DC announces first 10 Vertigo titles. Marvel doubles down on ending the Ultimate Universe. DC KO welcomes wild new challengers.
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Episode Transcript:
DC Vertigo is BACK.
Marvel for really real ending Ultimate Universe.
DC KO welcomes wild new challengers.
This is Comic Book Club News for October 13, 2025.
DC Vertigo Is Back With Announcement Of 10 Titles:
DC Vertigo is back! The storied imprint officially unveiled the first 10 titles coming out next year at New York Comic Con, and it’s a packed slate of seasoned teams, ready to launch new, adult-forward ongoing series. The full line-up is:
- The Nice House by the Sea by James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno, beginning with issue #7
- Bleeding Hearts by Deniz Camp and Stipan Morian
- End of Life by Kyle Starks and Steve Pugh
- The Peril of Brutal Dark by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips
- 100 Bullets: The US of Anger by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso
- Necretaceous by Tom Taylor and Darick Robertson
- Fanatic by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer
- The Crying Dolls by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero O’Connell
- Black Tower: The Raven Conspiracy by Ram V and Mike Perkins
- A Walking Shadow by Simon Surrier and Aaron Campbell
The titles range from two zombie books, to a book about a serial killer set at the beginning of the AIDS crisis in 1970s New York, and even the return of 100 Bullets, which looks to take on the rise of fascism in the United States, right now.
Titles will begin rolling out in February, with The Nice House by the Sea #7 on February 4, and other titles following one a week: Bleeding Hearts #1 will publish on February 11, End of Life #1 on February 18 and The Peril of the Brutal Dark #1 will launch on February 25. The rest of the slate will continue to launch throughout 2026.
Marvel Ending Ultimate Universe For Real:
You won’t have the Ultimate Universe to kick around anymore. As previously revealed at Marvel’s panel during New York Comic Con‘s Retailer Day, the publisher is ending the Ultimate Universe next April, with the conclusion of the Ultimate Endgame event. And at its Next Big Thing panel, the publisher elaborated further about what that all means.
If you don’t understand why this is happening, particularly with a best-selling line of comics, the answer is there’s always been a two-year ticking countdown clock on the storyline crafted by writer Jonathan Hickman: when it’s done, The Maker, the evil Reed Richards returns, and the story is concluded. And now we know that Ultimate Spider-Man #24 in December, Ultimate Black Panther #24 in January, Ultimate X-Men #24 in February, and Ultimates #24 and Ultimate Wolverine #16 in April will be the final issues of those respective series.
Meanwhile, Ultimate Endgame will kick off on December 31, 2025, and run five issues, bringing the story to a close, also in April.
For anyone who is reacting with a “yeah, right” at the idea of Marvel actually ending the Ultimate Universe, considering it regularly outsells the main universe… We’re right there with you. And we won’t share where or how, but Comic Book Club has reason to think this is not quite the end of the Ultimate Universe; at least not the way Marvel is framing it.
However, the reasoning they present is actually good: the goal is to have a complete story that will live on in trades, in perpetuity. Said Head of Marvel Comics and Franchise Dan Buckley, “You’ll be able to take this journey—the beginning, middle, and end—and digest it for years to come and pass it on to others.”
Given Marvel has often struggled with their bookstore game, this is, to editorialize, a good idea.
DC KO Welcomes Wild New Challengers:
This is not a joke. As announced on the New York Comic Con “Jim Lee & Friends” panel, DC Comics DC K.O. is getting wilder with contenders from outside the DC Universe. Specifically — again, not a joke — Homelander from The Boys and more.
And he’s not alone. Along with Homelander is Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat, Annabelle from The Conjuring series, Red Sonja, Vampirella, and the kicker… Samantha Strong, the bear from Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees at IDW are all in DC K.O. as part of a “bonus level.”
The currently running event written by Scott Snyder mashes up 32 heroes and villains fighting to the death to gain enough “Omega Energy” to take down Darkseid. However, the DC characters in the tournament realize they can bring in characters from other universes in order to get even more Omega Energy than is available in the main tournament — which is how Sub-Zero and Annabelle get in on the action.
That’s the long and short of the news — no date was offered for when this happens — but in a way it brings at least The Boys home, as the comic started at DC.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And I’m excited to announce I’ve also been added to DC KO.
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
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