DC’s Zatannic Panic! #1 Preview

 

 

Her father was one of DC's earliest characters. Giovanni Zatara was a stage magician and superhero who sacrificed himself to save his daughter's life. This anthology begins by showing how deeply Zatanna cherishes her father's memory. How much more will it reveal about the heroes she fights alongside, and the villains they battle?

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

DC’s Zatannic Panic! #1

Writers: Daniel Warren Johnson, Roberto Recchioni, Andrew MacLean, Lyndon Radchenka, Callie C Miller, Rowan MacColl & Cavan Scott

Artists: Riley Rossmo, Gigi Cavenago, Andrew MacLean, John McCrea, Rowan MacColl & Don Aguillo

Cover Artists: Lee Bermejo, Daniel Warren Johnson & Sean “Raiko” Tay

Publisher: DC Commics

Price: $9.99

Issue Length: 80 Pages

Release Date: October 1, 2025

 

A haunting anthology to usher in the Halloween season!

 

Spooky stories for terrifying times, featuring bone-chilling tales from some of comics’ most fearsome fabulists and harrowing artists! With spine-tingling shorts starring Batman, Ambush Bug, Raven, The Demon, Plastic Man, Swamp Thing, and, of course, the Mistress of Magic herself, Zatanna, as they summon spirits and struggle against the supernatural!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

Gwenpool #5 Review

 

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Stefano Nesi

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Chad Hardin & Edgar Delgado

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 3, 2025

 

Gwendolyn Poole was a Marvel superfan who relocated to Earth-616. But after decluttering her homeworld of alien space-dragons, Dark Gwenpool killed her. As possession is nine-tenths of survival, Gwenpool starts possessing our heroes to pursue the mystery behind Gwen Stacy’s apparent rebirth.

 

The Great Architect claimed Dark Gwenpool was the better, stronger, and faster Gwen Stacy. But when Dark Gwenpool exhumed Gwen Stacy’s coffin, she found a skeleton inside. If Dark Gwenpool isn’t Gwen Stacy, then who is she?

 

Gwenpool thinks she has the answer. All this grievous Gwenness centers around Peter's love for Gwen Stacy. Will Dark Gwenpool help Dead Gwenpool carry out her plan? Or will the Great Architect hit Gwenpool with a proton blaster and imprison her in a ghost trap? Let's grab a bowl of split pea soup, leap into Gwenpool #5, and see!

 

Story

Dark Gwenpool is coming home, and she's got souvenirs from her trip to the big city. She claims she's killed Spider-Man, Kate Bishop, and Jeff the Land Shark. But the Great Architect isn't putting his presents on display. Nor does he give her a new set of clothes and order his servants to prepare a feast. Instead, he claims that Dark Gwenpool is a party-pooper. So Gwenpool does another possession-intercession to see if she can't turn the Great Architect's frown upside-down.

 

In Gwenpool #5, Gwendolyn Poole seeks to understand what drives the Great Architect. What she discovers is a man in pain. After years of struggle, he got a shot at greatness. But instead of working with others and encouraging them to give their best, he sought to control and manipulate them. When they decide not to be his tools and start playing by their own rules, the “Great” Architect claims they’ve ruined his grand plan. 

 

Gwenpool thought this was all about Peter Parker. Instead, she realizes that it's about each of them. Dark Gwenpool can remain what the Great Architect created her to be. Or she can become something more. Even the Ghostess With The Mostest discovers that she’s got options in Gwenpool #5. Her future isn’t limited to fading away or eking out the centuries in an Ecto-Containment System.

 

Art

Stefano Nesi shows that Dark Gwenpool is only one of the Great Architect's experiments in Weapon X Facility: Beta. As Dark Gwenpool plunks a bow and a mask on a table, workers hurry down corridors, gather to confer, and study a viewscreen. Chemists study boiling yellow liquid in test tubes and round-bottom flasks. Green smoke frames a pink, vaporous apparition. Yet Dark Gwenpool collapses when the Great Architect presses a control on his glove.

 

While Stefano Nesi compares the Great Architect’s emotional pain with Dark Gwenpool’s physical suffering, Matt Milla fills Gwenpool #5 with vibrant colors. Purple shadows echo Dark Gwenpool’s suit, while Jeff’s gray-white tooth foretells X-31’s blades. While the gray-white emphasizes death, it also points toward Gwenpool’s future. The Great Architect's red gloves and boots link him with Dark Gwenpool's ravaged features. But amid Gwenpool’s search for the Great Architect’s purpose, the red X on his shoulders and face echo an unpopular answer in this found-family feud.

