Rick And Morty Vs The Universe: Summer Of Love #1 Cover Preview

 

COVER A BY DAVE BARDIN

This is a wacky treat with fun, imaginative art! If you've never watched Rick And Morty, this one-shot welcomes first time readers into their storytelling universe. The story's tone is similar to The Simpsons and South Park. And while the story takes the humor to the extreme, Daniel Kibblesmith and Jody Houser urge us to celebrate our uniqueness. Here's all the info from Oni Press:

 

RICK AND MORTY VS. THE UNIVERSE: SUMMER OF LOVE #1 (ONE-SHOT)

WRITTEN BY DANIEL KIBBLESMITH & JODY HOUSER ART BY PHIL MURPHY COVER A BY DAVE BARDIN COVER B BY PHIL MURPHY INTERLOCKING VARIANT (1:10) BY FLOPS EVENT VARIANT (1:20) BY TOM FOWLER PRIME VARIANT (1:50) BY TROY LITTLE A RICK AND MORTY VS. THE UNIVERSE TIE-IN EXTRAVAGANZA! Get your tiny tiara on, because universal destructors Daniel Kibblesmith (Loki) & Jody Houser (Stranger Things) are teaming up with artist Phil Murphy (Star Trek vs. Transformers) to send Summer rocketing into a Smith family crisis with cosmic implications! Rick and Morty are doing their bachelor party thing with Prime Universe, so Summer decides to throw her own bachelorette shindig for Parmesan! No naughty gummies or pennysaver strippers here—Summer will throw a bachelorette party to remember, complete with debauchery, violence, and destruction! Hey, gurl, hey, this will end well! (News flash: It won’t.) ON SALE AUGUST 6th, 2025 | $4.99 | 32 PGS. | FC   Here are other cover options:   COVER B BY PHIL MURPHY           INTERLOCKING VARIANT (1:10) BY FLOPS

PRIME VARIANT (1:50) BY TROY LITTLE

 

EVENT VARIANT (1:20) BY TOM FOWLER

Thanks to Oni Press and Superfan Promotions for sharing this cover preview with us.

The Voice Said Kill #1 Review

 

Writer: Si Spurrier

Artist: Vanesa Del Rey

Colorist: John Starr

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Graphic Designer: Emma Price

Editor: Eric Harburn

Cover Artists: Vanesa Del Rey, Christian Ward & Tula Lotay

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: July 23, 2025

 

A man wanders through the swamp. Plants and trees close in from all sides. Covered in blood, he crouches in the muddy water to drink from an ornate flask. His bloody knife rests in a mushroom-covered tree root. Yet as he walks through the trees, the clouds part, heralding a new day. Who is this wounded man? And why is he bathed in blood? Let’s leap into The Voice Said Kill #1 and see!

 

Story

Sergeant Marie Burgau is holding down the fort. It’s not that the other agents at the Corbeaumort Wildlife Management Area office don’t want to help. But every time they try to leave their homes, they can’t reach their vehicles without growing violently ill. It all started at an office barbecue. While everyone was living it up, Marie was being cautious, being with child and all. When things got out of hand, Marie sent the rest of the team home. But some of them landed in the hospital with food poisoning. It's just as well, Marie took it easy and didn’t eat or drink anything that might upset her stomach.

 

In The Voice Said Kill #1, Marie hopes for a quiet week. It starts like a sad routine, with Mr Norris bailing out the Watters boys. Then Mrs Watters summons her. The uncrowned swampland queen plays the Wildlife agency game. She pays the fines when agents catch her sons and employees poaching. In return, Mrs Watters wants Marie to find one of her sons.

 

Si Spurrier delves into dark waters in The Voice Said Kill #1. Marie is alone and suffering. She struggles with morning sickness, worries about carrying her child safely to term, and quickly grows fatigued. But Marie can't just sit in the office all day. She must respond to requests from her state dispatcher. Marie also has an ex-convict to find. Buck has a violent history, and he is off his meds. And while most of Mrs Watters' workers may spend a night or two in the Corbeaumort Wildlife office’s holding cells, Buck blames the “trash with badges” for sending him to jail.

 

Art

Vanesa Del Rey presents the immensity of the wilderness that Marie and her crew must oversee. The tall, dense foliage offers ample opportunities to hide. The art suggests the toll the rustic setting and the humid air take on its inhabitants. Mrs Watters rules her commercial empire from her RV. Smoke from her cigarette wafts across pages, framing panels, and portraying her majesty and Marie from different angles. But Vanesa Del Rey keeps the camera moving in loosely drawn pages that immerse us in Marie’s daily dilemmas.

