Thursday, July 10, 2025

Rebel Moon: Nemesis #1 Preview

 

Cover A by KAEL NGU

 

Nemesis grieves. Most days she cannot recall her name. But she remembers the people who wronged her. And she's found a way of dealing with her grief.

Here's all the info from Titan Comics:

 

REBEL MOON: NEMESIS #1 (OF 4)

(W) Zack Snyder, Gail Simone

(A) Federico Bertoni

Publisher: Titan Comics

FC, 32pp, $4.99, On Sale July 16, 2025

 

COMIC BOOK PREQUEL TO THE NETFLIX MOVIE, REBEL MOON!

 

BASED ON A STORY BY ZACK SNYDER AND WRITTEN BY AWARD-WINNING COMIC CREATOR GAIL SIMONE!  

 

A brand new comic series that recounts the origins of NEMESIS!

 

Taking place before she became the sword-wielding cyborg assassin, this is an action-packed and badass story in the style of a revenge western, in which an innocent woman finds herself in the path of Imperium soldiers who slaughter her family…

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 


 

 


 


 


 

Here are more cover options:

 

Cover B by DANNY EARLS

Cover C by REZA AFSHAR

 

 

Cover D by ALICE MEICHI LI

 

 

Cover E by CHRIS CHRISTODOULOU Poster Variant

Cover F by KAEL NGU Virgin Variant

 

 Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Savage Sword of Conan #9 Review

 


 


Writer: Patrick Zircher & Fabian Nicieza

Artist: Patrick Zircher & Sean Chen

Pinup Artists: Valerio Giangirodano & Geof Isherwood

Letterers: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith

Cover Artists: Neal Adams & Alex Horley

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $6.99

Release Date: July 9, 2025

 

Conan and Valeria teamed up to battle a dragon. Despite Xuchotl's age and wealth, they also found treachery and sorcery. Surrounded by death, Conan and Valeria leave the city covered in emerald behind. The dragon killed their horses. How will the two pirates enjoy their hike back to the sea? And what threats did King Kull face thousands of years before the events in Red Nails? Let's grab our swords, leap into The Savage Sword of Conan #9, and see!

 

The Sunless Isle: Story

Relying on each other in combat is one thing. Getting along, especially when tired and hungry, is another. King Olmec tried to rape Valeria. Queen Tascela attempted to steal her youth. As they walk, Valeria's sense of violation grows. She ended up in Xuchotl because she dared to kill a rapist. So, despite their plan to go to the Stygian coast, Valeria argues they should head to Shem instead. Conan dislikes the change of plan. But even in the Hyborian Age, a woman had a right to change her mind.

 

Patrick Zircher’s tale in The Savage Sword of Conan #9 takes Conan and Valeria to Asgalun, a great port and trade center of Shem. Like Conan, Valeria, and Subotai in John Milius’ story, the travelers’ exploits attract the monarch's notice. And as with King Osric of Zamora, King Uziaman wants the wayfarers to free his land of a menace. But this time, instead of traveling to battle an evil sorcerer, they bring one to aid their cause.

 

The Sunless Isle reminds us that friendship doesn’t erase our uniqueness, and embracing our differences makes us stronger. By building the tension between Conan, Valeria, the sorcerer Netahn, and their fellow travelers, Patrick Zircher enhances his action-packed story with naturally arising drama.

 

The Sunless Isle: Art

Conan and Valeria stand amid the slain. The emblem of Xuchotl, and the nails embedded in an ebony pillar, no longer fill its inhabitants with pride. But Conan and Valeria regard each other in triumph. They smile as they walk together through the surrounding forest. When the trees give way to arid plains, the distance between the travelers grows. Then, Patrick Zircher shows Conan and Valeria unleashing their frustrations as they battle side by side, protecting a caravan in The Savage Sword of Conan #9.

 

Highly detailed pencils convey the grandeur of Asgalun, give King Uziaman’s throne room a regal air, and transport the reader on an ocean expedition battling storms and stillness. A mysterious island, an ancient palace adorned with an immense carved likeness of its ruler, and the dangers Conan and Valeria encounter evoke the movies of Ray Harryhausen and Peter Jackson. Yet the appearance of the sorcerer with whom they travel recalls a villain from John Boorman's homage to the legendary King Arthur.

