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About The Phoenix Force Let’s talk about Marvel’s cosmic hot mess — the Phoenix Force . She’s fiery, she’s needy, and she’s got a kill count that would make Galactus raise an eyebrow. If you’ve been anywhere near the X-Men corner of the Marvel universe, you’ve probably bumped into this flamebird of chaos disguised as cosmic enlightenment . From blowing up planets to gaslighting Jean Grey into space goddess mode, the Phoenix Force has done it all—usually in a blaze of melodrama and flaming feathers. So buckle up, mutants and misfits. We’re going deep into Marvel’s most unstable relationship. What the Hell Is  the Phoenix Force? In the simplest terms: the Phoenix Force is what happens when you give emotional baggage god-tier power. It’s the literal embodiment of life, death, and rebirth —the entire Marvel Universe's cosmic reset button with a flair for drama and a tendency to ghost its hosts (or worse). It’s ancient. It’s terrifying. And for some reason, it really likes redheads. Powers: Cosmic Fire With a Side of Reality-Warping The Phoenix Force doesn’t play. Here’s the shopping list of what it brings to the table: Set-your-soul-on-fire cosmic flames Resurrection, of anyone  it damn well pleases Telepathy and telekinesis that puts Xavier to shame Time and space manipulation (because why not?) And the pièce de résistance: blowing up entire star systems because someone hurt its feelings Basically, the Phoenix Force is a walking Tumblr quote about rebirth—with planet-ending consequences. Enter Firehair: The First Mutant to Get Burned Before Jean, before Rachel, before the X-Men were even a glimmer in Stan Lee’s brain, there was Firehair . She’s the OG host from 1,000,000 B.C. - yep, Jason Aaron’s prehistoric fever dream Avengers run. She’s a red-headed mutant psychic who bonded with the Phoenix and decided being a cosmic god sounded better than hunting mastodons. First Phoenix host. First burn. The Phoenix Force: Firehair Jean Grey: The Poster Girl for Cosmic Codependency We all know her. We all mourned her. Some of us shipped her with Wolverine (no judgment). Jean Grey is the classic Phoenix host , and the one who set the standard for dying, resurrecting, losing control, and dramatically screaming in space. The Phoenix saves her life in Uncanny X-Men #101 , hijacks her identity, and turns her into a god-tier telepath with no chill . Fast-forward to The Dark Phoenix Saga  and Jean’s blasting entire planets into dust while wearing S&M space couture. She eventually sacrifices herself on the Moon ( Uncanny X-Men #137 ) because being this iconic is exhausting. Plot twist: It wasn’t really  Jean. Just a Phoenix clone while the real Jean was napping in a cocoon. Comics, baby. The Phoenix Force: Jean Grey Rachel Summers: The Phoenix on a Redemption Arc Jean’s alt-future daughter from the Days of Future Past  timeline picked up the Phoenix mantle and actually kept her damn composure  for more than five minutes. Rachel bonds with the Phoenix and doesn’t go full apocalypse. She joins Excalibur , dabbles in multiversal shenanigans, and basically proves you can  host a firebird without genociding an entire solar system. Progress. The Phoenix Force: Rachel Summers The White Hot Room: Phoenix’s Weird Spa Retreat Where do Phoenix hosts go when they’re dead, sleeping, or soul-searching? The White Hot Room . Think of it as a cosmic sensory deprivation tank where fiery avatars go to sort out their feelings. Jean hangs out here a lot. Like, a lot a lot. RELATED: 22 Obscure X-Men Toys from the 90s - And Who They Were! The Phoenix Force: The White Hot Room Phoenix: Endsong & Warsong (a.k.a. The Emo Years) Endsong (2005) : The Phoenix comes crawling back like a toxic ex and resurrects Jean Grey without asking. Jean flames out again but not before reminding everyone she’s still the queen of emotional damage. Warsong (2006) : The Stepford Cuckoos - yes, the mini-Emma Frost hive mind - turn out to be secretly designed to host the Phoenix. Because of course they were. These minis are weird, wild, and full of flaming feathers and tragic stares. Peak Phoenix content. The Phoenix Force: Endsong & Warsong Avengers vs. X-Men: Power Sharing Gone Wrong The Phoenix comes back to Earth in AvX , but this time it doesn’t go for Jean. Instead, it gets broken up like a cosmic horcrux and spreads across five hosts : Cyclops (obviously) Emma Frost Namor Colossus Magik Together they become the Phoenix Five —a short-lived, firebird-fueled Justice League that goes full tyrant faster than you can say "planetary infrastructure." Cyclops kills Professor X while going Dark Phoenix again. Oops. Eventually, Hope Summers and Scarlet Witch tag-team it back into the ether. The Phoenix Force: Avengers vs X-Men Phoenix Resurrection: Jean Says “Nah” In Phoenix Resurrection  (2017), the Phoenix tries to resurrect Jean for the 74th time, but this time she’s not interested. She shuts the door on that cosmic co-dependent mess and walks off into X-Men Red  as her own woman. No flamebird needed. Cue applause. The Phoenix Force: Phoenix Resurrection (2017) Enter the Phoenix (2021): A New Era, A New Host In Jason Aaron’s Avengers , the Phoenix decides it’s time for a new direction. So naturally, it hosts a brutal tournament  where a bunch of heroes battle for the right to wield its power. The winner? Echo (Maya Lopez) - a deaf, Native American street-level badass with zero cosmic baggage. And just like that, the Phoenix gets a fresh start—and some much-needed therapy. The Phoenix Force: Enter the Phoenix (2021) Notable Phoenix Hosts (Ranked by Drama Level) Host Drama Level Notes Jean Grey 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 The OG. Has died like three times. Rachel Summers 🔥🔥 Surprisingly stable. Must get it from her dad. Cyclops 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Power corrupts. So does unresolved