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Marvel Adds Trio of Punisher Showdowns

New York, NY— July 21, 2025 — The streets of the Marvel Universe are set to explode this October as the Punisher comes face-to-face with some of Marvel’s most dangerous heroes! Beginning with PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS: BLACK WIDOW #1, writer Tom Waltz (Marvel Zombies: War Zone) and artist Greg Land (All-Out Avengers) are showcasing previously untold conflicts between Frank Castle and other members of the Marvel Universe in a series of oversized one-shots. It all begins as Punisher and Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow, collide during a mission to stop a terrorist attack in Las Vegas. If Frank can make it through that encounter in one piece (that’s no guarantee!), he’ll have to contend with both Wolverine and the Winter Soldier in the follow-up one-shots releasing in November and December.

“Landing the PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS gig right on the heels of my work on MARVEL ZOMBIES: WAR ZONE is far from a punishment, let me tell you!” jokes writer Tom Waltz. “The Punisher has always been one of my favorite comic-book characters, all the way back to the first time I witnessed him doing battle with Daredevil in the classic DAREDEVIL (1964) #183. And now I get to showcase untold Punisher missions, culling from some of my favorite Marvel lore, and featuring three other fascinating superheroes with dark histories: Black Widow, Wolverine, and Winter Soldier. Rest assured, widows will sting, claws will slash, and bullets will fly. I couldn’t be more ecstatic to join my amazing art teams for this bombastic ride!”

FRANK CASTLE CROSSES PATHS WITH HEROES OF THE MARVEL U!

In PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS: BLACK WIDOW #1, A threat from a terrorist cell puts Frank Castle on a mission to Las Vegas, where the Black Widow’s intel on a Wolf Spider operative will set them all on a bullet-riddled collision course! But will Punisher and Black Widow see eye to eye, or is this eye-for-an-eye going to leave bodies in their wake?! The Punisher’s one-man war on the guilty crosses paths with other denizens of the Marvel Universe with explosive and unexpected results!

In PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS: WOLVERINE #1, Wolverine digs into the criminal underground of New York City as the Yakuza unleash a deadly and violence-inducing drug on the streets! The Punisher already has his sights set on these death-peddling scum, so what happens when Logan crosses paths and claws with Frank Castle? What follows, you’ll have to read to believe!

In PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS: WINTER SOLDIER #1, when Punisher targets a death-dealing criminal with political ties, Soviet Russia activates its deadliest asset—the Winter Soldier—to intercept. But will the Punisher get his man, or will the Winter Soldier complete his mind-controlled mission?

Check out Greg Land’s PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS: BLACK WIDOW #1 cover below, which also boasts variants by Mark Bagley and Joe Jusko. Preorder PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS: BLACK WIDOW #1 at your local comic shop today. For more Frank Castle crossover comics, check out the first issue of the PUNISHER VS. SPIDER-MAN limited series, on sale now, and the upcoming BIG GUNS crossover starting in September in the pages of WADE WILSON: DEADPOOL and the ongoing PUNISHER monthly series.

PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS: BLACK WIDOW #1

Written by TOM WALTZ
Art & Cover by GREG LAND
Variant Cover by MARK BAGLEY
Variant Cover by JOE JUSKO
On Sale 10/21

PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS: WOLVERINE #1

Written by TOM WALTZ
Art by BRUNO BÜLL
Cover by WHILCE PORTACIO
Variant Cover by JOE JUSKO
On Sale 11/4

PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS: WINTER SOLDIER #1

Written by TOM WALTZ
Art by EDGAR SALAZAR
Cover by IAN CHURCHILL
Variant Cover by JOE JUSKO On Sale 12/2

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Marvel Announces Halloween Treats

New York, NY— July 21, 2026 — Marvel Trick-Or-Read, the annual program that gives comic shops the opportunity to grab new readers with free Marvel comics during the Halloween season, returns this October! Featuring an exciting entry point into one of Marvel’s biggest current stories alongside all-ages adventures, Trick-Or-Read is the perfect way for fans to discover their next favorite comic.