 

The Invisible Assassin: Story

Fabian Nicieza opens a new era of King Kull’s reign. Valusia enjoys peace and prosperity after emerging victorious from war. Kull’s friend Brule rules the Allied Pictish Isles. Kelkor, the commander of the Red Slayer guard, has been exonerated. Tolahn, newly appointed commander of the Black Legion army, has demonstrated patience and wisdom in battle. Kull returned from a recent trade expedition from Pai-P’u-Yen with a scientific breakthrough. The new crystalline armor represents an improvement over other types of armor. But how can you confirm an armor's superiority if you lack a foe to test its battle worthiness?

 

In this second, shorter story in The Savage Sword of Conan #9, Kelkor and Tolahn battle a new threat. Empowered by their superior armor, the leaders face a seemingly invulnerable foe. Fabian Nicieza ponders the value of working together and why we fought for our hard-won goals.

 

The Invisible Assassin: Art

Sean Chen delivers lavish depictions of Valusia’s splendor and the romance of armored knights competing for honor in tournaments. Horse-drawn carts transport harvested crops, while guards surround the rounded towers and domes that rise beyond the city walls. Imprints and direction lines suggest the wind. Stars flare around a man’s face, and geometric designs adorn his barely perceptible form.

 

Lettering

Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith deliver uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Words swell for raised voices, and music notes accompany melodious tones. Councilor Tu's recollections appear as cursive lowercase letters. While larger than the printed words, their elegant counterparts in gray boxes slow the pace. Sound effects evoke beings from Clash Of The Titans, Mysterious Island, and some of Roy Thomas’ earliest stories in Marvel’s Conan The Barbarian. Thanks to Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Desire can sweep us away. In our quest for what we want, we can easily lose sight of others’ rights. Patrick Zircher’s story about Conan and Valeria focuses on the destructive nature of unrestrained sexual desire. Then, Fabian Nicieza delivers a timely meditation comparing the perception of war with the dangers of peace in The Savage Sword of Conan #9.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of The Savage Sword of Conan #9

 

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Adventure Time: The Bubbline College Special #1 Preview

 

COVER A BY CAROLINE CASH


Everyone likes drama. But sometimes you just want a good time. Here's all the info on this Can't Miss double dose of fun:  

 

SDCC 2025 First Look: Eisner Award Winner Caroline Cash Explores Alternate Universes in ADVENTURE TIME: THE BUBBLINE COLLEGE SPECIAL #1

Ahead of San Diego Comic-Con, Fan-Favorite Princess/Vampire Duo Make the Grade in this Giant-Sized 56-Page Special – Coming in August!

 

ADVENTURE TIME: THE BUBBLINE COLLEGE SPECIAL #1

Writer & Artist: CAROLINE CASH 

Length: 56 Pages

Art style: Full Color 

Price: $7.99

Publication Date: August 20, 2025


 

I DON’T THINK WE’RE IN OOO ANYMORE! Oni Press, in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, is proud to present your first look inside ADVENTURE TIME: THE BUBBLINE COLLEGE SPECIAL #1, right before the 2025 edition of San Diego Comic-Con! This August, Eisner Award–winning cartoonist and breakout star Caroline Cash (PeePee PooPoo) leads a double-sized alternate universe extravaganza featuring the cutest candy couple: Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen!

Experience all the fun of college (and none of the stress) in this giant-sized comic spectacular starring Princess Bubblegum and Marceline! What, do you think Ice King should get to have all the fun?! Heck nah! Fanfics are cool and all, but you know what’s even cooler? Peering into alternate universes—and Prismo’s got the perfect one in mind . . . Princess Bubblegum has just started school at Ooo University (double majoring in chemistry and princess, of course!). But between difficult roommates, overreaching bodyguards, assassination attempts, and—more importantly—a full class schedule, will Bubblegum be able to survive her first year in college?! With the help of one super-cool, super-mysterious flying vampire who she is mayybeee falling in love with, it shouldn’t be all that hard. Turns out Marceline and Bubblegum are made for each other in any universe!

Featuring covers by Caroline Cash, Robyn Smith (Nubia: Real One), and Chloé Stawski (Sapphic Pulp), don’t be tardy– get ADVENTURE TIME: THE BUBBLINE COLLEGE SPECIAL #1 when it hits stores on August 20, 2025!

Now, let's take a look inside:


 





Here are more cover options:

 

COVER B BY ROBYN SMITH


 

COVER C BY CHLOÉ STAWSKI


B&W VARIANT (1:10) BY CHLOÉ STAWSKI


 

If you haven't ordered ADVENTURE TIME: THE BUBBLINE COLLEGE SPECIAL #1 yet, don't worry! You may have missed the initial offer date of June 26, 2025. But your local comic shop can still secure you a copy on the Final Order Cutoff (FOC) of July 21, 2025!

