MARK BROOKS

Marvel is planning its first big cosmic event since the end of the Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning-penned Annihilation/War of Kings cycle that ran from 2006 to 2010. (Or last year's Infinity, if you count that, but that was all about Earth, so we don't.) Black Vortex will cross over between Guardians of the Galaxy, the space-bound All-New X-Men, Cyclops, Legendary Star-Lord, Nova, Captain Marvel, and more. Marvel also announced Operation S.I.N., by Kathryn Immonen and Rich Ellis, which serves as both a prequel of sorts to the recent Original Sin event and a tie-in to Marvel's Agent Carter TV show; and Kanan: The Last Padawan, a five issue mini series also written by Greg Weisman and illustrated by Pepe Larraz, tying in to the Star Wars: Rebels animated series.

Among the colorful cosplay, massive booths, interactive displays and walls of merchandise at Comic-Con International in San Diego — colloquially known as SDCC — remains the most important component of the show: comic book creators. ComicsAlliance photographer and Loikiamania podcast host Pat Loika hit the show floor to catch the men and women who tell our favorite stories in sequential art and captured the enthusiasm that comes from fans getting to meet their favorite storytellers at one of the biggest conventions of the year. Check back with ComicsAlliance throughout the weekend for more of Pat’s great photos from San Diego.

The Marvel Comics press release that announces the above, 3D motion variant cover for September's Deadpool #34 doesn't mention the publisher's rivals at DC Comics, but it doesn't have to. For the second time in as many years, DC will be releasing a slew of 3D lenticular covers tying into a September event -- this year, it's a Futures End tie-in; last year, it was Villains Month -- so this is clearly Marvel have a laugh at DC's expense, and it wears the face of the House of Ideas' most enduringly popular troll.

We make a regular practice at ComicsAlliance of spotlighting particular artists or specific bodies of work, but because cartoonists, illustrators and their fans share countless numbers of great images on sites like Flickr, Tumblr, DeviantArt and seemingly infinite art blogs that we’ve created Best Art Ever (This Week), a weekly depository for just some of the pieces of especially compelling artwor

Press Release Sue Storm's jet crashes in the frozen wastelands of Siberia in Ultimate Fantastic Four #47, kicking off Ghosts, a brand new three-part story arc by acclaimed writer Mike Carey (X-Men) and fan-favorite penciler Mark Brooks (Ultimate Spider-Man Annuals) ...