 

John Starr weaves a captivating spell over this wonderland of wildlife, where people skate the rules defining legal activity. Textured surfaces show the dirt and grime that invades vehicles and buildings. Bold streaks of sunlight enliven Mrs Watter’s blonde hair, linking her with Buck’s gold, catlike eyes, and the mushrooms adorning the thick aerial roots. The blood covering Buck appears more magenta than crimson. Teal, purple, blue, and pink bring the jungle to life as a mentally ill man seeks revenge on his enemies in The Voice Said Kill #1.

 

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou places lowercase letters in roughly shaped boxes and spherical balloons. Words grow bold and uppercase for emphasis and shrink for lowered or distant voices. Strong reactions deform dialogue balloons, while the sounds of sickness fill splotches. Sound effects help us hear Mrs Watters punishing her personnel and a barbaric barrage in the bayou. Thanks to Image Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Forced into an impossible situation, a Wildlife Management agent faces an additional dilemma while struggling to perform routine tasks. The Voice Said Kill #1 portrays how the demands of motherhood change women and the thankless task of enforcing rules that most people don't care about.

 

Rating 9/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Exploring the DC Booth at San Diego Comic-Con

 

The DC Comics booth invited visitors of all ages to discover everything the home of Superman and Batman had to offer.

 

 

While Superman gives a driver a lift, and Gotham's dynamic duo swings action, a mural portrayed the richness and diversity of the DC Universe.

 

 

Visitors discovered how they could protect the DCU on their personal gaming devices.

 

 

Always hungry for more, they made every effort to deplete DC Comics of their vast inventory.

 

 Still, the staff remained ready to serve.

 

 

And after making their purchases, and watching Superman battle his enemies, the Daily Planet ensured the fans had plenty to read. Way to go, Lois Lane! 

Cruel Universe Vol 2 #1 Cover Preview

 

COVER A BY LEE BERMEJO

This is a super debut, with three new stories and an old EC reprint. The stories speak to our need for compassion, and our yearning to connect with others. The art is beautiful, with vibrant colors, and easy-to-read print. If you're a science fiction fan, check this issue out this coming Wednesday!

Here's all the info from Oni Press:

CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #1 (OF 12)

WRITTEN BY J. HOLTHAM, ANN NOCENTI & GREG PAK ART BY CHARLIE ADLARD, KANO & DAVID RUBÍN COVER A BY LEE BERMEJO COVER B BY TOM FOWLER GOLD FOIL VARIANT ($8.99) BY LEE BERMEJO COVER D BLANK SKETCH VARIANT EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY ALBERT MONTEYS B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:20) BY TOM FOWLER ARCHIVE EDITION (1:50) BY MALACHI WARD SQUA TRONT VARIANT (1:100) BY LIAM SHARP WITH TOM FOWLER AT THE STAR-LINED EDGES OF INFINITY, EC COMICS’ SCI-FI SMASH HIT RETURNS TO DRAW MORE WORLDS INTO THE MAW OF ITS GRAVITATIONAL VORTEX WITH AN ALL-NEW AND UNRELENTING 12-ISSUE MAXI-SERIES! Whether future or past, Earth or a distant world, no man can outrun the infinite singularity within us all: FEAR! Join this doomed expedition into the cold, unforgiving galaxies beyond our own as nihilistic navigators Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), J. Holtham (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss), Kano (Immortal Iron Fist), Ann Nocenti (Daredevil), David Rubín (Sherlock Frankenstein), and Greg Pak (Planet Hulk) smash the laws of science . . . and splice the immortal EC Comics genome into a new bred of parasitic extraterrestrial tales with an endless appetite for pain! Plus, as an added bonus: A nerve-rending science-fiction classic from the EC vaults, painstakingly remastered and newly restored to its original coloring! BEYOND SPACE, BEYOND OBLIVION... There is something vast, unsympathetic, and envious that yearns to consume us all in this CRUEL UNIVERSE! Let’s make it work for it, shall we? ON SALE AUGUST 6th 2025 | $4.99 | 40 PGS. | FC

Here are more cover options:

 

COVER B BY TOM FOWLER

 

GOLD FOIL VARIANT ($8.99) BY LEE BERMEJO

 

COVER D BLANK SKETCH VARIANT

EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY ALBERT MONTEYS

 

B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:20) BY TOM FOWLER

 

ARCHIVE EDITION (1:50) BY MALACHI WARD

 

SQUA TRONT VARIANT (1:100) BY LIAM SHARP WITH TOM FOWLER

Thanks to Oni Press for sharing this hugely enjoyable issue and cover preview with us.

