Hello comics fans, and welcome to your weekend edition of Comics Relief! Today we’ve got DC and Marvel news galore, plus deets on Captain Jack Sparrow heading to the world of comics. First off though, Rey, Finn, and BB-8 are finally ready to join the comics world over at Marvel. Read on for all the details…

Marvel Releases First Covers For Their Star Wars: The Force Awakens Adaptation

Marvel Comics‘ long awaited adaptation of Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives in comic stores next month as a five-issue comic book series written by Chuck Wendig—and art from Luke Ross. As per usual these days, there will be a variety of amazing variant covers to choose from via the likes of artists Esad Ribic, John Cassaday, Joe Quesada, and Phil Noto. Will there be reveals in the comic adaptation that weren’t in the final film? You’ll have to wait and see. For now, you can see three of the covers for the first issue below: [CBR]

DC All-Access Gives Fans A Rebirth Primer

Next week is the long awaited, long hyped-up start to the big DC Rebirth event, which will relaunch the DC Universe once again, in an effort to course correct from the perceived mistakes of the New 52 initiative which began five years ago. With that in mind, the events of Rebirth are still a direct result of the past few years of DC Universe continuity, so the folks at DC All-Access have made a new video as a sort of primer for fans looking to get back into the DCU before the big event. You can check out the video in full below:

Geoff Johns Bids Farewell to Comics Writing…For Now.

While we’re on the subject of DC Rebirth, the 82-page special that starts the whole event rolling hits next week and will be written by Geoff Johns and drawn by a who’s who of DC artists. Sadly however, it appears that DC Rebirth #1 will be Geoff Johns’ last comic book writing work for awhile. As you might have heard, after the less than stellar reception — critically anyway — to Batman v Superman, Warner Brothers has hired Geoff Johns to co-head DC Films in an attempt to course correct the DC Cinematic Universe. This has been a long time coming, and no one is better suited for the gig.

Having said that, the movies’ gain are comics’ loss. Over the past 16 years, Geoff Johns has written THE definitive versions of characters and concepts, like The Flash, Superman, Aquaman, The Justice Society, Teen Titans, Justice League, and maybe most importantly, the Green Lantern, where he reshaped and redefined that book’s entire mythology. Hopefully, after fixing the movie side of things for DC, we can see Mr. Johns make a triumphant return to comics. It won’t be the same without him. [Bleeding Cool]

Pirates of the Caribbean Gets A Comic Book Series from Joe Books

Somehow, during the height of Johnny Depp/Pirates of the Caribbean mania, a Captain Jack Sparrow comic book series never materialized. But better late than never I suppose, as publisher Joe Books has announced that a new Pirates of the Caribbean # 1 coming this August, with Chris Schweizer and Joe Flood as the primary creative team. The first issue will take place shortly after the events of the first — and still best — film,  The Curse of the Black Pearl. You can check out a preview of the cover for the first issue below, and for more on this comic, click on our full story on the subject: [Nerdist]

The Phantom Celebrates 80 Years

Although Superman is technically the world’s first superhero, one can make a case for The Phantom beating him to the punch a few years earlier. As it turns out, 2016 is the 80th anniversary of the Phantom, and to celebrate, there will be a special one-shot comic book made in honor of “The Ghost Who Walks” …only, you’ll have to go to Dublin, Ireland to get it.

Dublin Comic Con announced they’ve reached an agreement with Phantom rights owner King Features Syndicate to produce an exclusive one-shot for the character’s 80th anniversary. The issue will be sold during the convention, which is scheduled for August 6 and 7 at Dublin’s Convention Centre. All proceeds will be donated to three nearby children’s hospitals. This 80th anniversary Phantom one-shot will feature short strips by local cartoonists, as well as reprints of Lee Falk’s original strips and more. You can see some early promo art down below: [Newsarama]

Upcoming Teen Titans Omnibus Features Cover Art by The Late, Great Darwyn Cooke

Last week we lost the great Darwyn Cooke at the age of 53. The retro style artist created the epic DC series The New Frontier, among many other notable works. One of his last pieces of work for DC will be seen in August, as the publisher has announced that Cooke created a new piece of art for the cover of the forthcoming Silver Age Teen Titans Omnibus, which collects all of the classic 1960’s era stories of the original “Fab Five” together in hardcover format. The oversized edition will cost you $75.00 for 584 pages, which is a deal. You can see Cooke’s groovy cover below: [CBR]

Marvel Wants You To “Vote Loki.” Sure, Why Not?

Let’s not beat around the bush: this is the scariest election season in all of our lifetimes. If you were to ask a majority of voters, they’d likely say we don’t really have any good options, just ones that are less terrible than others. With that in mind, Marvel Comics has decided to capitalize on our crazy election season by releasing Vote Loki #1 from critically acclaimed creators Christopher Hastings and Langdon Foss. I mean, at this point Loki would be a welcome option.

In this story, “the God of Lies has his sights set on becoming the leader of the free world.” What else do you need to know?? Vote Loki #1 will be available in print and digitally this June. You can check out a preview of the first four pages — plus two different covers — in our gallery below:

Images: DC Comics / Marvel Comics / King Features Syndicate / Joe Books