Women Wednesday: Queen in Black #1

Marvel releases Queen in Black #1 this week. The cover features Hela with Knull, Venom (Mary Jane Watson), Spider-Man and Iron Man at her feet. Other Avengers, Asgardians, superheroes and even the Fantastic Four appear within this issue. Here is the summary:

"HEL ON EARTH! On the farthest edges of the solar system, KNULL, GOD OF THE VOID, builds a brand-new army to destroy Earth… but HELA OF ASGARD might have gotten there first — as she makes planetfall with a legion of the galaxy’s deadliest symbiotes! Two of the most powerful evils in the galaxy are at war… and the SON OF VENOM is caught right in the middle!"

Cover of Queen in Black #1 from Marvel Comics

Marvel Monday: Avengers: Doomsday Official Trailer

The official trailer for Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday is here:

Science Fiction Saturday: Fantastic Four 2026 Calendar

I know that National Science Fiction Day was yesterday, but I just had to make a post for this week's Science Fiction Saturday. The Fantastic Four 2026 Calendar from Amazon features artwork based on the Fantastic Four: First Steps movie and measures 12" x 12". Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing are shown. The FantasiCar and rocket each gets a month, but Herbie the Robot is absent.

Front Cover of Fantastic Four 2026 Calendar

Back Cover of Fantastic Four 2026 Calendar

(This is a sponsored post)

Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1

I don't know how I missed Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1 since Marvel released it on September 17, 2025. The normal covers feature the Fantastic Four as zombies coming for you. The first alternate retro cover features the Fantastic Four zombies attacking Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, and Daredevil plus a small Zombie Thor in the lower right-hand corner. The second alternate cover features the Fantastic Four zombies battling Iron Man. The third alternate cover features Zombie Thanos and is basically an ad for the Marvel Zombies tv series on Disney+, which I have watched. The fourth alternate cover features Zombie Bruce Banner turning into Zombie Hulk. The fifth alternate cover features Zombie Reed Richards attacking Spider-Man.

Here's the official summary:

"THE DEAD RISE AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME! It was the most important space flight in the history of the Marvel Universe — four intrepid heroes took off into the unknown and returned changed, gifted with great abilities… and hungering for human flesh! Travel back to the birth of a Marvel Universe parallel to our own but chock-full of horror since its very inception! Which heroes will rise to become the champions we know and love? Which will be torn limb from limb? And which will devour the scraps? Find out in this blood-soaked series!"

Cover A of Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1 from Marvel

Cover B of Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1 from Marvel

Cover C of Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1 from Marvel

Cover D of Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1 from Marvel

Cover E of Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1 from Marvel

Cover F of Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1 from Marvel

Cover G of Marvel Zombies: Red Band #1 from Marvel

Countdown to Halloween 2025 Day 18: Fantastic Four x Gargoyles #1

Today is Science Fiction Saturday so what could be better than Fantastic Four x Gargoyles #1 from Marvel and Disney. The one-shot was released earlier this week and mixes science fiction with horror. The cover features Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic, Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch, Ben Grimm aka the Thing and Susan Storm aka the Invisible woman along with Goliath, Hudson, Bronx and Brooklyn. Several other characters from both companies also appear in the story.

Here is the official summary:

"MARVEL’S FIRST FAMILY UNITES WITH THE MANHATTAN CLAN IN THIS EXCITING CROSSOVER! GARGOYLES creator and acclaimed Marvel writer Greg Weisman brings the Gargoyles to the Baxter Building alongside star artist Enid Balám! Danger strikes when the super villain Diablo learns stone gargoyles may hold the secret to eternal life… but the Gargoyles aren’t about to let him leech the blood of his own! Fortunately, they’ve got the help of expert Diablo-bashers — the Fantastic Four! Plus: Tony Stark and David Xanatos compare facial hair, Marvel’s own Gargoyle, Isaac Christians, bonds with his new kin, and more! You won’t want to miss this collision of beloved universes!"

Cover of Fantastic Four x Gargoyles #1 from Marvel and Disney

There are also four variant covers. My favorite is the cover featuring Demona and the Invisible Woman:

Cover Gallery for Fantastic Four x Gargoyles #1 from Marvel and Disney

Science Fiction Saturday: Lucky Charms Featuring Invisible Woman

I picked up a box of Lucky Charms featuring Susan Storm aka the Invisible Woman a week ago at the local Walmart's. This is another General Mills cereal promoting the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps movie. While I like the jumbo rainbows in the cereal, I'm not crazy about the artwork since Sue has no mouth or nose.