Thanks to Oni Press, Warner Bros., and Superfan Promotions for sharing this preview with us.

 

About Oni Press


Founded in 1997, Oni Press has a 25-year history as one of the industry’s most respected and acclaimed publishers of award-winning comic books and graphic novels with titles including Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim, K. O’Neill’s Tea Dragon Society, Cullen Bunn & Brian Hurtt's The Sixth Gun, Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer, Ezra Clayton Daniels' Upgrade Soul, Brenna Thummler’s Sheets trilogy, and many hundreds more. In 2019, Oni Press merged with Lion Forge Comics – the Eisner Award-winning independent comic book publisher founded by Academy Award-winning producer and entrepreneur David Steward II – to create one of the largest, independent libraries of comics content anywhere in media. The Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group now exists as a publishing subsidiary of Steward’s diversified global media company, Polarity.


The Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group publishes more than 60 original and licensed graphic novels annually, in addition to an extensive list of periodical comics.


About Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products (WBDGCP)


Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products (WBDGCP), part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Revenue & Strategy division, extends the company’s powerful portfolio of entertainment brands and franchises into the lives of fans around the world. WBDGCP partners with best-in-class licensees globally on award-winning toy, fashion, home décor and publishing programs inspired by the biggest franchises from Warner Bros.’ film, television, animation, and games studios, HBO, Discovery, DC, Cartoon Network, HGTV, Eurosport, Adult Swim, and more. With innovative global licensing and merchandising programs, retail initiatives, and promotional partnerships, WBDGCP is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world. 


ADVENTURE TIME and all related characters and elements © & ™ Cartoon Network. (s25)

 







 

Return To Skull Island #1 Review

 


Writer: Simon Furman

Artist: Christopher Jones

Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff

Letterer: Andworld Design

Editor: Louis Yamani

Designer: Dan Bura

Cover Artists: Inhyuk Lee & Chris Jones

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: July 9, 2025

 

Charlie was supposed to go to college. Instead, he helped his father pursue his dreams. Now, the natives hold Charlie at spearpoint. While Kong battles a Kraken, the islanders bind his wrists and ankles and drag him along the ground. Charlie tries talking with them, but if they understand him, they don't answer. When they reach their village, the warriors toss Charlie at their chieftain’s feet. How did Charlie get here? And what will Kaia do to Charlie? Let's grab our weapons, leap into Return To Skull Island #1, and see!

 

Story

Validating his beliefs of Hollow Earth meant everything to Cap. So, when he went on this mission, Charlie accompanied him. Charlie got separated from his father. Then, fate prompts Charlie to provoke a fight between Kong and Kraken. When the village chief asks Charlie if he's sorry, Charlie explains that he did so to save his friends. But Annie and Mike can’t return the favor as Kaia orders the natives to bind Charlie to a wooden platform.

 

Return To Skull Island #1 follows Charlie’s ordeal among the natives. As he hangs above the chasm, Simon Furman interweaves past and present to summarize how Charlie got here. The story's point of view switches to the camp where Cap, Mike, and Annie are. Then, it follows Cap's search for his missing son.

 

There’s more going on than Charlie’s contretemps with the natives in Return To Skull Island #1. In provoking a fight between Kong and the Kraken, Charlie risks Kong getting injured or killed. Kaia and the islanders live in fear of this happening. They revere Kong because he keeps them safe. Worse creatures than the Kraken inhabit the Hollow Earth. Without Kong to protect them, who knows what would take his place?

 

Art

Christopher Jones opens Return To Skull Island #1 with a splash page showing Charlie in trouble. Then, he celebrates Kong's battle with the Kraken with a two-page spread. Thereafter, the irregularly shaped panels that fill the pages enhance the story's savage, prehistoric appeal. The natives have cobbled their village together with what nature provided and wreckage from the surface world. Giant birds and creatures populate this island. While some are readily recognizable, Annie's "dog" takes nods from apes and lions. Yet it evokes the same feelings as Aang's sky bison Appa in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

 

Charlie Kirchoff contributes bright colors to this jungle island. While Kong seems closer to us with his brown fur, the bright blue Kraken seems alien by comparison. Kaia's short red cape provides a link with another animal that helps Humans survive in this savage land. As the natives strap Charlie down on a greenish-beige bamboo platform, Charlie relives past events in muted tones or sepia colors. The brown skulls adorning the surrounding pillars hint at Charlie's future if he doesn't pass their test.

