Some more new first issues.

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1000/QUEEN IN BLACK CGD 2026 by Joe Kelly, Al Ewing, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, John Romita Jr., Iban Coello, and Nic Klein. Spider-Man faces off against The Answer. Nothing great to see here, honestly, until you get to the one page end where Mr. Crane finds he is a 99.89% parental match to a Parker. Is this a long, lost brother to Peter? If you haven’t heard that Hela is going to become the Queen in Black in the next symbiote saga. And the Hulk, if you haven’t been reading it, has completely been taking over by The Eldest and everything is going to lead into INFERNAL RAGE.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN/VENOM: DEATH SPIRAL BODY COUNT #1 by Charles Soule and Kev Walker. Spiral was the villain who had spent months tracking down family members connected to Eddie Brock, Peter and Mary Jane. Well, now he’s dead but this is his origin story with a hint of something to come in the future. If you read the mini-series and crossovers, it fits. Other than that, nothing to see here.

ARMAGEDDON/X-MEN CGD 2026 by Chip Zdarsky, Jed MacKay, Ryan North, Francesco Monili, Frank Alpizar, Delio Diaz, and Federico Vicentini. One of Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day entries promises to give exclusive looks inside of upcoming stories. AVENGERS ARMAGEDDON is the first and somehow Red Hulk, based on everything happening in recent titles, has gone rogue and now has created a scary future where he rules. The X-Men piece  is setting the stage for DNX, where the X-virus is being prepared to be unleashed into the world. And, if you followed the X-Men X OF REVELATION stories, you know this is bad stuff coming down the road. As always, these pieces could end up in the actual comics but, if not, this is the first glimpse of it all. Oh yeah: there is also a preview for DOOMQUEST.

BEYOND MEGALITH #0 by  Matt Kindt, Lewis Laroga, Joshua Dyart, David Lapham, Bill Sienkiwicz, Jacob Phillips, Tony Millionaire, Robert Venditti, Trevor Hairsine, and Tomas Giorello. Bad Ideas has put out this $2.00 ashcan to hype four of their upcoming series: MEGALITH(a cool looking Sci-Fi series), THE HAB, THE ODDBALL’S ODYSSEY(a sure to be trippy tour de force from the guy who created SOCK MONKEY), and TANKERS VS ANCIENT ALIENS. Also included are brief previews of Derk Kolstad and Robert Venditti’s WARBIRD and the Horror Fable PROJECT: GOAT from David Yardversky, Philip Gelatt, and Adam Polina. A nice promotional piece that has me definitely interested in many of these projects. Not bad for two bucks!

DC/MARVEL: SUPERMAN/SPIDER-MAN #1 by Mark Waid, Tom King, Christopher Priest, Sean Murphy, Matt Fraction, Jeff Lemire, Greg Rucka, Gail Simone, Jorge Jimenez, Jim Lee, Daniel Sampere, Steve Lieber, Rafa Sandoval, Nicola Scott, and Belen Ortega. In celebration of the classic team-up, DC strikes first with this anthology featuring cross-company team-ups. Yeah, we get Supes and Spidey fighting Doc Ock and Brainiac in the main story. In the seven backups, we get Lois and MJ, Superboy-Prime and Spidey, Jimmy Olsen and Carnage, Jonathan Kent and Uncle Ben, the Planet and the Bugle, and Power Girl and The Punisher. Fun stories, lots of cameos throughout. 

DEADPOOL: APRIL POOL’S DAY #1 by Gail Simone, C.F. Villa, Robert Gill, and IG Guara. Poor Wade! Everyone’s favorite Merc with a Mouth gets visited by numerous characters, thanks to a mysterious portal. There’s Starr the Slayer, who looks very much like a Barry Smith era Conan before ending up in a Romance comic where he has to deal with Sgt. Storm’s Ragin’ Raiders. Apparently, this all has to do to the ending of…wait for it…the Genre-Verse, where all the classic comic genres of the past-Romance, War, Funny Animals, Westerns-are no longer produced or even being read. Don’t expect anything earth-shaking here: it’s just dumb fun!

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT MIMI GREEN? #1 by Connor Goldsmith and Josh Cornillon. Mimi Green is an influencer who has opted to go to some kind of wellness retreat after a scandal. But, what she discovers is that there is some weird world beneath the retreat and they are trapped in it. Did I mention that she has a secret lover named Natalie and there is a chance that Natalie might have gotten eaten by what lurks there. It is a really weird tale with some neat twists and turns and an almost hypnotic looking creature. The art is very cartoonish but serves the story.