 

Ariana Maher casts uppercase black letters into white and pink balloons and portrays Gwenpool’s off-camera dialogue in pink narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Sound effects multiply as Dark Gwenpool follows her programming, the Great Architect dispassionately inflicts pain, and Kate Bishop trades RVs for arrows. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

As Gwenpool drives this action-packed finale, Cavan Scott addresses how we define ourselves. People often assess their worth in terms of their bodies. Or they treasure memories instead of making new ones. Gwenpool #5 is a rallying cry to forget what we've been, shrug off who others want us to be, and pursue the endless possibilities each day brings.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Gwenpool #4 Review

 

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Stefano Nesi

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Chad Hardin & Edgar Delgado; Rickie Yagawa & Nolan Woodard

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 6, 2025

 

When Spider-Man collapsed in the street, Gwen Stacy tried to help him. Instead, Gwenpool got in the way. Gwen Stacy's training kicked in, and she killed Gwenpool. That should have been the end of it. But like Gwen Stacy, Gwenpool's spirit refuses to go gently into the night.

 

Throughout her life, Gwenpool has circumvented the rules other Marvel characters must follow. After sliding between panels and emerging giant-sized to tackle Fin Fang Foom, Gwenpool possesses Kate Bishop. When Spider-Man thwips Hawkeye’s body to Gwen Stacy’s grave, Gwenpool manifests as a Class 4 ghost. Then, the pink apparition possesses Spider-Man's body. Why didn’t Gwenpool die? And what will her spirit do with Spider-Man’s body? Let's grab a bowl of split pea soup, leap into Gwenpool #4, and see!

 

Story

Gwen Stacy is confused. The Great Architect dubbed her Gwenpool. She preferred the designation X-31. But much has happened since she left the Weapon X facility to hunt down three Deathloks. Gwen begins to question the Great Architect's programming. She remembers her former life. Her love for Peter Parker reconnects her with humanity. As Gwen stands in the city, surrounded by angry and afraid people, she yearns to help them. But Gwen Stacy was reborn to be a killer. That's her new role in life.

 

In Gwenpool #4, Gwendolyn Poole may be a ghost. But she’s stolen Peter Parker’s body. Despite their mutual love for Jeff, Hawkeye won’t let that stand. Long ago, Peter tried to save Gwen. But in arresting her fall, Spider-Man inadvertently killed the woman he loved. Now, Gwenpool inhabits the body of Gwen Stacy’s former boyfriend. And Gwendolyn wants to punish Gwen for turning her into a ghost.

 

Cavan Scott's story is about manipulation. It speaks to the damage people inflict when they try to use people instead of developing the skills and abilities to empower themselves. The Great Architect covers his face because he's just someone who found a way to order others about. He corrupted Gwen Stacy, turning this loving and caring woman into a living weapon.

 

Whether it's the Bloodhunt, the Gang War, or Fin Fang Foom, the rioters have seen their world blow up too many times. In Gwenpool #4, the people retaking the streets symbolize those in our web of relationships. They observe this manipulation, but feel powerless to stop it.  

 

 

 

Art

Stefano Nesi reveals Gwen Stacy's painful rebirth in the Weapon X laboratory. Like Victor Frankenstein, one doctor runs away, horrified by his creation. Gwen gazes up, as if crying out to the divine for letting the scientists turn her into an abomination. When the Great Architect enters, the X on his face symbolizes that his decision, if not the direction of his life, is wrong. The rioters bear his mark on their apparel. Only the X covers images of those who promised to protect them, and failed.

 

Matt Milla paints Stefano Nesi's action-packed, dramatic art with bright and fluorescent colors in Gwenpool #4. Yellow accompanies Gwen's painful rebirth and the mind palace in which she imprisons Peter Parker. Orange links Gwen's destructiveness with the rioters. Purple binds Gwen Stacy and Kate Bishop, two women who have lost a parent they loved. Pink represents the two sides of Gwenpool: the angry side that channels her unique abilities to control others, and the positive side, when she commits to helping those in need.

 

Ariana Maher casts uppercase black letters into white and pink balloons, and white letters into purple narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Sound effects enhance the fighting, Kate Bishop’s reckless driving, and Gwen Stacy’s desperate search for truth. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker’s first love interest. Then the Green Goblin threw her off a bridge. While her body may have died, her spirit lives on. Gwenpool #4 celebrates the rich history of Gwen Stacy, and how generations of fans refuse to let her rest in peace.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Gwenpool #3 Review

 

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Stefano Nesi

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Chad Hardin & Edgar Delgado; Karen S Darboe & Ruth Redmond

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 23, 2025

 

When Gwen Stacy died, it should have been forever. The problem with resurrection is that no matter how glad you are to be alive, you remember who put you in the grave. Resentment threw Gwen into the clutches of the Great Architect. And instead of designing the next Battleworld, the Great Architect transformed Gwen Stacy into Dark Gwenpool. Gwen dislikes the name. She finds her past so distasteful that she prefers to be called X-31. Yet when she meets up with Spider-Man, Gwen’s concern for Peter Parker outweighs her urge to kill him.

