Popverse's top stories

• The real star of The Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Power isn't Sauron or the One Ring - it's Mount Doom
• Scott Snyder says most DC Comics pitches from writers fail for the same three reasons, and he wants to help everyone get better
• Marvel’s new Spider-Woman series is embracing horror, noir, and gore... and we have a first look at a prequel story for her 50th anniversary

'Tis the season to be hunted. We’re a week away from Christmas, and it seems like the perfect time to offer a holiday treat to Popverse readers: the complete first issue to Image Comics’ crime series The Voice Said Kill, by The Flash and John Constantine Hellblazer: Dead in America writer Si Spurrier and Scarlet Witch and Daredevil artist Vanesa R. Del Rey.

Described as a psychedelic swampland crime thriller perfect for fans of Criminal, Scalped or Absolute Martian Manhunter, as well as Fargo meets True Detective with a blood-soaked side of Apocalypse Now, The Voice Said Kill gathered praise from creators and critics alike in its original serialization (which just finished with its fourth issue earlier this month). Absolute Green Arrow writer Pornsak Pichetshote called it “the best new crime comic of the year,” while The Power Fantasy and Immortal X-Men writer Kieron Gillen said it was “creepy and compelling, human and humid,” adding, “This is a crime-filled swamp I’d happily drown in.”

Humid and creepy? Sounds like the perfect holiday counter-programming. You can read all of the first issue of the series in the gallery below, courtesy of creators Spurrier and Del Rey, as well as publisher Image Comics — and if you want to find out how the story ends, the complete series is waiting for you right now in your local comic store or digitally. For those who’d rather have a collected edition, that arrives in comic stores March 25, and bookstores April 21, and is available for pre-order now.

Ready to step into the Louisiana bayou and leave the seasonal cheer behind? Click through the gallery below. Happy Holidays.

Interested? Here's where to find your closest local comic store, courtesy of Sweet, and here's a guide to how (and where) to read comics online. If you're looking for the best comics in recent memory, check out the Eisner Awards winners and the Harvey Awards nominees. And if you like free comics, here's everything we know about Free Comic Book Day 2027.