The cosmic landscape of the Marvel Universe is about to drastically transform this June when visionary writer Jonathan Hickman and superstar artists Iban Coello and Federico Vicentini present the four-issue event series, Imperial.
The comic promises to shatter and restructure the galactic empires of the Marvel Universe. Revolutionising space-set storytelling forever, the saga kicks off with the startling assassination of various intergalactic leaders, creating a power vacuum in the stars and igniting war.
Today, we have a sneak peek at what lies ahead with the reveal of the series' second issue, on sale this July.
Ultimate Spider-Man superstar Marco Checchetto delivers another dynamic cover for the highly anticipated series that depicts some of the event's major players, including Deathbird, Nova, Gladiator, and Shuri. Meanwhile, She-Hulk, a character who will embark on a surprising journey in the series, grabs the spotlight in a variant cover by acclaimed artist Gerald Parel.
Finally, W. Scott Forbes delivers a stunning portrait of Lilandra, Professor X’s greatest love. The former Shi’ar Majestrix was recently resurrected in the X-Manhunt crossover, where she departed Earth with Professor X to rescue their daughter, Empress Xandra.
Here's the official description:
Part two of a four-part Marvel cosmic event! Against the fallout of someone mysteriously killing the rulers of the Marvel galactic empires, the fires of war are lit! As that conflict simmers, Nova and Star-Lord race to discover who is behind all these evil acts—a journey that takes them to the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda!
"I’m very excited about this project as I’m obviously a huge fan of all things Marvel Cosmic," Hickman said when the series was announced. "The goal here is to kind of do what we did with the recent Ultimate line for all of our space titles, except having the setup book be more of an event than a world-building exercise like Ultimate Invasion."
He added, "The art team is killing it and we’re all just very excited for what’s happening in this special corner of the Marvel Universe."
With groundbreaking developments for Hulks, Black Panthers, Novas, Guardians and Cosmic Kings and Queens, Imperial lays the foundation for an entire new landscape of interconnected space-set stories. Check out the new covers below and stay tuned for updates.
IMPERIAL #2 (OF 4)
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by IBAN COELLO & FEDERICO VICENTINI
Cover by MARCO CHECCHETTO
Variant Cover by GERALD PAREL
Lilandra Variant Cover by W. SCOTT FORBES
On Sale 7/9