Christopher Priest has a long history with Spider-Man, serving as a writer and editor on Marvel’s Spidey titles in the ’80s. As a writer, he would drop in for a few issues and then depart, and that pattern holds true with Priest’s new Spider-Force, a three-issue miniseries tying into the Spider-Geddon event. The plot…

In honor of Stan Lee, who died earlier today at the age of 95, we’re celebrating the comics icon’s many world-famous creations by asking: Who’s your favorite character co-created by Stan Lee?

Stan Lee, comics-industry legend and co-creator of such timeless characters as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, Thor, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, has died. The Hollywood Reporter confirms the news. He was 95.

Cosmic Ghost Rider has proven to be one of Marvel’s most popular new characters, but his appeal goes beyond the cool factor of seeing Frank Castle become the future Spirit of Vengeance. By having the Punisher serve as an agent of Mephisto, a herald of Galactus, and the slave of Thanos, Donny Cates has made Cosmic…

One of the great joys of reading graphic memoirs is seeing how artists imbue real, everyday encounters with energy and expression, using their creativity to enrich the mundane. In her new Drawn & Quarterly graphic memoir, Blame This On The Boogie, Rina Ayuyang details her time growing up as a Filipina-American in…

As valuable as escapist entertainment can be, we also need to pay attention to the pressing real-world issues that are shaping/destroying our world. Vertigo’s Border Town engages with serious themes of racism, xenophobia, immigration, and cultural identity, but it has a playful, fantastic spirit that makes it a…

Chelsea Cain didn’t have to stay in comics. Her work on Marvel Comics’ Mockingbird brought a barrage of social media attacks against her from misogynist fanboys, and it would have been totally understandable if she decided to walk away from a toxic industry to pursue other creative endeavors. But that would mean…

It’s been almost eight years since DC Comics released its last Secret Files And Origins one-shot, but that changes with this week’s Batman: Secret Files #1, a new single-issue anthology featuring an outstanding line-up of creators telling short stories about the Dark Knight. The Batman creative team of Tom King, Mikel…

In the early ’90s, South Africa was on the brink of a full-blown civil war. Tensions between the white colonial government and the black population were blowing up into bloody conflicts—violence that intensified when Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years, signaling the death knell of the apartheid…

In Katie O’Neill’s poignant new middle-grade graphic novel Aquicorn Cove (Oni Press), a young girl copes with her own painful loss in a seaside town battered by a recent storm. Exploring how individuals and communities recover from the devastation of the past, O’Neill pairs the central narrative of Lana grieving over…

The Flash has one of the best rogues’ galleries in comics, but how do you find ways to keep these characters fresh? Joshua Williamson has been writing this series for nearly 60 issues, and for his most recent extended storyline, he’s embracing cosmic forces to give Flash’s villains a dramatic power upgrade. The events…

All too often, cartoonish comic book art is dismissed as childish and frivolous. Exaggerated visuals are assumed to lack seriousness or dramatic depth, but the work of Rob Guillory is a prime example of why these assumptions are wrong. Yes, there’s an inherent sense of humor in Guillory’s art, but he’s shown time and…

Eric Kostiuk Williams’ comics are visually defined by their malleability. His forms shine like latex and stretch like taffy, and his stories take place in surreal, psychedelic environments that morph as time passes. That fluid visual aesthetic ties into major themes of his work like gender expression, queer culture,…

Amanda “Livewire” McKee has long been one of Valiant Comics’ most compelling characters, a woman who forged a heroic path after discovering that the cause to which she devoted her life was less noble than she thought. She was a member of the Unity superhero team, led her own group of superpowered individuals in the…

With James Wan’s Aquaman hitting theaters in two months, DC is boosting the hero’s profile on the page with crossovers putting him at the center of stories featuring major properties like Suicide Squad and Justice League. After facing off against the Squad last month, Aquaman is about to be submerged in “Drowned…

The word “savage” has been used for centuries to justify a group of people entering a foreign land and claiming its resources as its own. The word dehumanizes the native people, excusing the true savagery of those who take what is not theirs by any means necessary. The new Vault Comics series These Savage Shores…

The best horror stories make it impossible to turn away, even after your fear takes over. They transfix you and keep you turning the page (or watching the movie), casting a spell that makes the misery of others irresistible. Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino’s Gideon Falls is one of those stories, a comic that turns…

Bobby Drake and Emma Frost have a complicated relationship. In the ’90s, Emma possessed Bobby’s body and helped him unlock the full potential of his ice powers—but it still involved unwanted psychic manipulation, and that’s not cool. Emma has flip-flopped between hero and villain for years, and she’s currently in a…

Spider-Man has always been a popular superhero, but he’s never been a more powerful pop culture force than right now. He’s a prominent part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, played by Tom Holland with the perfect balance of boyish angst and glee. Sony is releasing two new Spidey-related movies this year: this week’s …

The 1990s were a period of boom and bust for the comic book industry. Many of the highest-selling single issues of all time (like X-Men #1, still the record holder with more than 7 million copies moved) were released during that decade, and the two major publishers were churning out huge quantities to meet the demand…