Here's your weekly roundup of comics news, from the secrets of Spider-Man's new event to a Hilda animated series:
A Spider-Man villain returns in 'The Clone Conspiracy'
Marvel has been teasing the next Spider-Man event for ages with its ominous 'Dead No More' message, and now details of the storyline have emerged.
The story will be called 'The Clone Conspiracy', and comes as a five-issue miniseries by Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott and artist Jim Cheung.
It faces Peter Parker off against his old nemesis the Jackal (we should have guessed from the Anubis mask), a mad scientist type with a thing for cloning Spider-Man and his late girlfriend Gwen Stacy, who was a key figure in the infamous '90s storyline 'The Clone Saga'.
"The Jackal has always seemed to be obsessed with cloning Spider-Man and Gwen," Slott told Entertainment Weekly. "He's had a very narrow focus.
"That's led to very interesting stories in the past, but you have to stop and think, if you're The Jackal and you take science to the next level, what's more important to you than just cloning Gwens and Peters? What does this character want, and what's he going to do with this awesome science?"
Spider-Man: The Clone Conspiracy will launch in October.
Locke & Key is back
Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's fantastic Locke & Key finished its ongoing run in 2013, and despite some hints about a comeback, there's been nothing concrete.
But that is about to change. It's only a one-shot, alas, but Locke & Key: Small World will arrive in December from IDW with a new story of one of the past members of the Locke family - Mary - and her adventures with the magical keys they watch over (via LA Times).
Hellboy/BPRD gets a new spinoff
It's all change in Mike Mignola's comic book world. The creator is going on sabbatical, and with the end of the long-running BPRD storyline 'Hell on Earth', writer John Arcudi is stepping down from the series.
And now a new series is coming to Dark Horse, Rise of the Black Flame, which details the history of the titular villain. Chris Roberson and Mignola are writing with artist Christopher Mitten also on board. Rise of the Black Flame #1 will be released on September 7.
Hilda comes to Netflix
We absolutely love Luke Pearson's adorable Hilda series, and now the comic is getting animated thanks to Netflix.
The adventures of the plucky little girl will be transformed into 12 episodes based on the first four books in the series (via The New Yorker).
Upsettingly, we're going to have to wait until early 2018 for those to emerge - though that does give you plenty of time to pick up his books from Nobrow.
Beast Wagon #4 preview
Owen Michael Johnson, John Pearson and Colin Bell have been bringing us the oddly poet antics of the animals of Whipsnarl Zoo in Beast Wagon, and now they're entering the penultimate chapter of their tale.
Beast Wagon #4 will arrive on the week of July 25. Check out a preview below:
