Image Advance Arrivals: November 2025
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Free Planet vol. 1
The revolution is over and a planet with a unique energy source now finds itself independent from all of the major galactic powers. What happens next? Obviously they’re going to have to fend off attacks from the powers that would want to take them over, but now they’ve got to begin the hard work of governing themselves in the face of counterrevolutionaries, equipment shortages, political deadlock, famine, and more. Writer Aubrey Sitterson and artist Jed Dougherty are ready to tackle all of these things in what’s been billed as an epic political space opera. While the writer of “No One Left to Fight” and “The Worst Dudes” wouldn’t have been the first person I’d have expected to tackle something like this, the title has been getting a lot of positive reviews from creators I like such as Kieron Gillen and Robert Kirkman. That suggests he’s pulled it off and now I want to see for myself if that’s the case.
Youngblood #1: Rob Liefeld returns to the creator-owned title he launched alongside Image itself. I’m not going to bother with it since the man’s artistic and storytelling styles have never appealed to me. That said, I will say that it’s great to see that he’s re-acquired ownership of “Youngblood” after what sounds like a truly crazy story of shady dealings involving one of comics’ most infamous conmen, Andrew Rev.
Capes #1: Actually not a new series! This is a reprint of the original “Capes” miniseries from writer Robert Kirkman and artist Mark Englert, but with new art and dialogue from the original creators. It’s been described by them as a “special remastering,” and it’s clearly being brought to us in the wake of the dual successes of the ongoing “Invincible” animated series and the “Battle Beast” title. I didn’t pick up the original collection of the adventures of these working-class superheroes, but that just means I’ll wait a little longer and pick up this specially remastered version instead.
Die: Loaded #1: Hrm… Normally a new series written by Kieron Gillen would be a reason to celebrate. Except that this latest series from him and artist Stephanie Hans is a return to what I consider to be his least good creator-owned title. “Die” was about a group of five kids who were sucked into a fantasy world, were able to return, and were then sucked in again as adults. While there was some good character writing and plotting, the series’ worldbuilding suffered from how it felt focused on interrogating the origins and reasons for tabletop gaming while its grim tone muted the writer’s trademark wit without offering up something worthwhile in return. I can’t say that I won’t pick this up, as I didn’t hate the original series, but I don’t think it’ll be too hard waiting for this to be collected.
G.I. Joe #’s 13 & 14: “Dreadnok War” kicks off in these two issues, which was hyped pretty well at the Energon Universe panel I attended at Comic-Con this year. Cobra Commander has been betrayed and marked for death, which is the perfect opportunity for the Dreadnoks to get some payback after he marched into their swamp and took away their ability to produce Energon. However, Duke sees this as the perfect opportunity to bring the villain in regardless of how many people are gunning for the both of them. I can’t say I’ve been completely sold on the “G.I. Joe” side of the Energon Universe yet, but there’s no denying that this fusion of “Midnight Run” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” sounds like fun.
Also arriving this month is the second collection of the monthly series G.I. Joe vol. 2 which, naturally, picks up on things set up in the first round of miniseries and the previous volume. So expect to see Major Bludd trying to get some revenge on the Baroness after she shot his eye out, Clutch getting to know his new friend, and Flint and Lady Jaye recruiting for the second Joe team – Night Force. All of this sounds perfectly fine, but I’m still waiting for this series to really surprise me in the way that the other Energon Universe titles have.
Black Heart Billy 25th Anniversary HC: Wherein a skater punk with nothing but contempt for society, terrible impulse control, and a robotic head (I wonder if these things are connected in some way…) winds up as the only person who can save San Francisco from Adolf Hitler’s mind inside a reincarnated Jerry Garcia’s body. Before he became the creator-owned powerhouse that he is today, Rick Remender delivered this title with artist Kieron Dwyer and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t sound like a demented good time. Still, I can’t say that the last time Remender used the return of Hitler worked out all that well, but maybe it worked better 25 years ago. Collects the entire original run of the comic along with extras and an afterword that we’re promised the writer wrote in a nostalgic delirium.
Geiger vol. 4: The title character meets the Glowing Woman, and maybe finds a way to reverse his radioactive condition. He’ll have to work fast as we’re also told that President Griffin is bringing the full might of the United States Army down on them to end the threat of the Glowing People forever. I hate to break this to the President, but “Geiger” is returning for its latest storyline this month, so it’s probably not going to end well for him and the Army. Geoff Johns writes and Gary Frank returns to illustrate the whole volume.
Monstress vol. 10: The last time we saw Maika Halfwolf she and several other prominent characters in the series were in the process of being possessed by the extra-dimensional entities known as the Defiled. With Zinn still out of commission, Maika’s going to have make some new allies if she’s going to survive this. Very much looking forward to this after the brutal cliffhanger vol. 9 left off with. Even though people reading the monthly series didn’t have to wait long to see how it resolved, I’m comforted by the fact that I won’t have to wait nearly as long to find that out compared to everyone who’s reading this series in hardcover omnibus form.
Redcoat vol. 2: The adventures of Simon Pure continue, even as they take a step back in time following the events of vol. 1. Though nothing will likely top the title character teaming up with a very young Albert Einstein, writer Geoff Johns clearly sees potential in having Simon mix it up with famous historical figures. So expect to see the likes of John “Johnny Appleseed” Chapman and Annie Oakley here, along with the debut of another new addition to the Unnamed Universe: The Northerner. Whether or not this will be as enjoyable or silly (or both) as the first volume was isn’t immediately obvious, but I’m hopeful.
Transformers vol. 4: Conquer and Control & Void Rivals vol. 4: First Chosen: You know the drill by now – expect a podcast from myself and John on these titles when they arrive in November. It will almost certainly be a longer one than last time as this will be the final volume of “Transformers” written by Daniel Warren Johnson and we’ve been promised a lot after the events of vol. 3, what with Megatron’s return and whatever surprises are in store for the writer’s final issue. “Void Rivals” mainly has the secrets of Skuxxoid on tap… but didn’t he die in the previous volume? Curious…
We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us: Where a young girl finds out that her father was a Not Bond Villain who was killed by Not James Bond. She can either retreat from what she’s learned about her father’s life, or embrace it, get revenge, and maybe take over the world along the way. No points for guessing what she chooses here. This comes to us courtesy of writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Stefano Landini, who I hope can do this setup justice with the writer bringing the smartassed irreverence that I’ve liked from his previous works to bear here. Speaking of his previous works, it’s been a while since we’ve seen an issue of “What’s the Furthest Place From Here?” solicited. Now that this is getting collected, we’re going to get a new one soon, right?