do a ‘crossover’ even if it is truly only compositionally, and I’m so honored to have a Gray Frank Batman Hush piece grace our ‘who’s who’ list of variant virtuoso cover artists!”

Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s successor to Batman: Hush began in March’s Batman #158. This new run, collectively called “H2SH,” is running monthly for six issues through August’s Batman #163 and will conclude with six more issues in 2026. Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Brad Anderson and Rob Leigh launched the ongoing Geiger series in April 2024. It continues the story of Tariq Geiger, a man transformed into a powerful hero during the first strike of a nuclear war, and other unnamed heroes from throughout American history. October’s Geiger #19 features the return of Ashley Arden as her ongoing story of hunting human traffickers across a nuclear-war-ravaged America takes center stage and The Glowing Woman’s motivations and future become more clear.

What do you think about this unique crossover between DC and Image Comics for Batman #163 and Geiger #19? Let us know in the comments below!

The post New Batman Image Crossover Marks A Major Comics First 33 Years In The Making appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The team of James Tynion IV (The Department of Truth, The Deviant) and Michael Walsh (Universal Monsters: Frankenstein, The Silver Coin) is set to introduce the world to their new Image Comics and Tiny Onion series Exquisite Corpses, which will unleash 12 highly lethal killers on an unsuspecting small town. That lineup includes some truly oddball characters, but to this point we’ve only met 11 of the 12…until now. We’ve got all the exclusive details on the 12th and final killer that will be going head to head in a battle Royale for control of the country, and he is The Lone Gunman.

The Lone Gunman is Massachusetts’ choice for the tournament, and as you can see in the image below, he’s a force to be reckoned with just based on appearance alone. A gold mask hides his identity from the other hired killers, and he has a number of weapons and ammo at his disposal across his armor. You can find all of the details on the Lone Gunman from his official bio below.

“Highly trained and highly dangerous, Lone Gunman puts years of combat training to use as he efficiently dispatches his opponents, or any collateral damage who get in the way. Dishonorably discharged for battlefield atrocities now sealed in government records, Lone Gunman’s penchant for excessive violence has become a benefit, not a hindrance, to his performance in this tournament.”

That full roster for the tournament now includes Rascal Randy, Fox Mask Killer, G4M3R K1D and Calvin, Slater, Recluse, Leopold Strong, Lady Carolina, Nurse Pete, Layla Blaze, Pretty Boy, The Congregation, and Lone Gunman, and each one specializes in some sort of lethal skillset. Some of them are crazy, while others are highly trained, and others are more mysterious as how they came about and what their motivations are. You can check out the complete lineup and the official description for Exquisite Corpses below.

[RELATED: 2025 Comic Preview – All the Biggest Storylines & New Series to Know About]

“In Exquisite Corpses, every five years on Halloween, the wealthiest families in America play a game. 12 of the deadliest people in the world are dropped into a small town with just one goal: last killer standing wins. For the citizens of Oak Valley, Maine—this year’s unlucky arena—the goal is much simpler. They must survive the night.

The series will not only feature the work of Tynion IV and Walsh, but also comics superstars Adam Gorham (Hellhunters), Becca Carey (Absolute Wonder Woman), Che Grayson (Dark Spaces: Good Deeds), Claire Roe (Dark Spaces: The Hollywood Special), Gavin Fullerton (The Closet), Jordie Bellaire (Redlands), Marianna Ignazzi (Catwoman), Pornsak Pichetshote (The Good Asian), Tyler Boss (You’ll Do Bad Things), and Valentine De Landro (Bitch Planet). Each issue will build upon the last in a true ‘exquisite corpse’ game style, with a passing of the baton from creator to creator to unfold the story in a collaborative and competitive fashion.”

What intrigues you most about Exquisite Corpses #1? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Image Comics and Tiny Onion Reveal Exquisite Corpses’ Lethal Final Killer (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

In a sea of amazing comics, a new series has to find a way to immediately stand out from the crowd and showcase what makes it special. Image Comics and Skybound look to do just that with its new series Blood & Thunder, pairing the core elements of a buddy cop movie with the lovely insanity that is the world of Metro 1. Oh, did we mention that the buddy cop of it all is actually a cop and her sentient gun? Yeah, that’s right, and it’s where the series not only gets its name but also where it gets its sense of charm, humor, and history, making for one of the most delightful debuts of 2025 so far.

Before we get to the two protagonists, we need to first highlight the insanely cool world that the team of Benito Cereno, E.J. Su, Msassyk, and Rus Wooton have brought to life. Metro 1 is a tiered city where life gets progressively more difficult and challenging as you continue to go through each tier, and there’s also another city on the other side of the planet that seemingly has its own tiers, though we don’t get to see much of that yet.

If that sounds like an idea rife with possibilities, it absolutely is, and the first few pages set about introducing you to the various structures and way of life on various tiers. Meanwhile, Su and Msassyk make a grand first impression with a two-page spread that is just absolutely stunning, instantly giving you a sense of this mysterious place without even setting foot on it. Their work continues to impress throughout the issue, with each tier conveying its own distinct personality even in the briefest of appearances.

Their work is also impressive in the characters that populate this world. While there are humanoid-looking characters and actual humans living in the city, there are a host of other aliens that call this place home, and their character designs don’t just feel like human offshoots with a different coat of paint. Some of the designs are really creative, and it bodes well for what we’ll see from the series as it progresses.

[RELATED: 2025 Comic Preview – All the Biggest Storylines & New Series to Know About]

While the world is fantastic, it doesn’t matter if you aren’t compelled by the book’s main heroes, and that’s where Blood and Thunder come in. Blood is a bounty hunter who excels at operating in the lower levels, and she uses a gun named Thunder. The thing is, Thunder is a full sentient gun who talks to Blood, and this forms the buddy cop dynamic throughout the series. The opening fight sequence is fun to watch from an action perspective, but the dynamic between the two is what really makes these sequences shine, as Thunder continues to want to use non-lethal measures whenever possible, and Blood is a bit more on the aggressive side.

That ties into a key point of history with Blood, as Thunder was her father’s old weapon before he died, and he was also a part of the IPPF (the police force on Metro 1). That promises to be rich with complex issues for Blood, as she holds her father in high esteem, and while her mother is hinted at here, there’s a lot said in what is unsaid if that makes sense. That’s even before we get to bigger mysteries revealed towards the end of the issue, so the future is quite bright.

There are a few odd moments in regards to facial expressions, but that’s a relatively minor nitpick. One thing I would have loved to see is more time with Blood and Thunder after the big action sequence. All that amazing world-building at the beginning has to trade off somewhere after all, but I’m sure we’ll get plenty of time with them as we continue the series.

It’s not easy for a new series to truly showcase who it is and who it wants to be in just one issue, but Blood & Thunder did that exceptionally well, and it’s created an adventure full of action, charm, and mystery that already has its hooks in. If you give it a try, I think it just might hook you, too.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Published by Skybound and Image Comics

Released on May 7, 2025

Written by Benito Cereno

Art by E.J. Su

Colors by Msassyk

Letters by Rus Wooton

What did you think of Blood & Thunder #1? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Blood & Thunder #1 Is the Buddy Cop Adventure I Didn’t Know I Needed (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A world of wonder, mystery, danger, and magic makes its debut in Image Comics’ new series Lost Fantasy, and after just one issue, I am completely hooked. Lost Fantasy is a brand new series from the minds of Curt Pires, Luca Casalanguida, Mark Dale, and Micah Myers, and the unique mix of old magic, monstrous creatures, backstabbing, and epic fantasy is immensely compelling. The world Lost Fantasy has already created in just one issue is beyond impressive as well, and while you can certainly see elements of Final Fantasy in its DNA, Lost Fantasy still has its own identity and becomes something altogether unique. The series already has my attention, and it has the potential to be something incredibly special.

Lost Fantasy puts you in the shoes of Henry Blackheart, who is a special consultant for the FBI, though that’s only scratching the surface of who he actually is. Henry’s last name is of particular importance, and that’s where the team really starts to go to work. After a first impression is made, Pires sets about introducing you to an alternate history that’s as vast as it is intricate and complex, and it didn’t take long for that world to sink its hooks in.

As that history is quickly established, I truthfully could have spent even more time exploring the evolving relationship between these two worlds, especially as they become more intertwined with each other, but that trip to the past doesn’t outstay its welcome, and soon you’re back in the thick of it with Henry, though with a much better and more contextual understanding of who he is and why he matters.

One of my favorite aspects of the issue is the artwork and overall approach to the bigger fantasy elements. In the first few pages, you might assume you’re in for a trip through pure dark fantasy, and yet a few pages later that’s heaved out the window in favor os something more classic, colorful, and fantastical. As the issue continues, Luca Casalanguida, Mark Dale, and Micah Myers blend all of those various sensibilities together with a bit of horror to create a look and tone that feels familiar and even perhaps nostalgic, and yet altogether distinct.

[RELATED: Jonathan Bowen’s The Comic Shop Tackles the Joys and Realities of Running a Comic Store]

Lost Fantasy keeps you guessing as well, with one particular reveal being one of my absolute favorites of the issue and coming out of nowhere. I don’t want to spoil it, but what I will say is that Henry’s magical abilities are responsible for some of my favorite interactions in the issue.

It doesn’t hurt that there’s a lot of Cloud Strife in Henry Blackheart, and being that I’m a massive Final Fantasy fan, that’s not an issue for me at all. That said, this never feels like it’s trying to be something it’s not, as those elements are just small aspects of a much bigger world and set of ideas.

Lost Fantasy isn’t afraid to take risks and shake things up, but it’s also a love letter to the genre, and that unique contrast makes for a truly special debut.

Lost Fantasy #1 hits comic stores on April 30th.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published By: Image Comics
Written By: Curt Pires
Art By: Luca Casalanguida
Colored By: Mark Dale
Lettered By: Micah Myers

Are you excited for Lost Fantasy #1? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Lost Fantasy Delivers Love Letter to the Genre With a Little Final Fantasy Magic (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Kieron Gillen is one of the foremost voices in the comic industry. His work at Marvel made him popular, but his best works have been his indie books, like Phonogram, The Wicked + The Divine, and Once and Future. Gillen is an amazing artist, and when The Power Fantasy was announced, fans were very happy. After WicDiv‘s ending, Gillen had returned to Marvel, but fans were ready for something like The Power Fantasy, with Gillen unleashed to work in his own way on his own characters. The Power Fantasy #1 was a massive hit, and the book has been hitting ever since. The Power Fantasy #8 is yet another brilliant installment of this amazing comic.

So, right off the bat, we’re drawn into Eliza and her story from the first page, when she talks about God. It’s an interesting summation of Thomas Aquinas and tells you everything you need to know about her — she believes in God’s love more than anything else. Gillen kicks off the book with this because it sets the stage for the rest of the issue’s events. We have to see this side of Eliza to understand her actions throughout the issue. Gillen moves us forward from there, taking us to the moment of the Queen’s attack in 1989, and to witness the fate of Eliza in 1999. Gillen does a fantastic job of setting out everything a reader would need to know about the general plot of the story so far. Even if you don’t really know anything about the characters as a new reader, you get who each of them are in relation to this story. This is some seriously impressive writing, because this is a rather complicated plot. However, the writing here makes things very clear.

RELATED: The Power Fantasy #1 by Kieron Gillen & Caspar Wijngaard Sells Out, Image Comics Rushes Second Printing

Caspar Wijngaard’s art is sensational. The first four pages of the book jump to three different eras, and each one has its own visual identity — the halcyon past, the fearful future, and the golden age before the fall — and that’s completely on Wijngaard. His color choices and the palettes he uses for each scene gives each one just the right feel. You know just by looking at the art how you’re supposed to feel about the scene. Color choice can make a break a scene in a comic, and Wijngaard understands that.

The character acting and design are all stellar. There are a lot of emotions at play in each scene, and Wijngaard is able to bring that out of every character. Getting to see how Eliza has changed — from her youth in the ’70s and ’80s to what years of torment have done to her by 1999 — really allows us to understand the stakes of the events in the flashbacks. Wijngaard really knocks it out of the park when Eliza saves the day in 1989, his page layout of her ritual and what came next really capturing the horror and fear of those moments. Each page has three long panels, the claustrophobia caused by this choice really making the moments sing.

I walked into The Power Fantasy #8 completely blind. I’m a huge fan of Gillen’s work, so I knew I’d like it, but I wasn’t ready for just how good this issue was. I honestly expected to be a lot more lost than I was, but Gillen does a tremendous job of laying out everything we need to know. There’s a wonderful emotional core to the issue that is apparent from the beginning, and I was able to find and tap into it quickly. Wijngaard’s art is gorgeous. His pencils are beautifully skilled with a unique style, but his color choice is especially good. The colors in this book are outstanding. However, what makes The Power Fantasy #8 a great work and is a testament to the quality of this series overall is that this issue is one you can pick up completely cold and still enjoy immensely and still understand where the story has been even as it lays the groundwork for where it’s going to go.

Rating: 4.6 out of 5

Published by Image Comics

Released on April 23, 2025

Written by Kieron Gillen

Art by Caspar Wijngaard

Letters by Clayton Cowles

The Power Fantasy #8 is on sale now.

The post The Power Fantasy #8 Brilliantly Advances a Phenomenal Story (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

There’s nothing better than tucking into a good graphic novel on a chilly evening. Or any evening, really. Graphic novels come in many forms: fantasy, thrillers, and one of our favorites – horror. Even the horror genre has lots of variety, and today, we’re here to talk about some of the best eco-horror graphic novels to dive into. These are terrifying tales depicting the natural world gone wrong. Sometimes, it’s plant life turning on humanity, while other times, it’s pure ecological destruction, which may hit too close to home for some readers. One thing is certain: these eco-horror adventures will make you look at the world in a whole new light – for better or for worse.

Eco-horror is a unique genre that often incorporates critical commentary about human nature and our environmental impact. While this is a common theme in many tales, it isn’t technically required. Finding a terrifying tale that doesn’t delve too deeply into commentary is possible. Likewise, the odds are good that you’ve seen or read eco-horror without reading it. For example, The Last of Us (both the game and the HBO series) fit the bill. Other examples include Annihilation, Frogs, Wilder Girls, and Cholorphobia. Mind you, this is far from an exhaustive list of examples – there are so many fantastic tales out there waiting to be found.

Farmhand

Created by Rob Guillory, Farmhand combines eco-horror with family drama with terrifying results. It all begins with Jedidiah Jenkins, a farm owner with a unique business plan. Instead of growing stereotypical plants, he grows additional limbs and organs for those who need them. Unsurprisingly, growing spare human parts comes with a price, which Jenkins, his family, and the entire town will quickly learn as the miracle farm turns into a monster of apocalyptic proportions.

Farmhand is written and illustrated by Rob Guillory and is published by Image Comics. It is perfect for horror fans seeking an agriculture-themed apocalyptic event, complete with botanical contamination and a dash of Cronenberg horror for good measure.

Family Tree

Can one family survive impossible odds? Maybe, if they rally quickly enough. Family Tree begins with a transformation, as Meg inexplicably starts turning into a tree. Thus begins a mad dash for a cure—and for survival. Meg’s family, which includes her mother, brother, and estranged grandfather, are not just racing against time but a mysterious organization and worse. They will soon learn that Meg’s transformation isn’t the first, and it all comes down to the family tree.

Family Tree is written by Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, The Nobody), illustrated by Phil Hester, and published by Image Comics. It’s the perfect blend of Cronenberg and eco-horror. It incorporates elements of family drama, time jumping, and potential dystopian futures. The end result is as complex as it is fascinating.

Swamp Thing by Alan Moore

Alan Moore took over writing for Swamp Thing in the 1980s, revolutionizing and revitalizing the story. The first arc is “The Anatomy Lesson,” which essentially rebooted the mythos, introducing new horrors and implications along the way. Delving into the Green, the story raises questions about life vs death, the meaning of the self, and more. It also tackles complex concerns, including environmentalism, marginalization, the effects of trauma, and more.

Let’s be real: even non-comic fans have heard of Swamp Thing, especially Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. All Swamp Thing comics likely fit into the eco-horror genre. However, Alan Moore’s take is a shining example, especially as it portrays humanity’s threat to the environment through a clear (yet sometimes terrifying) lens. Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing run included artwork by Dan Day, John Totleben, Stephen Bissette, Tom Yeates, and Rich Veith and was published by Vertigo/DC Comics.

Into the Unbeing

Somewhere hidden in the Australian wilderness is something humanity has never seen before. Fortunately, a group of climate scientists were the ones to uncover this landform – one can only imagine what would have happened to any fool who dared mess around with it. The closer the scientists look at what they’ve found, the less believable it is. A hostile alien environment may seem like the dream discovery for any intrepid team, but anyone who’s spent enough time within the realm of science fiction knows where this path will lead.

Into the Unbeing was written by Zac Thompson (Relay, Nature’s Labyrinth), illustrated by Hayden Sherman and Jim Campbell, and published by Dark Horse Comics. The series combines eco-horror with scientific discovery and the need to explore and break new ground, opening the door to several thought-provoking conversations.

[RELATED: 7 Image Comics Perfect for a Horror Adaptation]

Dark Fang

Vampires may not seem like the ideal showrunner to an eco-horror comic, but Dark Fang defies those expectations. As a vampire, Valla has spent much of her time at the bottom of the ocean. It’s peaceful there; she doesn’t have to deal with people. That is, until signs of humanity began to poison the waters she called home. Now, Valla will ascend from the depths to understand the cause of this plague and, ideally, put a stop to it, no matter the price.

Dark Fang is a unique eco-horror with a vampiric lead written by Miles Gunter, illustrated by Kelsey Shannon, and published by Image Comics. It is full of social commentary, especially regarding environmentalism and the use of fossil fuels.

Mother Nature

Tales of corrupt corporations are not uncommon, particularly not in the eco-horror genre (it’s a solid foundation for everything to follow). Nova Terrell’s life was thrown upside down following the death of her father. Worse, Nova was there to see it happen, so she knew the role Cobalt Corporation had to play in this, and thus, she’d begin a campaign to bring the company down. While sabotaging the company from the outside, Nova accidentally stumbles across something that refines her understanding of “Mother Nature.”

Jamie Lee Curtis and Russel Goldman co-wrote Mother Nature, illustrated by Karl Stevens and published by Titan Comics. It was originally written as a screenplay, so readers can hope to see it on the big screen someday (Comet Pictures). Mother Nature is a blend of eco-horror and motherhood, telling a story of loss, environmentalism, and the need for company oversight.

Slow Death Zero

If anthologies are more your speed, there’s always Slow Death Zero: The Comix Anthology of Ecological Horror. The title pretty much says it all, as it brings 33 writers and artists together for a total of 28 stories about global warming, ecological disasters, and environmental horrors. These stories don’t shy away from the real-life implications of melting ice caps, so it’s probably not the best collection to read right before bed – unless you enjoy nightmares.

Slow Death Zero: The Comix Anthology of Ecological Horror was edited by Jon B. Cooke and Ronald E. Turner and had 33 creatives working on the project. Published by Last Gasp (terrifying name, by the way), it is a republication of classic eco-horror tales from Earth Day 1970, showing how long this subgenre has been alive.

The Autumnal

Autumn is the perfect setting for eco-horror, as the changing seasons tease at darker times to come. Enter The Autumnal, a story about Kat Somerville and her daughter Sybil. They’ve fled to a quieter life in New Hampshire, but things aren’t going the way they expected. It’s a familiar beginning, as many a tale has begun with a troubled family returning to their roots. However, this take may be a bit more literal than some. There are horrors best left slumbering, as Kat and Sybil are about to discover – the hard way.

The Autumnal was written by Daniel Kraus (The Shape of Water, Trollhunters), illustrated by Chris Shehan and Jason Wordie, and published by Vault Comics. The Autumnal blends eco-horror with family drama and the supernatural to divine effect.

[RELATED: 4 Horror Comic Adaptations We’re Eagerly Awaiting (And One We Wish Would Return]

Deep Roots

Humanity has long been afraid of what we cannot see or understand. We’re fascinated with alternate dimensions and worlds that lie just out of reach. But what if one of these worlds was close enough to touch? Enter Deep Roots, a tale of two worlds: ours and a realm of plants and monsters. When the latter makes its way into a human-dominated world, things quickly go south as roots and plants take up arms against the species that has been steadily destroying the planet.

Deep Roots is written by Dan Watters (Home Sick Pilots, Lucifer, Limbo), illustrated by Val Rodrigues (Unnatural Order, Mezo), and published by Vault Comics. It’s a true eco-horror with a slightly more literal take on the war between the environment and humanity.

Poison Ivy by G. Willow Wilson

Poison Ivy has been around for decades, so it feels safe to say that even a casual DC fan knows Ivy and her motivations well. Ivy has always stood to defend the environment (plants) against the selfish nature of humanity. She has often been portrayed dancing the lines between activist and eco-terrorist. Yet her story was brought to new heights when G. Willow Wilson took control. Starting with “The Virtuous Cycle,” Ivy will once again step up to save the planet from its biggest threat – the humans. She knows that nothing she says will ever get through to them, so now is the time to take drastic measures. What follows is a strange yet horrifying series of events as Ivy grapples with humanity and beyond.

G. Willow Wilson’s run on Poison Ivy includes dozens of different artists, including Marcio Takara, Brian Level, Stefano Guardiano, Jay Leisten, Arif Prianto, Atagun Ilhan, and others. Published by DC Comics, this take on Poison Ivy fully embraces her eco-horror roots, letting the activist off the leash.

The post 10 Eco Horror Graphic Novels to Send Chills Down Your Spines appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Imagine going outside of your house to find that not only are you cut off from the rest of the world, but there is a war over control of America happening right outside your door, and you very well may die as a result. Well, let me introduce you to the world of Exquisite Corpses, a new Image Comics series from the talented minds of James Tynion IV, Michael Walsh, Jordie Bellaire, and Becca Carey. The new series hits later this year, but we had the chance to check out Exquisite Corpses #1 ahead of time, discovering a rather perfect mix of horror, The Hunger Games, and The Purge. By the time the final page arrived, I was completely hooked, and I don’t think you’ll be able to turn away from the thrilling chaos either.

Exquisite Corpses introduces readers to the small town of Oak Valley, an unassuming place full of people just living their lives the best they can. What these people don’t know is that there’s a war for control of America happening behind the scenes, and unfortunately for them, they will now find themselves as the battleground for thirteen families vying for that very control.

The elements of government control and power of both those in and outside the system are all rather topical at the moment, and Tynion explores these themes both from those at the wheel and those who are in the path of those in power’s decisions. That’s truly why the debut issue works so well, as you are getting the macro and micro views of this evolving situation simultaneously, giving you instant perspective on what’s happening from either side.

There’s a level of investment that comes with spending time with the people who call this town home and seeing their everyday issues and challenges as the freight train is making its way towards the station, so to speak, and that sense of tension really starts to take hold in the book’s final few pages. Walsh and Bellaire really send that into overdrive as the sunlight leaves the city and the bloodletting begins, sending the people in the city and the reader into a full-blown panic.

[RELATED: 7 Image Comics Perfect for a Horror Adaptation]

Where Walsh, Bellaire, and Carey really shine though is in the killer introductions. Each family is represented by one person, and that person will head into the town and attempt to be the last one standing, giving control of America to their specific family. Throughout the book, we are introduced to all 13 representatives, who range from pyromaniacs and nut jobs to strongmen and self-taught champions, and every single one is captivating in some form or fashion.

Some of these sequences are disturbing, while others are more lighthearted. Others are simply brutal, and then there are still others that will have you questioning how effective they will be in the battle to come. Each one specializes in something different, and the lettering and coloring in these sequences are out of this world, allowing these various killers and psychopaths to leap off the page in all their creepy glory.

The issue doesn’t work, however, if the human element is missing, and thankfully, that’s here in spades. While there’s one chosen champion that is clearly the lead, there’s a whole town of characters that I’m now genuinely invested in and rather attached to, giving the brutal battles to come meaningful stakes. Now, this book is pretty long (over 60 pages), but that was actually necessary, as the world feels pretty fully developed for just one issue in, and those stakes feel earned with the extra time spent in the town. Exquisite Corpses has already set the stage for a thrilling battle for survival with any number of motivations at play, and issue #2 can’t get here soon enough.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published By: Image Comics
Written By: James Tynion IV
Art By: Michael Walsh
Colors By: Jordie Bellaire
Letters By: Becca Carey

Exquisite Corpses #1 hits comic stores on May 14th.

Are you excited for Exquisite Corpses? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post The Fight for America Begins in Image’s Thrilling and Brutal Exquisite Corpses (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Writer Daniel Henriques and artist Jonathan Glapion tackle a very unsettling question in their new Spawn spinoff series — what if Spawn missed a chance to save a 7-year-old girl? The antihero has often prioritized punishing villains over helping victims, and Henriques has been holding onto an idea on this topic for over three decades now. He is finally exploring it in The Curse of Sherlee Johnson, which his shelves and digital stores next month from Image Comics. In an interview with ComicBook ahead of the release, Henriques and series creator Todd McFarlane discussed how this throwback series will impact the Spawn Universe.

