Everyone loves a stone-cold thriller, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, a limited comic book series that does just that has been snapped up for adaptation. Szymon Kudrański’s No Man’s Land began in 2025 and is set during the Cold War era. In 1963, the dead body of a woman is found frozen on the Ice Curtain — an ice bridge that anyone brave enough to cross can walk from the USA to Russia. The latest traveller that didn’t make the journey catches the attention of both sides, forcing an FBI agent and a young KGB operative to reluctantly join forces to find out what happened.

The film is being produced by Kudrański, along with Jason Berman’s A/Vantage Pictures (Highest 2 Lowest) and Jon Levin’s Sustainable Imagination. The story drew comparisons to Seven and Zodiac, with the former even serving as an inspiration for one of the comic’s variant covers, impressively created by Kudrański.

In an interview with CBR, Kudrański revealed how the idea came about by chance when a documentary about the Diomede Islands was on television while he was working away on Spawn in 2011. Soon, an idea began to take shape that really does sound like something straight out of David Fincher’s filmography.

“Because right then, in my imagination, I saw a body lying out there on that ice bridge, along with the ending of the story right then and there. But the first thought that hit me was: how would anyone even investigate that?’” explained the writer. “Two nuclear superpowers staring each other down across this no-man ’s-land that technically doesn’t belong to anyone. That was it. The conflict, the setting, the mystery — it all just clicked.”

Here’s hoping that things click into place pretty quickly and the project gets underway soon. While we wait for that to thaw out, check out our list of the best thrillers ever here.

Skybound's Energon Universe is about to engage in one of its first big crossovers this spring as the Transformers will be coming to GI Joe #19 and GI Joe #20 by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Andrea Milana, and colorist Lee Loughridge, and they're bringing along the Energon Universe's third big '80s cartoon/toy franchise, MASK.

The two-issue crossover will bring Optimus Prime and several Autobots will come face to face with Duke and the soldiers of GI Joe, all of whom will have a run-in with Matt Trakker, the lead character of MASK, who is known in the Energon Universe as "America's most wanted man."

"Duke and Optimus Prime meeting for the first time in the Energon Universe? What's led to this momentous meeting of the EU's two greatest heroes?" asks Skybound's official description of the big Transformers/GI Joe crossover. "All we can say is it involves Clutch, Autobot Hound, and America's most wanted man – Matt Trakker!"

Here's a gallery of the many covers for GI Joe #19 and GI Joe #20, followed by a list of the artists for each cover.

• G.I. JOE  #19 by Tom Reilly
• G.I. JOE #19 by Joshua Cassara & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
• G.I. JOE #19 Ben Oliver
• G.I. JOE #19 by Tonči Zonjić
• G.I. JOE #19 by Trevor Hairsine, Andy Lanning, & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
• G.I. JOE #19 by Pye Parr
• G.I. JOE #19 by John Amor & Andres Juarez 
• G.I. JOE  #20 by Tom Reilly
• G.I. JOE  #20 by Joshua Cassara & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
• G.I. JOE  #20 by Ben Oliver
• G.I. JOE  #20 by Tonči Zonjić
• G.I. JOE  #20 by Jorge Corona & Mike Spicer

GI Joe #19 goes on sale February 18, 2026, followed by GI Joe #20 on March 18. While we wait, you can learn all about what's to come for the Transformers in our recent interview with Energon Universe creator Robert Kirkman.

The Transformers ongoing series is the crown jewel of Skybound Entertainment's Energon Universe, a shared Transformers/GI Joe continuity that intertwines the two beloved nostalgia franchises. With writer Daniel Warren Johnson and artist Jorge Corona stepping down after a planned 24-issue run, Skybound boss and creator of The Walking Dead and Invincible Robert Kirkman is taking over as writer with artist Dan Mora joining him on the title as of Transformers #25.

Though Kirkman undeniably has his own style and storytelling sensibilities, Kirkman tells Newsarama that his plan is to keep the transition as smooth as possible for existing readers, while also slowly, methodically expanding the Energon Universe.

That's just the tip of the iceberg of our conversation with Kirkman, as we dig into how Transformers compares to his most famous creator-owned titles, what it's like working with one of DC's top artists in Dan Mora, and what fans can expect for the future of the Energon Universe.

Newsarama: Robert, you're taking over as writer of Transformers following Daniel Warren Johnson's stellar run. What made you decide to be the one to follow him?

Robert Kirkman: I love Transformers, and we knew pretty much from the beginning that Daniel was going to be doing 24 issues. There was a tremendous amount of effort on my part, [editor] Sean Mankiewicz's part, [editor] Ben Abernathy's part, to try and talk him into doing more issues over the last year, just because we all really enjoyed what he was doing. It's one of my favorite books that I look forward to every single month.

It was a real bummer to lose him, but as it got closer and closer, the opportunity was just too much for me to say no to. I've loved Transformers for as long as I've been alive, and it just seemed like it would be a lot of fun to actually be the one writing the book.

When we started the Energon Universe, I thought Void Rivals would be enough to scratch that itch. I wanted to do the Transformers adjacent book that had, like, new characters and new ideas in it. But every time I'd put a transformer in Void Rivals, I'd get more excited about Void Rivals.

So I knew it was something that I'd like to do eventually, but the honest thing is, I'm very busy, so I was still very much on the fence. But then when I realized that Dan Mora was going to be drawing the book, it was like, "All right, like, I can't fight this anymore. I gotta do that."

Daniel's run was so good, and obviously, there are a lot of things that you'll carry over into yours. What I want to ask though, is, what are the things that you think you're going to do differently? What are the goals that you have to make it your own?

Honestly, the goal at the beginning is to not do anything different. I think that I have a personality and I have a style of writing that is going to creep in, whether I want it to or not. So there's obviously going to be some differences, but the goal here is to have a completely seamless transition.

I'd like it if you didn't look at the credits, you wouldn't even really notice, you know, that there was a change in the writer position. So I'm going to try to keep everything going that Daniel was doing with the intense action, and the really heartfelt moments, and really great character beats and things like that.

I'll probably be exploring Cybertronian lore a little bit more than he was, just because I'm a real nerd for that stuff. And, you know, I'm definitely going to be introducing some new characters into the book and changing some things up and evolving characters in some cool ways. So there's going to be a bit of a transition, and some changes narratively, but it's going to be the same style of book.

On that note, what is different about coming into an established comic like Transformers, versus starting something that's creator owned, like The Walking Dead or Invincible or Skinbreaker, which we talked about recently?

It's easier. When you do a new book, an original book with original characters, you're building everything from the ground up, and you have to find the things that make the universe unique and interesting and compelling and inject the characters with as much substance as possible, so that they will be able to carry the book.

It's a tightrope act that I've really gotten addicted to, because I love the challenge of, can you start from nothing and come up with something that's compelling and interesting, that an audience is actually going to enjoy?

There's pressure on Transformers, because there's such a great tradition of telling these stories, and there's a reverence for these characters that you have to acknowledge at all times and make sure you're getting it right.

Optimus Prime has to sound like Optimus Prime at all times. Megatron has to sound like Megatron at all times. That's a little bit more difficult, but that's also kind of the fun of it too, because you're becoming part of a tradition and a legacy. And I think that's pretty exciting.

Without spoiling anything in Transformers #25, there's a character who appears that expands the Energon Universe a bit. What's been your strategy for building those connections across the line's different titles?

The way that I like to do it is twofold. I want it to be as seamless as possible, I want everything to happen organically. I think that it's very organic to have Starscream flying around and encountering some military jets, one of which just happens to have Duke inside of it. And I think that could have been anybody in that jet. That's why it's a seamless thing. You don't have to know who Duke is. You don't have to know what GI Joe is for that scene to make sense.

That's another thing that we try to do as we're expanding the Energon Universe and adding more elements into it. You don't really have to know anything that came before. It's a fun Easter egg if you know what these things are, but it's really just a key part of the Energon Universe, and we will tell you exactly what it is and why it's there. And if you've only ever read Energon Universe books, you will be 100% up to speed. You know, we don't want anybody to ever have to feel like they need to do homework or research for this stuff.

Random characters in the background of a Transformers cartoon show up in Void Rivals all the time. You don't need to know who they are. It's cool if you do, and that's a lot of fun, but they're there for a central part of the story, and if you're following that story, you know why they're there.

We're trying to straddle that line of paying tribute and having cool nostalgia moments and making sure that we're not doing anything slap-dash, but if you're a new reader, it's completely accessible.

I want to circle back for a second and talk about Dan Mora, because he's just such a force of nature. He's probably my favorite superhero artist right now. How did he come onto the project, and how has it been building a working relationship with him?

I've been talking to Dan for a while now, just trying to see if our schedules could ever align. He's very happy at DC, so we haven't been able to make anything work. But Ben Abernathy also has a really good relationship with him from his time at DC. And Dan reached out and was talking about how much he loves Transformers and how much he'd love to be able to do a stint on the book. Ben was able to work his magic and make it happen. So like everything with the Energon Universe, it really comes from someone having a passion for these characters and wanting to play in the sandbox.

Is he gonna be doing double duty at DC, or just Transformers right now?

Dan's schedule is Dan's schedule, and he certainly has a lot of books coming out. He lets us know, "Hey, this is going to take six weeks, this is going to take four weeks," and we've scheduled accordingly. I don't know exactly what he's doing on top of Transformers, but I know he can do multiple books at a time, and has for a good long time, so I believe that will continue.

On top of Dan Mora, Transformers #25 has an opening sequence drawn by Jorge Corona that sets the stage for the transition. How was it working with him after his own run on the title?

It was a blast working with Jorge Corona on that opening sequence. That was a lot of fun. I think he's been great on the book. We're hoping to get him back as soon as possible onto the series. Working with him was a real dream of mine. I've loved his work for a long time.

Speaking more generally about Transformers, how did you decide that they would be the cornerstone of the Energon Universe? Energon is a Transformers concept. They're kind of the core of this idea. What made that feel like the right way to go?

I think narratively, it just worked as a catalyst. The Transformers coming to earth seemed like a really big kind of kickoff point for this universe. And, you know, trying to find a new way into GI Joe, trying to start at square one. The Transformers arriving at earth seemed like a fun roundabout way of setting that off and putting that in motion.

And then when you talk about having a whole universe of characters, it's nice if that universe isn't confined to one planet, and Transformers brings that as well, because there is a lot of outer space lore and different planets and things that they've visited, and there's a lot of stuff there that we're going to be using as time goes on. And so I think as a linchpin to a universe, Transformers just narratively, had a lot of things that allowed us to build on them.

I would say another linchpin to this universe is Cobra La, which will become more and more apparent as we get deeper and deeper into the runs of these books. I think that was a really, really cool science fiction element that expands the world of GI Joe in a way that allows it to more naturally interact with Transformers and Void Rivals and things like that. It's really just about finding the narrative elements that exist in these properties and have existed for years, and figuring out ways to weave them in a convincing way.

Looking back, how do you feel the decision to launch the Energon Universe by surprise in Void Rivals worked out?

I feel great about it. I think it worked out splendidly. I think that it created a sense of excitement and mystery around these books. And I think that continues to this day. I think Transformers #25 is another example of that. I think there's at least a couple of things that happened in that book that you couldn't have really anticipated when you went to the store to buy it. And I think that that's something that everyone should be striving to include in their books.

Some sense of like, "Wow, I didn't expect this." You people to be as amazed as you can possibly make them as they're turning pages.

I think comics is a magical medium where there's a surprise built on every page turn, and we should be working toward that as much as we possibly can. So yeah, by starting the Energon Universe with that surprise moment, it really kind of put us on that path and trajectory of trying to surprise and entertain people at every turn.

To wrap up, I want to ask, what do you see as the future of the Energon Universe? Are you going to keep bringing in more and more of these connected properties? Is there potential for it to continue expanding infinitely?

No, no. It's going to expand methodically and at a pace where you won't even notice the expansion. I'm perfectly happy with it being three titles for a good long time. At some point in the future, it will probably expand to four. I can't see us adding titles at a rate faster than one every two or three years, if we keep expanding past four titles - we may never.

There's not a corporate goal to expand to a certain number of titles, to meet certain revenue goals, or anything like that. Everything that drives the Energon Universe is creative, and so we're keeping it small, and keeping it manageable. Right now, it's just myself and Josh Williamson as the writers on the line, and we're keeping things fairly self contained.

As a universe, there will be some fun expansions and neat things that happen along the way, but keeping things manageable for our sake and for the readership's sake, we're not looking to blow up anybody's budget by expanding to 567 monthly titles ever. Expansion is not the goal. Telling cool stories and putting out fun comics is the goal.

There will be an expansion to a certain extent of the Transformers Universe in #25 and that's going to continue for the next few issues. Hopefully people will be really excited about all the stuff coming up, because I really am. I'm hoping to hit the ground running on this book and really, wow people. Hopefully people enjoy it.

Transformers #25 goes on sale October 8. While we wait, be sure and stay up to date on all the Transformers news you need to know.

Skybound Comet's hilariously entertaining all-ages OGN Transformers: Worst Bot Ever is getting a sequel in which newly minted Autobot Ballpoint - whose alternate form is literally just a ballpoint pen - undergoes a Freaky Friday style mind-swap with the most menacing villain in the Transformers franchise, Decepticon leader Megatron.

Transformers: Worst Bot Ever - Bot Swap brings back the creative team of writer Brian 'Smitty' Smith and artist Marz Jr. for the second tale in their delightful saga of a seemingly useless Decepticon becoming an Autobot hero.

Now, Megatron, who is no stranger to turning into an inanimate object himself, as his original alternate form is a handgun wielded by other Decepticons, will find himself trapped in a body that is nothing like his usually imposing structure, while Ballpoint will suddenly have all the power of one of a well-honed killing machine.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to deliver more adventures of the bot with the biggest ego (and even bigger heart)," says writer Brian 'Smitty' Smith in a statement. "Ballpoint has made an immediate impact with TRANSFORMERS fans of all ages, you're gonna want to buckle up for this next ride!"

"What have you gotten yourself into this time Ballpoint?!" adds artist Marz Jr. "I'm pumped to be bringing back the lovable rascal for another wacky adventure!"

Skybound Comet is the all-ages wing of The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman's Image Comics imprint Skybound, current publisher of the ongoing Transformers comic which will soon be written by Kirkman himself.

Transformers: Worst Bot Ever - Bot Swap goes on sale in June 2026.

Learn all about Robert Kirkman and artist David Finch's new fantasy comic, Skinbreaker.

Writer Robert Kirkman is one of the most successful modern comic creators thanks to his horror masterpiece The Walking Dead, his superhero epic Invincible, and, most recently, his hit line of Transformers/GI Joe crossover comics.

Kirkman's next story will take him into a less explored genre in his work, as he teams with artist David Finch for Skinbreaker, a fantasy tale set on an alien world where ancient traditions come into conflict with modern ideals.

Newsarama spoke with Kirkman and Finch ahead of Skinbreaker #1's September 24 release to discuss how the new comic evolved from Kirkman's love of Finch's art, the themes behind the alien fantasy, and how the art and script work fluidly together.

Newsarama: Robert, David, I want to start off by saying I really enjoyed the first issue of Skinbreaker. It feels so different from what I've seen from either of you before. Robert, what's your approach to moving into a genre like fantasy that's maybe a little less explored in your work?

Robert Kirkman: I try to approach every project trying to ensure that it offers my fanbase something different than they get from the other projects that I do. But everything I do is very artist based and artist-centric. So I think any main differences you may be seeing in Skinbreaker would be thanks to the influence of David Finch, me preparing a story that I think is worthy of him.

Catering the story around what I see as his strengths, trying to do a story I think he'll enjoy writing. These are the things that are talking to me the entire time I'm working on a script. If he enjoys it, that comes through in the work and the readers will enjoy it.

Well, that's a perfect segue into my next question, which is for David. David, I've been a fan of your work for so long now, especially in superhero comics. When I opened Skinbreaker #1, I was blown away by the art. I want to know, how did you develop the look of this series and this evolved style?

David Finch: Well, thank you. A big part of it is working at a much larger size, meaning I could really go into a lot of detail. That and also having so much more time, and inking myself. Those three procedural things made a big difference in the art. I really had gotten used to doing superhero comics, a lot more modern stuff. I love all that stuff, but aside from a few panels here and there, I never really got the chance to explore this kind of thing with my art before.

When I first talked to Robert, what he wanted to do was a real surprise to me, because it's not the kind of work that I'm known for, and not what I would have expected. There was a picture that I had drawn of Swamp Thing that he liked, and he wanted to kind of pursue that. It's like a case of a writer kind of knowing me more than I know myself, and it gave me a chance to explore a side of me that I had never really had the chance to explore before.

Robert, opening the first issue of one of your comics always feels like stepping into a whole world. It feels like there's new stuff around every corner that we'll eventually get to see. When you're prepping for a series like this, how much world-building do you do in advance, and how much of it comes naturally through the course of the story?

Kirkman: I prefer to world-build as I go. I try to focus on, like, is this opening scene interesting? Are these characters interesting? Is this a world I want to know more about? How can I make this something that people want to learn more about? That's my main focus.

And the game that I like to play with myself when I'm writing scripts is, let's mention something that's intriguing. I may have a vague idea of what something is, and sometimes I'll have a really solid idea about what something is, but when I'm enjoying the writing process the most is when the discovery that a reader experiences is also present for me.

Another great segue into my next question, which is for both of you. The art and script work so well together. What's it been like developing your working relationship? And on a more technical level, how heavily is Skinbreaker scripted versus how much of the story develops in the art?

