Imperial - (The Imperial) by Jonathan Hickman & Jed MacKay (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Visionary writer Jonathan Hickman (Ultimate Spider-Man, Secret Wars) sets his sights on Marvel's cosmos!

A sweeping Marvel cosmic event resets the balance of power in the Marvel Universe! IMPERIAL is a story of intrigue, mysteries and war that takes place against the backdrop of the formation of new galactic order. Against the fallout of someone mysteriously killing the rulers of the Marvel galactic empires, the fires of war are lit! As that conflict simmers, Nova and Star-Lord race to discover who is behind all these evil acts -- a journey that takes them to the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda! Featuring Hulks, Black Panthers, Guardians and cosmic kings and queens, it's a must-read saga from the scribe who reshaped mutantkind with HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X!

COLLECTING: Imperial (2025) #1-4, Imperial War: Nova - Centurion (2025) #1, Imperial War: Planet She-Hulk (2025) #1, Imperial War: Imperial Guardians (2025) #1, Imperial War: Exiles (2025) #1, Imperial War: Panther Rex (2025) #1

About the Author

Jonathan Hickman is the award-winning writer/artist of critically acclaimed independent titles Pax Romana, Transhuman and The Nightly News. Teaming with writer Brian Michael Bendis, he launched Marvel's Secret Warriors, spinning out of Secret Invasion. He then wrote the Dark Reign: Fantastic Four limited series, which served as a warm-up for his revered runs on Fantastic Four and FF, as well as two S.H.I.E.L.D. series. Hickman penned numerous Ultimate Universe titles before bringing his intricate plotting to Avengers and New Avengers. Hickman's years of planning culminated with the Marvel Universe-shattering Secret Wars. His impressive list of credits includes a trio of lauded series for Image: East of West, Secret and the Eisner Award-nominated The Manhattan Projects. Hickman returned to Marvel to mastermind a transformative relaunch of its mutant titles, beginning with House of X and Powers of X, and continuing with X-Men.

Canadian writer Jed MacKay has built an extensive list of credits at Marvel -- including such titles as Edge of Spider-Geddon, Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther, Daughters of the Dragon and Man Without Fear. His career caught fire in 2019 with Black Cat, a character-defining phenomenon. MacKay has built on that success with his highly entertaining take on Taskmaster; a high-profile relaunch of Moon Knight; and Death of Doctor Strange, which led Clea to become the new Sorcerer Supreme in Strange. With his profile continuing to rise, MacKay took on two of Marvel's biggest titles, Avengers and X-Men, while helming his first big crossover event in Blood Hunt.

Artist Iban Coello made a digital splash with Dungeon Siege III for Dark Horse, and Batman Beyond 2.0 and Justice League Beyond 2.0 for DC, where he also worked on the print title Superboy. Coello has made his mark at Marvel on titles such as Deadpool & the Mercs for Money and Captain America and the Mighty Avengers. He is quickly earning a reputation for symbiotic super-heroics, including on the blockbuster limited series Venomverse and Venomized.

Federico Vicentini is a fast-rising star, having proved his flair for drawing web-slinging action with a pair of wall-crawlers on Amazing Spider-Man and Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales. Vicentini illustrated the Falcon and Winter Soldier team-up series before turning his attention to another high-profile Marvel character, teaming with writer Benjamin Percy on X Deaths of Wolverine and then the ongoing Wolverine title. Increasingly in demand, Vicentini contributed to the Heroes Reborn event and made his mark on another Marvel epic, tackling the A.X.E. Avengers one-shot.