In comic stores today, Jane is back, and Blade gets a deadly new job.
THE MIGHTY VALKYRIES #1 picks up after the events of the King In Black tie-in series, RETURN OF THE VALKYRIES and features everybody's favorite All-Weapon-wielding, winged-horse-riding Valkyrie, Jane Foster, along with her new friend, the mysterious unnamed Valkyrie from the past who's come back to reclaim her mighty axe Jarnbjorn and to settle some old business (the sort of business you need an axe to settle).
This one features some proper magic courtesy of writer Torunn Grønbekk and artists Mattia de Iulis and Erica D'Urso. A stunningly gorgeous book. Truly. Here's the official solicit, cover gallery and some preview pages.
JANE FOSTER GETS A FRESH START – AND ALLIES BOTH NEW AND OLD! Jane Foster believed she was the only Valkyrie left – but the fight against Knull, the King in Black, proved her wrong. Now the Valkyries must redefine their roles in a changing world – and Asgard’s not going to make it easy. When Loki comes to Jane with rumors of a beast stalking the souls of Midgard, she leaps into action – but she’s not the only one after the strange wolf’s hide. She’ll need backup...but her ancient coworker has other priorities. Years ago, the warrior made a promise to a woman she loved. And now, it’s time to follow through. Get the real story behind the Marvel Universe’s newest star – and don’t miss the start of an all-new epic adventure from powerhouses Jason Aaron, Torunn Grønbekk, Mattia de Iulis and Erica D'Urso!
Gallery features the main cover by Mattia de Iulis and variants by Russell Dauterman & Matt Wilson, Mahmud Asrar, Skottie Young, Headshot variant by Todd Nauck and Heroes Reborn variant by Carlos Pacheco.
THE MIGHTY VALKYRIES #1 interior art by Mattia de Iulis and Erica D'Urso.
And in other King in Black tie-in news, AVENGERS #45 deals with some of the fall-out from that event, which winds up having a rather huge impact on Blade and the status quo for the world's vampires. We also get to see how the Avengers spend the morning after a big world-shaking event. Spoiler: they don't sleep in.
Regular cover by Cory Smith. Heroes Reborn variant by Carlos Pacheco. Interior art by Luca Maresca.
AVENGERS #45 (W) Jason Aaron (A) Luca Maresca (CA) Cory Smith
THE AVENGERS JOIN THE BATTLE AGAINST THE KING IN BLACK!
The year's most epic event explodes in the pages of AVENGERS. The vampire hunter Blade has been at the forefront of the fight against the dark symbiote god, but now he must pay a dark price that will change his world forever.
And hey, THE OLD GUARD: TALES THROUGH TIME #1 is also in stores today, which is a new anthology series featuring the badass, unkillable Old Guard characters created by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez. Check out the two volumes of their Image series and the Netflix film if you haven't already. I don't have a story in this issue, but mine will be coming up shortly. Spoiler: people get shot a bunch.
A STAR-STUDDED ANTHOLOGY EVENT! The bestselling, critically acclaimed THE OLD GUARD, now a hit Netflix movie starring Charlize Theron, returns with all-new stories by writers GREG RUCKA, VITA AYALA, BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, KELLY SUE DeCONNICK, MATT FRACTION, DAVID F. WALKER, and more, and artists LEANDRO FERNÁNDEZ, HORACIO ALTUNA, RICK BURCHETT, VALENTINE DE LANDRO, JUSTIN GREENWOOD, KANO, NICOLA SCOTT, and more! Andromache the Scythian—a warrior over six thousand years old, who has fought more battles than she cares to remember—has kept one constant companion through her long lifetime of combat…her labrys. Andy's battle axe takes many forms, and many lives, in its centuries at her side, a story told by THE OLD GUARD creators GREG RUCKA & LEANDRO FERNÁNDEZ. Meanwhile, Nicolo "Nicky" di Genova and Yusuf "Joe" al-Kaysani, lovers since they tried (and failed) to kill each other in the First Crusade, spend an evening at Berlin's famed Eldorado nightclub in the twilight era of 1932, sharing drinks with drag queens and fistfighting Nazis in an all-new story by writer ANDREW WHEELER (Another Castle: Grimoire) and JACOPO CAMAGNI (NOMEN OMEN)!
And that's all for this week. See you May 5 for the start of HEROES REBORN.