Kirkman: Script-wise, I was trying to get out of the way as much as possible. We put this book together to be a one shot, a shorter project, and it ended up growing as we worked on it. It wasn't necessarily supposed to. It was kind of just kind of written as one story, so I would not break down action sequences to fit a certain page length.

As I was writing things for David to interpret, I would go, "Okay, well, this needs to have a cool page turn moment here. And you know what? Maybe it needs another page turn moment, and that'll make it more intriguing," and that just makes scenes grow and grow and grow.

Finch: For my part, we talked quite a bit when we were starting, and went over some design decisions and all that kind of thing. So I had a very good idea of what Robert was thinking. And also the scripts that I got, they're not, you know, tomes of material, for sure. They're very succinct, but they made it very clear exactly what he was thinking, exactly what the point of every scene is.

I think especially working with such a renowned and very talented writer as Robert, the last thing I'm going to do is say, "Hey, let's do this and let's do that." So I kind of keep my mouth shut and just, you know, try and stay in my lane. But even doing that, he's so collaborative that I still had a lot of chances to kind of have my say in there. I kept my mouth shut and just drew the pages. And I still got a lot of influence in the story, and it's very gratifying.

David, I want to talk about the rest of the art team on Skinbreaker. The colors by Annalisa Leone are so good in this book. They just fit with your art so well. I wanted to ask you about what it's been like working with her and developing the visual language of this comic together?

Finch: Annalisa has been absolutely incredible. I've got issue one, you know, in my hands, and I've been looking at the finished product all put together with her colors, and it brings the the world together in a way that, I'm looking forward to a black and white version, just because, you know, I put so much work into those little lines. But really, for me the colors make this book. She did such an amazing, amazing job.

She's really creative with the colors. It's an alien world. Everything is completely different, and she really accentuated that so much. I tried to put as much of that into the design as I could, but she really had to take that to the next level and give it its own feel. And it doesn't feel like a version of some other world that's out there. This really feels like it's own thing, and that's very much Annalisa.

David, you talked about working on a larger scale with these pages, putting in so much detail, really putting in a lot of love in this work, and that seems like such an important thing. How does it feel to be getting the opportunity to work this way, and how do you hope that that kind of carries forth through the industry?

Finch: Well, getting the opportunities was, and has been, a really big deal for me. It's not the kind of thing that we get as artists, the kind of time to really do everything that we possibly can with a project. I wanted to make the absolute most of it, so I'm very grateful for that. I'd love to see more of it.

Comics are their own thing, and they're also something that tends to be a seed for other things. I think that's great, but I'd love to see more emphasis on the actual comic. The European industry has some of my favorite books, amazing stuff, because it's shorter stories, and artists can really do all the work themselves. It's beautiful stuff, and we just don't get enough of a chance to do that here. I would love to see more of that.

For both of you, I want to ask, what do you see as the big themes of Skinbreaker, the takeaways that readers should maybe be looking for?

Kirkman: I love for the readers themselves to be able to interpret the story and take from it what they will. Theme-wise, I think that there's a vein in the story that is all about not being scared of something new. Whether that's about doing unique projects in the comic book industry or our ever changing world that we currently inhabit, that's up to interpretation. But, you know, accepting change and rolling with the punches.

Finch: So much of it is change and the fear of change and the need for change. I feel a lot of fear of change right now. I think a lot of us do. So I think it makes it relevant in that way, and it makes me really relate with with all of the characters in the book, the characters that recognize the need for change and push for what they believe to be positive change, and the characters that resist it because it's it's not what they know, and what they know has been working for them for as long as their ancestors can remember.

Is there anything else you want to tell readers that's important to know about Skinbreaker?

Kirkman: I'll key in on the Treasury Edition version of Skinbreaker. There's a secondary version of the book that's coming out for each issue that'll be released alongside the standard version that is in a much larger format, that gives you a better glimpse of the art. It'll be presented in a much different way, on different papers. A different size. It'll be a very high end book. I'm really excited about it. I recommend people at least check that out in the shop before they decide which format they're going to buy.

Finch: I want to emphasize the fact that this book is finished. We made sure to get to the finish line before we ever announced and put it out there. So this is not going to be a case of buying a book and getting halfway through and either the quality taking a massive dip or major delays and a massive quality dip. You can count on, every month, going and finding the next issue, and it will be our very best work.

While we wait for Skinbreaker #1 to release on September 24, dig into the best episodes of The Walking Dead, ranked.

It really does feel like, at this point, Spawn creator, Todd McFarlane, has been to hell and back in bringing Albert Francis Simmons' story back to the big screen in a brand new story. Names like Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner have been linked to the project, which has seemingly been stalled by the demon Malebolgia or due to development delays. Now, though, the comic book writer has provided some promising news that should get fans a little bit excited than they were over the last few years. After chugging along, McFarlane has now revealed to Comic Book that a director is almost in place to give Spawn the cinematic shot he deserves, finally, and the hope is it'll be a horrifying one. That being said, Spawn's maker is set on not giving the game away too soon, if only because of past announcements that haven't quite developed into anything.

“I don’t think we’ll announce when he signs on. I think what we’ll do is we’ll announce when we have the script and we’ve got the buyer. Instead of doing what I’ve done before, every time we hire somebody, I announce it, is to just go, ‘It sold with this director, writer, these people attached as actors, boom, boom, boom, this is what we’re gonna make,’ that would be it,” McFarlane explained. “But the contract went out, literally, last week. I’m here to tell you it’s an A[-list] director, from my perspective. I go, ‘Wow,’ we keep getting lucky with Spawn. The people who are excited about it are people that are in the top tier, from my perspective, so it’s like, ‘Wow. Okay, cool.’ So we’ll see.”

The update comes almost a year after producer Jason Blum announced that the first script draft for the new film was complete and was titled 'King Spawn,' sharing the same name as the comic book run, but not sharing the same story. Thankfully, even with these bumps in the development road, Blumhouse has backed McFarlane's project, and the hope is that they'll apply their signature horror to bringing the hellbound hero to life, if and when this secretive filmmaker signs on.

“Again, fingers crossed he wants to do something creepy, too. We’re just jibing. I’m supposed to be getting a pit stop from him here in the next month and when we do that, then the script goes and hopefully we sign whatever. We’ll see," added McFarlane. "But we’re constantly trying to move that thing forward. We haven’t stopped. It’s constantly going. And, if you talk to Jason [Blum], him and his crew are pushing it too, right? They want this thing to happen as much as I do.”

Who knows? Things might finally be warming up for Spawn in the best way possible. In the meantime, here are some of the biggest superhero movies coming to the screen soon.

Skybound Entertainment's Transformers title has been one of the crown jewels of the publisher's Energon Universe line, which also includes Skybound's GI Joe comics. Now, with fan-favorite writer Daniel Warren Johnson and artist Jorge Corona leaving Transformers, Skybound co-founder (and creator of The Walking Dead) Robert Kirkman is taking over the title, and he's bringing Dan Mora, one of DC's top artists, along for the ride.

Kirkman and Mora will be joined by colorist Mike Spicer and letterer Rus Wooton who will remain on board through the change in creative team. It's unclear whether Mora will be leaving his current DC title Justice League Unlimited, or if he'll pull double duty – something few other top-tier superhero artists can accomplish, but a feat Mora has done before.

Transformers #25 will also feature a back-up story by Kirkman and departing series artist Jorge Corona. We've got an early look at some pages from the main story featuring Dan Mora's art, along with the issue's covers by David Nakayama, Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer, Jorge Corona and Mike Spicer, Kael Ngu, Dan Mora, and Jae Lee and June Chung, as well as Autobot- and Decepticon-themed blank sketch covers.

Check it out:

"Holy smokes, I’m writing a TRANSFORMERS comic!" says Kirkman in a statement. "I've been so invested in this series since the beginning. I've marveled at what Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge Corona have brought to some of my all-time favorite characters. When Daniel's run came to an end, I could stand on the sidelines no more! I just had to get in the ring! It's a tremendous honor to be a small part of the legacy of these amazing characters. This world has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. I can't wait for everyone to see what the legendary Dan Mora and I are cooking up!"

"I've been a huge TRANSFORMERS fan ever since I can remember, so it's been a real thrill to come aboard the series with the equally thrilling Robert Kirkman," adds Dan Mora. "I've also been a huge fan of Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge Corona, and what they've done on this title has literally been out of this world. Drawing my favorite Autobots and Decepticons brings me back to all of the fun I had playing with them as a kid, so I hope to add my own spark to their legacy and can't wait for fans to see what Robert and I have been toying with for the Energon Universe next!"

Transformers #25 goes on sale October 8, 2025.

Stay up to date with all the latest Transformers news.

Writer Si Spurrier is teaming up with artist Vanesa Del Rey, colorist John Starr, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou for a psychedelic new crime comic from Image titled The Voice Said Kill.

And when I say psychedelic, I mean it, as The Voice Said Kill features a totally out there art style that channels the shroom-fueled rampage of its main character into colorful, striking art that looks completely unique.

Described as "Fargo meets Deliverance," The Voice Said Kill is a four-issue crime story set in the Louisiana bayou, with a story that pits a guy who is tripping out of his mind on psychedelic mushrooms against a moonshine running crime family, with a pregnant park ranger caught in the middle.

Here's a gallery of interior pages from The Voice Said Kill #1, along with the main cover by Vanesa Del Rey and variants by Christian Ward and Tula Lotay:

It's always a tough realization to figure out that our parents are human beings with their own faults and frailties. But what happens when your dad is actually a murderous mad scientist? How do you grapple with the mistakes and decisions of a parent who is a full-on supervillain?

That's the question at the heart of writer Matthew Rosenberg, artists Stefano Landini, Roman Titov, and Jason Wordie, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou's new Image Comics title We're Taking Everyone Down With Us, which blends James Bond-esque super-spy action with a heartfelt family drama about a daughter who is coming to grips with the knowledge that her father is a villain.

With the first issue of We're Taking Everyone Down With Us arriving on March 26, Newsarama caught up with Rosenberg to dig into the characters and the world of the new title, while also discussing the deeper themes that drive the tale of Annalise and her reckoning with her father.

Newsarama: Matthew, We're Taking Everyone Down With Us has a very cool premise that I don't want to totally spoil, as it unfolds through the issue. But it centers on an unlikely relationship between a father and his daughter. How did you come to this premise?

Matthew Rosenberg: Making comics is a funny thing. You spend a year or more focussing on a specific story or theme, and hopefully you sort of vomit out all your thoughts and feelings on that thing until you've said all you have to say and you can rest. But then you have this piece of work that is a snapshot of who you were at that moment in time and, this is true for me but I bet it's far more universal, when you look at that snapshot you realize it no longer represents you. Or maybe who you are is no longer represented.

That's the pretentious answer I guess. The more grounded one is that I love exploring stories through relationships, and the parent/child relationship is usually our first and one of our longest. So I wanted to tell a story about love, and loss, and regret, and caring about people even when they hurt you, and hurting people even though you care about them. I'm fascinated by the moments when we decide who we want to be in life and how much of those decisions come about because of or in spite of our parents.

Also I thought it would be fun to make a book about a mad scientist's daughter.

It feels clear this title lives in a much larger world than what we're seeing in the first issue. What can you tell us about the setting of WTEDWU?

Yeah. I'm a big fan of building out a world while your characters also explore it. So when we start this book we're with Annalise, her father, and his army of robotic helpers, who all live on a small secluded island. But as Annalise ventures out we not only meet this much bigger cast of superspies, power hungry madmen, and delusional world leaders, but we learn about the world where they wage their secret wars.

It owes a lot to '60s and '70s James Bond, but also kids adventure stories like Tintin and Johnny Quest, as well as a ton of other influences we threw in a blender - Diabolik and Paper Moon, Saga and Love & Rockets. It's a big, weird world of strange and dangerous people that we're going to meet (and sometimes kill) as we go.

When it comes to Annalise, the main character, we know that her larger story will be all about grappling with the man her father truly is. What can you tell us about where she's at as that journey begins?

When we meet Annalise she is a very lonely child. She desperately wants her father's attention, or any kind of attention. But she is stuck playing games with robots who cheat. But in her boredom Annalise has never really questioned her situation, who her father is, or why they live this way.

If it's all you've ever known, any life can feel normal. But deep down, in some hidden part of your brain, you must know something is off. For Annalise that hidden part is about to come out and blow everything up.

The art on WTEDWU by Stefano Landini with Roman Titov and Jason Wordie is so good. What makes them the perfect art team for this title?

Stefano's linework is deceptively simple and elegant. He prioritizes storytelling and character, making his work so instantly readable and relatable. But the clean lines leave a ton of room for a colorist to come in and do something loud.

And that's what Roman and Jason do. They're using big, bold colors and not tying themselves to realism. But they have a great understanding of when to go loud, and when to let the lines do the heavier lifting.

They're working in synchronicity to make something that is the perfect blend of realistic and stylized, loud and subtle.

What were the touchstones you gave them to help develop the look of this series?

For a lot of the initial designs that was Stefano. I just helped point in a few directions. I remember talking with him about the effortless cool of Diabolik, the subtle (retro)futurism of early Bond, the battered innocence of León: The Professional. We also talked about Travis Charest's work on WildC.A.T.S., Miller and Mazzucchelli's Daredevil.

I think we all understood we wanted a world that had a lot of the beauty and grit of our own but blown out. And the same thing for the colors. I think a lot about Kurosawa's Dreams and the way color works in that film and I think Jason and Roman really captured that spirit.

What do you want fans to know going into We're Taking Everyone Down With Us?

They're paying for it so I hope they get whatever they want out of it?

Enjoyment would be good. A big theme in the book is empathy and what happens when we don't have any, so if a few people walk away from this thinking more compassionately about people they don't know, that's a huge win.

But it's a comic about a robot who punches people's heads off, so if they just chuckle a few times I'm good with that also.

Take a look back on the best comics of 2024.

W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo's horror anthology Ice Cream Man has long been one of Image's most consistently daring comics, but of late it's become clear that it's a truly great one, too – see issue #39 and #40's heart-wrenching two-part 'Decompression in a Wreck.' That story was both a dazzling exercise in exploring how time works in graphic storytelling and an agonising moment-by-moment breakdown of a car crashing into a lorry that spanned just five seconds in the lives (and deaths) of its characters. But while the book has always been chilling (er, pun sort of intended, I guess), it's also always been blackly comic too.

This week's Ice Cream Man #43 moves between both these tones and more on any given page. It's a special issue which breaks from tradition by bringing onboard writers other than Prince for the first time. And what writers! Yer actual Grant Morrison! Kelly Sue DeConnick, Patton Oswalt, Matt Fraction, and more. It's a starry selection, with the contributors each delivering a horror story over the course of a single page.

That feels like a very tight constraint. Realistically, how much story can you fit into a single page? The answer to that, it turns out, is: much more than you think. Over the course of 22 individual tales, the contributors play with time, space, and format in a way that's genuinely dazzling.

Some stories can be read in the blink of an eye: Deniz Camp's dialogue-free 'Real Page Turner' and Grant Morrison's closing 'At Home With The Colonel' all do their thing in just a few panels. Others, however, force the reader to slow down and absorb every last detail. Geoff Johns' 'Lickety Split' uses a rigid 16-panel grid, ending with a methodically-paced punchline. Prince's 'Who's In Charge?' is a simple concept, but one that engages the reader in some fourth-wall-breaking fun with the book's titular host. Matt Fraction's 'Life By Misadventure' manages to tell five stories in the space of its single page before uniting them satisfactorily. There's even a full-page prose piece – a witty extrapolation of one of the original ultra-short stories: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Then there's 'For James' by Zoe Thorogood. This tale – the only one in the book also illustrated by its writer – appears to directly address the death of her brother. It's a touching and heartfelt piece, but also a devastating one. Partial proceeds from sales of the issue will go to charity on James' behalf, and the entire issue is dedicated to him. A beautiful piece of work, it reminds you just how flexible the horror genre really is.

With 22 stories here there are, of course, a couple that don't quite land. 'Horror, Cont'd' is simply a reprint of the New York Times cover declaring Trump's victory over Kamala Harris with a caption. That is a very real nightmare, I agree, but it adds little to the issue. And occasionally a story will feel like the sort of goofy idea you find on the Bad Two Sentence Horror subreddit. Still, given how brief these pieces are, you'll most likely simply chuckle and move on to the next one, which will almost certainly be a banger.

While the writers are taking the top billing this issue, we must give a big shout out to artist Martin Morazzo, colorist Chris O'Halloran, and letterer Good Old Neon (who gets his own chance to shine with 'A Taxonomy of Old-Timey Diseases'). Ice Cream Man has always been a great-looking comic, but here the team are given the opportunity to really stretch themselves across a range of different genres and tones. There's such a pure-hearted love of the medium on display here that it makes Ice Cream Man #43, despite its frequently very dark subject matter, simply a joy to read.

Ice Cream Man #43 is out now from Image Comics.

Ice Cream Man made our list of the best comics of 2024.

In the world of toys, the worst Transformer of all time is surely debatable. But in the world of comic books, the Worst Bot Ever is Ballpoint, a Decepticon whose alt-form is a literal ballpoint pen of normal size. If you thought G1 Megatron's transformation into a hand-held pistol was kinda weird, Ballpoint takes that same sort of concept to its hilarious limits.

Now, Skybound Comet, the all-ages imprint of Image Comics subsidiary Skybound Entertainment, has released a preview of the all-ages OGN Transformers: Worst Bot Ever - Meet Ballpoint, the first in a series of graphic novels by writer Brian 'Smitty' Smith and artist Marz Jr.