daddy issues. Emma Frost 🔥🔥🔥 High heels, higher body count. Namor 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Floods Wakanda. Absolutely no chill. Echo 🔥🔥 Low drama. High potential. The Phoenix is in good hands. Stepford Cuckoos 🔥🔥🔥 Emotionally repressed diamonds. It’s complicated. So, Why Does the Phoenix Force Matter? The Phoenix is Marvel’s ultimate metaphor: what happens when your power exceeds your ability to handle it . It’s grief, rage, hope, love, death, and rebirth all crammed into one cosmic force that likes to set things on fire. It’s been Jean’s burden, Rachel’s legacy, Cyclops’s downfall, and Echo’s new start. Whether it's burning galaxies or healing broken souls, the Phoenix is always evolving - and always dramatic as hell. Final Thoughts The Phoenix Force isn’t just another Marvel McGuffin - it’s a flaming, godlike manifestation of our worst (and best) impulses. It's as likely to save the world as it is to incinerate it. And honestly? We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Saga of the Swamp Thing Vol. 2 Written by Alan Moore Art by Stephen Bissette and John Totleben Published by Vertigo/DC Comics. Saga of the Swamp Thing Vol. 2 - Synopsis What Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, and John Totleben accomplished during their time on the comic book series Swamp Thing shouldn't be underestimated in the history of comics and, specifically, the history of horror comics. The modern comics landscape has been changed by the Vertigo line of books--an imprint that traces its roots back to this version of Swamp Thing. By taking a horror character fully entrenched in a superhero world (as silly as that might seem), this creative team put a new face on horror comics and on horror in general. Swamp Thing: Love and Death is the second collection of the team's work on the series, presented here in full color. Don't let the mediocre Swamp Thing movies fool you, this book is filled with sophisticated suspense and terror. Saga of the Swamp Thing Vol. 2 Review This continues my gradual trek through what has long been considered the crowning achievement of Alan Moore - at least when you chuck Watchmen and V for Vendetta - to the side. In the first volume of Saga of the Swamp Thing we were introduced to a Swamp Thing that had assimilated the consciousness of Alec Holland and struggled to come to terms with everyone it knew, including Abby, treating it as Alec Holland. Through a myriad of mis-adventures, which included having to deal with Abby's feelings and the return of DC Comics bastard-extraordinaire Anton Arcane, the first volume closed out with Swamp Thing starting to accept who and what it is. Which leads straight into the events of Saga of the Swamp Thing volume 2 - where Swamp Thing journeys beyond and relives Alec Holland's past and the pain of dying - to helping Alec Holland move on to the afterlife. It's this level of acceptance which helps Swamp Thing understand more about his place in the grander scheme of things and how he can contribute to being the guardian of the green and being a friend to Abby, Alec Holland's old flame. But, for me, this second volume doesn't quite hit its stride until Arcane returns to corrupt Abby's husband and slowly kill Abby, causing Swamp Thing to vanquish Arcane, and journey to hell, heaven or whatever you religious types want to call it - to rescue Abby's soul and reunite it with her body. Where this high stakes rescue attempt is aided by useless demon, Etrigan (who you Sandman fans will remember), who is somehow useful in a warning Swamp Thing about the dangers of hell but doing the bare-arse-minimum to help him kind of way. The now vanquished Arcane is seen during their travels throughout Hell, where he looks like something out of a Lovecraftian novel, but is quickly dispatched. Before Swampy and Arcane rescue Abby's soul and they, and by "they" I mean he (Swamp Thing) is able to return to the real world and implant Abby's soul back into her body. It's incredibly amusing to see Etrigan get shafted yet again and, this sequence of events, quite literally leans into Alan Moore's early days of 2000 AD writing where he executed the symbiosis of sarcastic humour and slapstick amongst terror, horror and science fiction - quite expertly. Saga of the Swamp Thing Vol. 2 - Page 14 As this is going on, a chance meeting between Abby and the caretakers of the House of Mystery  and House of Secrets , Cain and Abel, take place. Where Abby learns certain truths about her existence and Swamp Thing, truths she can't use because they are bounded to the House of Secrets. When Abel tries to sneak Abby out with secrets that can help her, he is killed by Cain who tells Abby not to worry as he'll come back alive soon. Before Cain, Abel's corpse, the houses and the Dreaming itself fade out of memory - leaving her even more confused than before. This is a scene that is both morbidly creepy and biblically terrifying. Once Abby is reunited with her body, there's a dramatic shift in the tone of the Saga of the Swamp Thing as Abby - who I'm still convinced if she's sane or not - begins to explore her own feelings for this Swamp Thing. Not Alec Holland, but this Swamp Thing, and what he risked to find her in the underworld. This is where Stephen Bisette's artwork is incredibly vital in communicating the exploration of love between the two and how Swamp Thing helps Abby understand how he sees the environment around him, what the green means to him and how they could potentially make love and be together. Bisette's artwork exchanges the earlier horror tones in volume 2 for this LSD-laced manifestation of fauna and kaleidoscopic colours which splash into one another. The result being as abstract as it is the absolute incarnation of beauty. Lots of optimism for Saga of the Swamp Thing Volume 3 but I know it won't last because nothing good lasts in DC Comics. I'm giving this a 10/10.

