With three wildly different comics debuting across this summer, and a surprise Marvel Zombies series just revealed, Ethan Parker and Griffin Sheridan are officially having their Barbenheimer moment.
The co-writers behind Kill Your Darlings are behind Bring on the Bad Guys: Green Goblin (out now) as well as Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone and Blink and You’ll Miss It (both out August 6). Plus, as the pair revealed mid-interview, Marvel Zombies: Red Band, which drops in September. Each book is distinct, ranging from superhero slasher to kaiju apocalypse to tender time-traveling romance, but all are unmistakably the wondrous byproduct of the Parker-Sheridan duo.
“It just feels so crazy to finally be at this point where we get to talk about these books with people,” Parker said. “It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, hey, we make comic books.’”
Courtesy of Marvel Comics.
The Goblin Goes Full Slasher
In Green Goblin, part of Marvel’s villain-focused Bring on the Bad Guys event, Parker and Sheridan were handed a simple directive: Norman Osborn needs to have a dagger. Their response? Turn the story into a horror movie.
“As soon as we heard… you need to have Norman Osborn swinging around a dagger, we were like, OK, so it’s a slasher book then,” Sheridan said.
The one-shot dives deep into Osborn’s fractured psyche and leans into Silver Age Goblin aesthetics filtered through the lens of a horror villain.
“He’s scarier than you’ve ever seen him,” Parker said. “If you imagine seeing him outside your window when it’s raining at night… that’s pretty messed up.”
For the writers, who grew up obsessed with Spider-Man, the chance to write Norman was surreal, especially when Sheridan snuck Spider-Man himself into the issue.
“Even just having Spider-Man present from a distance… you’re like, ‘Oh, I told Spider-Man to do something,’” Parker said. “It’s like playing with your toys as a kid on a much, much bigger scale.”
Courtesy of Marvel Comics.
Enter the Dead Zone
With Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone, the duo joins IDW’s shared Kaiju continuity with a twist: Godzilla himself isn’t front and center. Instead, they focus on a strange, mutated wasteland and the human (and half-Kaiju) survivors surviving its many perils.
“We’ve started describing our book as taking place in Godzilla’s footprint,” Parker said. “Kaijus are running amok… and with this Kaisei energy mutating the world around them, we’re crafting a wavelength full of just the gnarliest freaks you’ve ever seen.”
As such, the book emphasizes suspense, action, horror, and yes, even a sense of heart.
“Sometimes there may even be a little heartwarming moment around the corner,” Sheridan said. “We’re trying to make a book that we could only do in comics—too bonkers for a movie.”
With Pablo Tunica on art, the pair are letting originality run wild.
“We wanted that moment to be like, ‘You don’t know what to expect in this world,’” said Sheridan. “It’s not just a who’s who of Toho creatures.”
Courtesy of IDW.
A Sci-Fi Love Story Told in Reverse
On the opposite end of the spectrum lies Blink and You’ll Miss It, a personal, emotional time-travel story told through a dreamlike lens. Originally developed through several pivots with Boom Studios, the final version is “a much stranger book,” as Parker noted, adding, “It’s hard on its sleeve. It’s a fable. It’s very us.”
Meanwhile, Sheridan added, “It’s about someone slipping backward in time, watching their life fall apart in reverse—and two people trying to desperately hold on to each other. That’s what living with a partner or loved ones in the current moment can feel like at times.”
The book’s structure—blending romance, heartbreak, and surreal visuals—feels intimate and vulnerable.
“Even though there’s a high concept, the heart has to propel it forward,” Sheridan said. “So the question became: what is the most devastating moment we can send our character back to?”
Courtesy of BOOM! Studios.
Marvel Zombies Goes Red Band
Midway through the interview, Sheridan received a DM revealing their next Marvel gig, Marvel Zombies: Red Band. The book is set to drop in September with art by Javi Fernandez and covers by some of Marvel’s top talents. It’s gruesome, over-the-top, and unlike anything the duo have done before.
“We’re essentially doing a life story-style approach,” Parker said. “The Fantastic Four come back from space with powers—and they’re zombies. From there, everything changes.”
The book is polybagged, explicit, and bloody.
“We put some pretty gnarly stuff into the script, and then the art came back… and they were like, ‘Hey, just add some more,’” Sheridan said with a laugh.
And yes, both writers finally get to fully write Spider-Man.
“It just dawned on both of us looking at the scripts for issue #2,” Sheridan said. “Hey, wait a minute—that’s you. You’re putting words in Spider-Man’s mouth.”
A collage of covers for Marvel Zombies. Courtesy of Marvel Comics.
Themes, Identity, and the Future
Though each project stands apart, themes of identity, regret, and emotional connection run throughout.
“We’re both just lost constantly,” Parker said with a laugh. “So, of course, our characters are searching for identity.”
They’re also conscious of not repeating themselves, even as some stories inevitably echo their earlier work on Kill Your Darlings.
“Being surprising is our favorite thing in writing,” Sheridan said.
Still, they’re not afraid to own their voice.
“People say Wes Anderson should do something that doesn’t feel like a Wes Anderson movie,” Sheridan said. “Why would he? If this is the style of stuff we like to do, then we’ll keep doing it.”
What’s Next?
Between Green Goblin, Godzilla, Blink, and now Marvel Zombies, Parker and Sheridan are quickly building one of the most eclectic and emotionally resonant catalogs in comics.
“We’re working 24/7,” Sheridan said. “We’re juggling and I’m a goddamn clown.”
Catch Bring on the Bad Guys: Green Goblin on July 2, Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone and Blink and You’ll Miss It on August 6, and Marvel Zombies: Red Band in September.
As Sheridan put it: “It’s our Barbenheimer moment. A piece of our soul in both, but a different part of our soul.”
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