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Preview: DC x AEW #2

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DC x AEW #2

(W) Steve Orlando (A) Travis Mercer

THE JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE — BETRAYED! It’s the most dangerous heel turn in history as Injustice Incorporated is born! The Big Galactic Belt rests on Lex Luthor’s waist — with a snap, he can remix reality to his whim. With the Justice League and AEW’s most iconic wrestlers spread across the globe, locked in battle with the DC Universe’s most notorious villains, it’s a race against time to stop Lex before he locks in his control of Earth. As the stakes skyrocket by the second, a challenge is issued — for all its power, the Big Galactic Belt is still a championship. Once called out, its owner has no choice but to defend it. The fate of reality comes down to a tornado tag match! The cosmically-empowered Lex Luthor versus Wonder Woman and their tag team partners — two of the most iconic faces to ever set foot in the squared circle!

DC x AEW #2

DC x AEW #1 focuses on the Build up to the Main Event

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DC x AEW #1

The Intergalactic Title is far more than a championship belt! This Big Galactic Belt is made of pure Element X—the most powerful metal in the universe! Ruptured in a post-match beatdown, the belt scatters across the DC Universe—but every single shard is a weapon that can rewrite reality itself. With the world at stake, the Justice League teams with AEW’s roster to crisscross the globe and recover the shards of the belt before DC’s worst villains use them to turn our world into their deadly playground. It’s the Justice League Elite as you’ve never seen them before—with Excalibur and Booster Gold calling the action! DC x AEW #1 delivers a team-up event that has fun with the concept.

Growing up in the 80s, I watched wrestling in its boom as larger than life characters took to the ring to tell stories and entertain. I stopped watching and then picked it up a bit again in college during the days of the NWO and DeGeneration X. I haven’t regularly watched any wrestling in quite some time but occasionally catch an episode of AEW or clips online. So, I have some familiarity with that world going into DC x AEW #1 a team up series that has its ups and its downs.

Written by Steve Orlando, DC x AEW #1 is an interesting debut issue as it rushes through its initial concept getting to the juicier part of the story which kicks off in the second issue. A belt is made of a powerful substance and the heroes of DC team up with the wrestlers of AEW to get that substance back. Orlando doesn’t drag that part out instead giving each team-up a few pages as the shards of the belt of gathered for the meat of the story that begins in the next issue. The debut issue is very much the set up of where it’s all going.

And, the comic is… ok. It feels like something you might get for attending an event with a ticket purchase, really playing to the fans of AEW more than anything else. The characters feel like themselves for the most part but that also means there’s some leaning on some of the verbal ticks they’re known for (how many times can Ospery say “bruv”) or teasing some of the AEW’s wrestler’s characters. You get a sense of each but overall, the initial team-ups are a bit odd in that it’s wrestlers fighting DC villains with the Justice League helping. Orlando doesn’t make the wrestlers super powerful but let’s face it, beyond using their acrobatics/athleticism to get the shard pieces, they’d likely get their asses kicked dealing with all of these villains. The short page count for each team also doesn’t give much time to really spotlight the characters, instead feeling like quick vignettes to get things rolling.

The art is ok. Travis Mercer has the Justice League and villains looking great and some of the AEW wrestlers look recognizable, there’s others I needed the comic to tell me who they where. With color by Andrew Dalhouse and lettering by Josh Reed, there’s a lot of action and overall some good interaction between the characters but overall the comic isn’t anything spectacular visually. And it’d be difficult to. AEW’s wrestling style is very dynamic in its moves and motion, something not easily done on the comic page. Watching the wrestlers “dance” with their moves in impressive gymnastic like moves in quick succession looks great on television. The comic here needed a few more recognizable moves to get the visual pops it is going for.

DC x AEW #1 is fun and entertaining, a nice distraction from the seriousness of the world. But, the comic is very much geared towards the AEW fans and feels a little like all of the product placement/crossovers from the WCW days. It can be fun and deliver something a little different.

Story: Steve Orlando Art: Travis Mercer
Color: Andrew Dalhouse Letterer: Josh Reed
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Preview: DC x AEW #1

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DC x AEW #1

(W) Steve Orlando (A) Travis Mercer

THE SUPERSTARS OF ALL ELITE WRESTLING EXPLODE OUT OF THE RING AND INTO THE DC UNIVERSE! The Intergalactic Title is far more than a championship belt! This Big Galactic Belt is made of pure Element X — the most powerful metal in the universe! Ruptured in a post-match beatdown, the belt scatters across the DC Universe—but every single shard is a weapon that can rewrite reality itself. With the world at stake, the Justice League teams with AEW’s roster to crisscross the globe and recover the shards of the belt before DC’s worst villains use them to turn our world into their deadly playground. It’s the Justice League Elite as you’ve never seen them before — with Excalibur and Booster Gold calling the action!

