A primordial evil has been awakened beneath the streets of New York City, and with it, something equally evil has awakened in that most Wicked of Webslingers. On stands now, writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman‘s VENOM #1 has launched a groundbreaking new era for the symbiote.

Watch the exclusive interview above, as Cates teases this strange and exceptionally toxic chapter for Venom and Eddie Brock. “Something’s happening to the symbiote that terrifies him. It’s starting to speak in this other language that Eddie can’t understand and it’s driving him insane,” he explains. “The symbiote is starting to be very cruel and it’s starting to kind of operate without Eddie’s consent.”

Much like Eddie Brock, the writer himself has been empowered by the vicious might of the symbiote. “I’ve been let off the leash on this thing,” he says, “and I’m kind of going ballistic.”

Get VENOM #1, by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, at your local comic shop or online right now!

Prepare for EXTERMINATION on August 15.

The highly secretive series, brought to life—or death—by writer Ed Brisson and artist Pepe Larraz, tells a story set 20 years in the future as all of mutant existence is on the brink. The original X-Men squad—Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Beast, and Marvel Girl—find themselves targeted for death. And the future of mutantkind lies squarely in the hands of its past.

Get the first look at Mark Brooks‘ cover for EXTERMINATION #2 right here:

And now jump into our chat with Ed Brisson, as we caught up with the writer to get a few more details about the upcoming series.

Marvel.com: EXTERMINATION sets off with the original team of mutants gathered by Charles Xavier all those years ago. Why them?

Ed Brisson: This series is about the Original Five—Jean, Bobby, Warren, Hank and Scott. Years ago, they were brought from the past to our present so that they could see how badly things went wrong with their older selves and, theoretically, fix it. They were only meant to be here briefly, but have stuck around for far, far too long and their presence is finally going to have some very serious consequences—not just for themselves and the X-Men, but for all of mutantkind.

Marvel.com: How do the early UNCANNY X-MEN stories influence this book?

Ed Brisson: Our mandate going into this was, “Your back issues matter.” Every single UNCANNY X-MEN story involving the Original Five X-Men matters. If the X-Men are here, then they’re not where they’re supposed to be, fighting those they’re supposed to fight. What happens when that past starts to unravel? What’s the butterfly effect on our present?

Marvel.com: In this new era, what about this team’s dynamic remains the same as those early stories? And what is most different about the squad today?

Ed Brisson: In a lot of ways, they’re still the wide-eyed kids they’ve always been, but having spent several years in our present, they’ve changed their perspective on a lot of things. Jean and Scotty aren’t the classic couple they’ve always been, Hank’s been experimenting with magic, Warren’s got himself some serious upgrades, and Bobby’s been able to open up about himself in ways that would not have been easy for him to do back in their time.

There’s a lot of reasons for each of them to want to remain in the present and that creates a real danger for everyone.

Marvel.com: This book has quite the ominous title…what can you tease about this extinction-level threat?

Ed Brisson: Not too much. We’re going to be throwing readers a lot of curveballs. All I’ll say is that this is a chance for us to clear the board a bit and that anything can happen to anyone at any time.

Prepare for the new series with the special post-credit scenes arriving across Marvel Comics! Then read EXTERMINATION #1, by Ed Brisson and Pepe Larraz, on August 15 and EXTERMINATION #2 on August 29!

Last week, we announced Disney Publishing Worldwide was teaming up with Little Free Library and First Book to bring Avengers: Infinity War-themed library stands to cultivate young readers and build community through epic storytelling and free access to books.

In Los Angeles, this past weekend, Marvel’s Ryan Penagos emcee’d an event, in coordination with Disney Publishing Worldwide, Little Free Library and the LAPD Newton Area Community Safety Partnership Team, revealing the showpiece “Avengers: Infinity War”-themed library stand for children from the Newton Area community.

Author Brandon T. Snider read an excerpt from “Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War: The Cosmic Quest Vol. 1: Beginning” following the unveiling. The “Little Marvel Library” in Los Angeles is dedicated to a young boy named Semmi Veasey, who battled brain cancer, and deeply impacted the Newton community. Councilmember Curren D. Price, Jr. of Council District 9; LAPD Captain Michael Rimkunas, Area Commanding Officer; Newton Division Newton Area Community Safety Partnership Team; as well as special guest Captain America were in attendance. Take a look at the gallery above!

The Los Angeles showpiece library debuted this past weekend along with 8 other communities across the nation. The Little Marvel Libraries will be maintained by Little Free Library community members and will be stocked with book for two years.

To find out more about Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War-themed Little Free Libraries go to LittleMarvelLibrary.com, and learn more about Little Free Library by visiting LittleFreeLibrary.org.

We may have bid farewell to DESPICABLE DEADPOOL, but with one end comes a fresh start — and DEADPOOL #1, written by Skottie Young with artists Nic Klein and Scott Hepburn. The issue hits stands on June 6 but we have a first look at the book with art from Scott Hepburn and some insight from Skottie Young himself.

Upon our return to Wade Wilson’s World, we find Deadpool trying to get his merc work back in gear. After working with super groups like the Avengers, X-Force, and S.H.I.E.L.D., he’s back to working alone, and just in time — there’s a huge threat to deal with, and Deadpool just happens to be available! Lucky us! But first — doesn’t every hero deserve an origin story in Issue #1? Deadpool certainly thinks so, and that’s just what we get in these preview pages, whether we like it or not.

We asked Skottie what else we can expect from Issue #1 and how he’ll be denying Deadpool a peaceful existence as he starts merc’ing all over again: “Deadpool is trying to go back to his roots of merc for hire. Like any new business, things are off to a slow start. Basically, he’s a freelancer, and for the last 17 years, I’ve learned that there’s rarely peace and harmony in freelancing. It’s always a grind to find a balance. Deadpool is going take a ride on that roller coaster in issue #1 and beyond.”

But if you think we’re going to see high drama from this new Deadpool run, you can check your tears at the door. Skottie assures us that this will be full of the humor you love:  “There’s a reason I’ve been wanting to write this character for years. I get him. Like in my real life, I can use Wade’s humor to entertain, mask pain, distract or just flat out annoy you, intentionally or unintentionally. Listen to the stories of almost any comedian and you quickly realize where the ‘sad clown’ cliche came from. Deadpool is a Sad Clown with guns and swords and a mutant healing factor. So let’s change the label to ‘SAD VIOLENT KILLER FOR HIRE CLOWN.'”

DEADPOOL #1 will hit stands and be available digitally on June 6, 2018 with the amazing pages below by Scott Hepburn! Pre-order with your local comic book store!