 

Ancestral Recall #1 Preview

 

 

During the Ahoy Comics panel at San Diego Comic-Con, writer Jordan Clark asserted that his imaginative series would be grounded in historical events. His enthusiasm for his upcoming series was obvious, as was his gratitude to Ahoy for publishing it. While the series is currently slated to end in five issues, he clearly hopes Ahoy will make it an ongoing. 

Here's all the info from Ahoy Comics: 

 

ANCESTRAL RECALL #1

Writer: Jordan Clark 

Artist: Atagun İlhan

Cover A: Atagun İlhan $4.99

Cover B: Khary Randolph $4.99 (1:3 unlock)

Release Date: August 6, 2025

Black History: For painter Melvin Waring, it’s an actual super power! When Melvin’s wife mysteriously disappears, he must call on the most important Black figures of all time to help him in his search. This is a gripping new saga from two Milestone Initiative members: writer Jordan Clark (Aquaman, Star Wars Adventures) and artist Atagun İlhan (Poison Ivy, Milestone Universe: The Shadow Cabinet). The series uses science fiction and comedy to explore the importance of Black history, the connections between the past and present, and learning to push through difficult life changes. Issue #1 of the five-issue series will feature an A cover by Atagun İlhan, as well as a B cover by Khary Randolph, and be published on August 6, 2025.

"As Black history is literally being erased all around us, ANCESTRAL RECALL feels like an urgent call to not just preserve it but celebrate the links between our past present and future,” said writer Jordan Clark. “Melvin's journey takes readers through time and space and introduces them to figures who are rarely seen in history books such as Jean-Louis Michel, the greatest swordsman of the 17th century and Cheryl Linn Glass, the first Black woman race car driver. The series is my love letter to those who paved the way and hopefully an affirmation for us here in the now."

Melvin Warring is a famed abstract painter, known for some groundbreaking work in the late 80s, who now lives a reclusive life in East Oakland with his wife and business manager June. One day as he’s picking up June’s prescription after her hip surgery a force suddenly overcomes Melvin, displacing him from time itself. Meanwhile Myran Kang, Melvin and June’s preteen nextdoor neighbor, has noticed a string of disappearances: a few unhoused people who normally set up in the park, some people at her grandmother's nursing home, a few of the bus drivers on her normal route... She has a feeling it’s more than a coincidence but can’t get anyone to listen to her — until June disappears too. As Melvin and Myran dig deeper into the mystery, Melvin finds he’s literally able to tap into the power of Black history when under duress and access the knowledge and abilities of Black people throughout time — everyone from writers and musicians to sword fighters and acrobats, transforming Black history into an actual super power. Will it be enough for Melvin and Myran to discover and disrupt the plans of the mysterious organization disappearing people and find a way to bring them back?

AHOY Comics is a Syracuse-based publisher dedicated to satirizing horror, space opera, social satire, sword & sorcery, and superhero stories with critically acclaimed titles like THE TOXIC AVENGER by Matt Bors and Fred Harper, BABS by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows, SECOND COMING by Mark Russell and Richard Pace, and many more.

“ANCESTRAL RECALL is one part Everything Everywhere All At Once and one part Don Quixote,” said series editor Sarah Litt. “And it’s two parts funny. Jordan and Atagun have created a surreal, mystical, charming powerhouse of a comic that will make you laugh, cry, travel through time, and reckon with the power of Black history in each stunning panel.”

 

Now, let's take a look inside: 

 

 

 

 Here is another cover:

 

For more updates on AHOY Comics, visit them on X, Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram. 

 

About AHOY Comics

AHOY Comics debuted in the fall of 2018 with the bold promise for readers to expect more from its line of comic book magazines, featuring comic book stories, poetry, prose fiction, and cartoons. Brainchild of publisher Hart Seely, editor-in-chief Tom Peyer, CCO Frank Cammuso, and Ops guy Stuart Moore, the Syracuse-based indie publisher has made its reputation on witty satires, acclaimed creators, and commitment to bold and risk-taking storytelling — with critically acclaimed titles such as THE TOXIC AVENGER by Matt Bors and Fred Harper, SECOND COMING by Mark Russell and Richard Pace, BABS by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows, HOWL by Alisa Kwitney and Mauricet, THE WRONG EARTH by Tom Peyer and Jamal Igle, JUSTICE WARRIORS by Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson, the quirky monster anthology PROJECT: CRYPTID, and many more.