The Curse of Sherlee Johnson picks up from the events of Spawn #5 — an iconic issue first published in 1992 where Spawn tracks down child serial killer Billy Kincaid. He finds Billy in the middle of a disturbing scene, playing with Sherlee’s hair and severed fingers and she is strung up inside of his deep freezer. Spawn kills Kincaid and leaves his corpse at the police station, rebuking the cops who failed to stop him.

Since the first time he read this issue, Henriques said he has always wondered why Spawn didn’t check on Sherlee before leaving.

“We don’t actually know that she’s dead,” he pointed out. “What if she’s not? What has Spawn just done — or what he has NOT done, which is actually save the victim that got him there in the first place.”

[RELATED: Robert Kirkman Explains Why Spawn and Other Image Characters Didn’t Appear in Invincible TV Show (Exclusive)]

The idea has always been compelling to Henriques because of its potential for more melodrama, and a different perspective on Spawn’s early days. He noted that if Sherlee was alive and conscious during Spawn’s confrontation with Kincaid, she would have seen “him beating he crap out of Kincaid, maybe this giant flash of him teleporting away, and that’s it, and she’s left to die alone. I was always like, ‘This has to go somewhere, what happens next?”

Henriques felt that since Kincaid had come back into the story so often over the years, it just seemed right to flesh out one of his victims as a character as well — especially as the mechanics of the afterlife were explained in subsequent story arcs. McFarlane agreed that this was the perfect way to explore Spawn’s flaws and perhaps the flaws of the superhero archetype in general.

“The problem with the hero playing judge, jury, and executioner is, there’s ramifications for it, right?” he said. “So, we’ve tried to turn over those rocks on the Spawn character. You have to assume most heroes think they’re doing good, but at times you can ask, ‘Did this actually make things worse?’ Because there was no vetting, it was like, ‘Oh, he killed kids, I’m going to kill him,’ and he walks away. He didn’t really dig any deeper than that, he was just being very simplistic in his actions, that now are going to cause complications here.”

The Curse of Sherlee Johnson kicks off on Wednesday, May 2nd with a special 48-page issue to start. It is available for pre-order now via your local comic book shop, or digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play. Image Comics is also issuing a reprint of Spawn #5 to mark the occasion.

The post What If Spawn Failed? Todd McFarlane and Daniel Henriques Discuss Untold Trauma in New Book appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It’s been more than 30 years since Sherlee Johnson went missing in the pages of 1992’s Spawn #5. The issue — written, penciled and inked by series creator Todd McFarlane — saw the 7-year-old girl become the 28th victim of ice cream man and “Kiddie Killer” Billy Kincaid, who would lure children to his ice cream truck to commit his chilling crimes. The mercenary Al Simmons, resurrected as a vengeful Hellspawn, tortured and killed Kincaid, leaving his corpse for police detectives Sam Burke and Twitch Williams with a message: “Boys screamed and girls screamed so I made him scream and scream and scream…”

Mister Chill-ee was outfitted with his own parasitic suit by the demonic Vindicator when he was sent to the Eighth Sphere of Hell, where the murdering pedophile was slain by Spawn a second time in 1996’s Spawn #53. The blood-chilling serial killer would return as a ghost serial killer in 1999’s Spawn #80-85, and died a fourth and seemingly final time in 2005’s Spawn #152.

But 20 years later, the ghosts of the past will return in The Curse of Sherlee Johnson, a new bi-monthly Spawn spinoff series written by Gunslinger Spawn cover artist Daniel Henriques in his writing debut with interior art by Spawn cover artist Jonathan Glapion.

Spawn: The Curse of Sherlee Johnson #1 (on sale May 21) hits stands alongside a reprint of Spawn #5, the first appearance of Sherlee Johnson and her killer Billy Kincaid.

“We’re going back to 1992, the infancy of Image Comics. I wanted [Spawn] issue five to basically be my message that said: ‘He is not Batman,'” Image co-founder McFarlane, who continues to script what is the longest-running independent series in comic book history in the ongoing Spawn, told ComicBook. “And so when you see that last page [of issue five], of the brutality of what he did to Billy Kincaid, hopefully people got it, one way or the other, whether they liked it or not.”

“That was just to say, ‘Get ready for this new character called Spawn. He’s not going to be like the other corporate-owned characters,'” McFarlane continued. “We fast forward, and Daniel and Jonathan took one thread out of that thing and said, ‘We’ve got an idea. How about this?’ And so here we are 30 years later with a followup.”

In circling back to one of the earliest issues of Spawn three decades later, McFarlane noted that it speaks to the longevity of the creator-owned publisher’s longest-running character as he prepares to head back to screens in the Spawn reboot that has long been in the works at Blumhouse.

“[Hollywood producers] ask what to me is one of the oddest questions: ‘So, how does it end? What happens to the character in the end?'” McFarlane said. “I’m not trying to tell a story that’s got a beginning, middle, and end in the truest sense … and they’re going, ‘But how does it end?’ And my answer is always the same: ‘How does Batman or Superman end? Why do you want it to end?’ Your question should be, ‘How can I keep it going for 30 years,’ not what’s the end [of the story].”

“What happened to Sherlee Johnson, the seven-year-old victim of the infamous serial killer Billy Kinkaid?” the official synopsis asks. The new chapter in McFarlane’s Spawn Universe “explores the fate of the innocent young girl. Her harrowing adventures with the Stranger are laid bare as her story and the world she now inhabits is revealed.”

“The Stranger, we begin not knowing a lot about what he is. One of the things we know is that in [2019’s] Spawn #301, we had the big necroplasmic explosion that opened a lot of things — from time travel, dimension travel everything,” Henriques teased, referring to what McFarlane calls the Time Rip. “The Time Rip allows us to play with a lot of things, and that is what enables the Stranger to meet Sherlee. But it has a meaning behind it that we eventually will discover: Why does Spawn’s necroplasmic Time Rip bomb have this connection? Why does it go towards Sherlee? Why does it impact their past? There is a reason that they’re connected, and part of what they’ll do next, it has its own ramifications in the universe.”

“Even though we’re telling our own story, it is within the Spawn Universe,” he continued. “And even Sherlee’s actions, or even the Stranger’s actions, be it more compassionate or more revenge-driven, it’s going to have different ramifications in the universe.”

The 48-page The Curse of Sherlee Johnson #1 goes on sale May 21 from Image Comics with covers by Glapion and variant covers by McFarlane.

The post Todd McFarlane Talks New Spawn Spinoff, Long-Form Storytelling: “Don’t Ask How It Ends – Ask How It Lasts 30 Years” appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One of the more well-received series at Image Comics is getting adapted into a feature film. In 2022, writer Tom King and artist Elsa Charretier launched Love Everlasting, a series that takes inspiration from Quantum Leap and Groundhog Day to tell the story of a woman named Joan Peterson, who is trapped in an endless cycle of romance. King is a multiple Eisner, Ringo, and Harvey award winner for his works on Batman, Mister Miracle, and The Vision, and his work on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is the template for DC’s upcoming feature film starring Milly Alcock. Love Everlasting is King’s next comics work that will be heading to the big screen.

Sony Pictures Entertainment is working on an adaptation of Love Everlasting with Lenny Abrahamson (Room) directing and Jane Goldman writing the script. Producers are Emma Watts and Element’s Ed Guiney. Love Everlasting follows Joan Peterson, who discovers that she is trapped in an endless, terrifying cycle of “romance” — a problem to be solved, a man to marry — and every time she falls in love, she’s torn from her world and thrust into another teary saga. At some point, Joan starts to question this cycle of broken love, deciding that she needs to focus on herself and doesn’t need the love of a man to make her complete.

Abrahamson’s resume includes Room starring Brie Larson, who won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance as a young woman who was held captive for seven years, and makes. her escape with her five-year-old son, played by Jacob Tremblay. Abrahamson was also the director and showrunner on Hulu’s Normal People starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones.

[RELATED: The Best Superhero Series in Comics Is About To End (and You Shouldn’t Miss It)]

The horror romance series Love Everlasting began as a Substack exclusive before moving to Image Comics. King and Charretier launched Love Everlasting on their Substack, back when the Substack signed deals with a host of comic book creators to make exclusive content for the digital platform.

“Love Everlasting is my dream project. It is a chance to create another Vision or Mister Miracle, to explore the themes of conformity and rebellion through the tale of one woman’s journey through the fantastic and horrifying world of Romance,” Tom King told ComicBook when the Love Everlasting announcement with Image was made in 2022. “After a decade in comics, this is my first creator-owned and the most ambitious project I’ve ever worked on. Elsa and I are trying to create another Sandman, an epic exploration of the entire history of storytelling, of how myths and tales of love haunt us, enthrall us, imprison us, and perhaps, occasionally, free us.”

“Never before in my career have I had the opportunity to dig so deeply into all aspects of storytelling,” Elsa Charretier said. “Love Everlasting pushes me to explore world-building, to extrapolate designs from all eras and places and adapt them to comics, to come up with gestures and compositions that delight readers and terrify them all the same. We’re really firing on all cylinders here.”

Tom King is a co-writer on the HBO original series Lanterns alongside showrunner Chris Mundy (Ozark, True Detective: Night Country) and Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, The Leftovers). The series, based on DC’s Green Lantern comic, is executive produced by Mundy, Lindelof, James Gunn, Peter Safran, King, Ron Schmidt, and Hawes.

Are you a fan of Love Everlasting? Let us know your thoughts on it being adapted into a movie in the comments below!

The post Tom King’s Hit Image Comics Series Is Getting a Movie (and We’re Excited) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The superhero comics genre are about to lose one of its greatest ongoing series from any publisher — COPRA, by Michel Fiffe. Image Comics just announced that the series will end with COPRA #50, hitting shelves on June 18th, 2025. Not only will this end the 1980s-inspired revenge saga, it will end an inspiring behind-the-scenes story of a small press comic finding its audience, and earning the support of the industry along the way. The Death of COPRA miniseries will publish its fourth and final issue on April 30th, ensuring that COPRA #50 will be the true finale to the whole story.

Image’s solicits for June of 2025 highlight the grand send-off for COPRA, with the story and art by Fiffe as well as a wrap-around cover. There will be two variant covers — one by Fiffe and Luke McDonnell, and one by David Lafuente. This will be a 32-page issue, and Image left little doubt that the story will truly be over. “Flipping the revenge genre on its head, COPRA proves its creative dominance once again as it rides off into the sunset for its 50th and landmark final issue,” the company teased.

Fiffe himself shared some commentary on this news on his website this week. “COPRA 50 is coming! What a privilege this is for me, a surreal honor to arrive at the place I had my sights set on,” he wrote. “COPRA 50 is its own thing, story-wise, a standalone epilogue that catches up with those who weren’t a part of the Death of Copra arc. In all other regards, this closes the book.”

[RELATED: 5 X-Men Stories the MCU Should Adapt]

Fiffe began self-publishing COPRA in 2012, and quickly gained a following that ballooned online. The throwback revenge story drew a lot of praise from critics, with comparisons to older Suicide Squad stories, among other 80s comics. Fiffe confirmed that these were some of his biggest inspirations, and the book eventually helped him get work with some of those bigger publishers.

Image took over publication of COPRA in 2019, but it retained Fiffe’s COPRA Press imprint. In the meantime, Fiffe landed a job at Marvel Comics in 2014, writing twelve issues of All-New Ultimates, and providing the script and art for a story in Secret Wars: Secret Love #1 shortly after that run was over. He worked on Captain Victory and the Glactic Rangers for Dynamite Entertainment and Bloodshot for Valiant Comics during this time as well.

Fiffe has worked on more titles at Image than any other publisher. He was the writer and artist on Savage Dragon No. 160 in 2010, and went on to edit backup features in that book for some time. He also wrote and illustrated three issues of Bloodstrike in 2018, in addition to COPRA. Most recently, Fiffe got his first DC Comics credit with a story in Superman Red & Blue #3 in 2021.

With Fiffe’s acclaimed original series coming to an end, there’s no telling what comes next, but it will clearly be a bittersweet farewell. COPRA #50 is available for pre-order now, and it hits shelves on Wednesday, June 18th. Previous issues are available in various collected editions, and on some digital platforms.

The post The Best Superhero Series in Comics Is About To End (and You Shouldn’t Miss It) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

I didn’t know what to expect from We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us #1, and that’s probably for the best. Going in with a fresh mind allowed me to be fully surprised by its story, and boy was I surprised. From its opening of a girl being chased by a terrorizing robot to the final page reveals, We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us #1 is a rollercoaster of surprises. But they’re not just surprises for shock value. They truly add to the story and open up mysteries for the reader to discover as they read through the book, and broader mysteries to be explored in future issues.

The creative team really seems to be clicking in this debut issue. From the lettering choices for the different robots to the text used in the narration boxes, it all adds to the aesthetic of the book. There are some evil scientist vibes on display from Dr. Dante Alderman, aka the Vitruvian. We never learn why he calls himself that, but it can’t be good. Plus, it probably has something to do with his scientific craft. After all, he’s developed a small army of robots that obey his every command. Plus, we see the Vitruvian at work later in the back half of the issue.

But our main character is the Doctor’s daughter, Annalise. Right away, we can see how she’s full of fight and spunk. While she appears tough and disrespectful on the outside, what she’s really yearning for is attention from her father. Dr. Alderman is your typical workaholic, only concerned with his work and the task at hand. Too busy to play silly games like hide and seek. But he does show his tender side with Annalise, proving he may not be a total monster.

There appears to be two stories at play that will no doubt intersect in the future. It all has to do with this shadowy organization called V.E.I.L. Dr. Alderman was possibly working to stop V.E.I.L., which is the cause of all this drama in the first place. It’s not entirely clear at this time, but definitely a possibility. The introduction of an Agent Rook opens up several scenarios. Speaking of which, the pages dedicated to Agent Rook feature the crafty humor that can be found throughout We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us #1. The humor comes through in the writing and dialogue, and perfectly drawn character acting.

The best pages come from the interactions between Annalise and her father. Dr. Alderman is a self-professed genius, and he works to shoot it straight with Annalise while having to remind himself that she’s just a girl and isn’t mature enough to fully comprehend the work that he’s doing. It’s a delicate tug-of-war that is pulled off in the comic.

So what we have in We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us #1 is an interesting premise all wrapped in a double-sized issue. There is a lot to like, and it should leave readers wanting more. What happened to Annalise’s father? Who killed her mother? What was her father secretly working on that put their entire family in danger? These are the questions we can’t wait to learn the answers to.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Published by Image Comics

On March 26, 2025

Written by Matthew Rosenberg

Art by Stefano Landini

Colors by Roman Titov and Jason Wordie

Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

The post We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us #1 Flips Father-Daughter Dynamics on Their Head (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Image Comics is the home of the best indie books on the market. Image publishes a little bit of everything, from pitch perfect sci-fi to some of the greatest horror comics of all time. The best creators in the comic industry work at Image, and every month there’s something new for fans to sink their teeth into. Writer/artist Tyler Boss is most known for his work with writer Matthew Rosenberg, the two of them teaming up for sci-fi/horror comic What’s the Furthest Place from Here. Boss’s work as writer has always had a certain flavor to it, and his next major Image series from him a classic Boss book. Boss teams with Italian artist Adriano Turtulici for You’ll Do Bad Things, a horror comic with a great premise. You’ll Do Bad Things #1 is another example of an intriguing comic that has the potential to draw readers into it.

The issue beings with a man and a woman ending a date. The woman tries to take the man up to her place, but he refuses, leading her to think about the fact that they had been dating for so long, yet she’s never gotten a kiss as she undresses and goes to bed. Meanwhile, in the car outside, the man sits there, looking at a picture of himself and a child. The next panel reveals someone in his back seat, who stabs the man over again. The attacker walks away, and as he does so, pay phones ring as he walks by.

The story then shifts to a man talking to his cat as his phone rings. This is Seth, the man who wrote the previous scene. He doesn’t want to answer the phone, but does so anyway and it’s his agent. Readers are let in on who Seth is — a true crime writer who’s trying to write something else but can’t. It seem like every story he writes turns into a crime story, and he lies to his agent about having writer’s block. He erases the scene he just wrote before the phone call. The next scene takes him to a magic show with his sister and son, and the two adults discuss his problems on the train home, while his son does a magic trick. Later at home, he begins to write again, telling the story of two men who meet at a bar, a customer and a bartender at closing. They tentatively make plans to leave together after the bartender is done closing the bar, but that ends in another murder from the same person as the one from the first scene. Seth apparently fell asleep while writing and his cat wakes him. The two of them walk to bed, leaving the written scene on the monitor. The issue ends at the bar that he wrote into existence, as two police discuss the grisly murder of the bartender.

RELATED: Stephen King Meets The Twilight Zone in Image Comics’ New Series News from the Fallout (Exclusive)

You’ll Do Bad Things #1 is a book that constantly leaves the reader guessing what comes next. Boss does a brilliant job of engrossing the reader every time he presents a new scene change, each one pulling us in. That’s what makes the first murder so shocking; going into this book without any expectations make the book hit that much harder. We don’t know if the woman is our main character or anything like that. A great thing about the first issue of an indie book like this is trying to figure out what’s going on, and this book keeps you guessing in the best possible way until the end. Seth being an unfulfilled writer who wants to do something new is a cliche thing for a creative to write about, but Boss does a good job of building him through the issue. At first, You’ll Do Bad Things seems like it’s going to be true crime book, but the ending changes all of that. As readers, we see Seth write the murder that happens at the end, but then going back to it raises the questions that readers will want answered. Do the things that Seth is writing about actually happen? Did erasing the first story keep it from happening? What’s going on? This is a great way to kick off a new book.

Adriano Tutulici’s art is perfect for this book. Turtulici is drawing the book like it’s a crime book — not exactly realistic but not overly fantastic — which definitely helps keep readers guessing what exactly is going on. The coloring is also very cool, using a lot of neons to light scenes. There’s an old school vibe to the art; the art feels like an old Marvel comic from the 1970s, which is definitely a plus.

You’ll Do Bad Things #1 keeps you guessing from start to finish. There’s a mystery at the center of this book, and it’s one that is impossible unravel on the first read through. Boss knows how to hook readers. I want to know what happens next in this book and anyone else who reads it will, too. Turtulici’s art works brilliantly for the book, its old school vibe never tipping the book’s hand on what kind of story this will be. While it falls into some cliches — writer’s block, pushy agent, unfulfilled artist — it’s presents an intriguing enough mystery that will draw readers in.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Published by Image Comics

On March 26, 2025

Written by Tyler Boss

Art by Adriano Turtulici

Letters by Hassan Otsame-Elhaou

The post Fiction Leads to Chilling Reality in Intriguing You’ll Do Bad Things (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Image Comics is already having a pretty stellar 2025, and that trend looks to continue with their Sci-fi horror series News from the Fallout. The new series features the talented team of writer Chris Condon (That Texas Blood, Ultimate Wolverine), artist Jeffrey Alan Love (The Last Battle At The End Of The World, The Thousand Demon Tree), and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, and is perfect for fans of Stephen King, The Twilight Zone, and The Outer Limits. We’ve got your exclusive first look at the new series as well, which you can find in the images below.

News from the Fallout is set in Nevada in 1962, where a nuclear bomb test has gone awry and subsequently caused a dangerous contaminant to be released into the atmosphere. As you can see in the preview, the artwork of the series leans into that already weighty premise, featuring an ashy black-and-white aesthetic that pulls you into the unsettling state of things.

There’s even an almost Silent Hill-style static to certain pages, with Image comparing it to watching a staticky science fiction film from the 60s. In the series, fans will meet a cast of colorful characters at the nearby diner (Atomic Alley) as they are attacked by any number of horrors that were unleashed by the atomic blast from the secret military facility.

They will even meet a defector from the secret army base named Private Otis Fallows, and as he deals with some hostility from the group, he is also helping them make their way to what is supposed to be a safe haven in Las Vegas. Whether or not that’s the case remains to be seen, but you can check out the full preview of the new series above and below.

[RELATED: Robert Kirkman Explains Why Spawn and Other Image Characters Didn’t Appear in Invincible TV Show (Exclusive)]

“News from the Fallout is a long-gestating project that I’ve been chipping away at for years,” said Condon. “To know that it’s finally coming to life thanks to the incredible Jeffrey Alan Love, who has brought his profoundly unique style of art to this project, is nothing short of amazing. I’m thrilled to work with both Jeff and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou on this book and I hope that readers are ready for a thrill-packed ride that is unlike any other book you’re likely to find on the shelves of your local comic shop.”

Added Love: “Working with Chris has been wonderful, as he has such a unique personal voice in his writing. Sometimes as an artist working with others I feel like I’m in a cover band, singing someone else’s song, but this collaboration with Chris has been different. It has felt like both our voices have been amplified by the other.”

News from the Fallout #1 will feature covers by Love and Jacob Phillips, and the first issue will hit comic stores on June 25th.

Are you excited for News from the Fallout? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Stephen King Meets The Twilight Zone in Image Comics’ New Series News from the Fallout (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Saga has been in our lives, with some breaks, for thirteen years and the weight of that time can be felt now more than ever. The series has evolved from the days of two young parents on the run, and has now reached a point where the narrative itself is really living up to the name of the series. This always has been a “saga” in grand terms, but Saga #72 brings us a check-in point for so many specific characters, places, and points in the plot that it feels like the creative team of Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan are reminding us of the scope that their world has. Not to mention, the pair deliver a story where they show that they can change everything without killing anyone (for once) and with just a single piece of shattering dialogue.

Saga #72 not only concludes the latest arc of the series, but puts the entire series on a path toward what will be the final batch of stories (Vaughan notes in the letters section the series is now “two thirds complete”). The framing device for Saga #72 is a proclamation by King Robot, it’s a simple one, with major ramifications for not only all the characters that we know but some brand new ones that have just arrived in the series (and some that got lost along the way). Vaughan is able to take this simple message and frame it around every little nook and cranny of the galaxy, not to mention the varying perspectives that come with that and how they all react. It’s par for the course to denote “Brian K. Vaughan is a good writer,” but he wields an effective pen in this issue.

Some sequences with characters last a few pages as they breakdown and try to dissect this major change in the series, while others are just one panel (the reactions here given depth by the always on point Staples, of course). Vaughan manages to find ways to look at this change (a shifting in allegiances that shocks everyone) through the lens of all manner of people that it will effect, leaving the reader to really sit and wonder about what comes next. To bring it all home of course, Staples and Vaughan remind us at the end of the issue what this story is really about and who our main throughline is; and they do it by making us laugh.

Staples’ eccentric ideas across Saga continue to be a defining attribute in this issue. From a small radio that screams at the listeners with a tiny mouth to a spaceship made of bones, each new page brings a delightful surprise and something you’ve quite literally never seen before. Even when Hazel was just a kid, Staples had an uncanny knack for making her expression a specific focal point of the entire narrative. Now that she’s a teen, with even more personality than readers could have predicted, it’s a unique facet of Saga‘s visual motifs that are its bedrock.

Saga #72 has positioned itself as a unique turning point for the series, not only in how it has concluded this specific arc (one could argue it didn’t fully gel at times) but in how it frames the final 36 issues of the series (Vaughan’s letter column says they’re still aiming for 108 total). The series has always lived up to the hype that it had behind it, but with this specific tale Saga has cemented its place as fully embodying its name. Now all we have is the wait once again, and the questions about what comes next will keep us afloat while we wait for what comes next.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published by Image Comics

On March 19, 2025

Written by Brian K. Vaughan

Art by Fiona Staples

Letters by Fonografiks

The post Saga #72 Lights the Fuse for the End (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Hollywood has been relying on comics for some of its most iconic and beloved blockbusters, as seen with the dozens of films from Marvel and DC. However, film and television adaptations of comics go well beyond just those two publishers, with Image Comics finding successful adaptations with The Walking Dead and Invincible on television. There are also plenty of plans for upcoming horror adaptations from Image specifically, with fans eagerly awaiting the horror adaptations of titles like Bitter Root and Wytches. Image Comics has plenty of other horror comics to adapt to the big screen as well, and most of them cover a wide range of subgenres.

Whether it is vampires, serial killers, an obsessive fan, or the unknown, Image Comics has no shortage of horrors awaiting comic readers. These stories will also appeal to die-hard scary movie fans, and they can check them out now at their local comic shop. However, one can also hope that these frightening tales will be brought to the big screen one day as well.

Dark Ride by Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan

Dark Ride is made for fans of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, haunted attractions, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. Imagine if Walt Disney made a deal with the devil to create his iconic characters and the parks they inspired? That is exactly how Devil Land came to be in Dark Ride, but the horrors are more than just for show. This year-round horror theme park has a devilish, deadly secret to it, one that impacts the guests, as well as the family behind this evil park.

RELATED: Oscar Isaac Is Frankenstein in First-Look From Guillermo del Toro’s Horror Remake

Parasocial by Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson

In the age of social media, the lines between fans and celebrities have gotten more and more blurred, leading to parasocial relationships that can give the illusion that there is a chance that something real may actually develop. Add to that fan events, like meet-and-greets and conventions, and it’s a perfect storm for a fan to truly misread their relationship with their favorite celebrity. At least, that is the case for one obsessive fan in Parasocial, as she sets her sights on her favorite, washed up actor, leading to a comic that will please fans of Stephen King’s Misery.

