The Ultimate Spider-Man is making his biggest swing yet in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #300. March 2024 sees the release of series writer Cody Ziglar and artist Federico Vicentini's Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18, a giant-sized special issue commemorating 300 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man. (The original volume started in 2000. Marvel Comics relaunched the title as Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man in 2011 and then Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man in 2014.) The anniversary issue is set in the fallout of Gang War -- the crossover event spinning out of the pages of Amazing Spider-Man -- which hits Brooklyn in December's Miles Morales: Spider-Man #13 (legacy #295).

"To be completely honest, it's very surreal to be able to write Miles' 300th issue," Ziglar said in a statement. "This is a character I've been following and rooting for for almost 12 years now. There's so much crammed into this issue and I'm forever grateful that I have been trusted to continue to carry the torch for Miles after [Brian Michael] Bendis and [Saladin] Ahmed."

The issue, which features art by Vicentini and Miles' co-creator Sara Pichelli, pits Brooklyn's Spidey against his arch-enemy: Rabble, the technopath who made her debut in Miles Morales: Spider-Man Vol. 2 #1 in 2022. As Gang War rages on in Miles Morales, the five-issue tie-in features a spectacular team-up with the Peter Parker Spider-Man and Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel as Miles battles the anti-super Cape Killers task force, his recurring foe Scorpion, and scheming crime boss Hobgoblin.

"Rabble has been busy plotting her revenge against Spider-Man ever since she learned his secret identity! And the hyper-lethal Cape Killers led by Agent Gao, Scorpion, and Hightail are also gunning to bring Spidey down at all costs. Luckily, Miles will have backup of his own--his uncle, Aaron Davis AKA the Prowler, and his best friend, Ms. Marvel," the official synopsis reads. "Miles Morales is in for the fight of his life! Rabble has stepped from the shadows of Gang War for a rematch, and she's sworn bloody revenge against Brooklyn's wall-crawler! But this time, Rabble's out-of-control powers and desperation have her poised to obliterate far more than just Spider-Man's life."

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18 (legacy #300) is on sale March 27, 2024, from Marvel Comics.

[Spoiler alert for Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War First Strike #1.] War! It didn't take long for the repercussions from Amazing Spider-Man #31 to be felt in the prelude to Marvel's Gang War event, which officially kicks off in December's Amazing Spider-Man #39. After the assassin named Shotgun gunned down and hospitalized Tombstone, rival crime boss Hammerhead took out Madame Masque when he blew up her limousine. Subsequent issues of Amazing Spider-Man revealed that it was Count Nefaria -- Madame Masque's father -- who ordered the hit.

Under Nefaria's orders, Hammerhead has been manipulating the bosses -- among them the Owl, Crime Master, Lady Yulan, Mister Negative, Diamondback, and Black Mariah -- to destabilize New York's crime network. Nefaria is colluding with the cyborg gangster Silvermane to make the Maggia the de facto leaders of every crime organization in the city... or he was. Amazing Spider-Man #38 ended with a mysterious figure hijacking Silvermane's robotic body to pulverize Count Nefaria, then used his cybernetic arms to tear his own head off his body.

Meanwhile, Peter Parker's friend, Randy Robertson, has joined forces with Mayor Luke Cage to repeal Fisk's Law: former Mayor Wilson Fisk's law criminalizing New York's superheroes. In the one-shot Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War First Strike #1, Randy's activism to legalize superheroes makes him a target. Hammerhead orders Randy's ex-fianc?e -- Tombstone's daughter, Janice Lincoln, a.k.a. the Beetle -- to kill Randy if she wants her father's territory and his seat at the table.

As Randy rallies a group of repeal supporters to protest the anti-hero law, Janice tracks down Randy... but can't bring herself to kill him. As it turns out, Hammerhead knew Janice wouldn't kill Randy: he sent a gang of assassins to follow Janice and whack them both. The assassins open fire, but Randy takes bullets meant for Janice and is hospitalized.

Hammerhead confides his plans in the date he picked up at Janice and Randy's wedding before Shotgun crashed the ceremony in Amazing Spider-Man #31. The unnamed woman uses a magic adamantium femur to bludgeon Hammerhead to death, bashing in his adamantium skull, and then reveals her true identity when Janice comes to take her revenge on Hammerhead: Whitney Frost, a.k.a. Madame Masque. She hired a body double to pose as Madame Masque at the wedding, and that's who died in the car bombing.

"He told me everything. Every blood feud he'd stoked. Every gangland alliance he'd turned to hatred," Whitney says, donning her golden mask. "He set them all up... and now it's time to knock them down."

Madame Masque tells Janice that word of Hammerhead's death will spark an all-out war for territories. The treaties that Hammerhead held together will collapse and moves will be made by opportunists -- just like the original '80s Gang War (in The Amazing Spider-Man #284-#289). The Ringmaster and his gang of circus criminals; the Rose and his enforcer, the radioactive Digger; Mister Negative and his Inner Demons; Lady Yulan and her vampire brood... all will be out in the streets for blood. "They all want war," Masque tells Janice. "I'm just giving it to them. I'll give them so much they won't even notice when I start to take."

Spider-Man is visiting Randy and his father Robbie in the hospital when Gang War begins. Janice warns Masque against attacking Harlem -- her comatose father's territory and where he's recovering from Shotgun's assassination attempt -- but Masque says the gangs are already coming after Harlem. She'll be there to claim what's left. Masque then puts in a phone call: to Shotgun. Elsewhere, Mayor Cage orders the police to mobilize, but they're outmanned and outgunned. Spider-Man, not wanting civilians caught in the crossfire, tells Cage to keep the police at bay while he does his illegal super hero-ing. Before swinging into the fray, Spider-Man tells Cage: "I need a team."

The story continues in the special up-sized Amazing Spider-Man #39, on sale December 6.

Marvel Gang War Checklist

Gang War First Strike: November 2023
Amazing Spider-Man #37
Amazing Spider-Man #38
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #12
Amazing Spider-Man -- Gang War: First Strike #1
Spider-Woman #1
Luke Cage: Gang War #1 (of 4)

Gang War: December 2023
Amazing Spider-Man #39 (special upsized issue)
Amazing Spider-Man #40
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #13
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #14
Daredevil: Gang War #1 (of 4)
Spider-Woman #2
Luke Cage: Gang War #2 (of 4)
Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu: Gang War #1 (of 3)

Gang War: January 2024
Amazing Spider-Man #41
Amazing Spider-Man #42
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #15
Daredevil: Gang War #2 (of 4)
Spider-Woman #3
Luke Cage: Gang War #3 (of 4)
Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu: Gang War #2 (of 3)

Gang War: February 2024
Amazing Spider-Man #43
Amazing Spider-Man #44
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #16
Daredevil: Gang War #3 (of 4)
Spider-Woman #4
Luke Cage: Gang War #4 (of 4)
Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu: Gang War #3 (of 3)

Gang War: March 2024
Daredevil: Gang War #4 (of 4)

Something sinister this way comes in Marvel's Giant-Size Spider-Gwen #1. In 2024, the publisher will commemorate the 50th anniversary of 1974's Giant-Size Super-Stars #1 and the Giant-Size storytelling of Marvel's Bronze Age with a lineup of new Giant-Size one-shots, including Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 in January and Giant-Size Fantastic Four #1 in February. Following December's Spider-Gwen: Smash -- a four-issue limited series co-starring X-Men's Dazzler and the Hulk of Earth-65 -- Gwen Stacy, a.k.a. the Spider-Verse's Ghost-Spider, will return in Giant-Size Spider-Gwen #1 in March.

"Helping Gwen Stacy settle into her home dimension in Spider-Gwen: Smash was an incredible pleasure," writer Melissa Flores said in a statement. "Being given the opportunity to continue to develop those relationships in this one-shot was an unexpected jolt of euphoria that I never saw coming. I wasn't ready to leave Gwen or Earth-65 behind, and I'm so thankful that now I don't have to!"

After Gwen, Jess Drew, and Cindy Moon battled S.I.L.K. Agent Otto Octavius in the Spider-Women crossover, Giant-Size Spider-Gwen returns to Earth-65 to pit Gwen against her dimension's Sinister Six.

The official synopsis: "Swinging from the pages of Spider-Gwen: Smash, Gwen Stacy has finally found some balance in her home dimension. But when the remnants of the Carnage symbiote resurface in Gwen's bandmate Mary Jane, they attract the attention of something...sinister. Orlando Octavius, the adopted son of Dr. Octopus, now has his sights set on MJ. And Spider-Gwen will have to save her friend from a gauntlet of new and terrifying villains in this oversized spectacular!"

Giant-Size Spider-Gwen #1, written by Melissa Flores with art by Alba Glez, is on sale March 6, 2024.

Zack Snyder is no stranger to adapting comic books. The director is known for helming many comic book adaptations, especially those in the DC universe. Snyder's filmography includes Watchmen, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the "Snyder Cut" of Justice League. Previously, it was revealed that Snyder acquired the rights to Black Kiss, an erotic comic by Howard Chaykin from 1988. It's considered one of the most controversial comics of the 1980s and featured themes such as a trans femme fatale, sex, violence against religious figures and children, and vampires. However, the director recently revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that despite writing a TV pilot based on Black Kiss, the project is not moving forward.

"No one wanted to make it," said Snyder. "It was too weird. We really went for it, too."

What Is Rebel Moon About?

Snyder's next film, Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire, is being released later this month. You can check out a description below:

"In Rebel Moon: Part One: A Child of Fire, when a peaceful settlement on a moon in the furthest reaches of the universe finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Motherworld, Kora assembles a small band of warriors -- outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a new army of heroes is formed."

The Mummy and Star Trek: Beyond's Sofia Boutella leads the cast of Rebel Moon, starring as Kora, a former member of the "Imperium," Kora lives on the moon Vedt and who assembles a team to take them on. Sons of Anarchy and Pacific Rim's Charlie Hunnam plays Kai a "mercenary starship pilot;" Game of Thrones' Michiel Huisman is Gunnar; a farmer recruited for the cause; Blood Diamond and Shazam's Djimon Hounsou is General Titus; Supergirl's Staz Nair is Tarak, a blacksmith working off a debt as an indentured servant, previously compared to Tarzan; Cloud Atlas' Doona Bae as Nemesis, called a "swordmaster" who is revealed to be part mechanical; Justice League's Ray Fisher and Dopesick's Cleopatra Coleman as brother-sister resistance fighters Darrian and Devra; plus Newcomer E. Duffy as Milius; the final member of the assembled group.

Sucker Punch's Jena Malone reunites with Snyder for the film, playing a character not named but described as "an ethereal spider-being." Others include Deadpool's Ed Skrein as Admiral Nobl, Hawkeye's Fra Fee as Regent Balisarius, and Sir Anthony Hopkins as Jimmy, an ornate, centuries-old robot.

Other cast members have also been confirmed for the film, or perhaps its sequel, but haven't yet had their character details confirmed, these include: newcomer Charlotte Maggi, Halo's Sky Yang, Ant-Man's Corey Stoll, The Princess Bride's Cary Elwes, Ozark's Alfonso Herrera, For All Mankind's Rhian Rees, and Darkseid himself, Ray Porter, have all been confirmed to appear as well.

Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Fire is set for release on Netflix on December 22.

Mary Jane Watson and Black Cat are putting their friendship to the test in a new team-up series. Both ladies are former flames of Spider-Man, but have made a name for themselves separate from the wall-crawler. Black Cat has gone from common thief and criminal to a legitimate street-level hero, while Mary Jane has gained her own superpowers as the hero Jackpot. Their adventures in events like Dark Web have led to Marvel issuing the duo a miniseries appropriately titled Jackpot and Black Cat. Come March, Jackpot and Black Cat will work together to stop a blackmailer from Spider-Man's rogues gallery.

The four-issue Jackpot and Black Cat is by writer Celeste Bronfman and artist Emilio Laiso. Bronfman penned both of Mary Jane's first outings as Jackpot in Amazing Spider-Man #925, and her first solo outing as Jackpot in a miniseries this January. Laiso is a rising Marvel artist who has worked on Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men Unlimited. Covers for Jackpot and Black Cat are by artist Adam Hughes.

Black Cat and Mary Jane starred in an Eisner-nominated comic

The Eisner-nominated Black Cat & Mary Jane: Beyond one-shot by former Black Cat creative team of Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa was one of the first times readers got to see the two characters headline their own comic separate from Spider-Man. "Now that Mary Jane is an up-and-coming super hero herself, they'll take their bond to the next level on an action-packed adventure to take down a villain that's blackmailing... EVERYONE, including Black Cat and Mary Jane," a description of the series reads. "Tough choices and daring missions await as Mary Jane and Black Cat become entangled in a plot that's brought the world to its knees."

