J. Michael Straczynski Launches Weirdest Marvel Team-Up Book Ever

J. Michael Straczynski is launching Marvel‘s weirdest team-up book ever. In fact, it’s so weird that it won’t be a miniseries or ongoing series. Instead, it’s several one-shots pairing characters like Doctor Doom and Rocket Raccoon, or Nick Fury and Fin Fang Foom. No, I’m not making either of those up.

“I like to go where the fun is, and the idea of putting together Marvel characters who had either never been paired before, or only minimally, seemed like it would be a ton of fun, and it was even more of a blast than I anticipated,” Straczynski explained via a press release provided to Comic Book Club. “For the first time we could see the original Nick Fury in China along with the Flying Tigers taking on a newly awakened Fin Fang Foom…go to the edge of time and space with Rocket Raccoon and Doctor Doom…see the Ghost Rider slugging it out with none other than Galactus…Aunt May caught in the midst of a supernatural battle alongside Agatha Harkness…the more unlikely the pairing, the more eccentric the combo, the more fun it was to see it come to life. I’ve been sitting on news of this series for over a year and I’m so excited to know it will finally be hitting newsstands starting in January.”

Alongside Straczynski for this bold experiment in bizarreness is a murderer’s row of artists: Will Robson, Bernard Chang, Elena Casagrande, Germán Peralta, Juan Ferreyra, and Phil Noto.

Here’s the full lineup of titles:

DOCTOR DOOM & ROCKET RACCOON
CAPTAIN AMERICA & VOLSTAGG
NICK FURY VS. FIN FANG FOOM
HULK & DOCTOR STRANGE (plus a backup story starring AUNT MAY & AGATHA HARKNESS!)
GHOST RIDER VS. GALACTUS
SPIDER-MAN VS. DOCTOR OCTOPUS

The monthly event will begin in January with Doctor Doom & Rocket Raccon, where “Doom does the one thing he never wants to do: ask for a favor! What awaits Rocket in Latveria? Mischief, miscommunication and an emotional journey across space and time in the Mighty Marvel Way!”

Then in February, it’s time for Captain American & Volstagg. “When a war breaks out in the Nine Realms, Volstagg of the Warriors Three turns to the only man skilled enough to end it: Steve Rogers, Captain America!”

Along with covers for the first three issues, you can check out a special variant cover for Doctor Doom & Rocket Raccoon #1 featuring all the characters, by Leinil Francis Yu. Check them out below, as well as the full rundown of titles.