 

Gwen and Peter shared a close bond. So, when Gwenpool tries to get between them, Gwen Stacy reacts like the Great Architect trained her. Even if the woman’s name was Gwendolyne Poole, how will Gwen Stacy face killing another version of herself? And can Peter Parker forgive the woman he never stopped loving? Let's grab our swords, leap into Gwenpool #3, and see!

 

Story

The Avengers couldn't defeat Fin Fang Foom. Spider-Man, Hawkeye, and Jeff the Land Shark also failed. So Gwenpool took out the giant dragon that wanted to crack open Earth's shell and feast on its molten core. But instead of celebrating over Shawarma, Gwendolyne Poole rests in peace. None of the Avengers attended her funeral. So, Kate Bishop and Jeff the Land Shark stand vigil as a priest sends Gwendolyne on her final adventure.

 

Still, another person watches in Gwenpool #3. He stands atop a headstone-dotted rise in Mount Olivet Cemetery. Unlike Spider-Man, Kate’s not anxious to know the man dressed in a dark suit standing in the driving rain. And when she climbs the slope, he runs away. But Kate doesn’t need webshooters to unmask him like Spider-Man revealed Dark Gwenpool’s secret identity. As a private investigator, it’s Kate Bishop’s job to uncover hidden clues. Kate knows that, once she confirms her suspicions, she cannot unlearn her colleague's secrets.

 

Cavan Scott’s supernatural mystery hums with fourth-wall-breaking dialogue that made Gwenpool a fan favorite character. But while acknowledging that the Ghostbusters are just a phone call away, Cavan ponders where our spirits go when we die. Cavan Scott also contemplates how death changes us. Some people lock memories away and rarely revisit them. Others barricade themselves against new relationships by holding onto the past, or feed on the resentment of losing their loved one. Unlike a visit to Las Vegas, Kate Bishop, Jeff the Land Shark, and Peter Parker will leave the graveyard changed in Gwenpool #3.

 

Art

Purple hangs in the moist air, tinging the New York skyline. Like the falling raindrops, it bathes Hawkeye's face and shines from her costume. But Dark Gwenpool (or Gwen Stacy, or X-31) also wears purple, hinting at who she could become. While Jeff shines as blue as the sea, Peter wears black and white as he wades into a moral gray area. Yet yellow also radiates the life-giving energy of the sun, reinforcing the allure of holding onto memories.

 

While Matt Milla enhances the energy and moodiness of Gwenpool #3, Stefano Nesi captures the action and drama of this confrontation in the cemetery. His art reveals Hawkeye's sadness, Jeff’s anger, Dark Gwenpool’s frustration, and Peter’s struggle to cope with what has occurred. A glimpse inside Peter's mind pays homage to Steve Ditko, who helped bring Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy to life. Yet in the same panels, Stefano Nesi reveals how comic art has progressed since Ditko’s time.

 

Ariana Maher casts uppercase black letters into white and pink balloons and narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Sound effects help us hear arrows impacting, smoke grenades detonating, blades appearing, and an aggrieved land shark. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Gwenpool was Jeff the Land Shark’s best friend. But she was also an interloper, and another version of Peter Parker’s girlfriend. Her superior knowledge of Earth-616 and her ability to exploit hidden aspects of their world kept other heroes away. Gwenpool #3 flips the script in this story about identity, mourning, and the indomitable spirits of the characters we love. 

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Gwenpool #1 Review

 

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Stefano Nesi

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Chad Hardin & Edgar Delgado; Godtail; Gurihiru; Greg Land & Edgar Delgado; Jeehyung Lee; Paco Medina & Morry Hollowell; Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 14, 2025

 

Fin Fang Foom has rained destruction on Earth. After defeating the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four, only Spider-Man, Kate Bishop, and Jeff remain. But neither Spider-Man’s thwipping, Hawkeye’s Bada Boom arrows, nor the land shark’s super cuteness can pierce the dragon's hide like one of Bard's arrows. Can anyone prevent the space dragon from cracking open the Earth and sucking its molten transmuted Tiamat core? Let's grab our swords, leap into Gwenpool #1, and see!

 

Story

Gwendolyn Pool was a Marvel superfan transported from our world to Earth-616. When no one else can help, Gwenpool appears. Like her pool-mate Wade Wilson, Gwen enjoys breaking the fourth wall and addressing the reader. She also understands how people create comics. Like all the great heroes in Saturday Morning Cartoons, Gwen knows how to interact with the artist and flip the script. Such omnipotent power frightens Jeff, who scurries away on his super cute fins.

