This one is a pretty self-explanatory entry… putting together Marvel’s most crazed serial killer with DC’s most crazed serial killer really isn’t as clever as some of these other entries have been but Joker and Carnage is just to good a match-up to ignore.
The design for this one is deceptively simple looking while it really took a while to nail the final result. One of my biggest hurdles was the color scheme, I think I tried out a dozen shades of green and purple and white and red until I genuinely couldn’t tell the difference anymore – and then after endless tries I realized I also couldn’t settle on an order for the colors to be in. Was the face gonna be green or the mouth? What about the tendrils? Should they be red instead to accentuate his smile? I tried out another few dozen designs before settling on this one. I really love how this guy ended up looking. It’s immediately clear which characters got smashed together and nothing ends up illegible, which tends to happy with goopy characters like this.
The problem with putting the Joker into a prompt that demands a written element like this challenge does is that there just isn’t a whole lot to take from. He’s a mystery man and I want to stay faithful to that element of the character but I also want to write about him and make sure these mash-ups are more than just fun designs. I kind of ended up going with the most obvious route:
Being the leader of a clan of murderers terrorizing the Gotham streets, Mr. C (as this character is known without his symbiote) quickly finds himself facing off against the Caped Crusader. During one of their more violent match-ups the two enemies find themselves trapped in a secret underground laboratory run by Hugo Strange’s Life Foundation which has been used to morph the dangerous Venom toxin into something even more sinister. In a more tactless moment from the Caped Crusader, Mr. C is pushed into the containment chambers the foundation has been using – all of which are promptly broken. The separate pieces of Symbiote start to bond with Mr. C and thus Mayhem is born!
It’s a big entry today given that we’ve hit double digits as we enter day 10! I’m very excited to show everyone what’s next. I’m far from finished and my best pieces are still yet to come!
Time has already started flying by this year as we are already steadily approaching the end of January. The perfect time to look ahead at the 11 months left in 2025 and see what exciting things are in store for us (or in stores, I should say). The year has already proven to be as exciting as its predecessor with some fantastic new issues released over the course of the previous 4 weeks but we also know there are many more amazing new stories on the horizon, Stellar issues we have to look forward to and classic characters coming in to make a splash. Let’s talk about my personal most anticipated books to be released in 2025.
Ice Cream Man #43
Imagine this: you combine a group comics’ greatest talents with one of the industry’s most successful horror series to create a single issue packed to the brim with haunting tales and even scarier imagery. Would you be excited for a book like that? Because I sure am. “Ice Cream Man’s” upcoming 43rd issue is that book. The long running Horror anthology created by Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran is climbing to new heights, putting together a stellar line-up of talent and giving them the same assignment; write a one page horror story.
This line-up includes stories from Grant Morrison, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Matt Fraction, Jeff Lemire and Zoe Thorogood among many other industry giants. Shepherded by Prince, Morazzo and O’Halloran, the minds behind “Ice Cream Man”, these titans will put out what can only be an All-timer of an issue. And having heard some of the early reviews of this thing it seems like my wildest expectations could still be blown out of the water. I cannot wait to hold “Ice Cream Man” #43 in my hands this week.
Yes, You read that right. THIS WEEK!!! Ice Cream Man 43 is releasing on the 29th so run to your local comic book store on Wednesday and make sure you get your hands on what I can only assume to be a stunning book.
GODZILLA
Sometimes all you really need is a good title. A strong eye-and-ear catching series of words strung together so perfectly that it hits your senses just right; that you just can’t help but pick it up. “Godzilla Heist” is one of those titles. It feels weird that I even have to explain myself any further than this but I suppose I’ll give it a shot.
Written by Van Jensen and Illustrated by Kelsey Ramsey, “Godzilla: Heist” is exactly what you expect. We are getting heists while Godzilla is roaming around outside causing a ruckus. Again, need I go on?! This series follows Jai as he concocts the perfect heist using Godzilla as his distraction. Having figured out a way to manipulate Godzilla into being his perfect red herring, Jai attracts the attention of some dangerous individuals who hope to use this manner of thievery for themselves.
Now if that doesn’t excite you, then I don’t think we can ever truly be friends. There is little I love more than a good heist story but putting Godzilla into that mix might just get you the upper-hand; I prefer a Godzilla over a Danny Ocean every day of the week!
Now Godzilla isn’t just heisting around next year, he’s also going to be terrorizing the Marvel Universe! Godzilla is going to be tearing through the world outside your window starting with the Fantastic Fourin March, the beginning of a series of One-Shots all focused on the titular Kaiju in different eras of the Marvel Universe. Pair up this awesome sounding idea with a batch of stellar talent and you’ve got my curiosity peaked. Ryan North and John Romita Jr will be taking on creative duties on this first issue, and with such talent at the helm from the start I’m sure the subsequent issues will feature equally iconic creative teams!
