New ‘Venom,’ ‘Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane,’ ‘March to Hulk War,’ ‘Predator vs. Punisher’
Marvel’s Next Big Thing panel at San Diego Comic Con brought a wave of announcements of new series and events, including the aftermath of Queen in Black, the run-up to Hulk War, and a matchup between the Punisher and a Predator.
With the end of the Queen in Black crossover, Marvel will launch two new series featuring two of the key players. Venom, by writer Charles Soule and artist Tommaso Bianchi, will tell the story of how Eddie Brock is reunited with Venom and what happens after that; the first issue will be released on October 14, 2026, with a main cover by Davide Paratore and variants by Nick Bradshaw and Martin Coccolo.
Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane, by writer Ashley Allen and artist Phil Noto, follows Mary Jane Watson, now freed from the symbiote, to New York City, where she starts a new life and a new business in the company of Black Cat, Iron Man, and other familiar characters. The first issue will be released on November 4 with a main cover by J. Scott Campbell and variants by Peach Momoko and Russell Dauterman.
Also at the panel, writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson talked about the Infernal Hulk one-shots that will lead up to the Hulk War event that is slated for 2027. Johnson and artist Nic Klein’s Infernal Hulk series laid the groundwork for the story, which will move forward in four one-shots that will showcase battles between Infernal Hulk and Marvel heroes while also previewing the new team known as the Infernal Avengers. The four one-shots, known collectively as March to Hulk War, are all written by Johnson and will have different artists: Infernal Hulk vs. Wolverine #1, with artist Jonas Scharf, Infernal Hulk vs. Fantastic Four #1, with artist Cian Tormey, Infernal Hulk vs. Spider-Man #1, with art by Javier Pina, and Infernal Hulk vs. Avengers 1, whose artist has not yet been announced.
“March to Hulk War kicks off the final act of our story that Nic Klein and I started with Incredible Hulk #1 in 2023,” Johnson said. “It’s a series of one-shot battles between Infernal Hulk and Earth’s mightiest heroes, as Hulk gathers his terrifying Infernal Avengers for Hulk War. The one-shots features one of the most epic rivalries in comics, Infernal Hulk vs. Wolverine, and an ending that I’m expecting to shock some people.”
Predator vs. Punisher, also announced at the panel, will be a four-issue miniseries by writer Frank Tieri and artist Jesús Saíz that starts with a Predator arriving in New York and looking for trouble, and Frank Castle providing it. This violent saga will pull in Kingpin, Jigsaw, Silvermane, The Owl, and other underworld villains. The first issue will be released on November 4 with a main cover by Dustin Weaver and variants by Alex Maleev, Leinil Francis Yu, and Martin Coccolo.
“This is the series that’ll answer the age old question of who is pop culture’s greatest killing machine,” Tieri said. “Our story sees the Predator instigating a mob war between some of Marvel’s biggest gangland characters—but the thing is, we’ll quickly realize the mob might not be his only target… but rather a certain vigilante with a skull on his chest, as well. Fans can expect—SPOILER ALERT—a $%^& ton of blood and violence, but also a lot of twists and turns… including an unexpected shared past between our two combatants. ‘If it bleeds we can kill it.’ The only question will be… who is it that ends up getting killed?”
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Source: ICv2
