Groo the Wanderer (1985)

Groo the Wanderer is a fantasy/comedy series written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés, rewritten, co-plotted and edited by Mark Evanier, lettered by Stan Sakai and colored by Tom Luth. Over the years it has been published by Pacific Comics, Eclipse Comics (one special issue), Marvel Comics (under its Epic imprint), Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics.

Groo was one of the first widely successful creator-owned comics, one of the few successful humorous comic books (outside Archie Comics) during its time, and one of the longest-running collaborations in comic book history. In 2011 IGN ranked Groo 100th in the “Top 100 comic books heroes”.

Aragonés and Evanier negotiated a deal with Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics, for that company to take care of publication while preserving creator rights. This resulted in the longest run of Groo the Wanderer with 120 issues. In 1994, with Marvel facing financial difficulties, the title switched to Image Comics and was retitled Groo. (In the first issue Groo remarks “The marvels of the world are but images before me.”)

When Image in turn faced legal problems after publishing twelve issues, the title switched to Dark Horse Comics in 1998. Dark Horse is not publishing the title as a regular series, but is periodically releasing new material and reprints as mini-series and collections.

Old Man Logan (2016)

Fifty years from now, Logan – the man who no longer calls himself Wolverine – will have endured many atrocities: The Marvel Universe’s villains will have banded together and rid the world of its heroes. Logan’s closest friend, Hawkeye, will have been murdered in cold blood right before his eyes. And driven mad by the same radiation that gave him his superhuman strength, Bruce Banner will have fathered a family of hillbilly Hulks…that eventually went on to slaughter Logan’s wife and two children. But now, in the present, Old Man Logan wakes up to discover himself in a world before these atrocities, before the Wasteland. And he’s going to seize this opportunity and change history to ensure that his future never comes to pass…

The Dark Tower – Treachery (2008)

Whereas The Gunslinger Born was largely based on the events of The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and GlassTreachery, like The Long Road Home, consists mostly of new material not found in any of the novels.

The story depicts the ka-tet of Roland DeschainAlain Johns and Cuthbert Allgood dealing with the events following their return to Gilead from Hambry, including the toll that Maerlyn’s Grapefruit has taken on Roland’s health, his obsessive desire to continue peering into its depths, and the search for John Farson and the Big Coffin Hunters.

 

Ghost Rider V10 (2022)

Johnny Blaze has the perfect life: a wife and two kids, a job at an auto repair shop and a small-town community that supports him… But Johnny isn’t doing well. He has nightmares of monsters when he sleeps. And he sees bloody visions when he’s awake. This life is beginning to feel like a prison. And there’s a spirit in him that’s begging to break out!

Supernatural Thrillers (1972)

Supernatural Thrillers ran 15 issues (cover-dated December 1972 – October 1975). The title was one of four launched by Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Roy Thomas to form a line of science fiction and horror anthologies with more thematic cohesiveness than the company’s earlier attempts that decade, which had included the series Chamber of Darkness and Tower of Shadows. Whereas those titles generally presented original stories, these new books would instead adapt genre classics and other stories.

Issue #5 (August 1973) introduced the Living Mummy in a standalone story about an African tribal prince enslaved by Egyptians and mummified by an evil priest, who eventually reawakens in modern times. The character, created by writer Steve Gerber and penciler Rich Buckler, returned two issues later as the starring character in a generally 15-page solo series that ran from #7 to the final issue, #15 (June 1974 – October 1975). The cover logo during this time was “Supernatural Thrillers featuring The Living Mummy”.

Strange Tales (1960’s)

Strange Tales switched to superheroes during the Silver Age of Comic Books, retaining the sci-fi, suspense and monsters as backup features for a time. Strange Tales‘ first superhero, in 12- to 14-page stories, was the Fantastic Four‘s Human Torch, Johnny Storm, beginning in #101 (Oct. 1962). Here, Johnny still lived with his elder sister, Susan Storm, in fictional Glenview, Long Island, New York, where he continued to attend high school and, with youthful naivete, attempted to maintain his “secret identity” (later retconned to reveal that his friends and neighbors knew of his dual identity from Fantastic Four news reports, but simply played along).

The title became a “split book” with the introduction of sorcerer Doctor Strange, by Lee and artist Steve Ditko. This 9- to 10-page feature debuted in #110 (July 1963), and after an additional story and then skipping two issues returned permanently with #114. Ditko’s surrealistic mystical landscapes and increasingly head-trippy visuals helped make the feature a favorite of college students, according to Lee himself. Eventually, as co-plotter and later sole plotter, in the “Marvel Method“, Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms, which yet remained well-grounded thanks to Lee’s reliably humanistic, adventure/soap opera dialog. Adversaries for the new hero included Baron Mordo introduced in issue #111 (Aug. 1963) and Dormammu in issue #126 (Nov. 1964). Clea, who would become a longtime love interest for Doctor Strange, was also introduced in issue #126.

King Conan (1980)

Punisher War Zone (1992)

Punisher War Zone ran for 41 issues with two 64-page annuals. Multiple writers contributed to this series during its three-year run from 1992 to 1995. The series served mainly as a vehicle for longtime Marvel artist John Romita, Jr., who had returned to Marvel after a lengthy hiatus from drawing a monthly title. In 2009, Marvel published a 6-issue limited series under the same title. The storyline was called “The Resurrection of Ma Gnucci“.

The War of the Realms (2019)

The dark elf Malekith wages a war that has spread from one otherworldly realm to the next, setting them all ablaze, and now it’s time for that war to finally explode into the last realm standing: ours. All the worst monsters from the Ten Realms come pouring in over the globe, and it will take the biggest heroes in the Marvel Universe to stop them from conquering Earth – and the whole realm!

X-23 (2005)

In X-23: “Innocence Lost”, a top-secret program is tasked to replicate the original Weapon X experiment that bonded adamantium to the skeleton of Wolverine. The project is taken in a new direction: Dr. Martin Sutter recruits renowned mutant geneticist Doctor Sarah Kinney to develop a clone of Wolverine. Also on the team is Sutter’s protege, Dr. Zander Rice, who was raised by Sutter after his father was killed by the original Weapon X.

Since the only genetic sample from Weapon X is damaged, Kinney is unable to salvage the Y chromosome. Kinney proposes the creation of a female genetic twin. Her request is denied; Rice is opposed to the idea. After 22 failed attempts at reconstituting the DNA using a duplicate X chromosome, the 23rd sample yields a viable sample to combine with an embryo. Although Kinney is allowed to proceed, Rice exacts revenge for her insubordination by forcing her to act as the surrogate mother of the specimen. For nine months, Kinney’s every move is monitored. Finally, she gives birth to “X-23”