In the preview, we see just how dangerous Ballpoint can be, and we also get a glimpse of the very special connection Ballpoint shares with Decepticon leader Megatron - at least in his own mind.

Check it out:

"The Decepticons are known for being bad...but Ballpoint is truly the worst –the biggest failure of them all. After the latest attempt to take down the Autobots goes horribly wrong, he’s kicked out of the Decepticons, for good!" reads Skybound's official description of Transformers: Worst Bot Ever - Meet Ballpoint. "Will Ballpoint be able to prove his worth by defeating the Autobots all by himself? Or will he keep failing and find that being the 'best' is...More than Meets the Eye?"

Transformers: Worst Bot Ever - Meet Ballpoint goes on sale July 9.

Skybound's ongoing Transformers title ranks among the best comics of 2024.

Indigo Children creator Curt Pires is back at Image with Lost Fantasy, a new ongoing comic created with his former Money collaborator, artist Luca Casalanguida. Action-packed and full of monsters and mystery, the new series is inspired by video games, with Final Fantasy a particular touchstone (as you'll probably see from the hero's sword!)

"I'm so excited to be back at Image Comics with Lost Fantasy, the first title in a brand-new slate of best-in-class comics and graphic novels that I'm bringing to the pioneering publisher and home of creator-owned comics," said Pires in a statement about the new series. "Lost Fantasy has it all: page-turning mystery and pulse-pounding action in equal measure. And I can't wait for readers to discover it this April!"

Check out an exclusive preview of the opening pages from the first issue...

The alternate history series takes place in a reality where monsters, including werewolves, trolls, and more, have broken through into everyday life. 100 years has passed since first contact with the supernatural world and in that time five great schools have been founded to train hunters to defend humanity. Hunters like the handsome, sword-wielding magician Henry Blackheart. When Blackheart is called in to investigate the mysterious death of a child, however, he finds himself in serious trouble...

The first issue is available with a main and 1:15 variant cover by series artist Luca Casalanguida, plus variants by Alex Diotto, Darick Robertson, and two cardstock variants by Jae Lee.

Lost Fantasy also comes with a major treat for fans of one of Pires' previous Image titles... The series will contain Indigo Children: Exodus – a surprise sequel that will continue the dark superhero story as a serialized backup strip in the pages of Lost Fantasy every month.

The giant-sized Lost Fantasy #1 is published by Image Comics on April 30.

Take a look back at the best comics of 2024.

W. Maxwell Prince's brilliant horror series Ice Cream Man is one of our comics of 2024, landing at number 10 in our recent Best Of list. It's been a superb year for the book, but there's still exciting stuff to come in 2025. As previously revealed, January 29's Ice Cream Man #43 is a "One-Page Horror Stories" special featuring all-new tales from Prince, and a host of some of the biggest names in comics including Grant Morrison, Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Patton Oswalt, Geoff Johns, Zoe Thorogood, and more. Now, Newsarama can exclusively share the full table of contents for the issue, and the news that Morrison will be penning not one but two stories for the special. The issue is dedicated to Zoe Thorogood's late brother James, with partial proceeds from sales to be donated to charity on his behalf.

We can also exclusively share a complete story from the issue. 'Baby Grand Piano' by Prince and the Ice Cream Man team, along with teaser panels from Grant Morrison's 'Hell Freezes' and Matt Fraction's 'Life By Misadventure.'

"Ice Cream Man #43, our anthology of one-page horror stories, came out cooler than I could have ever imagined," Prince told Newsarama in a statement. "I'm not sure I've ever seen a collection of creators of this caliber in one place before – some of the best of all time! We've got TWO Grant Morrison stories, and ones from Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Geoff Johns, Jeff Lemire, Zoe Thorogood, Deniz Camp, Frank Barbiere, and many more. And we'll even have a horror story from one of the funniest people on Earth: Patton Oswalt. Though don't be fooled – his one-pager is terrifying. Your Ice Cream Man truck drivers, artists Martín Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran, and myself, are so stoked that these legends said 'yes' to playing in our ice cream world. The result is, I think, one of the most special issues of comics I've ever beheld."

Ice Cream Man #43 is published by Image Comics on January 29.

Check out our list of the best horror comics of all time.

Skybound's Universal Monsters range has resurrected some of the world's most iconic movie maniacs over the last couple of years, including Dracula and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. We ranked Michael Walsh's Universal Monsters: Frankenstein as one of the 25 best comics of the year in our roundup yesterday. Now Skybound has added a fourth title to the franchise...

Universal Monsters: The Mummy is a new four-issue limited series from Eisner Award-winning writer and artist Faith Erin Hicks and colorist Lee Loughridge that re-tells this classic story from a different point of view: that of Helen Grosvenor, the living embodiment of the Mummy's long-dead lover. 

"What I enjoy the most about The Mummy is the romance underlying all the horror," said Hicks in a statement about the new series. "A mortal man defies ancient gods to bring his dead lover back to life and pays the ultimate price, transformed thousands of years later into a walking specter of death. The Mummy is intrinsically a tragic figure driven by his own pain and loss, his understandable human emotions twisted into acts. It's been a thrill to tell this story from the point of view of Helen, the modern incarnation of The Mummy's long dead love, and illustrate her growing awareness of the heartbroken horror that is lurking in the shadows of early 20th century Egypt. I hope fans of all versions of The Mummy enjoy my take on this romantically horrifying (or horrifyingly romantic) story."

The first issue comes with a wide-range of cover variants to choose from, which you can see in the gallery above. As well as Hicks' own main cover, there are variants from Joshua Middleton, a 1:10 connecting cover by Guillem March, a 1:25 "Classic Horror" B&W variant from Joshua Middleton, a 1:50 cover by Martin Simmonds, a 1:75 incentive cover and a 1:100 foiled variant, both by Gabriel Rodriguez, plus a blank sketch cover.

Universal Monsters: The Mummy #1 is published by Skybound/Image Comics on March 26, 2025.

We talk Universal Monsters: Frankenstein with writer/artist Michael Walsh.

Seven years after he wrapped up the original series, Invincible creator Robert Kirkman is returning with a new comic focused on one of the superhero title's most popular characters. Invincible Universe: Battle Beast is a new ongoing series written by Kirkman and drawn by Ryan Ottley.

"What can I say? I just can't get enough of the Invincible Universe!" said Kirkman in a statement. "Moving from the comic series directly to the animated series, I haven't really had a break. That said, while adapting the series to animation, I've been itching to do something new! Longtime fans will know there's a massive gap in Battle Beast's appearances in the series between Invincible issue 19 and issue 55. There's a lot of story to tell and I couldn't be more thrilled to have Battle Beast co-creator Ryan Ottley on board to tell it with me!"

Check out the opening few pages of the first issue in the gallery below.

"When Robert and I first created Battle Beast way back in Invincible issue #19 as a way to increase Invincible's Rogues gallery, I wasn't sure if he'd be a big character who'd come back throughout the series, or a character who'd die a terrible gory death right away," said Ottley about the new book and the character he designed. "Robert always kept me and the readers on our toes, he could command a death at any moment, and you know I'd always jump at the chance to carry out the visual execution! Luckily, Battle Beast became a fan-favorite and lived to tell a larger tale! It's amazing to be working with Robert again in the Invincible Universe. A while ago I was telling him I wasn't sure what project to do next, and when he mentioned us doing a Battle Beast series together, I jumped at the idea of being back on a creator-owned book, enlarging the Invincible Universe even more! I'm really happy to be back at Image Comics and Skybound, and can't wait for you to see the story we are fleshing out in this series! I haven't had this much fun since Invincible!"

"Fans have been literally begging for this series for years," added Skybound executive editor Ben Abernathy. "This book is going to blow minds as Robert and Ryan are putting an insane amount of effort into making the most badass comic possible!"

The new comic will also debut with what Skybound is saying is a first-of-its-kind blind bag program that "allows fans a chance to get ANY of the solicited covers." The interesting thing here is the comics included the blind bags "may or may not be related to Battle Beast or the Invincible Universe" and that there will be surprise comics that haven't been publicly announced in advance that will show up first in readers' purchases. Godspeed comics collectors!

Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #1 debuts from Skybound/Image Comics in April 2025.

Last year Robert Kirkman launched Void Rivals and the Energon Universe. He told us about it in an exclusive interview.

The third and final volume in Tillie Walden's acclaimed spin-off from The Walking Dead will be published in June 2025. Clementine Book Three wraps up the story of the young survivor introduced in Telltale's wildly popular The Walking Dead video game series.

In the new book – written and drawn once again by Walden – it seems like Clementine has finally found what she's been searching for all this time: she has a safe place to live, a girlfriend, "and even a cat," according to Skybound's synopsis. "But nothing lasts forever. And when Clementine suffers a loss unlike anything she's ever faced, a new mentor called The Gardener offers her a new family, and a new way of living... but at what cost?"

We have an exclusive first look at the next instalment of the series. Check it out in the gallery below.

"It's been a sincere joy working with Tillie Walden on this series... but like all good things, it must come to an end!" said Alex Antone, editorial director at Skybound in a statement about the final volume. "Tillie breathed new life into Clementine and her world, and this last book absolutely decimated me in the best possible way. I can’t wait for The Walking Dead and Clementine fans to read the final chapter of this incredible story."

Clementine first appeared in 'A New Day' in 2012, the first episode of Telltale's The Walking Dead graphic adventure game, voiced by actor Melissa Hutchison. The character moved over to comics in 2021 with Skybound X: Clementine Lives!, which saw the survivor head out into the wilderness to try and make a new life for herself.

Clementine Book Three is published in comic shops by Image/Skybound on June 25, 2025, and will be available digitally and in bookshops on July 8, 2025.

Telltale's The Walking Dead is still one of the best zombie games of all time.

Skybound launched its Energon Universe with a bang last June with the publication of Void Rivals – Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici's sci-fi adventure series which also marked the surprise start of a shared continuity that included new Transformers and G.I. Joe comics. 

Void Rivals was quickly followed up by a knockout series for the robots in disguise from Daniel Warren Johnson (and latterly Jorge Corona), but the publisher has taken its time building up to an ongoing G.I. Joe title. Instead, it teased out the introduction of the various heroes and villains in a series of related limited series: Duke, Cobra Commander, Scarlett, and Destro each added to our understanding of the state of the world after the arrival of the Autobots and Decepticons.

But now – finally – the main event is here. The first issue of the ongoing G.I. Joe series hits comic stores tomorrow, from the team of writer Joshua Williamson, artist Tom Reilly, colorist Jordie Bellaire and letterer Rus Wooton. As the issue isn't out yet we won't get into spoilers here, but we can say that it's exactly the sort of assured opener you would expect from this team and imprint.

The issue opens with an introduction to the new Codename: G.I. Joe team, all finally working together. There's heavy artillery specialist Rock 'N Roll, ranger Stalker, former fashion model Cover Girl, driver Clutch, and Duke himself. Then there's Baroness – usually a villain, but in the Energon Universe a far more ambiguous character. They're training against drones as they prepare to engage with their mysterious new foe Cobra, but it's not going so well. "We're not ready. If we went up against the enemy today… we're screwed," warns Duke at one point. Well... guess what happens later in the issue?

We also briefly meet Risk – a new character, and something of a wild card. He gets a striking introduction here that suggests he will be the character to watch as the series progresses.

Cobra, meanwhile, are making their own preparations for war. The evil organization has a growing army and some new, highly-advanced weapons. There's bickering between Destro and Cobra Commander, something that will surely turn into a full on rivalry somewhere down the line, but for now it's clear that they have the advantage.

This first issue is very much about putting the pieces in place for what Joshua Williamson has promised will be a good, long run. The complex character dynamics are there, with Duke soon realizing that he must find a way for his disparate, bickering squad to work together as a unit if they have any chance of succeeding. 

But even though there's a lot of scene-setting, the issue doesn't stint on the action. It's not really a spoiler to say that, yes, Joe and Cobra make first contact here and, as Duke worried, things go wrong pretty much from the off. There's a pretty solid cliffhanger setup for #2 that massively raises the stakes.

Throughout, Williamson's script is pacy and efficient, giving us what we want with a few surprises along the way. But it's Tom Reilly and Jordie Bellaire's art that really sells the issue. This is the same art team as the Duke series and G.I. Joe continues that book's mix of dynamic action and bold, pop art flourishes, while also broadening its scope. After taking their time to establish the world in the previous series, there's a real sense of heightened stakes here as our small team of heroes face overwhelming odds from a threat they still don't truly understand. 

G.I. Joe #1 is published by Image/Skybound on November 13.

 Check out our interview with Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly about the Duke limited series.

Transformers #15 will bring two big returns to the beloved title, as artist Jorge Corona returns to the title after a break, and he's bringing one of the most feared and fan-favorite Decepticons with him - Soundwave. 

If you're a Transformers fan, you're undoubtedly familiar with Soundwave, the Gatling-gun sporting Decepticon who turns into an old school boombox, complete with sidekick Decepticons who turn into tapes that fit inside. 

Soundwave is featured on several of the covers for Transformers #15, while an early preview of unlettered pages from the issue by writer Daniel Warren Johnson, artist Jorge Corona, and colorist Sarah Stern show off none other than the Constructicons, who Transformers fans know can combine into the monstrous Devastator.

Here's a gallery of the pages from Transformers #15, along with the main cover for the issue by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer, and variant covers by Jorge Corona also with Mike Spicer, Karl Kerschl, EJ Su, Oliver Ono, and Dustin Ngyuen, as well as a blank sketch cover:

"Soundwave moves to finish the war with the Autobots...and all of Earth will suffer," reads Skybound's official description of Transformers #15. "Meanwhile, Optimus Prime and Wheeljack search for the answers to a mystery that may change everything they ever thought they knew."

Transformers is the main tentpole title of the so-called Energon Universe, which also includes the upcoming GI Joe ongoing title by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Tom Reilly, and the original title Void Rivals.

Transformers #15 goes on sale December 11.

Check out the best non-Marvel/DC superhero universes ever.

Uncanny Avengers, Deadly Class, and The Sacrificers writer Rick Remender is back with a new creator-owned comic at Image. The Seasons, co-created with artist Paul Azaceta, is being billed by the publisher as "an elevated tale of whimsical horror unlike anything ever experienced in comics," which is a pretty bold claim. The Walking Dead and Void Rivals creator Robert Kirkman, meanwhile, has called it "a comic that will make you remember why you fell in love with comics in the first place." 

The first issue is out now and this is definitely an intriguing and eccentric new comic, a funny book (in every sense) but also an eerie one.

The title refers to four sisters (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, naturally) who are "the daughters of the world-renowned Seasons Detectives." A decade ago those same detectives mysteriously vanished. The sisters have raised themselves, but when a strange new – or perhaps very old – threat emerges, it's down to Spring to save the rest of her family.

The first issue doesn't dwell too much on that aspect of the story. Instead, it opens with a newspaper report from 1924, which we learn was written by Autumn. The city of Neocairo has fallen silent, we're told, the captions from her story overlaid by images of devastation – and a hint at the culprit. Azaceta's art in these pages is shadowy and desolate, the sepia tinge from colorist Mat Lopes lending an air of despair that's in stark contrast to the colorful caper that follows.

We quickly meet Spring Seasons, racing through the fictional and ambiguously French city of New Gaulia. She chases after a very important letter and gets into a squabble with a cat. It's not immediately clear how this daft caper links to the issue's more unsettling prologue, but a connection is eventually revealed as a colorful carnival rolls into town. 

Suffice to say, on the basis of the first issue, The Seasons feels a little bit like Ray Bradbury's classic dark fantasy novel Something Wicked This Way Comes if it was directed by Wes Anderson, or an infernal riff on Tintin, perhaps.

Remender has acknowledged the latter's influence on the book, as well as citing Miyazaki and Little Nemo creator Windsor McKay as touchstones. It's an intriguing start, then, equal parts amusing and bone-chilling. It's also a really beautiful looking book, with Azaceta commanding two very different moods across the issue. This is a really strong first issue and a book to keep an eye on over the coming months.

The Seasons #1 is out now from Image Comics.

Here are our picks for the best horror comics of all time.

Pretty Deadly artist and co-creator Emma Ríos is releasing a new solo graphic novel this month. Anzuelo is a vivid fantasy described by Image Comics as "a breathtaking, dystopian story with an expansive scope and style," which follows three kids in a world where the sea suddenly and unexpectedly begins to rise. On her own Instagram, Ríos has described it as, "A book about the sea coded in eco-horror and kindness."

Anzuelo is an absolutely beautiful-looking work, one that really shows off Ríos's stunning watercolour art in full effect. We have an exclusive extract from the book, which you can check out in the gallery below.

"The Sea, secretly more complex than anyone imagined, rises one day," reads Image's synopsis for the 304-page hardcover. "The horizon folds as the Sea absorbs the world and transforms everything that's been pulled inside it. Three kids find themselves unmoored and lost, but brought together by the physical and mental changes wrought by the tides and a desire to avoid harming any living creature."

Here's an animated trailer by Ríos and animator Luis Yang.

"No matter how carefully you plan a project like this, the work and the creator always transform and adapt due to learning and experimentation," Ríos said in a statement about Anzuelo. "I wanted to write the Sea under my skin and I'm fortunate to have become someone else in the process."

Anzuelo is published in hardcover by Image Comics and will be available in comic shops on November 6 and from indie bookstores from November 19.