I Hate This Place by Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin

From the Evil Dead franchise to Cabin Fever, cabin-in-the-woods horror movies are pretty popular and commonplace. For fans of these films, look no further than I Hate This Place, which is the ultimate love letter to horror. A couple moves into a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere after inheriting it, but they soon discover this is a place of nightmares. Whatever horrors one can think of, they’ll mostly find it in I Hate This Place, from the supernatural to the extraterrestrial. This is a comic that could go big on the big screen, just like Cabin in the Woods did years ago.

The Deviant by James Tynion IV and Josh Hisxon

Fans of David Fincher’s Zodiac or Seven do not need to look far for the perfect comic for them, as well as one we’d like to see him adapt some day. James Tynion IV is one of the biggest and brightest names in horror comics, but he often deals with the supernatural or extraterrestrial. The Deviant, on the other hand, is his most grounded comic so far. This is a straightforward thriller about an author interviewing a man convicted of being a killer Santa, but as their discussions unfold, a new Santa killer emerges, leaving readers to wonder if the man in prison is truly guilty or if this is a copycat.

Killadelphia by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander

While the popularity of vampires comes in waves in pop culture, one cannot deny that vampires have been a long staple for the horror genre. In the past few years, they have also become the go-to monster again, as seen in shows like Interview with the Vampire, the upcoming film Sinners, and the recently announced Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot. Same can be said for comics, with Killadelphia being a must-read for vampire fans. Blending horror and noir elements, this is a detective story unlike any other, as a detective and his undead father uncover a vampire conspiracy right in Philadelphia.

[RELATED: Sinners: First Trailer Released for Ryan Coogler & Michael B. Jordan Vampire Movie]

Lovesick by Luana Vecchio

Lovesick is a comic not for the faint of heart, as it pushes the boundaries in terms of sex, violence, and consent. Somehow, though, it keeps readers hooked and wanting to know more about the lead character, Domino, despite all the terrible things she’s done herself. Domino is a dominatrix on the dark web, who, for the right price, will torture and kill her clients, but there are plenty of men who would love to do the same to her. This is one of the best horror comics from Image Comics and is a must-read for any horror fan. It would be a hard-R adaptation, but one that would be well worth it to see Domino brought to the big screen in all her bloody glory.

Feral by Tony Fleecs, Tone Rodriguez, and Trish Forstner

Feral has one of the easiest elevator pitches around. It’s Night of the Living Dead but with cats. In it, a group of house cats are stranded outside during a rabies epidemic, so from their perspective, this is practically a zombie apocalypse. While the cats are adorable and feel pulled straight from a Disney film, there are plenty of horrors that await them. For those who have a soft spot for animals, this may not be for them, but it is a must-read for zombie fans. It would also make for an animated horror film unlike any other.

What Image Comics series would you like to see get adaptations? Let us know in the comments!

The post 7 Image Comics Perfect for a Horror Adaptation appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Image Comics’ Syzygy Publishing is launching a brand new series that dives into the underworld of a city in lockdown, and the team behind Netflix’s acclaimed film Trust is part of the all-star creative team. Today we can exclusively reveal your first look at Dark Honor, a new crime thriller set in New York City during the early days of the pandemic, and the series is written by Ethan Sacks (Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, Old Man Hawkeye) and Trust filmmakers Brian DeCubellis and K.S. Bruce. Dark Honor will also feature a stellar lineup of artists creating the interiors and covers, which you can get a preview of below.

That top-tier art team includes Fico Ossio (Black Lightning, No One Left To Fight), David Messina (Ultimate Spiderman, 3 Keys), Gabriel Guzman (Lady Earth, Predator), Jamal Igle (Molly Danger, The Wrong Earth), colorist Raciel Avila, and letterer JAME, and you can check out some of the initial launch covers below.

The new five-issue series will be Bruce and DeCubellis’ first comics project, and the series started to take shape back in 2020. The story was initially going to be adapted into a film, but a comic series ended up being the perfect medium.

“Dark Honor was born in the earliest days of COVID-19 in New York. As we wrapped filming Trust in March 2020, the city was shutting down, and we wanted to capture that surreal moment. Inspired by neo-noir crime films, we created Rain, a street-savvy hero, and the Hundred Warriors, with Grigor embodying COVID—a relentless, unexpected killer,” DeCubellis said.

[RELATED: Fan-Favorite Image Comics Horror Series Getting Adaptation]

“Dark Honor may be fiction, but its backdrop is real—the empty streets, released prisoners, and desperate scrambles for survival, as an unknown disaster hits New York. Initially written as a screenplay, it felt too raw for film. But with Ethan Sacks’ adaptation, Chris Ryall’s expertise, and an incredible creative team, we’re honored to bring this story to comics,” Bruce said.

“Once I heard K.S. and Brian’s incredible pitch, I knew I wanted to be a part of bringing Dark Honor to comics readers,” Sacks said. “They had me at ‘Hello’—or more accurately, at a modern crime story set in New York City during the earliest and deadliest weeks of the COVID-19 epidemic. Having covered the damage COVID-19 did to my city in 2020 as a journalist for NBC News, it’s been a creative boon to now tackle that place and time as a comic book writer. And with a murderers’ row of talented artists—Fico Ossio, Dave Messina, Jamal Igle, and Gabriel Guzman—it’s only fitting for a book about a row between murderers.”

The official description reads, “For nearly a century, the Hundred have been the strong arm of New York’s underworld. But as COVID-19 paralyzes the city in early 2020, a new force emerges—one that doesn’t fear the disease, only power. A criminal mastermind is mounting his takeover, and unless Rain, daughter of the Hundred’s leader, can unite the last remnants of the fading crime syndicates, the city will fall to a far deadlier plague.”

Dark Honor will hit comic stores on May 28th and is available for pre-order now.

What do you think of Dark Honor? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Netflix’s Trust Team Reveals Dark Honor Series for Image Comics (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Amazon Prime’s Invincible has had about as rough a road to travel as its protagonist Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun). The show came out of the gate red-hot in 2021, punctuated by a finale that was an emotional gut-punch to the soul, as Mark finally discovered and had to come into brutal conflict with the fact that his father, Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons), was actually an evil conqueror from an alien empire. The impact of that seasonal story and its deeply cathartic finale faded in a big way during Invincible Season 2 (with its near-fatal midseason delay), and Season 3 has had a lot to prove in terms of getting back the magic of the first season.

Well, now the Invincible Season 3 Finale is here. And it looks like fans of the show are once again crowning it the GOAT, after witnessing a brutal showdown that makes the first season’s climatic battle look like child’s play.

WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW!

Invincible Season 3 Episode 8 Explained

In Invincible Season 3 Episode 8, “I Thought You’d Never Shut Up”, Mark is still reeling from the “Invincible War” against Angstrom Levy and his gang of Mark’s evil variants, when a new Viltrumite commander, Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), shows up for a “progress report” on how Mark is preparing Earth for conquer. As it turns out, Conquest is less interested in instruction and discipline as he is brutality and sadism, so the fists almost immediately start flying, with human casualties and infrastructure damage growing by the minute.

[RELATED: Latest Update From Invincible Creator on Season 4]

Mark and Conquest’s battle sweeps across the globe, eventually attracting Mark’s loved ones like his little half-brother Oliver and beloved partner Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs); when Oliver and Eve are both seriously injured by Conquest, Mark finally lets loose and brutally beats the powerful elder Viltrumite into a bloody stump. The episode (and season) ends with Mark reaching a hardline resolution to kill any new threat to his family and friends – while it’s revealed that Cecil and the Global Defense Agency are keeping Conquest (barely) alive to interrogate him about the Viltrumite Empire.

Invincible Fans React to Season 3 Finale

Reactions pouring in from social media range from calling Invincible Season 3 Episode 8 the best of the entire series, to the more faithful fans sipping their tea long and hard, knowing that the storyline, voice cast, and even the animation style would rise to the occasion when truly necessary.

Then there is the wonderful sign of Invincible‘s world and lore truly keeping viewers immersed. There’s currently a lot of character-specific debates about everything from the Season 3 finale’s game-changing reveal of Eve’s true power levels, to fans getting to know what a demented (and also tragically sad!) sociopath Conquest is – even among Viltrumites. JDM is also getting his due credit, after many fans doubted his casting as Conquest, initially.

For the comic book heads, there are already some wonderful side-by-side panels of the comic source material and animated version of the Conquest fight that are being held up in appreciation – as well as general appreciation of how the show’s last few episodes have adapted some beloved comic story arcs.

Finally, there’s the obvious angst as fans now turn from the massive hype of Season 3’s latter half, to wondering when Invincible Season 4 will arrive. For now, Seasons 1-3 are streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

The post Invincible Fans Are GOATing the Show After Epically Brutal Season 3 Finale appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Rogue Sun is one of the most enthralling family dramas around, and all the superpowers thrown into the mix only make those family dynamics even more wonderfully complex. Such is the case once again with Rogue Sun #25, which returns after a few months away with a perfect jumping-on point for new readers and does a pretty solid job of getting readers up to speed on everything that’s happened up until now. Dylan and Marcus are as dysfunctional as ever, though honestly, every segment of the family is experiencing their own changing dynamic, and that’s not even getting into Aurie’s new role either. The inter-family politics are just as intense as the bigger-than-life superhero action, so if you haven’t given Rogue Sun a try, you owe it to yourself to jump on board.

Ryan Parrott and Nick Cotton pick up where they left off with Dylan and Marcus, whose relationship hasn’t gotten any better in the time since, and that’s before more complications arise thanks to Marcus’ previous questionable decisions. Truth be told, as someone who has their own parental baggage with fathers, Dylan is pretty easy to relate to, and it’s actually nice to see him somewhat gaining confidence in himself despite external factors calling that into question.

One of the key draws of the series has always been that Dylan wasn’t exactly a shining knight in the lead hero department, but those flaws have also become tether points for many, and it’s helped Dylan become a far more relatable character as the series has continued. Rogue Sun takes that and runs with it, as not only does Dylan still have to navigate his relationship with Marcus, but now he has the emotional minefield of his mother Gwen to deal with as she is imprisoned for the death of his father.

That’s no small thing, but Parrott and Cotton deftly maneuver through Dylan’s ever-changing view of both being a hero and trying to prove something to his father. Marcus’ actions also continue to have an impact on how Dylan views his mother and what she did, and it doesn’t always go the way you expect.

[RELATED: Will Friedle and Rider Strong Recruited For Upcoming Radiant Black: The Audiobook, Volume One From Image Comics]

The most welcome shakeup though is Aurie, who steps into a new role as a Rogue Sun that is already immensely different from Dylan thanks to her unplanned partnership with Caleb. Caleb is an immediate spark to any situation he’s in, and paired with Aurie’s evolving motivations and view on Dylan and her family, the new duo offers a rich change of pace from what’s happening with Dylan at any given time, and the collisions that happen are as chaotic and exciting as you would imagine.

That collision by the way is also stunning thanks to the gorgeous work of Abel, Natalia Marques, and Becca Carey. While Dylan and Aurie are still learning on the job, there’s an effortless style and suaveness to how they move in a battle, and the flames of the suit and smooth style lines just make these confrontations pop.

The team also brings to life a brand new villain, and though manipulating poisonous green clouds might not sound like the deadliest powerset, it certainly makes an impact in their ever-capable hands and creates some vivid imagery as the flames of Rogue Sun slice through the green fog. That said, some of my favorite moments of the issue are conversations between Dylan and Doty, and these moments are just as immersive and compelling as any grand combat sequence.

Rogue Sun makes its grand return and absolutely shines, and as the Massive-Verse continues to grow by leaps and bounds, Rogue Sun is still one of its biggest stars.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Published by Image Comics

On March 12, 2025

Written by Ryan Parrott and Nick Cotton

Art by Abel

Colors by Natalia Marques

Letters by Becca Carey

What did you think of Rogue Sun #25? Let me know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Rogue Sun Makes Its Grand Return, and It Was Worth the Wait (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Many people spend time thinking about how the world will end, and then there are those people who have to live through these catastrophic events day after day after day. This is the premise for Assorted Crisis Events #1, an anthology series whose opening chapter introduces readers to a woman doing her best to navigate all the chaos happening around her. I’ll admit the description of Assorted Crisis Events #1 sounded intriguing, but I still wasn’t prepared for how good it looked and how entertaining mixing divergent timelines could be. It’s not every day you can see a samurai warrior walking down the street next to a cyborg or caveman.

Ashley is the name of our protagonist in Assorted Crisis Events #1. She lives in a neighborhood that is at the epicenter of crisscrossing timelines. Not only are worlds colliding outside her doorstep, but filmmakers are also trying to capitalize on the area by making their movies there. Why pay for special effects in your post-apocalyptic films when you can get them for free on a corner block? It does make sense, even if it’s definitely a little grimy and underhanded. Plus, people like Ashley can be used as extras and they don’t even have to pay them.

We follow Ashley as she attempts to get her broken clock fixed and go to work, but it’s the little things that stand out the most. If you’re not paying close attention you could miss many of the background characters who are lost in time. There’s also the beautiful flash of colors that pop off the page and help attract the readers’ eyes to important items, one of which is Ashley’s smartphone which gives her threat-level notifications. If you’re going to live in a warzone, it’s best to have an app that can let you know just how crazy things are before you head home.

[RELATED: In The Power Fantasy #6 The Government Takeover Will Continue Until Morale Improves]

The color work really is the silent star in Assorted Crisis Events. For example, Ashley’s tan skin and wardrobe keep their colors, while everything in the background is given a slightly subdued color tone. It keeps the main focus on Ashley and the individuals she encounters, but offers just enough to not wash away the craziness happening around her. Ashley deserves credit for how she handles everything. You can tell she’s been living in this crazy for a good amount of time, yet she doesn’t let it get her down or affect her overall attitude… at least until Assorted Crisis Events #1’s final pages.

So yes, Ashley appears to have adapted to all the crisis events happening around her, but part of that is also knowing that her neighborhood has people trying to make movies there. Some of the events are “real” while others are fabricated. Not every alien or mutated freak comes is lost in time. This becomes a problem when the explosions and chaos turn out to be very real, and not movie magic. It all comes at the end of a very chaotic day, with the panels contorting and transitioning as timelines merge into a colorful symphony. I’ve enjoyed her story so much that I want to see it continue in the next issue, but the anthology nature of the series doesn’t make that likely.

But that’s the beauty of Assorted Crisis Events. Next time, we can see how someone else is dealing with these crises and if they’re on par with what Ashley experienced. Things can’t get any worse, right? This is probably something Ashley was telling herself too right before the proverbial sh*t hit the fan.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published by Image Comics

On March 12, 2024

Written by Deniz Camp

Art by Eric Zawadzki

Colors by Jordie Bellaire

Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

The post Assorted Crisis Events #1 Turns the End of the World Into a Colorful Masterpiece (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Image Comics is one of the most important comic publishers around. Since 1992, Image has allowed creators to put out books that they owned, making all of the money, and telling the stories they want. Image has published brilliant comics, and once upon a time gave starts to some of the greatest creators in comic history. Marvel poached heavily from Images in the late 2000s and early 2010s, getting a load of writers and artists that had cut their teeth at Image. One of these writers is now known as one of the greatest writers of all time — Jonathan Hickman. Jonathan Hickman’s work on superhero comics has gained him legions of fans, but there’s one Image/Hickman book that feels prescient in 2025 — The Nightly News.

The Nightly News is a six issue series that ran from 2006 to 2007. It was written and drawn by Hickman, and for fans who are more used to his sci-fi and superhero books, this is a very different experience. The comic itself is all about the Voice, a secret cult who targets the news outlets of New York City in an attack meant to change the world. The book has multiple twists and turns throughout its run, and its message is one that everyone needed to hear before they even thought about voting in 2024.

The Nightly News Is an Indictment of the Power of the Media and its Relationship with Government

The first thing that anyone notices about The Nightly News is the unique visual style. Hickman doesn’t really draw comics anymore, but his sense of design and page layout is, frankly, revolutionary. He eschews the panel structure of comics as much as possible, which gives the book a strange feel, but one that definitely helps to make its point. There’s a sense of chaos to the whole thing, which is something that cults use to indoctrinate their members; they are the antidote to chaos. Another thing that long time Hickman fans will notice is the usage of white and the infographics. This is the beginning of what is now the Hickman style, and it feels like a comic that is on the bleeding edge.

The infographics of the book are the key to the whole thing. Hickman meticulously researched the news media in the United State and the way it intersects with the government. The Nightly News is strangely apolitical in a lot of ways, something that is hard to find currently, but it does have a message — the media and the government have teamed up to control the American people since the advent of radio and TV. Hickman uses the infographics to show how the media has become smaller and smaller, with the majority of American media companies owned by just six entities. These six entities control the focus of the the people, and are able to manufacture public opinion, all while the government controls them. The Voice exists to fight them, as people who have been hurt by the media commit terrorist attacks to damage them.

[RELATED: 3 Comics to Read if You Love Yellowjackets (and Want More)]

Looking at the political situation in the United States in the last few years, the stratification of the news media is a huge problem. The term “fake news” didn’t exist when Hickman did The Nightly News and the independent “news” market we have today hadn’t crystallized either. Hickman bases characters in the media on real people, and uses actual quotes to show the hubris of the media. The media in The Nightly News is a function of control; and while it may seem that the current state of the media, one where the people have more of a voice than ever, may be able to sidestep the problems of The Nightly News, it’s easy to see the same problems in the independent media as it is in the corporate media, as politicians and political appointees more actively control the media than ever.

The Nightly News isn’t just a story about the news media and why it can be a tool of evil, but also a book that warns of the power of cults. The Voice has a “noble” goal, breaking the power of the media and the government that controls it, but even that is shown to be false as the truth about the Voice is revealed. The twist feels exactly like the independent news media of today — one controlled by a sinister force trying to take even more power into their already powerful hands. The Nightly News is about the problems with the kind of power that media and the government had, and those problems have created the United States that we see on the TV and on our devices every day.

The Nightly News Predicted the World of Today

The lessons of The Nightly News aren’t much different than they were in 2007; back then, this was a polemic about the ways that the government and the powerful are able to control the public. In the last 18 years, a lot of changed with the news media, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the inordinate amount of power it has over the American people. Even with the media moving online and the power of anyone to report the news and give their spin, there’s still the same problem with the media in 2025 as there are in The Nightly News.

The Nightly News is a deep, thoughtful work, and because of that it would be easy for some people to take it the wrong way. Everyone knows that person who talks about why they don’t trust the “mainstream media” while also parroting the talking points of a slew of media commentators who get their marching orders from the same people as the mainstream media. They would read The Nightly News and never see what it says about the media they love. However, it’s a book that has predicted the way the electoral cycles of the last decade have went, as the government and the media have controlled the truth. Look at the news tomorrow; you’ll see exactly what The Nightly News warns us of. Image is responsible for some great works, as is Hickman, but few of them can stand with the message of The Nightly News.

The post This Image Comics Series is More Important Than Ever Almost 20 Years Later appeared first on ComicBook.com.

As Showtime’s hit series Yellowjackets unleashes its third season of psychological horror and survival drama, fans craving more stories about darkness, transformation, and complex female relationships have plenty to seek out in the world of comics. The show’s compelling blend of teenage dynamics, supernatural elements, and unflinching examination of trauma has sparked renewed interest in similar narratives across different mediums. For those seeking to dive deeper into stories that echo the series’ themes of isolation, power, and the blurred lines between prey and predator, several remarkable comic series offer equally haunting journeys.

These carefully crafted graphic narratives don’t just mirror Yellowjackets‘ exploration of horror and humanity – they expand on it in unique and compelling ways. From Southern Gothic terror to historical reimaginings and modern teenage werewolf tales, these comics demonstrate how the medium can deliver sophisticated storytelling that resonates with fans of horror and drama.

Harrow County

Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook’s Harrow County transports readers to a 1930s southern landscape where a young woman named Emmy discovers her connection to dark supernatural forces. Like Yellowjackets, the series explores themes of inherited trauma and the price of power with watercolor artwork that shifts seamlessly between pastoral charm and grotesque horror. The story’s examination of a young woman grappling with her own potential for darkness while navigating complex relationships with those around her will feel familiar to Yellowjackets fans. The series’ unique approach to southern gothic horror and its deep exploration of family legacies adds another layer to its appeal.

Manifest Destiny

Image Comics’ Manifest Destiny by Chris Dingess and Matthew Roberts offers a different kind of survival horror, reimagining the Lewis and Clark expedition as a monster-hunting mission. While tonally distinct from Yellowjackets, its exploration of isolation, group dynamics under extreme pressure, and the psychological toll of survival makes it a compelling companion piece. The series excels at examining how civilized facades crack under wilderness conditions – a theme Yellowjackets viewers will recognize. Through its 48-issue run, the comic builds a rich mythology while maintaining a focus on the human cost of survival and exploration.

Squad

For those particularly drawn to Yellowjackets‘ exploration of teenage social dynamics and transformation, Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle’s Squad provides a sharp contemporary take on high school horror. The graphic novel follows a group of popular girls who happen to be werewolves, using their otherworldly abilities to exact vigilante justice. While more overtly supernatural than Yellowjackets, its examination of power, friendship, and moral compromise resonates with similar themes. The book’s modern setting and unflinching approach to teenage social dynamics make it especially relevant to fans of the show’s present-day storyline.

What makes these comics particularly compelling to Yellowjackets fans isn’t just their surface-level similarities but their sophisticated approach to horror storytelling. Each series understands that true horror often comes from internal struggles and interpersonal dynamics rather than external threats alone. They share Yellowjackets‘ appreciation for slow-burn psychological tension and complicated female characters who defy easy categorization as heroes or villains.

The artistic approaches in these comics also deserve special attention. Harrow County’s watercolor aesthetics create an atmosphere of dreamy unease, while Manifest Destiny’s detailed period artwork grounds its supernatural elements in historical reality. Squad’s contemporary visual style perfectly captures the glossy facade of high school popularity while revealing the darkness beneath. Each series uses the comic medium to its full potential, creating immersive worlds that complement their challenging themes.

[RELATED – Yellowjackets Season 3 Premiere Recap: ‘It Girl’ (Spoilers)]

The success of Yellowjackets and these comics suggests a growing appetite for horror narratives that prioritize character development and thematic depth over simple scares. These stories recognize that the most compelling horror often emerges from exploring how ordinary people respond to extraordinary circumstances and how the line between victim and perpetrator can become dangerously thin.

For Yellowjackets fans waiting between episodes, these comics offer new worlds to explore while maintaining the psychological complexity and moral ambiguity that makes the show so appealing. Each brings its own unique perspective to similar themes, demonstrating the rich possibilities when creators approach horror with sophistication and depth.

What’s particularly striking about these selections is how each approaches the concept of transformation – a central theme in Yellowjackets. In Harrow County, Emmy’s journey from innocent farm girl to powerful supernatural entity mirrors the gradual transformation of the Yellowjackets from high school athletes to wilderness survivors. Manifest Destiny explores how the harsh realities of survival can transform not just individuals but entire groups, while Squad directly tackles physical transformation as a metaphor for power and social status.

These comics also share Yellowjackets‘ interest in examining female relationships under extreme circumstances. While the show masterfully depicts the evolution of friendships and rivalries both in the past and present, each comic offers its own perspective on how bonds between women can be both sustaining and destructive. Squad delves into the politics of high school friendship, Harrow County explores mentorship and inheritance between women, and even Manifest Destiny, despite its male protagonists, doesn’t shy away from examining power dynamics and survival through a gendered lens.

Whether readers are drawn to period pieces, survival stories, or contemporary horror, these selections provide engaging alternatives that expand upon the themes that make Yellowjackets such a memorable viewing experience. Each series demonstrates that the horror genre, when handled with care and sophistication, can be a powerful vehicle for exploring intricate human relationships and societal issues while never losing sight of its ability to thrill and unsettle.

The post 3 Comics to Read if You Love Yellowjackets (and Want More) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Dune has long been one of the most popular sci-fi works of all time. Frank Herbert’s classic novel spawned a universe of spin-offs, and was the basis of the critically acclaimed Dune and Dune: Part Two. Herbert created a complex universe with his story and Herbert’s six Dune books are more about human nature, politics, and ecology than they are space battles. However, one of the most interesting parts of the Dune universe is the way that it drops readers into the deep end of its narrative and reveals more and more its universe as time goes on. Dune doesn’t hold the reader hand and lead them through its story, and the movies followed suit.

Fans of the Dune universe love the sense of discovery that comes from experiencing it. For fans who want a more complex sci-fi experience, Image Comics has one of the best sci-fi comics ever written — Prophet, by Brandon Graham, Simon Roy, Farel Dalrymple, Giannis Milogiannis, Joseph Bergin III, Lin Visel, Paul Davey, Ron Ackins, Ed Brisson, and Ariana Maher. Prophet grew out of the one of the most maligned superhero lines of all time, and it’s perfect for Dune fans who want something different from sci-fi as a genre.