The description adds, "LUCK BE THE LADIES! When someone blackmails Black Cat into a public and blatant crime spree, Jackpot comes to her aid! What classic Spider-Villain is behind the blackmail?! Someone with history with at least one of our titular heroines!"

"MJ's been a hero since day one, and I'm so excited to continue her journey as Jackpot - this time with Felicia Hardy by her side!" Bronfman shared. "Opposites attract, and I've always loved the push and pull of their friendship. Expect them to butt heads through heists, betrayals, and the unexpected!"

Jackpot and Black Cat #1 arrives in stores on March 27, 2024. Let us know what you think of this team-up in the comments!

SpectreVision, the production company co-founded by actor Elijah Woods, is collaborating with Oni Press on a new paranormal comics imprint. The new "pop-up" imprint, called High Strangeness, will be published by Oni Press, the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comic book company. The announcement comes in advance of L.A. Comic Con 2023, with an exclusive panel presentation set for Sunday, December 3rd at 12 p.m. PT in Room 304. Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah are co-founders of SpectreVision, the production company behind acclaimed feature films including Panos Cosmatos' Mandy, Ana Lily Amirpour's A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Adam Egypt Mortimer's Daniel Isn't Real, and many more.

Podcaster Jim Perry (Euphomet) is joining the project as a creative consultant. Perry will advise the team based on his extensive knowledge of anomalous phenomena. Producer and host of the critically acclaimed audio documentary podcast, Euphomet, Perry's thoughtful, humanistic approach to paranormal experience has earned him high status as a journalist and broadcaster.

The official description of High Strangeness reads, "Influenced by real, documented cases of paranormal phenomena dating back to the mid-20th century, HIGH STRANGENESS will surveil the liminal spaces where reality, hallucination, science and mythology give way to cosmic wonder and existential terror, bending perception far beyond the bounds of traditional science fiction and horror."

Elijah Woods speaks on comics collaboration with Oni Press

"Accounts from experiencers of the paranormal suggest a vast, interconnected narrative unfolding at the farthest reaches of human experience - from UFOs, to cryptid sightings, to patterns of synchronicities that point to an invisible architecture underlying our reality," said Daniel Noah, Co-Founder of SpectreVision. "As an experiencer myself, I know firsthand that the world of high strangeness can have profound implications. We're galvanized to explore this remarkable space with our partners at Oni."

"Comics feel uniquely suited to explore this wide-ranging spectrum of paranormal phenomena, utilizing the limitless possibilities of the medium to give shape to the often gaussian accounts of what cannot be explained through traditional means.," said Elijah Wood, Co-Founder of SpectreVision.

"Over the past decade, so many members of the Oni team and greater comics community have been inspired and influenced by SpectreVision's extraordinary body of work. Together, we share a mutual fascination with the extremities of human understanding - where aliens, poltergeists, demons, fairies, and other entities all seem to extend like fingers from a hidden hand," said Hunter Gorinson, President & Publisher of Oni Press. "Through the uniquely powerful lens of comic storytelling, we intend to tell an array of stories exploring these multiple manifestations, but rooted in the same common understanding: Reality is thin around the edges . . . and if we press hard enough in exactly the right places, it just might shatter."

SpectreVision founders Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah will join Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson and Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn to share more details on High Strangeness at this weekend's L.A. Comic Con.

The last issue of Ms. Marvel's new series revealed some intriguing details regarding her mutant powers. This has been a signature year for Ms. Marvel. After having a self-titled solo series on Disney+, Ms. Marvel made the jump to the big screen as a co-star in The Marvels alongside Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau. In the comics, Ms. Marvel was killed in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, to only be resurrected and revealed to be a mutant. This placed her firmly in the X-Men corner of the Marvel Universe, but a new discovery teases even more changes for Kamala Khan.

*WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #4. Continue reading at your own risk!

Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #4 comes from the creative team of Iman Vellani, Sabir Pirzada, Carlos G?mez, Adam Gorham, Erick Arciniega, VC's Joe Caramagna, Tom Muller, and Jay Bowen. The issue is mostly Ms. Marvel battling a giant Stark Sentinel and coming out victorious. After escaping to the X-Men's secret compound, she gets her costume repaired by Emma Frost at the Hellfire Club. Emma brings up Kamala's problems with her recent dreams, and how something was found when they performed a mapping of her mind.

Ms. Marvel is both a mutant and Inhuman, but her mutant powers never manifested because she was first exposed to Terrigen Mist. However, her mutation still has the possibility of blossoming, but the unknown is whether it will function alongside Ms. Marvel's Inhuman powers, or replace them entirely. Emma alludes to the choice being up to Ms. Marvel, but she isn't worrying about it for now. "If the mutation activates someday, I'll deal with it," Ms. Marvel says. "But I'm not going to risk erasing any other part of me."

Marvel announces new series for Ms. Marvel

Kamala Khan's adventures as an X-Man won't end with the conclusion of Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant. The same day the final issue released, Marvel announced a follow-up series, titled Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace. Iman Vellani, who plays Ms. Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will return alongside Sabir Pirzada to co-write the new series. They will be joined by artist Scott Godlewski, who made his Marvel debut in the pages of Alpha Flight, and the returning The New Mutant artist Carlos G?mez, who will provide covers for the new series.

"It's been an absolute joy and privilege to get to co-write Ms. Marvel with Iman Vellani, who has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is THE voice of Ms. Marvel on the page just as much as she is on the screen," Pirzada said. "We are excited to report that Kamala's mutant journey will continue on in Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace. It will be Kamala's most dangerous ride yet."

Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #4 is on sale now. Let us know your thoughts on the series in the comments!

Marvel's latest Avengers book has already met its untimely end. In a recent post to his Substack newsletter, Marvel Comics executive editor Tom Brevoort revealed that Avengers Inc. will be ending with its upcoming fifth issue. The book, which follows Janet Van Dyne / The Wasp and Victor Shade, only launched in September of this year. According to Brevoort, the sales were not enough to keep the book going.

"Unfortunately, there weren't enough like you, so we will be wrapping up the series with issue #5," Brevoort said in response to a fan question about the future of Avengers Inc.

What Is Avengers Inc. About?

Avengers Inc. kicks off with a deadly conspiracy rooted in the ghosts of the Avengers' past that only founding Avenger Wasp can solve. But she won't be alone as she finds a new partner in Victor Shade! This former alias of Vision mysteriously resurfaces just as Janet discovers a score of Super Villain murders. Will he guide Wasp to the truth or is his familiar guise hiding the very clues Janet needs to crack the case? Her name is Janet Van Dyne. She's a hero. She's a celebrity. She's hunting a killer. His name is Victor Shade. He's a villain. He's an enigma. He just got killed. And together, they're out to solve every mystery in the Marvel Universe...starting with their own.

"AVENGERS INC. takes the beating, buzzing heart of the original Avengers, teams her up with an undead mystery man with an identity so secret even he doesn't know it, and sends them both out to solve the most amazing, fantastic and uncanny whodunnits the Marvel Universe has to offer!" Ewing explained in a statement. "It's kind of a classic 'will-they-won't-they' crime-solving partnership--or it would be if the 'will-they' in question was 'save the world from...' Well, that'd be telling. See you in September!"

"I am unsure what can be said of AVENGERS INC. without spoiling anything for the readers," Kirk added. "I can say this is a fun and intriguing take on some familiar characters that leans more into detective skills over super strength, wit rather than eye beams and cunning instead of small, genetically mutated, furry creatures. Al is doing a bang up job with this and I am having a load of fun. I hope the audience does too."

Is Tom Brevoort Leaving Avengers?

Earlier this year, Brevoort confirmed that he would be stepping away from his long-running role as the editor of the Avengers line of books, in order to now run Marvel's X-Men titles.

"This isn't going to happen for a good long while yet--I still have a ton of stuff cooking in AVENGERS (including next year's big crossover event series) that needs to be seen to completion," Brevoort cautioned in his post. "And at the same time, current X-guru Jordan White and his team have a massive story that they're in the middle of and that won't run its course for a long while. What I do will grow directly out of what they're doing--provided they leave me anything to work with. Did you read that HELLFIRE GALA book? Cripes!"

Will you be checking out Avengers Inc.? What do you think of its new trailer? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Between The Boys and Supernatural, Eric Kripke has been responsible for a number of surprise hits on genre television. As a recent profile in The Hollywood Reporter reveals, Kripke has aspirations to put his stamp on another beloved comic property -- Image Comics' Saga. When asked which franchise or IP Kripke is "dying" to get his hands on, Kripke answered "Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. I'm obsessed with it. So insane and so grounded at the same time. Brian and Fiona, call me!"

He subsequently took to Twitter to share the article and double down on his Saga hopes, writing "mostly this is my desperate campaign to get Brian K. Vaughn & @fionastaples to let me have the rights to #Saga. I'll treat your baby well! @ImageComics"

Thanks for the smoke up my pooper, Hollywood Reporter! But mostly this is my desperate campaign to get Brian K. Vaughn & @fionastaples to let me have the rights to #Saga. I'll treat your baby well! @ImageComics

Eric Kripke & @MicheleFazekas https://t.co/sacueTBlR4 via @thr

-- Eric Kripke (@therealKripke) November 30, 2023

What Is Saga About?

Published by Image since 2012, Saga is a space opera and epic fantasy heavily influenced by Star Wars, and based on ideas Vaughan conceived both as a child and as a parent. It depicts two lovers from long-warring extraterrestrial races, Alana and Marko, fleeing authorities from both sides of a galactic war as they struggle to care for their newborn daughter, Hazel, who occasionally narrates the series.

The series, written by Vaughan with art by Staples, has earned countless awards and spawned a passionate fandom.

Will Saga Get a Live-Action Adaptation?

For years, there have been calls from fans for Saga to be adapted into a movie or television series, with Marvel Cinematic Universe star Tessa Thompson and The Expanse star Dominique Tipper even throwing her hat into the ring to play Alana. But as Vaughan has acknowledged over the years, the ambitious nature of Saga won't necessarily translate outside of the medium of comics.

"I still think for now, I flatter myself to think Fiona and I are doing something that celebrates what only comics can do, which is the scope beyond a Hollywood blockbuster in terms of the visuals, but also a challenging grown-up story like you would get in a long-form TV drama," Vaughan said back in 2017. "I think it's still very difficult, with what we're trying to say and do, for that to be done in film and television."

"I remain not completely opposed to it." Vaughan added. "But for me, it's so not the goal. I would rather just keep my head down and keep making a great comic book, then get out there and chase a great adaptation."

When Will The Boys Season 4 Be Released?

Kripke recently confirmed that The Boys Season 4 does not currently have a release date, despite the recent season finale of its spinoff, Gen V, establishing some major connections between the two shows.

"You will not know when "The Boys" Season 4 is airing by the time the "Gen V" finale airs," Kripke explained. "But most of the editing is done, we're now deep into the music and visual effects. Marketing is starting to taxi their planes on the runway. There's a lot happening behind the scenes of "The Boys" Season 4, I can say that."

Would you want to see Eric Kripke lead an adaptation of Saga? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The truth behind Nightcrawler's parentage is finally revealed inside the pages of X-Men Blue: Origins. The special one-shot springs out of Uncanny Spider-Man, which stars Nightcrawler in a Fall of X series following the disastrous events of the Hellfire Gala. Nightcrawler and his mother Mystique have always had a complicated relationship, with many of the details shrouded in mystery. However, all of that changes in X-Men Blue: Origins #1 as Si Spurrier, the writer who has charted Nightcrawler's journey through the X-Men's Krakoan age in titles such as Way of X, Legion of X, and Nightcrawlers, introduces another major development that rocks Kurt Wagner to his core.

*WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for X-Men Blue: Origins #1. Continue reading at your own risk!

X-Men Blue: Origins #1 comes from the creative team of Si Spurrier, Wilton Santos, Oren Junior, Marcus To, Ceci De La Cruz, VC's Joe Caramagna, Tom Muller, and Jay Bowen. The issue focuses on Nightcrawler (in his Uncanny Spider-Man disguise) and Mystique, who is experiencing psychic backlash after Professor X commanded all mutants leave Earth during the chaos that was the Hellfire Gala. Mystique's psychic defenses kicked in, but also triggered something of a mental breakdown where she's reliving experiences from her past. Those experiences involve all of the mysteries and secrets regarding Nightcrawler's birth.