 

Andworld Design fills white dialogue balloons and beige narrative boxes with delicate italicized black letters. The letters grow bold for intonation and swell for raised voices. Creatures roar and squawk as larger colored words in dialogue balloons. Sound effects accompany battles that could change the future of Skull Island. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

As Humans, we tend to think of ourselves as the dominant species. Our impressive cities, technologies, and the interconnected systems that unite people across the planet make us feel like we’re in control. Return To Skull Island #1 reminds us how little we know about other people and that an unexpected event (a car accident, an illness, or a kaiju rising from the ocean) can strip away our illusion of control. 

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To look inside and view other covers see my preview of Return To Skull Island #1


Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring #4 Preview

 

Cover A: Jessica Fong

 

The last issue left Solomon abandoned and dying after the lizard men's attack. Can Solomon recover to patch things up with Diamanta Bensaid? And can Rolando Zarza, Nico Cassani, and Mbondu help Diamanta rescue her father? Here's all the info:


SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING #4

Writer & Artist: Patrick Zircher

Colorists: Patrick Zircher & Peter Pantazis

Letterers: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith

Cover Artists: Jessica Fong, James Castillo & Patrick Zircher

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $4.99 

Publication Date: July 9, 2025 

 

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ZIRCHER!
FINAL PART OF THE HIT MINI-SERIES!


Kane battles from the Barbary Coast; across Southern Europe, to the canals of Venice, as a band of rogues forms around him in their quest for the fabled Serpent Ring of Set! It's the much-anticipated return of Solomon Kane from Patrick Zircher (Superman, Iron Man, Savage Avengers, Moon Knight)! 

 

As a special bonus, this final issue includes a one-page interview with Patrick Zircher. 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:


 


 


 


Note: The FOC Cover will be a virgin cover of Jessica Fong's Cover A. 

Here are the other covers available:

 

Cover B: James Castillo

 

Cover C: Patrick Zircher

 

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us.

To check out Patrick Zircher's new Conan and Valeria story, see my preview of The Savage Sword of Conan #9

Death Sentence: The Complete Collection Review


 


Writer: Monty Nero

Artists: Mike Dowling, Martin Simmonds & Monty Nero

Letterer: Jimmy Betancourt

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $49.99

Release Date: July 1, 2025

 

Sex can be many things. At its best, it celebrates love. But people also barter sex in the hopes of securing love. For many, it is a form of pleasure or diversion. At its worst, people use sex to dominate others. Even in the healthiest relationships, sex can spark infections or transmit disease.

 

Still, diseases can clarify what we want in life. They can bring us closer to the people we care about. Some can even attack the pleasure centers in our brains, making us happier while killing us. What happens when a sexually transmitted disease (STD) gives us superpowers? How might it change the world? Let’s leap into Death Sentence: The Complete Collection and find out!

 

Story

Verity Fette seeks love in an endless cycle of relationships. But she's always too self-absorbed to make them work. When her counselor asks what she wants to do with the rest of her life, Verity doesn’t have a plan. She knows the G+ virus will kill her. It’s time to figure out what she wants in the months she has left.

 

When the Whatevers broke up, Daniel Waissel continued as a solo artist. But the cult phenom struggles without his former bandmates in Death Sentence: The Complete Collection. His record label hopes the G+ virus can enhance his musical abilities and repay their investment in him.

 

David Montgomery enjoys a life of wealth and fame. The crowds adore him. “Monty” has successfully transitioned from a standup comedian to a movie star. He enjoys money and fame while using the G+ virus to manipulate others.

 

In Death Sentence: The Complete Collection, the Department of National Security tracks people with exceptionally high G+ ratings. When Weasel's powers manifest, the authorities realize they should have brought him in earlier. He explores life in a secret facility where they house patients with exceptionally high G+ ratings. The government hopes to learn how G+ enhances people like Weasel and Verity. But they miss Monty. And his inflated ego, boosted by years of despising his audience, fills him with the need to control others.

 

In Monty Nero's story, the G+ virus enhances a person's life in unexpected ways. For most, it boosts their existing abilities. But the virus endows a few with superpowers. The government wonders about the superhumans' appetite for destruction. With G+ slowly infecting the world, lying dormant for months or years to avoid detection, another Black Death seems unavoidable.