Prophet Takes Reader on a Journey They Never Imagined

The origins of Prophet stretch back to the beginning of Image Comics. Writer/artist Rob Liefeld, one of the chief agitators that led to the Image Seven leaving Marvel, created his own Extreme Studios imprint of comics. Extreme was based around the book Youngblood, a team comic starring a rather generic group of “cool” superheroes, and Prophet was introduced in the second issue. He was the cliche soldier from the future come back to stop something terrible from happening, and eventually graduated to his own book, which became a bestseller in the beginning of the run. However, like most Extreme books, it wasn’t known for its adroit writing; it was all style, no substance, and that style wasn’t cool for that long. Prophet ended with issue 20 and very few people thought about it again.

In 2012, though, Prophet returned with its 21st issue. For fans who had read the original series, this book was completely new. It began with a pod digging up from underground and John Prophet coming out of it. He takes in his surroundings, on an Earth that was very different from the one that he expected, checks his equipment, and embarks on the “mission”, which is to find his way to the Thauili Van towers and reawaken the Earth Empire. Readers are inundated with new alien races and their technology, learning as the story goes on just why Earth is home to so many aliens and the fate of the few humans we see. After his mission is complete, the book jumps to another planet, one where another Prophet has awakened thanks to the message sent from the Thauili Van towers and goes about his mission. The next follows a group of Prophets, each one slightly different than the other, and in the 26th issue, readers are introduced to the hero of the story, Old Man Prophet.

[RELATED: New Image Series Takes Shots at Batman (and It’s Hilarious)]

The first twelve issues of Prophet are all worldbuilding, and there is a lot to build. There are multiple Prophets because the original John Prophet was a near perfect supersoldier and the Earth Empire made him and his clones into their backbone. Readers learn about the history of the Earth Empire and its fall at the hands of Old Man Prophet. The reawakened Earth Empire sees Old Man Prophet prepare for war again, gathering allies new and old to counteract the power of the resurgent Earth Empire. Links are constructed to the old ’90s Extreme comics, as readers learn about the fate of the members of the Youngblood and the roles they played in the evolution of humanity and the Earth Empire. Characters like Diehard, Badrock, Lady Supreme, Troll, and several others play big roles in the story as well, but the book makes sure that if the readers knows nothing about those older Image comics, they won’t miss anything.

Much like Dune, Prophet takes it story in some brilliant directions that readers would never be able to guess. The book’s revelations lead to a greater and greater understanding of the setting and characters, but even as it reveals its secrets, Prophet always feels like there’s more out there than just what readers can see. Much like Dune, it feels like it’s a living breathing universe full of beings and powers out there doing their own thing. Dune has the Bene Gesserit, Prophet has the Earth Mothers. Dune has mysteries of the sandworms’ origin, Prophet has the mysterious evolution of McCall’s Children. While Prophet isn’t as deeply philosophical as Dune — its narrative is rather simple despite a late stage twist — but the depth of its universe brings it to Dune‘s level.

Prophet Takes Readers On An Epic Journey

Dune is one of those seminal works of sci-fi that doesn’t always work for everyone. To truly enjoy it, one has to realize that they aren’t going to understand everything that’s going on right away. Prophet is exactly the same way. The story’s charm comes from the way it unfolds, each new facet answering questions and leading to the next one. Much like Dune, Prophet isn’t trying to tell a story the exact same way as every other sci-fi story out there, it’s trying to tell its own story, and that makes all the difference.

Prophet is a journey and that what makes it such a perfect sci-fi experience. It’s a work of amazing imagination, created by a team of writers and artists working at the top of their game. It’s an epic in every sense of the word. Anyone who loves Dune, or even just loves more complex sci-fi, should give Prophet a try.

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in our comment section below!

The post This Image Sci-Fi Comic Is Perfect for Fans of Dune appeared first on ComicBook.com.

From the moment the first issue of Watchmen arrived in 1986, the landscape of superhero comics was forever changed. The series, from writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins, redefined how people considered the genre, deconstructing the very idea of superheroes with its alternate history story of superpowered entities and their impact on world events and politics. It’s a story that has, nearly 40 years later, maintained its popularity, spawning prequels and sequels and various adaptations both in animation and live action as well. The story — or at least its concept — is so seminal that pretty much every superhero story that approaches superpowered people as something other than do-gooders here for the benefit of humanity has found itself compared to Watchmen. It makes sense: every new decade seems to want its own Watchmen.

The latest comic to get such a comparison is The Power Fantasy. From writer Kieron Gillen and artist Caspar Wijngaard, the Image comic debuted in 2024 and almost immediately there were some big comparisons between The Power Fantasy and Watchmen. With both stories featuring a small group of flawed superpowered individuals and their interactions in world events — and the precarious position those interactions put humanity in — it’s easy to see why the two stories would, on the surface, seem similar. However, while The Power Fantasy owes a lot to Watchmen for paving the way, it’s simply not the same. It might actually be better.

What Was Watchmen About?

Given that Watchmen has become a piece of art that is so deeply ingrained in popular culture that it’s had countless imitators and expansions, it’s worth taking a moment to refresh ourselves on what Watchmen is about. Set in an alternate reality where the emergence of superheroes has dramatically altered the course of U.S. (and world) history, the story picks up in 1985. With superheroes having grown unpopular with the public leading to them being outlawed, the murder of a man named Edward Blake prompts investigation by a costumed vigilante, Rorschach. Blake, it turns out, was the real identity of The Comedian, a costumed hero working with the U.S. government.

As Rorshach investigates, he reaches out to his former fellow heroes — Daniel Dreiberg/Nite Owl, Jon Osterman/Doctor Manhattan, Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Spectre, and Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias — to warn them, believing that Blake’s murder is part of a larger plot against costumed heroes. Of course, the former superheroes have issues of their own. Doctor Manhattan is incorrectly accused of being the cause of cancer in those close to him, prompting him to exile himself to Mars, which heightens tensions between the U.S. and the Soviets, Veidt is nearly assassinated, and Juspeczyk begins a romance with Dreiberg and resume vigilante efforts. The story culminates in Rorschach and Dreiberg finding evidence that Veidt may be behind the conspiracy against the heroes. It turns out that they are right. Veidt has been setting things up as part of a plan to prevent nuclear war via staging a fake alien invasion that would in turn see heroes come back into fashion… at the cost of half the population of New York. He murdered Blake when Blake discovered the plan as well as orchestrated all the obstacles the others encountered in their investigation. Ultimately, the heroes are too late to stop Veidt, and the squid attack takes place, resulting in mass death and destruction. While Veidt’s act is horrific, he wasn’t wrong about it bringing about peace and the heroes decide to keep the truth a secret after deeming the truth would do more harm than good. Doctor Manhattan also ends up killing the dissenting Rorschach to ensure silence. Things end on a somewhat bleak note with Doctor Manhattan declaring that “nothing ever ends” — and a fringe publication receives Rorschach’s journal, suggesting that the truth may still come out someday… if anyone will listen.

The Power Fantasy Has Big Similarities — and Differences

On the surface, The Power Fantasy does seem eerily like Watchmen. It, too, is an alternate reality with the emergence of six super powered people altering history. The title, which is only six issues in at this point, hasn’t fully revealed all the ways that the superpowers have impacted geopolitical events, but we get some big reveals, including that in 1969 the government tried to get rid of one of the most powerful of the people — Valentina — nuking a music festival in New Mexico she was attending. It didn’t harm her but led her to exile herself to protect others and led people to believe that she herself was radioactive. As the story is unfolding, we learn more and more about these superpowers — the so-called Nuclear Family or Atomics — and how they came together to co-exist while also keeping reigns on humanity in what they see as their protecting them from, well, themselves. There’s even one of the group, Magus, who is revealed to be working with the government after their most recent attempt to kill another superpower, Heavy.

[RELATED: In The Power Fantasy #6 The Government Takeover Will Continue Until Morale Improves (Review)]

But beyond the superficial similarities, The Power Fantasy is nothing like Watchmen. The biggest deviation is the relationship between the Nuclear Family members. While the heroes in Watchmen were still on relatively decent terms with one another despite no longer being active, the powered people of The Power Fantasy aren’t close at all. Over time, their “family” has fractured with none of them seemingly fully trusting of each other and indeed, it’s shown that there are secrets and manipulations at play across different factions within the family. This is a family with bitterness and secrets, which is not something you want with these people having self-appointed themselves the guardians of humanity. It makes for a very different dynamic and that is what sets the series apart: we’re one bad family falling out from utter destruction.

It’s the Humanity of the Superpowers That Makes The Power Fantasy Better

While Watchmen certainly had elements of humanity within its powered characters, at its core the story was more a “what if” scenario asking the question of what it would truly be like for super powered people to live among us, especially if they had the power of life and death over us all. The Power Fantasy takes that concept — the “what if” of it all — but makes it less about what they can do for and to weak, defenseless humanity and more about the humanity of the super powered people themselves. At its core, The Power Fantasy is a story about a very badly broken family on a dangerous collision course. It’s a story that is enriched by the stakes — after all, the safety and well-being of humanity is at risk if things end up going boom — but for all the elements of the story that function around the superpowers and their roles, it’s what they are doing to each other that is of real interest and the storytelling.

Knowing that we’re dealing with these extremely human superhuman beings in turn makes the base story even more chilling. There’s deep anti-superpowers sentiment, leading to one of them, Heavy, creating an off-world safe haven that threatens humans so much they try to have him killed and when it takes extreme measures to talk Heavy down from retaliating, the deeper fractures in the family start to show. Those deeper fractures include a fed-up Magus who has apparently always had an inflated sense of self who capitalizes on the growing rift to align himself with the government, essentially becoming an unelected leader with obscene amounts of power beyond his superpower skills, something with eerie similarities to real-world events in American politics. And seemingly playing all sides against the middle is Etienne, a Charles Xavier-meets-Doctor Manhattan type who is on every most wanted list in the world for killing everyone involved in the attack on Heavy with a mere thought but it’s not his terrifying powers that make him perhaps the scariest of them all; it’s the illusion he presents even to himself of being ethical and, in turn, focused on humanity. Of all the superpowers we’ve met thus far, he’s the most chilling because not only is he playing all sides against the middle, but he’s the only player we’ve really met (there are still a few superpowers we’ve not formally met) whose motivations are obscured and who might actually believe his own lies.

To put it another way, while Watchmen was a sort of deconstruction of superheroes by taking them to darker places than we would expect from Superman and the like, The Power Fantasy is more of a confrontation, asking the far more frightening question of “what if superpowered beings are exactly like we are, just without limits?” Given how complicated, flawed, and often tribalistic human beings are, it’s this inversion of things that makes the story more complex and far more relevant, offering the space to take the reader deeper into the darkest corners of the human experience because, after all, these superpowered beings are sort of human themselves.

Watchmen will always be something of a gold standard when it comes to deconstructionist superhero stories. Before it, there really wasn’t much in the way of a serious critical look at the world of superpowered characters. The quality of the work cannot be disputed. But every generation finds ways to improve upon the past and The Power Fantasy is doing just that. By leaning into what the Nuclear Family can do to one another and the wild, unsettlingly relatable humanity of that even as they have godlike abilities, Gillen and Wijngaard are setting a new standard. They’re answering the question of “who watches the Watchmen” and it turns out that “they watch themselves” is not only the answer, but it’s perhaps more dangerous than anything we’ve ever seen. And it rules.

The Power Fantasy #6 is on sale now.

The post No, The Power Fantasy Isn’t Watchmen (But It Might Be Better) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

G.I. Joe #4 comes out swinging with a high-velocity issue that pits the Joes against insurmountable odds while making you believe they’ve got just the tiniest sliver of a chance to succeed. That’s been around since the book’s first issue but is especially poignant in issue #4, and it can’t help but endear you that much more to this ragtag crew just trying to get the job done and survive to make it home. That allows the larger-than-life franchise elements and characters to maximize their impact without losing the moment-to-moment tension of what’s happening to the book’s heroes, and if that isn’t G.I. Joe at its core then I don’t know what is.

Joshua Williamson continues to navigate that balancing act to great success, hitting with big action sequences that lean into the spectacle and fun of the franchise while still keeping the attention on this evolving (and still a bit dysfunctional) team of Joes. A brilliant example of this is found in the issue’s first few pages, with the team in the midst of a high-speed escape from the Crimson Twins. These characters, the vehicles they drive, and the weapons they use are all bigger than life, but it always comes back to the characters at the center of the story, and you most certainly care what happens to them.

That particular sequence and several more throughout the issue are absolutely gorgeous by the way, and the brilliant team of artist Tom Reilly, colorist Jordie Bellaire, and letterer Rus Wooton also makes each action set piece feel unique and distinct from what’s come before.

The book’s brand new character Risk brings some welcome unpredictability and mystery to the series, and so far the issues between Risk and just about everyone make for comedy gold. That said, Cobra kind of steals the show here, both in terms of their grand plans and their roster of characters, and it certainly feels like the Joes are getting their butts handed to them quite a bit, both in this issue and in the series overall.

[RELATED: Threezero G.I. Joe Baroness Sixth-Scale Figure Is Up For Pre-Order]

That underdog element though is important, and it’s something I’ve grown to love. This issue heavily plays into that element, and while the jury is out on whether Duke is just unhinged or knows something we all don’t, I still can’t help but give him the benefit of the doubt. The unpredictability of this series is one of its key strengths, and the series isn’t likely to let that go anytime soon.

The team has found a way to ground the core concept of G.I. Joe and its characters without losing the epic fun that made the franchise such a hit in the first place.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Published by Skybound

On February 19, 2025

Written by Joshua Williamson

Art by Tom Reilly

Colors by Jordie Bellaire

Letters by Rus Wooton

What did you think of G.I. Joe #4? Let us know in the comments and you can also talk all things comics and G.I. Joe with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post G.I. Joe #4 Hits the Gas and Never Looks Back (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It’s been a few months since Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard’s hit Image Comics series has published a new issue, but The Power Fantasy #6 could not have arrived at a better time in the world (complimentary for the comic, derogatory for the world). The fresh start of a new arc has two major things working in its favor, reintroducing readers back into the world after a brief time away while also managing to push its story ahead. As readers may have expected from its unique approach to “superpowers” in the first five issues, the latest chapter of The Power Fantasy continues to prove that there’s nothing else quite like it on the shelves.

Picking up after the major cliffhanger from issue #5, Jacky Magus has fully positioned himself in the US Government, taking on the role of “Secretary of Magic” for the United States. An unelected person taking a top position in the executive branch from a division that didn’t exist previously? It couldn’t possibly feel like anything currently in the news, not at all. As a result of his actions the other atomics have to now perform a bit of a dance to figure out where everyone stands, the longstanding struggle of this entire series (and its deadly lead characters) put on full display once again.

Gillen’s deft plotting manages to not only juggle reintegrating us back into the world but keep things moving (and interesting) throughout. Naturally, there are some big surprises along the way, with major character reveals that will shape not only this current arc but the issues that are set to follow (Gillen confirms the series could run for 50 issues if things go well). Etienne and Val have long been two of the most interesting pieces of this larger puzzle, but Magus’ new role gives him an extra dimension and room for Gillen to explore in fun and meaningful ways. Heavy is also given the spotlight here along with Tonya, the Atomic that helped kick off the story back in issue 1. Mystery still abounds though, and Gillen teases it out in ways that keep you engaged, especially with Eliza, the demonic Atomic.

[RELATED: The Power Fantasy #1 Advance Review: A Game of Superpowers]

A key ingredient of The Power Fantasy that has been true since issue #1, and remains the case here, is the artwork by Caspar Wijngaard consistently evokes a specific mood in each panel. Even if the page itself is a conversation between three characters that aren’t even on the same planet, Wijngaard manages to make sure that the color aura that surrounds each of them contributes to the larger emotional beat of where they are at that time and what they’re trying to convey. This is even true for characters talking in the same room, it’s a unique style that tends to buck major comic book tradition, but rewards the reader along the way.

That also plays into the later unique paneling that he displays. One page could be a fractured tableau to give us a deeper sense of a character’s mental wellbeing, and the next could be stacks of long panels showing off the vistas of the world (and where the heck everyone is), half the excitement here is the journey of what things look like with the next page turn. That’s one of the highest compliments I can give The Power Fantasy, you’re never lost visually when reading it, and Wijngaard’s artwork maintains a high level of consistency with crisp details.

I would not recommend newcomers immediately dive into The Power Fantasy #6, since it is built on five very important issues with a lot of added context and insight, there’s something amazing about the storytelling fluidity and how it gentle glided me back into this world. Where this series has always succeeded are the places that it continues to excel, it’s a layered and nuanced story that brings superhero comics to a level that they haven’t ever existed. Though every major publisher is finding success with reworks of their most famous characters right now, none of them are quite hitting like The Power Fantasy.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published by: Image Comics

On: February 19, 2025

Written by: Kieron Gillen

Art by: Caspar Wijngaard

Colors by: Caspar Wijngaard

Letters by: Clayton Cowles

The post In The Power Fantasy #6 The Government Takeover Will Continue Until Morale Improves (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Comic book writer Donny Cates, known for his groundbreaking runs on Venom, Thor, and Hulk, has announced his return to comics following a prolonged absence from the industry. The writer’s departure in 2023 came after a series of personal challenges, including a serious car accident in 2022 that resulted in temporary amnesia, forcing him to step away from several high-profile projects. As a result, his runs on both Thor and Hulk concluded prematurely, leaving numerous plotlines unresolved. Now, after nearly two years away from monthly comics, Cates has confirmed multiple new projects are in development, with announcements scheduled for this summer.

“Just wanted to check in with all of you and let you know that your boy is back on the dance floor,” Cates shared on Instagram. “Expect announcements this summer. And then another one after that. What do you think? Anyone want to guess? If you get it right I’ll buy your first issue.” The playful tone of his announcement suggests a renewed energy from the writer, who has spent the intervening time focused on recovery while maintaining limited involvement in the industry through consulting roles, including providing additional literary material for Sony’s Kraven the Hunter and serving as a creative consultant on Venom: The Last Dance.

[RELATED: Spider-Man Is About to Get a New Sidekick (and They’re Bringing Back the Black Suit)]

The timing of Cates’ return carries particular significance given the impact of his last major works. His final contributions to Marvel Comics concluded with Thor #35 and Hulk #14 in 2023, following runs that redefined both characters for a new generation. Under his pen, Thor became the herald of Galactus and faced off against a time-displaced version of Thanos, while the Hulk was reimagined as a starship powered by Bruce Banner’s rage. These innovative takes on established characters exemplified Cates’ ability to respect continuity while pushing boundaries, a trait that earned him a devoted following among readers.

What’s Next for Donny Cates?

The creator’s return to comics promises to be significant, given his track record of commercial and critical success. Before his hiatus, Cates had established himself as one of the industry’s most dynamic writers, known for ambitious storylines that frequently crossed over between titles. His work on Venom introduced the character Knull and led to two major Marvel events, “Absolute Carnage” and “King in Black,” which became some of Marvel’s bestselling crossover events of the past decade. Additionally, his creator-owned work through Image Comics, including series like God Country, Redneck, and Vanish, demonstrated his versatility across genres and ability to craft compelling original narratives.

Cates’ previous work spans both major publishers and creator-owned titles, suggesting several possible directions for his return. His strong relationship with Marvel Comics makes new Marvel projects a distinct possibility. However, his last creator-owned work, Vanish, concluded in June 2023 with several storylines that could potentially be revisited. Through his production company KLC Press, founded with artist Ryan Stegman, Cates also has an established platform for launching new independent projects.

Stay tuned for updates on Donny Cates’ new projects. Meanwhile, his previous works, including Thor, Hulk, and Venom, are currently available through Marvel Comics, while his creator-owned series can be found through Image Comics. What do you think Cates will do next? Join the discussion in the comments!

The post Fan-Favorite Writer Donny Cates Confirms Return to Comics in 2025 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Image Comics fans are set to see one of their favorites jump to the world of animation, and the team behind Netflix’s hit series Big Mouth is at the helm. Image’s horror series Nights is being developed for an animated series (via THR), and Big Mouth studio Titmouse is bringing the series to reality. Making the announcement even better is that Nights writer Wyatt Kennedy and artist Luigi Formisano will also be involved in the project, so horror fans and fans of comics all have a reason to rejoice.

Nights successfully launched its first arc that was fittingly titled season one, but it remains to be seen if the show will adapt it straight up season for season or spread out the story a bit across multiple seasons as new issues are released.

Titmouse creative director Alexei Bochenek is excited to deliver fans an experience like he had when he used to stay up late and find himself glued to Toonami, and he called Nights a “generational experience in the making.”

“Reading it reminds me of when I used to stay up late watching FLCL at midnight on Toonami, having my mind blown not just by how dynamic it was, but by how seen it made me feel, a mirror to my whole self, good and bad, dreams and fears. If you know you know,” Bochenek said. “I want to bring that feeling back to the animation fans like me who have been chasing it ever since, and introduce a whole new audience to the experience of discovering themselves through a new show that they feel seen by and become huge champions of, too. That’s what Nights is.”

[RELATED: DC’s Absolute Batman Just Revealed the Gnarliest Cape & Cowl Design Ever]

The realm of animation is a perfect one for Kennedy as well, and he revealed that he’s always looked at animation first for an adaptation as opposed to live-action. “From our earliest conversations, Alexei and his team immediately understood the soul of our strange little story, and their passionate collaborative spirit leaves me confident that we’re crafting something that fans of the book and newcomers alike will love,” Kennedy said.

As for the animated style of the show, Titmouse says the plan is to embrace the early 2000s look and feel of the comic, which takes place in 2003. Titmouse has created hit shows like Legend of Vox Machina, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and The Venture Bros., so they are quite adept at capturing a property’s personality with a sense of unique style, and that should follow suit with Nights.

In fact, Formisano revealed that some of his favorite shows are from Titmouse, so this couldn’t be a bigger dream pairing. “It’s a huge honor to work with a team who loves this story as much as Wyatt and I do, and I can’t wait for fans to see what we create together,” Formisano said.

There’s no word on a release date or window yet, but we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime you can catch up on Nights ahead of the show with Nights TP, Vol. 1, and you can find the official description right here.

“It’s 2003, supernatural creatures casually exist amongst humans, and America is made up of 31 states. Vince Okonma has lost his parents, moved in with his secret mercenary cousin and his video game-making roommate, and befriended “the greatest vampire who’s ever lived.” And that’s just the first 20 pages. From WYATT KENNEDY (BOLERO) and newcomer LUIGI FORMISANO, a new vision of urban gothic adventure starts here! Welcome to Florida, where the youth is wasted on the young… Collects NIGHTS #1-6″

Are you excited for Nights? Let us know in the comments and you can talk all things comics and animation with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Fan-Favorite Image Comics Horror Series Getting Adaptation appeared first on ComicBook.com.

In 2018, Marvel Comics announced that it had secured the rights to publish new comics based on Robert E. Howard’s iconic fantasy hero Conan, setting writer Jason Aaron, artist Mahmud Asrar, and colorist Matthew Wilson at the helm of a new Conan the Barbarian comic series that launched in January 2019. While Marvel’s return to publishing Conan comics proved fleeting, the 12-issue run that began the short-lived new era proved popular enough with fans for Marvel to reunite the creative trio for the six-issue King Conan series that served as the finale to the publisher’s second tenure as custodian of the Cimmerian’s comic adventures in 2022.

Bug Wars, published by Image Comics, sees Aaron, Asrar, and Wilson reuniting (with letterer Becca Carey entering the mix). Given their creative history, readers may expect Bug Wars to be a bit of Conan-esque sword-and-sorcery genre fare shrunk down to insect scale in an exercise similar to what Pixar’s A Bug’s Life did with the basic premise lifted from Akira Kurosawa’s classic Japanese historical drama, Seven Samurai. They wouldn’t be wrong, but that’s only half of the equation as Bug Wars also reimagines the premise of the family film classic Honey, I Shrunk the Kids as an ultra-violent power fantasy. In Bug Wars #1, one of these halves proves more compelling than the other.

Bug Wars #1 begins by establishing the setting of the Yard, which exists in the backyard of a human home. Here, beneath human notice, conflict rages as beetle berserkers attack an anthill kingdom like the Visigoths crashing against the walls of Rome, but all taking place at a scale that could fit in a terrarium.

But the Yard is, on the whole, bigger than any one battle or any pair of dysfunctional territorial neighbors. A row of six panels across a two-page spread introduces readers to the names of several factions existing in the Yard, conveyed in captions with text meant to appear handwritten, suggesting that these are places entities encountered and recorded by someone capable of communicating with humans. Yet, the artwork only shows us these havens of the Yard’s bug cultures as they appear to human eyes – Swarm City as a bit of overgrown foliage, the Wor Wraiders hovering around their familiar nests – which adds an alluring sense of mystery. In a matter of a few panels, the creative team builds a world that hints at exciting adventure, populated by sapient insects, that may stand alongside similarly premised stories like Mouse Guard and The Mice Templar (though less murine-centric, obviously).

Unlike those stories, Bug Wars features humans, and their involvement in the world of the Yard is central to the plot. The Slaymaker family (yes, Slaymaker) are moving into the home that abuts the Yard. It’s a tough move given that this is the same house where Sydney Slaymaker, the elder of two sons, discovered his entomologist father dead, having seemingly been partially eaten alive by the bugs he was studying. The death of the Slaymaker boys’ father affected Sydney and his younger brother, Slade Slaymaker, in opposite ways.