We had always been led to believe that Nightcrawler is Mystique and Azazel's son, which is partly true. However, Destiny played a major role in Mystique getting involved with Azazel to begin with. Destiny manipulated events so Azazel would believe he had an heir, after one of her visions showed Azazel becoming too powerful. Another discovering is Mystique was never pregnant, but changed her body to look like it. Destiny was also pregnant at this same time, and she is the woman who actually gave birth to Nightcrawler, after being impregnated by Mystique.

Nightcrawler's reaction to learning who his parents are

In true Nightcrawler fashion, he takes the revelation of his true parentage in stride. He's understandably shocked, but still caring and sympathetic towards Mystique. Nightcrawler was ultimately a pawn in Destiny's games of fate, used as a weapon against Azazel. "She said you had to be raised, just so. Battered and burned by a world that despised you... and yet? Better with every blow. Rising above each loss and lash...," Mystique told Nightcrawler.

Surprisingly, Charles Xavier had a hand to play in all of these events as well. Mystique and Destiny turned to Professor X to purge their memories surrounding Nighcrawler's birth. Destiny wanted to forget the sacrifice they made as a couple, while Mystique only wanted to be free from the loss and hate. One caveat is she still wanted to remember that she is Nighcrawler's "mother." Xavier did warn them that when memories are perforated instead of removed, the mind oftentimes creates its own stories around it, which explains the inconsistencies we've seen in various X-Men comics over the years.

This was an X-Men story decades in the making, and X-Men Blue: Origins #1 did a wonderful job tying up these loose ends into a coherent, touching tale. Let us know your thoughts on these big revelations for Nightcrawler and Mystique in the comments!

The pages of Marvel's Predator vs Wolverine crossover event have been more than just a straightforward fight between the two characters. This battle between two of the toughest to kill characters in comics has been ongoing for many decades, with each issue of the series revealing that throughout Logan's decades of life he's encountered the same Predator many times. First the pair were fighting in the wilderness of Canada back in the 1900s, then in South America decades later, and this week with Predator vs Wolverine #3 revealed another key moment in their history, and one that changes Logan's origin story in a fitting way. Spoilers follow!

Though this issue is bookended by Logan fighting the Predator in the present and their next encounter in Japan, the bulk of the story is set at the point in Wolverine's history when he was being outfitted with his adamantium skeleton in the Weapon X project. Having already fought twice at this point, the same Predator that has battled Logan tracks him to the facility of the notorious project. After finding him there and noting that his skeleton is coated in the indestructible metal, the Predator decides to claim Logan for his trophy room. Using the same tech that the Predator uses in Prey to melt the skin from its trophies and leave only the bones, the Predator melts off Logan's face (not without a fight) and carries his naked carcass back to its ship for display.

On the ship however, as you might expect, Logan begins to heal and recovers from having his entire face (and seemingly brain) melted by the Predator's technology. Weapon X jets scramble to keep the Predator ship from leaving orbit, but it still manages to get out of the atmosphere before Logan can stumble his way out of the trophy room. Wolverine ends up tumbling a few miles down, through the clouds and back to Earth where he lands with a thud and is recovered by Weapon X. Barry Windsor-Smith

The man himself isn't the only thing that fell from the Predator's ship though, and not the only thing recovered by the top-secret program, they also snagged the Predator's high-tech mask. As one of the last panels in this era reveals, the Predator's mask was a major source of inspiration for Weapon X, who used its design and functionality for Wolverine himself, giving him his classic Weapon X mask from the classic Barry Windsor-Smith comic series.

PREDATOR VS WOLVERINE #4
OCT230660
(W) Ben Percy (A) Ken Lashley, Gavin Guidry (CA) Marco Checchetto
THE BEST THERE IS AT WHAT THEY DO!
Who will take the final trophy? Will Wolverine's adamantium skull join the bones of countless others? The Predator's long hunt catches up to the present day as Wolverine sets his trap. But what hope does he have against an enemy who's slaughtered prey across the universe?
Rated T+
In Shops: Dec 27, 2023
SRP: $5.99

Marvel has been teasing fans with the secret origin of X-Men fan-favorite Nightcrawler, and not only did we get that twist - the reveal also redefines everything we know about Nightcrawler's mother, Mystique, and her shape-shifting powers!

In the highly-anticipated X-Men Blue: Origins #1 Nightcrawler (in his "Uncanny Spider-Man" guise) finally corners his mother Raven Darkholme/Mystique for a talk. Mystique's head has been a mess since she resisted Charles Xavier's telepathic command for all mutants to leave Earth, to escape the mutant massacre at the Hellfire Gala. Raven ended up having long-suppressed memories unlocked by the incident but was unable to maintain her reality in the process. Nightcrawler finally gets her talking - and we get a major retcon of Nightcrawler's origin.

Nightcrawler's Secret Origin Explained

In X-Men Blue: Origins #1 we learn that the previous Nightcrawler story - Mystique playing the wife of Baron Christian Wagner, only to have an affair with the mutant immortal Azazel and birth Nightcrawler - was all a ruse. In truth, Mystique kept her longtime lover and wife Destiny (Irene Adler) close as one of Wagner's servants, and together they conceived Nightcrawler, in order to cement their love and bond and start a family together. Mystique mimicked a pregnancy using her powers, and eventually killed her husband, replacing him in public. Irene kept her pregnancy under the radar living in secret luxury with Raven, and eventually, she gave birth to Kurt/Nightcrawler after a painful, bloody, labor which the future-seeing mutant knew she would have to suffer through.

When Azazel's devilish ways inspired a mob to storm the Baron's home, Mystique fled with Kurt into the woods for safety. She left the baby stashed away to go back for Destiny but ended up losing them both that night. She floated through life in self-destructive nihilism for years until Destiny resurfaced, pulling Raven in to raise a different child (Rogue), claiming that Kurt needed to follow his destiny as a suffering savior of mutantkind. When Mystique could get over losing their son to a prophecy, she and Destiny went to see Charles Xavier, who replaced Mystique's memory with the new story of Azazel being the father, and her abandoning him, to help convince her that she let go voluntarily.

Mystique's New Powers Explained

How did Mystique conceive Nightcrawler with Destiny? Kurt Wagner is the first one to ask that question that Marvel fans everywhere were asking as they read the reveal.

A memo from mutant scientist Doctor Nemesis included in X-Men Blue: Origins #1 explains that Mystique has actually been mistakenly classified as a shape-shifter: in fact, it turns out that she is a "gene-shaper," able to rewrite "the genomic instructions in every single cellular nucleus of her body. All at once. And all without conscious thought." In basic terms that Mystique herself expresses: lifetimes of mimicking both men and women - often for long periods - made it possible to mimic everything needed to pass on her genetic material to Destiny and create a baby. Let your imagination fill in the rest.

It's a pretty good twist on both who Nightcrawler and Mystique are as characters - and X-Men Blue Origins #1 ends with mother and son clearly more closely bonded now that the truth is out. Whether or not Destiny will be able to join them for full family reunion, remains to be seen...

X-Men Blue: Origins #1 is now at from Marvel Comics.

Marvel's Luke Cage got a whole new look and a whole new mission with his latest costume change - and he's going to need it. The streets of NYC have become a warzone thanks to the underworld power struggle that began in Amazing Spider-Man Gang War: First Strike #1.

(SPOILERS) Madame Masque had been hiding in plain sight as Hammerhead's latest main squeeze, but she betrayed the ruthless mobster and used his vast web of intel to provoke all the gangs of New York into battling it out to fill the vacuum of power.

Luke Cage: Gang War #1 sees "Mayor" Luke Cage trapped in the conundrum of having to manage the political toll of the gang war and its effect on crime statistics; however, Wilson Fisk's Anti-Vigilante Act prevents Cage from using his superpowers to actually stop the war.

Luke's frustrations mount to a boiling point after he meets old pal Danny Rand and tries to help the NYPD against a squad of bank robbers wielding hi-tech weapons. The cops take Cage's protection, but when he tries to go on the offensive against the crooks, a cop turns his gun on the mayor/superhero, as a potential violator of the Anti-Vigilante Act.

Further investigation of the weapons being used reveals that mad scientist Alistaire Smythe is supplying the gangs with tech - and Cage locates the warehouse where Smythe is running his operations. In order to bring down the bad guy and maintain his public persona, Cage goes to see "Miss Estelle," an elderly neighborhood woman who designs a new costume for Luke - one better than "that yellow-and-blu getup you was rocking back in the day." Cage's new costume has a much darker design to it: gray, black, and silver color scheme with an armored-looking chest plate and half-mask to keep his identity a secret.

The issue ends with Cage taking his new vigilante persona in the field, tracking down Smythe's gang and taking them down. Cage figures out that the "gang" are really just Smythe's androids disguised as human beings - intel he shares with Cloak and Dagger, along with his true identity. In the end, Cloak and Dagger join Luke Cage in his mission to reclaim the streets - while somehow also maintaining his cover as the mayor. No pressure.

Luke Cage: Gang War #1 is now on sale at Marvel Comics.
Writer: Rodney Barnes
Artist: Ram?n Bachs
Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse

The world of Invincible has become one of the biggest animated series today, with Amazon Prime taking a brief hiatus before the second season continues. While it might be longer than usual before new episodes return, the second season gave plans plenty to think about in the meantime. Omni-Man, Mark Grayson's father, wasn't going to win any "Father of the Year" awards thanks to his betrayal at the end of season one, but that hasn't stopped Nolan from becoming one of the most popular characters of the series.

Omni-Man hails from the Viltrum Empire, originally coming to Earth to prepare it for the Vitlrumites' reign. When Nolan first arrived, he gained the population's trust by becoming one of the greatest superheroes the world had ever seen. Training his son to become a hero, Mark was flabbergasted when his dear old dad revealed his true colors. The first season ended with Nolan and Mark coming to blows, as Omni-Man found himself unable to kill his son and departed Earth as he struggled with what he wanted in life. Voiced by JK Simmons, Nolan returned in the latest episodes of Invincible's animated series, only to leave once again thanks to the Viltrumite Empire not being thrilled with his latest actions.

Omni-Man Flies Back Into Frame

Omni-Man hasn't just been a hit in the worlds of animated series and comic books, but he has recently made quite the splash in the video game world. With the arrival of Mortal Kombat 1, Nolan has been added to the roster as a DLC character that fits right in with the likes of Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion. Thanks to his wild superpowers, Omni-Man was given one of the most bloody and horrific fatalities in the fighting game's history.

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Luckily, if you can't wait for Invincible's second season to return, the comic book run has already come to an end. The original Image Comics series saw Nolan go through quite a few changes as it followed his son Mark Grayson's adventures and should the animated series follow the source material, some big changes are on the way for Omni-Man.

What do you think the future holds for Omni-Man in Invincible's animated series? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Invincible.

Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant may be coming to an end today, but that won't be the last comic fans hear from The Marvels star Iman Vellani. Ms. Marvel underwent a drastic status quo change after she was killed in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. As is usually the case with comic book deaths, Kamala Khan was brought back to life while learning that she's a mutant. This set up her most recent series, Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant, with Vellani helping to co-write the series. With this chapter of Ms. Marvel's adventures in being an X-Men over with, it's time to see what else the Marvel Universe is cooking up for the newest member of the X-Men.

Today, Marvel announced Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace, a sequel series to Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant. Mutant Menace brings back the creative team of writers Iman Vellani and Sabir Pirzada. They are joined by artist Scott Godlewski, who made his Marvel debut in the pages of Alpha Flight, and the returning The New Mutant artist Carlos G?mez, who will provide covers for the new series.

Ms. Marvel continues her adventures as a member of the X-Men

Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace will see Kamala Khan continue to explore her mutant identity after she took down a Stark Sentinel and disrupted an Orchis operation singlehandedly. Now, Ms. Marvel returns to Jersey City to confront another Fall of X-related threat while dealing with being outed as a mutant. She will come into contact with more X-Men (and iconic X-Men villains), and reunite with some of her key supporting characters.

"It's been an absolute joy and privilege to get to co-write Ms. Marvel with Iman Vellani, who has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is THE voice of Ms. Marvel on the page just as much as she is on the screen," Pirzada said. "We are excited to report that Kamala's mutant journey will continue on in Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace. It will be Kamala's most dangerous ride yet."

The description of the series reads, "HATED AND FEARED! Ms. Marvel has officially come out to the world as a mutant and a member of the X-Men...and she's about to learn just how hard things can get for mutantkind! Kamala Khan is used to being a hometown hero - there's no way her community would turn on her just because she's a mutant, right? ...Right??"