Since it began in 2023, Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein’s acclaimed Hulk run has been equal parts horrifying and captivating. Last year’s relaunch as INFERNAL HULK marked the Eldest’s terrifying takeover of Hulk’s body, setting the stage for next year’s HULK WAR, a linewide crossover event. Readers can catch up on the current saga and behold the Eldest’s plans to remake the Marvel Universe in his twisted image with INFERNAL HULK #1 HALLOWEEN TRICK-OR-READ 2026. The special reprint of INFERNAL HULK #1 arrives just in time for the INFERNAL HULK VS. one-shots, the penultimate chapters of the INFERNAL SAGA. Starting with INFERNAL HULK VS. WOLVERINE #1 in September, the five one-shots see Infernal Hulk clash with Marvel’s heroes while assembling an army of corrupted, monstrous champions.

For younger readers, SPIDEY AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS #1 HALLOWEEN TRICK-OR-READ 2026, featuring stories and activities based on Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends on Disney Jr. and Disney+, is a perfect introduction to comics for the next generation of Marvel fans. Fresh off a starring role in his first one-shot comic, the messy little monster Symbie takes center stage in this issue alongside Spidey, Ghost-Spider, and Spin in a comic that’s sweeter than a Halloween treat.

INFERNAL HULK #1 HALLOWEEN TRICK-OR-READ 2026
Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON
Art and Cover by NIC KLEIN
INCREDIBLE…IMMORTAL…INFERNAL!

The evil known as Eldest has literally torn Bruce Banner and the Hulk apart and taken the Hulk’s body as their own. This new, unstoppable Infernal Hulk is ten times the monster that everyone always feared Hulk would be. Their diabolical plan is to plunge the world back into ancient horrors by transforming our heroes into nightmarish beasts! Meanwhile, the indomitable Bruce Banner, though powerless, will stop at nothing to thwart their evil schemes!

SPIDEY AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS #1 HALLOWEEN TRICK-OR-READ 2026
Written by DANIELLE KREGER
Art by GOODMAN YAMADA
Cover by PACO MEDINA

Swing into an all-new collection of adventures with Team Spidey as they face villains, including adorable newcomer Symbie, in this spectacular special. Kids will LOVE this easy-to-read comic sampler that also contains some action-packed activity pages!

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REVIEW: Keeping 007 Alive

Keeping 007 Alive: Conversations with James Bond Continuation Authors
By Mark Edlitz
232 Pages/Self-Published/$49 (hc), $29.99 (sc)

Pop culture historian Mark Edlitz conducts good interviews, bringing passion and deep knowledge to each of his subjects. Of late, he has focused on Britain’s greatest spy, James Bond. He’s previously written The Lost Adventures of James Bond and James Bond After Fleming: The Continuation Novels.

Fleming drew on his own life experiences to create Bond, featuring him in a dozen novels and two short story collections before his death in 1964, just as the filmed exploits were turning the character into an international star. In the decades since, numerous writers have kept Bond in print, helping establish the category now known as the continuation novel.

That lineage began with Kingsley Amis’s Colonel Sun in 1968, but the continuation series truly gained momentum in 1981, when John Gardner began a run of 16 novels. He was followed by Raymond Benson, Charlie Higson, Steve Cole, Samantha Weinberg, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffrey Deaver, William Boyd, Anthony Horowitz, Kim Sherwood, and Vaseem Khan. All but Khan are interviewed here.

Readers need not have read the dozens of Bond works these authors produced, though some familiarity with the writers or their books certainly helps. At the very least, an affection for Bond as a character—and perhaps some exposure to Fleming’s original novels—will make the conversations more rewarding.