 

While Gwenpool arrives to save the day and form a new fantastic foursome, the mystery in Gwenpool #1 concerns another person. Once, she also went by the name Gwenpool. But she has disowned her former life and now bows before a shadowy controller. Whatever went wrong in her life, she no longer sees herself as a person. Instead, the woman only recognizes her assigned number. She is X-31, the latest in a long line of experimental living weapons.

 

 

 

The apocalypse in Cavan Scott's story pays homage to Gwen Stacy of Earth-65, the Ghost-Spider who struggles to wield world-ending power without destroying her intended beneficiaries. While sprinkling his story with nods to The Avengers and Terminator, Cavan Scott contrasts two similar but different people. Like Wolverine, one struggles to find any joy in life. The second, like Deadpool, seeks fun and diversion to endure the death and destruction she wields to make the world a better place. Although Cavan Scott’s story features Kate Bishop, Gwenpool #1 recalls Clint Barton's journey from world-saving Hawkeye into the sword-wielding Ronin. 

 

 

 

Art

Stefano Nesi transports readers to a shadowy murder room, where agents wearing night vision goggles pursue a lethal target. After completing her mission, X-31 glows, projecting a larger light image as she watches more targets appear on viewscreens. Smaller panels nestle around a two-page panorama of Spider-Man crawling from a crater while Fin Fang Foom bellows fire. The space dragon dominates another two-page spread that showcases the hopelessness of the situation. The tiny forms of Kate Bishop comforting a cowed Spider-Man form tiny figures of light before the giant silhouette of Fin Fang Foom burning like the sun.

 

Pinks and purples dominate the early scenes, while night vision goggles turn scenes green with agony. Purples, pinks, oranges, and yellows surround the giant green dragon bellowing yellow fire. After Gwenpool brings a lighter shade of pink to the party, the purple sky lightens. Grays, yellows, and even blue fills the air as Gwenpool interacts with her colleagues. But that doesn’t mean the danger is past, as Matt Milla lavishes attractive colors on an eye-opening meetup in Gwenpool #1.

 

 

 

Ariana Maher casts uppercase black letters into white and pink balloons and narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for volume, and shrink for lowered voices like a tiny Gwenpool leaping from a panel into white space. Fin Fang Foom speaks into cloudy balloons, while sound effects help us hear gunshots, dragon fire, thunder, and a wailing land shark in Gwenpool #1. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

As Gwenpool #1 ponders how people and circumstances shape our characters, it reminds us how we can wake up one day and, like the Talking Heads, ask, “How did I get here?”

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Star Wars: The High Republic: Starlight Stories Digest Edition Preview

 

STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC: STARLIGHT STORIES (Digest Edition)

ON SALE: NOVEMBER 12, 2024

 

DESCRIPTION

 

5 EPIC STORIES FROM THE GALACTIC FRONTIER!

 

Long before the First Order, before the Empire, before The Phantom Menace… Jedi lit the way for the galaxy in the era of the High Republic.

 

Step aboard Starlight Beacon and join Administrator Velko Jahen, Chief Ghal Tarpfen, and the Jedi as they face: A mysterious assassination attempt… A strange distress call… A threat from the carnivorous Drengir… And more!

 

This digest-sized special edition collects five, two-part short stories first presented in Star Wars Insider magazine. These tales of high adventure by The New York Times bestselling authors Justina Ireland, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule, provide essential reading in the High Republic timeline.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Tales from a more civilized age…

 

This volume features original fiction chronicling the days of the High Republic centuries prior to the fall and purge of the Jedi Order.

 

The stories feature heroic new Jedi and a new central setting, the Starlight Beacon, a space station located on the galactic frontier, as we meet the personnel and staff in tales that are both epic and personal.

 

Additionally, story architects Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule discuss their work on building the bold new vision for the Star Wars galaxy.

 

 

 

CONTENTS:

 

“Go Together” By Charles Soule

The Starlight Beacon receives a mysterious distress call.

 

“First Duty” By Cavan Scott

Tensions run high when there is an assassination attempt aboard the station.

 

“Hidden Danger” By Justina Ireland

A conference on the Starlight Beacon is disrupted by the slippery Drengir.

 

 

 

“Past Mistakes” By Cavan Scott

An old flame of Velko Jahen’s arrives on the station.

 

“Shadows Remain” By Justina Ireland

A strange dream sets a series of dramatic events in motion for Ghal Tarpfen.

 

Knights of the Round Table

The five authors behind Star Wars: The High Republic discuss the groundbreaking project.

BUY LINKS:

 

AMAZON

FORBIDDEN PLANET

BARNES & NOBLE

 

BOOKS-A-MILLION

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us! Stay tuned for a review and

May The Force Be With You!