While we don’t know the entire line-up of characters that get to face the world most famous Kaiju, we do know that both the Hulk and Spidey will be leading their own issue against Godzilla. The initiative’s announcement came paired with an amazing promotional piece by Leinil Francis (partially pictured above) that also showed both the Avengers and The X-Men facing off against Godzilla so I’m guessing we might be seeing those two teams in the future as well.
Fantastic Four Fanfare
2025 promises to be a big year for Marvel’s first family as the characters make their way to the big screen for their fourth attempt at getting a successful film off the ground, this time under the MCU banner. With a big movie campaign headed our way it was only a matter of time till Marvel Comics followed suit with an equally big push. While Ryan North’s critically acclaimed time on the team steadily continues to barrel its way towards his earth-shattering “One World Under Doom” event this spring, Marvel decided to announce one of the most exciting titles the team has seen in recent years.
Uniting some of the Four’s most iconic writers and artists, “Fantastic Four Fanfare” promises to be a must-have for any self respecting fan of Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben. The series, which will be composed of four issues each focusing on a different member of the Four, sports an incredible team of writers and artists; Hickman, Zdarsky, Waid, Allred and Bagley (to name only a small part of this fantastic line-up) all return for what can only be a magnificent love letter to the four ahead of their big screen outing.
The Fantastic Four have had many iconic runs over the years. Waid’s time on the title is career defining stuff, Hickman’s magnum opus at Marvel kick-starts during his time writing the team, Zdarsky brought back some light the team desperately needed in his “Two-In-One” book while Marvel was hesitant to even write about them due to their absence in Marvel’s cinematic landscape and Allred brought some of the most classically bonkers sci-fi interiors to the title only equaled by King Kirby himself. To see them return to my favorite family in the Marvel universe is just Fantastic.
The title’s first issue releases in April with the entire page real estate dedicated to Johnny Storm, which I’m sure can only mean we’re in for an incredibly fun ride.
HEAD TRAUMA
Now admittedly putting “Head Trauma” on this list might not be entirely accurate. Without a solid release date or really any official publishing words we might need to wait on this stunning looking books release for years to come but to be truthful – any amount of time would be well worth the wait. Anytime Zoe Thorogood puts out work I’m first in line at the shops. I’ll always champion this magnificent talent’s work and this upcoming book is no exception.
Thorogood herself announced the book on Twitter quite some time ago in late 2022 and has been plucking away at it ever since. With the frequency of which I’m seeing her “Head Trauma” pages show up on social media I’m hoping this is finally the year we can get this book in our hands. Focused on a man who’s “intrusive thoughts start manifesting themselves into reality- largely in the form of accidentally exploding people’s heads”, “Head Trauma” sounds like exactly the type of mayhem I enjoy and paired up with Thorogood’s stunning artwork and writing I’m basically clamoring at the bits to pre-order this thing!
Thorogood has also been teasing other work she’s been doing on different creator owned projects and I am anxiously awaiting those as well, but for now I’m betting on Head Trauma’s release first!
AbsoluteMartian Manhunter
Marvel and DC both launched their respective alternate universes in big ways. Exciting creative teams taking on exciting new versions of the two publishers’ most iconic characters as the books continued to break records and gain critical acclaim. An invigorating start for both publishers, yet the best was still yet to come. Because just when things seem to be going great, Deniz Camp jumps on board and elevates it all to something even more spectacular. What Camp (and Frigeri) did for Marvel’s Ultimate line is still one of my personal favorite moments of last year and I cannot wait till he does it for DC with his new “Absolute Martian Manhunter” book.
While most of the Absolute titles so far have taken the iconic iconography of its most classic heroes and presented it from new angles, Camp and Javier Rodriguez seemed to have done away with (almost) everything that makes J’onn J’onzz The Martian Manhunter in favor of a bold and exciting new version. No more chiseled shapeshifting Martian, now we’ve got an insane new Gumby-esque walking-talking mood ring creature taking over the consciousness of his earthly host in the form of John Jones, an FBI agent driven mad by his newfound intergalactic guest. Honestly, the design alone was enough to completely sell me on the book, most probably due to the amazing artist behind it.
Camp is joined by industry titan Javier Rodriguez, whose name alone makes any book an instant buy for me. He’s one of those artists with such a singular style that I’ll want to read any book he does, no matter the character or creative team attached to it. Yet when the creative team is as good as this one, it’s hard not to put it at the top of a list like this.
What are some of your most anticipated books of 2025? And who are the artists and writers you’re most excited for this year? Let me know in the comments or on my Twitter and Bluesky! If you liked this article please give us a like on there as well and make sure to follow us so you don’t miss a thing from GHOST-WRITES!
GHOST WRITES 