 

Art

Mike Dowling employs a traditional comic style to reveal Verity’s inner turmoil and Weasel’s struggle for a breakthrough. While the Rock and Roll lifestyle involves groupies, Monty fills his evenings with orgies. Amid the explicit sex and violence, Verity receives a plush apartment on a beautiful island. Weasel's ability to phase through solid objects leads to manslaughter. And Monty becomes the Scanner that David Cronenberg warned us about.

 

Martin Simmonds gives a lush, painted look to the second series of stories in Death Sentence: The Complete Collection. After helping save the world, Verity Fette roams the streets as Artgirl. She foils crimes with holograms of surprising beauty. The crowds follow Weasel, who enjoys the street festivals. But when he seeks solace, he glows as he uses his Kitty Pryde-like abilities to burrow through the dark crust of our planet. As superheroes like Artgirl encourage anarchy in the UK, Mayor Tony Bronson rages in London's City Hall. Bronson's unrestrained hair frames his wild features as he insists that he calls the shots. And in the UK government's fractured state, Bronson can declare martial law.

 

Monty Nero takes over art duties in the final chapters of Death Sentence: The Complete Collection. Monty Nero’s traditional penciling and coloring portray the characters amid realistic settings. Nudity, always obscured under Simmonds' watch, occasionally returns. But by now, the focus of Death Sentence: The Complete Collection has shifted from how the virus is transmitted and the ways people couple sex with domination. Costumed superheroes appear as a woman with a green thumb becomes a hellraiser. And on a remote island, an undercover agent investigates what Britain's Department of National Security is doing with all the G+ data they have collected.

 

Jimmy Betancourt fills dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with uppercase and lowercase letters. Font size varies, while volume swells letters, and emotions deform balloons. Sound effects amplify this story about the delicate balance of society, while white letters in black boxes conclude each issue with a quote inviting contemplation. Essays on the characters and situations reveal observers' reactions to how superpowered people are changing the world order. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Terrorism isn't always about politics or money. People manipulate loved ones out of fear. Superpowers only enhance people’s ability to hurt and terrorize others. In Death Sentence: The Complete Collection, Britain becomes ground zero for a devastating attack from an unlikely terrorist. The rising pandemic empowers the poor and disadvantaged. Heroes arise while politicians scramble for control as governments realize that another arms race has begun.

 

Rating 9/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Death Sentence: The Complete Collection

Monday, July 7, 2025

Symbiote Studios Brings Exclusive Transformers & First-Looks to SDCC 2025

 

Transformers fans: this stuffed Snarl can be yours! Plus, more Transformers fun awaits you at this month's San Diego Comic-Con! Here's all the info from Symbiote Studios:

 


Symbiote Studios Brings Exclusive Transformers & First-Looks to San Diego Comic-Con 2025

 

Symbiote Studios, the global leader in original and licensed plush toys, today unveiled its plans for San Diego Comic-Con 2025, taking place July 23–27. Known for its high-quality plush toys that bring everyone’s favorite characters to life, Symbiote Studios is set to make its booth (#5629) a must-visit destination on the convention floor.

 

Symbiote Studios will debut several new, officially licensed limited edition Transformers plush toys exclusive to San Diego Comic-Con, available only in their booth while supplies last.

 

Pictured above: 

Snarl: Continuing Symbiote Studios’ set of the iconic Transformers Dinobots alongside Grimlock, Sludge and Slug, the Snarl plush toy highlights this character’s iconic black head G2 design and is packed with details. [$29.99]

 

Now, how about more Transformers plushie madness?

 


 

Laserbeak Magnetic Plush: Fans looking to show off their love of Transformers around San Diego Comic-Con won’t want to miss the Laserbeak magnetic plush. This Decepticon plush includes a magnetic attachment on its base that allows it to sit securely on your shoulder or even on your refrigerator at home! [$24.99]

 

In addition to exclusive plush toys for purchase at the Symbiote Studios booth, a selection of never-before-seen Transformers and My Little Pony plushes will be on display, revealing their designs to the public for the first time. Each of these first look plush toys will launch later this year.

 


 

Back by popular demand, the Catnip Bravo costume character will return to the Symbiote Studios booth to meet with fans in a themed photo experience. Plus, attendees can test their luck in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with Catnip Bravo himself, with winners walking away with a special prize.

 

Keep up to date on everything happening at Symbiote Studios through its official website or by following on YouTube, Instagram TikTok and X to browse and purchase plush toys, enjoy Catnip Bravo comics and watch videos that bring the quality and joy of every Symbiote Studios plush toy to life. Symbiote Studios products are also available through Amazon and Walmart

 

Thanks to Symbiote Studios for sharing this news with us.