San Diego Comic-Con may not kick off until next week — and our Camp Conival along wiht it — but there is lots of news in today’s Comics Relief. Today’s edition kicks off with the release of the full Marvel NOW! catalog for the fall. Read on for all the details…

Full Marvel Now! Catalog Revealed

This week, thanks to the release of the Marvel NOW! catalog previewing comics coming this fall, we’ve learned of several new series arriving soon post Civil War II. Among these books is Jessica Jones returning in a new ongoing series, as well as a new series starring the mad Titan, Thanos (you can read our full stories on those books here and here). Now the entire Marvel NOW! catalog is officially online, so you can check out all the previews for the books coming out soon, including one which features Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen making out (squee!) by heading over to the following link: [Newsarama]

Not seen anywhere among those listings? The X-Men. Is Marvel writing them out of the comics? We investigated on Nerdist News.

Hawkman and Adam Strange Unite in New Series

Both Hawkman and Adam Strange were part of the now-cancelled Justice League United series, but we haven’t seen much of these two classic DC icons since then. That’s all changing in October, when DC launches Hawkman and Adam Strange: Out of Time, a new six-issue limited series by writer Marc Andreyko and interior/cover artist Aaron Lopresti.

According to the official description, the series finds Adam Strange “residing on Earth and out of the hero game, trying to live a ‘normal’ life, until he’s literally pulled back into adventure again as a seemingly normal Zeta beam transmission returns him to the planet Rann, where he hopes to be reunited with his beloved Alanna. But instead, he finds the once great city of Ranagar in ruins with millions dead. Sensing something is amiss, Strange enlists the aid of Thanagarian policeman Katar Hol, aka Hawkman, who is also trying anything possible to avert war.”

Based on the art, the “something amiss” seems to be the classic JLA bad guy, Despero. Hawkman and Adam Strange: Out of Time debuts on October 5. [Newsarama]

Marvel Kills Off (SPOILER) In Civil War II

They said that Civil War II would have a big, classic Marvel hero as its casualty, and it turns out the hero dies is none other than Dr. Bruce Banner, the Incredible Hulk, as many guessed it would be. Most shocking is who killed him — none other than his Avengers teammate Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye. Banner gave Barton a special arrow designed just to take him out in case he ever got out of control, but the thing is, Barton used it before Banner could Hulk out, which results in the second Civil War. For more info on this latest Marvel death, read our full story at this link: [Nerdist]

Comics Crack the $1 Billion Sales Mark

To all those who say that comics are dying off, and the emergence of comics-based TV and film have had no effect on comics sales…statistics released this week say otherwise. Sales of comics and graphic novels have broken through the $1 billion threshold, according to calculations by ICv2 and Comichron. This includes $350 million in sales through retail book channels, $90 million in digital, and $20 million in newsstand sales, with the rest coming through the direct market.

Apparently graphic novels account for $535 million in sales and serial comics for $405 million. ICv2 attributed the growth spurt in sales to “increased attention to comics properties from the media and an expanding audience, as more women and children come to the medium”. So take that, all you doomsayers of the comics industry. [CBR]

Deadman Returns In New Gothic Romance

Boston Brand, DC’s Deadman, is returning in a new miniseries debuting this October titled Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love. The comic will see Deadman paired with an all-new new character called the Darkness (no relation to the Top Cow character). This three-issue miniseries “set in the style of gothic romance comics of the 1960s and 1970s” will be written by Sarah Vaughn, with art by Lan Medina and covers by Stefanie Hans.

In a statement, writer Sarah Vaughn said, “I’ve been reading romance novels and comics since I was kid, and it is a genre I am positively passionate about. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be able to tell a modern gothic horror story with classic DC roots.”

The first issue of the mini-series hits in October,while the other two issues will ship every other month, in December then February. [Bleeding Cool]

The DC Trinity Fights Doomsday with Snickers

In your DC Comics that hit this week, you might notice a little something extra, a few additional pages of story starring the DC Trinity as they take on Doomsday. But the story is actually an ad for Snickers, part of the candy bar brand’s “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign. You’ve seen the TV ads in this campaign no doubt several times by now, featuring the likes of Betty White and Danny Trejo, but now they’re enlisting even bigger pop culture icons.

This brief comic ad follows the same template, with a character turning into a totally different persona because they’re hungry — something only a Snickers bar can fix, of course. The artwork looks to be from Ivan Reis, who has drawn what looks to be the best version of Wonder Woman’s Rebirth costume so far. To see the whole ad, click on the following link: [CBR]

Wonder Woman Movie has Real Comics Pedigree

Speaking of Diana, Warner Bros has released the full synopsis for the Wonder Woman movie of 2017. Why run this in Comics Relief? Because the two final credited writers for the film are comics writing legend Geoff Johns and Allan Heinberg. Geoff Johns has consulted on movies in the past, but this is his first real screenplay credit for a movie.

Allan Heinberg, a TV writer who created the Young Avengers for Marvel, also wrote a brief run on Wonder Woman called “Who Is Wonder Woman?”. While I would have loved a female writer on this script, Heinberg is an openly gay man, and aside from women, the LGBT audience is Wonder Woman’s biggest fanbase and have a special love for the character. Here’s hoping with two experienced comic writers steering the ship, Diana’s big screen outing is worth the wait. [Comics Beat]

Images: Marvel Comics / DC Comics