With that context in place, the book becomes an engaging study of how writers take a Cold War spy and keep him relevant. Some place Bond contemporaneously with Fleming; others move him into the modern day. Along the way, they discuss their process, their views on Fleming, and their dealings with the Fleming estate, Eon Productions, and publishers over the decades. As a writer of tie-ins, I found that aspect fascinating, as well as the differing styles the authors used to approach their novels. Gardner had died long before Edlitz conducted these interviews, so his son ably steps in to open the book.

From there, Edlitz brings his detailed knowledge to bear, pressing authors about their work, the issues they faced, and how they responded to the Flemings or the fans. One especially interesting thread is that none of the authors felt compelled to reference the other tie-ins; instead, they adhered closely to Fleming’s works, keeping their stories as pure and respectful as possible.

The volume is sparsely illustrated and, being unlicensed, cannot reproduce covers or other official images; however, publicity photos and illustrations help enhance the book’s look. Taken together, the interviews make the book well worth a look for Bond fans, as well as for readers curious to decide which continuation authors they might want to sample.

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REVIEW: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

In 1958, this was as cutting-edge as it got. Ray Harryhausen took his stop-motion special effects wizardry and applied it to his first full-color film, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, recognizing that the fantasy setting was ideal for his Dynamation creations.

Viewed today, the effects can appear dated and, at times, quaint, but for those of us raised on his films throughout the 1960s, Harryhausen was a master whose work deserves to be remembered. Even so, one wishes his films had stronger scripts to match the spectacle of their special effects.

Sony Home Entertainment has debuted the film on 4K in a combo pack with Blu-ray and a Digital HD code. We skip the famed sailor’s first six seafaring exploits and pick up with this tale, set on land and sea, as Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) brings his bride-to-be, Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant), home for the wedding. En route, a stop brings them to Colossa, a seemingly deserted island, until they find the magician Sokurah (Torin Thatcher) chased by a cyclops. As Sinbad saves him, the mage drops his magic lantern, setting the wheels in motion.

Sokurah wants men and a ship to retrieve the lamp and the magic genie within (Richard Eyer). When the sultan denies him, he turns the princess into a six-inch miniature and refuses to restore her without Sinbad’s help. Sinbad outfits a boat with a crew of loyalists and prisoners-turned-sailors, then sets sail.

The prisoners, of course, want to mutiny and gain their freedom, but Sinbad’s courage and sailing skills are required during a fierce storm, so they relent for the time being. Back on Colossa, they encounter the cyclops along with other memorable Harryhausen creations.

Overall, it’s a straightforward story with by-the-numbers dialogue from Kenneth Kolb and little in the way of characterization. Director Nathan Juran keeps things moving with a brisk 88-minute runtime, and the film maintains a pleasing overall look. The cast does what it needs to do: Mathews makes for a somewhat understated lead, while Grant appears to be enjoying herself and brings some welcome lightness to the damsel-in-distress role.

Of course, the principal reason to watch is to see early Harryhausen at work, and he delivers. While the effects inevitably show their age, this foundational film includes a sword fight between Sinbad and a reanimated skeleton; without it, we might not have had the more spectacular battle in the later Jason and the Argonauts.

Sourced from the original camera negative, the new 1.66:1 HEVC 4K master offers rich colors and sharp textures, while Dolby Vision/HDR gives the film’s colorful stop-motion creatures added vibrancy in 2160p. Audio options include a solid 5.1 mix alongside the original mono track, preserving the pleasures of Bernard Herrmann’s score.

The 4K disc comes with the new documentary The Harryhausen Chronicles (1:00) and the original trailer.

The 1080p, 1.66:1-framed transfer appears to be a carryover from the 2008 Blu-ray release, complete with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The special features are also retained: a commentary track with Harryhausen, visual effects experts Phil Tippett and Randall William Cook, author Steven Smith, and Arnold Kunert; along with features carried over from the original DVD, including Remembering The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (23:31), The Harryhausen Legacy (25:32), The Music of Bernard Herrmann (26:52), a photo gallery set to music (9:34), Sinbad May Have Been Bad, But He’s Been Good To Me (3:07), A Look Behind the Voyage (11:47), This is Dynamation (Special Effects) (3:25), and Ray Harryhausen – Interviewed by John Landis (11:52).