Phantom on the Scan's Connection to Bunn's Other Works There’s a particular flavour to a Cullen Bunn horror comic book. You don’t just read it. You inhale it like toxic smoke, and then you spend the next few days coughing up fragments of your own sanity. Phantom on the Scan fits right into that dirty, delicious mold. But more than that? It’s basically the keystone in Cullen Bunn’s unofficial horror-verse — that sprawling, gooey web of terror he’s been weaving across publishers like AfterShock, Boom! Studios, Image , and Dark Horse . Phantom on the Scan  is a psychic horror gut punch, where every telepath is a walking time bomb waiting to detonate in blood and madness. Matthew Jordan, a man haunted by the accidental death of a child, discovers he's just one in a grim lineup of broken psychics - all victims of shady experiments from Cortez Laboratories. Their powers are killing them slowly, but something far worse is stalking them fast: a parasitic predator born from their collective trauma, feeding on their minds and leaving behind psychic carnage. As the survivors scramble for answers, they peel back the corporate rot only to realise they were never patients - they were fuel. Cortez engineered their suffering to create this unstoppable psychic vampire, and now there’s no running, no hiding, no salvation. Matthew makes a desperate stand to cage the nightmare, but in true Cullen Bunn fashion, there’s no clean victory here. Trauma doesn’t die. It festers, it feeds, and it waits - gnawing at the walls of your mind long after the last page turns. This isn’t just another spooky story. This is Bunn doing what Bunn does best: pulling apart the meat and bones of human fear and reassembling it into something that stares you down from the corner of your room at 3AM. Let’s connect the dots between Phantom on the Scan and Cullen Bunn’s other works. Phantom on the Scan - Front Cover Cullen Bunn’s Signature Moves (a.k.a. His Serial Kill List of Horror Tropes) Before we play Six Degrees of Psychic Horror, let’s lay the groundwork. Every Cullen Bunn horror comic shares the same blood type: • Power comes with teeth, and it always bites you back. • No clean heroes. Everybody is either complicit or doomed. • Trauma isn’t subtext - it’s the damn monster. • Endings leave you hollow, like something crawled out through your ribs. • Science isn’t salvation - it’s the spark that burns it all down. Phantom on the Scan isn’t an exception. It’s the rule on steroids. The Empty Man - The Big Brother of Psychic Apocalypse The Empty Man  is a full-blown apocalypse wrapped in plague-ridden paranoia, where the infection isn’t just in your blood - it’s burrowed straight into your thoughts. Victims spiral from hallucinations to violent madness before the void cracks them wide open, leaving behind nothing but meat puppets for the abyss. But behind this so-called "virus" is something far more sinister: an ancient, cosmic predator gnawing at the seams of reality. Cults rise like rot from a corpse, worshipping The Empty Man with blood sacrifices and whispered gospel, eager to spread the sickness to every corner of humanity. As ex-agent Jensen and her partner Langford investigate a missing girl tied to the plague, they tumble headfirst into a maelstrom of cultist madness and creeping cosmic horror. Melissa, the missing girl, isn’t lost - she’s the living mouthpiece for The Empty Man ’s arrival. No matter how hard they fight, the deeper truth gnashes at their sanity: belief itself is the contagion, and the more they try to stop it, the faster it spreads. By the final, brutal crescendo, the world is swallowed whole, cults feast on despair, and the Empty Man emerges as a god of thought-plague, devouring everything in its wake. Sound familiar? Because the predator in Phantom on the Scan is the spiritual sibling of The Empty Man plague. They both feed off human weakness and paranoia like they’re snacking at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Cortez Labs and the original psychic experiments? Basically, a science-backed version of the cult from The Empty Man - both unleash a psychic time bomb and hope nobody notices the ticking. If The Empty Man is a cosmic horror shotgun blast, Phantom on the Scan is the surgical drill going straight for the frontal lobe. Harrow County - The Rural Gothic Cousin Harrow County is a Southern Gothic symphony of blood and bone, where young Emmy Crawford discovers she’s not just a farm girl - she’s the living legacy of Hester Beck, the town witch burned alive generations earlier. The land whispers to her, the haints crawl from the shadows craving her command, and her own town folk, rattled by their sins, tighten their nooses in fear. As Emmy wrestles with the monstrous inheritance festering in her veins, she’s forced to choose between becoming the witch they fear or forging her own path through the muck of old curses and restless dead. Her nightmare gets an upgrade when her venomous sister Kammi enters the fray, eager to seize Harrow County ’s haunted throne. What follows is a brutal, magic-soaked power struggle of siblings, haint armies, and townsfolk choking on their buried crimes. Emmy fights not just for survival but for the soul of Harrow County itself, sacrificing everything to break the bloody cycle. But in true Bunn fashion, the land never forgets, and even with Emmy’s sacrifice, Harrow’s horrors continue to fester beneath the surface - patient, hungry, and eternal. But peel back the Southern Gothic skin, and you’ve got the same Phantom on the Scan skeleton: • A protagonist bound to supernatural horror by blood and legacy. • Powers they didn’t ask for. • A constant tug-of-war between control and corruption. Matthew Jordan and Emmy from Harrow County are kindred spirits. Both inherit monstrous power. Both are forced to wrestle with it. And both stories remind you that power, no matter how “natural,” comes steeped in old sins. Swap the Harrow County cornfields for collapsing city streets, and you’ve got Phantom on the Scan in a different zip code. Regression - Bunn’s Dirtiest, Most Personal Horror Regression is Cullen Bunn at his most unhinged, a maggot-crawling descent into rot and ruin. Poor Adrian just wanted to silence the screaming visions gnawing at his sanity - but digging into past-life regression cracked open something ancient and vile. Turns out, his former self was Gregory Sutter: an occult sadist neck-deep in cult madness, murder, and worm-riddled theology. Now, Adrian’s trapped in a waking nightmare, blacking out while Sutter’s hunger hijacks his body, and a death cult sharpens its knives, eager to crown their maggot prince once more. As Adrian spirals, the line between man and monster liquefies. He fights the rot clawing through his mind, but every step forward is a tumble deeper into the cult’s writhing embrace. Sanity curdles, flesh rebels, and by the time Adrian realises he’s not the victim - he’s the vessel - it’s already too late. Regression is a symphony of decay, a filthy hymn to body horror, identity collapse, and the grim inevitability of being devoured by your own worst self. Sound familiar again? Phantom on the Scan is Regression ’s psychic twin - both stories trap their leads in a hall of mirrors filled with screaming faces from their past. Both feature protagonists who think they’re hunting answers but discover they’re just running in circles inside their own damn head. And both give you that creeping itch like something’s burrowed under your skin. Regression is a downward spiral, Phantom on the Scan is a psychic self-detonation. Bone Parish - Crime Noir with a Side of Necromancy Bone Parish turns New Orleans into a necromantic playground, where the hottest drug on the street is Ash - a powdered cocktail of human remains that lets users mainline the memories and skills of the dead. The "Winters" family sits on this grim empire, running Ash like a family-run cartel, but every high comes with a horrifying price: the dead don’t like being used. Rival gangs close in, corporate sharks smell blood in the water, and the family’s own greed feeds a rising tide of supernatural backlash. As the Ash trade spirals out of control, the Winters dynasty fractures from within. Betrayals, supernatural possessions, and cartel warfare pile up like bodies in an unmarked grave. What started as control over death becomes a curse they can’t escape, as the ghosts in the powder fight to reclaim the living. By the final page, the empire is buried under its own sins, and Ash lingers in the air like a malignant fog - hungry for the next soul foolish enough to inhale it. It’s Bunn’s supernatural cartel saga, where snorting the dead gets you high and haunted in equal measure. What ties it to Phantom on the Scan is the parasitic nature of power: • In Bone Parish , you burn through souls for power. • In Phantom on the Scan , you burn through your own soul just to survive. • Both comic books love showing you the slow rot that comes with addiction to supernatural force. The predator in Phantom on the Scan is basically the cosmic version of a cartel kingpin - consuming anyone foolish enough to feed it. Swap the back-alley deals for psychic nosebleeds, and you’ve got a match. The Unsound - Madness in a Box The Unsound drags you kicking and screaming into Saint Cascia Psychiatric Hospital, where fresh-faced nurse Ashli Granger quickly realises her new job is less healthcare and more hell-portal concierge. The patients riot in orchestrated chaos, the staff wear eerie masks like they’re part of some twisted masquerade, and the walls themselves seem to pulse with malevolent intent. As Ashli is swallowed by the asylum’s labyrinthine guts, reality fractures - blending industrial nightmare with body horror, where sanity isn’t just fragile, it’s practically extinct. As Ashli plunges deeper, she discovers a blood-soaked legacy that binds her to the madness of Saint Cascia itself. This isn’t random chaos - it’s her inheritance, a destiny wrapped in shrieking insanity. Cullen Bunn and Jack T. Cole conjure a relentless fever dream of dread, with no heroes, no salvation, just a suffocating descent into existential terror. By the final page, you’re left hollowed out, twitching, and unsure if the real asylum was in the comic - or your own mind all along. Phantom on the Scan has that same intimate, locked-room panic. Both comic books trap their characters inside the architecture of their own minds - where every exit is another doorway to something worse. The Unsound is your mind on hellfire. Phantom on the Scan is your mind on collapse. What Phantom on the Scan Proves About Bunn’s Horror Brain If you stack these comic books side by side, Phantom on the Scan feels like Bunn cracking his knuckles and saying: “Let’s do them all at once.” • Hive mind body horror from The Empty Man ? Check. • Inherited doom from Harrow County ? Check. • Hallucinatory descent from Regression ? Check. • Soul-eating addiction from Bone Parish ? Check. • Madness as architecture from The Unsound ? Check. It’s a greatest hits album, but played at ear-bleeding volume. More importantly, Phantom on the Scan feels like a culmination of his career-long obsession with this one central theme: The real horror isn’t out there. It’s what’s already inside you - waiting to hatch. Final Shot: If Cullen Bunn Ever Did a Crossover Event… Imagine this: • The predator from Phantom on the Scan locked in psychic combat with The Empty Man plague. • Emmy from Harrow County stepping into Matthew’s shoes, armed with rural witchcraft. • The drug lords of Bone Parish trying to smuggle psychic essence like contraband. • The asylum from The Unsound as the battleground. It’d be a bloodbath of existential horror. And we’d buy the oversized hardcover in a heartbeat. Bottom Line? Phantom on the Scan isn’t just Cullen Bunn doing what he does best. It’s him taking all the twisted lessons from his other horrors and splicing them into a psychic Frankenstein’s monster of paranoia, gore, and existential dread. If you love Bunn’s horror work, Phantom on the Scan isn’t optional reading. It’s the mainline injection.

