Marvel Now Doing a Simultaneous Launch of the Midnight Universe

The new horror-tinged publishing initiative kicks off this October.

The Midnight Universe is Marvel Comics' new publishing initiative that was announced back on May 8. Considered by many to be the publisher's reaction to DC's Absolute comics, which feature a darker take on heroes like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, the Midnight line will play host to darker, edgier takes on some of Marvel's biggest heroes. The lineups for the three series that have been announced are:

• Midnight X-Men: Writer Jonathan Hickman and Artist Matteo Della Fonte

• Midnight Fantastic Four: Writer Benjamin Percy and Artist Kev Walker

• Midnight Spider-Man: Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Artist Scietronic

Marvel and DC both tend to stretch out launches of multiple books like this across at least the span of a few weeks, but for Midnight things will be different. Marvel has announced that it will be releasing all three Midnight titles on the same day: October 7, 2026. Fans were quick to note that this October launch is a delay from the original summer rollout that was planned, but Marvel alleges that the move was to allow the series more time to be polished. And hey, given the horror element of all the series, October seems a bit more fitting, eh?

If you're interested in picking up any of these number ones, be sure to talk to your local comic shop and get an order in.

Source: Marvel Comics Press Release