About the creators

Jordan Clark has been writing comics for over a decade, with work most recently being published by DC Comics and past stories at IDW, Image Comics and Dynamite Comics. He was also selected as an inaugural member of the Milestone Initiative at DC Comics, which is geared towards uplifting a new generation of comic creators of color. He believes fiction has the power to imagine a better world and aims to tell stories that allow readers to imagine themselves in that better future.

Atagun İlhan is a seasoned illustrator who works primarily in sequential art, fantasy art, and book illustration. He was born in Turkey and graduated with a BFA in Animation. He pursued an MFA in Illustration at Syracuse University and is a graduate of DC Comics’ Milestone Initiative program.

 

Thanks to Ahoy Comics and Superfan Promotions for sharing this preview with us. 

 

 

Kodansha House: Submissions Are Open

 

At the Viz Originals panel at San Diego Comic-Con, former weekly Shonen Jump editor-in-chief Hisashi Sasaki and Viz Executive Editor offered a mini-course on how to create and submit manga one-shots. Both insisted that they were always looking for new writers and artists. If you're a creator and you love manga, then Kodansha House also wants to hear from you! 

To submit your work, and see what manga and anime they produce, visit kodanshahouse.com. 

Who knows? One day I might review your story! (Make it super-fun so I can rave about it!)

The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1 Review

 

Writer, Artist, Letterer & Cover Artist: Otis Frampton

Colorists: Otis Frampton, Tracy Bailey & Kate Frampton

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $12.99

Release Date: July 23, 2025

 

Ojo loves his uncle, even if Unc Nunkie doesn’t talk much. But the boy also enjoys eating, and his uncle’s cupboards are bare. Only half a loaf remains on the dining table. And as Drax the Destroyer and Gamora might confirm, the bread growing outside isn’t ripe yet. No one needs to starve in Oz. But if Ojo and Unc Nunkie want food, they must go out and find it. Can Ojo convince his uncle to embark on a journey? Let’s leap into The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1 and see!

 

Story

Ojo has lived with his uncle for as long as he can remember. Dense woods surround their home, and a mountain rises in the distance. But there's no one nearby to interact with, and his uncle rarely responds with more than one word. Ojo wonders what the world is like beyond their home in Munchkin County. His uncle has mentioned a family that lives on the mountain. Perhaps Doctor Pipt and his wife Margolotte could give them some food.

 

In Otis Frampton’s adaptation of L Frank Baum’s novel, Nunkie’s life is complete. But while he loves his uncle, Ojo feels confined by their seclusion. The boy yearns to explore the world, and their bare cupboards confirm his need to leave. In The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1, Ojo's world becomes a brighter place when he meets Doctor Pipt and Margolotte. The boy also meets their cat. Bungle is a glass cat that Dr Pipt brought to life. When Ojo and his uncle arrive, Doctor Pipt is on the verge of creating another marvel. The crooked magician hopes to give his wife a break from cooking and cleaning by bringing a patchwork girl to life.

 

Margolotte excels as a housewife. Yet in The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1, she disdains her duties and culinary creations. Because of his love for her, Doctor Pipt spends six years stirring four pots of ingredients to save Margolotte from doing what she does best. Like Unc Nunkie, Doctor Pipt sacrifices what he wants to make the person he loves happy.

 

Art

Unc Nunkie insists that they are rich because they have a cozy round cottage. Like his nephew, Nunkie doesn’t smile as he stares at the trees outside, the half-finished loaf on the table, or the fire Ojo makes in the fireplace. Yet as they start along a brick road wearing their tall hats, their mood lightens. Ojo and his uncle navigate steep mountain paths, stone bridges over rivers and waterfalls, and crossroads cutting through the woods. By the time they reach the cluster of round buildings that make up Doctor Pipt and Margolotte’s home, Nunkie and Ojo are smiling.

 

While much of Munchkin County is blue, Otis Frampton, Tracy Bailey, and Kate Frampton imbue The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1 with all the colors of life. After taking them to a purple room where Pipt stirs four pots of yellow liquid with his hands and feet, Margolotte leads the travelers past a window revealing the serene beauty outside. Wood tones imbue the room with warmth, linking Nunkie’s cane with his friend through Pipt’s furniture. Yet the top shelf of a case filled with stoppered blue glass jars with gold labels has Brain Furniture carved into the brown wood.