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Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

I’m sure I’ve re-read this story since 1986. You can’t prove it from this blog, though. And my copy of  the trade paperback is the original 1987 edition, with minimal credits and supplemental material, from the era when the Big Two were still figuring out the whole reprint-floppies-in-a-permanent-format thing. (I’m not sure how I can have a copy of that edition, since mine would have died in my 2011 flood, but I do and I’m looking at it now.)

This storyline obviously followed Frank Miller’s original run on Daredevil by several years: he’d worked, mostly with Klaus Janson inking his pencils and taking over writing midway through the run, on that series from 1979 through 1983, in material that’s now collected in three good-sized volumes .

Daredevil: Born Again  collects issues 227-233 of the series, a discrete seven-issue storyline written by Miller and drawn by David Mazzucchelli. Like a lot of now-famous mid-80s Big Two stories (“The Anatomy Lesson” is another major example), it’s a strong, specific story whose bones have been scattered and re-used by a thousand other hands since then to the point that they’ve become a cliché.

This is the ur-“villain systematically destroys the hero” story – the next most influential version, I think, is “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” about Spider-Man, from a few years later. But there are dozens of others by this point: everyone who has had an ongoing series over the last three decades has probably been broken down by now.

They all get better, of course. Daredevil gets better in this one. IP can’t be left to wither on the vine.

The specifics here: Karen Page, a former girlfriend of Daredevil, went off to Hollywood to make her fortune a few years earlier. It didn’t work out; she quickly got addicted, descended into vaguely-described porn, and found herself somewhere in Mexico with a bad habit and no resources. Well, she had one thing worth selling: the real identity of Daredevil (the New York lawyer Matt Murdock).

She sells that; the letter with her note makes its way to New York and Daredevil’s biggest enemy Kingpin; and Kingpin decides to use it to, as villains always say, destroy everything the hero loves or cares about.

Murdock’s utilities are shut off, the IRS audits him and freezes his accounts, and a corrupt cop brings evidence that will lead to his disbarment. Murdock already had paranoid tendencies, and he quickly spirals out of control, which overjoys the Kingpin.

But Kingpin also then blows up Murdock’s brownstone home, which even a paranoid, spiraling Murdock realizes was done by someone. And, since he’s a character in an adventure comic, he knows, correctly, who that was.

Things go on from there – I might sound dismissive, but the story is compelling and told well, with precise, emotionally taut scenes and magnificent character work from both Miller (here still underplaying emotion, unlike later in his career) and Mazzucchelli. There is a lot of violence, since this is a superhero comic, but most of it is shocking and a lot of it is fatal, which was not standard for this era. There’s even a comic-relief gangster who talks in malapropisms to keep it all from being unrelievedly grim, and a great supporting-character role for Captain America in the big climax.

Miller constructs a new reality for his main characters out of the broken pieces he reduced them to, which is one of the things that became most cliched about this kind of story. That’s not on Miller – it was an ongoing series; he had to leave something for the next writer to work with – but it has become a central aspect of superhero comics since, the big storyline in which everything changes and launches an exciting new direction in the saga of .

I think you can read this with only the vaguest sense of who Daredevil and his supporting characters are. He’s a guy in a red costume; he’s in New York; his civilian identity is a lawyer. The big fat crimelord hates him. And you get that all from the story itself.

This is still probably the best first Daredevil story for any reader, as well as the best full-stop Daredevil story. I don’t think that’s faint praise, but it does need to be contextualized: this is a genre exercise, from an era when that genre was opening itself to new influences and story-telling techniques, and one of the early attempts to “write to the arc” that was entirely successful. It is a darn good story about guys who dress up in long underwear, run around rooftops, and beat each other up – but it’s still a long-underwear story at its heart.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

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Nova is Back as are the Ten Rings of Power

New York, NY— July 17, 2026 — The legendary Ten Rings of Power are returning to the Marvel Universe, and only one hero stands in their way of falling into the wrong hands: Sam Alexander, A.K.A. Nova!

The fan-favorite hero makes an impactful return this October in NOVA: RETURN OF THE RINGS #1, a Marvel’s Voices one-shot celebrating Hispanic & Latin American Heritage Month. Written by Josh Trujillo (Planet of the Apes Vs. Fantastic Four) and drawn by Rafael Loureiro (Dazzler), the issue kicks off a major saga centered around the Ten Rings. The one-shot also includes a bonus story by Juan Ponce (Redwing: Independence Day Infinity Comic) and Andy Pereira (Wiccan: Witches’ Road) that explores how Sam balances his epic superhero adventures with being there for his family.

THE RINGS OF POWER RETURN TO EARTH!

Deemed too dangerous to remain on Earth, the Ten Rings of Power were jettisoned into the depths of space—but have since broken containment! Now, one of the rings returns to Earth with a brand-new bearer hellbent on getting his hands on the sentient supercomputer, Worldmind, as his first step of galactic domination! His target? None other than Sam Alexander, A.K.A. NOVA!

“It’s such a thrill to write for one of Marvel’s biggest teen heroes!” Trujillo shared. “With so many memorable stories behind him, Sam Alexander is uniquely qualified to take on this threat! This is a high-stakes adventure with a fierce villain and huge consequences for the entire Marvel Universe. To save the day, Sam will be drawing inspiration from his fellow heroes and also his familial roots.”

“Everything has led to this moment!” he continued, “I hope new readers give this Nova special a chance. He’s an iconic character who leads with courage and heart. But it’s gonna take a lot more than that to survive this experience! Good luck!”

NOVA: RETURN OF THE RINGS #1
Written by JOSH TRUJILLO & JUAN PONCE
Art by RAFAEL LOUREIRO & ANDY PEREIRA
Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS
Variant Cover by PHIL JIMENEZ
On Sale 10/14

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The Undertaker, Vol. 1: The Gold Eater & Dance of the Vultures by Xavier Dorison & Ralph Meyer

I try to treat books on the level I find them; it’s only fair. This one is the first of a decent-length series of Western comics by two French creators. It collects the first two, very closely linked books in the series, both originally published in 2015 and translated by Tom Imber for this 2026 English-language edition from Abrams.

I don’t know that the Western in French comics tends to be a high-octane, big-picture genre exercise. But I suspect it does: that a French comic set in the old American West is going to be a big adventure story that is plausible on the surface but doesn’t worry too much about deep thoughts as it caroms forward down its action-filled path. This one certainly does.

The Undertaker series is written by Xavier Dorison and drawn by Ralph Meyer, with colors by Caroline Delabie and Meyers. It is big and bold and full of characters saying dramatic things, moving smoothly from one big set-piece scene to another. I don’t think you should come to this book, or probably the series in general, for gritty realism, though it does aim to be gritty and has the big action-movie style of psuedo-realism.

This first American volume collects two French bande desinée – hence the full title The Undertaker, 1: The Gold Eater & Dance of the Vultures . It’s the origin story, to some degree – the main character still has some mysterious bits of his past – somewhat spoiled by the book’s descriptive copy, so I think they come up quickly in later volumes – that I think sets up the rest of the series.

The book doesn’t say when it’s set; it’s sometime in the late 19th century. A man going under the name of Jonas Crow is working as an itinerant undertaker in the usual rugged wilderness, with a black coach pulled by two horses and a vulture pal named Jed he picks up on the first pages here. He arrives in the town of Anoki City, the usual corrupt town run by one rich guy, because the rich guy, Joe Cusco, has hired Crow to bury him.

Cusco’s plan is to commit suicide by poisoning – he’s dying anyway – and have Crow bury him in the shaft of his first mine, the original source of his fortune. So far, so normal.