Let us know your thoughts on Iman Vellani penning a new Ms. Marvel series in the comments! Written by Iman Vellani and Sabir Pirzada, with art by Scott Godlewski and a cover by Carlos G?mez, Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace #1 goes on sale March 6, 2024.

Spider-Woman has been at the center of several beloved runs over the past decade, and each one took a slightly different angle on the character and her supporting cast. Now a new creative team takes on the adventures of Jessica Drew, and while there are a lot of ties to current events in Spider-Man's world, there are also several strong elements from previous runs mixed in for good measure. All this results in a compelling new concoction that feels fresh and familiar simultaneously, with immediately identifiable and significant stakes for her as a hero and as a human being. Spider-Woman #1 is a hell of a start, and hopefully, things only get better from here.

At the helm this time around are writer Steve Foxe, artist Carola Borelli, colorist Arif Prianto, and letterer Joe Sabino, and the first thing that strikes you is the series' new visual style. Borelli and Prianto catch your attention with eye-popping colors and wonderfully expressive characters that excel in close-ups. So much is accomplished simply through expressions, especially when Jessica has someone else to play off of like Carol or Stryker.

That said, it doesn't mean the more isolated moments don't pack a punch, and for longtime Spider-Woman fans, one particular sequence will have them reeling. There's been a certain character missing from things, and one of this comic book's central focuses is on why that's happened and the effect it's having on Jessica. Foxe knocked me off my feet with that reveal, and Borelli and Prianto ratchet up the emotion in the panels that follow.

I won't spoil it here, but having that as the main focus of the story completely hooked me on a personal level, and the "Gang War" aspects to the story are then expertly placed atop that core. It allows those story elements to take on greater meaning, as you know what is powering Jessica's journey, and the comic book never loses sight of that, even when incorporating other characters. The "Gang War" elements are also compelling on their own, and they give Jessica opportunities to do what she does best, which is throw out sarcastic zingers and kick ass.

Having Carol in the mix also feels right, and their dynamic is spot-on, including Carol's protective nature. While Jessica is keeping her at arm's length at the moment, hopefully, we will get some team-ups between the two down the line, as Foxe already has a stellar grasp of their relationship and general banter.

As for the main antagonist of the issue, Stryker's confidence and new backing raise his threat level sufficiently to feel like a true threat, and that new backing then ties directly into Jessica's past history. It all connects and the characters within the story are all acting as they should, so nothing seems forced. There is one character design (the Green Mamba) that leaves a bit to be desired, but the fight itself has a welcome close-quarters physicality to it, and that seems to be something the series will excel at moving forward.

There are moments where the artwork feels a little off, but those moments don't occur too frequently. For new readers, the issue does a good job of getting catching them up to speed, but there are still elements that become important but brand new readers won't have a solid enough understanding of to make those reveals connect as they should. For longtime fans, that won't be a problem, and as one of those very fans, I'm over the moon that we're addressing these areas of Jessica's life once again.

Spider-Woman #1 had big shoes to fill, but it's already off to a grand start, and this new era for Jessica Drew seems as promising as any before it.

Published by Marvel Comics

On November 29, 2023

Written by Steve Foxe

Art by Carola Borelli

Colors by Arif Prianto

Letters by Joe Sabino

Cover by Leinil Francis Yu

This erotic thriller captures minds from the first turn of the front cover, thrusting readers into an environment that keeps them on their toes for a variety of reasons. Maybe it's Maria Llovet's simple and ragged artwork, often missing details that readers are left to fill in. Or maybe it's the fact the first two pages show a handful of different couples in various stages of intimacy.

Desire may be the buzzword for this debut, with Llovet's script examining the art of temptation in many forms. Though physical desire is evident from the leap, Llovet's script also places social acceptance under intense scrutiny; readers are treated with a Charlie Brooker-ian angle as students debate the importance of social media metrics and their impact on one's life and psyche.

Then on top of all that, there's a sense of dread and tension as an app called Crave places a chokehold on a university's campus and that may be the best part of this genre-bending tale. It's as sexy as it is tense, a coming-of-age story shrouded in a story made for an older generation. This comic is one where the story comes first, at the risk of depthless characters that find themselves far from three-dimensional.

Luckily for Llovet and readers alike, it's a risk that pays off this this premiere given just how strong the other pieces of the puzzle are. That said, it's a premise that's not entirely original and runs the danger of skirting too close to similar stories that preceded it. Right now, one issue in, and the art and story are good enough to propel interest forward at least a few more issues for these teases alone.

Published by Image Comics

On November 28, 2023

Written by Maria Llovet

Art by Maria Llovet

Colors by Maria Llovet

Letters by Maria Llovet

Cover by Maria Llovet

The Dawn of DC initiative has been filled with surprises, remixing the lore of many of DC's iconic characters for a new era. One of the latest additions to that initiative is Alan Scott / Green Lantern, whose history has changed radically since he was first introduced in the Golden Age of Comics. As explained in the latest issue of Alan Scott: The Green Lantern, one key element of his superhero status quo -- the very lantern he uses to wield his superpowers -- has a revamped origin story. Spoilers for Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #2 from Tim Sheridan, Cian Tormey, and Matt Herms below! Only look if you want to know!

The majority of the issue follows Alan inside of Arkham Asylum, back when it was used to "convert" people of different sexualities and gender identities. Alan, who entered the asylum by choice following the death of his lover, forms a friendship with a transgender woman named Billie. While eating at the asylum's mess hall, Billie presents Alan with a present -- a green railroad lantern, which she built during her time in metal shop. Soon after, Billie is taken by asylum staff and lobotomized, in an attempt to turn her into "Mr. Billings." This traumatic act inspires Alan to break out of the asylum, using Billie's lantern as a guide.

Who Is DC's Billie?

In a roundabout way, this new origin story for Alan's lantern pays tribute to a portion of Golden Age history. An old asylum patient named "Old Billings" very briefly appears in All American Comics #16, Alan's very first comic story. In that story, working on the lantern essentially helps Billings achieve personal enlightenment and restore his memories -- a heartbreaking opposite of Billie's fate in this new story.

What Is Alan Scott: The Green Lantern About?

Through a twist in the timeline, Alan Scott: The Green Lantern revisits and recontextualizes the origins of the first Green Lantern through the lens of our modern understanding of the man. The story, which begins in the 1930s, is about an old flame - the kind that burns eternal - and the sometimes head-on, single-track collision of our personal and professional lives. This is Alan's coming-of-age, in which he must embrace the man he is, to become the hero he's meant to be. In the end, he'll have gained a greater understanding of himself and his gifts - as he unlocks a new, previously unknown ability that could make him the most powerful Green Lantern in existence!

What do you think of Alan Scott's Green Lantern getting a new origin in Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #2? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Green Arrow's first arc has come to a close, as the series has sought to try to rewrite and recontextualize some elements of the Arrow Fam's history. The first six issues have provided some major developments with ramifications on the larger DC Universe, and the book's latest issue hammered that home even further, possibly teasing the demise of two surprising characters. Spoilers for Green Arrow #6 from Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaakse, Phil Hester, Ande Parks, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Troy Peteri below! Only look if you want to know!

The bulk of the issue concerns Oliver Queen / Green Arrow getting to the bottom of Malcolm Merlyn's machinations against him, as well as reuniting with Dinah Lance / Black Canary. Along the way, Oliver learns that Merlyn made a deal with Amanda Waller to set his plan in motion, but it is not make clear why she is targeting the Arrow Fam so closely. The issue's epilogue takes that even further, showing Roy Harper / Arsenal and Jade Nguyen / Cheshire reluctantly working together once again, trying to snuff out Waller's plans. Once Roy realizes that Waller is also involved with the Titans' newly-launched Beast World predicament, both he and Jade get shot by Waller, who is flanked by Peacemaker and Peacewrecker. While the ending seems to hint at Jade and Roy's demise, the promise of the next Green Arrow storyline being "The Hunt for Arsenal" could mean that the story is going to get more complex.

What Is Titans: Beast World About?

Amanda Waller, DC's Queen of sinister operations, will play a key role Titans: Beast World. As the Super Heroes and Super-Villains of the DCU struggle to remain human, "The Wall" will seize this opportunity to rid humanity of metahumans once and for all, and at any cost. Furthermore, Waller is not above using those same metahumans to achieve her goals.

"It grew organically," Titans writer Tom Taylor recently told ComicBook.com. "It was actually, I had elements of Beast World in my original pitch for Titans, where I wanted to take them in a year's time. So when this idea came about, that there could be an event at the end of the year and it could be Titan-centric, we were like, 'Well, I think I've got the idea for that,' and it just grew from there. What was great about it was knowing that we were always heading to this event meant that I could seed this entire event in the first five issues of Titans. It doesn't have to come into play and suddenly stop the momentum on a story. This is the story that we've been building to from issue one of Titans, so that's exciting."

What Is the New Green Arrow Series About?

In Green Arrow, the Emerald Archer is lost, and it will take Oliver Queen's whole family to find him! But dangerous forces are determined to keep them apart at any cost! Spinning out of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, Green Arrow by DC architect Joshua Williamson (Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, Superman) and artist Sean Izaakse (Thunderbolts) is an action-packed adventure across the DCU that sets the stage for major stories in 2023! The series was previously upgraded to twelve issues, doubling the previous order of six.

"It's been a blast writing this series," Williamson explained in a post on his Substack. "A dream come true. My goal for this series to tell a kind of "Hush" level story with Ollie and his family. We're only 3 issues in and we have a lot of characters to bring in for this Arrow Family reunion.'

What do you think of Green Arrow hinting at Arsenal and Cheshire's deaths? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Penguin series by DC writer Tom King has taken readers on a fascinating journey inside the life and mind of Oswald Cobblepot, revealing new dimensions to one of Batman's most dangerous and enduring foes. The Penguin #4 continues to deepen the intrigue, as Oswald is forced to call upon the one person in the world he actually fears: his ex-wife.

(SPOILERS) During the course of the story "The Ex" we see Penguin travel to Las Vegas to the St. Claire Casino, where we meet his ex-wife, Lisa St. Claire.

Who Is DC's Lisa St. Claire?

If you don't know the name that's okay: Lisa St. Claire is a reference to a pretty obscure DC character - one of the featured protagonists in the Young Love romance comic series, which began with Crestwood/Prize's series in 1947, and eventually became a DC Comics title running from 1963-1977. "The Life and Loves of Lisa St. Claire" was a segment DC focused on: it depicted Lisa St. Claire as a wealthy and beautiful socialite ("Spoiled rich girl Lisa" as one synopsis put it), constantly caught up in romantic intrigue and torrid (if not doomed) love affairs.

It was the sort of pulpy salacious material that eventually killed the romance comics genre when the Comics Code Authority (and others) started imposing hard restrictions on material viewed as exposing minors to overly adult themes.

Clearly, Tom King was a fan who remembers those old DC romance books because the version of Lisa St. Claire who we meet in The Penguin seems like a definite homage - albeit with far more modern edge.

Who Is Penguin's Ex-Wife Lisa St. Claire?

In The Penguin, Lisa is introduced as someone who is able to play the chess game of crime and wealth/empire-building just as well as Oswald Cobblepot. The two exchange pleasantries; Lisa arranges the best accommodations for him in her casino and the former spouses agree on dinner - but of course, it's all a front. Penguin and Lisa don't even make it through drinks before their factions collide. Penguin spent one issue coercing an entire former special ops team into taking down the St. Claire Casino. It turns out Lisa got wind of the attack and flipped one of Penguin's team to her side, making the trip to Vegas a trap from the very beginning. Oswald ends up taking three gunshots to the abdomen from his scorned ex-wife and is out of commission for weeks.

...But who really had the upper hand?

The epilogue of Penguin #4 paints a scene of the most twisted bad romance in comics: Penguin had been testing his ex-wife to see if she was still his equal (or more), which she clearly is. He uses their... unique connection (not to mention Lisa's classic penchant for bad romances) to make her his Consigliere, "someone to advise and consent," as he fights to reclaim his crown as Gotham City's top crime boss. Together again, it seems like Penguin and the former Mrs. Penguin are a crime power couple that can actually help Oswald reclaim his Empire - from the very same two children his ex-wife helped put into power over him.

Talk about family issues...