Read our interview with Tula Lotay and Becky Cloonan about their dark and dreamy folk tale, Somna.

We published an interview with Jason Aaron yesterday about Absolute Superman – his upcoming revamp of the Man of Steel for DC. Well, it turns out that's not the only comic that's going to be keeping the in-demand writer busy... Image Comics has just announced Bug Wars, a brand new limited series written by Aaron with art from Conan the Barbarian and X-Men artist Mahmud Asrar, that launches in early 2025.

Described as a "dark fantasy epic" by the publisher, Bug Wars follows Slade Slaymaker, an average kid from Alabama who finds himself "lost in a vicious world beyond his imagining, a world of marauding ant armies, spell-casting spider witches, and beetle-riding barbarians. A kingdom of tiny but deadly warriors hidden in his own backyard." It turns out that this same world claimed the life of his father and now young Slade will find himself in the middle of the titular Bug War trying to save the rest of his family.

"When I was a kid, our backyard was a wondrous place, where I spent hours imagining epic adventures, action figures scattered all through the grass," said Aaron in a statement about the new series. "In a lot of ways, I still feel like that kid, running around the yard, making up stories. Only the stories have gotten a bit darker over the years. For Slade Slaymaker, the backyard of his home in Alabama turns out to be a place of terror and brutality, where sects of tiny sword-wielding Mytes and their armies of flesh-eating beetles and acid-spraying ants have declared war on his family. Think Honey, I Shrunk the Kids meets Game of Thrones."

Check out some of the great variant covers for the first issue below.

Artist Mahmud Asrar described the new comic as "the culmination of what I wanted to do in comics: A fantasy epic told with no holds barred. A tale where our imaginations run wild. A place where we reach the heights of escapism, all while keeping everything grounded with pure human emotion straight from the heart."

Bug Wars #1 is published by Image Comics on February 12, 2025.

Before he wrote Absolute Superman, Jason Aaron penned a great arc of Action Comics.

New Mutants writer Vita Ayala is teaming up with Absolute Power: Ground Zero artist Skylar Patridge for a new comic that is being dubbed a "reverse Indiana Jones" by its publisher, Image.

In The Horizon Experiment: Finders//Keepers, Puerto Rican archeology student Ines Guarua sets out to steal an artifact from a museum in order to return it to its rainforest home. "If she fails, then a curse may bring about the destruction of Puerto Rico," reads the synopsis for the one-shot. "This leads Guarua on a quest to smuggle other artifacts from museums and institutions to return them to their native cultures."

Check out Patridge's main cover and variants by Tula Lotay in the gallery below...

Finders//Keepers is also the final issue of Image's Horizon Experiment project, headed up by The Good Asian and Man's Best creator Pornsak Pichetshote and editor Will Dennis. This initiative is a series of five standalone one-shots, each centering on protagonists from marginalized backgrounds, and each putting a fresh spin on a genre or iconic pop culture character.

"I've always loved action-adventure stories, but the archetypal protagonist and most of the traditional setups weren't really ever going to work for people like me," said Ayala in a statement. "Working on The Horizon Experiment, I knew I found a way to open that world up to anyone who wanted a shot of being the hero! What a thrill to get to be on such an amazing team, on one of the most fun projects of my career!"

Here's a lettered preview of the issue...

"Out of all the projects announced as part of The Horizon Experiment, Finders//Keepers has generated the most anticipation, and I'm not surprised," added Pichetshote. "Nothing has made me want to come back to comics editing more than the prospect of working with Vita Ayala, so I just crossed my fingers and hoped they'd be interested in joining in. Skylar Patridge is a superstar that still manages to grow in exciting directions with every new high-profile project, so I knew their working together was going to be special. They delivered and then some."

The Horizon Experiment launched last month with The Manchurian, written by Pichetshote and drawn by Terry Dodson, which focused on a Chinese super spy. It's followed later this month by The Sacred Damned by Sabir Pirzada and Michael Walsh, and in November by werewolf horror Moon Dogs from writer Tananarive Due, artist Kelsey Ramsay, and colorist José Villarrubia. The penultimate issue of the series is Motherf*ckin' Monsters by Jason Holtham and Michael Lee Harris, and will be available in December. Each of The Horizon Experiment one-shots is intended to act as a potential pilot with the option to continue into a full series if the demand is there.

The Horizon Experiment: Finders//Keepers #1 is published by Image Comics on January 15, 2025.

Pornsak Pichetshote wrote one of our favorite comics this year, Man's Best.

Anthology horror comic Ice Cream Man has been teasing the upcoming involvement of some big name creators in recent weeks, and we now know that it's been leading up to Ice Cream Man #43, which will feature one page stories by some of the top writers in the comic industry.

Ice Cream Man co-creator W. Maxwell Prince will be joined on the issue by a line up of writers including Grant Morrison, Patton Oswalt, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Matt Fraction, Jeff Lemire, Geoff Johns, Zoe Thorogood, Deniz Camp, and Frank Barbiere, each of whom will contribute one page stories drawn by artists Martin Morazzo and Chris O'Halloran.

As a series, Ice Cream Man tells darkly comic horror stories that all center around a creepy ice cream man named Rick, whose involvement in peoples' lives often leads to disaster. The title launched in 2018, and has released irregularly since. It was recently picked up for a film adaptation written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar of Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice fame.

"In the Ice Cream Man anthology series, mysterious horror host, Rick, delivers morsels of delicious terror in every flavor," reads Image Comics' official description. "The genre-defying comic book series features short tales of sorrow, wonder, and redemption, with each installment featuring its own cast of strange characters, dealing with their own special sundae of suffering.

"And on the periphery of all of them, like the twinkly music of his colorful truck, is the Ice Cream Man—a weaver of stories, a purveyor of sweet treats," it continues. "Friend. Foe. God. Demon. The man who, with a snap of his fingers - lickety split! - can change the course of your life forever."

The line-up of writers coming on board for Ice Cream Man #43 is essentially a who's who of top comic writers. Grant Morrison, whose involvement was previously teased, is an especially exciting addition as they've rarely done much comics work in recent years, but everyone on the list piques my personal interest. It'll be cool to see what masters of the craft can do with just a single page to tell their stories.

"How lucky are we? That some of comics' most beloved writers agreed (or one may say were tricked) into contributing to our issue of one-page horror stories," says series co-creator W. Maxwell Prince in a statement. "Our MO has always been compression - getting a full story to fit one floppy. But this is a whole new level, and a whole new challenge. We hope that you like our little stories, and hope even more that you appreciate our guests and their amazing brains."

Ice Cream Man #43 is due out in January, with covers by issue artists Martín Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran, and a variant cover by Maria Llovet.

Ready for more thrills and chills? Check out our list of the best horror comics of all time.

Comic creator Rob Liefeld is returning to his signature creator-owned characters Youngblood, planning to reboot the superhero team through Image Comics, according to THR, who broke the news. This brings Youngblood back to their original home, with the characters having debuted as part of the original line-up of Image titles way back in the early '90s.

Liefeld plans to both write and draw the new Youngblood title, which comes as something of a surprise thanks to the previously embattled status of the rights to Youngblood. In recent years, the rights were previously owned by investor Andrew Rev and his Terrific Productions company.

Rev and Terrific Productions sparked controversy in their approach to rebooting Youngblood after they purchased the rights in 2019, with no actual Youngblood comic actually coming to fruition in the years since. Now, it seems the rights are owned by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and his Rip Media Inc production company, who are actually the ones who sold the rights to Rev and Terrific Productions to begin with, meaning the rights have seemingly either been reclaimed by Rosenberg or reverted to his control.

If the name Scott Mitchell Rosenberg sparks some recognition for you, it's likely because Rosenberg is one of the co-founders of '90s publisher Malibu Comics. Malibu and its signature Ultraverse superhero line were later purchased by Marvel Comics, who still own the rights to the concepts and characters. 

However, the Ultraverse rights are so inextricably tied to Rosenberg's contractual involvement that Marvel will likely never bring the characters or the concept back, with Marvel's senior vice president of publishing Tom Brevoort stating in his newsletter back in 2022 that "it seems unlikely that we'll be able to revive any of those characters any time in the near future."

Now, it seems Rob Liefeld is teaming up with Rosenberg for the new Youngblood title, which will be accompanied by a series of reprints of older Youngblood material. Having debuted back in 1992 with the founding of Image Comics, of which Liefeld was a co-founder, Youngblood has since floated from publisher to publisher with only a few sporadic issues popping up here and there over the years, amounting to around 100 issues of comics. Liefeld himself hasn't been involved since 2017, when he provided covers for the last volume of Youngblood.

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

"Rob and I are a fantastic team, and I'm as excited now for Youngblood's relaunch as I was in 1992 for its initial launch," adds Rosenberg. "I'm excited to bring them to audiences old and new with their original creator, Rob Liefeld."

The Youngblood revival is expected to kick off in 2025, though no specific dates have been announced.

These are the best non-Marvel/DC superhero universes of all time.

Geoff Johns is a name usually associated with superheroes, and particularly with DC, where he penned groundbreaking runs of Green Lantern and Aquaman alongside artist Ivan Reis, as well as the now classic Blackest Night crossover. Now the pair have reunited for a new ongoing horror title, Hyde Street. Published by Ghost Machine – the imprint that Johns co-founded alongside a host of other big name creators – Hyde Street is a twisty, unpredictable comic that's part Twilight Zone-style anthology, part ongoing mystery featuring a cast of sinister "Residents" like cynical ad man Mr X Ray and the evil boy scout Pranky.

Newsarama sat down with Johns this week to talk about the new comic, reuniting with Reis, and his desire to create a fresh roster of "characters you wouldn't normally expect to see anchoring a horror book."

Newsarama: Geoff, congratulations on the launch of Hyde Street. It's a really unusual and intriguing horror comic and I wondered if you could talk us through how it came together?

Geoff Johns: I think all of the Ghost Machine books start with the writer and the artist talking about what they want to explore. They're all genre, but they're not superheroes. Ivan and I were talking about our love for horror. I've always loved the Universal Monsters and The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror, but I also love exploring characters too, and so we started to talk about how everyone's got secrets, everyone has a dark side, everyone's made choices that weren't the right choice to make. So then it was like, OK, how do those choices affect your life? And can you escape them? 

We started to build characters like Mr. X Ray and Pranky, and this place where anyone who's ever done something wrong can end up. It could exist in your city – you could turn a corner and just be on Hyde Street, and you might meet somebody like Mr. X Ray there who would lead you down a path and see if you make a choice that would put your soul on a path of destruction. That's the tip of the iceberg for what the book's about, but it's really about how one bad choice can completely derail your life and and the right and wrong ways to recover from those choices.

How did you come to reunite with Ivan on this one?

Johns: We always wanted to work together again. When we started developing Ghost Machine he was at a place, I think like a lot of us, where he felt really happy with everything he'd done, but he wanted to do something new. And so when we started talking, I said, "I really want to do a horror book." He's like, "That's where I started. I'd love to do that." So that's where it came from.

The first issue introduces us to all these mysterious characters: Mr X Ray, Pranky who is this evil boy scout, and it hints at this larger force behind everything, the Scorekeeper. What can you say about these characters?

Johns: Each of these characters, like Mr. X Ray and Pranky and Dr. Ego and all these others that are hinted at have all been charged with delivering and damning souls to this being, who is the architect behind this, the Scorekeeper. You'll meet the Scorekeeper very soon – you might not know their entire story, but you will meet them.

One of the things that Ivan and I really wanted to do was create really unique, different horror characters – characters you wouldn't expect to see anchoring a horror book, like a boy scout from 1955 or a failed advertising executive from 1966. There's this aerobics instructor from 1983 and all these characters, one from every decade, that stretches back over a century. They're called the Residents, these people that are fixed there. The other souls aren't quite as valuable, I would say. They're delivered for a purpose that we'll find out later.

It sounds like you've developed a pretty thorough mythology for the book?

Johns: The characters still surprise me when we get into their backstories. There's something that Pranky does in #2 that I was not prepared for. He just started doing it on the page and I was so excited because it's like, "Oh my God, he's talking to me!" I thought one thing was going to happen and he just starts to go off on this rant. And it's really a kind of a funny, dark rant that I didn't plan for until I was in the middle of the script.

December's #3 is going to be a Christmas special, right?

Johns: Yeah, I don't know if I call it festive as such, but it's got some Christmas in it. It's about someone dressed as Santa Claus that takes a wrong turn onto Hyde Street, and what happens to them.

Hyde Street is a part of the Ghost Machine imprint, which is about to celebrate its first anniversary. How are things going over there one year on?

Johns: We're all feeling really good. Every year we do a summit before New York Comic Con, which is our anniversary. Last year it was super exciting and nerve-wracking because we hadn't launched and we were keeping it secret. I still can't believe it didn't leak, but that's because all all of us are really tight. There's a little over 20 of us now at the company, mostly creators, but we're all really happy with the reception to it, with the sales on the books, with the quality. Last year, when we all got together, it was a life changing experience. A lot of us didn't know each other that well and some people had never met each other before. Now it's totally like going back to school or summer camp, where you know everyone and you can just pick right back up.

Ghost Machine has created a lot of new characters in a really short space of time...

Johns: One of the things we just released was this great piece by Gary Frank that has all our characters on it. He did a piece when we announced the book, and it had like Geiger and Redcoat and Rook. And he's added all the Hyde Street lineup, Pranky and the Matinee Monster, and he's added Hornsby and Halo. That's really what we set out to do with Ghost Machine in general, and Hyde Street specifically, to introduce new characters that you could follow. So although Hyde Street is in many ways an anthology, it's also like Green Lantern in that it's building a bigger story, a bigger world. It's a monthly book that's going to take us on a pretty unique and frightening journey through the choices we make in life.

What are you most looking forward to readers experiencing with this series?

Johns: I'm looking forward to people meeting the strange residents of Hyde Street and learning more about them and and I'm looking forward to surprising people. I don't think Hyde Street is going to be what they expect. That's my hope.

Hyde Street #1 is out now from Ghost Machine / Image Comics.

Get spooky with our picks for the best horror comic artists of all time.

Grant Morrison is one of the greatest writers to have ever worked in comics. From groundbreaking runs on some of the world's biggest superheroes – Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern to name just three – to boundary-pushing comics like The Invisibles, The Filth, We3, Happy! and more, Morrison is simply legendary. And yet a short piece in DC Pride 2023 and some posts on their Xanaduum Substack aside, Morrison has largely avoided the medium since 2021, instead pursuing a screenwriting career as well as writing a deliriously wild first novel, Luda.

Now an Instagram post from Image Comics seems to imply that Morrison is back in comics and potentially taking on one of the publisher's most popular titles. The post contains a single teaser image, which you can see below, that simply reads GRANT MORRISON over a picture of three scoops of ice cream with a pink and green tint overlaid.

Now, this would seem to imply one of two things. Perhaps Morrison is debuting a new chilled dairy treat-themed comic over at the Image. The second and far more likely reading, however, is that this has something to do with Ice Cream Man – the long-running horror anthology series that Image has published since 2018. 

Co-created by writer W. Maxwell Prince, artist Martin Morazzo, and colorist Chris O'Halloran, Ice Cream Man tells disparate stories with an overriding mythology centered on Rick, the mysterious Ice Cream Man of the title. 

Is this post suggesting that Morrison will take over as the writer of the series, then? Or perhaps appear as a guest or co-writer? The latter seems the most likely given that the book has, until now, been Prince's baby. Whatever the case, it's exciting to see hints that Morrison is finally returning to comics.

These also hints follow in the wake of the news (broken by The Hollywood Reporter) that Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice co-writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have signed on to produce a film adaptation of Ice Cream Man.

Morrison and Quitely's All-Star Superman tops our list of the best Superman stories of all time.

There are few novels more impactful than Frankenstein. Mary Shelley's 1818 gothic masterpiece is both a horror masterpiece and is often credited as the first ever science fiction novel. It has also inspired countless retellings in the 206 years since it was originally published, including James Whale's 1931 big screen classic starring Boris Karloff. That movie was the first of a whole franchise of Franken-films at Universal Pictures. Now, with Skybound successfully bringing the wider Universal Monsters franchise to comics, Frankenstein's monster is alive once more.

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein is a new four-issue limited series from writer and artist Michael Walsh and colorist Toni-Marie Griffin, and their atmospheric work here offers a fresh take on the material. Newsarama caught up with Walsh to find out more about how this terrifying adaptation came to be and if there are any other Universal monsters he's keen to revive.

Newsarama: So Michael, let's start with your own history with Frankenstein. Are you a long-time fan?

Michael Walsh: I'm a huge fan. I think the original 1931 movie has some incredible set pieces and shots and framing, and really it's just such an iconic film. But even before that I think that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of the greatest horror novels of all time. It really was such a pivotal book and it paved the way for a lot of what we see now in terms of horror and sci-fi. So I was just really excited to be able to bring in some of the complexity and themes from the novel, but still be able to use that iconic imagery from the film.

The original novel is over 200 years old and the first Universal Frankenstein is almost 100. Why has this story remained so resonant?

I just think that the themes are really timeless. I mean there's a lot going on in the book and in the movies. There's the idea that ambition can kind of push away the things that are really important, you know, the balancing of work life and family life. And then the idea that if you make a mistake that it will always come back to haunt you unless you take accountability for it. There are so many things about it that are relevant to today's culture and the way that society works right now. I think that these themes will always be timeless.

What can you tease about this telling of the story? How would you describe your take on Frankenstein?

