Dynamite announces a pair of stunning exclusive variant covers featuring Red Sonja and Vampirella by powerhouse duo Jim Balent and Holly Golightly, available right now on Indiegogo!

"I’m a huge fan of Frank Thorne’s work, especially on the Red Sonja Series!," said Jim Balent. "Although I will never surpass his depiction of this She-Devil With a Sword, I could not pass up this opportunity to illustrate one of my favorite covers he created. I consider this a huge honor to have my cover on his iconic issue."

"Lush and glamorous, romantic, goth and melodramatic... as a teen, all of these qualities pulled me into Vampirella’s world," said Holly Golightly. "I wanted to be her best friend and join her in all her adventures. It’s a dream come true to share my passion for her and Jose Gonzalez’s art through my cover with other Vampi fans!“





This is actually a very special project for both Balent and Golightly, who have long been fans of these iconic characters and that influence is seen in their styles and work to this day.

Holly was such a big fan of Vampirella, and particularly the sensual stylings of her definitive 1970s artist Jose Gonzalez, that she used an image of the Drakulonian for her high school graduation yearbook page! As she navigated growing up and honing her artistry, Holly identified with the outsider nature of Vampi and the macabre horror of those original stories. Her favorite issue was the 1972 Annual, which featured a deep roster of top artists across 64 pages like Gonzalez, Wally Wood, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Neal Adams, and more. Which is why her exclusive new art is adorning a limited-edition printing of that issue and at magazine size!

On the other hand, Jim Balent taps into his "Barbarian Jim" persona to channel the legendary strokes of Frank Thorne for a Crom-ful classic new cover. Fans should make sure to watch the promo video to see Jim in his full barbarian glory. His Red Sonja cover pays homage to Thorne and Bruce Jones' "Eyes of the Gorgon" story, originally published in 1976 in Marvel Feature #4. His cover will be gracing a stunning limited edition of that classic story.

Each cover is being offered in three main variations. Balent's comes standard with traditional trade dress, as a virgin logo-free edition, or a black and white line art variant. Holly's comes standard, with the line art, or as a special alternate version she designed to homage pop art pioneer Patrick Nagel, known for his striking portraits of women. Fans can get combo packages of the covers, CGC graded copies, signed editions, or even remark sketches from Holly. She'll also be doing a limited number of truly one-of-a-kind sketch covers - in full color!



Trading card sets for each cover represent all the editions, the original inspiration issue, and a fun behind the scenes photo of each artist's process. Tee shirts, lithograph prints, and collectible coins round out this overflowing extravaganza of Vampi and Sonja celebration!



Jim Balent is a 35 year veteran of comics, establishing himself at the forefront of the "bad girl" movement in comics nearly right off the bat. His Dynamite DNA goes way back, with some of his earliest work being inking the Vampirella: The Dracula War story arc early into the Harris era, and drawing Purgatori's first solo series with Chaos! Comics. In 1993 he kicked off a new Catwoman series at DC, which still stands as her longest-running. Jim drew over 80 issues in a row over a 7-year run, intersecting with fan-favorite crossovers like Knightfall and No Man's Land, and even a tussle with Vampirella! Characters like Catwoman, Vampi, Purgatori, and Billy Tucci's Shi lead the way as the most popular comics of the 1990s began to star kickass women.


Holly Golightly kicked off her comics career with her own bad girl creation, Vampfire. She's also balanced the scales and shown off her versatility on the "good girl" end with a plethora of stories for Archie Comics on everyone's favorite Riverdale teens. This includes a fan-favorite run on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, a natural match for Holly - a practicing witch!

In 2000 the duo turned their attention to the indie scene and launched BroadSword Comics. Their flagship title Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose will be celebrating a whopping 125 issues at the end of this year. The pair collaborate on the series with Jim writing, drawing the interiors and covers, while Holly colors, letters and handles production for the character inspired by her.

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Fans are eager to see the upcoming Lanterns series on HBO and besides a still shot and a few seconds of footage, very little about the series is known at this point. We got our first comments about it from series star Kyle Chandler who will be playing one of the most well-known Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan. Chandler was being interviewed on the Today Show for his new film The RIP with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. During the interview he was asked about Lanterns and said, “I’ve never had as much fun shooting something as I did that. The people from the top to the bottom. I can’t say enough about Chris Mundy, and the producers, the DC folks. It was an excellent experience. I expect the show to be as good as the experience I had. Aaron Pierre, who I worked with, he and I had a great time.” The series is slated to be released later this year and comes from Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King. Joining Chandler and Pierre in the cast are Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner and then Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Jason Ritter, Poorna Jagannathan, and Paul Ben-Victor. There will be eight episodes and it is said to be mostly an Earth-based mystery set in the heartland of America with a True Detective vibe. 

Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. has stirred plenty of speculation across Hollywood, but one message from the streamer’s leadership has been unusually clear: the theatrical experience isn’t going anywhere. In fact, if the sale closes, Netflix says it will strengthen Warner Bros.’ traditional theatrical model rather than shrink it. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co‑CEO, has repeatedly emphasized that Warner Bros. films will continue to enjoy a 45‑day exclusive theatrical window—a stance that directly counters fears that Netflix would rush major releases to streaming. Sarandos described Warner Bros.’ theatrical distribution as a “phenomenal” engine that generates billions in revenue, insisting Netflix has no intention of putting that at risk. This commitment marks a notable shift in tone for Netflix, which historically prioritized streaming-first strategies. But after reviewing Warner Bros.’ financials, Sarandos acknowledged that the economics of theatrical releases are stronger than Netflix had previously modeled. He framed the 45‑day window not as a compromise but as a competitive strategy: Netflix wants to “win opening weekend” and “win box office,” embracing the same metrics that drive traditional studios. Industry observers have taken notice. While some feared the acquisition would accelerate the decline of theatrical exclusivity, Netflix’s public stance suggests a more balanced future—one where streaming power and box office ambition coexist. For now, at least, moviegoers can expect Warner Bros. films to keep lighting up big screens for a full month and a half before landing on Netflix’s platform. 

The DCU is expanding with the casting of one of the universe’s biggest bads… Darkseid. While this seems to go against something co-studio head James Gunn has said previously about staying away from the cosmic threat, but this casting isn’t for Man of Tomorrow, but rather the upcoming Mister. Miracle animated series and you can’t really tell the story of Scott Free with mentioning his adopted daddy. Writer Tom King was on the Word Balloon podcast when he talked about the series that he is showrunning and said that they had cast Darkseid and Orion along with Mr. Miracle and Big Barda. If you’re not familiar with these characters, they are all part of the Fourth World Saga created by comic legend Jack Kirby during his short stint with DC Comics. It tells the story of two warring factions, the New Gods and the planet Apokolips and a deal that was made in an attempt for peace. The leaders of the factions, High Father and Darkseid, would exchange children… this sent Scott Free to be raised on the oppressive planet while Orion was sent to the peaceful New Genesis. Scott would become and escape artist, finding a way off of Apokolips with the female warrior, Barda, and eventually come to Earth. Exactly what part of that history the series will focus on is unclear, but we do know that Darkseid and the others will be involved. Gunn also confirmed on social media that the series will be cannon to the DCU that includes the recent Superman movie, the Peacemaker series and the animated Creature Commandos. This means that whoever is voicing these characters in the series would also play them in live action in the future and King has said that the Mister Miracle series will have big ramifications on the DCU as a whole. No word on when the series will debut, but with the casting already made, we can expect an announcement in the near future. 

Takashi Yamazaki’s follow-up to the 2023 Godzilla Minus One is set to hit North American theaters on November 6th, 2026, three days after its premier in Japan. The Academy Award winning film took in $11.4 million in the US on its opening weekend and $57 million total during its domestic box office run. Godzilla Minus Zero is the second film in the franchise from Gkids since taking Toho acquired the company in 2024. David Jesteadt, president of Gkids, said in a statement: “Gkids is proud to bring Godzilla Minus Zero to North American audiences, following the incredible global reception of Godzilla Minus One. This next chapter is sure to become another defining moment for the most colossal monster ever to dominate the screen. It is only fitting that this bold, new Godzilla event be experienced in its fullest theatrical glory, and we’re honored that Toho has entrusted us to carry this legacy forward.” 

As we get closer to the start of production on Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part 2, the cast starts to take shape with the second MCU veteran being added to the cast. We heard of Scarlet Johansson’s casting earlier in December and now multiple sources are saying Sebastian Stan has come on board as well, with the Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision report claiming that the actor who plays Bucky Barnes will now take on the role of District Attorney Harvey Dent aka Two-Face. This lines up with the rumors that Johansson would be playing Gilda Dent and that the story may be following the Long Halloween, a popular comic arch by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. While the story does focus on the Dents, many of the other characters in the story have already appeared in The Batman and The Penguin and have already been eliminated. Plus, the setting of the sequel is said to be set around a week after The Penguin series ended, just before Christmas. How ever the characters are used, if Stan is in the film, it then puts the fate of his MCU character in question as The Batman Part 2 will be filming around the same time as Avengers: Secret Wars. While the casting of both Stan and Johansson have not been made official, neither have they been denied by Reeves, James Gunn or DC Studios. 

