The Nerdz Lounge.

Image Comics/Top Cow to Launch Ongoing Darkness Series


Writer and Image Comics CEO Marc Silvestri will return to the series he created in 1996, The Darkness, with plans for what he terms "an explosive new era" in the saga of cursed hitman Jackie Estacado.

The first issue of the ongoing series, part of the Top Cow Universe, will be pencilled by Ed Benes with inks by Matt "Batt!" Banning, Sal Regla, and John Livesay, colors by Arif Prianto, and letters by Troy Peteri. Gunslinger Spawn artist Raymond Gay will take over on interior pencils with issue #2.

"This isn’t just a nostalgia trip—it’s a reinvention," Silvestri said in a statement accompanying the announcement. "We’re going back to what made The Darkness such a hit: its grit, its danger, its sense that power always comes with a price. But this time, we’re turning everything up to eleven. Jackie’s world is going to expand in ways readers never expected."

Image will publish The Darkness (2025) #1 on December 10, 2025.

The Darkness was created by Silvestri, Garth Ennis, and David Wohl in 1996 and ran for 25 issues. It was revived several times after that and was also adapted into two video games.

 

Today, MGM+ debuted the official trailer for the adventure drama series Robin Hood.
The series premieres Sunday, November 2 at 9:00 PM ET/PT in the U.S. with two episodes and new episodes will premiere weekly through the season finale on Sunday, December 28, 2025.

 

Marvel Comics will collect post-Civil War Thunderbolts comics in Thunderbolts: Dark Reign Omnibus, a collection that will begin with Thunderbolts (1997) #76, which introduced a new creative team as well as a new set of Thunderbolts, and run through comics published in 2009.

The 1,328-page hardcover will include Thunderbolts (1997) #76-81 and 110-143, Thunderbolts: Desperate Measures (2007), Thunderbolts: Breaking Point One-Shot (2007), Thunderbolts: International Incident One-Shot (2008), Thunderbolts: Reason in Madness One-Shot (2008), Penance: Relentless (2007)#1-5, Deadpool (2008) #8-9, Secret Warriors (2009) #7-9, Civil War: The Initiative (2007), and material from Civil War: Choosing Sides (2006). The omnibus will go on sale on May 5, 2026, with two covers, a main cover by Marko Djurdjevic and a direct market exclusive cover by Mike Deodato Jr.







credit: icv2

 

This was the wrong direction to go with this character and franchise. Giving us the old man version of the character for his first adaptation was a bad idea, and giving him a younger female protege was also a bad idea. It will seem like they are trying to backdoor a co-lead into the franchise. Historically, when filmmakers/show runners do that to an established property, it doesn't go over well.

 

My knowledge of the Splinter Cell games and novels is limited to the protagonist's name and occupation. Fans of the franchise have expressed disappointment online about the inclusion of a Black female character, calling her a "Black lesbian girl boss." I intend to go into the story with an open mind, expecting intrigue, action, and hopefully few, if any, clichés.

 

I'm not going to spoil anything for you, but at the start of the story from the games, the main character is in his mid-40s one of the running gags of this story is that at 45, he should have retired from field work a long time ago, but in this adaptation, he is clearly in his 60s and still doing field work.

As for the "Black lesbian girl boss," she probably is just that, which would be fine if her character wasn't invented just for the show and portrayed as the co-lead of a franchise that's been around for over 20 years. I'm going to watch the show because Splinter Cell was one of my favorite game franchises, but the choices the showrunners made don't seem conducive to a long-running series.

 

Avatar: Fire and Ash gets a brand new trailer.

 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3699204230402680

 

Vertical has released the official trailer for the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut, which is set to open in theaters on October 17, 2025.

 

Thor: Behemoth of the Black Moon

Abrams ComicArts and Marvel have announced a new title to be published in spring 2026.

In Thor: Behemoth of the Black Moon, by writer and artist Eric Powell, Thor grapples with the dark legacy left by his father, Odin, and the consequences of the past that still haunt the present. The book is part of the Marvel Arts line, which is curated by Alex Ross and edited by Abrams Editor-in-Chief Charles Kochman. The 80-page hardcover, with an 8 1/2” x 11” trim size, will go on sale on May 12, 2026, with an MSRP of $25.99.

“I didn’t want to waste this opportunity, so I’m doing exactly what I want—a big cosmic adventure with giant Kirby style monsters,” Powell said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “Yeah, this book is absolutely my love letter to Jack Kirby and Walt Simonson, and I think their influences will be clear.”





Source: ComicsBeat

 

The live action launch trailer for Battlefield 6.

 

Moon Panther?

 

I get the meta joke of the beginning of the trailer: Hire a bunch of celebrities to represent "heroes", and blow them up to show the series has abandoned the "hero shooter" experiment they started with Battlefield 2042.

 

DC Comics has dropped another trailer for the upcoming “DC K.O.” five-issue series.