In this version I wanted to introduce a new character to the Frankenstein mythology who's not in either the movies or the book, and have them be one of the key point of view characters. It allowed me to have a little bit of creative freedom and to create a sense of tension. Having some new characters let's there be some stakes and some unpredictability to the storytelling. So that was one of the important things to me. I still wanted to be able to show some of the iconic moments from the movie, so it was a bit of a balancing act of introducing fresh ideas while still being very reverent of what people love about Frankenstein, and especially the Universal Monsters version of that character.

The series has a distinct format. Each issue is themed around a different body part. What can you tell us about that?

So there's four issues and each one – it won't focus completely on that body part, but it will be an integral part of the storytelling. So it starts off with the hands of the Father, and then we move into the brain of a killer, and then the heart of a lover. And finally the last issue focuses on the eyes of a monster. And we've got Paul, who's introduced in the first issue, as a through line, but then each issue is going to focus on a different character that I felt as a viewer of the original film was a bit under-explored. So the second issue we're going to see a lot of Fritz. And then the third issue is a lot of Elizabeth, who is Frankenstein's fiancé from the movie.

What were some of the unique challenges with this series?

This isn't an adaptation of the movie – it's more of a companion piece to the film. You could watch the movie and then read the comic and I think it would enrich both. A lot of what's happening in the comic is happening in between the scenes of the film, or just slightly off camera. So I had to watch the movie quite literally hundreds of times to make sure that everything lined up and that I wasn't screwing around with the continuity of the film, or any of the lines, because I wanted all the dialogue from the movie to fit into the comic and to work with the new dialogue that I was introducing. There are a lot of points where the film would cut, but where I just keep the camera rolling and show more of what happened before or after that scene. I try to get into the heart of the characters that we don't see as much of in the movie.

You're working with Toni-Marie Griffin on this book. What does her coloring bring to your work?

She's fantastic. She's my partner and we work in the same same studio space and we've kind of developed a style and a way of working that's really symbiotic and really natural. It's really nice being in the same studio because I can tell her what my idea is for a scene even as I'm writing it sometimes, and then she'll look around at references for different light and color palettes and find ways to set that mood. 

For Frankenstein she really went above and beyond what she's done so far. She put a lot of thought into the way that the palettes would reflect the mood of the scene and create a very specific atmosphere. And she also did kind of a palette map so that each scene will flow into the next scene in a really organic and interesting way. I can't wait for people to see what's going to be coming in the next few issues, because I think issue to issue, the tones are so different. They all feel different depending on the body part that that we're getting into the history of.

What was your research process for this? And did you look to any previous Frankenstein comics at all?

I stayed far away from other comic book adaptations. I mean, obviously Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein stuff is just on another level and I don't think that anyone could ever touch the draftsmanship that he was able to accomplish. But I didn't want that to taint what I was doing with the book going in. I really wanted to try and do something a little bit different and not be subconsciously influenced by it. I just wanted to make decisions based on my own idea of what the movie could look like in the comic form. But I did watch a bunch of the film adaptations, and obviously re-read the book.

Are there any other classic monsters that you'd like to tackle, Universal or otherwise?

Geez, yeah. I mean all of them are really interesting. There are so many classics – there's Wolf Man, there's the Invisible Man... I feel like there's so much fruit that is ripe for the picking. I just love making horror comics and I'd be happy to try and tackle some other characters. I always think that there's an opportunity to do something cool with Jekyll and Hyde, even though I don't think there was a Universal Jekyll and Hyde movie. It would be cool to make a comic almost as if there had been one.

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #1 is out now from Skybound. A new movie adaptation of Frankenstein starring Mia Goth is currently in development, but a release date has not yet been announced.

Get spooky with our picks for the best horror comic artists of all time.

Skybound's Transformers relaunch as part of its shared 'Energon Universe' (which also includes GI Joe) has proved a massive success, with superstar creator Daniel Warren Johnson serving as writer and shepherd of the beloved franchise. But now, Johnson has announced his eventual exit as writer of Transformers, stating exactly how long fans can expect him to be around - and there's still a little time left.

According to a Reddit AMA conducted with Johnson and artist Riley Rossmo to promote their new comic The Moon is Following Us, Johnson has plans to stay on Transformers through #24.

With Transformers #12 arriving in September, that means we've got roughly a year of stories to go before Johnson's exit.

"I'm having a blast writing it now and Jorge [Corona] and Mike [Spicer] are absolutely slaying the art. I am going to be writing for a total of 24 issues," Johnson states, with fans expressing hope that he continues on the title indefinitely.

"Honestly, I'm having so much fun I would love to. But when I make anything, writing, drawing, or both, I only know how to go 110 percent," Johnson explains. "So all that to say, I'm killing myself and can only go for so long. My choice to leave at 24 is more of a choice for my mental health and for my family than however I may feel about my wonderful Cybertronians. Thank you for your support!"

Johnson and Rossmo's AMA contains a few more questions about Transformers, with fans asking if he would introduce a new, original Transformer of his own creation - "Wait and see," says Johnson - and asking about his big Transformers influences, with the writer reiterating his love for 1986's Transformers: The Movie.

Transformers #12 goes on sale September 11.

Soon Transformers will introduce its Worst Bot Ever, who turns into a ballpoint pen.

Between the Autobots and Decepticons, there are Transformers who can turn into almost anything, from dinosaurs, to tanks, to cassette tapes and beyond. And now, there's a Decepticon who will have to try and make a name for himself with perhaps the most benign transformation yet: a ballpoint pen.

Transformers: Worst Bot Ever: Meet Ballpoint is a new YA/Middle Grade original graphic novel which puts it all right out there in the title - Ballpoint is a Transformer who turns into a pen and he's the worst. 

"The Decepticons are known for being bad...but Ballpoint is truly the worst –the biggest failure of them all. After the latest attempt to take down the Autobots goes horribly wrong, he's kicked out of the Decepticons, for good!" reads Skybound Comet's description of the OGN. "Will Ballpoint be able to prove his worth by defeating the Autobots all by himself? Or will he keep failing and find that being the “best” is...More than Meets the Eye?"

It's honestly a pretty funny concept, and the Transformers franchise has always had its share of comedy, so it seems like a match made in heaven for a YA OGN.

Speaking of which, Transformers: Worst Bot Ever: Meet Ballpoint will be the first release from Skybound Comet, Skybound Entertainment's new young reader focused imprint. It also marks the first in a series of original graphic novels created by writer Brian 'Smitty' Smith and artist Marz Jr.

"It's been awesome bringing Ballpoint to life," says Brian 'Smitty' Smith in a statement accompanying the announcement. "Getting to add a brand-new character to the Transformers universe is a once in a lifetime opportunity!” 

"I've been obsessed with Transformers since I was a kid," adds Marz Jr. "The 1986 animated movie blew my mind! I've tried to put that magic and love into each page." 

Transformers: Worst Bot Ever: Meet Ballpoint goes on sale in July 2025.

Ballpoint may be the worst Transformer ever, but these are the 25 best Autobots of all time.

Writer and artist Mirka Andolfo's Harvey Award-winning erotic romance comic Sweet Paprika was a hit when it launched in 2021. Set in a world of angels and devils, the (quite literally) horny office comedy drama followed the CEO of publishing company Infernum Press as she tries to sort her love life out. Now, a new spin-off from Scarlet Witch writer Steve Orlando and artist Emilio Pilliu will expand the world further.

Sweet Paprika: Open For Business is a five-issue queer romance comic that spins out of the short story, 'The Prince and the Queen,' published in 2023's Sweet Paprika: Black White & Pink #1. In that tale, shy and unfulfilled office worker Aubrey hooked up with handsome Persica. In the new series, the two have sparked an ongoing relationship, but it's one that's about to be thrown into a whole lot of turmoil... 

Here are the covers for the first issue, from Pilliu, Andolfo, Robbi Rodriguez, Godtail, plus a polybagged cover from Pilliu, and a Showgirls homage variant from Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière.

"When Steve proposed that we follow up on the story he and Emilio had done for Sweet Paprika: Black White & Pink #1, we didn't think twice," said Mirka Andolfo in a statement. "The more I read this comic, the more I think I'm a little envious because I would have liked to have done it myself... It's amazing, deep (no pun intended), funny, 100% Paprika-style. And Emilio is a fantastic artist and colorist. The Arancia team and I are lucky to have such great creators on board, and I can't wait for fans to read the story because I'm sure they will have as much fun as I'm having!"

"I've never had a blast working on a book like I have with Sweet Paprika: Open for Business – it's my favorite book to write, every month," added Orlando. "And not just that – I've never synched with a collaborator like I do with Emilio. He's subletted my brain and is elevating every single panel beyond my wildest dreams! Open for Business is raw, it's real, it's provocative, but most of all – it's fun! It's my first office comedy, and I've never loved working with a cast as much as this one! I can't wait for you to meet them!"

"I hope I do not sound pretentious, but Sweet Paprika: Open For Business is like it was tailor-made for me," said Emilio Pilliu. "The excesses, the romantic parts, the serious ones, the comic scenes, and the spicy ones... it's all perfect, and it's all that I love to draw. I don't think it happens often in an artist's life to work on something and feel totally comfortable!"

Here's Image's official synopsis for the new series:

"Sweet Paprika: Open For Business follows Aubrey Jean, a young employee at Infernum Press, as he tries to impress his hero and boss, Miss Paprika, and figure out his relationship with Persica, a friend with benefits who might want to be more. But just as Aubrey and Persica settle into an open relationship that's comfortable for them both, their relationship is thrown into turmoil by Kren. And on top of all that, Aubrey finally gets a chance to prove his worth to Miss Paprika by becoming the handler for Infernum Press's most challenging client – the dreaded, eccentric, and unstable author known as Durian. 

Can Aubrey deal with Kren and save his relationship with Persica? Does he even want to be with Persica? And how can he even figure any of that out when he's got to be on-call day and night dealing with Durian’s next insane request?!"

Sweet Paprika: Open For Business #1 is published by Image on November 6.

Find out about Somna, the spooky, sexy horror comic from Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay.

Superstar writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson has a new creator-owned series coming in September from Image, and what looks like one of the most interesting launches of 2024. The Moon Is Following Us is a cryptically-titled 10-issue collaboration with artist Riley Rossmo and colorist Mike Spicer. We've read the first issue and it's quite the departure from the comic Johnson is currently best known for – Skybound's action-packed Transformers, which picked up the Eisner Award for both Best Continuing Series and Best Writer/Artist at San Diego Comic Con last week.

As the new series is still a few months out we can't get into spoilers yet – which is a shame, as this is a first issue that waits until its final few pages before really playing its hand – but we can share our initial impressions of what seems to be a very interesting new fantasy comic…

The Moon is Following Us #1 throws us in at the deep end by introducing us to three characters – a man, a woman, and some sort of anthropomorphic frog thing wearing a crown – planning a raid on a fortress. We quickly learn that this is a rescue mission: the two humans (Duncan and Samantha) are a married couple and they are trying to save their daughter from a mysterious foes known as the Cascade. Mr Frog is called Brio, incidentally.

The book wears its D&D influences on its sleeve right from the off. This is a colorful tale full of sinister castles, winding mountainous paths, sinister traders, and very nasty monsters. It immediately subverts these fantasy tropes, however, by making it clear that Duncan and Samantha are from… elsewhere. While their enemies have swords and axes, the humans wield machine guns and rocket launchers. A brief flashback to their daughter also throws into question the precise nature of this reality.

Rest assured that you do get some answers by the end of the first issue, but in a manner that poses more questions for the series to unravel. There's certainly a lot more going on here than just a simple quest narrative.

Johnson's script is as on point as you'd expect from a creator whose name has pretty much become a seal of quality over the last few years. The storytelling is concise, the dialogue witty without being smug. Rossmo's art is also a good fit – cartoony, while remaining detailed and full of character. Spicer, meanwhile, colors everything in bold shades of purple, pink, and green. It's vibrant and punchy, while still maintaining an ominous vibe of seemingly permanent night.

The Moon is Following Us is off to a solid start. Its initial fantasy adventure tone is very likeable, but it's with the last few pages and the slide into a slightly different genre that the book becomes properly gripping and makes me eager for #2. Come for the art and Johnson's script, but stay for an intriguing, unsettling mystery.

The Moon Is Following Us #1 is published by Image Comics on September 18.

Daniel Warren Johnson tells us all about the relaunch of Transformers in an exclusive interview.

The Spawn reboot movie just got its biggest update in some time, with producer Jordan Blum posting the title page from the script on social media, revealing that the film has undergone a title change, and will now be known as King Spawn.

Whether that script is finished is another matter - Blum himself said it wasn't quite there yet just a few weeks ago.

The new title comes straight from comics, where King Spawn is an ongoing series which launched back in 2021, featuring the original Spawn, Al Simmons, as he finally finds his place in the war between Heaven and Hell as a leader.

That all ties straight back to Simmons' origins as Spawn. A skilled assassin for the CIA in life, Simmons was betrayed and killed by his handlers, only to awaken in Hell where he pledged his soul to the demon known as Malebolgia in exchange for his symbiotic, weaponized costume and his magical powers, which will someday be depleted. 

Simmons' story, spanning hundreds of issues of Spawn and its spin-offs, centers around finding his true place in the war between good and evil as a hero who can potentially defy his hellish nature and turn the tide for good. 

King Spawn represents the culmination of Simmons' destiny, so it perhaps makes sense that the new film, the character's first live action adaptation since 1997, will also take the leap to the end of that saga.

Now that there's a new title, and potentially a finished script, King Spawn may start moving a little faster. And there are already a couple stars attached, with Jamie Foxx signed on to play Al Simmons/Spawn, and Jeremy Renner cast as Twitch, one of two cops who become embroiled in the saga of Spawn.

King Spawn still doesn't have a release date, so there's always the chance it stalls out again, but here's hoping the script is finally in place and the next part of development can move forward. Blum previously stated the film could release in 2025, so it could be developing fast.

Spawn is one of the best non-Marvel/DC superheroes of all time.

You may have heard, there's a new ongoing monthly comic by Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard on the way from Image. This is a big deal. Gillen has written some terrific books for Marvel and DC, notably his work on Darth Vader, but it's his creator-owned comics – Phonogram, The Wicked + The Divine, and DIE – that have made him one of the most distinctive writers in comics today. Likewise, Wijngaard has proven to be a hugely versatile artist who brings something unique to every project that he works on, whether that's the murky and surreal visuals of All Against All or his manga-inspired work on Angelic.

And so here we have the first issue of The Power Fantasy. Set on an alternative Earth where six super-powered individuals hold an uneasy peace, it's a complex widescreen epic that feels something like Watchmen meets Succession in the way it mixes family drama with a deconstruction of what it might mean to wield superpowers. We've read an early version of the first issue and while we can't go into spoilers just yet – the comic isn't out until August 7 – we can give you our first impressions.

The Power Fantasy #1 opens with an extended prologue set in New York, 1966, and the meeting of two people who look normal enough but are very much not. This is Valentina and Etienne, and they're discussing, quite seriously, the ethics of taking over the world for a supposed greater good. They are soon revealed to be part of a group dubbed "the Nuclear Family" – six super-powered individuals with such immense abilities, they are effectively living weapons with the strength of the US's entire nuclear arsenal.  

It's a slow start to the story, but it neatly sets the tone for the action that follows after a time jump to 1999. Here we meet the full family, most notably stoner Heavy who seems just a little too fond of showing off his powers to the people below, regardless of the consequences. Again, without getting into spoilers, by the end of this first issue, it's clear that not everyone is happy with these god-like beings and how they (at times literally) look down on humanity.

In some ways, this is familiar territory for Gillen. The dialogue is sharp and witty, the world-building skilfully conveyed through implication rather than exposition – we quickly learn that there are more people with powers than just these six, though the full details are being held back for now. 

Most notably the stylish yet amoral Family members are not a million miles away from the pantheon of gods that filled the pages of The Wicked + The Divine. The premise that, as one character puts it, "The Superpowers can't fight. No one would survive" will no doubt be fully explored as the series develops and the competing egos within the group start to clash. For now, however, the tone is very much one of détente. This is a Cold War between rival Superpowers – and you can imagine that Gillen is gonna have some fun with that pun – with all of these characters just a hairs-breadth away from committing global annihilation.

Visually, the book finds Wijngaard in crowd-pleasing form, with the action scenes dynamic and cleanly-executed and the quieter moments – several pages of people simply talking and eating pizza – kinetic and appealing. His use of color is smart too, with most of the pages here painted in a sunny palette of pastels which contrasts with the sudden bursts of bold primary colors when things start to go badly wrong.

Much like its central characters, The Power Fantasy #1 is bursting with potential. By the end of the first issue, it's hard to guess where all of this is going (though the answer is probably nowhere good for humanity). It feels like a story that needs at least a couple of issues to fully bed in, partly because of the large central cast and partly because it's telling a truly global tale. Still, the skill with which both creators convey their heady ideas is truly impressive. If you like your comics full of big ideas, laced with dark humor and the unnerving sense that the end of the world is just one family squabble away, this one's for you. 

The Power Fantasy #1 is published by Image Comics on August 7.

Alan Moore discusses his feelings on the comics industry in our in-depth interview with the Watchmen co-creator.

Writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples' beloved sci-fi comic Saga is finally resuming, with Saga #67 releasing in just a few weeks. The fan-favorite, critically acclaimed title last released a new issue in September of last year, marking an almost 10 month hiatus by the time Saga #67 arrives.