DC x AEW #1

Preview: DC K.O.: The Kids Are All Fight Special #1

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DC K.O.: The Kids Are All Fight Special #1

(W) Jeremy Adams (A) Travis Mercer

Jon Kent always wanted to be a Titan when he grew up, but now that he’s working alongside them in the effort to evacuate Earth, he didn’t think he’d be stuck babysitting young sidekicks! When the kids sneak off to enter the fray and stop Granny Goodness, Jon will have to show these young heroes the ropes so they can save the day and prove there’s no age requirement to being a superhero — and you won’t want to miss the SHOCKING finale!

DC K.O.: The Kids Are All Fight Special #1

Exclusive: The stars of AEW and DC tag-team for the Intergalactic Title in 2026

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On February 4, 2026, the superstars of All Elite Wrestling and heroes of the DC Universe come together for DC x AEW. Written by Steve Orlando with art by Travis Mercer, the series has them crisscrossing the globe to retrieve shards of the Intergalactic Title. Made of pure Element X, it has the power to rewrite reality itself!

DC x AEW #1 features a main cover by Lucas Meyer with variants by Daniel Warren Johnson and Edwin Galmon as well as foil variant cover by Meyer and logo and black sketch variant covers. DC x AEW #2 features a main cover by Serg Acuna with variants by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz and Gian Galang.

Check out the solicits and covers from DC x AEW #1 out February 4 and DC x AEW #2 which is out March 11, 2026 below!

The superstars of All Elite Wrestling explode out of the ring and into the DC Universe!

The Intergalactic Title is far more than a championship belt! This Big Galactic Belt is made of pure Element X—the most powerful metal in the universe! Ruptured in a post-match beatdown, the belt scatters across the DC Universe—but every single shard is a weapon that can rewrite reality itself. With the world at stake, the Justice League teams with AEW’s roster to crisscross the globe and recover the shards of the belt before DC’s worst villains use them to turn our world into their deadly playground. It’s the Justice League Elite as you’ve never seen them before—with Excalibur and Booster Gold calling the action!

It’s the most dangerous heel turn in history as Injustice Incorporated is born!

The Big Galactic Belt rests on Lex Luthor’s waist—with a snap, he can remix reality to his whim. With the Justice League and AEW’s most iconic wrestlers spread across the globe, locked in battle with the DC Universe’s most notorious villains, it’s a race against time to stop Lex before he locks in his control of Earth. As the stakes skyrocket by the second, a challenge is issued—for all its power, the Big Galactic Belt is still a championship. Once called out, its owner has no choice but to defend it. The fate of reality comes down to a tornado tag match! The cosmically-empowered Lex Luthor versus Wonder Woman and their tag team partners—two of the most iconic faces to ever set foot in the squared circle!

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1 Teases an Interesting Mystery

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - The Seeds of Salvation #1

After plodding through uneventful mission after uneventful mission, Christine Chapel is itching for a real adventure. So, when an opportunity to reunite with her old scientist friend Jinare for research on the planet Poilant crops up, Chapel is excited to finally do what Starfleet does best: explore strange new worlds. However, when the Enterprise arrives in Poilant’s space, the crew cannot get into contact with Jinare or any of her researchers. Chapel, Una, Spock, La’An, and Scotty beam down, and they are greeted by…nothing…no one…and no signs of what caused their disappearance, only a robot named D6 who urges them to descend into the planet’s depths in search of his friends. But there’s more than scientists lurking in the watery abyss. Ancient life-forms and behemoths await—and they might mean more adventure than even Chapel can handle. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1 is a solid start that’s welcoming to Star Trek fans as well as new readers.

While I’ve seen all of the Star Trek films and watched a lot of the television shows, I’m not a Star Trek diehard. I know my basics and enjoy what I’ve seen but I haven’t watched the new shows on streaming (mostly because I don’t want to pay for yet another streaming service). So, I’ve never seen a full episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, but know enough about it, that it’s a prequel to the original Star Trek series. And even that knowledge is unnecessary.

Writer Robbie Thompson delivers a debut issue in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1 that’s easy for anyone to dive into. There’s little you need to know about the series to enjoy what is a fairly basic concept, a team arrives at a base to find it empty and only clues as to where everyone has gone. Add in a feeling of danger lurking and you have this comic. It’s straightforward but it works well.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1 isn’t a comic lost in Star Trek lore and details. Instead, it puts its focus on the characters and the mystery providing a read that plays into the puzzle as to what happened and playing with tropes like readers guessing what’s lurking in a shadow or around the corner. It keeps things focused and simple in that way.