Having been traumatized, Sydney grew to fear and hate bugs passionately. Conversely, Slade, who can’t remember his father, seems to have inherited his fascination with bugs to connect with the father he never knew. While an interesting contrast, both brothers express themselves in over-the-top ways, the put-upon nerd Slade talking about virtually nothing other than bugs throughout the entire issue, while Sydney – whose long hair, jeans, and plain black t-shirt suggests an affinity for heavy metal – goes as far as to nail a bug to his front door as a threatening warning to, apparently, any other bug who may come looking for trouble (he even writes a note to accompany the morbid display, in case the would-be insect toughs who pass by are literate in English). These one-note characterizations, along with some gruesome panels and blunt use of profanity for emphasis, make the human half of the Bug Wars equation feel somewhat juvenile.

But the crux of Bug Wars is where the human and insect worlds meet. What Bug Wars #1 tantalizing does not say outright is that the Slaymaker father knew of and interacted with the Yard, opening up the possibility that he was killed with intent, and now one of his sons is following in his footsteps. From the issue’s narration, we learn there’s much we don’t know about the boys’ father and the world of the Yard and are primed to discover those truths as the series progresses, turning the premise into something not far from Tom King, Bilquis Evely, and Matheus Lopez’s recently acclaimed fantasy series Helen of Wyndhorn though the tones are quite different, with Bug Wars being a more muscular affair, visually, with a focus on gory detail, it’s first issue punctuated by a moment of violent empowerment. Though we can’t know, one could be charitable and assume that’s the point, and as Bug Wars continues, it’ll chart its hero’s maturation as he reckons with the grisly power he has come to possess.

Bug Wars looks to be a story about how the absence of a father and the secrets they once kept can change the trajectory of a son’s life. There’s potential in that, but how the creators marry the two worlds they’ve introduced here, and whether they can keep from overindulging in puerile violence, remains to be seen.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Published by Image Comics

On February 12, 2025

Written by Jason Aaron

Art by Mahmud Asrar

Colors by Matthew Wilson

Letters by Becca Carey

The post Bug Wars Is a Gory Take On Conan the Barbarian Meets Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

An unexpected comic book series is topping Amazon Canada’s sales charts a decade after its publication — and current events may be playing a role for its resurgence. This week, Image Comics noted that We Stand On Guard, a 2015 series written by Brian K. Vaughan with art by Steve Skroce and colors by Matt Hollingsworth is currently the #1 Best Seller in Science Fiction Graphic Novels on Amazon Canada. Given the time that’s passed since the series was published — the deluxe hardcover graphic novel was published in June 2016 and the Amazon Canada listing for the paperback is dated 2017 — its sudden resurgence is a little unexpected, but recent trade tensions between the United States and Canada could be the reason.

Set 100 years in the future, We Stand On Guard is a dystopian story that follows a group of Canadian civilians turned freedom fighters defending their homeland from invasion by a technologically superior United States of America. The series is action-packed and gritty, pulling no punches and while it’s centered around sci-fi — there are some big freaking robots in this story — it’s also political, something that Vaughan said back in 2016 was by design.

“Niko Henrichon and I had already done an allegory about noncombatant victims of war with Pride of Baghdad, but now I wanted to write about actual violent resistance against a country I love, in a way that would hopefully be relatable to anyone, regardless of nationality,” Vaughan told The Beat. “Steve and I never wanted this to be boring ‘commentary’, but underneath the pulp and giant robot guts, it’s definitely political.”

[RELATED: Could Fantastic Four: First Steps Subtly Be Adapting This Critically Acclaimed Comics Series?]

So, why is the idea of a war between Canada and the United States of interest now, especially to Canadian readers? To that, we go to current events. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose significant tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China, placing duties of 25% on imports from Canada, though energy imports would be taxed at a 10% rate. Canada, for its part, fought back with matching tariffs, including those on alcohol and fruit. However, just one day later those tariffs were put on pause by Trump for at least 30-days after talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

While the tariff tension may be a major reason for the spike in interest in We Stand on Guard, it also may not be the only one. President Trump has also previously been vocal about wanting to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, something that likely does not sit well with most Canadians. With a potential looming trade war and even the talk of the U.S. wanting Canada to become a state, it makes sense that a book which sees Canada invaded would be of unique interest at this point in history.

We Stand On Guard is available in graphic novel format now – in both the U.S. and in Canada. Have you read We Stand On Guard? Let us know your thoughts in the commen

The post We Stand On Guard Sales Jump Amidst US/Canada Tariff Tensions appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A new comic series is calling Batman out — or rather, calling out two of the Dark Knight’s bigger controversies. In Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1 from Juni Ba, the upcoming Image Comics title features hilarious nods to two of DC Comics’ more interesting controversies surrounding Batman, specifically the infamous “Death in the Family” storyline and a sex scene that DC wouldn’t allow Harley Quinn producers to include in the animated series’ third season. The references were spotted in a preview of Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1, due out March 5th (via Bleeding Cool) and are hilarious.

In the comic, there’s a sequence where the narration discusses the fate of the sidekick Monkey Girl, who “despite years as a faithful sidekick” ends up being best known for a story where she’s killed, resurrected, and comes back traumatized. It’s explained that the storyline was at the behest of the readers, who offered the character’s fate up for them to choose. While it’s a direct reference to DC Comics’ having readers vote on the fate of Jason Todd’s Robin for “A Death in the Family”, the reference in Monkey Meat doesn’t quite stop there. It goes on to reference another DC “controversy”, specifically the idea of a Batman/Catwoman sex scene in Harley Quinn in which Batman would have been performing oral sex on Catwoman — something DC firmly sad no to. How does that translate in Monkey Meat? Well, they ask “three fans” about why they voted to kill Monkey Girl with one responding “Now they can finally do what the fans want instead of the company keeping them from it. Like eat p*ssy.” You can check out the page for yourself below.

[RELATED: Harley Quinn Star Kaley Cuoco Reacts to Banned Batman Sex Scene]

The Batman Controversies, Explained (Briefly)

What makes the Monkey Meat: Summer Batch #1 “jabs” at these Batman controversies is that it provides a bit of commentary on how one thing is considered acceptable — specifically the death of Jason Todd — and the other is not. For those who may not be entirely familiar, here’s a brief breakdown of both controversies. “A Death in the Family” is a 1988 Batman storyline written by Jim Starlin with art by Jim Aparo. Considered one of the most important and iconic Batman storylines, the story sees the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin, die at the hands of the Joker but it wasn’t merely a straightforward storyline. Instead, fans could call in on a 900 number to vote and, thus, determine Jason’s fate. Ultimately, the votes were not in Jason’s favor and he died. The character was later resurrected as the Red Hood, complete with a lot of trauma. The story was, even in its time, extremely controversial.

As for the Batman/Catwoman of it all, that controversy is a bit more recent. Back in 2021, Harley Quinn series co-creator Jason Halpern revealed that while they had been given a good bit of freedom by Warner Bros., there were some things they simply could not do, including a proposed sex scene between Batman and Catwoman.

“A perfect example of that is in this third season of Harley [when] we had a moment where Batman was going down on Catwoman,’ Halpern said. “And DC was like, ‘You can’t do that. You absolutely cannot do that.’ They’re like, ‘Heroes don’t do that,’ So, we said, ‘Are you saying heroes are just selfish lovers?’ They were like, ‘No it’s that we sell consumer toys for heroes. It’s hard to sell a toy if Batman is also going down on someone.”

It’s the “selling toys” and capitalism/consumerism of it all that Monkey Meat seems to be poking at, with a character in the panel reacting to the idea that fans should dictate what characters can do: “Nah man! There’ kids characters!”

What Is Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1 About?

A follow up to Monkey Meat: The First Batch, Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch brings readers back to vacation on Monkey Meat Island for “what promises to be an entertaining and gonzo escape. What could be more diverting than a vacation to a hellish west African fantasy island run by a corporation of questionable intent? Embark on a brand-new set of adventures to amuse (and mentally scar) the whole family! Exotic locations, debt-collecting forest witches, and a superhero monkey suing the corporation that owns him. All these and more await our guests.”

The five-issue series is written by, and features art by, Juni Ba. It is scheduled to be published by Image Comics on March 5th.

What do you think about Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1 making a hilarious nod to some of DC Comics’ more interesting Batman controversies? Let us know in our comment section!

The post New Image Series Takes Shots at Batman (and It’s Hilarious) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Image Comics has announced that Rob Liefeld’s hit ’90s comic series Youngblood is getting fully-remastered, with each issue set to be released in deluxe collector’s editions. The Youngblood Deluxe releases will take each issue of the series and bring them back into comic book store shelves with major enhancements, meaning readers hoping for facsimiles of the originals comics won’t find them here. According to a press release from Image, the Youngblood Deluxe issues will be “re-scripted, re-colored, re-lettered, and remastered to take the reader’s experience to the next level.”

“This is the ultimate way to experience Youngblood,” Liefeld said in a statement. “These characters mean so much to me and to revisit them like this is the absolute best way to read the comic that literally started the revolution and transformed the industry!”

The re-mastered deluxe versions of Youngblood marks the first time that the original series has actively been in print in many years. In Youngblood Deluxe #1, readers will enter the world of Badrock, Shaft, Die-Hard, Vogue, Sentinel, Riptide, Cougar, Chapel, and more, for 40 pages of eye-popping, mind-melting action. Youngblood Deluxe #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, April 16.

First teased by Liefeld in the pages of other comics, Youngblood was created as a superhero team that not only fought crime, but saw its superheroes become celebrities. This lead to the group not only battling ne’er-do-wells but also balancing things like their endorsement deals that they had on the side, delivering a very meta-take on superheroes during one of the biggest eras comic book publishing.

Youngblood has been rebooted a few times not only by Liefeld but other prominent comic creators, with Watchmen‘s Alan Moore even penning a few issues along the way. Last October brought news that Liefeld would be returning to Youngblood with all-new stories that he will both write and draw, which remains in the pipeline.

The Youngblood Deluxe edition issues aren’t the only way Image Comics is celebrating Liefeld’s series, as this April will also see the release of the massive Youngblood Vault Edition hardcover. This massive over-sized hardcover, which retails for $150, features “every piece of Rob Liefeld art from Youngblood #1-4, covers, pin-ups, trading cards, and more in meticulously reproduced archival quality.”

The post Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood Getting Deluxe Remasters From Image Comics appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Let’s not beat around the bush: as a franchise, Transformers is in deep trouble. This is especially true for the saga on the big screen, where audiences have begun to give this series the cold shoulder no matter how positive the critical reception is. In 2023, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts became the lowest-grossing live-action Transformers movie in history. This past September, Transformers One outright bombed with a $128.27 million worldwide haul on a $75 million budget.

No wonder Hasbro has announced it’s pulling back on co-financing movie adaptations of its toys. To rub salt into the wounds, there isn’t a massive culture-defining animated Transformers TV show currently on the airwaves introducing these characters to a new generation of youngsters. Even the toys haven’t been making much in the way of headlines beyond collectibles aimed at nostalgic adults. How did the Transformers franchise get into this shape? On a happier note, though, how could there also be a spark of hope for this long-running saga?

How the Transformers Franchise Got Into Trouble

The Transformers saga got into its current position simply by exhausting nostalgia for as long as it could. The ’80s kids who grew up on “The Touch” and Peter Cullen’s iconic Optimus Prime kept coming out to the original Transformers movies (despite their toxic reviews and eschewing of Transformers canon) and buying merchandise. However, it’s clear now that titles like Transformers: Age of Extinction didn’t do much to cultivate the next generation of Transformers fans. By the time superior family-friendly movies like Bumblebee and Transformers One opened, it was too late. The well had been tainted.

In terms of yesteryear pop culture properties that appeal to youngsters and adults alike, the world has moved on to things like Sonic the Hedgehog or The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Meanwhile, children’s television, the domain the Transformers first exploded in back in the 1980s, no longer belongs to these robots. 2010s animated Transformers shows like Transformers: Prime or Transformers: Robots in Disguise couldn’t hold a candle to the popularity of, say, Adventure Time or Steven Universe.

With this inability to generate new fans, Transformers is stuck in an awkward situation. People recognize Optimus Prime, but they also don’t have tremendously fond memories associated with either him or the franchise he originated from. Still, even in the midst of this turmoil, hope springs eternal. The comic book incarnations of the Transformers offer some hope that these characters aren’t gone just yet.

[RELATED: Michael Bay’s Transformers Movies Were Almost Derailed After the First Film]

Hope Lies Not in the Stars but in Comics

In 2023, Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics began running a series of Transformers comics that immediately captured the public’s imagination. Not only have sales been strong for these comics, but they’ve also garnered incredibly positive reviews championing how well they make the various Autobots and Decepticons dramatically compelling characters. Also running simultaneously is another acclaimed Transformers comic book line, Energon Universe, overseen by Invincible creator Robert Kirkman.

Energon Universe also garnered positive marks from readers, particularly for the creative ways it incorporated new details into Transformers lore. While these comic sagas feature visuals and storyline details harkening back to older Transformers mythos, it’s also clear they’re generating fanbases unique unto themselves. Right now, the passionate fervor surrounding these Transformers comics is evocative of how IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics got that franchise back on its feet. The miniseries The Last Ronin especially overhauled expectations for what a Ninja Turtles story could look and feel like.

Those creative risks led to a resurging Ninja Turtles fanbase that was more than ready to embrace new movies like 2023’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Only time will tell if the ongoing comic book exploits of Transformers lead to a similar renaissance. For now, though, these successful comics show that these characters can still garner new fans and anchor compelling stories.

Best of all, they offer a glimmer of hope that this saga can evolve beyond just evoking 1980s nostalgia or reminding people of terrible Michael Bay movies. A fresh generation could have versions of Optimus Prime and Cybertron of their own that rekindle a love for this fictional mechanical world. These Autobots may have been knocked out at the box office, but they’re most certainly not down and out just yet. Like Ninja Turtles, Transformers are finding a brand new lease on life in the wide, exciting world of comic books.

Transformers One is now streaming on Paramount+

The post The Transformers Franchise Is in Trouble (but There’s One Bright Spot) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

When the rich and famous — particularly in Hollywood — do messed up things and find themselves in compromising positions, they call on a fixer to mitigate the damage and make things go away. But what about when it’s Hollywood After Dark and it’s the things that go bump in the night that need things fixed for them? That’s the premise of Freddie The Fix from writer Garth Ennis and artist Mike Perkins and while the premise is intriguing and the idea of werewolves, vampires, zombies and more getting in over their heads in a decidedly debauched Hollywood is fascinating, this one shot manages to miss the mark as a horror offering and weave a tale that is more wandering than it is complex.

Freddie The Fix opens up with our fixer, Freddie, explaining in narration what exactly his job is as he’s on his way to something he has to fix: Lou the Werewolf has gone a little too far with a male sex worker leading to a pretty gruesome death. It’s just another day at the office for Freddie who counsels his client on how to deal with the situation while also offering some sage advice on things he shouldn’t be doing generally even though he admits to himself it’s not going to stick and he’ll be back to dealing with Lou again at some point. He next finds himself called to the office of a movie mogul where he’s given news of something much bigger that he needs to deal with: the Boogeyman has died and it’s something that needs to be dealt with ASAP.

The Boogeyman is made out to be a real evil and his death being an overall win, but Freddie reluctantly signs on to help clean up the death — specifically to make sure that the death goes largely unnoticed. As Freddie starts to investigate and work on tying up loose ends, however, he finds himself dealing with a larger conspiracy and finds out that the Boogeyman’s death may not be exactly as it seems. Just another day at work for the fixer. Generally, it’s an interesting premise. Freddie’s work takes him on pretty much a tour of just about every sort of supernatural or horror creature you can imagine. We’re also taken on a bit of a side tour when Freddie is himself threatened as he continues his work, revealing that sometimes Freddie’s work means that he’s helping the evil get away with things, making him largely a morally grey figure.

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But while the story is full of horrific creatures and things that traditionally are at home on the pages of horror stories, Freddie The Fix never really rises to a horror story. Instead, the whole issue feels like a long, rambling slice of life for Freddie that barely scratches the surface of the sort of dark things he encounters. Instead, the story leans too hard on shock value and sexual perversion to be edgy. Nearly every creature we encounter in the story has some sort of kink and most of the encounters Freddie has with various creatures and characters throughout the story comes with either a sexual sight gag or some direct reference to sex, usually in some sort of attempt at humor — particularly there’s a dildo joke that just feels played out and unnecessary.

As for the actual tension and mystery of the issue — the circumstances around the Boogeyman’s death — that almost feels like a bit of an aside. The issue tries very hard to interconnect the various creatures Freddie encounters as part of this big shocking death, but the ties seem superficial at best and when the issue does reveal what really went on with the Boogeyman, it’s not only something that the reader could have easily guessed, but the connections the issue tried to thread just don’t work. And, given that this is a one-shot issue and therefore a complete story, the resolution feels too easy and too clean, especially when things end by going full circle back to the mess from the beginning. Just another day at the office for Freddie.

While the story aspect of Freddie The Fix leaves quite a bit to be desired, however, the art is actually pretty solid. The art in the issue has something of a 70s vibe to it and the horror creatures are particularly well-crafted. Even the dinosaurs (yes, there are dinosaurs in this) are pretty great. In terms of colors, the issue does a great job of setting tone and mood using color, which is great considering how dense the actual writing is. The result is art that actual goes a lot further in telling the story than the writing on the page does. The only real weakness there is that some of the renderings of faces seems to change from page to page, but fortunately the character count is low enough that it’s easy to keep everyone straight.

Ultimately, Freddie The Fix has an interesting premise that it largely wastes on trying to be edgy, sacrificing shock value for actual story, and overstuffing the pages with a lot of writing that doesn’t necessarily get the job done. While the story is set as the debut offering for the creator-owned and driven horror showcase Ninth Circle, it really serves as sort of a weak introduction. The story, instead of functioning as something with horror and scares, feels more like elaborate world building. The reader is left with the feeling that there should be so much more to this story. We just unfortunately don’t get it.

Published by: Image Comics

On: December 18, 2024

Written by: Garth Ennis

Art by: Mike Perkins

Colors by: Mike Spicery and Andy Troy

Letters by: Rob Steen

The post Freddie the Fix #1 Review: Old Tropes, No Horror appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Image Comics has veered in many directions in its over thirty year history. At first, the indie publisher tried to be like the companies the superstars of the ‘Image Seven’ – Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Marc Silvestri, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino, and Whilce Potracio – had come from, creating a somewhat coherent superhero universe where crossovers and such were possible. As founders like Liefeld and Silvestri left and returned, this changed and eventually, Image morphed to the structure it’s in now – a publishing house of unconnected titles by the best writers and artists in the industry. However, Geoff John‘s Ghost Machine imprint has changed that, giving Image its own multiverse.

Rocketfellers #2, by Peter Tomasi and Francis Manapul, features a two-page spread where Manapul is joined by the other superstar artists of Ghost Machine – Jason Fabok, Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch, Peter Snejberg, and Ivan Reis – to show the four worlds of this new universe. The Ghost Machine comics – Geiger, Junkyard Joe, Rook Exodus, Redcoat, Hyde Street, Rocketfellers, and the upcoming Hornsby & Halo – have already made quite a splash and revealing the multiversal nature of the new imprint is a recipe for something special. Of course, anyone following the career of Johns, Tomasi, or Brad Meltzer knew that a multiverse was inevitable.

Ghost Machine’s Multiverse Is Being Constructed By The Best In The Business

Johns, Tomasi, and Meltzer all cut teeth on comic writing at DC. All three were long unabashed fans of the publisher’s Silver and Bronze Age, and the defining feature of that time period in DC was the multiverse, that infinite expanse of Earths that gave DC Comics’ creators the capacity to tell any kind of the story with the publisher’s superheroes. However, the multiverse was also confusing for more casual fans, and it was ended with 1985’s Crisis On Infinite Earths. That lasted for twenty years, when Johns, Tomasi, and, to a lesser extent, Meltzer were all apart of the build-up to Infinite Crisis, the Johns-written event book that laid the seeds for the return of the DC Multiverse. Johns and Tomasi were later a part of the construction of the New 52, an all-new DC Multiverse, in 2011. Johns would leave the comic writing side of things for a time to help with the DCEU, but would return with DC: Rebirth #1, again changing the continuity of the DC Multiverse and leading into Doomsday Clock and Flashpoint Beyond, where he talked about the Omniverse and the Metaverse. So, anyone expecting Ghost Machine not to have a multiverse, especially with its diverse range of comics, hasn’t really been paying attention.

The strength of Ghost Machine so far has been how its given readers so much in such a short period of time. Geiger is a post apocalyptic superhero epic, Junkyard Joe feels like an old DC war comic, Redcoat takes from the real world with its immortal Revolutionary War era British lead, Hyde Street opens the doors to horror, Rook Exodus is dystopian sci-fi, and Rocketfellers is a family sci-fi set in the far future. That’s a huge variety of books, and the line is full of talent from many of the best to ever work in the industry in the last thirty years – Johns, Tomasi, Meltzer, Frank, Reis, Snejberg, Manapul, Hitch, Fabok. This is exactly the line-up that people would want to run an all-new multiverse of titles and ideas.

It also certainly helps that Johns seems creatively rejuvenated with the line. He went from one of the biggest stars of the ’00s – joining the rarefied air of talents like Waid and Morrison as architects of the best of DC – to a creator that many had gotten tired of by the midpoint of the ’10s. His works at DC after DC: Rebirth #1 weren’t as beloved as what came before, and although its arguable that he ended strong – Flashpoint Beyond, The New Golden Age, Justice Society Of America, and especially Stargirl: The Lost Children were all rather well-received by fans and critics – the end of his tenure at DC wasn’t nearly as illustrious as its beginning. Ghost Machine has seen Johns pump out great new stories and ideas, paying homage to his past works but still creating something new. A revitalized Johns in charge of his own multiverse should be a recipe for success.

The Ghost Machine Multiverse Gives Image Yet Another Blockbuster Franchise

Image Comics has been on something of a tear since the early ’10s. The publisher has continually scored the best talent in the comic industry and allowed them to tell the stories they want, ones they retain full ownership and control over. Image famously only owns the iconic “I” logo – but that logo has become a mark of quality. Discerning fans know that Image is the best place to go in the indie comic market for the best variety of amazing comics. Ghost Machine has given them another weapon in their arsenal, a multiverse from some of the most prolific creators in superhero comics from the last thirty years.

Image may be far from the halcyon days of its founding, when its comics were outselling most Marvel and DC books without an X, a spider, or a bat on the cover, but its hard to argue with the depth of talent and creativity at the publisher. The Ghost Machine Multiverse is yet another feather in Image’s cap and one that has already made a lot of fans happy. Image works so well because of the cornucopia of various titles under its umbrella, and giving readers more inter-related books, especially from talents of the caliber that work at Ghost Machine, is only going to pay dividends.

You can check out Ghost Machine at Image Comics.

The post Image Comics Reveals Its New Multiverse appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Time travel stories are classic. Tales of people going back and forward in time can be found in almost every type of media, often delivering stories of adventure as the characters find themselves in unfamiliar circumstances, often trying to find a way to not only survive but make their way back home as well. The Rocketfellers is one such story. Written by Peter J. Tomasi with art from Francis Manapul, The Rocketfellers takes on the idea of what might happen if you combined The Jetsons with something like Lost in Space or The Swiss Family Robinson, just with time travel thrown in — and with a manhunt of sorts and the fate of the future to up the stakes. And while the first issue doesn’t fully outline many of the details of why this adventure is happening or reveal too much about the titular family at the story’s center, The Rocketfellers #1 has just enough intrigue jet propel things forward for what could be a perfectly timed adventure.

The Rocketfellers #1, more or less, starts things in media res with readers being introduced to the family in the 25th century as things are starting to go south for them. The family — dad Roland, mom Rachel, kids Richie and Rae, and grandpa Rodney and grandma Rosie — is fleeing from an unexplained threat. While the adults are trying to keep things chill for the sake of the kids it is clear that something or someone is chasing them. The family is headed for a time pod but are being pursued by Chronex. Whatever the reason for the pursuit, it’s important enough Rosie is willing to sacrifice herself so everyone else can escape not to a place, but a time: the 21st century.

From there, the issue establishes what life in a “primitive” time is like for the Rocketfellers. Despite being in the 21st century for a year, they aren’t fully acclimating. They barely know their neighbors, they’re having a difficult time fitting in, and everyone is eager to head back home but aren’t able to just yet. Eventually, it’s revealed that they may not get to go home at all and, more than that, there is something mysterious that is the cause for all of the upheaval — and it is suggested that things might get worse, both in the future and the present.

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Overall, the issue is good. It’s a fun read and the art has a slightly retro, space-age quality to it that feels a little larger than life, making it fit well with the story. That said, The Rocketfellers #1 spends most of its time not revealing anything. It, in a sense, feels less like a comic book and more like a half hour episode of television meant to simply introduce the cast and general conceit without really diving into the story. With that in mind, the issue gives readers a sense for each of the members of the Rocketfeller family and their personalities as well as how they are adjusting — or not adjusting — to their new home. In terms of tension and forward motion, things really only start to get interesting in the last few pages when readers find out that things back in the future are still high risk and that there may not be a happy ending and while that is enough to make one want to turn the page for the next part — scheduled to come out in December — it feels like there could have been just a little more to the story offered here. Beyond that, however, there’s a freshness to the story that isn’t necessarily superhero-coded and just feels like an old school sci-fi story, something that there’s always more room for in comics.