 

Otis Frampton fills white dialogue balloons with uppercase letters that grow bold for intonation and occasionally shrink for lowered voices or distance. Words enlarge for emotion and elevated voices, such as when a bird heralds the travelers, or Bungle seeks attention. Unc Nunkie speaks one larger, typed lowercase word into each balloon. Sound effects are rare until the Patchwork Girl speaks crowded uppercase words that swell and change color. Then objects fall and crash, music notes flow through the air, and the vividly colored girl discovers how she differs from Munchkins like Ojo. Thanks to Image Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

The Munchins inhabit a magical land. When Ojo meets a cat made of glass, the boy doesn’t blink. Nor is Ojo surprised when a magician brings a fabric doll to life. Unlike her new friends, the fabric doll proves fearless. The girl sewn from a crazy quilt shares her enthusiasm and wonder with Ojo and everyone she meets in The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For cover art from individual issues see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Cult of the Lamb: Schism Special #1 Announcement

 

CULT OF THE LAMB SCHISM SPECIAL #1 COVER A BY PEACH MOMOKO

This was another upcoming book publisher Hunter Gorinson and Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn announced at the Oni Press panel at San Diego Comic-Con. The special issue expands on their earlier series, and reminds us of the importance of taking responsibility for our actions. Here's all the info:

 

Praise The Lamb Because Cult of the Lamb is Back at Oni!

Oni, In partnership with Massive Monster and Devolver Digital, are thrilled to announce the return of one of the global video game phenomenon that inspired one of the year’s biggest comics hits in the CULT OF THE LAMB: SCHISM SPECIAL #1 – coming to comic shops everywhere in October! In the cataclysmic fallout of CULT OF THE LAMB: THE FIRST VERSE… At long last… The record-setting comic book expansion of CULT OF THE LAMB returns in a powerful new, 48-page special – perfect for longtime acolytes and new readers alike –  from acclaimed writer Alex Paknadel (Astonishing X-Men) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Troy Little (Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons)! 

In the aftermath of their first and closest follower’s sacrifice, Lamb continues the bloody quest to defeat the Bishops of the Old Faith, but they lack the conviction to tend their growing flock back at the cult. More potential followers are rescued by the day, but with no one to indoctrinate them, Lamb’s power stagnates and The One Who Waits becomes weary of his earthly vessel’s resistance to the full power and responsibility of the Red Crown. When famine strikes the cult, a challenger to Lamb’s mantle emerges, and a new struggle begins . . .

Read more at IGN.

 

Thanks to Oni Press for sharing this announcement with us. 

 

 

 

 

 

Caesar's Spy Vol 1 Preview

 

Max Von Fafner's art in The Savage Sword of Conan #1 helped launch Titan Comics' new series in fine style. Here's some of his early work. Let's see what he and writer Jean-Pierre Pecau got up to! 

 

CAESAR'S SPY VOL. 1

Author: Jean-Pierre Pecau

Artist: Max Von Fafner

Publisher: Titan Comics

HC, 192 pages, FC, $24.99

ISBN: 9781787746978

On sale September 9, 2025

 

Ancient Rome has never been so visceral! Experience the ruthlessness of the coliseum in this revenge plot between a warrior and a king.

 

From famed French writer Jean-Pierre Pecau and iconic Savage Sword of Conan illustrator Max Von Fafner.

 

With a burning vengeance at the heart of his story, one man will climb the pits of the coliseum to satiate his wrath.

 

In Rome during the last days of the republic, a warrior from Gaul with a terrible desire for revenge links his destiny to Julius Caesar by becoming his spy.

 

When the Gallic mercenary Coax takes a Roman as hostage demanding ransom against his liberation, he hasn’t yet realised that he had kidnapped the young Caius Julius Caesar. Caesar doesn’t take long to seek revenge when the two men meet again. With Coax imprisoned to be sold as a slave and then as a gladiator.

 

But as fortune has it, Coax is offered the opportunity of becoming Caesar’s spy, a mercenary fit to be the gladius of the emperor.

 

From writer Jean-Pierre Pecau and artist Max Von Fafner, Caesar’s Spy tells the epic of a spy’s battle to overcome the most notorious ruler of ancient Rome.

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-order now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and Forbidden Planet for the UK. 

 

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us.