For New Orleans, Christmas comes in May this year—Sweet Christmas, that is.

David Walker, fresh off the POWER MAN AND IRON FIST series, continues to chronicle the adventures of one half of that daring duo in an all-new LUKE CAGE ongoing series, joined by Nelson Blake II on art and Rahzzah on covers.

When Luke heads to the Crescent City for the funeral of the man who gave him powers, he runs into trouble; mysterious billionaires, amped up gangs and shadowy figures add up to some bad gumbo for the Hero for Hire. We spoke with Walker about the new series and what kind of fiddle-faddle Cage finds himself in this time.

Marvel.com: We’ve spoken before about your love for the 1970/80’s Power Man and Iron Fist material. What are your thoughts on the character now, having gotten the chance to write his adventures with Danny in their most recent series?

David Walker: Writing Luke as one half of Power Man and Iron Fist was a blast. Now that I’m writing his solo adventures, I can focus on him in a different way. I’m switching up not only how I write, but the types of stories I’m telling as well. In some ways, it feels like I’m writing Luke for the first time.

Marvel.com: What’s the premise of the new comic?

David Walker: This is all about Luke finding trouble and busting heads. The first story is about him dealing with the death of an old friend, and finding out there’s more to the death than meets the eye. Luke is definitely in the role of the private detective; he just happens to have super powers.

Marvel.com: It’s been a while since Dr. Noah Burstein has appeared in the comics, although we did see him in the recent “Luke Cage” Netflix TV series. For those who may not know, who is he, and what’s his relationship like with Luke?

David Walker: In the original comic series in the 1970’s, Burstein was the scientist who experimented on Luke, and in the process gave him his powers. The character on the show plays essentially the same role, but in the comics Luke and Burstein have a different, more positive relationship. In the comics, Burstein thinks of Luke as a son.

Marvel.com: You’re taking Luke out of New York to the Big Easy. How does this change of setting affect the former Power Man?

David Walker: I just wanted to pull him out of his element for this story. Taking a character out of an environment where they are sure of themselves, and then putting them in a place of physical and psychological uncertainty often makes for good drama.

Marvel.com: It sounds like Luke is away from home and, presumably, away from allies like Danny and Jessica Jones. Will we be seeing any of his friends or family in the comic?

David Walker: Eventually, yes. But right now he’s on his own, and that is difficult for him. I want the reader to get a sense of Luke Cage as an individual, and it’s been a long time since we’ve really seen that.

Marvel.com: You’ve got a great team in place for the first issue, with artist Nelson Blake II and cover artist Rahzzah. What’s it been like working with them?

David Walker: It’s been great. Both have come to the table with great ideas and amazing visuals. Rahzzah’s covers are amazing. His work is so good that I worry about my writing doing the covers justice. Same with Nelson’s art—I worry my writing isn’t half as good as what he’s drawing. Between the two of them, LUKE CAGE will be a visually dynamic series.

LUKE CAGE comes your way this May courtesy of David Walker, Nelson Blake II, and Rahzzah!

Celebrate this incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy’s tenth anniversary while also prepping for the May 5 release of their new film with these gems from Marvel Unlimited!

If you only judged the Guardians of the Galaxy’s involvement in War of Kings by the main book, you’d miss a whole lot of behind-the-scenes adventures with the team trying to not only stop the conflict before it began, but also stop the battles from tearing apart reality! Luckily, Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Brad Walker, and Wes Craig chronicled those very adventures in the pages of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #13–19.

Everything kicked off with the team enjoying some spirits in Knowhere’s bar, Starlin’s, just before a fight erupted. Adam Warlock appeared to stop the fisticuffs and he soon patched things up with Peter Quill in an effort to focus their attentions on stopping the growing conflict between Vulcan’s Shi’Ar and the Inhuman-led Kree. They hatched a relatively revolutionary idea to actually send two groups to each side and just talk it out. Quill lead Jack Flag, Gamora, Bug and Phyla—now going by Martyr—to visit Black Bolt and company while Rocket, Groot, Adam Warlock, Drax, and Major Victory ported to chat with Vulcan.

Rocket’s squad immediately fell into conflict with Vulcan and the Imperial Guard leading directly into an adventure with the Starjammers to save Lilandra, as seen in WAR OF KINGS. The diplomatic trip to the Inhumans also met with disinterest from the home team, but tempers only flared when Martyr drew her blade and threatened Crystal. Having failed on all fronts, both squads returned to Knowhere only to find their new adversaries hot on their tails, leading to a huge brawl that dissipated as soon as it started after Black Bolt freed Crystal.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #13

• Published: April 22, 2009
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: December 30, 2009
• Rating: Rated T
• Writer: Andy Lanning, Dan Abnett
• Penciller: Brad Walker

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What came next got more complicated thanks to time travel and alternate realities, but essentially Star-Lord, Bug, Cosmo, Mantis, and Jack Flag saw what could happen if Black Bolt’s T-Bomb went off and tried to stop it by sending a message through the Celestial’s linked quantum telepathy. The group back in the present jumped into action, sending Adam Warlock down a dangerous path.

In order to secure the present reality, Adam attached it to a future that hadn’t been in use. Unfortunately, that reality happened to be the one where he turned into the evil Adam Magus. Even with the reappearance of the time-traveling Guardians, they were able to stop him from going full-on world breaker. Sadly, the fight did result in the apparent deaths of Martyr, Cosmo, Mantis, Gamora, and Major Victory. At the end of the day, to save existence, Peter Quill even shot his friend Adam Warlock, winning the day—but at what cost?

Transmissions from Knowhere

You might have noticed something interesting about everyone’s favorite talking tree as we’ve gone along: he said more than the ubiquitous “I am Groot” for a while. However, once he regrew, he stuck to the famous phrase. What’s the deal? Well, Maximus the Mad of all people explained it in the pages of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #17: “The mature dendritic form of King Groot’s people is robust and heavyweight. Often, the organs of acoustic generation become stiff and inflexible. It may sound as if he is simply repeating his name, but that is simply due to the hardened formation of his larynx. You must listen to the sigh of breeze beneath it. The nuance of meaning.” Apparently in those early appearances when his vocabulary seemed wider, it just meant he hadn’t fully matured yet!

Next, Nova, Quasar, the Shi’Ar, and Inhumans all deal with the Fault in their own way in the Realm of Kings crossover!