Titans: Beast World sees the likes of Nightwing, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Donna Troy, and Starfire taking charge in the face of a Tamaranean threat facing Earth. Led by writer Tom Taylor and artist Ivan Reis, the event lays the groundwork for a world-ending creature known as "The Necrostar" but flips the script and reader expectations in dramatic fashion. As the world has to deal with its denizens--hero, villain, and civilian alike--transforming into beasts, the Titans are forced to take on new enemies while tackling one creature that hits a little too close to home.

DC Comics has always had serious strengths when it comes to its "legacy characters." Dick Grayson's Batman, Wally West's Flash, Kyle Rayner's Green Lantern, and Jaime Reyes' Blue Beetle are just a few examples of legacy figures that have given the comic book publisher some of its best stories of the past. Taylor and Reis have taken the opportunity to put the Titans, former sidekicks now on the frontline of Earth's superheroes, to be the group that everyone else looks to. Taylor is clearly a big fan of the DC universe, which has been apparent in previous runs on Injustice, Nightwing, and Superman: Son of Kal-El to name only a few. That passion bleeds into his character work here, as the heroes' characterization is at its best.

Luckily, Taylor is paired up with Reis, a penciler who has made his name creating some of the biggest comic book events in DC's modern history. From Blackest Night to "Trinity War" and "The Sinestro Corps War," Reis' big, bold take on superheroes makes them seem larger than life and goes a long way in selling the Titans as the team of heroes who can logically surpass the Justice League. Reis has perfected his emotional beats, capturing high stress and emotion on characters' faces, but is also able to capture some mind-bending creations that are large enough to be considered too much for the combined forces of DC's heroes.

Beast World has more than a few moving pieces when it comes to its set up, and while it isn't perfect, it really works once it gets going. Taylor is able to present an original concept for the creature that has been unleashed, while also presenting some interesting ideas on how the Necrostar was able to gain its freedom. Seeing humanity attempt to further explore the galaxy in the face of constant alien incursions of DC Comics' Earth is an interesting twist, even when it goes awry here. The weakest aspect of the first issue is the inclusion of "Dr. Hate," which honestly isn't much of a strike against Beast World as Taylor takes the opportunity to take a shot at the ridiculous villain. Hate's inclusion might seem too out-of-nowhere for those who haven't been following the DC universe closely, but he gives enough worthwhile exposition to let readers know as much as they need.

Titans: Beast World, the latest DC Comics crossover, is most assuredly worth your time and feels like a breath of fresh air in an industry that can often rely too much on company-wide stories. Taylor and Reis are both performing at their best in Beast World #1. For fans of the Titans and DC's legacy characters in general, this feels like the comic book crossover bound to give those characters their day in the sun. The Titans represent a perfect mix of down-to-earth storytelling and the "gods walking amongst men" feel that the DC heroes exude in these pages, suggesting an incredible crossover ahead.

Published by DC Comics

On November 28, 2023

Written by Tom Taylor

Art by Ivan Reis

Colors by Brad Anderson

Letters by Wes Abbott

Cover by Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, and Brad Anderson

Who will be the new Spirit of Vengeance? That's the burning question in Marvel's Ghost Rider #1, the previously announced relaunch of Benjamin Percy's ongoing run on Ghost Rider. Percy will re-team with artist Danny Kim (October's Ghost Rider Annual #1) for new series Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance, which will pass the flame-headed mantle of the Spirit of Vengeance from Johnny Blaze to a new rider. (There have been other Ghost Riders before. Danny Ketch was the first Ghost Rider successor of the modern era, and Alejandra Jones, Robbie Reyes, and even Doctor Strange have all become Ghost Riders.)

After bonding with the demon Zarathos, Blaze has used his Spirit of Vengeance as a hellish hero ever since his debut in 1975's Marvel Spotlight #5. But it's the last ride for brimstone biker Johnny Blaze -- and the end of the road for the demonic do-gooder. According to Marvel, the new Ghost Rider will wield the powers of hell to do what the Spirit of Vengeance was "meant for": punishment.

Final Vengeance sees "the Spirit of Vengeance fall into the wrong hands and fans won't believe who it is! Now, Johnny Blaze must embark on an epic quest to become Ghost Rider again before the newly possessed uses its demonic power for a dark purpose," the official synopsis reads. "Johnny Blaze was bonded with the Spirit of Vengeance. Unwilling to be a monster, Johnny used this demon from Hell to do good as the Ghost Rider. But heroism isn't what the Rider was meant for. So who will be the new Spirit of Vengeance? And what will it mean for the Marvel Universe?"

Marvel also revealed the variant cover for Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1 by Greg Capullo (DC's Batman) after the fan-favorite artist officially returned to Marvel Comics. See the cover and solicit below.

GHOST RIDER: FINAL VENGEANCE #1
Written by Benjamin Percy
Art by Danny Kim
Cover by Juan Ferreyra
Variant Cover (and Virgin Variant Cover) by Greg Capullo
On Sale 3/13

Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1 is on sale March 13, 2024, from Marvel Comics.

The preview for Predator vs. Wolverine #3 teases that writer Benjamin Percy is truly about to show fans of both Logan/Wolverine and The Predator franchise just how brutal this matchup can really get.

Marvel's Predator vs. Wolverine series has been a bloody good time, and now, based on the cover art below, it looks like the feud between the two elite killers is about to head to Japan for its next round!

Moreover, the synopsis for Predator vs. Wolverine #3 teases how Percy is shifting the time and circumstances of the tale to showcase Wolverine at one of his most brutal points: a time when he'd gone feral while his mind was a slave to the Weapon X Program!

Fans of the X-Men have been enjoying seeing Logan battle the Yautja (Predator species) in different periods of history - all while Percy links the various anthology stories together through a present-day encounter between Wolverine and the Predator. Issue #3 definitely has the hook of having the Berserker Rage animalistic version of Wolverine on the battlefield - the version of the killer mutant that could actually have a Predator feeling the prey, for once. That definitely seems like it's going to be the case, as the preview also teases Wolverine wielding one of his signature swords (the honor sword of Clan Yashida, the Muramasa Swords) in the fight.

Predator vs. Wolverine #3 Preview

TIME TO BLEED! The most gruesome chapter yet! Years after his first encounter with the Yautja, Wolverine's gone feral-just the way the Weapon X program likes him! If the Predator thought the mutant was hard to kill before...now he'll meet the real beast. But the prize this time isn't just the kill. Now Wolverine carries something precious within him, something a Predator's never encountered. An indestructible metal that would give the hunter the edge over prey on any world...

Written by: Benjamin Percy
Art by: Ken Lashley, Kei Zama, Hayden Sherman
Cover by: Marco Checchetto
Page Count: 28 Pages
Release Date: November 29, 2023

Check out breakdowns on the other two issues of Predator vs. Wolverine, below!

Predator vs Wolverine #2
"YOU PICKED THE WRONG MUTANT TO HUNT!"
And none knows it better than a Predator! After their first encounter in the Canadian wilderness, Wolverine thought he had moved on - to new fights, worse wounds and tragedies he only wants to forget. But a Yautja does not forget an enemy... At a time when Logan barely knows his own name and is running black ops side by side with Sabretooth and Maverick as "Team X," how can he make it through round two with a Predator he doesn't remember fighting?! Plus, the first glimpse at Weapon X!

Predator vs. Wolverine #1
"THE THRILL IS THE KILL!
The bloodthirsty saga you've been waiting for! Wolverine has lived one of the longest and most storied lives in Marvel Comics history. Now witness the untold greatest battles of Logan's life -- against a Predator! One Yautja seeks the greatest prey in existence -- and finds it in Weapon X. From the blood-ridden snows of the Canadian wilderness to the sword-slinging streets of Madripor, Wolverine and a Predator break everything in their paths on their way to the ultimate victory...or glorious death.

One of Image Comics' most beloved series in recent memory, Sex Criminals, might be back for another round. In a recent edition of his Substack newsletter, Chip Zdarsky hinted that a tenth anniversary project for Sex Criminals is in the works. The series, which was created by Zdarsky and writer Matt Fraction, became a smash success for Image Comics when it first debuted in September of 2013. The series' final issues, Sex Criminals #30 and Sex Criminals #69, debuted in the fall of 2020.

"Speaking of coming first, got to draw these guys again for a special tenth anniversary project...." Zdarsky's post reads in part. "DETAILS COMING SOON! TEASE I know!!! Bye!!!!!"

What Is Sex Criminals About?

In Sex Criminals, Suzie's a normal girl with an extraordinary ability: when she has sex, she stops time. One night she meets Jon... who has the same gift. And so they do what any other sex-having, time-stopping, couple would do: they rob banks.

"That is the most successful thing I've ever been involved with," Fraction told ComicBook.com in a 2014 interview. "It's insane. I am incredibly flattered and astonished by the response, as is [series illustrator] Chip Zdarsky. We're going to keep going with it until it stops being fun.

"It mostly came from wanting to work with Chip," Fraction added. "I'm not sure where the rest came from. I wanted to do a comedy, but I wanted to do a dirty comedy. I love those Adam Sandler, "Billy Wilder" era movies, and how far he pushed the envelope, especially for the time they came out in. And I love that kind of post-Apatow, post Freaks & Geeks wave of blistering honesty in comedy. So I wanted to get into that. But it mostly came from wanting to work with Chip, and making each other laugh. I get this tingle when new pages come in. It's so great to see. I'm having the time of my life."

Will There Be a Sex Criminals TV Show?

Early into Sex Criminals' run, the prospect of a potential live-action adaptation began to be discussed. Initially, it was reported that Sex Criminals would be developed into a television series for Universal TV, as part of an overall deal that Milkfed Criminal Masterminds, the production company of Fraction and his wife, Kelly Sue DeConnick, signed in 2015. That project did not come to fruition at Universal TV, or at Fraction and DeConnick's subsequent overall deal with Legendary TV.

In early 2023, Above the Line suggested that Fraction and DeConnick have now signed an overall deal with Amazon Studios, which would include adapting Sex Criminals and DeConnick's Image series Bitch Planet into live-action television.

What do you think of Chip Zdarsky possibly teasing a return to Sex Criminals? Will you be checking out whatever the 10th anniversary celebration entails? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Doctor Who returned on Saturday with the first of its three 60th-anniversary specials, "The Star Beast." Doctor Who's new opening confirmed that returning showrunner Russell T. Davies wrote the special's script. However, the credits also give the story credit to two legends of the comics industry: writer Pat Mills, sometimes called "the godfather of British comics" for co-creating 2000 AD, and Dave Gibbons, the artist of Watchmen. Mills and Gibbons collaborated on the original comic book story "Doctor Who and the Star Beast" that ran in issues of Doctor Who Weekly in 1980. It's one of the best-loved Doctor Who comic stories of all time, and Davies and Doctor Who star David Tennant both shared fond memories of reading it as children. And, in a bit of trivia that may be weird to modern comics fans, it was published by Marvel Comics. [UPDATE: While the live-action poster for "The Star Beast" already was a clear homage to the cover of Marvel's Doctor Who #1, the BBC commissioned and released new artwork by Butcher Billy that makes the reference by drawing the characters from the live-action special in comic book cover style. We've added the cover to the story below.]

From 1972 to 1995, Marvel had an imprint called Marvel UK. This imprint existed primarily to bring Marvel's superhero comics stories to readers in the United Kingdom, but it also published original material, licensed comics, and magazines. Marvel UK founded Doctor Who Weekly in 1979, and the publication has outlived Marvel UK as today's Doctor Who Magazine. The magazine included serialized Doctor Who comics in each issue, introduced during the Marvel UK days in classic Marvel style as "Stan Lee Presents Doctor Who," but written in an episodic format similar to 2000 AD stories. Some of Britain's top comics talent cut their teeth writing stories about the Doctor for Doctor Who Weekly, including Alan Moore, Bryan Hitch, and Grant Morrison. The tradition continues today with comics in Doctor Who Magazine, including "Liberation of the Daleks," the first story to feature the Fourteenth Doctor, released even before "The Star Beast" special.

What is "Doctor Who and the Star Beast?"

Mills, Gibbons, and John Wagner (co-creator of Judge Dredd) were the regular creatives behind Doctor Who Weekly's comics when the magazine first launched. Mills and Wagner had submitted the idea for "Doctor Who and the Star Beast" as a Doctor Who television episode. The BBC rejected it. Rather than let the idea go to waste, they reworked it as a story for Doctor Who Weekly. Gibbons has said that while Mills and Wagner always received joint credit for their Doctor Who Weekly stories, they took turns writing the comics. "Doctor Who and the Star Beast" was one of Mills' scripts and presumably explains why he got credit for the Doctor Who special and not Wagner.

