December is here, and with it comes an incredible lineup of comics to end the year on a high note. Packed with brand-new story arcs, thrilling crossovers, and reimagined classics, this month’s releases are a treat for both dedicated fans and newcomers alike. As the holiday season hits full swing, publishers are pulling out all the stops, offering everything from superhero epics to chilling supernatural mysteries.
Whether you’re keeping up with the latest adventures of Marvel and DC’s biggest icons or diving into indie titles filled with unexpected twists, there’s something for everyone in December’s comic lineup. Check out our list of the top 10 must-reads for the month and see what’s lighting up the comic world as the year comes to a close!
1. Ultimate Universe: One Year In #1
Release Date: Dec 11, 2024
THE CLOCK IS TICKING DOWN TO THE MAKER’S ARRIVAL! Deniz Camp flips the narrative on ULTIMATES and takes us inside the Maker’s Council! The heroes of the Ultimate Universe aren’t the only ones who have been preparing for the return of the Maker, and the clock is ticking down… This unique one-shot sets the stage for the second year of the Ultimate line and includes the debut of the Ultimate versions of two major Marvel characters!
2. Challengers of the Unknown #1
Release Date: Dec 18, 2024
Spinning out of Absolute Power and the DC All In Special, the terror of the Darkseid shockwave has cascaded across the DC Universe… tearing open the very fabric of time and space itself! Only one band of super-scientists have the right stuff to challenge the fate of a universe… enter: THE CHALLENGERS OF THE UKNOWN. Alongside the Justice League —where the Challengers run day-to-day operations for the massive Watchtower base in orbit above Earth — Ace Morgan, June Robbins, Prof Haley, Red Ryan, and Rocky Davis must team with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the League to seal the rifts that threaten the galaxy. But a mysterious foe from the Challengers’ past lurks in the shadows, and its connection to the godshock will put the DCU on borrowed time!
3. All-New Venom #1
Release Date: Dec 4, 2024
WHO IS THE ALL-NEW VENOM? The smiling, swashbuckling spider-hero New York loves to hate to love is back — and more fun-loving than ever! That’s right, it’s… Wait, it’s VENOM?! An all-new host is taking the symbiote in a whole new direction — but who? It could be the Journalist… the Terrorist… the Sidekick… or even the Mayor… We’re giving you all the clues, good believers — but you won’t know until the mask comes off! Writer Al Ewing (VENOM, IMMORTAL THOR) takes Venom in a completely new direction with artist Carlos Gómez (FANTASTIC FOUR, THE AMAZING MARY JANE) bringing the story to gorgeous life!
4. Laura Kinney: Wolverine #1
Release Date: Dec 11, 2024
THE ULTIMATE MUTANT DEFENSE! WOLVERINE takes the fight to those who stand as enemies of mutantkind! LAURA KINNEY was bred to be the ultimate assassin as X-23. She’s long left that life behind, but as she encounters mutants being forced to use their powers against their will, WOLVERINE takes it upon herself to right these wrongs – no matter who stands in her way! Dynamic scripter Erica Schultz (HALLOWS’ EVE, X-23: DEADLY REGENESIS) and rising-star artist Giada Belviso (BLOOD HUNTERS, MS. MARVEL ANNUAL) bring Wolverine on her first mission abroad in the From the Ashes era, as Laura takes the fight to mutant oppressors wherever they may hide!
5. In Bloom #1
Release Date: Dec 11, 2024
43% of the cells within a healthy human body belong to something other than the human host. Microbiomes, invasive bacteria, fungal and viral agents, and something else, something… more.
When the BLOOM happened, humanity was changed forever, transformed by symbiotic fungal megasystems that infected their bodies.
Some affected people grew new body parts, some found their personalities changed in radical new ways, while others reported contact with some… other intelligence not their own.
In this revolutionary new world, Agent Spears finds herself investigating a series of mysterious murders, a chain of violence that leads her to a terrifying question on which the fate of every living being rests.
Visionary writer Michael Conrad (Wonder Woman, Bizarre Adventures) and Eisner Award-winning illustrator John J. Pearson (The Infernals) present a boundary-pushing science fiction saga evocative of The Last of Us, Blade Runner, and Annihilation.
6. Kidpool & Spider-Boy #1
Release Date: Dec 25, 2024
HISTORIC FIRST MEETING! Your favorite foul-mouthed adolescent, KIDPOOL, is back in comic book form starring alongside the biggest debut character in recent memory, SPIDER-BOY! Will the Adolescent-Arachnid be able to keep the Murderous Middle-Grader from causing the return of the Comics Code? UNLIKELY! But Bailey is going to try! Don’t miss the comic that every kid and kid-at-heart in America is going to sneakily read under their sheets with a flashlight!
7. TVA #1
Release Date: Dec 18, 2024
FOR ALL TIMES, ALWAYS! The Time Variance Authority has long watched over the timeline, protecting it from dangerous variations that could cause the end of EVERYTHING. Now, as the organization begins to expand its tolerance of variants, it’s enlisted some new recruits from timelines that have been wiped from existence: Captain Peggy Carter, Super-Soldier of her world; Gambit, despondent and aimless from the loss of his lady love; and… this can’t be right… Spider-Gwen?!? Has her world been destroyed?!? Writer Katharyn Blair (LOKI Season Two) and artist Pere Pérez (CARNAGE, SPIDER-WOMAN) bring a touch of cinematic flair to the bureaucracy at the end of time!
8. The New Gods #1
Release Date: Dec 18, 2024
An old god has died, and the reverberations of his passing are felt across the universe, setting forth the soldiers of an intergalactic army and awakening the latent powers of a mysterious child on Earth. But this has all been foreseen — prophesized by the Source and fed as enigmatic images to its agent, Metron. Now, as Metron brings word of this cosmos-shattering prediction to the residents of New Genesis and Apokolips, both worlds are thrown into chaos and conflict. On Earth, Scott Free and Barda find themselves unaware of this incoming chaos while consumed with their most daunting task yet: parenthood. Ram V and Evan Cagle bring the Fourth World to a whole new generation in this epic of cosmic proportions. An old god has died… the New Gods are born!
9. Hellhunters #1
Release Date: Dec 25, 2024
GHOST RIDER ’44! 1944: As U.S. Sergeant Sal Romero is parachuting into Nazi-occupied Europe, young Nazi officer Felix Bruckner becomes the host for an unspeakable evil. In the aftermath of their violent meeting, Romero is reborn as GHOST RIDER ’44, who sets out not only to take revenge on Bruckner and the Nazis, but to save mankind from annihilation! Featuring an ALL-STAR CAST of Marvel’s most badass heroes, don’t miss the origin of the INCREDIBLE HULK’s GHOST RIDER ’44!
10. Hellverine #1
Release Date: Dec 18, 2024
It’s hellfire-fueled, claw-slashing action in the Mighty Marvel Manner as HELLVERINE blazes a new path across the Marvel Universe! The Demon Bagra-ghul possessed Wolverine, turning him into a killing machine… but Logan is no stranger to caging the beast within his soul, and the demon learned his heroic ways. Now it’s resurrected Akihiro, and the two must learn to live as one — the HELLVERINE! But they can’t do it alone — enter: Doctor Strange!