The most infamous name in terror is back to shove your fragile nerves straight over the edge, serving up three fresh slabs of rot, ruin, and ruthless revenge! This month’s grim grab-bag in Epitaphs from the Abyss sees the Grave-Digger crack open the crypt for a killer lineup - Jeff Jensen ( HBO’s Watchmen ), Lee Loughridge, Curt Pires, Jeremy Lambert, Valeria Burzo, and more fiendish talent are here to exorcise their demons the old-fashioned way: by sinking a hatchet deep into someone’s spine. RELATED: From Prison Break to Bloodbath in Out of Alcatraz #2 Epitaphs from the Abyss #10 Written by Jeremy Lambert, Curt Pires and Jeff Jenson Art by Valeria Burzo, Brian Level and Sami Kivela Coloring by Inaki Azplazu, Lee Loughridge and Nick Filardi Lettering by Richard Starkings and Comicraft's Tyler Smith Cover A by Lee Bermejo Cpber B by Darick Robertson Home Variant (1:10) by Albert Monteys B&W Artist Edition Variant (1:20) by Darick Robertson Archive Edition Varoant (1:50) by Rian Hughes On sale April 23rd, 2025 for $4.99 USD. Published by Oni Press. Epitaphs from the Abyss #10 Covers Epitaphs from the Abyss #10 - Cover A by Lee Bermejo Epitaphs from the Abyss #10 - Cover B by Darick Robertson Epitaphs from the Abyss #10 - Homage Variant (1:10) by Albert Monteys Epitaphs from the Abyss #10 - B&W Artist Edition Variant (1:20) by Darick Robertson Epitaphs from the Abyss #10 - Archive Edition Variant (1:50) by Rian Hughes

Welcome to the world of Toxic Summer. What starts as the perfect post-graduation summer turns into a neon-lit, slime-soaked nightmare in Toxic Summer  — a madcap, monster-packed mystery from Eisner Award-winner Derek Charm ( Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Jughead ). Ben and Leo had one mission: flex their lifeguard cred, soak up the sun, and maybe catch the eye of the local beach hunks. But paradise quickly curdles when a toxic spill turns Port Dorian’s pristine shores into a rank graveyard of dead fish and radioactive goo. Goodbye beach bods, hello biohazard duty. Things get weirder (and wetter) fast. After dragging a local historian with glowstick eyes out of the surf, the boys find themselves knee-deep in tentacled terror. Locals are vanishing in the dead of night, dragged into the deep by monsters that make Jaws look like a goldfish. With time running out and the summer slipping through their sandy fingers, Ben and Leo join forces with the town’s only other surviving teens to crack the case, save their sun-kissed haven, and maybe - just maybe - rescue their summer of hunks and hijinks before it sinks beneath the waves forever. Collects Toxic Summer  #1–3. RELATED: From Prison Break to Bloodbath in Out of Alcatraz #2 Toxic Summer TPB Written by Derek Charm Art by Derek Charm Cover by Derek Charm On sale April 23rd, 2025 for $19.99 USD. Toxic Summer Cover

Welcome to the second issue of Out of Alcatraz . From the twisted minds of Eisner-nominated heavyweights Christopher Cantwell ( Plastic Man No More! ) and Tyler Crook ( Harrow County ), 2025’s white-knuckle, nerve-shredding chapter cranks the dial to "hellbound." Proving once and for all: you can dodge justice, but fate’s got a bullet with your name on it. Welcome to 1962, California - where breaking out of America’s most notorious lockup was only act one. Frank, Clarence, and their shadowy puppet master thought they’d outsmarted the system, hiding out in the farmlands north of San Francisco. But as corpses stack like cordwood and paranoia runs hotter than a prison riot, their so-called plan is going up in smoke. On their tail? A relentless FBI eager to slap a bow on this mess and write it off as "case closed." But one rogue U.S. Marshal smells something rotten in the narrative - and his hunch could drag these dead men walking straight into a darker fate than any prison cell. Turns out, freedom comes with a heavy price tag. And the devil’s already collecting. Out of Alcatraz #2 (of 5) Written by Christopher Cantwell Art by Tyler Crook Cover A by Tyler Crook Cover B by Oliver Dominguez Sketchbook Variant (1:10) by Tyler Crook Variant Cover (1:20) by Nicole Rifkin Out of Alcatraz #2 (of 5) Covers Out of Alcatraz #2 - Cover A by Tyler Crook Out of Alcatraz #2 - Cover B by Oliver Dominquez Out of Alcatraz #2 - Sketchbook Variant by Tyler Crook Out of Alcatraz #2 - Variant Cover (1:20) by Nicole Rifkin