Travis Mercer‘s art, along with color by JP Morgan and lettering by Jodie Troutman helps things out by really playing into that slight tension of the story. The characters feel a bit antsy in the beginning which then builds into the tension as the team begins to explore their destination. The art has fun with that at times focusing visuals elsewhere as the team explores off the page, instead focusing on what lurks in the shadows. It just dives right into what can make horror work and goes with it. Add in a nice take on the actors where they’re all easily recognizable, and it all comes together for a comic that looks good and is having fun visually with the already entertaining script.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1 is a nice start. Star Trek fans should enjoy this adventure of the crew while new readers can just enjoy a sci-fi mystery and not get caught up on it being based on an existing property. It’s the best of both worlds in that case as it explores a whole new world.

Story: Robbie Thompson Art: Travis Mercer
Color: JP Morgan Letterer: Jodie Troutman
Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Preview: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1

(W) Robbie Thompson (A) Travis Mercer

From Strange New Worlds season 4 writer Robbie Thompson (The Sin Bin, Marvel’s Silk) and Star Trek knockout artist Travis Mercer (Cyborg, Teen Titans) comes a Lovecraftian horror the likes of which the crew of the Enterprise has never seen before!

After plodding through uneventful mission after uneventful mission, Christine Chapel is itching for a real adventure. So, when an opportunity to reunite with her old scientist friend Jinare for research on the planet Poilant crops up, Chapel is excited to finally do what Starfleet does best: explore strange new worlds. However, when the Enterprise arrives in Poilant’s space, the crew cannot get into contact with Jinare or any of her researchers. Chapel, Una, Spock, La’An, and Scotty beam down, and they are greeted by… nothing… no one… and no signs of what caused their disappearance, only a robot named D6 who urges them to descend into the planet’s depths in search of his friends. But there’s more than scientists lurking in the watery abyss. Ancient life-forms and behemoths await — and they might mean more adventure than even Chapel can handle.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1

Preview: DC’s Kal-El-Fornia Love #1

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DC’s Kal-El-Fornia Love #1

(W) Bryan Q. Miller, Brandon Thomas, Joshua Hale Fialkov, George Mann, Christof Bogacs, James Reid, Dave Wielgosz and Meghan Fitzmartin (A) Gerardo Sandoval, Juni Ba, Travis Mercer, Bruno Abdias, Jacoby Salcedo, Jon Mikel, Joey Vazquez and Marcial Toledano
In Shops: Jul 30, 2025
SRP: $9.99

BRIGHTER THAN A HOLLYWOOD STAR, MORE POWERFUL THAN SILICON VALLEY TECH, ABLE TO LEAP TALL REDWOOD TREES IN A SINGLE BOUND…IT’S DC’S KAL-EL-FORNIA LOVE! The whole Super-Family is hitting the road in a series of action-packed adventures across the great state of California. Supergirl’s day at the beach is interrupted by a demonic creature from the deep and John Constantine! Jon and Conner Kent team up to wrangle an escaped beast in the Redwoods! Bizarro (literally) crashes an audition for a major motion picture! And join Superman and Lois as a kaiju from the California Ocean comes for their family vacation! The Summer of Superman is heating up, so slather on some sunscreen and snag your latest beach read–in stores this July!

DC's Kal-El-Fornia Love #1

Star Trek: Omega ends one chapter of Star Trek… and doesn’t really set up what’s next

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Star Trek: Omega

Two and a half years of comics spanning 60 years of Star Trek history, a fair few awards, and more than a few universe detonations, and it’s all been coming to this! Star Trek: Omega is the denouement of the critically acclaimed Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant storylines, and the first glimpse at what comes after. The crews of the Theseus, Defiant, and Enterprise set to work restoring the universe to what it should be after the evil android Lore’s intervention.

Star Trek: Omega is an interesting finale, and let me make that clear it’s absolutely a finale. I haven’t followed IDW’s Star Trek comics religiously and haven’t read much of the recent “Lore War,” but I decided to check out Star Trek: Omega in hopes of seeing what happens next. And while the comic wraps things up nicely, it also does very little to clearly lay out what to expect. This isn’t the end of an event comic like we’ve grown accustomed to that acts as much as a final chapter as it does advertisement, instead it’s a rather muted send-off wrapping up what has come before.