The main thrust of the comic story is almost identical to what appeared in "The Star Beast" television episode. A cute alien, Beep the Meep, crash-lands on Earth and seeks help from local human children to evade capture by the much scarier aliens called the Wrarth Warriors. The Doctor gets involved, and it turns out that looks can be deceiving as the Meep is a sadistic tyrant, while the Wrarth Warriors are good-natured beings looking to restore peace to the regions of space the Meep has conquered. It'd be a clever inversion of expectations set by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial if "Doctor Who and the Star Beast" didn't predate Steven Spielberg's iconic family film by two years.

How is "Doctor Who and the Star Beast" in comics different from the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special?

A few key differences exist between the comic book and television versions of "The Star Beast." The most obvious is that the comic book featured the Fourth Doctor (played by Tom Baker in the television series), while the 60th-anniversary special featured David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor. Both versions see the Doctor traveling without a companion (other than K-9, his faithful robotic dog, in the Fourth Doctor's case). However, the Fourteenth Doctor is drawn back to a former companion in Donna Noble, while the Fourth Doctor makes a new friend.

Rather than Rose Noble, he original Star Beast story sees Meep befriending two school children: Fudge Higgins and Sharon Davies. Fudge is a science fiction fan who is immediately taken by rumors of a crashed alien ship at the steel mill. Sharon is a clever girl but not as up on the sci-fi stuff as Fudge, which makes it a little ironic that she's the one to stick with the Doctor at the end of "Doctor Who and the Star Beast," becoming the first companion created for Doctor Who comics. She's also the first person of color to become a recurring companion to the Doctor in any Doctor Who media, predating the debuts of Mickey Smith and Martha Jones by decades.

There's also a significant change to how the story is told in how the Meep's true nature is revealed. In the Doctor Who television special, the truth about the Meep comes out in a trial presided over by the Doctor after he's begun to suspect the Meep isn't being honest. In the comic, the Meep's betrayal is known to the reader much earlier because he has an internal monologue. It becomes a running gag that he's thinking of murdering Fudge and Sharon the entire time he's playing up the cute and helpless angle.

On the first episode of The Official Doctor Who Podcast, Davies said he kept that bit in his original script for "The Star Beast," but others involved in the show's production felt that the reveal came too early that way. He agreed to rewrite the script to keep the twist hidden longer, but he still wonders if it was the right choice.

Is this the last we've seen of the Meep on Doctor Who?

By the end of "The Star Beast," the Meep is defeated and taken into custody by the Wrarth Warriors. He disappears with a threat against the Doctor, saying he'll tell "the boss" about the Doctor. We don't know who "the boss" is (The Toymaker, maybe?), but we have to wonder if this is the last we've seen of the Meep in Doctor Who.

That wasn't the case in the comics. Beep the Meep makes appearances in other Doctor Who comic stories like "Party Animals" and "TV Action!" and the Big Finish Doctor Who audio drama "The Ratings War." Writer Gary Gillatt, artist Gary Gillatt, and colorist Paul Vyse created a direct sequel to "Doctor Who and the Star Beast," titled "Star Beast II," published in Doctor Who Yearbook 1996. The story sees the Meep released on parole after 15 years of incarceration. He immediately returns to Earth to retrieve a deadly weapon he'd hidden near where he landed in the original tale. Unluckily for him, the Fourth Doctor is in the area again. The Doctor reunites with Fudge to stop the Meep once more. Whether we ever see this story turned into television remains to be seen.

How to Read "Doctor Who and the Star Beast" and How to Watch Doctor Who

Unfortunately, the complicated rights around the publication of Doctor Who comics means finding "Doctor Who and the Star Beast" can be challenging. The story isn't available digitally but was colorized and reprinted in multiple collections. The story appears in UK publisher Panini Comics' Doctor Who: The Iron Legion collection, the first volume of the publisher's series reprinting classic Doctor Who Weekly stories. Stateside, IDW Publishing included it in its similar collections, Doctor Who Classics Volume 1 and Doctor Who Omnibus Volume 1. Unfortunately, these volumes are all out of print, meaning they can be scarce and pricey, but it's always worth checking your local library if you have one and looking into an interlibrary loan.

The Doctor Who 60th-anniversary specials are airing on three consecutive Saturdays. Doctor Who's second 60th-anniversary special, "Wild Blue Yonder," debuts Saturday, December 2nd on the BBC and Disney+. The final Doctor Who 60th-anniversary special, "The Giggle," will premiere on December 9th.

DC has released the solicitation for comics shipping in February 2023, and in addition to plenty of Joker fun, the Batman office is expanding with a new, six-issue limited series starring Jason Todd. Red Hood: The Hill will debut with a zero issue on February 6, spinning out of the events of "Joker War." The series will then have a full launch on February 13, with six issues planned to come from writer Shawn Martinbrough and artist Sanford Greene. Greene provided the cover art for Red Hood: The Hill #0, although Tony Akins and Moritat did the interiors for the preview.

Both of Greene's covers, as well as a variant from Tirso Cons for Red Hood: The Hill #1 were released last week along with DC's solicitations. This is the first new series headlined by the Red Hood since 2021. Prior to that, the Red Hood title (previously titled Red Hood: Outlaw, and before that, Red Hood and the Outlaws) had been running consistently for about six years.

You can see the covers and solicitation text for the first two issues below.

RED HOOD: THE HILL #0

Written by SHAWN MARTINBROUGH
Art by TONY AKINS and MORITAT
Cover by SANFORD GREENE
$3.99 US | 48 pages

ON SALE 2/6/24

Before you embark on Red Hood's newest adventure in the Hill, experience the story that introduced Jason to his new home! As The Joker War ravages Gotham, a new vigilante group has formed to protect their turf, and Red Hood finds himself caught in the crossfire! This thrilling tale collects Red Hood: Outlaw #51 and #52, and is essential reading to get you ready for all hell to come to the Hill in Red Hood: The Hill!

RED HOOD: THE HILL #1

Written by SHAWN MARTINBROUGH
Art by SANFORD GREENE
Cover by SANFORD GREENE
Variant cover by TIRSO CONS
$3.99 US | 32 pages | 1 of 6 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

ON SALE 2/13/24

Welcome to the Hill--formerly one of Gotham's most dangerous suburbs--a place that required its residents to band together to keep themselves safe when the police, and sometimes even Batman, wouldn't. Now, as the Hill

finds itself gentrifying, old habits die hard as the vigilante known only as Strike works with her team to keep the town safe--but she's not alone. Jason Todd, one of the Hill's newest residents, is more than happy to don the visage of Red Hood to help Strike keep his new home safe. But a new villain is emerging from the shadows. Will Red Hood, Strike and the Hill's small militia of vigilantes be able to keep their home safe? Check out Red Hood's return to find out!

Fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will soon be able to get their hands on special edition "Shelltoe" shoes. This year saw the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, a new animated film that takes the four turtles back to their roots, with their voice roles being played by actual teenagers. The film from Paramount Pictures was an instant success, spawning a sequel and spinoff that are already in development. With the TMNT popularity at an all-time high, Adidas has decided to get in on the excitement with some special Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed sneakers.

Complex (via Kicks Finder on X) reports Adidas is releasing a line of its Superstar sneakers that will be based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The official collaboration will use the "Shelltoe" nickname. The "Shelltoe" TMNT shoes are reportedly arriving in February 2024, with two more designs coming in April. Though an Adidas source claims the launch date is being pushed back to March. 2024 is also the 40th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so it's likely we'll see even more collaborations and celebrations as the year progresses.

What do Adidas' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shoes look like?

There are images of the Adidas "Shelltoe" Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shoes. The upper half of the shoes are green with the bottom whites taking on the turtle shell pattern design. The laces have a monogram charm that features the turtles' iconic ninja mask. There are also two set of sock liners and the tongue features the words "Ninja Power!"

Each order of the sneakers will come with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles black-and-white comic from their creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, action-figure packaging, and retails for $130 per an Adidas document.

Kevin Eastman shares hopes for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem sequel

Speaking in an interview with ComicBook.com, we asked Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman if there were any other elements or characters from TMNT he hopes to see on the big screen. He revealed that luckily they've been fortunate to have that with one of the shows, but the potential for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem's sequel is very clear.

"Through the experience of the Nickelodeon 2012 animated series, which just wonderfully brought in some original concepts from the original cartoon series to all the elements, the Tricetons had such a big role in there. So we've been lucky enough to experience this in so many ways and so many opportunities. I look forward to seeing where the sequels to Mutant Mayhem are going to go; not just the series, but the next movie because, you know, you've got Casey Jones waiting in the wings. You've got Krang out there, and you've got the Rock Soldiers and Neutrinos. So I'm, I'm pretty pumped."

Regarding the inclusion of those new characters, Eastman revealed how one of the film's biggest twists on the TMNT mythology ended up becoming one of his favorite parts.

"I want to point out the original concept of having the other mutants be born from the same source, the same well, if you will, as the turtles, it really was just a wonderfully unique idea," he said. "When you have that moment where they're like, 'There's more of us?' it's like sort of we're not alone. It really resonated on so many levels. That just, it was one of my favorite of many parts of this movie."

[Spoiler alert for The Walking Dead Deluxe #77.] Glenn's death in issue #100 of The Walking Dead comic book is iconic: his brains bashed in by Negan's barbed wire-covered, blood-thirsty "vampire bat" Lucille over five graphic pages. After lining up his potential prey for a game of "eeny, meeny, miny, moe" -- Rick and Carl Grimes, Michonne, Heath, Sophia, and Glenn's wife, Maggie -- Negan bludgeoned Glenn to death, a devastating fate for a beloved character who existed in the book since issue #2. And it's one that Glenn might have avoided had creator Robert Kirkman not deviated from his original plan to kill Glenn in issue #75.

Glenn Rhee was always going to die... just not necessarily by Negan's hand. "For whatever reason, I'd earmarked Glenn for death by this point," Kirkman wrote in The Cutting Room Floor feature included in issue #71 of the colorized reprint Deluxe series. "He just seemed like the character most ripe, whose death would lead to the most story. But Glenn would most certainly NOT die next as I would continue to change my mind... again... and again."

While Kirkman has been forthcoming about killing Glenn in the landmark issue, he's been less forthcoming about how Glenn might have died earlier. Would he be eaten by walkers while on a supply run with Heath? A victim of The Scavengers? As it turns out, Glenn might have suffered the fate of Regina Monroe, the wife of Douglas Monroe, the then-leader of the Alexandria Safe-Zone.

Who (Almost) Killed Glenn in The Walking Dead Comic?

In The Walking Dead #75, Rick attacks Pete Anderson under suspicions he's abusing his wife and son. The confrontation turns violent and spills out into the streets of Alexandria. In issue #77, a raging Pete confronts Rick... and accidentally kills Regina with a swing of his knife. Douglas then gives Rick permission to shoot and kill Pete in retribution.

"I don't think I'd yet worked out all the details, but Glenn was planned to be killed in issue No. 75," Kirkman writes in The Cutting Room Floor in The Walking Dead Deluxe #77. "It's possible Pete was going to kill him instead of Regina this issue, and it would have happened two issues earlier [in issue #75]." Kirkman notes in his creator's commentary he "wanted to do something big" for the milestone 75th issue.

"But then, I didn't," he writes. "For whatever reason, I just couldn't kill Glenn. Instead, I opted to focus more on Rick and his state of mind for issue No. 75, making that the big moment. And Glenn, well... he just got to go on living."

Who's That Widow in the Window...?

Glenn living meant Kirkman had to rework a plot hinted at on the original cover of issue #77 (below), which showed a shadowy figure watching Maggie undress from outside her window. In the scrapped plot, a widowed Maggie was stalked by an Alexandrian -- potentially Douglas and Regina's son, Spencer Monroe.

"The cover to this issue was drawn with a completely different story in mind," Kirkman notes. "That idea was given to Charlie [Adlard, artist] when I thought Glenn would be dead by now. So, the original plot was that with Glenn dead, Maggie was getting stalked. Maybe by Spencer, maybe by someone new. I couldn't remember. She was the new widow that someone had taken a liking to. That was going to be the storyline. Poor Maggie was grieving as someone out there was going to try and force her into a relationship. It definitely wouldn't have ended well for them."

Kirkman amended the cover issue with a line of dialogue. "With Glenn alive, I didn't want to just abandon a perfectly good cover. It had already been printed in a catalog and everything," Kirkman explains. "Instead, I just had Glenn say, 'I feel like I'm on the outside of this relationship looking in.' It wasn't supposed to be Glenn outside the window... but it could have been, and that line of dialogue kind of made the cover make sense... sort of."

