Marvel/DC: It's Jeff/Aquaman and DC/Marvel: Supergirl/Blade

Marvel/DC: It's Jeff/Aquaman and DC/Marvel: Supergirl/Blade

Originally released in 2026

Written by Kelly Thompson (Jeff/Aquaman), CRC Payne (Supergirl/Blade)

Art by Andres Genolet (Jeff/Aquaman), Mikel Janin (Supergirl/Blade)



Marvel and DC have been putting out a lot of crossovers in the past year or two, and I'm all for it.  There were other ones that came out last year which I haven't covered yet, but I'm going to cover two that just came out a few days ago - one which features Jeff the Land Shark and Aquaman (which is inexplicably rated T+), and one which features Supergirl and Blade. (not sure if this duo was meant to tie into both characters having upcoming movies, though the Blade movie has been delayed a bunch and it doesn't seem clear if the people behind the MCU have any idea of what to do with the character even though "guy who fights vampires" seems like a rather straightforward concept)



These are both comics that are designed for apps and scrolling, rather than having traditional pages.  It takes some getting used to for me, as despite being designed for mobile devices, the panels don't quite fit on the screen of my phone, being a bit too large or too small. (still, it means that I don't have to zoom in to get a good look at the art or writing)



The stories are short, light-hearted affairs that assume that these characters have always coexisted, which I'm perfectly fine with in the context of a crossover. (no need to come up with a plot point where "Aquaman discovered a mysterious magical tunnel in the depths of the ocean; swimming through it to investigate, he found himself in the Marvel universe")



The story is straightforward and suitable for kids (Jeff's tiny octopus pal ate a cupcake that made him gigantic; not sure if Pym Particles were involved), which makes the T+ rating even more inexplicable. It's cute, harmless fun, with most of the conflict coming with Jeff's inability to communicate directly with anyone (even Aquaman)



The Supergirl and Blade crossover involves the X-Men villain Mojo, a character that I only know a little about. (He's from a dimension that's obsessed with TV, and he's a super-powered TV executive)  Obeying what the algorithm says that people want to see, he brings Supergirl (who's described as "a strong female lead who's perpetually a damsel in distress" - not sure how much truth there is to that last part) into a forest that contains vampires. (by my understanding, given that Kryptonians gain their strength from absorbing sunlight, a vampire biting into Supergirl would be like a human biting into a hand grenade, with equally messy results for the one doing the biting)



Once the antagonist is picked, Mojo's choice of lead actor becomes easier, though naturally, Supergirl and Blade clash on their stances when it comes to killing.



Mojo's production seems to have a low budget - he brings in actual vampires for authenticity, but rather than being an actual forest, he sends them to a soundstage. (clearly, natural woodlands don't provide the proper lighting for his productions)



Supergirl could tear the place apart, but she was infected with Kryptonite in her bloodstream, justifying why this crossover lasts more than fifteen seconds. Blade solves that problem, and with his precious sets at risk, Mojo is left with no choice but to send them back to their respective home universes.



Even if the stories are your standard crossover fare, there's something so wholesome about seeing these two companies work together in this day and age. (the last time this happened was in the early 2000s, with Kurt Busiek and George Perez making JLA/Avengers)  It gets me thinking about which ones I'd like to see; I'm hoping that Gwenpool gets included in one of these further down the line, as she's a fan of DC as well as Marvel and she's a character who seems underused in recent years.

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