ENERGON UNIVERSE 2026 SPECIAL #1 by Dan Watters, Robert Kirkman, Joshua Williamson, Pye Parr, Jason Howard, Conor Hughes, and Tom Reilly. Here’s a Free Comic Book Day sampler for the four Energon titles from Image: TRANSFORMERS, VOID RIVALS, GI JOE and the forthcoming coming M.A.S.K. Honestly, M.A.S.K. was not a cartoon I gravitated to or know much about. But this actually looks like it could be fun!  The others? If you want to jump onto a series, find this free book. Otherwise, you won’t find much here for you.

ESTUARY: A GHOST STORY #1 by David “DB” Andry and Tim Daniel. Oni delivers this mysterious, yet beautifully illustrated ghost story. Wrapped within the search by a young woman hired by a nun to search for sunken treasure there is this ghost that arrives. What is the connection between this mission and the ghost and where will it lead? You won’t get a lot of info in this first issue but it sure looks like there is enough space in the plot to just give us small breadcrumbs until the big payoff. It’s an interesting story but the true highlight is Daniel’s art.. 

FLASH GORDON #0 by Dan Abnett and Manuel Garcia. I am a bit baffled why Mad Cave decided to start a brand new arc in this series by giving it a Number Zero. This is not a true origin issue and the next issue following this will be number 16. But this is the prologue to a new story arc and follows directly after the events of the previous issue. Flash is back on Earth after saving the universe again. And now he is teaching trainees, which leads to an unexpected space journey, first contact with an alien species, and some other shenanigans with his rookie team. It also gets him in hot water with his boss who grounds him. Abnett’s story lays in some groundwork and Garcia’s art shines. Oh yeah: Flash reunites with Dale but not on the best of terms, it seems.

GIANT-SIZED SAVAGE TALES #1 by David Avallone, Mariano Benitez-Chapo, Pasqual Qualano, and Sebastian Piriz. Dynamite brings us another one-shot anthology featuring Red Sonja, Vampirella, Allan Quatermain and Gulliver of Mars. All well and good as they are all self-contained stories features those characters. HOWEVER, the Gullivar story is Chapter Four, meaning you are going to be more than a little lost unless you know where to find the previous three chapters in SAVAGE TALES #1 from 2022, plus the 2022, 2025 Winter Specials. Happy hunting!

IF DESTRUCTION BE OUR LOT…#1 by Matthew Rosenberg, Mark Elijah Rosenberg, and Andy MacDonald. This is such a wild story and I cannot wait to see where it ends up. Here is the basics: humanity is extinct and the robots who once helped humans could not be happier. But not the robotic replica of Abraham Lincoln, who questions what it his purpose if not to serve and assist humanity. His only friend among the robots is a sentient bus named…Bus. When the two one day come across a barrier and see there is something outside of it and make the decision to find out what exists there and believe there is more to their lives than only what they were designed to do. While the art is cartoony, the story is filled with a ton of heart. Highly recommended! This may be one of the best new series of 2026.

LADY MECHANIKA: THE MECHANICAL MENAGERIE #1 by Madeleine Holly-Rosing, Joe Benitez, and Martin Montiel. Lady Mechanika is the survivor of a serial killer in London and has had her own amputated limbs replaced with mechanical ones and became a private detective. That is the basics except it was created by Benitez and he has won awards for his amazing art. This is the newest one, but the multiple mini-series have been coming out for over 15 years and also run through a host of FCBD issues. If you love great art and a steampunk world, this is for you!.

MAD ABOUT DC #1 by NOT the Usual gang of Idiots. Surprise! Not a reprint! DC let Chip Zdarsky take the helm on this look at DC’s heroes. And he has loaded it with spoofs, satire, and a ton of guest contributors. And it’s a true who’s who! Skottie Young, Tini Howard, Mark Waid, Ty Templeton, Jim Zub, Dave Johnson, Gerry Duggan, Tony Moore, Rainbow Rowell, Kyle Starks, Joe Kelly, Cody Ziglar, Kelly Sue DaConnick, Gail Simone, Colleen Doran, Scott Snyder, Mariko Tamaki, Riley Rossmo, Ryan Noth, Erica Henderson, Shannon Wheeler, Al Ewing, Joshua Williamson, Leah Williams, Mark Russell, Steve Lieber, Matt Fraction,  Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, and even more! Covers by Dan Panosian and Simon Bisley!  Just buy it! If you’re a DC fan, you’ll get all the riffs!

MARK SPEARS MIDNIGHT MAN #1 by Mark Spears. Spears is hot right now and, to that end, Keenspot keeps putting out books. The book ties directly into MARK SPEARS MONSTERS and THE MONSTER AND THE WOLF. It looks beautiful in its’ own way but will mean nothing to anyone if you haven’t been keeping up on the main series. Look at it this way: there are only nine covers to collect as opposed to the usual plethora that comes with the main series.