But he also converted his fortune into gold nuggets and ate all of those nuggets just before the poison; the point is to be buried with all his wealth, so no one else gets it. There’s an additional several levels of manipulation by Cusco with his haughty English governess Rose (?) – that’s how she’s described by the flap copy; she looks to be more of a housekeeper/head of staff – and with the Chinese woman Miss Lin, to make sure his body gets to the proper place when it’s supposed to, but that mostly comes out later in the book, in the inevitably revelation-filled plot.

Meanwhile, the miners of the town have been kept poor by Cusco for years or decades. They hope his death will mean some money for them, though I don’t see why they would ever have that expectation. But they do expect to get some of the rich guy’s money when he dies, in that something’s-gonna-break sense of people pushed too far for too long. And then they learn what he actually did with the gold, and they figure on cutting him open first to grab it for themselves. For various reasons, Crow and Rose and Lin can’t accept this, so they go careening out into the wilderness in the undertaker’s coach, closely followed by a heavily-armed band.

There’s also a local sheriff, who is more-or-less honest and not 100% on board with looting a corpse – but deeply suspicious of Crow, who he thinks is some legendary outlaw or other. And some Federal soldiers who wander into the action about mid-way through, to facilitate a chaotic multi-sided battle and ratchet up the tension and danger. But the core of the book is that chase: the undertaker and his companions ahead with a gold-filled corpse; a town full of angry men behind them.

The Undertaker is the title character of the series, so we know he wins. There’s a lot of stuff along the way, though – portentous dialogue, big shootouts, daring escapes, thrilling chases, shocking reversals, amazing revelations.

I think Dorison intended to have a deep theme about greed and honesty and doing what’s right despite everything, and you can line up the story to that if you want. But it comes across much cartoonier than that, to me at least, so I’ll just nod in that direction.

Meyer has a detailed art style with a strong story-telling panel flow – he varies the number of panels per page, but generally gets a lot of panels onto his big pages. There’s a lot of story here to get through, with dialogue to spare, and Meyer makes it all work on the page.

I don’t think The Undertaker is essentially as serious as I think it wants to be taken, but it is fun and it moves quickly and it crams in a hell of a lot of Western action of the kind the kids love today. (The kids love Westerns, right?)

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

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Robots, Demons & Dayjobs by David Kantrowitz

I regularly read books of funny comics by creators I’m not familiar with. This is usually great – new funny stuff! new perspectives! potentially new favorites! – and there are lots of books out there by lots of funny people.

But then I come to write about them here, and I worry that I’m saying exactly the same thing each time: this is a newish book of funny stuff, by somebody I hadn’t heard of previously, and it is funny, and you might want to check it out.

For example: Robots, Demons, and Dayjobs . It’s a 2025 collection of comics by David Kantrowitz, who has worked for Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and other places – these nine things seem to be all personal work, and there’s no sign they were published anywhere else first before this book. (Though they easily could have been.)

So it is a newish book of funny stuff, by someone I hadn’t heard of previously, and it is funny, and you might want to check it out.

(See what I mean?)

Most of the pieces here are short stories in comics form – the Table of Contents entry “Twelve Single Panel Cartoons” being an obvious exception.

The first and last pieces are in a pseudo-storybook layout, with big blocks of typeset text, and tell stories about a character based on Kantrowitz – one about finding a big trash can full of trophies, and one about accidentally wearing a red shirt to Target (and the horrors that ensued).

But most of the book is in more normal comics-format, with various odd creatures – a skull-headed restaurateur, a log-limbed ball-bodied dude named Wizard Dinks, two hard-working monsters, a succession of overly polite robots – getting through their days however they can.

Kantrowitz has mostly worked in kids’ media, I think: he has the sort of sensibility, art style, and concerns that you see in creators who have toiled on big corporate stuff for younger readers and are now doing more personal work. His art is expressive and mostly pretty crisp, though he varies his style quite a bit in these stories. The subject matter is not aimed at kids, but it’s also not “adult” (in the sex & drugs sense), either – there’s a feeling that he may be talking to adults more here than he’s used to, but it’s all accessible work, with a mostly broadly comic sensibility.