With the series' return also comes a new storyline, kicking off the 12th 'chapter' of the ongoing series, which creator Vaughan has said will run for 108 issues total, over the course of its lifespan.

"In this exciting new installment, Saga readers will follow 12-year-old Hazel as she embarks on the most important adventure of her young life," reads Image's official description of Saga #67.

Here's a gallery of covers for Saga #67-70, all four upcoming issues announced so far:

Saga has taken a few hiatuses during its run, which launched all the way back in 2012, primarily to allow Vaughan and Staples to remain the sole creators of the entire run, rather than pushing deadlines with fill-ins or sub-par work. There was also an extended hiatus from 2018-2022 in which Vaughaun and Staples worked on other creations.

"A lot of comic characters remain frozen in time, but Fiona and I wanted to tell a story where characters would age, change and evolve over the years, as would our series," says Vaughan in a statement. "We're especially excited to show readers where 12-year-old Hazel and her family are headed next, and we hope readers will continue to support their local retailers by following our heroes’ adventure in 'real time' with these new issues, my favorites yet."

Saga #67 goes on sale July 31.

Check out the best Non-Marvel/DC superhero universes.

After spending close to a year rolling out its 'Energon Universe' of shared GI Joe and Transformers titles, Skybound Entertainment has finally announced the launch of its ongoing GI Joe series.

Written by Joshua Williamson, who has written several of the GI Joe limited series that have set the stage for the new ongoing title, GI Joe will be drawn by Tom Reilly with colors by Jordie Bellaire, the art team from Williamson's Duke limited series.

Skybound promises its GI Joe title will "introduce a bold new vision of GI Joe and Cobra," seemingly picking up right where the publisher's Duke and Cobra Commander series left off, with both figureheads assembling new versions of their respective organizations.

"Conrad Hauser, Codename DUKE, has assembled a special force known as GI Joe to battle the rising power of the mysterious COBRA in the aftermath of the Autobots and Decepticons' arrival on Earth. But the enigmatic Cobra Commander has unleashed the power of Energon like never before!" reads Skybound's official description of the new GI Joe title.

"Featuring the First Appearance of an ALL-NEW character and many familiar faces, this is the comic that will change everything you think you know about GI Joe…and that’s only half the surprises in store!"

Williamson recently announced his departure from two DC titles, Green Arrow and Batman & Robin, citing wanting to avoid burnout as he works on other projects - presumably including the newly launching GI Joe title.

"Finally! The team is together! The response to the mini-series that led to this moment has been phenomenal, it's been exciting to see lifelong fans of the iconic series and new readers come together to support GI Joe in the Energon Universe," Williamson says in a statement accompanying the announcement.

"What has come before was just a glimpse into the massive world full of action and drama that we're bringing with the new ongoing series. Now it's time to amp up the story as the newly formed GI Joe and Cobra meet for the first time!" he continues. "Our first issue rocks the Energon Universe in major ways with big moments we've been dying to unleash. Tom and Jordie are killing it and bringing the heat with every page. You do not want to miss GI Joe #1. Yo Joe!"

At the same time Skybound is launching a brand new GI Joe title with a whole new team, the classic GI Joe comic book continuity is continuing on in GI Joe: A Real American Hero, written by Larry Hama and drawn by Tony Kordos.

"I love it when a plan comes together. With the foundation laid, Skybound is primed to expand the Energon Universe with an ongoing GI Joe series," adds Skybound founder Robert Kirkman. "Duke, Cobra Commander, Scarlett and Destro have been mere teases of what we have in store. Now Josh, Tom and crew are bringing us a new vision of these beloved characters that will stand next to Transformers and Void Rivals as the cornerstones of the Energon Universe!” 

GI Joe #1 goes on sale November 13, with a wraparound cover by interior artists Tom Reilly and Jordie Bellaire, seen above.

Read all about the best non-Marvel/DC superhero universes.

Violator has been a thorn in Spawn's side for 30 years now but, perhaps surprisingly, the malevolent demonic alter ego of the Clown has never really had an official origin series. That changes this August with Violator: Origin, a new six-issue limited series that will delve deep into the monstrous being's history and how he has manipulated the course of events on Earth. What's more, the series is told from the point of view of Violator himself - though exactly how reliable a narrator he is remains to be seen.

Written by Marc Andreyko, the series is drawn by a different artist for each extra-long issue, including Piotr Kowalski, Kyle Hotz, Jonathan Wayshak, Gianenrico Bonacorsi, Cully Hamner, and Von Randall. 

Here's a cover gallery, featuring Piotr Kowalski's cover for #1 and Kyle Hotz's cover for #2, followed by several pages of Kowalski's interior art from the first issue. 

"Strangely, that in the 30 year history of the Spawn-Universe, we have never written the origin story of one of the main characters of this mythology," said Spawn creator and Image Comics president Todd McFarlane in a statement. "So now, after such a long wait, Marc Andreyko and his crew of artists have delivered a story that is a multi-era spanning telling of how this villain came to be Spawn's main antagonist. Since his first appearance way back in 1992, I've been asking writers to think about doing this story. Luckily Marc has enthusiastically jumped on that request."

McFarlane seems not to be counting 1994's Violator #2, written by Alan Moore with art by Bart Sears, which does indeed reveal Violator's origin as the child of a demon and a human woman who slew his demonic father to take his place in Hell. Nonetheless, there's never been a whole series focusing on the story. And judging by how the new Violator series is being described, his origin is about to be re-written anyway.

Image's official synopsis for the first issue reveals that the series will "Follow the journey of your favorite Spawn Universe demon from his start in the celestial heavens through his fall and descent into Hell, and finally, his banishment to Earth. He existed throughout human history, living in the shadows and pulling the strings of some of the most powerful people to ever live." 

Violator: Origin #1 is published by Image Comics on August 14.

Find out more about the expanding Spawn Universe line here.

Writer Rick Remender and his Death or Glory co-creator, artist Bengal, are reuniting for a dystopian sci-fi epic titled Napalm Lullaby. Behind the evocative title is a world where a cult dedicated to a new messiah hoards resources in domed cities while those outside struggle and starve.

If that sounds a little close to home given modern economic discourse, that's no accident, as Napalm Lullaby's layered sci-fi plot reflects many of Remender's own concerns for the real world through the lens of a future where some of humanity's worst fears are taken to their extremes.

Newsarama spoke to Remender about Napalm Lullaby #1 before its March 13 release, digging into what it's like to write about a dystopia built on the fears of your own modern world, and how to forge a lasting artistic partnership like the one he's built with Bengal.

We've also got an early look at some pages and covers from Napalm Lullaby #1.

Newsarama: Rick, first off, I want to say, I really enjoyed Napalm Lullaby #1.

Rick Remender: It's a slow burn with a lot of mystery boxes, so that's nice to hear. You're one of the first five people who have read it. It's all a very new approach for me, to let the thing kind of breathe. Part of my earlier training, when I was at Marvel, was that you really had to sell everything all at once and get all the information across first thing.

I'm working on developing one of my older books into a television show right now which got sent to pilot, and I was looking at the old dialogue, and I was like, oh, I was still writing as if the first issue had to tell you everything. It really was an interesting experience, cause I've moved so far away from that. I now prefer a sort of airy mystery where you're hopefully brought in by the visuals and the interesting hook - but I'm not gonna give you too much information for a while.

The world building was interesting, it felt very organic. Something that I find interesting is the way this story dives right into themes that feel very relevant in our real world, through a very dystopian lens. What made Napalm Lullaby feel like the right book for right now?

Well, it grew out of a number of things that I had been developing for a long time. I keep a morgue of ideas that I keep returning to. At this point it's 7 million pages [laughs]. So I go through there and I look for things that get me excited. Sometimes it's an idea I burped up, you know, in 2010, that will mix with an idea from today. 

And I'll find a way to kind of do what I'm always looking for at the beginning, which is something that I desperately want to say about my personal life that I've experienced, that I want to write about; something that I am observing in reality, or seeing in the world in the greater sort of society we live in; and then something really visual and interesting. 

So what I had originally written on the pitch for Napalm Lullaby, it was originally called The Magnificent Leader. It was a story about if some kind of kooky cult, like a Jim Jones type cult, got their hands on the next messiah baby. And it was an interesting idea, it existed in my morgue for a while. Bengal and I had even started on it before our other book Death or Glory, because it was a little more exciting to me at that time to talk about the erosion of the American working class. 

But then we circled back around to this because the hook that really hit me was the idea of moral authority, and the idea that we're now seeing this moral authority come from political spectrums, religious spectrums - everybody's got a moral authority, and you better do what they say, and you better get in line.

I loved that, because it plugged into this idea so well, that one of these so-called moral authorities had the power to impose that on the world. And that would be something that's an interesting stage on which to tell a story. I couldn't get my head around it until I said, oh, well, then we time jump into the future, and we're going to deal with a couple of this messiah's bastard children who were supposed to have been killed when they were born, but weren't, and now they have some powers of their own. And now they're going to set out to rectify or fix the world they were born into.

My kids are Gen Z, and they'll talk about climate change. And I'll realize, you know, the things that Gen X were screaming about that no one would listen to - primarily climate change and nuclear armageddon - I see now in my kids the fear of this happening to them. And so, then the story became very relevant to me, and I realized, OK, that's worth doing.

What's it like writing about a dystopian future that stems pretty directly from a world much like ours while also watching some of those seeds of dystopia actually being planted all around us?

Well, it's taking this sort of moral authority, where the internet has allowed every voice to create their version of a moral authority, and mixing it with the fear of economic inequality. You know, throughout my years as a punk rock kid, reading about this throughout my life, it's this widening gap. And you cannot have a civilization exist, it doesn't work, when all of the money is held by the one percent, which has now become sort of a trite idea, this notion. 

But when income inequality becomes a gap this wide, you start getting - there's a lot of places in America I used to  take my family on road trips, where I used to pull into a McDonald's or something, and now that place is falling apart. You're seeing America in decline in between cities in a pretty serious way.

And that's a big part of this. In the world of Napalm Lullaby, the Magnificent Leader and his cult have these beautiful domed cities, and inside are crystal cathedrals, clean air, water, food, shopping, delivery services, all the things you can imagine. But in order to gain entrance, you have to swear fealty and you have to absorb the dictates of the moral authority, and ultimate give yourself over to this thing in order to be part of that upper class, while the rest of the world lives in shanties around the cities.

And again, it's those three things: the world that I live in, something personal, and something that's visual. This ticks off all of those. My mother's family is very religious, and I was always the black sheep because I couldn't buy into any of it. I think Gen X has a real anti-authoritarian streak that can be a positive and it can be a negative. And I think when it comes to moral authority, I'm very hesitant to absorb anybody dictating anything to me. 

I can absorb ideas, I can intellectually have debates, I can think them through, I can come to my own conclusions. But it leaves you almost adrift and homeless. And being adrift and homeless, intellectually as a writer, I think is good, because it separates you a little bit from the superb society, and enables you to take a loot at it from an outside perspective, which is a lot of what my science fiction does.

I want to ask about your working relationship with Bengal. His art is just so fantastic, and it feels totally seamless with the script. How do you go about developing that strong of a relationship with an artist? Does your own background as an artist come into play?

Sure. I mean look, I'm a great art director, because, you know, I'm an artist, I know what can go on a panel, I can help design the logos, I can help design the characters. I have a hand in all this stuff. All the Giant Generator books have my stamp on them as well as the vision and the voice of the artists. And I always approach that in a sort of collaborative way.

Not all of those things lead to long term collaborations. That's just sort of a chemical mix. So Bengal and I just get along. We just like talking stories. I'll pitch him things and he gets excited, and he can't wait to draw it. That's all you're looking for. 

I was an animation instructor, and a teacher of sequential art at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for a number of years, and a student of mine who later became one of my best friends who went on to become the art director at Bungie making Destiny and Marathon, he gave me one of Bengal's art books. This was in 2003, 2004. And to me, I was like, this is genius. So eventually I reached out to him and had a conversation with him about working together.

All you can do is engage, make a deal where it's a total collaborative situation where the ownership is 50/50, and everybody has a say. The future of the property can be determined by our chemistry, how we get along, and how we run the business. I think having that power and running things in a kind of punk rock fashion doesn't always suit me. It can make business difficult. 

But when it does work, and you have a partnership like this, it works beautifully. It's why we get into comic books, to work with a really talented and kind-hearted and smart person, and spend years of your life telling a small piece of the population a story you care about.

Read the best horror comics of all time.

Why doesn't Superman join the Avengers? Will She-Hulk ever join the Justice League? What's the difference between Marvel and DC, anyway?

If you're just getting into superheroes, these may be the kind of questions you've been asking. And if you're a long time fan, you're probably used to answering them.

Marvel Comics and DC are both comic book publishers whose stories feature well-known superheroes, many of whom have been adapted to movies, TV, and games in recent years.

But what’s the difference, really? And why don’t they ever mix and match?

Here’s everything you need to know about the big differences between Marvel and DC.

What is the difference between Marvel and DC?

Answering the question of the difference between Marvel and DC is a bit complicated - and it involves the different characters, stories, and settings of each of the two publishers. 

But the heart of the matter, and the one that keeps characters like Batman and Superman from meeting up with Spider-Man and Wolverine (and least regularly), is that Marvel and DC are separate publishers, owned by different parent companies.

Simply put, this means they're competitors in the marketplace of superhero comics - though it's usually been a friendly rivalry. Still, this keeps the most famous and popular DC and Marvel superheroes from crossing paths outside of a few extremely rare official comic stories.

What is Marvel?

Marvel Comics started way back in 1941 under the name Timely Comics, publishing characters that are still famous today, like Captain America. In the '60s, the publisher changed its name to Marvel Comics and relaunched its line of superhero comics starting with the Fantastic Four, and quickly adding characters such as the Avengers, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and more. 

Since the '60s, Marvel Comics has grown to include thousands of original characters and has steadily remained the number one comic book mainstream superhero comic book publisher in the United States. In 2009, the Walt Disney Company bought Marvel Comics, leading to the creation of the Marvel Studios film studio, which releases the Avengers movies and streaming series.

What is DC?

DC originally started as National Comics and began publishing superhero comics in 1938 with Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman, which is considered the first American superhero comic ever published. Since the '30s, DC has published the adventures of characters such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, later introducing the Justice League superhero team in 1960, kicking off the modern age of superhero comics that continues to this day.

In 1969, DC's parent company was purchased by Warner Bros., the film studio that has produced most of the movies based on DC superheroes since the '70s. DC is considered one of the 'Big Two' publishers of mainstream superhero comics in the United States, second only to Marvel Comics. Along with mainstream superheroes, DC is known for publishing stories such as Watchmen and The Sandman.

Which characters are Marvel?

For the last few years, Marvel's most popular characters have been the Avengers, a superhero team including Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and many more. 

Other popular Marvel characters include Spider-Man, who is often considered the publisher's top solo superhero; the X-Men, a team including characters such as Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, and Beast; the ultra-violent, wisecracking mercenary Deadpool; the blind hero Daredevil; and the superhero family the Fantastic Four.

In the last few years, some previously lesser-known Marvel heroes including She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, Wanda Maximoff and the Vision, Loki, and the Guardians of the Galaxy have become popular thanks to their well-received comics, movies, and streaming series.

Which characters are DC?

DC's most popular heroes are the Justice League, a superhero team (much like Marvel's Avengers) that brings together the publisher's most beloved characters, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and more.

DC's most famous hero is Superman, who is considered the first American superhero ever. But Batman is a close second, and his villains, including the Joker, Harley Quinn, the Riddler, the Penguin, and Catwoman are also fan-favorites, some of whom even get their own villain-centric movies, streaming series, and comics alongside the heroes.

Which stories are Marvel?

Marvel Comics has published thousands of comic books over the decades, but there are a few that have stood the test of time and been adapted into other media, becoming more popular than ever.

These include the classic comic book adventures Civil War, which formed the basis of the movie Captain America: Civil War; Infinity Gauntlet, which was adapted into the movies Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame; and Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, a classic '80s story which received a major sequel in 2015, and which is the inspiration for the upcoming movie Avengers: Secret Wars.

For a more in-depth guide to Marvel Comics, read up on the best Marvel Comics stories ever.

Which stories are DC?

Like Marvel, DC has its share of classic tales that have been adapted into movies, TV, and more, all based on the original comic books featuring Superman, Batman, and the Justice League.

Some of DC's best-known stories include Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which provided some inspiration for the movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; Batman: The Long Halloween, which inspired parts of The Batman; and The Death and Return of Superman, which also influenced Batman v Superman as well as the Justice League movie.

DC is also known for publishing graphic fiction stories including Watchmen and The Sandman which are mostly separate from the setting and continuity of their main superhero universe and are considered in many circles to be some of the best 20th-century literature of any genre or medium. 

For more timeless DC tales, read up on the best DC stories ever.

What is the Marvel Universe?

The Marvel Universe is the name given to the world of stories presented in Marvel Comics. It includes all the characters we discussed above like the Avengers, the X-Men, Loki, and more, and it's the setting in which their adventures take place. For movies, the slightly different setting which adapts the stories of the comics is called the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What makes the Marvel Universe unique in superhero comics is that its stories take place primarily in fictionalized versions of real-world locations such as New York, with the addition of totally fake locations like Black Panther's home of Wakanda. The Marvel Universe is also a little bit more down-to-earth, with heroes often arguing and even clashing with each other almost as often as with their villainous enemies.

The Marvel Universe also bills itself as an unbroken narrative, with all its mainstream stories meant to take place on a single timeline (meant to take place over 10-15 years, though the timeframe has shifted to stay modern over the decades since the '60s) that has never been rewritten or rebooted.