The Walking Dead Deluxe #77 is on sale now from Image Comics.

Stay tuned to ComicBook/TWD (and find us on Facebook) and follow @CameronBonomolo on Twitter for more TWD Universe coverage.

A true all-star team is taking on one of literature's iconic stories for BOOM! Studios, a team that includes Award-winning writer Tom King (Wonder Woman, Mister Miracle), Eisner nominated artist Peter Gross (Lucifer, American Jesus), Eisner-nominated colorist Tamra Bonvillain (Once & Future), World's Finest), and Eisner-nominated letterer Clayton Cowles. Their newest creation is Animal Pound, a modern retelling of George Orwell's classic Animal Farm that will hit stores this December. ComicBook.com had the chance to sit down with King and Gross to discuss what led to adapting such a renowned story and how they are bringing the concept and the ideas at the center of it into the modern day, and real-world events had an important role to play in bringing this project to life.

"This is one of those ideas that, where you have something in the back of your head that you need to write something but you don't know what it's about," King said. "I knew, Peter's heard me say this all before, but after January 6th, I live in Capitol Hill. I saw it personally after the sort of events, after the world sort of seemed to fall apart in the middle of all of that, and it seemed very dangerous. After it didn't quite go away, after the threat that the January 6th posed was still around, I knew I wanted to write about it the same way."

"When I did Mister Miracle, I wanted to write about how bizarre the world suddenly seemed and how it seemed like we were all locked in a dream, but I had no idea how to write about that. One day my kids were reading Animal Farm, they're 12 and 13, and I mean, that's a great book and it's a metaphor about how communism becomes fascism," King said. "But when I was looking at it and being like, That's not the threat we're facing today. We're not dealing with an ideal utopian communism and the traps we're dealing with something else, something different, something from within the system, not from without."

"So I was like, there should be sort of an Animal Farm about today, a warning as much as Orwell's work served as a warning of what could happen, another sort of warning," King said. "And that's a stupid arrogant thought, and I really should have thrown that in the trash and been like, 'Tom, you're not a good enough writer to do this.' But then I was like, 'Oh,' I got so motivated. I was like, 'Tom, you've got to do...' This is how I ended up joining the CIA. I get so pissed off about something, I was like, I just got to do something. I can't just sit in my room and I just need to do something."

"And so this idea came into my head to do something about, to use animals as an allegory again, but instead of using farm animals, because I've never lived on a farm, to use pound animals because I've grown up with cats and dogs and spent a lot of time trying to get my dog from various pounds around. So I've spent a lot of time, and to use that as a metaphor for a different kind of fascism. Fascism that comes from within, that takes advantage of the system to corrupt democracy," King said. "And it just came to me all in one single day. I literally called the editor that day. I said, 'I have an idea. It's really stupid. You'll never want it. It's too ambitious.' And BOOM! said, 'Let's try it.' And that's how it started."

Gross already wanted to work with King on a project, and when he heard it was Animal Pound, that pretty much sealed the deal. "Well, first of all, they said Tom and I thought, 'Okay, I would love to do something with him.' I hadn't worked with him before and I'm kind of semi-retired or I want to be. And then when they said Animal Farm, that just appealed to me so much because I knew his take on it would be really interesting and coming from a great space," Gross said.

"And like he said, you get so mad, you just want to do something, and I just want a chance to dig into stories that have something to say about now. I mean, there's so much going on. Like Tom talked earlier with someone about having troops on his block after January 6th, and I lived three blocks from where George Floyd was murdered, and we had the same thing happen after that. We had National Guard, armored trucks roaring in front of the yard and soldiers on every corner for a week and stuff," Gross said. "And so just the opportunity to talk about what's going on in the country, even if it's in a subversive, allegorical way, is just such a rare opportunity that I was instantly on."

King and Gross are using the original story to build theirs, and there will be elements that readers will recognize from Orwell's original story, but there will also be some larger differences.

"I mean, the first story is almost like a perfect little diamond. I don't want to in any way say there's something wrong with it, and we use it as inspiration in a way to build our story. Animal Farm begins with an inspiring speech from the Lenin pig or the Marx pig, depending on how you read it, and then flashes forward to a revolution," King said. "We start in a very similar way with a speech from a George Washington-esque dog or Abraham Lincoln dog, and then we flash forward to the impact of that and how those ideals get corrupted. So we use it very much as a model, but then we go off because just thematically, ours starts as a democracy, not as sort of a utopian farm. It starts in a different place, and so the deterioration is to a different place as well."

After the concept was cemented, it was time to create the characters that would bring it to life, but Gross wasn't sure what style would end up fitting the series. At one point they thought a more cartoony style would win out, but things ultimately ended up going a different way.

"Initially I did a bunch of sketches and we didn't know how the animals were going to be," Gross said. "Was it going to be kind of cartoony? I think we thought that. It ended up being more realistic, which I think we both think works better. And I mean, it was hard. It's all set in the same place, and I like that. I like it when comics are more like a play than cinema, actually."

"I always think of them as a play, and I like that aspect of it. I mean, I'm still filling it out. I wish I could draw two or three issues before I had to commit to anything. The way it is when you're working at something new, you realize something should be like this and you're on page 25 and you've got 14 pages with that character on before, but it's going pretty smooth," Gross said.

As for what fans can expect from the series, King said, "This will be a complete beginning-to-end story that starts with a revolution that's similar to the American Revolution. The idea of people overthrowing a king, or in this case the humans from a pound. And then we will see how American history and how the rules that are set up, as our rules were set up in the Constitution, could lead to another crisis much later on that possibly destroys the whole system. So it's about how people who have the best intentions in the world creating society based on equality and freedom, how those very ideals can be used against it to create the exact opposite, a society based on fascism and class differences and tribalism."

Animal Pound will hit comic stores on December 20th.

What do you think of Animal Pound? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things comics with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

The original Pink Ranger is now jumping into the world of comics with a brand new series, and the latest revelation from that series has fans talking. BOOM! Studios is currently holding a Kickstarter for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return, a four-issue series from the team of writers Amy Jo Johnson and Matt Hotson and artist Nico Leon (Spider-Man, Catwoman), which you can find right here. The Return reveals an alternate history for the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers team, and part of that reimagined future is the new Green Ranger, whose name is Olivia Hart. That certainly sounds like the daughter of Tommy Oliver and Kimberly Hart, and Johnson revealed our first look at Olivia in new artwork from Dan Mora.

On Instagram, Johnson wrote, "Introducing #OliviaHart #GreenRanger poster and character design by @dan_mora_c for #MMPRTheReturn @boom_studios written by @atothedoublej & #matthotson art by #nicoleon now available for PREORDER (link in my bio) This comic book is a love letter from me to all of YOU!! ?? #powerrangers."

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While it hasn't been specifically stated that Olivia Hart is the daughter of Tommy and Kimberly, it does seem to be the case. In addition to her name representing both characters, her character design by Mora incorporates both green and pink into her civilian clothes. We'll have to wait and see how this all plays out, but if this is the case, it would also be a lovely tribute to the late Jason David Frank. The series' official description provides some insight into where the Rangers are at this moment in time, and you can find that description below.

"Twenty-two years ago, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers achieved their ultimate victory against the forces of evil... and it cost them everything. Now, the long-disbanded team reunites to mourn the losses of beloved friends, but Zack and Billy have some unexpected information to share - Jason, the Red Ranger, has been operating as a lone vigilante, and has since disappeared. Will the remaining Rangers be able to track him down, especially with a mysterious figure in pursuit?

This is just the beginning of a much larger story that is unlike anything POWER RANGERS fans have ever seen on television, in film, or in comic books, which rewrites the present and future of the beloved Mighty Morphin Power Rangers characters, introduces new sure-to-be fan-favorite characters, and introduces bold new storytelling opportunities for the franchise."

You can back the campaign right now and reserve your copy of The Return, but that's not all you can add to your collection through the campaign. In celebration of Johnson and the Pink Ranger, BOOM! Studios is releasing a brand new edition of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink. There will also be limited and signed editions and exclusive merchandise to pick up, with more goals to be revealed as the campaign continues.

Are you excited for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things Power Rangers with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

Writer Chip Zdarsky has shared some of his own handcrafted artwork to promote Joker: Year One. The upcoming storyline in Zdarsky's Batman run will put the spotlight on Joker and expose some deep, unrevealed secrets about the Clown Prince of Crime's history. Joker: Year One takes place after the "Gotham War" crossover event in what DC's calling their "most brutal fight of all time." To get fans hyped up for the Batman vs. Joker showdown in Joker: Year One, Zdarksy unveiled some chilling artwork of the Dark Knight's most ruthless nemesis.

"Yeah! For the month of February we're putting out a special story within the pages of Batman called THE JOKER: YEAR ONE!" Chip Zdarsky wrote in a Substack post. "Giuseppe Camuncoli and Andrea Sorrentino have come onboard to make this a really cool looking story. It takes place in two time periods: the period directly after The Joker's creation in the chemical vat, and some time in the future as Batman tries to unravel a mystery. It's been fun attempting to dance between the raindrops of continuity on this one!"

"Anyhoo, it's cool and pretty and I hope people dig it when it drops. Also! Jorge is still going strong! He's leading us into this storyline and picking up right after in issue 145!" he continued. "And yeah, I did the promo piece above. It may end up being a cover? Maybe?"

Trinity of Evil teased in Dawn of DC

Earlier this month, DC unveiled new details around a number of upcoming storylines, which are set to culminate in the debut of a "Trinity of Evil" in 2024. To convey the hype, DC unveiled a new version of the Dawn of DC timeline, as well as new looks at upcoming issues of Titans: Beast World, Action Comics, and Batman.

According to the announcement, these storylines -- Beast World, Action's "House of Brainiac", and Batman's fight against Zur En Arrh -- will have a significance in the DC storytelling going forward. Beast World will also help lay the groundwork for a new Suicide Squad series, which will be titled Suicide Squad: Dream Team and will launch in March of 2024. As the name suggests, the team will include Nia Nal / Dreamer, and will be set up in Action Comics #1060 and Titans: Beast World Tour Metropolis #1.

Let us know what you think about Chip Zdarsky's Joker: Year One promotional art in the comments!

Summary: In this Thanksgiving Special Episode the ComicBook Nation hosts each share their top picks for the geek culture content and/or moments they are MOST thankful for in the year 2023.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our fans! Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to ComicBook Nation - we'll thank you for it!

Matt Aguilar - Matt was thankful this year to get Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and a Transformers comic series that has really brought the G1 fun back to the franchise. For similar reasons, he also praised the new Power Rangers Cosmic Fury series on Netflix, and grew to really appreciate NXT Wrestling's rise.

Connor Casey - Connor is loving the year of Spider-Man media supremacy with the release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 video game - both massive achievements. Gaming continued to hold a special place in Connor's heart with the release of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and he finally made the jump from wrestling fan to actual contender, in his FXE Wrestling Federation.

Kofi Outlaw - Kofi was thankful to have has fandom of both TMNT and Zelda rekindled by the release of the movie Mutant Mayhem and sequel game Tears of the Kingdom. He was also grateful to see cinema and theaters make a major comeback with the Barbenheimer cultural event.

Janell Wheeler - Janell is thankful that Dr. Who is bringing back David Tenant this Christmas - and that Super Mario is back with a Super Mario RPG remaster and Super Mario Wonder. Finally, Janell is grateful as ever to her dedicated and growing Twitch streaming community.

What are you thankful for this year? Let us know in the comments!

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Each episode has a deep dive into the current biggest discussion topics and debates within geek culture: movies, tv, comics, and video games are regular features, with genres like sci-fi, anime, and wrestling also featured regularly. The ONLY show covering ALL THINGS Geek Culture!

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The Naruto Saga has dropped another big twist on fans, as seen in the latest chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. The first Boruto series redefined everything we know about the Shinobi world and its great enemy, The Otsutsuki Clan, as well as the villains' true plans for Earth using the Ten-tails and Divine Tree. However, now Boruto: Two Blue Vortex has revealed that thanks to the events of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations' final arc, a new enemy has arisen to threaten the world - a bigger threat than the Otsutsuki may have ever been!

(SPOILERS) Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 4 picks up with Boruto tracking his foe cyborg foe Code to the lair where he's hiding a Ten-Tails. The only thing is, when Boruto and Code both look, the Ten-Tails is no longer imprisoned: it's broken free on its own and changed form, taking on a much more humanoid appearance. Code is bewildered: Boruto had warned him that his gang of pet Ten-Tails was about to break off their leash - but Code never thought that meant literally!