I will note that this book is not available in the usual hegemonic retailer that I typically provide links for. I linked above to the Hoopla library app, where I read it. (Your local library might include Hoopla access: if so, I greatly recommend it.) It’s also available directly from the author . I didn’t see an ISBN, so it may not be more widely available, but Kantrowitz is LA-based, so, if you’re in that part of the world, you might see him at a show somewhere, selling these. Take a look.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

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REVIEW: Pretty Maids all in a Row

The early 1970s were a transitional period for feature films. A new generation of filmmakers was making their presence known, alongside actors still unfamiliar to mainstream audiences. Content was evolving away from escapist fare toward more serious, provocative material. MGM, however, seemed slow to catch up.

When Herb Solow, formerly of Desilu and Paramount, took over as head of film production, he jettisoned most of his predecessor’s projects but retained a film based on Francis Pollini’s 1968 novel Pretty Maids All in a Row. William Hanley (Something About Amelia) had already written a screenplay, and there was something about its darkly comic, erotic tone that Solow thought could become a commercial success.

Solow thought the script needed a rewrite, and, as luck would have it, there was a screenwriter whose project had been canceled after he had already been paid, leaving him indebted to the studio. The writer was a vocal proponent of frank depictions of sex and sexual desire, which seemed to make him a fitting choice. He also couldn’t find work anywhere else, so Solow turned to Gene Roddenberry to rewrite Hanley’s script and produce the film.

Roddenberry had withdrawn from the third season of Star Trek to write a Tarzan screenplay that was never filmed. No sooner had he returned to Stage 9 at Paramount Pictures than NBC canceled his creation. To Roddenberry’s credit, he saw Pretty Maids All in a Row as a possible vehicle for commentary on the sorry state of public education and changing sexual mores in the wake of the sexual revolution.

The story focuses on football coach and guidance counselor Michael “Tiger” McDrew (Rock Hudson), who is ruggedly handsome and desired by the young women of Oceanfront High School. He exploits many of them and eventually begins killing them, leaving the corpses provocatively scattered around the grounds, from the football field to the restroom. Meanwhile, Ponce (John David Carson) is suffering from serious sexual frustration but develops a crush on substitute teacher Miss Smith (Angie Dickinson). McDrew convinces Smith to “educate” Ponce and help him gain confidence.

With four students dead, the police, led by Detective Sam Surcher (Telly Savalas), investigate and zero in on McDrew because, well, there is no other likely suspect in the story.

What could have been an interesting character study and commentary on teenagers, sex, and education was badly mishandled. The fault lies not so much with Roddenberry, who was inexperienced as a feature film writer, as with Solow’s odd choice of French provocateur Roger Vadim to make his first American movie. It was a poor match, and Vadim leaned into the sex while largely ignoring the commentary. That said, Roddenberry’s approach to sexuality was nearly as juvenile as the students he was writing about, and he surprisingly portrayed the police poorly, including Police Chief John Poldaski (Keenan Wynn), despite his own background as a former officer.

Much as Solow hired Roddenberry out of a measure of loyalty, the producer also brought on Star Trek’s William Ware Theiss for the costumes and hired William Campbell and James Doohan as Surcher’s fellow detectives. The maids themselves—Brenda Sykes, Joy Bang, Gretchen Burrell, Aimee Eccles, June Fairchild, Margaret Markov, Diane Sherry, and a pre-Isis JoAnna Cameron—were all hoping the project, with its star leads, would be a stepping stone. Instead, they were disappointed by the results, with some refusing to promote the film. Their nudity was copious for the day, and they appeared in the April 1971 issue of Playboy, but it did little good for their careers.

The film was a mismatch of intentions and talents, resulting in divided critical reviews. Its disastrous box-office performance made this Roddenberry’s only feature-film script credit, and his career foundered until the first Star Trek convention, less than a year later, helped rewrite the pop-culture paradigm.