What is the DC Universe?

The DC Universe is a little bit different from the Marvel Universe, though the terminology of their names may be similar. Even more than Marvel, DC embraces the idea of having multiple versions of heroes such as Batman and the Flash, whose adventures are not always directly connected. 

DC stories primarily take place in fictional locations such as Metropolis (the home of Superman) and Gotham City (the home of Batman) as well as mythical places such as Atlantis (the home of Aquaman) and Themiscyra (the home of Wonder Woman), giving the DC Universe a larger-than-life atmosphere of heroic legends.

Unlike the Marvel Universe, which despite being over 60 years old operates under the premise that most of its stories take place in a single timeline (what the comic book community refers to as 'continuity'), DC has restarted or 'rebooted' its continuity multiple times. In fact, these efforts to try to make narrative sense of DC's 80 years of history are the DC Universe's biggest distinguishing feature.

And there you have it, the answers to all your questions about the difference between Marvel and DC. Read on for more information on both publishers and their characters and stories:

The best Marvel Comics stories of all time

The best DC stories of all time

The best Marvel Comics characters ever

The most impactful DC events of all time

The most impactful Marvel events of all time

The best Marvel supervillains of all time

The best DC supervillains of all time

Image Comics has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Lunar Distribution, which is already the non-exclusive distributor of DC. Image leaves behind Diamond Comic Distributors, the publisher's exclusive distributor since 1995.

"We are thrilled to announce our exclusive worldwide distribution deal with Image Comics. We are constantly seeking innovative ways to expand our reach and bring exceptional content to our retail accounts around the world," states Lunar co-owner Christina Merkler in the announcement. 

"This partnership will allow us to further expand our offerings and provide unparalleled access to the most exciting and sought-after titles in the industry. We look forward to working closely with Image and continuing to provide top-notch service to our Direct Market accounts," she concludes.

Lunar has been one of DC's distributors since 2020, when the company was founded. They initially shared DC distribution rights with UCS Distribution, though DC has since ended its contract with UCS and signed with Universal Distribution for certain releases alongside Lunar. 

DC's departure from Diamond marked the end of Diamond's essential monopoly on direct market distribution of comic books to retailers, with Marvel departing Diamond in 2021, and more publishers including IDW and Dark Horse following suit.

Diamond had been the exclusive distributor of most major North American publishers since the mid-'90s, around the time of its initial contract with Image. Now, all of the so-called "Big Five" North American publishers - DC, Marvel, Image, IDW, and Dark Horse - have all ended their exclusive Diamond agreements.

Image Comics is the third largest domestic comic book publisher in North America, and one of the biggest rivals of DC and Marvel - and was also Diamond's biggest remaining exclusive account. Diamond still acts as a wholesaler for Marvel and some other publishers for which it is not technically a "distributor," an arrangement which is also allowed by Image's exclusive contract with Lunar.

Image Comics will also continue to use Diamond as its bookstore distributor, meaning that Diamond will still distribute Image titles to mainstream stores like Barnes and Noble, along with their collected editions and trade paperbacks, as confirmed by Popverse.

The change will begin in September.

Correction: an earlier version of this story indicated that Image Comics would not use Diamond Comic Distributors as a wholesaler following its move to Lunar Distribution.

And now for something completely different: the best horror comics of all time.

There have been many twists and turns over the course of Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander's supernatural crime epic, Killadelphia (remember when they revealed that several long dead US presidents are, in fact, vampires?), but arguably none quite as dramatic as the reveal at the end of this month's issue. The final page of Killadelphia #30 sees the series crossover with another franchise in a big way, as Todd McFarlane's Spawn makes a grand entrance.

The issue delves into the life of vampire magician SeeSaw, exploring the impact that an early experience of tragedy had on him. SeeSaw's dabbling with the occult, however, draws the attention of some powerful entities, leading them to dispatch Spawn to clean up his mess.

Writer and creator Rodney Barnes said of the crossover, "It's an honor to have one of the greatest characters ever created to visit our Killa-verse! I cannot thank the great Todd McFarlane for lending us his baby for a spell. We're committed to do him justice."

Artist Jason Shawn Alexander added: "I'm getting to draw the coolest stuff of my career. Spawn entering the Killaverse makes perfect sense as the series has taken on more ethereal and magic elements in the recent arcs. Fans are in for absolute horror insanity!"

This isn't the first time that Alexander has drawn Spawn. He has a long history with The One, having been a regular artist on Image's monthly comic.

Killadelphia began in 2019 as a seemingly straightforward crime comic about a Baltimore cop who returns home to bury his detective father. As he investigates further, however, he begins to realise that there's a supernatural evil at work here: vampires. 

Since then, the Eisner Award nominated series has - ahem - spawned a pair of spinoff titles, Johnny Gatlin and Twenty Degrees Past Rigor, which Barnes has promised will eventually crossover with the main title. For now though, the new issue looks like the start of a very exciting arc. 

Killadelphia #30 is out now from Image Comics.

Not all bloodsuckers are bad. There's even a surprising number of vampire superheroes...

It was a memorable year for comics. Amidst distributor shake-ups and the passing of several important comic creators, multiple adaptations were announced, Image Comics turned thirty, and the Big Two published events that promise to alter the landscape of their universes and the futures of their most popular characters.

And as all this was going on, creators came out in full force to fill shelves with titles that pushed the limits of the medium and got us all to think just a little bit differently. But which of these books stood out? If you had to pick just a few to represent comicdom's 2022 offerings, which ones would you choose?

Of course, that's a question with only subjective answers, but we at Newsarama did our best to compile a list of stand-outs from not only the DC/Marvel superhero titles, but across the spectrum of sequential art storytelling. Here's what we decided on.

Honorable Mention - TMNT: The Last Ronin

Authors: Peter Laird, Tom Waltz, and Kevin Eastman, (writers); Eastman, Esau Escorza, Ben Bishop, and Isaac Escorza (artists); Ronda Pattison, Samuel Plata, Luis Antonio Delgado, Ryan Kinnaird (colorists); Shawn Lee (letterer)

Publisher: IDW

What is it?

Decades ago, even before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became a Saturday Morning staple, creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird had an idea. They'd fast forward the TMNT universe into a grim future akin to The Dark Knight Returns. Now, IDW brings their vision of one surviving turtle taking on the future Foot Clan of NYC and avenging his fallen brothers.

The series began in 2020 but concluded in 2022 which is why we've given it an honorable mention designation.

Why should you read TMNT: The Last Ronin?

The Last Ronin is a culmination on so many levels. It's the future foreseen at the creation of the franchise, the last battle between the Oroku and Hamato clans, and the wrap-up of two years of pandemic-addled publication. It's a monumental effort just to attempt something like this, and the fact that it sticks such a resonating landing is even more impressive.

The Last Ronin is a piece of, and lesson on, TMNT history. So much of its tone and narrative harkens back to the franchise's gutsy and violent beginnings when the TMNT were a lot more 'ninja' and a little less 'teenage.' And as much as it is an end, in one sense, it will certainly be a factor in setting the tone for the TMNT comics to come.

Buy: Amazon

10. Iron Man: Books of Korvac

Authors: Christopher Cantwell, Kurt Busiek, and Gerry Duggan (writers); Cafu, Julius Ohta, Ibraim Roberson, Angel Unzueta, Lan Medina, Murewa Ayodele, Benjamin Dewey, Adedotun Akande, and Juan Frigeri (artists); Frank D’Armata and Bryan Valenza (colorists); Joe Caramanga (letterer)

Publisher: Marvel Comics

What is it?

Tony Stark has played many roles in his battle with the megalomaniac android Korvac: a refugee in a paradise ruled by Stilt-Man, an intruder in Galactus's WorldShip, and a witness to the very edges of reality. But in 2022, scribe Christopher Cantwell and a team of artists led by Cafu made Tony something else entirely: a god. The rise of the Cosmic Iron Man begins here.

Why should you read Iron Man: Books of Korvac?

Tony Stark is proof of the maxim that money can't buy everything. Using his fabulous wealth and even more impressive genius, Tony's been trying to save the Marvel Universe since his creation in 1963. Unfortunately, he has not gotten far. In fact, Tony has more than once tried too hard to save the world and ended up being a pseudo-villain.

Books of Korvac asks what it's like to constantly come up short as a savior. Tony's inability to accept that he can't save the world by himself is pushed to its absolute limit, with the near omnipotence of the Power Cosmic dropped in his lap. It's also a meditation on power and the idea that too much of it can corrupt even with the best of intentions.

Buy: Amazon

9. The Liminal Zone 

Authors: Junji Ito (writer/artist), Eric Erbes (letterer)

Publisher: VIZ Signature

What is it?

Junji Ito returns to shelves with his latest collection of unique and challenging horror shorts. The otherworldly tales in The Liminal Zone include a horrifying tale of Japan's infamous suicide forest and a story about the curse of uncontrollable sobbing. From VIZ media, the master of sequential horror's inimitable style is back; make sure to read with the lights on. 

Why should you read The Liminal Zone?

Simply put, there is no one in sequential art like Junji Ito. His ability to bring horror to the page is unique in the history of the medium; with collections like Uzumaki and Tomie inspiring nightmares and racking up sales numbers years after their original publication dates. Just being a follow-up to Ito's previous work is reason enough to read The Liminal Zone.

But if that's not enough for you, the stories in The Liminal Zone also stand on their own merit. In particular, the Weeping Woman tale chills for the way it uses the physical aspect of uncontrollable sobbing. Like the best episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Liminal Zone is excellent not only for how it scares us but for how it makes us confront the weird.

Buy: Amazon

8. Isla to Island

Author: Alexis Castellanos (writer/artist) 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

What is it?

Isla to Island tells the story of Marisol, a woman growing up under the Castro dictatorship in Cuba. Despite the political danger, she loves her home, so her heart breaks when her parents send her to Brooklyn. Even more heartbreaking; she's going alone. Marisol's parents may believe she's safer, but can she find a home in an entirely different culture?

Why should you read Isla to Island?

History loses its meaning when boiled down to mere facts. It's hard to connect with statistics, feel for names and dates, or relate to a Wikipedia entry. Isla to Island is the answer to this conundrum, bringing 1950s New York and the immigrant experience to sparkling life in the conflicted but resilient character of Marisol. 

Even beyond its historic moment, Marisol's story is one uncommon to the medium. Creator Castellanos tells an almost entirely silent story, relying on imagery to take the weight of the narrative. It bears this burden with ease and, combined with how the author juxtaposes color and monochrome, makes for a rare and necessary reading experience.

Buy: Amazon

7. Marry My Husband

Authors: Sung Sojak (writer/artist)

Publisher: Webtoons (digital)

What is it?

At the very end of her life, Jiwon learns that her best friend and husband have been having an affair. It's a tragic discovery that leads to an even more tragic death, but for Jiwon, the end is the beginning. Reincarnated as her younger self, Jiwon gets a unique chance at revenge. Now, she'll stop at nothing to get her cheating husband and backstabbing best friend together.

Why should you read Marry My Husband?

Webtoons don't come with page turns; they shepard the reader down one long, unbroken emotional arc. While any book could work this way, it's especially effective in a story with a lot of moving parts or with a nonlinear relationship to time. Marry My Husband fits both bills, and though the plot might seem complex, it's one of the most binge-able offerings on the site.

Sung Sojak blends kaleidoscopic speculative fiction with heavy soap opera drama in a way that will both disturb and fascinate a reader, especially in how it handles the concept of inevitability. Though there have been and continue to be plenty of 'doing your life over' stories in the romance genre, none pack the same punch as Marry My Husband.

Read: Webtoon

6. X-Men: Red

Authors: Al Ewing (writer); Stefano Caselli, Juann Cabal, Andrés Genolet, Michael Sta. Maria, and Madibek Musabekov (artists); Federico Blee, Matt Wilson, Jesus Aburtov, Fernando Sifuentes, Matt Hollingsworth, and Chris Sotomayor (colorists); Ariana Maher and Cory Petit (letterers)

Publisher: Marvel Comics

What is it? 

Marvel's mutants decided to break away from humanity in the Jonathan Hickman-written X-Saga. Now, they've terraformed and colonized Mars to continue building a society that works for them. But just because they've left humanity doesn't mean they can escape human nature, and just because the planet is full of mutants doesn't mean there isn't need for the X-Men.

Why should you read X-Men: Red?

You knew that we had to include one of the titles in Marvel's ongoing X-saga, our only problem was deciding which one. After all, many solid stories and conspicuous concepts are coming out of that line. And it's for that exact reason that we've chosen X-Men: Red.

This book is the best way to get a snapshot of the new ideas in the X-saga while at the same time focusing on familiar characters. We see how concepts like immortality and emancipation from the human race affect our favorite X-characters personally.

But don't think X-Men: Red doesn't stand on its own. It's also a story of the intentions that go into building a society, and the inevitable alliances and betrayals that occur. Whether you've been following the X-saga from the jump or want a clean start, X-Men: Red is for you.

Buy: Amazon

5. Batman/Superman: World’s Finest

Authors: Mark Waid (writer); Dan Mora and Travis Moore (artists); Tamra Bonvillain (colorist); Aditya Bidikar and Steve Wands (letterers)

Publisher: DC

What is it?

The Dark Knight and Man of Steel are partnering again for their own monthly title, and they're shaking up the DC universe as we know it. It features a mystic adventure from the not-too-distant past, the introduction of a superpowered sidekick for Superman, and plenty of guest appearances. And did we mention Dick Grayson as Robin?

Why should you read Batman/Superman: World’s Finest?

Not since Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman has the Silver Age of comics been so beautifully paid homage in a DC book. The scale of Batman and Superman's adventures border on the ridiculous, but without any tongue-in-cheek 'that-just-happened' humor or a hint of modern cynicism. This is pure superhero fun, no grittiness required. 

Contributing to the bright tone of the book is the sparkling art of Dan Mora, the pen behind hits such as Klaus and Once and Future. Plus, World's Finest is a great way to hop into current DC history, as its storylines tie directly into the Mark Waid-written Batman Vs. Robin and the Lazarus Planet event, set to take over comic shops in 2023.

Buy: Amazon

4. Little Monarchs

Author: Jonathan Case

Publisher: Penguin Random House

What is it?

Little Monarchs follows young Evie and caretaker Flora across the continental US in search of monarch butterflies. Decades have passed since the sun unleashed a terrible sickness upon the globe, and only the wings of the beautiful bugs possess the cure. Part coming-of-age story and part celebration of the natural world, Little Monarchs is a post-apocalyptic tale like no other.

Why should you read Little Monarchs?

Writing a tiny blurb to encapsulate their worth is unfair to every book on this list, but for Little Monarchs, it's blasphemy. There's so much to praise; the staggering watercolors, the use of nature in storytelling, and the poignant but hopeful way it flips the post-apocalyptic formula. Oh, and the book serves as a functioning travel guide.

Yes, you can use Little Monarchs to accurately track the migration patterns of Monarch Butterflies. It's a testament to the years of research creator Case poured into the book, crafting a story that's as factually sound as it is universally accessible as it is narratively engaging. Whether middle-grade readers live in your home or not, it deserves a place on your shelf.

Buy: Amazon

3. Public Domain

What is it?

Authors: Chip Zdarsky

Publisher: Image Comics

You'd think that the biggest comic battles are at the end of an event, but for the Dallas brothers, the fight of their lives is on the credits page. Their father, Syd, is the creator of goldmine hero The Domain, but the company that owns the IP won't give him the credit he deserves. In a story echoing real-life copyright struggles, the Dallases must convince their dad to fight for what's his.

Why should you read Public Domain?

Sadly, there are real-world examples of the people to whom we owe our favorite billion-dollar franchises not getting the compensation they deserve. It's especially true in the comic book sphere. Chip Zdarsky deftly personalizes this too-common occurrence in the Dallas family, while not forgetting to create fleshed-out and lived-in characters.

Comics as a medium is not nearly as self-referential as prose or film, so it's refreshing to see a story like this on shelves. That's especially true coming from Zdarsky, whose knack for characters and surprising sense of humor helps make a story wrought with legal battles and a whole lot of disappointment an enjoyable and re-readable experience.

Buy: Amazon

2. The Human Target

Authors: Tom King (writer), Greg Smallwood (artist), and Clayton Cowles (letterer)

Publisher: DC

What is it?

After Christopher Chance takes a poison meant to kill Lex Luthor, he's got 12 days to live. And while the average person might want to spend time with loved ones (or at least relaxing), Chance decides to use his remaining hours on Earth to figure out who killed him. The problem is; his murderer is a member of the Justice League International.

Why should you read The Human Target?

It's Tom King and Greg Smallwood.

Okay, my editor says that can't be the entire reason, so let's get into it. The Human Target is a meditation on mortality first, a superhero story second, and one hell of a murder mystery third. It puts Black Label storytelling to its best use, zooming in on a particular moment in DC history and freeing it from the mountains of continuity that happened around it. 

If that wasn't enough, it may be the most visually beautiful book on this list. Artist Smallwood tackles pencils, inks, and coloring by himself, and every panel crackles with Lichtenstein levels of pop art flair. You may have heard film director Samuel Fuller's quip "Life is in color, but black and white is more realistic." Well, Smallwood has 'em both beat.

Buy: Amazon

1. The Good Asian

Authors: Pornsak Pichetshote (writer), Alexandre Tefenkgi (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist), and Jeff Powell (letterer)

Publisher: Image Comics

What is it?