Annisokay Dive Deeper Into the Abyss with Pt II — Metalcore Mayhem Unleashed German metalcore juggernauts Annisokay have unleashed their latest sonic sledgehammer, Abyss Pt II, out now via the ever-reliable Arising Empire. If you thought the first chapter hit hard, buckle up - this follow-up doubles down on everything fans crave: bone-crushing riffs, soaring melodies, and enough emotional weight to sink a battleship. Leading the charge is the ferocious single "Inner Sanctum." It’s a blistering anthem of inner turmoil and defiance, laced with haunting atmospherics and breakdowns that feel like they could crack the Earth’s crust. Annisokay flex their full range here, weaponising vulnerability and resilience in equal measure. Cast your mind back to Abyss Pt I (September 2023), and you’ll remember a band fully locked into their evolution. That EP tore through genre constraints with ease - from the thunderous punch of "Human," to the addictive hooks of "Ultraviolet." Not to mention their unexpected but brilliant spin on Leony’s "Remedy," reimagined as "Calamity," which proved Annisokay aren’t afraid to colour outside the lines. Now, with Abyss Pt II, they’re raising the stakes and sharpening their sonic arsenal, cementing their place at the vanguard of modern metalcore. And for those itching to feel the full impact, the band is gearing up to take these new monsters on the road for their October European tour - hitting heavy-hitter festivals like Wacken, Greenfield, Reload, and Summer Breeze. Expect chaos. Expect catharsis. Expect Annisokay in full beast mode. Abyss Pt II Album Art:

Solkyri’s Cranebrook : A Haunting Tapestry of Post-Rock Elegy and Emotive Crescendos Hailing from Sydney, Australia - are Solkyri - a self-described instrumental rock band who spend as much time playing with intense emotive post-rock and shoegaze as they do ambient melodies. They're a band that has followed the path that fellow Aussie bands like sleepmakeswaves and Laura have laid out for them. Though, while some may have made the sleepmakeswaves comparison in the past with records like Mount Pleasant or even Sad Boys Club, it's this latest release - Cranebrook - which boasts a welcome and dramatically polarising shift in their approach to what makes a Solkyri composition. Whereever We End Up Next  starts with a beautiful folk-drone introduction that basks in the glory of post-rock ambience. Roughly two minutes in, it gives us this stunning crescendo of post-rock typical riffs that echo through the ether, like a musical echo, to sunrise peering over a lush landscape. Sure, there's repetition in the movements, but with each transition and change in tempo you're transported to this majestic place. One where electric guitars, sombre acoustics, violin-sounding strings, and an ambient melody, converge one-another, creating what sounds like the echo of an ancient lullabye. I Guess I'll Be Leaving Now  is ethereal yet has this sense of dread and decay about it. A longing for a past that has withered and dried up. Which makes sense given the EP artwork of a delapidated house where the second story has collapsed and fallen in on itself. The piano line is particularly sorrowful, adding a complex layer to the guitar feedback that rings out throughout the whole track, leading up to a dutiful violin melody that'll break your heart. But the violin is really allowed to have its moment when the ensemble of effects and ambient dissonance fades out. Leaving us with a despondent violin and cello harmony which feels like the final moments at a funeral. RELATED:   Gloam's 'Well Dwelling' heralds Bombastic Moments of Isis aligned with the Intricacies of Deftones Artwork of 'Cranebrook' EP by Solkyri Autumn Mould  ups the ante in the ideas department of what quiet ambient rock can and should look like as raw slides on the fret board meets a haunting cello meets a piano line, leaving this track feeling like it exists in its own timeline, as it echoes into the feedback-ladened and upbeat-drumming of 1804. T he shortest track on the record, 'though probably the most powerful, when you look at how it sets up the remaining two tracks -  You Coward (Shambles II) and Where the Quiet Can Hide.    With You Coward (Shambles II)  starting out as a subtle what if  Tim Hecker and Godspeed! You Black Emperor collaborated before, again, circling back to the pristine and angelic-like qualities in I Guess You'll Be Leaving Now . Which creates this cohesiveness, rarely felt in modern day rock, more so equated with classical music. Where the Quiet Can Hide  is Mogwai coded in its moody approach to summarising the preceding five tracks and leaving an impactful overture. With a steady drum beat that gives me nostalgia for Atomic or Kin -era Mogwai. Before it fades out into the abyss. I think that, talking broadly for a minute here, that EPs are largely forgotten about or seen as the "between" period for many bands out there. A means for bands to try out new material or road-test transitioning to a new style but Cranebrook summons forth a veritable tidal wave of sadness, longing and joy. A schadenfreude  of a record. Would I have liked something a bit more upbeat? Sure, who wouldn't? But that shouldn't take away from what Solkyri have achieved here. I'm giving this a 9/10. Stream Cranebrook: What did you think of 'Cranebrook'? What did you think of this release from Solkyri ? Let us know in the comments.