New Naruto Villians: The Divine Trees

Boruto reveals to Code that what he's seeing is the unexpected offshoot of whatever "enhancement" process was done to the Ten-Tails (as seen in Chapter 2). The normal process of a Ten-Tails is to devour the chakra of whatever is fed to them until they consume an Otsutsuki and become a Divine Tree, capable of siphoning the chakra of entire planets, which surviving Otsutsuki then consume as chakra fruit, extending their lives and helping them evolve their powers and forms. However, Code's changes to the Ten-Tails birthed self-awareness in the Divine Trees they form - and now those Divine Trees are alive and sentient - and hungry to consume.

There's a lot we still don't know about the years that Boruto was on the run from Hidden Leaf Village, under Sasuke's tutelage. These first four chapters of Two Blue Vortex have peppered in some pretty big clues:

• Code enhanced the Ten-Tails and used them as his own soldiers.
• Code's Ten-Tails would bite their non-Otsutsuki victims, turning them into Divine Trees wherever they stood.
• Those Divine Trees became sentient and created bodies for themselves using a hybrid of the genetic imprints of those trapped in the Divine Trees and the Ten-Tails.
• Sasuke is one of the people who was trapped inside a Divine Tree (for an unknown length of time). Subsequently, one of the living Divine Trees is a clone of Sasuke.
• Boruto and his new teacher Koji Kashin (Jiraiyas' clone) learned what was happening with the Divine Tree and tried to avert it - but were clearly too late. Koji makes it sound as if Plan B will be an all-out war against the Divine Trees, for the fate of the planet.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex releases new chapters online.

DC has finally revealed the true identity of Superman's newest supervillain threat, The Chained. And, as teased earlier in the current story arc, The Chained's identity and origin are deeply rooted in the shady history of Metropolis and its power players!

Superman #8 serves as "The Chained: Part Three" and the issue opens on a flashback of The Chained as a young boy named Samuel (or "Sammy"). However, Sam isn't just any young boy: he's the son of Sebastian Stryker, the affluent Metropolis industrialist who built the Stryker's Island Penitentiary.

Through a flashback conversation between Lex Luthor, Sebastian Stryker, and Carl Draper (aka The Master Jailer), we learn that Sebastian Stryker actually handed his son over to Lex for experimentation. The result was Lex successfully fitting Sammy with a metahuman ability: Tactile Telekinesis, the same power that would later be given to the Superboy clone Cadmus created.

However, Sammy Stryker's Tactile Telekinesis power operates at a level that Connor Kent could never imagine, and it quickly becomes apparent that Superboy's powers are just a fraction of The Chained's abilities.

During the course of the story in Superman #8, we get brushstrokes of history that make it clear there's one pivotal scene we have yet to witness: what inevitably went wrong between father and son. In his own version of "coming clean," Lex reveals to Superman that Sammy's power (and mind) became a threat. At some point, for whatever reason, Sammy and Sebastian Stryker had a falling out, which led to the son murdering the father. After that, Lex hatched a plan to bind and contain Sammy, locking him away in a cell below Stryker's Island until Luthor's mysterious old rivals Dr. Pharm and Mister Graft manipulated Superman into freeing him.

With The Chained's origin revealed, DC has given Superman a supervillain that both challenges him on a power-to-power level, but also offers a lot of ties back to the history of Metropolis and some larger Superman lore. In this origin reveal alone we see how Sammy Stryker is tied to Lex Luthor, Superboy, Stryker's Island, and The Master Jailer, quickly marking him as a pivotal and important character, even though he's just made his debut.

The end of the issue also reveals that Lex built one key weakness into Sammy Stryker: Kryptonite. That flaw allowed Superman (in a protective suit) to subdue Sammy long enough for capture - but has cost Clark Kent his on vitality. The Chained may be out of the game now, but it's clear what kind of damage he can (and probably will) do, when he inevitably gets loose again.

Superman is on sale from DC Comics. Read the synopsis below:

THE MAN OF STEEL VS. CHAINED! Powerless! Superman versus the Chained concludes! One of the biggest battles Metropolis has ever witnessed comes down to Superman doing the unthinkable and sacrificing his powers to stop the Chained. How does that impact Lex Luthor's plans...or is Lex too busy dealing with the shocking return of his mother in Superman #850?!

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Gleb Melnikov, Norm Rapmund, David Balde?n, Jamal Campbell
Colors by: Alejandro S?nchez, Jamal Campbell
Letters by: Dave Sharpe
Cover art by: Jamal Campbell
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: November 21, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving from those of us at CovrPrice! There was a lot to be thankful for for comic fans last week! The trailer for Madame Web finally dropped, propelling several books to high spots on this list. Robert Kirkman may have let a little secret out that has fans buzzing about the Sentry. Fans are still seeing Captain Marvel, causing multiple books to trend. Clarity has arrived regarding a future 'Alien' project, along with some casting news for the Authority. A new king graces the pages of Black Panther, and the fanbase is all in! Dive into this week's Top Ten for all the details that emerged last week and why these books are trending!

Want to know what comic books are trending each week and why? COVRPRICE.COM uses live sales analytics to identify and compile the most robust market price guide, highlighting the weekly top trending comics. No opinions. Just data. Each week, they present a newly updated list of the TOP 10 COMICS trending in the aftermarket. These trends are due to rumors, fan-favorite covers, story-driven content, and content-related news.

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#10 BLACK PANTHER #6 - DOALY (1:25) | MARVEL | 2023 When fans saw the solicitation for this book, their attention was immediately on King M'Teli. This 1:25 variant from Doaly was the king of the pack, featuring an exceptionally regal M'Teli gracing the cover. We tracked a high sale of $167 for a raw copy and a current raw NM FMV of $110.

#9 THE SENTRY #1 | MARVEL | 2000 Robert Kirkman recently appeared on a livestream with David Finch and remarked, "My good friend Steven Yuen is playing the Sentry in a movie." There was some other context behind it, but you get the point. Fans immediately hit up the aftermarket in search of a copy! We tracked a high sale of $350 for a CGC 9.8 copy and a raw NM FMV of $109.

#8 YOUNG AVENGERS #1 | MARVEL | 2005 *POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR THE MARVELS* This book was going gangbusters during the incredible hype that WanaVision produced. It has done so again, partly due to the end credit scene in The Marvels teasing the Young Avengers. We tracked a high sale of $350 for a CGC 9.8 and a current raw NM FMV of $70.

#7 X-MEN #164 | MARVEL | 1982 ***SPOILER ALERT*** This comic book is tied directly to the end-credit scene of "The Marvels" movie. This book features the first appearance of Carol Danvers as Binary. The mention of Binary in the end credit scene has significant implications for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). As a result, this book has gained a lot of attention. The highest sale was for a CGC 9.8 copy, selling for $250, and a raw VF copy is $27.

#6 THE AUTHORITY #1 | DC | 1999 This book is significant because it features the first team appearance of "The Authority." It experienced a surge in demand when Gunn made his announcement and has surged again thanks to James Gunn confirming Mar?a Gabriela de Far?a's casting as the second Engineer in the upcoming "Superman: Legacy" project. This version of the Engineer first appeared in this comic, causing it to skyrocket in aftermarket demand. The highest sale was for a CGC 9.8 copy, which sold for $300, and the current fair market value for a raw NM copy is $46.

#5 MARVEL SUPER-HEROES SECRET WARS #7 - DIRECT | MARVEL | 1984 This book features the first full appearance of the second Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter. We have a distinct shot of Sweeney rocking the famous costume in the trailer. It appears we will get a trio of Spider-Gals in the film, and since this rumor first circulated, Sweeney as Carpenter has been the one the fanbase wanted. It appears we may get just that! We tracked a high sale of $250 for a CGC 9.8 copy and a raw VF FMV of $16.

#4 AMAZING FANTASY #1 | MARVEL | 2004 This book popped off when the initial Madame Web rumors began to swirl. The community had it pegged from the get-go that Isabela Merced would portray Arana Corazon, who first appeared in this book, in the film. With the trailer finally dropping, we saw the character in action, albeit briefly, and sporting her iconic goggles like she does in the comics. The community has their eyes on the character and this book! We tracked a high sale of $180 for a CGC 9.8 and a raw NM FMV of $34.

#3: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #210 | MARVEL | 1980 The last time this book hit our list (in the newsstand edition) was after Sony announced plans to move forward with a Madame Web solo film. Subsequently, her first appearance started seeing some heat in the aftermarket. We tracked a high sale of $975 for a CGC 9.8 current raw VF FMV of $81.

#2 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #30 | MARVEL | 2001 Sony confirmed a 2022 rumor that Ezekial Sims would appear in Madame Web, and he's being marketed as the movie's villain. His first appearance was in this comic book alongside Morlun. This issue is significant for several reasons. The fanbase is becoming increasingly interested in the Spider-Totem aspect of the story told within this book. The highest sale was for a CGC 9.8 copy, which sold for $200, and the current fair market value for a raw NM copy is $47.

#1 THE ALIEN LEGION #1 | MARVEL | 2001 Per The Hollywood Reporter, Tim Miller, of Deadpool fame, is set to adapt Alien Legion and grow it into a space opera franchise. Prices are rising thanks to the level of entry, prevalence, and the quickly dwindling market of cheap copies. We tracked a high sale of $158 for a CGC 9.8 copy and a current raw FN FMV of $10.

And that's your TOP 10 COMICS OF THE WEEK for 11/20/23! Want to know what your comic books are worth? COVRPRICE.COM offers the ULTIMATE price guide with LIVE ungraded (raw) and graded sales for today's market trends. Manage your collection and track your portfolio's overall value with our robust tracking systems. With a free 10-day trial and several affordable price tiers, discover the value of your comics and sign up today! CHECK OUT THE TOP 10 ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL. PLEASE LIKE & SUBSCRIBE!

To say that Batman stories could use something fresh and at least a little out there is an understatement given that many recent stories in the core Batman line of comics have been less than engaging. There is only so much one can do with the Dark Knight and Gotham. And it is with that in mind that Batman: Off World #1 arrives. Written by Jason Aaron with art by Doug Mahnke and Jaime Mendoza and colors by David Baron, the comic book feels both like a very Batman spin on Superman's recent Warworld adventure and a wild take on a Justice League style adventure--those frequently see more out-of-this-world type tales for Batman--but with a fresh twist that makes the story all the more engaging and just a bit more human.

The story, in a sense, centers around that twist: Batman: Off World #1 takes place very early in the vigilante's career, just a year into his efforts and as a result sees Batman out of his depth when confronted by an alien enforcer for the mob boss he's currently chasing. It's Batman's inexperience and, in a sense, optimism, that leads him to head off world on an experimental craft to fight aliens, something that has unexpected consequences when he's kidnapped by slavers in another galaxy.

What works about this comic book is just how weird it is. While Batman fans know the character has a long history filled with some truly bonkers adventures, there's something about it being Batman in the hands of slavers that feels so wildly out of place as to be fascinating. It also opens up the door for the story to be as unserious as possible, providing space for Aaron to explore the more ludicrous aspects of not only the character, but the larger landscape of DC's rather fantastic overall universe in a way that Earth-bound and "gritty" Gotham stories simply don't make room for. There's also the vulnerability of Batman given his inexperience that makes the story easier to invest in. This is not the World's Greatest Detective who never fails. This is a character still growing into that role.

Unfortunately, it's the growing-into-the-role aspect of things that doesn't quite land in this issue. Granted, with this being a first issue, there's room to grow and space has clearly been provided for that, but there's a lot of flash to this issue that leaves things light on characterization. For fans who have been following Aaron's work at Marvel--specifically his Avengers run--the issue will feel familiar in how formulaic it is. If you like that approach, it works, but it does seem to lack something keeping this comic from rising to greatness and settling for good. Artwise, however, this is a fantastic comic book at every turn. There's beautiful action, bold colors, and deft details that make the issue a visual feast.

This is a very promising start to a story. While there are elements that feel at times too familiar--the similarities to Superman's Warworld story, the formulaic nature of Aaron's storytelling--and the lack of depth at times feels a bit like style over substance, the comic book is a fun read and certainly unlike anything occurring in contemporaneous Batman comics. It's entertaining and has obvious room to grow and, if nothing else, the art is out of this world - pun intended.

Published by DC Comics

On November 21, 2023

Written by Jason Aaron

Art by Doug Mahnke and Jaime Mendoza

Colors by David Baron

Letters by Troy Peteri

Cover by Doug Mahnke and David Baron