Detective Edison Hark is chasing a killer, and that's not even the worst of his problems. Hark, a Chinese-American working during the Johnson-Reed Act – which placed cruel, race-based mandates on immigration – must deal with a police force that loathes him, his own self-doubt, and cultural bias as black and white as the detective films of the era.

Why should you read The Good Asian?

Don't let the Dark Crises and Judgment Days fool you; we're currently exploring untouched heights in the genre of crime comics. And sitting atop that liquor-soaked, morally-dubious peak is Pichetshote's and Tefenkgi's The Good Asian. It also sits at the top of this list, partially because it takes specific ways the other entries succeed and brings them together.

Like Isla to Island, it makes a moment in history personal. Like Marry My Husband, it wallops the reader with all-too-human brutality. And like The Human Target, it uses familiar noir to say something both timely and timeless. We're not going to say "if you only read one comic this year, make it this one," because there are so many incredible 2022 titles you should read, whether they made it onto this list or not.

But hey, maybe read The Good Asian twice.

Buy: Amazon

Spawn is hot off a high-profile crossover with Batman, but his creator Todd McFarlane is wasting no time with bringing out another Spawn spin-off in the form of a two-issue limited series titled Spawn: Unwanted Violence, which launches in January.

The limited series will "bring Spawn to the forefront of what constitutes good and evil" as the eponymous anti-hero seeks out hidden information.

"Information can be one of the most valuable resources in the world. It can also be one of the most difficult to obtain. Luckily for Spawn, he has the Freak. The Freak is a master of getting what he needs out of a subject," reads Image Comics' official description of Spawn: Unwanted Violence #1.

"But while the Freak works at extracting the whereabouts of 'File F', Al witnesses an act of senseless VIOLENCE, one that he can't ignore."

McFarlane himself will write the two-issue limited series, which features art from Mike Del Mundo.

McFarlane's announcement of Spawn: Unwanted Violence calls the current core Spawn title "the best-selling comic of 2021."

2019 brought the release of the milestone Spawn #300 and #301, which launched a renewed expansion of the Spawn universe with multiple titles and spin-offs.

Spawn debuted 30 years ago in 1992, becoming one of the most popular non-Marvel, non-DC heroes of all time. In the years since, Spawn has remained a mainstay at Image Comics, which was co-founded by Spawn's creator Todd McFarlane following the so-called 'Image Exodus' in which some of Marvel Comics' most popular artists left the publisher to start their own publisher, Image Comics.

Spawn is one of the best non-Marvel or DC comic book superheroes.

IDW Publishing's long-standing license to publish comic books based on the Hasbro toy line franchises G.I. Joe and Transformers seems to have ended, with longtime IDW editor David Mariotte tweeting a farewell to the Transformers franchise on his personal Twitter account on the occasion of the publication of the last IDW Transformers issue. 

IDW published Transformers comics starting in 2005, and G.I. Joe comics starting in 2008. The original announcement of the change came through The Hollywood Reporter, who reported in December 2021 that Robert Kirkman's Skybound imprint of Image Comics was in talks to pick up the license.

"At the end of 2022, IDW will bid a fond farewell to the publication of G.I. Joe and Transformers comic books and graphic novels. We’re exceedingly proud of our stewardship of these titles — 17 years with the Robots in Disguise and 14 years with A Real American Hero — and thank the legion of fans for their unwavering support, month in and month out," read a statement from IDW provided to THR at the time of the initial announcement. "We're also eternally grateful to every one of the talented creators who helped bring these characters to four-color life through our comics."

IDW published one final major G.I. Joe story for 2022 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the revamped GI Joe: A Real American Hero toy line, which revised the original GI Joe soldier toy into the concept of a fighting force made up of unique and distinct characters, with equally colorful enemies to match.

No announcement has been made regarding where the publishing licenses for G.I. Joe and Transformers will wind up following IDW's deal ending and Skybound never commented on THR's December 2021 report. IDW will apparently retain the license to publish comics based on other Hasbro properties including MASK, Visionaries, ROM, and more.

In addition, IDW has been publishing more Star Trek and Dungeons and Dragons licensed comics in recent months.

The best place to get G.I. Joe and Transformers comics is at your local comic shop.

The I Kill Giants creative team returns for a brand-new limited series in 2023. Image Comics has announced Immortal Sergeant, written by Joe Kelly and drawn by Ken Niimura, which reunites the duo for a story that's part comedy, part murder mystery.

Immortal Sergeant follows Jim Sargent, AKA Sarge, a reluctantly retired detective who's not ready to give up his grizzled, old-school approach to solving cases. When he catches an unexpected break on a murder case "that's haunted him for decades," it's a thrill - but there's also a major catch.

To follow this new lead, Jim has to team up with his incredibly anxious son, Michael, which isn't ideal for either of them. And across nine issues, they'll have to figure out how to work together lest the case go unsolved forever.

"The story of Immortal Sergeant is loosely based on aspects of my life, dramatized and punched up to be much more exciting, but it was emotionally challenging to write," Kelly says in the announcement. "I knew that Ken was the only person who could bring the book to life with the heart, comedy, and impact I'd hoped to convey, and he knocked it out of the park."

Niimura adds, "It's taken us time - a LOT of time - for Joe and I to figure out the right project to work on together again, but here we are at last! Sarge is a very complicated and nuanced character, at the root of many of Joe's creations, from Deadpool to Barbara from I Kill Giants, and I can't think of a better home than Image Comics for him."

Check out a preview below.

Immortal Sergeant #1 will be available January 18, 2023.

Another detective makes the list of best powerless superheroes of all time.

The 2022 Harvey Awards were presented Friday at New York Comic Con, as determined by this year's judging committee comprised of diverse industry voices.

Four creators were inducted into the Hall of Fame: writer Neil Gaiman, writer and former Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas, and cartoonists Gilbert Shelton and Marge Buell.

Image Comics was the most decorated publisher of the night, with The Good Asian, Vol. 1 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi taking home Book of the Year and Mirka Andolfo's Sweet Paprika winning Best International Book.

For the full list of 2022 Harvey Awards winners, see below (the winners are bolded among the list of nominees):

Book of the Year

• Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia, translated by Gabriela Soares (Top Shelf Productions)
• Crisis Zone by Simon Hanselmann (Fantagraphics)
• Department of Truth, Vol 3: Free Country by James Tynion IV, Jorge Fornes, David Romero, John J. Pearson, Tyler Boss, Elsa Charretier and Alison Sampson (Image Comics)
• Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell (DC Comics)
• The Good Asian, Vol. 1 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi (Image Comics)
• The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V, Filipe Andrade, & Ines Amaro (BOOM! Studios)
• Lightfall Book 2: Shadow of the Bird by Tim Probert (HarperAlley)
• Nice House on the Lake by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno (DC Comics)
• Run: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, L. Fury and Nate Powell (Abrams Books)
• Sisters of the Mist by Marlyn Spaaij (Flying Eye Books)

Digital Book of the Year

• Everything is Fine by Mike Birchall
• I’m Fine I’m Fine Just Understand by ND Stevenson
• Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe
• Love Everlasting by Tom King and Elsa Charretier
• Snow Angels by Jeff Lemire and Jock (Comixology Originals)

Best Children's or Young Adult Book

• The Aquanaut by Dan Santat (Scholastic Graphix)
• Lightfall Book 2: Shadow of the Bird by Tim Probert (HarperAlley)
• Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese-American by Laura Gao (HarperAlley)
• Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh (HarperAlley)
• Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas (HarperAlley)

Best Manga

• Blood on the Tracks by Shuzo Oshimi, translated by Daniel Komen (Vertical Comics)
• Blue Lock by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura, translated by Nate Derr (Kodansha Comics)
• Cat + Gamer by Wataru Nadatani, translated by Zack Davission (Dark Horse Comics)
• Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimot,  translated by Amanda Haley (VIZ Media)
• Red Flowers by Yoshiharu Tsuge, translated by Ryan Holmberg (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Spy X Family by Tatsua Endo, translated by Casey Loe (VIZ Media)

Best International Book

• Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia, translated by Gabriela Soares (Top Shelf Productions)
• Castaways by Pablo Monforte and Laura Perez, translated by Silvia Perea Labayen (Dark Horse Comics)
• Sweet Paprika by Mirka Andolfo (Image Comics)
• This is How I Disappear by Mirion Malle, translated by Aleshia Jensen and Bronwyn Haslam (Drawn & Quarterly)
• The Waiting by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translated by Janet Hong (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Yellow Cab by Benoît Cohen and Christophe Chabouté, translated by Edward Gauvin (IDW Publishing)

Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel

• The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves, based on Batman (DC Comics)
• El Deafo (Apple TV Plus), based on El Deafo by CeCe Bell (Abrams Books)
• Heartstopper (Netflix), based on Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (Hachette Children’s Group)
• Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game” board game based on Mind MGMT by Matt Kindt (Dark Horse Comics)
• Ms. Marvel (Disney Plus) based on Ms. Marvel (Marvel Comics)
• Paper Girls (Amazon Prime Video), based on Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang (Image Comics)
• Paris, 13th District directed by Jacques Audiard, based on “Amber Sweet,” “Hawaiian Getaway,” and “Killing And Dying” by Adrian Tomine (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Peacemaker (HBO Max), based on The Peacemaker (DC Comics)
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, based on Shang-Chi (Marvel Comics)

See all of the upcoming comic conventions in 2022 and beyond.

Marvel Comics just released its full December 2022 solicitations, but now we've got an even deeper look into what's ahead in Marvel's future thanks to the website of their distributor, Penguin Random House. The distributor's public-facing retailer site includes a gallery of covers for already announced titles planned for release in January 2023.

A few of the covers have already been previewed, including the main cover of the recently announced Avengers: War Across Time which celebrates 60 years of the Avengers in 2023, and marks longtime DC writer/editor Paul Levitz's Marvel Comics debut alongside veteran Avengers artist Alan Davis.

There's also the cover of Midnight Suns #5, featuring the previously revealed youthful redesign of Agatha Harkness from a story that digs into her ancient past starting in Midnight Suns #2. Interestingly enough, the cover of Midnight Suns #5 seems to place Agatha alongside the modern members of the supernatural team, potentially indicating that her younger self may crossover into the present day in some way. Not a far-fetched idea with her own streaming series starring Katherine Hahn in the title role on the way.

In terms of what we haven't seen before, there are a couple dozen covers for nearly all of Marvel's regular line, including a particularly cool homage cover for Savage Avengers #9 which calls back to the now iconic cover of Uncanny X-Men #141, the start of the 'Days of Future Past' story. Considering the Savage Avengers just found themselves in the future world of 2099, the time travel theme is spot-on.

That's one of several homage variant covers. 

There are also post-AXE covers for the X-Men and Avengers lines, as the X-Men line prepares for the 'Sins of Sinister' story, and the Avengers move into 'Avengers Assemble,' longtime writer Jason Aaron's final story on the title. Plus first look at the cover to the Murderworld: Wolverine special, and possible hints at upcoming storylines, like the Punisher meeting up with Daredevil, Gold Goblin facing off Queen Goblin, and more. 

So here's a gallery of all the 64 new January 2023 covers - though you'll have to wait till October for the actual Marvel Comics January 2023 solicitations:

Peter J. Tomasi, Keith Champagne, Chris Samnee, and Peter Snejbjerg's superhero story The Mighty will be newly published by Image Comics this September. The story was originally published by Dark Horse as a 12-issue series and then collected in one volume in 2014. 

The new Image collection features a new cover by Dave Johnson and contains all 12 original issues but three "rare" eight-pages stories along with "behind-the-scenes" sketches and scripts.

"Some books simply never get a chance to find an audience in such a crowded marketplace, and The Mighty, in my opinion, was one of those books, so we're really excited that Image has stepped up to produce this new edition," says Tomasi in Image's announcement. "A lot of heart and care went into its production, and readers will be able to eyeball the wonderful artwork and color by Chris Samnee, Peter Snejbjerg, John Kalisz, and, of course, the amazing new cover by Dave Johnson."

According to the story's original description, the world's only superhero Alpha One is seen as a savior and a symbol of hope for all of mankind, but when police captain Gabriel Cole gets close enough to the superhero and the mystery behind Alpha One’s public origin, he discovers the might not be as altruistic as he appears and his plans to create a utopia are not what the seem. 

In other, shorter words, The Mighty looks at what would happen if Superman wasn't a very good person. 

"I've always felt The Mighty was a bit ahead of its time and it remains firmly in place on the Mount Rushmore of projects I’m most proud of," Champagne adds. "Working with my great friend, Peter Tomasi, to build this world and tell a story about these characters; to see Peter Snejberg bring that world to life visually, then have my mind blown even further by Chris Samnee when he picked up the artistic reins, with the chef's kiss of Rob Leigh, John Kalisz, and Dave Johnson… as a writer, it doesn't get much more satisfying. 

"I'm grateful to Image for collecting this book in its MIGHTIEST edition and for introducing this thriller to a whole new audience. Maybe Peter and I will finally tell the next story set in this world; all the clues are there as to what the future holds for Gabriel Cole and Alpha-One, but no one will ever see it coming."

The Mighty trade paperback will go on sale Wednesday, September 28 in comic book shops and digital platforms and in bookstores on Tuesday, October 4.

Eisner and Ringo Award-winning writer Chuck Brown is reuniting with artist Prenzy for the new six-issue Image Comics limited series, Flawed. Slated for launch in September, Image describes the story as "ultra-violent" and "high-octane." 

Flawed follows psychiatrist Gem Ezz, who leads a double life in the wildly corrupt and brutal city Setham. During the day, she treats patients the way she was trained: with words, in her professional office space. At night, however, she tackles problems the vigilante way: with deadly force, in the streets of Setham.

Despite attempting to keep these parts of her life separate and seemingly managing to do so for some time at the start of the series, Gem now finds herself in huge trouble. When she is targeted by an immortal serial killer, she's forced to deal with a power struggle that could destroy her entire world. 

"The city of Setham holds many different strange tales and Gem Ezz's story is only the beginning," Brown says in the Flawed announcement.

Alongside the announcement, Image has released a preview of Flawed #1, which immediately shows us the stakes for the series overall. Seen below, Gem meets with a client, discusses an apparent killer who skins children, then decides to "make an example" of him. The preview also reveals police presence in Setham.

Flawed #1 goes on sale September 28, with main cover art and a variant by series artist Prenzy.

Gem Ezz's vigilante life is a lot like Matt Murdock's... but more violent than even the best Daredevil stories.

Image Comics has announced a release date for Vanish, a brand-new dark fantasy series by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Sonia Oback, and John J. Hill. Originally announced in August 2021, the first issue will now be released in September.

Vanish follows mythical hero Oliver Harrison, who slayed the greatest threat to his realm when he was just a child. Now, he lives a relatively cookie-cutter life, but he's also an addict with mental health struggles and a smoking habit. The arrival of the superhero team Prestige makes him believe his own memories again, but at what cost?

"Sick and tired of all these 'young adult' stories about magic, and wizards, and destiny and love and blah blah blah? Well, good news! We are too!" Cates says in the announcement. 

"So we made Vanish to answer the one question we've all been asking; What if magic was....metal? This is a project that Ryan and I have been secretly building and working on quietly in the background for years now, and we cannot wait to unleash it on you. And the fun part for us is, well, pay attention closely....like the reveal of any great magic trick, you'll never see this one coming..."

Stegman adds, "Vanish is the most exciting thing I've drawn. Doing an Image comic has always been my ultimate goal as a creator and we've pulled out all the stops to make this special. Donny's and my goal with this project is to create something that we could never do at Marvel and, well...We've succeeded at that I assure you."

Hill says Vanish pulls from multiple genres: "Fans of Venom, God Country, Thor, and Crossover will eat it up. The entire creative team is working magic on every page."

Vanish #1 will feature covers by Stegman, Daniel Warren Johnson, Ed McGuinness, and Greg Capullo, seen below, along with a preview.

Vanish #1 hits shelves September 7.

The history of Image Comics begins with a break-up from Marvel...

Image Comics has released a first look at the 30th anniversary remastered edition of Rob Liefeld's Brigade #1, featuring new pages from a huge line of illustrators. The comic was originally published in 1992 for Image's launch, before eventually making its way to Liefeld's own Extreme Studios.

"Brigade #1 was a book that stormed the comics scene in 1992, the book eventually became the top-selling title for me at my Extreme Studios," Liefeld says. "As with all the Year One Image Comics releases, Brigade has a fondness with fans who rally for it every time we re-visit it. I assembled a literal Brigade of Super-Star talent to pull off this remaster in style and the results are spectacular! I can’t wait to share this with the world!"

Brigade is a spin-off of Liefeld's Youngblood, and features the character Battlestone – also of the Allied Supermen of America – leading his own team after being expelled from Youngblood following the deaths of several members who had been under his command. In 2010, Liefeld, Mark Poulton, and Marat Mychaels updated the original Brigade and released a new volume through Image.

In addition to new work by Liefeld himself on Brigade #1 Remastered Edition, the special 30th anniversary issue will also include work by Clay Mann, Kenneth Rocafort, Philip Tan, V Ken Marion, Dan Fraga, Marat Mychaels, Ed Piskor, Thomas Scioli, Jim Rugg, Thomas Hedglen, and more who have not yet been announced. The issue will also feature cover art by Liefeld and Mychaels, as well as a blank sketch cover.

Check out a preview of Brigade #1 Remastered Edition below.

 Brigade #1 Remastered Edition will be available August 17. 

Alongside Image Comics, Harley Quinn is also celebrating her 30th anniversary this year.