Warner Archive’s Blu-ray release presents the film with an excellent 1080p transfer, offering a clean, stable image that lets viewers appreciate both the period production design and the sunlit California locations. Colors look natural, detail is strong, and the presentation appears faithful rather than artificially polished. The DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio track is similarly solid, keeping dialogue clear while giving Lalo Schifrin’s score enough presence to remain one of the film’s more enjoyable assets. The disc is disappointingly light on supplements, with only the trailer included, but the feature itself has been treated well. For collectors of studio-era oddities, Roddenberry completists, or viewers curious about this strange collision of talents, the release is worthwhile, even if the film remains more fascinating as a misfire than as a success.

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Fantastic Four and X-Men vs. 3K in October

New York, NY— July 2, 2026 — This October, things go from bad to worse for the X-Men and the Fantastic Four in their battle against the villainous group 3K! While Cyclops’ team engages 3K above the skies of Philadelphia to prevent the release of the X-Virus and the emergence of a dark future, the Fantastic Four have mysteriously forgotten their own identities (and how their powers work!) while on their own quest to save the master of magnetism, Magneto. As if that’s not enough trouble, the X-Men’s base in Alaska comes under attack, with John Greycrow left alone to defend it, and Psylocke stalks a mysterious monster on a dangerous solo mission that promises to reveal dark secrets. It’s all taking place across new issues of DNX, FANTASTIC FOUR and X-MEN this October.

In DNX #3, 3K’s counterstroke has shocked the X-Men, and Philadelphia is no less in the shadow of disaster as the Chairman’s spoilsport plan comes into effect! The X-Men must look to the least of their number while the Fantastic Four fight against time to deliver the data that can save the day.

“In all the high drama and high action of DNX, we’re also taking the time to zoom in on more personal moments, finding time to explore slightly smaller stories taking place at the same time as the big event,” details DNX and X-MEN writer Jed MacKay. “X-MEN #39 sees John Greycrow, resolutely NOT an X-Man, having to step up, while #40 explores Psylocke’s attitudes towards life and death- and when to make the choice between them. These both tie into the larger themes of the DNX event and move forward story threads that have been brewing for some time!”

In X-Men #39, enemies put their sights on the X-Men’s home base — the Factory, in Alaska. But the Factory is not undefended…and John Greycrow is an army unto himself!

In X-MEN #40, alone on what could be a flying tomb, Psylocke stalks a mysterious monster on a solo mission for answers. But the answers she finds may raise only further questions.

In FANTASTIC FOUR #18, The Fantastic Four are lost, with no memory of who they are or why they’re there — but now they know they need to find out, fast —because Magneto’s life hangs in the balance. But without identities — or a clear understanding of their powers — the FF are as much a danger to themselves as they are to their opponents.

“This is a really fun conclusion to a two-parter which, while obviously acting as an important part of DNX, also stands on its own as a Fantastic Four story for everyone else,” explains FANTASTIC FOUR writer Ryan North. “I get to bring the FF to some places they don’t normally go – both physically and emotionally – while at the same time saving the X-Men and the world. Jed has been a delight to work with, and we have commiserated over the challenge of writing Beast and Mr. Fantastic in the same room. It’s hard enough writing one smart guy, but two?  There should only be one smart guy in every universe.”

DNX #3 (of 5)
Written by JED MACKAY
Art by FEDERICO VINCENTINI
Cover by KAARE ANDREWS
On Sale 10/14

X-MEN #39
Written by JED MACKAY
Art by NETHO DIAZ
Cover by TONY S. DANIEL
On Sale 10/14

FANTASTIC FOUR #18
Written by RYAN NORTH
Art by VINCENZO CARRATÙ
Cover by GIUSEPPI CAMUNCOLI
On Sale 10/28

X-MEN #40
Written by JED MACKAY
Art and Cover by TONY S. DANIEL
On Sale 10/28

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