Deadline is reporting that Mike Flanagan is working on a new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. Flanagan said his plan is to adapt the beloved franchise into a five-season series that would then be capped off by two stand-alone movies. The acclaimed horror director recently told Empire Magazine, “We’ve got a lot of scripts done for it. It’s the first priority.” He also made it clear that he doesn’t want the 2017 Idris Elba/Matthew McConaughey film to be the final word on the property. That adaptation has a 16% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Though Flanagan and Intrepid Pictures have a deal with Amazon, the rights to the Dark Tower were specifically carved out of their arrangement and could end up with another studio, but Amazon is also a possibility. Flanagan is known for his work on films like Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep and the Life of Chuck as well as series like The Fall of the House of Ushers, The Midnight Club and Midnight Mass. He also came up with the initial story and script for the upcoming Clayface movie that was so strong that James Gunn and Peter Safran has to greenlight a body horror film starring a B-level Batman villain as the third film released in their new DCU.   

Now that we’re in 2026, we need to keep an ear out for casting news for the two big DC Studios films shooting this year, Man of Tomorrow and The Batman Part 2. The Superman follow-up is the one going first and we already got the casting announcement for the main villain, Brainiac with the addition of German actor Lars Eidinger to the cast. There have been rumors that there was a female role being cast for a potential hero that many have assumed was going to be this universe’s Wonder Woman, and while that has not been confirmed, John Rocha of the Hot Mic podcast says his sources confirm that James Gunn is looking to cast the Amazon warrior for the film. That would make sense with the idea that DC is pushing Wonder Woman for a new film with Supergirl scribe Ann Nogueira said to be working on the script. This still falls into the rumor category, but Gunn has not debunked the story as of yet. With the film expected to begin production in the spring, more casting news is expected in the next few weeks/months, and we know that if the “scoopers” have it right, DC likes to get the news out their themselves as they did with Eidinger. So I wouldn’t trust any of the rumored castings as of now. 

James Gunn took to social media this morning to welcome Lars Eidinger to the DCU and Man of Tomorrow in the role of Brainiac. Eidinger, while not a household name, is best known for his roles in Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper but also appeared in the recent Netflix film Jay Kelly. Gunn talked about a worldwide search for the iconic Superman villain led to Eidinger rising to the top. He will join David Corenswet, Nicholas Hoult and Rachel Brosnahan as the film is expected to begin shooting in the spring of 2026 for a release in July of 2027. There have been multiple attempts to use Brainiac in a Superman film, but each attempt has fallen to the wayside, and his only live-action appearance so far was in the short-lived SciFi series Krypton where he was played by Blake Ritson.    

After having begun production in August of this year, director Destin Daniel Cretton revealed that Spider-Man: Brand New Day has wrapped filming as of Friday. The film, which is set to premiere July 31st, 2026, features the return of Tom Holland as Peter Parker and is the first in the MCU franchise to not be directed by Jon Watts. Cretton wrote on Instagram, “I’m so deeply grateful for the people who walked with me through the biggest, most rewarding film I’ve ever been a part of. To our amazing cast, for breathing so much life into these beloved characters and moving us every day. To our unbelievable crew, who worked tirelessly with unmatched creativity and craftsmanship, who made me laugh so hard my stomach never stopped hurting. I love you all so much and can’t wait for the world to see your stunning work on the big screen. And of course, to @tomholland2013, for your kind, generous leadership on and off screen, for your relentless work ethic, your fearless performances, and for your friendship. That’s a wrap on Spider-Man: Brand New Day!” This is Cretton’s second MCU film after having helmed Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He has also produced the Wonder Man series set to debut on Disney+ next month. 

Scarlett Johansson is said to be in negotiations to join the cast of the highly anticipated sequel, The Batman Part 2. While Warner Bros. has not officially revealed which character Johansson would portray, speculation is rife across social media and film forums. Many fans are hoping she will take on the role of a major antagonist or perhaps bring a new dimension to an existing character from the Batman lore. Johansson’s acclaimed work in action and drama—especially her iconic run as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—positions her as a compelling choice for a complex role in Gotham’s shadowy streets. The Batman Part 2 is currently in pre-production, with filming scheduled to commence in May of next year. The film is targeted for a theatrical release in 2026, although official dates may be subject to change. Director Matt Reeves returns to helm the sequel, ensuring continuity in the vision and tone that made the first installment a critical and box office success. Johansson’s addition is expected to boost the already stellar lineup led by Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Within hours of the announcement, social media platforms lit up with enthusiastic posts and trending hashtags. Speculation is running rampant with guesses of her role ranging from villains like Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn to love interests like Silver St. Cloud and Vickie Vale. One of the more popular suggestions is that Johansson could be playing Andrea Beaumont, a love interest and antagonist from the hit animated film Mask of the Phantasm. The casting has not been confirmed and neither the studio nor Reeves has commented since the story broke.