While the story could use just a little more meat and we don’t get to know our characters perhaps as well as we might like just yet, The Rocketfellers #1 is a fun first issue that brings slightly kitschy sci-fi to life in a story that is as curious as it is centered in humanity. With solid art and plenty of questions, there is a lot to be interested in with just this first issue and it makes for an intriguing prospect going forward.

Published by: Image Comics

On: November 20, 2024

Written by: Peter J. Tomasi

Art by: Francis Manapul

Colors by: Francis Manapul

Letters by: Rob Leigh

Cover by: Francis Manapul

The post The Rocketfellers #1 Review: An Intriguing Time Travel Adventure appeared first on ComicBook.com.

G.I. Joe #1 gave Duke’s team their very first mission, though it was no easy task. While initially thought to be a straightforward protection detail, things quickly escalated into a full-blown firefight, and the Joes found themselves significantly outnumbered and outgunned. That was partly thanks to Destro’s lethal new Energon-powered weapons, and as the battle started to turn against them, a fan-favorite character sacrificed their life to make sure the team accomplished the mission. It’s only the first issue, but G.I. Joe is now down one member of the team, and you can find our spoilery breakdown below.

The issue has the Joe team taking on their first mission as a new group, and the task is relatively straightforward. Transformers tech from a massive crash is being transported to a secure facility for research and after a number of break-ins at several weapons and advanced tech facilities, including M.A.R.S Industries, the Joe team is going to follow along with this latest pickup and keep the facility and the technology they are researching safe.

Thing is Cobra Commander and Destro have the same plan for Cobra, only they plan to hit that facility and steal that technology since it contains traces of Energon, which they can now track. It’s a simple mission for them too, as they seek to break in, get the tech, and leave. Little do both sides know they are now on a collision course with each other.

Complete Chaos

The battle begins with a hail of gunfire from a Cobra F.A.N.G. and then builds up from there, with Duke diving out a window to bring it down. In the facility things only get worse after a grenade takes out part of the team, clearing the way for Vipers to move in with their boosted weapons. The Joes are now being attacked with literal lasers while Cover Girl and Clutch are trying to wheel the tech out of there before the Vipers can get it.

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Unfortunately, the Vipers catch up, but Rock ‘N Roll gets in the mix and takes a few out to try and buy them some time. He is clocked with a vicious punch after being held by a number of soldiers, and Clutch and Cover Girl are unable to make an exit.

Heroic Sacrifice

That’s when Rock ‘N Roll vows that Cobra isn’t getting the machine, telling Duke “Don’t worry, Duke. I’ve been shot before. I can handle a light show! As Duke watches from the F.A.N.G. he just took control of, Rock ‘N Roll charges in towards two armed Vipers, and the final page shows both Vipers hitting Rock ‘N Roll with shots at point blank range. From the artwork, there are at least eight shots that go through him, ending one Joe’s life in the team’s very first mission.

This will obviously have a huge effect on the team moving forward, though they won’t even get much of a chance to process this given that Cobra is still steps away from stealing the technology they came here to protect. If the others make it out alive, they will have a lot to deal with after the loss of their teammate, and one of the most well-liked people on the team.

What did you think of the ending of G.I. Joe #1? You can talk all things G.I. Joe and comics with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb and on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post A G.I. Joe Fan Favorite Just Gave Their Life for the Team’s Very First Mission appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Happy new comic book day! It’s another major week in comics, and the ComicBook staff have come together to break down and review as many of the big comics releasing this week as possible. Now obviously this isn’t every single comic on stands, but we’re breaking down new releases from Marvel, DC, Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, Dynamite, Oni Press, IDW, Mad Cave Studios, DSTLRY, and more!

We’ve also carved out some additional space for three of this week’s biggest books, including Black Lightning #1, Amazing Spider-Man #61, and G.I. Joe #1, so if our smaller review here piques your interest, make sure to check out the full review for a much more comprehensive analysis of all three issues. As for ratings, we keep things simple with a whole or half number out of five, and you can check out some of our previous reviews right here. With all that said, let’s get to this week’s new comics!

DC

Absolute Batman #2
Absolute Batman #1 was phenomenal. Absolute Batman #2 takes that kick off and goes deeper, digging into who Bruce Wayne is as well as the Gotham he lives in and continues to build its story, pulling back layers of not only the threat to the city but to its new hero as well. The pace is a bit slower this issue — there is a lot to read and a lot to dig into as we get a bit more information about how Batman operates as well as a deeper look at how that traumatic day at the zoo changed him, but it all comes together very well and while certain parts are different in this take, they move in very much the same way. Nick Dragotta’s art also continues to be incredible. It’s just a fantastic issue. – Nicole Drum
Rating: 5 out of 5

Action Comics #1075
I have said this before and I continue to say it: the current Action Comics run is stronger without the Superboys story in the middle. While one can assume that that story will eventually connect with Superman’s issues with the Phantom Zone and Krypton, it feels more like a space-taking break to stretch the larger tale out. As for that larger tale, seeing Clark get to learn some truths about his parents and homeworld first hand has been very interesting and this week even more so as it is information he gains on Krypton in the past that informs what is happening on Earth now as issues with the Phantom Zone kick up. Tying the truth about the past to the present makes this a very interesting and rich story and will definitely have an impact on Clark going forward as well. – Nicole Drum
Rating: 4 out of 5

Batman and Robin #15
Phillip Kennedy Johnson goes deeper into his story of Batman having to deal with a new murderer in town — who may or may not be connected to something from Batman’s past — and while the story is dense in places, it’s a very well-written story that ultimately leans more into Damian’s story and his finding of his purpose than the issues facing the city. Yes, there is plenty about the new murderer in town to deal with but leaning into Damian and what he experiences gives this story a new depth and tone that just works very, very well.
-Nicole Drum
Rating: 4 out of 5

Black Lightning #1
While Black Lightning #1 is a little light on the social and cultural aspects of the story, the issue leans into the strengths of the character overall. By centering the story and its mystery into the personal — specifically family — Black Lightning #1 creates a compelling story that not only resonates but helps further flesh out what the post-Absolute Power landscape looks like. It’s a solid read and it will be very interesting to see where things go from here.
-Nicole Drum
Rating: 4 out of 5 (Read the full review here)

DC Vs. Vampires: World War V #4
Anyone who knows me probably knows that I adore Damian Wayne, which probably makes it rather easy to surmise how much I’m currently loving DC Vs. Vampires: World War V. That goes tenfold for World War V #4, which essentially has half of the book being a long overdue confrontation between Damian and his father Ra’s al Ghul. Matthew Rosenberg knocks this confrontation out of the park, and if you had it on your bingo card that you’d see a Green Lantern Alfred and a Batsuit-clad Ra’s dueling it out, well, you’re simply really good at bingo. Then there are the other compelling plots of Mr. Miracle and the child he’s so desperately trying to protect and how the always unpredictable John Constantine factors into that quest, as well as what’s happening in the capital city with a close to death Barbara Gordon. It’s all compelling on its own, but together it’s not to be missed, and that also aptly describes Otto Schmidt and Pierluigi Casolino’s wonderful artwork and colors throughout the issue, especially anytime Grodd or Arrow are in the limelight. World War V continues to take chances and find new ways to explore longtime characters, and is a world I will never mind returning to. – Matthew Aguilar
Rating: 4 out of 5

Green Lantern #17
Civil Corps continues to shake up the cosmic corner of the DC Universe in Green Lantern #17, and somehow part 2 is just as epic as part 1. The sheer amount of things happening on different fronts throughout the issue is at times mind-boggling, and I’m not quite sure how writer Jeremy Adams keeps it all straight. That said, it comes together brilliantly, with every character and concept introduced over the course of the past year coming into play in some crucial way. Meanwhile, artist Xermanico and colorist Romulo Fajardo Jr. are simply on fire, with villains that pop off the page and collisions that feel truly epic in scope, even if they don’t involve a literal rage-fueled planet. Green Lantern has hit must-read status, and it’s crazy that we’re only at chapter two. – Matthew Aguilar
Rating: 5 out of 5

Marvel

Captain America #15
Since the beginning of this run, the only thing that has felt even remotely successful is the characterization of Steve Rogers. That remains true 15 issues in, and even then it’s not exactly consistent. But this run’s handling of Steve looks a lot better when seeing how completely misunderstood and misused a character like Peter Parker is. Very little in this issue — or this series — feels quite like you think it should. – Charlie Ridgely
Rating: 1 out of 5

Conquest 2099 #3
Dracula is a character that Marvel doesn’t utilize nearly enough. Sure, there’s more freedom here in the world of 2099, but Orlando shows just how compelling a character he can be. Combined with some great-looking action sequences and you’ve got another exciting 2099 entry from the writer who has conquered it over the past few years. Also, more comics should have giant space sharks.
– Charlie Ridgely
Rating: 4 out of 5

Deadpool #8
Deadpool’s daughter remains at the steering wheel in the face of her father’s apparent demise and this latest issue is one that tends to buckle under the weight of simply too many moving pieces for its own good. Ellie doesn’t get nearly as much time to shine here as she should, wading through a sea of exposition and an endless stream of villains stealing the spotlight. It’s unfortunate that Marvel Comics has already confirmed that the Merc With A Mouth is already set to return, dampening the effect of seeing Ellie on her own. Still, there are some humorous moments to be had and some interesting action set pieces but the series could be much more than what we are currently seeing now.
-Evan Valentine
Rating 2.5 out of 5

Psylocke #1
Psylocke #1 is built on solid thematic ground. Kwannon is struggling with the transition from being a living weapon to simply living and is compensating by doing a lot of side jobs during her downtime from the X-Men. When Cyclops benches her because he thinks she’s pushing herself too hard (ironic, coming from Scott), she instead takes a mission involving the trafficking of young mutants that triggers some trauma from her childhood training by the Hand, which pushes her back to her old habits. The visuals are sleek and strong — there are some nice splash pages and action scenes, making heavy use of afterimage effects to convey Psylocke’s ninja-like speed — but the book also looks like practically everything Marvel is putting out these days. Similarly, while the story is solid enough aside from a few questionable points (Why is Psylocke being so secretive about all of this? Why does she bother with the “I’ll buy the kids” ruse if she was just going to attack head-on anyway?), it doesn’t do much to distinguish Psylocke from other antihero types with traumatic backstories. Fans waiting for Kwannon to have her moment to shine solo will be pleased but don’t expect anything that stands out much from the crowd.
– Jamie Lovett
Rating: 3 out of 5

Star Wars: Ewoks #2
This is more of the book I was looking for when I cracked open the debut issue last month. It’s still a bit heavier on the dialogue than it needs to be, causing the story to drag just a hair every once in a while, but it’s also a great reminder of how wonderful the Ewoks as a community can be when harnessed correctly. They’re pure, adorable, and hilarious. It’s awesome to see them get a real spotlight that isn’t just catering to kids.
– Charlie Ridgely
Rating: 4 out of 5

The Amazing Spider-Man #61
Kelly and McGuinness can capably deliver a story in the tried and true Amazing Spider-Man mold, as the first half of this issue attests. They’re trying something different, which is commendable, but endowing Spidey with magical powers feels more like a stunt than a meaningful story. More depth may come as the story progresses. For now, readers are better off enjoying the nice art and snappy dialog. – Jamie Lovett
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Spectacular Spider-Men #9
Writer Greg Weisman is joined by artists Andres Genolet and Emilio Laiso in following New York’s two top Spider-Men. Weisman has always had a good handle on Peter and Miles and this issue proves why, especially when it comes to thinking outside the box within the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Men’s smaller universe. In dealing with the problem of their friend Juliet’s new superpowers, Miles and Peter pull out all the stops and all the moving pieces work well in joining here for a solid solo issue. Genolet and Laiso work well in filling Ramos’ shoes here when it comes to the comic’s art and Weisman establishes what could be an interesting new hero to join the Wallcrawlers’ crime-fighting mission. The Spectacular Spider-Men remains the best Spidey book this side of Ultimate and here’s to a long future for the team-up comic. – Evan Valentine
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (Read the full review here)

Ultimate X-Men #9
I run into the same issues reviewing Ultimate X-Men release after release, where I’m left thinking that this could be a solid enough story on its own but as the premiere spot in the Ultimate universe for these new mutants, it falls short. Peach Momoko’s art here works well in presenting a story that crosses the strengths of North American comic books with Japanese manga but it can often be a little jarring in terms of the lack of detail in some panels. The water color approach is a gorgeous one at times but it feels so against the grain from the rest of the universe. Our characters also seem so spread out and discombobulated after nine issues that you’re left wondering where the story is going, but not in an interesting and enticing way. Ultimate X-Men needs something and I don’t know what that is. – Evan Valentine
Rating: 2 out of 5

Uncanny X-Men #5
The fight against the creepy, powerful villain known as Sarah Gaunt continues here, with both writer Gail Simone and artist David Marquez able to prove why Uncanny X-Men is the best of the X-Books to come out of the “From The Ashes” era. We get more great characterization for Rogue here, along with some dynamic set pieces for the X-Men and their “new class” of youngster that might one day stand toe-to-toe with their elders. Simone has a great understanding of all the characters involved here, working well to make this issue a nice conclusion to the series’ first arc. Krakoa left some big shoes to fill but luckily, Uncanny is able to do so with ease. If you’ve been wary of where Marvel’s mightiest mutants could go following the Krakoa Era, Uncanny X-Men is the book for you.
-Evan Valentine
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Venom #39
Venom #39 spins too many plates, meaning a couple fall to the ground. Writer Torunn Grønbekk has to connect all the plot threads that have been ongoing in this series to the larger Venom War, as well as wrap-up these tie-in issues, and it proves to be too much for one single issue. Germán Peralta & Cafu are the credited artists for the issue, which is at its best when it just sticks to traditional comic book action (a brief Venom vs Loki fight is one of the best sequences) because the weight of the plots compound on each other. At least the ending for Venom War seems to be a cool one, and the conclusion here is at least an easy tee-up for the finale. – Spencer Perry
Rating: 3 out of 5

Image Comics

G.I. Joe #1
The Energon Universe has been a truly special thing to watch, and the universe continues to grow and expand with the highly anticipated launch of G.I. Joe #1. After four stellar mini-series focused on key characters like Duke, Cobra Commander, Destro, and Scarlett, it’s time to get the team together and hit the ground running, and that’s exactly what G.I. Joe #1 delivers. Joshua Williamson, Tom Reilly, Jordie Bellaire, and Rus Wooton have brought big action and even bigger stakes to the series while also investing in the key relationships and personalities that give the series and the franchise overall its heart and soul. G.I. Joe finds the right mix of nostalgia and classic concepts to coincide with its modern themes and storytelling, and it’s a promising first step for the series. – Matthew Aguilar
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (Read the full review here)

Precious Metal #6
The finale of Precious Metal delivers exactly what you want after the previous five issues, a gorgeous spread from artist Ian Bertram and color artist Matt Hollingsworth. Since the beginning the world and characters of Precious Metal have been what kept it interesting, largely because of a visual style truly unlike anything else on the stands. Series writer Darcy Van Poelgeest does their best to make it all make sense. Much of Precious Metal has not been totally coherent for a few issues, but that’s okay when the vibes themselves are quite immaculate. Clocking in at almost sixty pages though, this is going to be one of the best bang for your buck purchases of the week. – Spencer Perry
Rating: 4 out of 5

Transformers #14
The Energon Universe continues with interesting stories for both the past and the present of this new take on the Transformers’ universe. The fourteenth issue follows in the mighty footsteps that we’ve seen from the series so far, slamming together the Cybertronians with GI Joe and Cobra in a compelling fusion. Both the writing and art here are on point though I did have a minor complaint with the flashback. There’s something of an element of Starscream’s agency taken from him in relation to his decision to be a Decepticon and it might rub some Transformers’ fans the wrong way but it’s a minor bump in the road. The Energon Universe makes the Decepticons a truly scary force to be reckoned with and this latest issue is one that proves that even grievously injured, Starscream is a terrifying character. – Evan Valentine
Rating: 4 out of 5

Witchblade #5
The new issue of Witchblade is bookended with goodness. At the top, a moment of extreme self-reflection where scribe Marguerite Bennett digs deep into the thematic arc of the entire series, with a wild action sequence to conclude things. In the middle is…not necessarily wheel spinning in terms of plot, but it’s moving the pieces around the board. Series artist Giuseppe Cafaro and colorist Arif Prianto continue to keep the mood evocative and interesting however, maintaining an interesting visual style that defines this volume just as much as its politics. – Spencer Perry
Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Publishers

Black Hammer: Spiral City #1
Jeff Lemire’s latest volume in the Black Hammer universe has a unique hook. The previous batch carried the subtitle of “The End” and in true Black Hammer fashion Lemire has picked up the pieces from it in a way that no other comic series before has managed to address. Following the events of an explosive multiversal event comic, things can’t just go back to normal, and Black Hammer: Spiral City is forced into a fractured narrative to address the pieces left behind. This offers not only a few different perspectives that are worth exploring but also means that there is perhaps not enough room for each story (at least in the first issue). Teddy Kristiansen enters as the artist for the series, and his style certainly fits the thematic tone of Black Hammer: Spiral City. Kristiansen does a good job with the expository elements, framing it as a storybook recapping major Black Hammer events, but some other instances leave out detail entirely which makes the visuals sometimes feel incomplete. As a longtime fan of Black Hammer as a whole I’m excited to see where this goes, though it’s hard not to notice that visually this feels like a step down from Dean Ormston and Malachi Ward. – Spencer Perry
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Epitaphs From The Abyss #5
My only real concern with most issues of Epitaphs from the Abyss to date has been that the stories, more often than not, feel a little short or incomplete and that’s true for issue #5. While the three stories in this issue are good, they feel less like complete stories and more like pitches for longer tales — particularly Matt Kindt’s “Forever Home” which is absolutely a horror mystery I would read if it were fleshed out just a little more rather than feeling like a synopsis. The third story, Joanne Starer’s “All New You” has perhaps the biggest message about society and culture, and Matthew Rosenberg’s “Some Things You Lose, Some Things You Give Away” may be the strongest and most heartbreaking, but something about them just feels unfinished and unsettled which in turn gives the overall issue a feeling that there could be something more. – Nicole Drum
Rating: 3 out of 5

I Heart Skull-Crusher #7
Skull-Crusher may lose the details here and there (the tournament itself is impossible to keep up with), but it has crafted such an enjoyable world and cast of characters that it’s often hard to care that much. You’re consistently having a great time.
– Charlie Ridgely
Rating: 4 out of 5

Minor Arcana #3
Sometimes you have to hit a personal rock bottom in order to find your way back up and that seems to be the heart of Minor Arcana #3. While the first two issues of the series saw Theresa trying to avoid herself and her gifts — as well as her past — this issue sees her reach a turning point and in that turning point, acceptance. Jeff Lemire does a fantastic job of keeping the story very tightly centered, both emotionally and narratively with Theresa going less into her supernatural power and more into the things that haunt her. It makes for an extremely satisfying story that almost stands on its own. It’s easily the best of the series thus far. – Nicole Drum
Rating: 5 out of 5

Power Rangers Prime #1
After an eight-year saga a new era officially begins in Power Rangers Prime #1, and it’s quite the introduction. Power Rangers Prime has the beloved DNA of the previous comics and the larger franchise, but weaves those touchstone elements into something refreshingly new and unique. Melissa Flores quickly establishes the new status quo as well as the history and mythology that set it in place, and that new history is already providing several intriguing new societal elements and conflicts. Flores also gets to work establishing two promising new characters and their rather contrasting personalities, all juxtaposed by the one known figure in Lauren, which keeps things grounded despite all the changes. Artist Michael Yg, colorist Fabi Marques, and letterer Ed Dukeshire hit the ground running from the very first page, and while we don’t get much in the way of traditional Ranger action, what we do see looks fantastic. That said, some of the most impressive moments are quieter in nature, with one particularly gorgeous panel presenting Mark’s history through a truly unique lens. As for that last page, well, it shakes things up considerably, and combined with everything else in the issue, makes for one hell of a first impression. Power Rangers Prime is off to a stellar start, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
– Matthew Aguilar
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Star Trek: Lower Decks #1
Despite many being apprehensive of Star Trek: Lower Decks, given how far it seemed to venture from what Star Trek had always been until then, fans have come to embrace the show and will lament its ending after five seasons. Those fans should take heart in the existence of Star Trek: Lower Decks #1, which promises future adventures that successfully translate the charm, heart, and humor of Lower Decks into a new medium.
– Jamie Lovett
Rating: 4 out of 5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #2 is again split into two stories. The first follows Raphael as he’s forced into helping Metalhead invade Area 51. The pacing here is a little slow as most of the chapter is spent recalling how Metalhead got here, and the artwork is a bit flat, but it sets up a compelling premise for what’s to come. The back story is more energetic, continuing to chronicle Casey Jones’ time with Karai’s Foot Clan in Japan. Erik Burnham has done an admirable job of establishing a believable and fun rapport between the members of Karai’s gang, while  Mateus Santolouco’s artwork is as sharp and dynamic as always. Altogether, it’s a pretty strong package for TMNT fans.
– Jamie Lovett
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Terminator #2
The Terminator #2 takes the story into the Vietnam War, where a Terminator is on the loose to seemingly eliminate a future threat to Skynet in the same mode as the original Terminator movies. The issue doesn’t provide many specifics, which makes it hard to get too invested, especially with the needlessly circuitous dialog in which the protagonist dances around the fact that the “treasure” he’s hunting for is his Vietnamese wife and child even when there’s no one around to hide that information from. The visuals struggle with the action, with tanks seemingly appearing out of nowhere, and the sparse artwork fails to convey the full weight of the destruction occurring. It’s hardly unreadable, but it struggles on almost every level. – Jamie Lovett
Rating: 2 out of 5

Time Waits #2
Time Waits #2 suffers somewhat from being the middle chapter of this story and thus has to juggle the full chaos of what’s occurring across the time stream. That means fewer endearing moments with our cast and more wild action as time-hopping mercenaries show up to ruin everyone’s day. That’s not such a terrible trade, at least not when it looks as good as it does in these pages. There are strong thematic underpinnings here as an all-powerful capitalist corporation from the future attempts to control all of humanity in a dystopian future by retrieving food seeds from the past, but it’s the personal stuff — the rivalry between Blue and his old squad leader, the tension in his relationships to his wife and Duke — and that carries the book and its stronger for it.
-Jamie Lovett
Rating: 4 out of 5

The post Comic Book Reviews for This Week: 11/13/2024 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It has been said that the best and most effective horror stories are rooted in reality. That doesn’t mean that such horrors are based on true stories per se, but rather that they speak to something of the human experience that is authentic and relatable and when it comes to It Happened on Hyde Street: Devour #1, that is exactly the kind of horror story readers get. A one-shot set within the world of Geoff John’s new Hyde Street series, It Happened on Hyde Street: Devour #1 explores not exactly what’s going on on Hyde Street and the mystery set up with Mr. X-Ray, but instead dives into how some of the poor souls ensnared by the various bad actors on Hyde Street end up there — and in doing so provides a bit of incisive commentary on body image and to fixation with being thin.

Written by Maytal Zchut with art by Leila Leiz, Devour #1 is a story told over three generations — a mother, daughter, and granddaughter — through the bulk of the story is centered around the granddaughter, Lily. Lily is preparing for her wedding but finds it difficult to fit perfectly into a wedding dress. It’s a scenario not uncommon for many brides, and Lily finds herself dieting to make it work. Except, it’s difficult and it is something not made any easier by her mother and grandmother, who are both incredibly thin. As readers learn from the outset, Lily’s grandmother was once overweight herself but wandered into the shop of Miss Goodbody who sold her a mysterious supplement called Devour that promised a dramatic and miraculous body transformation. Of course, because Miss Goodbody’s shop is on Hyde Street, this miracle weight loss comes at a price beyond just the generational trauma of a fixation on being thin.

What works particularly well about Devour #1 is that the real horror is less the truth about Devour — which the story does reveal and it is, on its own, quite horrifying — and more the reality of body image and the fixation on thinness as a hallmark of beauty. Lily’s grandmother is shown as being insecure about her body in 1983 despite being surrounded by the reassurances of her daughter (and before that, her husband) that she is beautiful as she is. The grandmother puts her own fatphobia onto her daughter, Patricia, even before she takes Devour, shaming the child for wanting cookies and warning her not to become fat like her mother. While we are never actually shown what happens with Patricia growing up, it becomes clear very quickly that Patricia has ended up on Devour as well, and though she initially advocates for Lily to have her own path towards comfort in her body, the pressure ultimately becomes too much and the cycle starts again, just in a more terrifying way than before as Lily becomes a mother herself.