Written by Christopher Cantwell, Collin Kelly, and Jackson Lanzing, Star Trek: Omega bounces around the Star Trek universe giving major characters their moments as their current storylines wrap up. It’s packed with touching moments and some interesting present situations but it really feels like it closes a lot of chapters. For fans who have read the current run of Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant, Star Trek: Omega serves as a nice ending wrapping up those series and letting us know where the various characters stand. But, it’s for the fans. New readers won’t find much as far as what’s next in this issue. There’s some teases and hints, but that’s about it, nothing clear beyond one series (and we’ll get to that).

Still, the comic has touching moments and a lot of scenes where I want to know more. I want to see what happens next, so in that way, the comic succeeds. Where it falls short is that there’s not much highlighted to come. Star Trek: Redshirts, which is a great first issue and you can read our review, is all that’s teased. It’s an odd two page spread that doesn’t really excite and feels like it’s hiding what it’s for. Add in that Star Trek: Omega has a release date of June 18 and the final order cut-off date for Star Trek: Redshirts was June 9, and you have a teaser that falls really short of what its goal is.

The art of Star Trek: Omega is interesting with a long list of artists from the years of Star Trek comics. Oleg Chudakov, Joe Eisma, Mike Feehan, Tess Fowler, Angel Hernandez, Liana Kangas, Megan Levens, Travis Mercer, Ramon Rosanas, Rachael Stott, Erik Tamayo, Davide Tinto, and Marcus To each take a bit of the story as it highlights each of the characters in their individual scenes. Lee Loughridge and Marissa Louise provide colors and Clayton Cowles handles the lettering. For the most part, the art doesn’t vary much from scene to scene except one, which is particularly jarring it’s so different than what has come before. But, with my knowledge of Star Trek I could tell who all of the characters that I know were and the art does a solid job of nailing down the emotional moments of the issue.

Overall, Star Trek: Omega feels a bit muted in some ways. It has touching moments and really does feel like a “series finale” in many ways. It doesn’t have lots of action and excitement. It wraps up storylines and teases adventures to come. Even with some neat teases that this casual fan can appreciate, it’s one for the fans who have read the comics through the recent years. But, it falls short getting readers excited for what comes next. It almost feels like it’s teasing possibilities to see the fan reaction and then go from there. It closes one chapter but doesn’t really open the next one.

Story: Christopher Cantwell, Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
Oleg Chudakov, Joe Eisma, Mike Feehan, Tess Fowler, Angel Hernandez, Liana Kangas, Megan Levens, Travis Mercer, Ramon Rosanas, Rachael Stott, Erik Tamayo, Davide Tinto, and Marcus To
Color: Lee Loughridge, Marissa Louise Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

IDW announces three new Star Trek limited series: Red Shirts, Strange New Worlds, and Voyager!

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Set a course for bold new storytelling.

IDW Publishing has announced the expansion of the Eisner-nominated Star Trek line of comics with three new limited series, each one offering compelling tales that explore different genres and offer new and exciting experiences for every type of Star Trek fan in the universe.

Beaming into comic shops this July, Eisner-nominated writer Christopher Cantwell and awe-inspiring artist Megan Levens present Star Trek: Red Shirts, a five-issue heartrending Star Trek story that is unlike anything fans have seen before. Featuring a brand-new team of characters, the Red Shirts are commonly known as Starfleet’s fearless and doomed crew members. Now, these intrepid and ill-fated red-uniformed individuals finally get their own story, and no one is safe… Who will survive their deadly mission?

Landing in August is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Destruction. Presented by Robbie Thompson – who is also writing on season four of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – and incredible artist Travis Mercer, this five-issue limited series puts beloved characters Chapel, Una, La’An, and Spock – plus a new adorable robot sidekick named D6 – on a classic adventure with plenty of twists and turns as they explore an ice-covered planet and the scary secrets that lurk deep beneath the surface…

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - The Seeds of Destruction

Thirty years after the show made its unforgettable debut, Captain Janeway and the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager are back for one final mission before they head home! From imaginative co-writers Tilly and Susan Bridges and acclaimed artist Angel Hernandez comes Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming this September, a five-issue limited series that offers the final resolution fans have been waiting decades to witness. The final shot of the Emmy-award winning series featured the iconic ship approaching Earth before the screen goes dark… But what if just moments after that, there was one last emergency for the determined Captain Janeway and her brave crew? 

This exciting trio of new limited series comes as Star Trek: Omega approaches, an oversized one-shot which is the denouement of critically acclaimed Star Trek comic series and Star Trek: Defiant storylines. On sale June 18, Star Trek: Omega will serve as a heartfelt and emotional journey that should not be missed by Star Trek fans, both old and new. More new Star Trek comics are on the way as well, but those will remain classified… for now. 

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