Front of Lucky Charms Box Featuring Invisible Woman

The back of the Lucky Charms box has the entire Fantastic Four, which includes Susan Storm aka the Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch, Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic and Ben Grimm aka the Thing. Yes, the FantastiCar is also shown. There is also a hidden message and a decorder. It's a different message than the one found on the Honey Nut Cheerios Featuring Human Torch box.

Back of Lucky Charms Box Featuring Invisible Woman

The other two General Mills cereal boxes promoting the Fantastic Four: First Steps movie are Cinnamon Toast Crunch featuring Mister Fantastic and Reese's Puffs featuring the Thing. I won't be getting those boxes because I'm not a fan of those cereals and I don't want to be stuck eating them.

Fantastic Friday: Blue Raspberry PopTarts Featuring Fantastic Four

I actually found a box of the Blue Raspberry PopTarts promoting the Fantastic Four: First Steps movie a few weeks ago at the local Walmart's. I ate them last week and found the flavor is much stronger and sweeter than the Frosted Strawberry PopTarts. The front of the box features the Fantastic Four that includes Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch, Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic, Ben Grimm aka the Thing and Susan Storm aka the Invisible Woman.

Front of Blue Raspberry PopTarts Box featuring Fantastic Four

The back of the box features five of the eight different images on the PopTarts. I finally got one with the Invisible Woman on it. Unfortunately, the images were still blurry.

Back of Blue Rapberry PopTarts Box featuring Fantastic Four

Warning: You may have problems with the blue dye used in the Blue Raspberry PopTarts several hours later (if you know what I mean, then you know). I had problems after the first two but not with the rest of the package.

Honey Nut Cheerios Featuring Human Torch

General Mills promoted Fantastic Four: First Steps with several of their cereals. The Honey Nut Cheerios box has Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch. The artwork is a retro design but I would rather have images from the Marvel movie.

Front of Honey Nut Cheerios Box featuring Human Torch

The back features the entire Fantastic Four that includes the Invisible Woman, the Thing, Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic and the Human Torch. The FantastiCar is shown but no sign of H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot. There is also a hidden message with a decoder.

Back of Honey Nut Cheerios Box featuring Human Torch

Fantastic Friday: Fantastic Four #1 (2025)

Yep, Marvel released a new Fantastic Four #1 earlier this week. Susan Storm aka the Invisible Woman stands in the center of the cover with Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch, Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic and Ben Grimm aka the Thing around her. Doctor Doom...er, Emperor Doom appears at the beginning of the issue.

Here's the summery: "The Fantastic Four return with a new issue #1, kicking off a whole new volume of their adventures through time, space, science, and the human condition! When the Fantastic Four take on Doom, things go well until they suddenly go catastrophically wrong — and they’re sent to four different eras in Earth’s history! Alone and isolated in wildly different time periods, Reed, Johnny, Ben, and Sue all have to fight to survive. Their only hope is to reach the Forever Stone: a mass of dense granite that happens to be one of the longest-lasting rocks on the planet, which — through a combination of obscurity and raw geological luck — has stayed both intact and accessible for most of Earth’s history!"

Cover of Fantastic Four #1 (2025) from Marvel

Superhero Sunday: Captain America #1 (2025)

Yes, Marvel has come out with a new Captain America series starting with a new number and was released last week. Iron Man and the Fantastic Four briefly appears. Here's the summery and cover for Captain America #1 (2025): "While Captain America slumbered in ice, the world changed — for better and for worse. Steve Rogers awakens to a reality where battles are fought in the shadows through secrets and subterfuge, and villains aren't so easy to identify. When a fledgling dictator named Victor Von Doom conquers Latveria, Steve faces a critical decision: adapt to a new kind of warfare, or forge his own path? And what will the choice he makes in the past mean for his future?"

Cover of Captain America #1 (2025) from Marvel

Fantastic Friday: Fantastic Four People Ads

First off, I would like to wish everyone a safe and fantastic Fourth of July.

People magazine, cover dated July 14, 2025, has several ads for the Fantastic Four: First Steps movie. Ben Grimm, Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm and H.E.R.B.I.E appear on a fake cover:

Fantastic Four Movie Ad in People

There is a great ad for H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot:

People Ad for H.E.R.B.I.E.

My favorite is the ad for the FantasiCar (I really hope Hot Wheels make one):

People Ad for FantasiCar

Fantastic Friday Featuring Fantastic Four Pop-Tarts

I actually found a floor display of Fantastic Four: First Steps Pop-Tarts at the local Dillons last Saturday. I picked up a box of eight frosted strawberry because I wanted to try that first. The front of the box features artwork of the Fantastic Four based on the movie along with a Pop-Tart featuring the group's logo.