As I Lay Dying Implodes: Ken Susi Exposes Tim Lambesis’s Toxic Meltdown The catastrophic nosedive of As I Lay Dying - well, the latest nosedive, if we’re keeping score - turned into one of the most chaotic, popcorn-worthy implosions the metalcore scene’s witnessed in a hot minute. Fronted by none other than certified garbage human Tim Lambesis, the band had an album in the chamber and a sprawling European tour locked in. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, the rest of the lineup collectively found their spines and noped the hell out of there. Bassist Ryan Neff, drummer Nick Pierce, the band’s manager Alex Kendrick, guitarist Phil Sgrosso, and guitarist Ken Susi all punched their tickets off the sinking ship within days of each other. Each departure came with its own carefully-worded farewell, peppered with phrases like “maintaining my personal health and integrity” or saying the band “no longer offers a healthy or safe environment for anyone involved.” But if you were hoping for juicy details at the time? Yeah, those were kept frustratingly under wraps. Fast forward to a marathon two-hour episode of the BREWtally Speaking Podcast where Ken Susi finally decided to lift the veil. He cracked open the vault on his As I Lay Dying days and, no shock to anyone, it turns out Lambesis’s textbook abusive behaviour was the toxic fuse that lit the powder keg. Now, there’s a lot to chew through in that conversation (seriously, go hit play on the podcast wherever you get your audio fix). But the most gut-punching revelation? Susi recounting the ugly showdown that unfolded in his own home - the exact moment the whole rotten house of cards came crashing down. “If you want to know what exactly happened and why the band broke up is because we were at Metalfest and we had the greatest fucking time in my kitchen. We had all the the all the band, all the members, all the crew, everybody and a few people were staying at a hotel. And then me, being a good host, after the festival. “Now, mind you, him [Tim] and his wife, they weren’t they weren’t vibing on tour. You know things… We were unsure if his wife was even going to come to this short weekend of shows, But I’m going to say, they were staying in a hotel down the street and I offered, I said, ‘Hey, you’re going to go get a tattoo. My wife works from home. I got to go to Fishman. If your wife wants to just chill all day, my wife and your wife are friends. You’re welcome to just stay here and save the money. And you can use one of our cars. You don’t have to rent a car.’ “Like just go do your thing. But what ended up happening is, my wife and I are having a kid. She’s putting a bassinet together right now as beyond the beyond the screen. But we [had] just announced to my whole family that we’re having a baby. We got my mother crying, my father crying. Tim‘s wife is witnessing this, taking video in our house, it was a joyous occasion the day after Metalfest. “And then within 2-3 hours later, there was like an incident where now mind you, I’m just going to pick up the, I’ll pick up the fucking camera right now. I got these huge honking security cameras all over the house, and a label on the front door saying you’re being filmed 24/7, right? “And this guy like comes into my house in the middle of the night, corners his wife in my kitchen and spits in her face. And then retracts four or five steps back and has some type of episode, which I’ve never seen out of somebody before in my entire life. “And then starts screaming and running around my house for help. And it alarmed my wife. She woke up and she’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ And I’m like, ‘I’ve heard him scream for help before.’ I’m going to go see what’s going on. “But ultimately, I’m not 20-years-old. I’m not going to turn a blind eye to domestic violence. I’m not going to turn a blind eye to like improper behavior. You know, when shit happens, you fucking handle it. And in that scenario, I didn’t know what happened. I separated them, I brought them down to my studio. I asked him specifically what the fuck is going on. “And I, is there anything I need to know? And he was just like, ‘Oh my marriage’, this and that. And I’m like, ‘cool.’ I go upstairs. I asked Dany what’s going on. She tells me the truth. “I actually pull up the camera footage in front of her and I see exactly what was said. He spit on me. He threw a fit. I was trying to calm him down the whole 9. And to be totally honest with you, that’s what fucking happened. “Later on, you know, he tried to change. I went back downstairs. I said, ‘I’m disappointed in you.’ And he’s like, ‘I didn’t spit on her face. I spit at her feet.’ And I’m like, ‘Why are you spitting in my house in general?’ If you’re going to lie about it, you know? And the honest to God truth is, you’re not going to insult me. I asked him to leave immediately. He left. And at that point, the rest is history. “If Tim, wants me to like… When I quit the band, he sent a message through his wife, through his wife’s phone, saying he would sue me if I ever release that footage because he didn’t know — he was filmed without his consent, or he was posting up like, Dany would sue me, his wife. “But like, ultimately I’m not fucking scared. I have the receipts. With Tim‘s permission, if you want to check if I’m a credible source, if you want to see if I’m a upstanding person, I’ll release it. If you want me to release it, that’s fine. Tim, like I have no problem with it. “But I’m not going to sit here and let you say things like, ‘Oh, Phil left the band.’ Or you were really distant from the band and you know, everyone was like trying to pull you back in, but you were just in this place and blah, blah. You, you know, you’re creating a lie. You’re creating a lie for the fanbase. And it makes me look bad. It makes the guys look bad. You did something wrong. You have to own up to it.” That's basically all of it but, if the last couple of years are anything to go by, this is certainly not the last time we'll be hearing from the As I Lay Dying pissed-off alumni. I'm curious what you guys think.

Happy Death Day 3 Rises from the Grave: Jessica Rothe Confirms Sequel Is Finally Moving Forward Well, well, well - look who’s finally coming back from the dead (again). After what felt like an eternity of radio silence and non-committal teases, Happy Death Day 3  is officially back on the slab and kicking into gear. Franchise queen Jessica Rothe herself dropped the bombshell at a recent double feature screening of the first two films, announcing that the long-teased third chapter is now “moving forward” which was re-confimed by Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon on-stage at American Cinemathesque - just a few short days ago. Cue the horror-comedy fandom losing their collective minds. It’s been a wild six-year wait since Happy Death Day 2U  hit screens, and let’s be honest — fans have been left screaming into the void, wondering why this box office darling of a franchise had been left to gather dust. Sure, there were whispers. Rumblings. Even franchise mastermind Christopher Landon let slip that Universal and Blumhouse toyed with the idea of turning the third film into a Peacock miniseries. Spoiler alert: that one never got out of the development graveyard. But now? Now there’s life in the corpse. Let’s not forget - way back in 2020, Landon teased that the working title for the third instalment was Happy Death Day to Us  (yep, we love a good pun). He even hinted it would take a fresh detour from the previous films, promising something “different” while still keeping the signature chaos we’ve come to expect. Back then, Rothe told Coming Soon: “I would love if we had the opportunity to complete the trilogy. “I know that Chris has it all mapped out in his genius brain, but I also know that we only want to complete it if we get to do it right. I think it’s just a question of seeing if the opportunity for that exists in the world. “But the funny thing is I have a feeling whether it’s now or in five years or ten or twenty, if we pull a Jamie Lee Curtis from ‘Halloween’ and Tree comes back as a badass 50-year-old, I know that we will get to tell the rest of the story. I love Tree, I love that character so much and I feel very, very grateful to have been a part of that.” It's still early days but we'll be keeping an eye on Happy Death Day 3 as it hits pre and post-production. That's it for now.

