The Best Superhero Comic in the Universe Is Back with an All-New Series Coming April 2025
LOS ANGELES 12/10/2024 — Today Skybound and Image Comics announced the all-new Invincible Universe series Battle Beast, which reunites the longtime Invincible creative team of co-creator/writer Robert Kirkman (Void Rivals, The Walking Dead) and contributing creator/artist Ryan Ottley (The Amazing Spider-Man), who first created the fan-favorite character together nearly two decades ago. For the first time a new Invincible comic has been on shelves in seven years, the debut issue of the first-ever Battle Beast series will be available in comic book shops in April 2025.
Perfect for longtime fans and new readers alike, the new ongoing series promises to reveal the secret story of crowd favorite Battle Beast in what is the most demanded Invincible story of all time.
“What can I say? I just can’t get enough of the Invincible Universe!” said Robert Kirkman. “Moving from the comic series directly to the animated series, I haven’t really had a break. That said, while adapting the series to animation, I’ve been itching to do something new! Longtime fans will know there’s a massive gap in Battle Beast’s appearances in the series between Invincible issue 19 and issue 55. There’s a lot of story to tell and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Battle Beast co-creator Ryan Ottley on board to tell it with me!”
"When Robert and I first created Battle Beast way back in Invincible issue #19 as a way to increase Invincible's Rogues gallery, I wasn't sure if he'd be a big character who'd come back throughout the series, or a character who'd die a terrible gory death right away,” said Ryan Ottley. “Robert always kept me and the readers on our toes, he could command a death at any moment, and you know I'd always jump at the chance to carry out the visual execution! Luckily, Battle Beast became a fan-favorite and lived to tell a larger tale! It's amazing to be working with Robert again in the Invincible Universe. A while ago I was telling him I wasn't sure what project to do next, and when he mentioned us doing a Battle Beast series together, I jumped at the idea of being back on a creator-owned book, enlarging the Invincible Universe even more! I'm really happy to be back at Image Comics and Skybound, and can't wait for you to see the story we are fleshing out in this series! I haven't had this much fun since Invincible!”
Cursed with an unquenchable thirst for violence that threatens those he loves, Battle Beast searches the universe for the one warrior mightier than him...so that he may die before harming anyone else. But even in a universe of mighty Viltrumites like Invincible and Omni-Man, it seems that no one may be able to stop the galaxy’s deadliest warrior...unless he does the unthinkable.
"Fans have been literally begging for this series for years,” noted Ben Abernathy, Executive Editor at Skybound. “This book is going to blow minds as Robert and Ryan are putting an insane amount of effort into making the most badass comic possible!”
Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #1 also features a first-of-its-kind blind bag program that allows fans a chance to get ANY of the solicited covers from A through I. However, there are rare SURPRISE comics that may or may not be related to Battle Beast or the Invincible Universe that can be found in these blind bags. Those SURPRISE comics will not be publicly announced in advance of the issue release.
Created by Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker, Invincible #1 debuted to critical acclaim on January 22, 2003. Ryan Ottley joined soon after on issue #8 in late 2003 as the new series artist and contributing creator. Throughout its fifteen-year run at Image Comics, Invincible not only continued for a historic 146 issues, but also spawned multiple spin-off series and even an inter-company crossover with a certain friendly neighborhood superhero. In 2021, the Invincible animated series arrived on Prime Video and quickly became one of the most popular new streaming series, earning praise worldwide for its fresh storytelling. With a second season wrapped and a third on the way, Invincible remains a cornerstone of the pop culture landscape that continues to grow in popularity every year.
Prime Video recently announced that the critically acclaimed adult animated series co-produced by Skybound Animation and Amazon MGM Studios will return for season 3 on February 6, with new episodes airing weekly through March 13. Invincible is available exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world. The first two seasons of the animated series received “Certified Fresh” rankings on Rotten Tomatoes and was awarded Rotten Tomatoes’ Golden Tomato Award for Best Animated Series in 2023. Invincible follows 17-year-old Mark Grayson as he inherits his father’s superpowers and sets out to become Earth’s greatest defender, only to discover the job is more challenging than he ever imagined.
For fans with a thirst as unquenchable for Invincible content as Battle Beast’s is for violence, the new comic book series debuts the month after season 3 of the hit Prime Video series wraps.
Battle Beast #1 (Lunar Codes Coming Soon | SRP: $3.99, unless otherwise noted) will be available at comic book shops and digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
The full list of covers is below:
- Battle Beast #1 Cover A by Ryan Ottley & Annalisa Leoni
- Battle Beast #1 Cover B by David Finch
- Battle Beast #1 Cover C Blind Bag: Various
- Battle Beast #1 Cover D (1:10 Incentive) by E.J. Su
- Battle Beast #1 Cover E (1:25 Incentive) by Kael Ngu
- Battle Beast #1 Cover F (1:50 Incentive) by Arthur Adams
- Battle Beast #1 Cover G (1:100 Incentive) (Foil) by Jonboy Meyers
- Battle Beast #1 Cover H (1:1000 CGC Signed/Graded) (Foil) by Ryan Ottley & Annalisa Leoni
- Battle Beast #1 Cover I Blank Sketch Cover
- Battle Beast #1 Cover J (Battle Beast Die Cut Mask Cover) (Foil) ($4.99) by Ryan Ottley & Annalisa Leoni
- Battle Beast #1 Cover K (1:2000 Ryan Ottley Original Art Sketch Cover by Ryan Ottley
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Skybound publishes award-winning and bestselling comics series such as Invincible, The Walking Dead, Stillwater and Ultramega, among others. Skybound's commitment to partnering with top industry talent and giving an elevated platform to diverse and unique voices has resulted in a record-breaking run on Kickstarter, where we launched mega-successful campaigns for Ava’s Demon, Extra Fabulous, and G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero — the most funded comic book campaign in Kickstarter’s history. Skybound Comet, our young readers graphic novel imprint, released the Clementine (set in The Walking Dead universe) series to great critical and commercial success. Skybound is also a savvy and sought-after licensing partner, working with companies including LEGO, Universal Products & Experiences and Hasbro to publish comics for their most coveted properties. Skybound’s Energon Universe series is Hasbro’s biggest comics launch of all time, with TRANSFORMERS #1 becoming the bestselling comic of 2023.
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