While Devour #1 has a horror twist about what the active ingredient in the Devour product really is (and suggests what Miss Goodbody is really doing when she pushes her “miracle” product on people, Zchut does a fantastic job of making the real horror not the diet supplement, but the pressure placed on women by society and even their own loved ones to be thin. It is, in a sense, a timeless subject, but also one brought a little more to the surface discourse in recent months with the availability of medications that have been helping people lose weight. In particular, Lily’s struggle to lose weight on her own or “naturally” is particularly incisive as we see the young woman do everything “right” but still not achieve the goal placed on her by the perceptions of others. It’s perhaps in the contrast between Lily seemingly being somewhat content with who she is and the way those closest to her are trying to force her to be someone else where the most chilling — and heartbreaking — commentary lies and thus, makes the turn at the end with Lily and her own newborn daughter the real horror in the story more than anything Miss Goodbody is doing.

[RELATED: Hyde Street #1 Review: An Enticing Introduction Down a Dark Path]

Artistically, Leiz does a fantastic job of presenting the “normal” bodies of Lily and of her pre-Devour grandmother with respect and even beauty. They are some of the loveliest images in the entire book, as contrasted by with the skeletal forms of post-Devour grandmother and Patricia who both, despite being the thin ideal, look twisted and ugly. There are also some fantastic Easter eggs for Hyde Street sprinkled in the issue’s art as well, with Leiz incorporating the characters in a way that does not distract from the tale playing out in a subtly sinister fashion page by page.

While we are still getting to know the overall world of Hyde Street in the main comic, It Happened on Hyde Street: Devour #1 makes for a strong and impressive introduction to the lure of the world. By speaking to something that is so relatable and unfortunately common for many by taking on the obsession with being thin, Devour #1 reminds readers just how easy it is to succumb to the lure of a quick fix with no thought to the consequences. The result is a horror that maybe isn’t full of jump scares or gore, but settles right into the thoughts and is deeply uncomfortable less for the world the story inhabits, but for the world the reader actually exists in.

Published by Image Comics

On October 30, 2024

Written by Maytal Zchut

Art by Leila Leiz

Colors by Alex Sinclair

Letters by Rob Leigh

Cover by Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, and Brad Anderson

The post It Happened On Hyde Street: Devour #1 Review: An Unsettling, Relatable Horror Story appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Happy new comic book day! It’s another major week in comics, and the ComicBook staff have come together to break down and review as many of the big comics releasing this week as possible. Now obviously this isn’t every single comic on stands, but we’re breaking down new releases from Marvel, DC, Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, Dynamite, Oni Press, Mad Cave Studios, DSTLRY, and more!

We’ve also carved out some additional space for three of this week’s biggest books, including Absolute Batman #1, Blade: Red Band #1, and The Terminator #1, so if our smaller review here piques your interest, make sure to check out the full review for a much more comprehensive analysis of all three issues. As for ratings, we keep things simple with a whole or half number out of five, and you can check out some of our previous reviews right here. With all that said, let’s get to this week’s new comics!

DC

Absolute Batman #1: Reinvention isn’t an unfamiliar concept for comics, but it’s not one that always works. However, with Absolute Batman #1 Snyder and Dragotta have not only successfully reinvented and reimagined one of the most iconic and beloved characters in popular culture, but have kicked off a very well-crafted story as well. With a strong balance of familiar elements and a new approach that is both more contemporary and more grounded, Absolute Batman #1 has given new readers a compelling jumping on point while offering longtime comics fans plenty to be interested in as well. It’s a well-crafted issue that works on all levels and will be fascinating to see where it goes from here. The issue is well-paced and full of interesting details and action as well as sets up a fascinating story. It’s a great kickoff. – Nicole Drum (Click here for full review)
Rating: 5 out of 5

Action Comics #1070: Action Comics #1070 is a solid comic. The issue sees Superman have to deal with an unexpected — and unsettling — threat when something emerges from the Phantom Zone that pushes Superman to his limits. The mechanics of the story is, as most opening chapters are, largely setup but it’s good setup that sees a little bit of classic teamwork between Superman and not only Supergirl, but Jimmy Olsen as well. It’s a story with solid balance between real stakes and intrigue that makes it a good read. The backup story, a Supergirl tale from Mariko Tamaki, is also solid, though it feels more like a slow burn than a direct mystery. Overall, this is a great issue and well worth the read.
– Nicole Drum
Rating: 5 out of 5

Batman and Robin #14: While it is a little disappointing to see Damian regress a bit back to his more petulant behavior after the relationship between him and Bruce came so far in the previous arc, Batman and Robin #14 is a fascinating issue that kicks off a chilling new adventure in which a new threat starts reenacting horrible crimes from Gotham’s dark history. There’s a lot to enjoy here: digging into Gotham’s history and tragedies is of course enjoyable, but structuring the story with Bruce and Damian split up as things kick off makes it even more interesting. The art here is also solid. It’s a good start. – Nicole Drum
Rating: 4 out of 5

Batman: Full Moon #1: Batman’s fight against a new werewolf foe proves to be a serviceable new entry into DC’s Black Label imprint. Rodney Barnes’ script takes a bit of time to really coalesce, but offers some tragic and pointed analysis of fear and faith once it does. Stevan Subic’s art fluctuates between a gritty and shadowy brilliance and unflattering character designs, but neither extreme really feels out of place in the story’s aesthetic. Overall, Full Moon is far from the most interesting or headline-grabbing new Batman book to launch this week, but it still possesses a lot of promise. – Jenna Anderson
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

DC Vs. Vampires: World War V #3: As the newest fight in the DC vs Vampires universe continues to coalesce, even the most satisfying of plot points don’t stop the series from delivering more of the same. Matthew Rosenberg’s script does possess some clever and character-driven moments, but remains as dissonant and scattered as previous installments. Otto Schmidt’s art renders the carnage and splatters of blood well, but leaves other panels with bizarre facial expressions and underwhelming backgrounds. While this is issue is promising for the overall arc of DC vs. Vampires, it still feels like something is missing. – Jenna Anderson
Rating: 3 out of 5

Green Lantern Civil Corps Special #1: The Green Lantern corner of the universe has changed quite a bit over the past year, and all of those changes collide with the fallout from Absolute Power in the Green Lantern Civil Corps Special #1. Those who have been keeping up with the various Lantern happenings in Green Lantern, War Journal, the recent Superman backup stories, and Absolute Power will be right at home, and writers Jeremy Adams and Phillip Kennedy Johnson do a good job of getting you up to speed on what the other book’s been up to if you haven’t been keeping up with everything. The new elements in play from all of those various stories inject some fresh energy into the mix, though just seeing some of your favorites together again gives the book some welcome nostalgia as well, and longtime Lantern fans will enjoy one particular appearance immensely. The team of artist Salvador Larroca and colorist Luis Guerrero know how to craft some epic ring-slinging, with creative constructs and bigger than life action that utilizes the unique power set the Lanterns possess. There is perhaps too much happening at times, and those who haven’t been keeping up with everything might still be a bit lost in certain moments, but those are small quibbles, as the Green Lantern Civil Corps Special delivers big action, shocking reveals, and the promise of even better things ahead for the Corps.
– Matthew Aguilar
Rating: 4 out of 5

Marvel

Amazing Spider-Man #59: Peter Parker and Lonnie Lincoln’s slobberknocker of a death match continues in Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr’s latest issue of the Amazing Spider-Man. As mentioned in my last issue review, this is one of the most brutal fights that the wallcrawler has ever been a part of, reminiscent of his previous battle with Morlun as he finds himself bouncing off the brick wall that is Tombstone. It’s an emotional, heart-pounding thrill ride as the two super-powered brawlers fight for the life of Janice Lincoln. On top of both combatants pitting their strength against one another, they are also placing their ideologies against one another as well and it really works here. Wells has had his issues throughout his ASM run but he is looking to go out with a band thanks to this final fight. – Evan Valentine
Rating 4.5 out of 5

Blade: Red Band #1: Eric Brooks has been having a tough go of things in recent Marvel Comics days. Thanks to the events of Marvel’s Blood Hunt, Blade has found himself shunning society thanks to being possessed by the first vampire, Varnae. While Marvel’s most popular vampire hunter was able to escape the crossover without shedding this mortal coil, Blade finds his life at an impasse as he attempts to figure out what to do next. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately for Blade, his next big challenge falls at his doorstep in the form of a mysterious group that are hoping the vampire hunter will give them some major assistance. – Evan Valentine (Click here for full review)
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Fantastic Four #26: Marvel’s First Family — more specifically, Reed and Johnny — get into the spooky spirit with yet another truly delightful issue. As the duo’s predicament grows more and more outlandish, Ryan North’s script roots the events in some wonderful characterization and genuinely hilarious one-liners. Ivan Fiorelli’s art perfectly compliments the genre-bending lunacy of the narrative, without veering too far from Marvel’s house style. This issue is yet another example of how consistently stellar this new Fantastic Four run is. – Jenna Anderson
Rating: 5 out of 5

Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay #2: The new take on the Marvel Zombies continues and with this departure to a more “Last of Us” style infection, readers do miss out on some of the specific dark comedy that helped make the Marvel Zombies a household name. Ultimately, the partnership between Hulk and Groot here is the star as the green side of Bruce Banner and the Guardians of the Galaxy’s favorite tree. It’s a far more humorous take on the Marvel Zombies overall and it offers just enough to justify its own existence, though it could use a little more bite in terms of this new undead tale. – Evan Valentine
Rating 3 out of 5

Phoenix #4: The clear thesis of Stephanie Phillips’ take on Phoenix is made crystal clear by a meaningful exchange in the first pages of this month’s issue, but making the subtext text doesn’t diminish the power of anything before it or what we see here. Alessandro Miracolo’s art (with colors by David Curiel) continues to be awe-inspiring stuff, whether it’s the major action splash pages with a planetary scale of destruction or quiet character-based moments where two omega-level superheroes are just chatting. Phoenix continues to be the X-Men title that feels the most fresh out of Marvel’s latest relaunch.
– Spencer Perry
Rating: 5 out of 5

Sentinels #1: I don’t remember the last time I felt like a comic book pranked me, but Sentinels first the bill. The moody framing, coloring, and line work on the first page, steeping in what appears to be Barry Windsor-Smith’s influence, had me primed for a story in that vein. Unfortunately, a page turn revealed coloring much more in line with Marvel house standards and linework that didn’t quite fit that bill, but that had entirely abandoned the claustrophobic atmosphere of page one. The premise of Sentinels is interesting in that it takes the concept of the Suicide Squad and puts it into the X-Men’s orbit. However, where previous efforts along similar lines like Hellions put together a team of mutant ne’er-do-wells, Sentinels comprises its team of desperate humans injured during the various cataclysmic events that have beleaguered Marvel’s Earth for years and who have submitted themselves to experimental nanotech procedures to get their lives back only to find themselves disposable, highly-regulated members of a mercenary fireteam and in danger of being bricked by glitches in their new hardware. Mix in the idea of utopias built on such disposable sin-eaters and the plight of the mutants who just lost their promised land and there’s an interesting cocktail of ideas here. It doesn’t quite all come together neatly in these first 20 or so pages, and it’s a shame the issue didn’t commit to the more distinguished visual style of its opening page, but it’s still got enough of a hook to bring readers interested in its layered themes back for more. – Jamie Lovett
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Spider-Man: Black Suit And Blood #3: Like so many other comic book anthologies, Spider-Man: Black Suit and Blood has its ups and downs. While the red, white, and black-styled comic follows Peter Parker’s misadventures with the symbiote, this latest issue has also injected a wild story involving Battleworld and a mysterious villain named Master Blood. This Kang-centric story is an ingenious one and works well within the parameters of the theme. Ultimately, the stories are solid enough and show the more ruthless side of Your Normally Friendly Spider-Man. The artwork across the board is beyond solid here, putting its stylistic restrictions to good use. This Spidey anthology is a good addition for symbiote fans and supplies some solid stories in Peter’s history. – Evan Valentine
Rating 3.5 out of 5

Star Wars: Ewoks #1: The concept for what this series is going to be is quite good, centering on the Ewoks on the moon of Endor as a group of mercenaries from the fractured Empire returns to collect the weapons they left behind. This first issue takes a long time to get to that conflict, and not all of the setup is particularly interesting. Thankfully, Steve Orlando is a more-than-capable writer and delivers compelling pages even when the story calls for heavy exposition. There’s a lot to be excited about with this series now that the seeds have been planted. – Charlie Ridgely
Rating: 3 out of 5

The Ultimates #5: The Ultimates #5 introduces readers to the new Ultimate Hawkeye, a young Indigenous man who got ahold of Tony Stark’s high-tech arrows and costume and has been using them to blow up oil pipelines and similar. It’s a timely reimagining of the character that fits well into the concept of the Ultimates as a resistance network, and there couldn’t be a more appropriate debut than having this new Hawkeye square off with Captain America. Visually, their fight is relatively low-key despite the explosions and acrobatics, which places a lot more of the focus on the conversation, which dives into minority repression, cultural representation, and the act of stealing meaning from those who would otherwise deny it to you, amounting to another thoughtful and exciting issue. 
– Jamie Lovett
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Venom #38: This tie-in to Venom War continues to be as unique as it is fun with scribe Torunn Grønbekk injecting some much-needed characterization into Dylan Brock, which ironically couldn’t be done until he was an old man. Germán Peralta & Cafu are credited with art on the issue, with colors by Frank D’Armata, and any time the frame gets too big and the details get smaller there is something lost in the look of the book. Close shots where minutiae are shown off are where this one lives, and luckily there’s more of it than not, though it is noticeable when the detail is absent. – Spencer Perry
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

X-Force #5: Forge’s team jumps from one nexus point to the next thanks to a shortcut through the otherworld without much rhyme or reason in X-Force #4. Forge is written as being so secretive about his reasons for assembling this new X-Force team that it makes it difficult to understand what anyone’s motivations are. The tensions between team members feel superficial and petty, expressed through dialog heavy with technical phrasing and superhero nonsense. The artwork remains vibrant, but that only goes so far when forced to render such a lifeless and listless plot. – Jamie Lovett
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Image Comics

Geiger #7: When the teachers don’t want the kids getting books, you know there’s going to be a problem. Geiger #7 sees Tariq and Nate deal with some knights before they continue on and encounter some children in danger and, in escorting them back to safety it’s revealed that the reason the kids were out was that they were looking for books — which is apparently something that would not go over well with their teachers. Meanwhile, we’re also introduced to a new King hot on Tariq’s trail. Both elements move the story forward though it’s not quite certain which threat is going to be more challenging, what’s happening with the schoo or this new king. It’s a good issue, though it feels almost like it’s a little short. – Nicole Drum
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Precious Metals #5: As I’ve said the past few issues, I cannot pretend to tell you that I understand fully what is going on plot-wise with Precious Metal. Scribe Darcy Van Poelgeest is spinning a lot of plates and letting the art by Ian Bertram do a lot of the talking, which leads to instances of new characters appearing and old characters taking on new forms which creates almost an avalanche of insane sci-fi concepts and storytelling that doesn’t hold your hands. In a world where this comic doesn’t look good then that specific style of storytelling would be grating, but Bertram’s linework with Matt Hollingsworth’s colors makes that an easy fault to look around. Precious Metal is wild and I do not understand it fully. – Spencer Perry
Rating: 4 out of 5

Public Domain #9: When a series is about the inner workings of the comic book industry and the pop culture industrial complex of related media built on the backs of its creators, it’s only a matter of time before you get to the chapter set at a comic con. Public Domain reached that point before reaching double digits on its issue count. Chip Zdarsky brilliantly utilizes the high-stakes event to develop his complicated characters while keenly matching the visuals to the dominant emotion of the moment, be it a cockeyed view of an angry son defending his father’s honor or that father’s world blacking out around him as he learns a hard truth about the history of his relationships. Public Domain #9 is a beautiful, nuanced, fast-paced, funny, and insightful new chapter in a series that has been all of that throughout. – Jamie Lovett
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Scarlett #5: Scarlett’s final chapter leans into the espionage and spycraft that have made the series so captivating while also setting the stage for the hotly anticipated G.I. Joe team series, and it pulls both of those feats off rather impressive. Kelly Thompson’s banter and dialogue between the three leads are delightful, and the artwork and colors of Marco Ferrari and Lee Loughridge deliver several adrenaline-filled sequences that embrace the franchise’s penchant for epic action, all while grounding everything in the smaller more human moments that happen along the way. There’s plenty of story left to tell, so those looking for more of a hard close won’t necessarily find it here. That said, Scarlett has showcased exactly why the character has been a fan favorite for such a long time while also adding even more depth and charm into the mix, and I can’t wait to see where the character goes from here. – Matthew Aguilar
Rating: 4 out of 5

Transformers #13: I’m a sucker for flashback stories when it comes to the lives of the Autobots and the Decepticons, because it’s territory that doesn’t get thoroughly explored that often. While there have been comic stories, and the recent prequel film Transformers ONE, highlighting the past, most Cybertronian-focused stories keep an eye on the present war. In the latest entry in the Energon Universe, we specifically have the chance to focus on the early days of Ulchtar, aka Starscream. What works so well here is showing just how Ulchtar would become the second in command of the Decepticons and what was the match that lit the to creating one of the Autobots’ deadliest villains. Starscream was once a very different character from the one we’ve come to know and in the quiet moments in this issue, it works well at highlighting the calm before the storm on Cybertron. Skybound’s Transformers continues to be one of the greatest representations of the characters and I’d be hard-pressed to name a flaw. – Evan Valentine
Rating 5 out of 5

BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, and Dynamite

I Heart Skull-Crusher #6: It was always going to be interesting to see what Skull-Crusher did with its story after the team won their way into the pros. The series handles the transition fairly well, setting up some new conflicts in the next tournament and bringing more political players into the drama. – Charlie Ridgely
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Johnny Quest #3: Series scribe Joe Casey continues to do a lot of fun and exciting work with Jonny Quest, delivering more twists and modern ideas into the world that cement this as a contemporary take on the material. The ideas are only elevated by the crisp pencils by Sebastián Píriz, who makes the action all feel fluid and concise, even if the scene is full of science jargon. Píriz’s artwork is also taken up a notch by color artist Lorenzo Scaramella, who creates the tone and mood in the key action sequences and expands on this world with layers that make this a must-read action series. – Spencer Perry
Rating: 4 out of 5

Minor Arcana #2: What makes Minor Arcana #2 such a good issue are the little revelations. First, we see Theresa finding that there might be something more to what she’s always believed is just a fraud and that revelation unsettles her. That, in turn, causes her to try to run from what she’s just experienced and the reasons she’s come back to her small town in the first place, an act that only leads to another little mystery. It’s a fascinating balance of things and one that feels rooted in the experience most adults have faced at some point in their lives: when the reality of who we are hits a little harder than perhaps we were ready for. While there are still a lot of mysteries to unpack and this issue does have a bit of a slower pace, it’s still an exceptional read and has really lovely art to go along with it. – Nicole Drum
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Seance in the Asylum #1: When it comes to atmosphere and creating scenarios to give readers the creeps, Seance in the Asylum passes with flying colors. This thing will get you squirming with some unsettling artistic decisions and a whole cast of eerie characters. The problem is this first issue doesn’t do a lot to bring that energy into the story itself. – Charlie Ridgely
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Space Ghost #6: With its first arc now in the books, Space Ghost cleverly blazes a new trail. David Pepose’s script offers the series’ most earnest chapter thus far, dissecting heroism and personal conflict in some fun ways. Jonathan Lau’s art continues to update Alex Toth’s character designs for modern and shadowy bouts of action, even though a handful of panels are left undercooked. Space Ghost continues to delight. – Jenna Anderson
Rating: 4 out of 5

The Terminator #1: The Terminator #1 might not be the most groundbreaking licensed comic to arrive this year (an honor that is easily given to the Aliens vs. Avengers crossover book from Marvel), but its debut issue is nothing short of a pleasant surprise. By shifting focus away from the worn-out stories of the franchise’s main protagonists, this first issue is able to craft a portrait of ordinary life in an anything-but-ordinary robot apocalypse. On both a narrative and aesthetic level, The Terminator #1 is so straightforward and effective that its attempts at a larger narrative feel like an afterthought — but you still can not help but be excited to see this creative team eventually tackle it. Whether you have voraciously followed every chapter in the Terminator saga, or are jumping into the decades-old story for the very first time, you will probably find something impactful in this debut issue. – Jenna Anderson (Click here for full review)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The post Comic Book Reviews for This Week: 10/9/2024 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Rob Liefeld, the creator of Deadpool and one of the best-selling comic book artists of the last 40 years, is finally set to reunite with one of his most beloved projects: Youngblood. The series, which Liefeld created in the 1980s, then brought to Image Comics as one of its 1992 launch titles, centers on a government-sponsored superhero team, their battles with villains and the internal personality clashes and politics that threaten to get in the way of saving the world. Liefeld had abandoned Youngblood amid a dispute with Rip Media, Inc., who handles the rights for the property. 

In addition to the new series, Image will publish the Youngblood Vault Edition, featuring high-resolution scans of the original art from the 1992 Youngblood series, collected in a deluxe, oversized hardcover. There will also be a facsimile edition of Youngblood #1, to timed to hit in April (the month that original book launched in 1992). There’s no word on whether there could be more Vault Editions down the line if this one does well.

“It’s so great that I can run into the comfort of characters that I created, that launched a movement,” Liefeld told THR. “They carry such history. I love Youngblood so much. These characters are my absolute passion.”

It’s the first time Liefeld has worked with Rip Media’s Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. The dissolution of Awesome Comics in 2000 saw Liefeld split the company’s assets three ways​, with investment partners Rosenberg and John Hyde. Each of the three would have rights over eight of the company’s 24 distinct properties to exploit in other media, with Liefeld maintaining publishing rights over the characters he created. That changed in 2018, when Rosenberg told Liefeld that he had partnered with a new party, a man named Andrew Rev, to finance Youngblood comics and toys. It now appears Rev simply licensed the property, and didn’t own it, opening the door for Liefeld to return to the property.

Liefeld will write and draw a new series published by Image Comics. He recently said goodbye to Deadpool, telling fans that he would use the later years of his career to explore characters he owns. It appears that he just couldn’t say no to a return to Youngblood now that things have changed.

“Rob and I are a fantastic team, and I’m as excited now for Youngblood‘s relaunch as I was in 1992 for its initial launch,” Rosenberg told THR. “I’m excited to bring them to audiences old and new with their original creator, Rob Liefeld.”

Keep your eyes on ComicBook for more details on the Youngblood revival by Liefeld and company.

The post Rob Liefeld Returning to Youngblood After Nearly a Decade Away appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Happy new comic book day! It’s another major week in comics, and the ComicBook staff have come together to break down and review as many of the big comics releasing this week as possible. Now obviously this isn’t every single comic on stands, but we’re breaking down new releases from Marvel, DC, Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, Dynamite, Oni Press, Mad Cave Studios, DSTLRY, and more!

We’ve also carved out some additional space for three of this week’s biggest books, including Storm #1, the DC All In Special #1, and Hyde Street #1, so if our smaller review here piques your interest, make sure to check out the full review for a much more comprehensive analysis of all three issues. As for ratings, we keep things simple with a whole or half number out of five, and you can check out some of our previous reviews right here!

With all that said, let’s get to this week’s new comics!