Mike Leon Exits Soulfly After 10 Years, Igor Amadeus Cavalera Steps In for May 3 Show After a decade of holding down the low end, Mike Leon and Soulfly have officially gone their separate ways. No drama, no fiery fallouts — both camps dropped their statements and it’s all looking like a clean, amicable break. In the meantime, Soulfly aren’t missing a beat. Stepping in for their May 3 throwdown is none other than Igor Amadeus Cavalera, Max's own flesh and blood. "After many strong years together, Soulfly is parting ways with bassist Mike Leon," wrote Soulfly in a statement. "The tribe are still performing at the upcoming Mexico City's Nu Metal Revolution on May 3rd with the Sorcerer, Igor Amadeus, of Cavalera band, Go Ahead And Die and Healing Magic filling in. "We're going in different directions now and we thank Mike for all the time spent with us rocking hard on stage!" Leon also commented, saying: "After an incredible 10 year journey with Soulfly/Cavalera, the time has come to move on and pursue new opportunities. I'm deeply grateful for the experiences, the music, and the relationships built along the way—it's been an honor to grow alongside such dedicated fans. "I've been proud to contribute to the music community through my work as Director of Artist Relations with ENKI Cases, supporting artists with industry leading gear protection, and will continue to do so. "As I look ahead, I'm excited to focus on exploring and creating new musical opportunities! Thank you to everyone who's been part of the journey so far—here's to the next chapter!" As for a permanent replacement? The mystery lingers. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if Igor remains a permanent fixture, at least for the rest of the year. Anyway, that's it for me.

Animals As Leaders Celebrate 10 Years of The Joy of Motion with Massive Australian Tour Get ready, Australia. One of heavy music’s most mind-bending, genre-defying juggernauts is heading our way this September. Washington D.C.’s own Animals As Leaders are bringing their seismic sound to our shores for a full-blown national tour, celebrating the 10th anniversary of their game-changing album, The Joy of Motion. Back in 2014, The Joy of Motion didn’t just turn heads — it blew them clean off. Fusing technical wizardry with pure emotional firepower, tracks like "Kascade" and "The Woven Web" have racked up over 10 million streams each, while "Physical Education" is barrelling towards a staggering 22 million. Not too shabby for a band that refuses to play by anyone’s rules but their own. For this monumental tour, Animals As Leaders are performing The Joy of Motion in full. Yep, you heard that right — every mind-melting riff, every groove-laden breakdown, every pulse-racing moment, live and loud. And if that wasn’t enough to make you salivate, they’re bringing along Long Island’s sonic wrecking ball Car Bomb to obliterate your senses before the main event even begins. Armed with 8-string axes, thunderous grooves, and enough polyrhythmic chaos to scramble your brain (in the best way possible), Animals As Leaders have spent the last decade evolving from prog-metal disruptors to full-blown global icons. They’ve smashed through the walls of genre, tossing metal, jazz fusion, and electronic madness into a sonic blender to craft something truly untouchable. Even without a vocalist, their music speaks volumes — intimate, mythic, and endlessly electrifying. When The Joy of Motion dropped, it landed straight at #23 on the US Billboard 200, shifting over 50,000 units in the States alone. Add to that praise from the likes of Guitar World, Rolling Stone, and Modern Drummer, and you’ve got a band that doesn’t just meet expectations — they steamroll them. Car Bomb. Photo Credit: Who-The Fuck-Knows. And then there’s Car Bomb. If you know, you know. These New Yorkers have carved out a ferocious cult following thanks to their jaw-snapping riffs, shape-shifting time signatures, and pure sonic chaos. Having shared stages with Meshuggah, Gojira, and The Dillinger Escape Plan, Car Bomb are the perfect volatile cocktail to light the fuse before Animals As Leaders ignite the main event. Look, we could wax lyrical about Animals As Leaders all day, but let’s be real — words don’t do them justice. You need to experience this live. No ifs, no buts. Tickets are going to vanish faster than your brain cells in the pit, so move fast or miss out. Prepare for a night where technical mastery and raw emotional power collide. Animals As Leaders and Car Bomb are here to melt faces and redefine what heavy music can be. Don’t sleep on this. Tour Dates Friday, September 12: Hindley Music Hall, Adelaide Sunday, September 14: The Tivoli, Brisbane Thursday, September 18: The Forum, Melbourne Friday, September 19: Enmore Theatre, Sydney Sunday, September 21: Magnet House, Perth Presale: Tuesday, April 15 @ 9am local General On sale: Thursday, April 17 @ 9am local Buy tickets here>>