Front of Fantastic Four Pop-Tarts Box

The back of the box features five Pop-Tarts with different art that is supposed to be on them. There are supposed to be eight different designs, but I only found four in this box: H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot (twice), Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch (twice), Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic (twice) and Ben Grimm aka the Thing (twice). I would have loved finding a Pop-Tart with Susan Storm aka the Invisible Woman on it.

Back of Fantastic Four PopTarts Box

The top flap of the box shows two Pop-Tarts with artwork. It also states that images were made with food coloring.

Top Flap of Fantastic Four Pop-Tarts Box

I was really disappointed with the images and the taste. Every Pop-Tart that I had featured blurry images. The strawberry flavor was very faint probably because the layer was so thin. I might try the blue raspberry ones just to see if I can get a Pop-Tart with the Invisible Woman on it. The other flavors are frosted s'mores and brown sugar cinnamon.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Official Trailer

Here is the official trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps movie coming July 25, 2025:

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Official Teaser

Call me excited after watching the first official teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps:

 

Marvel Holiday Tales to Astonish #1 Cover

Marvel Holiday Tales to Astonish #1 came out yesterday. The cover features Storm, Captain America (the Sam Wilson version), Spider-Man (the Miles Morales version), Kitty Pryde, Doctor Strange, Wolverine, Ben Grimm and Spider-Man (the Peter Parker version). The three stories include the Fantastic Four in "'Twas the Fight Before Christmas", the Uncanny X-Men in "Festival of Fights" and the Spectacular Spider-Men in "Resolutions". Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman and the Human Torch does appear in the Fantastic Four story along with the Thing. Several other Marvel superheroes appear briefly in the first two stories. Shame that none of the stories are centered around Captain America (the Sam Wilson version) or Doctor Strange like the cover suggests. At least, Storm and Wolverine appear more in the X-Men story that is about Kitty Pryde trying to find gifts for her friends.

Cover of Marvel Holiday Tales to Astonish #1

T-shirt Thursday: White Marvel Characters T-shirt

I picked up this white Marvel Characters t-shirt at the local Walmart's last week for almost nine dollars. The artwork is not the best but it does have that hand-drawn feel. The Marvel characters include Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hawkeye, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Moon Knight (yeah, he's a little hard to see at first), Black Widow, Black Panther (I think it's him), She-Hulk, Daredevil, Silver Surfer, Thor, Doctor Strange, Human Torch, Wasp, Ant-Man, Thing, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Cyclops (another one that's hard to make out) and Iron Fist. The pictures shows it draped over my office chair so you can only see the bottom of the Marvel logo.

White Marvel Characters T-shirt

Blog Alert: Jon's Random Acts of Geekery Is Back

Yes, Jon's Random Acts of Geekery is officially back today with a cool new magazine-style look. Articles include an amazing collection of Krypto items, a complete Golden Age tale from Mister Mystery #10, monster stuff featuring the Groovie Goolies, a Wheaties giveaway comic featuring Captain Marvel, a look at TV's The Land of the Giants, and an essay on the Fantastic Four. There's so much that I haven't read everything yet.

Official Fantastic Four Teaser Trailer

Yeah, this is the one with the black Johnny Storm. No, I don't have a problem with that. What I have a problem is that nothing really excites me about wanting to watch the movie after viewing the official Fantastic Four teaser trailer: Hopefully, the full trailer will be more exciting.

Thrift Store Find: McDonald's Marvel Heroes Thing

I only hit two of the three thrift stores that I usually visit this morning. I picked up a McDonald's Marvel Heroes Thing from 2010. If you slide the button on the back and slam him down hard, then he says "It's clobberin' time!" The action figure is 3 3/4" high and his head moves just a bit to either side. I picked up the McDonald's Marvel Heroes Thing for fifty cents.

Book Review: Spider-Man and Fantastic Four: Wreckage

Spider-Man and Fantastic Four: Wreckage (Boulevard/Bryon Priess, November 1997) by Eric Fein and Pierce Askegren is the third and final book in the Doom's Day trilogy. Five big black robots breaks Doctor Octopus out of prison and five more steal his tentacles, which are held elsewhere. Peter Parker aka is married to Mary Jane and investigates the break out. SAFE enlists the help of Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic to study one of the robots. The robots are based on ones used by Hydra but the weaponry is so advanced that only Doctor Doom could have sent them. Doom forces Octopus to work on a device that will harness the energy from the Negative Zone and that means sneaking into the home of the Fantastic Four.

I finished reading Spider-Man and Fantastic Four: Wreckage a few nights ago and I found it slow at first but picks up quickly. I have not read the first two books in the trilogy but there is enough explanation of what went on before that this book can be read without having to read the other two books. The ending was predictable but the epilogue made up for it. Overall, I give the book a solid B.