DC #1

Absolute Power #4

DC’s latest landmark event culminates in a brilliantly constructed and satisfying-enough fashion. Mark Waid’s narrative does occasionally land on some predictable plot twists, but the interplay between the characters is still too good to criticize. Dan Mora’s art is as excellent as ever, especially as the fighting grows more volatile. Even with the All-In and Absolute initiatives clearly on the horizon, it’s apparent that Absolute Power got to end on its own high-octane terms. – Jenna Anderson

Rating: 4 out of 5 

Batman #153

Batman #153 is a dense issue that sets up a lot of things that could be very interesting going forward. Thanks to Bruce Wayne’s efforts, Gotham may actually be starting to turn a corner into something good, but not everyone is happy about that and Batman can’t trust it. Add in a new vigilante, The Riddler having supposedly gone straight, and some corporate shenanigans with a stunning twist, you’ve got the brewing of a complicated and deeply personal Batman tale that could answer the question of whether Gotham can really change. There’s also a surprising death, just to keep things even more interesting and mysterious. It’s the best issue of Batman in a while, hands down. – Nicole Drum

Rating: 4 out of 5

Birds of Prey #14

The start of Birds of Prey’s newest arc boasts a unique blend of entertainment and intrigue that only it can uniquely deliver. As the arc’s central conflict builds in somewhat of a slow burn, the fun is largely found in the team dynamics, all of which Kelly Thompson crafts very strongly. Sami Basri joins the series’ aesthetic in a seamless way, rendering awesome sartorial looks and epic fight sequences in equal measure. If you’ve missed out on this Birds of Prey run so far, DC’s new jumping-on point is a great opportunity to fix that. – Jenna Anderson

Rating: 5 out of 5

DC All In Special #1

DC jumps into a bold new era with the much anticipated DC All In Special, an ambitious flipbook-style issue that seeks to set the status quo of the main universe while simultaneously detailing the origins of the Absolute Universe. It’s a daunting task, and while there’s a lot to get to, the team is up for the task, crafting a one-of-a-kind special that delivers on its mission statement while still letting the heroes and villains that power this grand universe shine on their own individual levels. This is just the beginning, but with All In DC has put its best foot forward, and the future couldn’t be brighter. – Matthew Aguilar

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (Read the full review right here)

DC’s I Know What You Did Last Crisis #1

Just in time for Halloween, DC Comics has crafted eight bone-chilling stories to celebrate the spooky season. The comic publishers have long held an enjoyable trend of creating anthology comics that celebrate a specific holiday. Much like any anthology comic book issue, Last Crisis has its share of hits and misses, bringing together veteran comic creators and newcomers to the DC Universe. Surprisingly enough, not only does this issue create some skin-crawling stories for DC’s heroes but also has some entries that act as further examinations of major crossovers including Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis. One story in particular featuring Nightwing and Superboy Prime written by none other than former DC head Dan Didio is worth your attention. If you’re looking for a fun, breezy set of eight stories exploring big and small DC characters like, I Know What You Did Last Crisis is worth its $8.99 price tag. – Evan Valentine

Rating 3.5 out of 5

DC #2

Justice Society of America #12

With Justice Society of America #11 having wrapped up the story, this week’s finale – Justice Society of America #12 – ends up being just a really nice post script to the story and for Stargirl fans, it’s a beautiful one. The issue is narrated by Courtney as she graduates high school and, over the overlay of some truly epic fight scenes, recounts the thing’s she’s learned as she closes out one chapter and prepares for whatever comes next. There’s nothing especially groundbreaking here, but Johns does a fantastic job of meditating on the challenges of life and how we never really face them alone. It’s a beautiful and fitting way to commemorate Stargirl’s 25th anniversary as well as close out this series overall. – Nicole Drum

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

My Adventures With Superman #5

My Adventures With Superman #5 sees Superman face off in a final battle for Amazo and at the same time, sees Amazo come to understand where he came from and his purpose – as well as how he’s deviated from it. It’s a tense issue with Superman advocating for the good in Amazo against a force that wants less to protect Earth but more to get his own glory and it all sets up for what promises to be a massive finale. This whole series has been a delightand this issue is no exception, especially with a little humor courtesy Ma and Pa Kent. – Nicole Drum

Rating: 5 out of 5

Plastic Man No More! #2

As Eel’s predicament gets more unpredictable and horrifying, Plastic Man No More! firmly establishes itself as one of DC’s most distinct miniseries in recent memory. Christopher Cantwell’s script is an emotional masterpiece, raising the stakes while allowing for some delightfully adult moments of character. Alex Lins’ art does double duty in rendering Eel’s modern body horror and unsettlingly quaint time with the Justice League, with the end result being both well-executed and skin-crawling. Do not miss out on Plastic Man No More!, trust me. – Jenna Anderson

Rating: 5 out of 5

Poison Ivy #26

Poison Ivy #26 kicks off a new chapter for Poison Ivy and sees her trying to set right some of the things that went so wrong with her battle against Woodrue, but in the process lands her in the middle of a huge mystery regarding a suburb that has suddenly emerged from the marsh as well as a twist of potentially mistaken identity that is going to make everything just that much harder. While the issue is a little on the slower paced side as it sets up the story, the focus on Janet as the gateway to events works really beautifully. Given the large scale the last arc took, this feels much more pared down but no less as important and it’s overall just very well done. – Nicole Drum

Rating: 4 out of 5

Shazam! #16

Shazam!’s jumping-on point for the All-In initiative is a charming, albeit visually disjointed, new chapter. The highlight is absolutely Josie Campbell’s narrative, which has a delightful grasp on the family’s dynamics and insecurities going into their latest threat. Dan McDaid’s art results in some awkward facial expressions and body composition, but still delivers in key action sequences. – Jenna Anderson

Rating: 3 out of 5

The Nice House By The Sea #3

James Tynion IV is playing his hand in the right order with this series, revealing just enough details that the WTF factor doesn’t overshadow the actual storytelling. The real selling point for The Nice House by the Sea is the artwork by Álvaro Martínez Bueno with colors by Jordie Bellaire. The pair capture not only fundamentally human elements like scrapbooks and photography but manage to evoke specific moods in eerie settings and reveal otherworldly character designs that can only be done in comics. Horror fans have a great one to catch up with if they haven’t made the trip to the House… – Spencer Perry

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Marvel #1

Daredevil #14

Matt Murdock might have beaten Wilson Fisk once again but he has two heavy challenges to handle in his immediate future. The first is the remnants of the Heat, the Kingpin’s now aimless army, and the second is his own faith. Considering writer Saladin Ahmed has spent the current series seeing Matt as a priest, Murdock having a tete-a-tete with his creator makes sense here and peels back the layers of the character. Matt’s decision to give up his holy profession makes sense here and feels organic to the character, as well as his bristly current standing with Elektra thanks to it. Ahmed and Zagaria deliver an interesting outing for the Guardian Devil with this latest issue while also setting up quite the mystery for Murdock to handle in the imminent future. – Evan Valentine

Rating 4 out of 5

Deadpool #7

Deadpool’s daughter Ellie, and her trusty Carnage-infused hound Princess, are looking to pick up where her dead dad left off. Ultimately, Ellie does a good job of bringing a mix of humor and action that are left in Wade Wilson’s wake though there does feel like something missing from this latest issue. The topic of death is one that has had its fair share of controversy in “cape books” in recent years and the way they approach the Merc With A Mouth’s demise here doesn’t do that topic any favors. Deadpool’s death feels like an afterthought here and that’s a real shame. There is some good story hooks to mine from a scenario like this but for the team of mercenaries, it almost feels like it’s business as usual. While Ellie makes for a solid protagonist, it feels like this move to kill Wade simply doesn’t feel earned here. – Evan Valentine

Rating 3 out of 5

Get Fury #6

It’s such a shame that the characters Garth Ennis writes tend to be the most misunderstood, because he’s so damn good at crafting these gut-punching depictions of humanity that it makes you wonder how anyone could see his take on the Punisher and think any kind of violence could be a good idea. This Castle and Nick Fury story is beyond bleak, but it’s the kind of reflective saga that is impossible to ignore. – Charlie Ridgely

Rating: 4 out of 5

Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider #6

Gwen Stacy’s foray into the Marvel Universe continues with a much more subdued issue that features Ghost Spider having a tete-a-tete with Jessica Jones. Gwen’s new series has been very hit or miss as she tangles with classic Spidey villains while keeping the reasoning for her dimension hopping close to her chest. Luckily, this quieter issue gives us a better look into the characters of both Gwen and her potential “big bad”, the Black Tarantula. I’m still not entirely sold on the Ghost Spider’s new status quo when all is said and done but here’s to hoping that future issues can stay truer to this sixth issue than some of its weaker counterparts. – Evan Valentine

Rating 3.5 out of 5

Star Wars: Inquisitors #5

What a wallop of an exclamation point this put on the whole Inquisitors series. It’s a dark ending that lays bare the ideals that tend to lead us to our most devastating losses, both in the real world and in a galaxy far, far away. This also helps build Darth Vader’s legacy as one of the most harrowing villains around, and that is always welcomed. – Charlie Ridgely

Rating: 4 out of 5

Marvel #2

Storm #1

Rather than shying away from Storm’s complex, sometimes conflicting history, Storm #1 embraces it all and comes away with a strong sense of purpose. The issue also lays down several potential complications in Storm’s life and while it is hard to see now how they’ll coalesce into a satisfying and coherent narrative, the strength of this debut issue has earned the creative team some space to make their point. At a time when new superhero comics often struggle to justify their existence, Storm #1 creates the framework to position Storm as a leading superheroine she perhaps should have become a long time. Here’s hoping they can build on this strong start. – Jamie Lovett

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Read the full review right here)

The Immortal Thor #16

Immortal Thor #16 is a beautifully structured superhero story. It begins in a contemplative mode, reflecting on the broad idea of superheroes and supervillains as gods who walk among the mortals of the Marvel Universe before honing in on Thor’s thoughts about his responsibilities as the All-Father of Asgard. From there, it escalates with the introduction of a new foursome of villains, godly avatars comprised of some of Thor’s past foes. Ewing and Bazaldua do an excellent job of slowly ramping up the tension as Thor arrives on Earth and must confront first the earthly authorities that pose him no real threat and then eventually a villain who poses even more threat to them than he does to them before finally facing the combined might of his primal enemies. It’s done with confidence and a sense of introspection largely lacking in many modern superhero comics, which helps make Immortal Thor stand out from the crowd. It may seem odd that assembling four villains who could generously be labeled “B-list” to face off with Thor would be so exciting, but Ewing has shown a knack for elevating such characters and instilling them with new weight and meaning. One expects he’s headed in the same direction again, and that’s something worth anticipating.  – Jamie Lovett

Rating: 4 out of 5

Ultimate Black Panther #9

The latest issue of Black Panther has T’Challa’s storyline marginally spinning its wheels, but writer Bryan Hill and series artist Stefano Caselli do great with the Killmonger and Storm side of the narrative. Hill’s writing in the series is always at its best when he’s keeping us guessing and this arc does just that. Caselli channels the powers of these two characters in unique ways while also delivering plenty of other surprises as they track down the new Sorcerer Supreme. As has been the cast this entire time, Ultimate Black Panther is at its best when setting itself apart, and that remains true here. – Spencer Perry

Rating: 4 out of 5

Venom War #3

If you haven’t been reading Al Ewing’s Venom from the start, the latest issue of Venom War might read like total nonsense, and even if you have it may feel like you’re caught in a whirlpool of lore. Ewing does his best to make it all make sense, but it becomes sensory overload despite. Series artist Iban Coello continues to do great work with the varied characters and symbiotes that are present, this time wrapping up the issue with perhaps its best final page yet. – Spencer Perry

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

X-Men #5

Why do this? Why create a story seemingly of a kind with certain highly-regarded past X-Men issues only to reject what made them great without purpose? To have Kid Omega speak during a psychic rescue, a plot device previously used to justify memorable silent comics, isn’t necessarily out of character – at least not if you roll back all of Kid Omega’s character development from the past 10 years, which is keeping in theme with the current X-Men volume –  but to have him do so without any specific repercussions renders the entire exercise moot. While Ryan Stegman has his strengths as an artist, his style does not have the gracefulness of Frank Quitely or Russell Dauterman, and the journey that Quentin and Kwannon embark on lacks the symbolism that defined past psychic rescue missions, which differentiated them from any other X-Men excursion. The villain reveal feels like yet another example of McKay doing a half-hearted Morrison cover, and having Kid Omega make a statement suggesting an understanding of the need for Psylocke’s professional precision to guide his raw power and then not visualize that any further than a nebulous splash page is a failure of plot. X-Men #5 simply does not measure up to the legacy it seeks to co-op. – Jamie Lovett

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Image Comics

Hyde Street #1

Overall, Hyde Street #1 is a bit of a departure from what readers might expect from both Johns and Reis, but the story and its art simply works. The characters are interesting, if not mysteries of their own which beg to be unpacked, but the actual setting itself offers just enough questions to make readers want to know more as well as see more, thanks to Reis’ detailed and intricate art.. At its core, Hyde Street #1 sets the stage for what feels like a tale that is going to make the reader ask some hard questions of themselves, but also make them think twice about crossing the street in an unfamiliar neighborhood. It’s a promising start to a new horror story. – Nicole Drum

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (Read the full review right here)

Redcoat #6

Redcoat’s first story arc comes to a close in grandiose fashion, relying on the strengths of the series when it comes to big set pieces, bizarre supernatural shenanigans, and Simon Pure’s deadpan wit to make for a solid sixth issue. Johns and Hitch end the first arc strong while laying out quite the final page to hint at what is to come. Redcoat is arguably the strongest ongoing series from Ghost Machine and it’s issues like this that help to propel it as a must read for comic book fans. Here’s to hoping that Simon Pure and Albert Einstein are able to keep running with the ball in the future of both Redcoat and Ghost Machine as a whole. – Evan Valentine

Rating 4 out of 5

The Deviant #8

The Deviant is such a beautifully layered crime story that still, eight issues in, has you guessing everything you’re reading. It’s a great thriller even without the stories of identity and desperation and acceptance at its center. The whole package put together and tied with a bow has set the stage for Tynion’s holiday mystery to be an all-timer. – Charlie Ridgely

Rating: 5 out of 5

I Hate Fairyland #16

What an enjoyable return to Fairyland this turned out to be! Young has a couple jokes that don’t quite land and, at times, the dialogue can feel just a tad bit dated, but it’s never something you really mind all that much. Gert is a wonderfully messy character, which allows for the book to be a little messy sometimes, too. Seeing her accept her new role as a hero is such a fun direction for this story, especially when it’s made very clear that her heroics aren’t what she believes them to be. – Charlie Ridgely

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Oni, Titan, and IDW

Conan: Battle of The Black Stone #2

It’s difficult for a time-hopping, monster-slaying Conan adventure to be anything other than a fun time, and Zub fully understands that. What we have here isn’t the best comic on the shelf by any stretch, but it’s a good time from the first page to the last, and that’s all you need every now and then. – Charlie Ridgely

Rating: 3 out of 5

Cruel Universe #3

The latest issue of Cruel Universe undoubtedly lives up to its concept and name, spinning a crop of largely-intriguing yarns about the dangers of technology. The highlights are definitely found in the latter half of the issue, as Ben H. Winters and Carson Thorn’s “The Deleted Man” and Cullen Bunn and David Rubin’s “Behave” deliver short and twisted parables about the modern pressures of technology. Every chapter is gruesome, and nearly every chapter is memorable, and horror fans owe it to themselves to check it out. – Jenna Anderson

Rating: 4 out of 5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #2

Nightwatcher’s second issue dives into Jennika and the series of events that led her to become the new vigilante protector of Mutant Town. Given that Nightwatcher’s debut depicted the character as a fairly straightforward urban avenger, this sophomore outing provides a surprisingly fantastical origin. It could be seen as unnecessary — Jennika has been protecting Mutant Town as part of the Ninja Turtles clan for a while now, it wouldn’t be surprising if she simply took on a new persona as the neighborhood’s current solo protector to be even more effective in that pursuit — but there is some narrative power in infusing the Nightwatcher with a power born of the cultures of Mutant Town’s people, making Nightwatcher more of an avatar of the community than a longe vengeful protector. The urban-surreal aesthetic of the visuals adds to this sensibility, one that straddles the line between street-level crime fighting and mystical, even occult themes. Nightwatcher #2 provides a strong, compelling origin for Mutant Town’s new protector that should continue to compel as the creators unpack it through future issues of the series.  – Jamie Lovett

Rating: 4 out of 5

The post Comic Book Reviews for This Week: 10/2/2024 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It’s officially October, the month of all things spooky, scary, and even a little twisted and for fans of horror comics, it also means that Hyde Street #1 is here. The latest from Geoff Johns’ Ghost Machine universe, Hyde Street #1 sees Johns and artist Ivan Reis step into the horror genre unlike we’ve seen from them before to take readers on a journey to a place — the titular Hyde Street — that feels part purgatory, part nightmare and all mystery full of tormented souls, dark mysteries, and perhaps even a disturbing look at humanity and what people will do to avoid their fate.

Hyde Street #1 opens up with a truly unsettling encounter between a seemingly kindly old lady who finds herself suddenly confused as she walks down the street with her groceries. There’s a great deal of construction cluttering up the intersection and things are strangely unfamiliar to her. She’s soon helped out by a young scout, but it’s quickly revealed that this isn’t merely a good deed. The old woman has dark secrets and the scout is on a mission to make her face them. It’s through that disturbing sequence that at least part of the nature of Hyde Street is revealed and we’re soon initiated into the idea that Hyde Street is itself disturbing, but so are its “residents” and their motives. We’re also introduced to Mr. X-Ray, another resident and it’s soon explained that even the residents have dark stories and that they’re all serving someone even darker, all playing a twisted game of presumably redemption from what feels like a much larger hell.

Narratively, it’s an interesting first issue. Johns sets up Mr. X-Ray as something of a protagonist even though he is far from an innocent — we learn about his own callousness and poor life choices early on — but much about the man or exactly why he’s ended up on Hyde Street remains a mystery. We’re also introduced to Pranky, the young scout, who seems to be filling a similar role to Mr. X-Ray but has a very different and more disturbing way of going about the task. The dynamic between the characters leaves a lot to unpack, but with plenty of tension as the first issue establishes a sort of rivalry between the two that only seems to be getting started. As for mechanics of Hyde Street and both of the characters we’re introduced to, Johns leaves quite a few things left to be revealed and in doing so, makes things just a bit more intriguing. The story is a slow burn that is just satisfying enough to enjoy but leaves the reader wanting more.

Art wise, Reis’s art is intricate and very detailed. Particular standouts in the issue are the facial features and expressions on the characters, which offer not only a bit of humanity — even in the old lady with a dark secret — but also contains secrets within themselves. Pranky in particular feels especially artistically fleshed out to the point where the visual of his dark turn is almost more impactful than what he’s saying in any given panel. Beyond just the characters, however, Reis has created a richly detailed world that manages to capture looking like any other city street or neighborhood with ease while also darkening every corner with shadow and suggestion of the horror to come. The art is made even more impactful by Brad Anderson’s colors, which are perfectly toned to be just the right amount of spooky.

Overall, Hyde Street #1 is a bit of a departure from what readers might expect from both Johns and Reis, but the story and its art simply works. The characters are interesting, if not mysteries of their own which beg to be unpacked, but the actual setting itself offers just enough questions to make readers want to know more. At its core, Hyde Street #1 sets the stage for what feels like a tale that is going to make the reader ask some hard questions of themselves, but also make them think twice about crossing the street in an unfamiliar neighborhood. It’s a promising start to a new horror story.

Published by Image Comics

On October 2, 2024

Written by Geoff Johns

Art by Ivan Reis

Colors by Brad Anderson

Inks by Danny Miki

Letters by Rob Leigh

Cover by Reis, Miki and Anderson

The post Hyde Street #1 Review: An Enticing Introduction Down a Dark Path appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Another Ryan Murphy series is coming to FX and this time, it’s based on comics. According to Deadline, FX has ordered The Beauty, an adaptation of the 2016 Image Comics title of the same name. The new series is part of Murphy’s overall Disney deal and is set to star frequent Murphy collaborator Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, and Ashton Kutcher. Peters, Ramos, and Pope will also executive produce. Murphy will also write and executive producer the series with Matt Hodgson. Production on an 11-episode first season is expected to begin this fall. Not details on characters have been revealed.

The 2016 graphic novel The Beauty comes from creators Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley and is described as follows, “Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty. What if there was a way to guarantee you could become more and more beautiful every day? What if it was a sexually transmitted disease? In the world of The Beauty, physical perfection is attainable. The vast majority of the population has taken advantage of it, but Detectives Foster and Vaughn will soon discover it comes at a terrible price.”

As was noted above, Peters is a frequent collaborator with Murphy, with Peters having previously appeared in nine seasons of Murphy’s American Horror Story. He also appeared in the first season of Murphy’s Pose and most recently starred in Murphy’s Netflix series Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Pope has also worked with Murphy before, appearing in both Pose as well as Netflix’s Hollywood. Ramos is best known for his roles in Broadway’s Hamilton and most recently appeared in Twisters alongside Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar Jones.  Kutcher is best known for starring in Fox’s That 70’s Show as well as starring in shows like Two and a Half Men on CBS.

The Beauty is just the latest series from Murphy, who is himself known for series such as American Horror Story, American Horror Stories, American Crime Story, American Sports Story, 9-1-1, and the recently debuted Grotesquerie. He also has two other series in the works, American Love Story for FX and All’s Fair for Hulu. It was also recently announced that, with 9-1-1: Lone Star ending on Fox, another 9-1-1 spinoff is in the works at ABC.

“Time Minear and I are working on a new spinoff that we’re actually writing, and that we hope to get on the air next fall,” Murphy told Variety. “Sadly, we all love Lone Star, but the financials just didn’t work. It’s a Disney company that was on a. Fox network, and it just was never going to work. And we had a long run of it. So now we’re going to launch a new show in a new city that I can’t name, but it’s fun. And 9-1-1 moved to ABC and suddenly became, I think, the biggest show on Thursday night. They obviously have an appetite for that, so we’re going to give them another one that I really love.”

The post American Horror Story Creator Adapting Image Comics’ The Beauty Into TV Series appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Ghost Machine has released an official trailer for Hyde Street, the upcoming horror series from writer Geoff Johns and artist Ivan Reis. The series serves as the flagship title for a new horror universe within Ghost Machine, so the name “Hyde Street” is more than just a single title, it’s also a broader banner or setting that will be applied to a few upcoming titles. This one, though, kicks off on Wednesday, October 2nd at comic shops and online. You can see the trailer, which not only gives fans a look inside of the first issue but also features a few words from Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis, below.

Per the official synopsis, “Hyde Street debuts this week from Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, Brad Anderson, Rob Leigh & Image Comics. In every city and town, off every country road and metropolis avenue, if you make a wrong turn…you might find yourself on Hyde Street. But be careful who you talk to and what you do because the consequences make death itself seem like the easy way out. Introducing MR. X-RAY! PRANKY, THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS SCOUT! MISS GOODBODY! AND MANY MORE…out to delight, fright, and say good night. What is their secret and that of Hyde Street? Only they know. For now.”  

“We call our horror universe Hyde Street, and also the series that debuts a brand new generation of horror,” Johns teases in the trailer. Later, he adds, “Hyde Street is a place in any town or any city or country or remote place in the world. Hyde Street is a seemingly good place, but there are some dark tensions designed within, and there are people you’ll meet on Hyde Street who you’ll regret meeting.”

“Hyde Street is not only a typical horror story,” Reis said. “Of course we have scary moments, but it is about your humanity — what makes you human?”

Johns teases that the book will build out the various horror characters of Ghost Machine’s shared universe one at a time, saying, “The scary thing about Hyde Street [is], you don’t find yourself on Hyde Street. Hyde Street finds you.”

All Ghost Machine titles, including Geiger, Redcoat, Rook: Exodus, and more, are also available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Here’s the listing of variant covers Hyde Street #1, which includes a Blackest Night variant by Reis:

• Cover A by Reis, Danny Miki & Anderson – Lunar Code 0824IM297
• Cover B by Gary Frank & Anderson – Lunar Code 0824IM298 
• Cover C 1:25 copy incentive by Kelley Jones & Anderson – Lunar Code 0824IM299 
• Cover D 1:50 copy incentive by Mike Deodato & Anderson – Lunar Code 0824IM300 
• Cover E 1:1000 copy incentive by Reis Original Art Convention Sketch Cover (Limit One Per Store) – Lunar Code 0824IM301
• Cover F Blank Sketch – Lunar Code 0824IM302
• Cover G 1:100 copy incentive Blackest Night homage by Reis, Miki & Anderson – Lunar Code 0824IM803

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The co-creator of The Boys comic book series is one of the individuals behind a new horror imprint. Writer Garth Ennis co-created The Boys alongside artist Darick Robertson, with the mature series becoming one of the breakout hits at Dynamite and inspiring the live-action series at Prime Video. Ennis has remained a prolific creator in the comic book world, and his next challenge will come as a co-founder of Ninth Circle, a horror imprint published at Image Comics. Ennis’ first title under Ninth Circle is Freddie The Fix alongside artist Mike Perkins, with a release date set for December 11th.

Deadline reports the other founders of Ninth Circle includes The Equalizer showrunner Adam Glass, Marguerite Bennett (DC’s Bombshells), Joe Pruett (Negative Burn) and Ram V (The Many Deaths of Laila Starr). ABGO’s Michael Bogner and TFC Management’s David Stone are also named as part of the Ninth Circle leadership team. It sounds like select titles under the Ninth Circle banner could be adapted into other media, as Kimberly Steward (Manchester By The Sea, Suspiria) of K Period Media is listed as a lead investor. This has become common after the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with companies looking to scoop up creator-owned properties in the hopes of finding the next big thing.

According to the founders, Ninth Circle titles “will explore all of the dark avenues of the horror genre, including the paranormal and demonic, slashers, creatures, psychological, and even a dash of comedy, all coming straight to readers from the deepest depths of Hell.” 

What is Freddie The Fix about?

Freddie The Fix is billed as a darkly humorous and horrific series that follows Freddie, a fixer who cleans up the messes left behind by the monstrous stars of Hollywood: werewolves, vampires, zombies, aliens, bogeymen, predators, and…things.   

“I’ve always been a big horror fan,” said Ennis. “With Freddie the Fix, I hope to shock, thrill, and entertain our fans (and maybe give them a laugh or two along the way).”

Ninth Circle books are billed as standalone tales of terror, releasing double-sized issues each month. Joining the roster next to Freddie The Fix are titles from writer Marguerite Bennett and artist Jill Thompson (Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, the Scary Godmother series, Wonder Woman), writer Joe Pruett and artist Butch Guice (The Flash, Winter Soldier, Birds of Prey), and Glass with art by Bernard Chang (X-Men, Deadpool, Superman). More creators will be announced at a later date.

“Ninth Circle is all about embracing the horror genre in all its forms,” Glass said. “With Garth’s unparalleled ability to craft unforgettable worlds; Ram, Marguerite and Joe’s daring eye for pushing the boundaries of the medium; and my own experience in storytelling across multiple mediums, we can’t wait to share these stories with fans.”

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