MARVEL/DC: SPIDER-MAN/SUPERMAN #1 by Brad Meltzer, joe Kelly, Dan Slott, Geoff Johns, Louise Simonson, Stephanie Phillips, Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Jeph Loeb, Pepe Larraz, Marcos Martin, Humberto Ramos, Gary Frank, Todd Nauck, Phil Noto, Sara Pichelli, Russell Dauterman, and Jim Cheung. Just like DC/MARVEL: SUPERMAN/SPIDER-MAN #1, we have this anthology featuring team-ups with Marvel and DC heroes and villains. Yeah, we get Supes and Spidey  in not just one but two stories plus eight backups featuring Spier-Man Noir, Gwen Stacy and Lana Lang, Mysterio, The Thing, Hobgoblin, Steel, Ghost Spider, Supergirl, Miles Morales, and a host of Symbiotes coming to Metropolis. Fun and definitely a fan-service book.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH #1 by Sarah Gailey and Haining. The book begins with a murdered body and goes from there! We get two sides of what appears to be the same coin. We have Willow Haven: the perfect gated community and Open Arms: defined as an “intentional collective”. Two distinct lifestyles exist and the characterization of each is documented. But soon one of the residents of Willow Haven is found shot by two residents: one from each community. Confusion reigns as each woman refers to the woman as someone else. Who could have done it and what is going on with the confusion of what this woman’s name is? This is a fun mystery story with nice art and no answers in this issue.

REBORN: ULTIMATE IMPACT #1 by Chris Condon and Stefano Caselli. In the recent mini-series where Miles had to find his missing sibling, Miles ended up with ‘Origin Boxes’ when he came back from Earth-6160: the Maker’s Earth in the Ultimate Universe. His plan was to get the boxes to the Avengers for safe keeping. Easy, right? Well of course not! And the boxes have been stolen and this looks like it might result in the arrival of the Cult of Annihilus.

SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY #1 by Dan Slott and Marcus To. Yeah…we’re back to this era! For newbies, Peter revealed his identity to the world during the CIVIL WAR series, which we all know was a bad mistake and he had Doctor Strange cast a spell to make everyone forget he was Spider-Man. And he made a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May, resulting in history being changed, Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage never happening and their daughter never being born. Fans are still pissed about that all these years later. So, we’ve got a story during that time period, complete with the Punisher, Kingpin, Martin Li, and a surprise appearance by Bailey Briggs, who eventually becomes Spider-Boy. It’s a fun romp that tries to take the aftertaste out of the mouth of readers of that era.

SUPERMAN: FATHER OF TOMORROW #1 by Kenny Porter and Danny Earls. DC unleashes another Elseworlds mini-series. In this instance, a rocket ship smashes through Skywatch and crashes to Earth, being discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent. But this is not an infant-it is Jor-El. Jor-El becomes Jordan and helps around the Kent farm, just like Kal-El has in the core DC books. Jonathan has a heart attack and, even though Jordan has knowledge that will save Jon, the doctor’s refuse him and Jonathan Kent dies. This leads to Jordan donning a familiar but altered outfit and going out to changes things for the better, even saving a young Lois Lane. This will not be for everyone as it is not canon, but could be fun.

VAMPIRELLA #1 by Christopher Priest and Davis Goetten. Dynamite: why are you doing this? It is the same storyline readers have been following for some time, with Christopher Priest at the helm for close to 40 issues now, not including the two Vampirella/Dracula mini-series, the two Draculina mini-series and the SACRED SIX series.. And it is legacy numbered 688. Why do we insist on doing the Marvel renumbering schtick!? For the uninitiated, here goes: seven years ago, Priest shook things up by incorporating all these bits and pieces from Vampi’s history, revealing that Vampi had been here since 1969 and Drakulon is an alternate version of our moon and Arcadia is Earth’s alternate. She has fought with her mother Lilith, married Dracula, and had a son named Cicero that was taken away by Draculina, who is Vampi’s twin sister. It has been some heavy stuff! I highly recommend any of Priest’s work but you need to hunt down the trade paperbacks to play catch-up.

ZORRO #1 by Howard Chaykin and Jorge Fornes. What happens when you let comic legend Howard Chaykin loose on a classic hero like Zorro? You get this! It’s got everything you want: a hero, an equally tough damsel, monks, brigands, Spanish soldiers, and some guy who sounds like he might be from New jersey. It’s a lot of fun and will soon be joined by ZORRO’S LEGACY by Dan Abnett and Aaron Lopresti, where our hero is in 20^th Century America. I grew up in the era of Guy Williams as Zorro, so this is right in my wheelhouse.