Marvel Comics will expand its Queen in Black publishing program in July with the launch of two new miniseries, and two one-shots written by Al Ewing, who’s also writing the core Queen in Black series (with art by Iban Coello (see “ComicsPRO: Marvel Announces ‘Queen in Black’”). That core series kicks off the summer symbiote event with a blind-bag first issue, to be released on July 7, 2026 (see “Preview: ‘Queen in Black’ #1 Variant Covers”). The storyline revolves around a conflict between Hela, the Queen in Black and Knull’s forces of light in which Marvel’s heroes must choose sides.
Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark will feature Beta Ray Bill leading Photon, Sunfire and Dagger to battle Hela’s darkness, and Iron Man in his new Black Metal Armor leads Darkstar, Agent Anti-Venom and Cloak to fight Knull’s all-encompassing light. The series is written by Tom Waltz with art by Ze Carlos. The cover of the first issue is by David Marquez, with variants by Peach Momoko, Whilce Portacio, and Davide Paratore. The three-issue miniseries will launch on July 8.
Al Ewing will write two one-shots with pivotal chapters in the Queen in Black storyline that also impact Ewing’s Thor run, featuring connecting covers by Pasqual Ferry. Queen in Black: Hela #1, which takes place in the Immortal Thor era of Ewing’s run, is the story of how Hela got the throne. It features art by Carlos Magno. Release date is July 8.
In Queen in Black: Thor #1, which takes place in the Mortal Thor era, Hela targets the mortal Sigurd Jarlson. Featuring art by Sergio Davila, it will release on August 5.
Queen in Black, Venom Unchained will be a three-issue miniseries following Eddie Brock from prison to the fights against Hela and Knull. It will be written by Charles Soule, who wrote Eddie Brock: Carnage, with art by Juanan Ramirez and cover by Leinil Francis Yu and variants by Peach Momoko, Skan, and Ema Lupacchino. The first issue will street on July 15.
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Source: ICv2
