The monster battles are coming with something you can actually put in a card sleeve. Image Comics has revealed three collectible Creature Corps TCG cards ahead of the comic’s December launch, bringing Bjorn Barands, Dalton Rose and Martin Simmonds into the creature-catching chaos. Curt Pires and JOK’s new series already has an ugly competitive streak built into its world, and now the publisher is giving collectors a piece of that world to chase.
Creature Corps #1 arrives Wednesday, December 2, 2026, with giant-sized issues priced at $4.99. Pires, whose titles include Fireborn and Lost Fantasy, writes the series alongside artist JOK, known for 51 and In Hell We Fight. The pitch takes the creature-battling crazes of the 1990s and runs them through an irreverent, violent satire that Image compares to The Boys. Cute nostalgia can only get you so far when somebody’s making serious money off the fighting.
The newly revealed cards feature Gleaver with artwork by Bjorn Barands, Regalleaf by Dalton Rose, and Drakazoid by Martin Simmonds. Image is holding back two additional card reveals for release-day discovery. The cards are part of the Cover B Booster Bundle offering, with a chance at a holofoil chase card included in the collector pitch.
There’s more than a card promotion inside the comic. Every issue will also carry The World of Creature Corps, an ongoing backup anthology featuring established creators and newcomers. Announced contributors include Franklin Jonas, Jordan Blum, Timmy Heague, Fred Kennedy, Stefan Tosheff and Juanse Eslava, with further names still to come. That gives the main series a place to build out its world through other writers and artists as the central story moves forward.
Retailer-exclusive variants are also on the way, with dozens planned and artists including Ito, Monkeymouth, Donghee Kim and Vincenzo Riccardi. Image recommends checking with your local shop about its offerings and getting the series onto your pull list. With store exclusives in the mix, asking your retailer directly is the practical move if a particular artist is what you’re after.
Pires is going all in on the size, attitude and collectible side of the launch:
“I’m ecstatic to be partnering with Image Comics again for my biggest and craziest book yet. Creature Corps has it all: dark, irreverent deconstructionism of our childhood creature battling crazes, giant sized issues for only $4.99, the coolest trading cards around, and an all-star cast of contributors to the book. I’m so grateful for all the support on Fireborn and Lost Fantasy and can’t wait for readers, collectors, and retailers alike to experience Creature Corps for themselves on December 2nd!”
The story begins with a disaster people quickly figure out how to monetize. In 1999, time breaks and the Calamity Creatures arrive from a desolate future. Humanity starts making them battle, and the business becomes the largest for-profit sporting event since the UFC. That industry is Creature Corps, and former champion Dusty Gotem knows exactly what it costs.
Dusty won the world championship at 14, then walked away in disgust. Seventeen years later, he’s hiding from that life when a time quake leaves his mother injured and facing enormous medical bills. Saving her means getting his old team back together and chasing the world title again. The guy who rejected the whole machine now needs its prize money. That is a nasty little trap to build a comeback story around, fam.
The full issue #1 cover selection gives retailers plenty to order. Cover A by JOK is UPC 70985304964700111. Cover B, the JOK Booster Bundle Variant, is UPC 70985304964700121; Image describes it as containing a polybagged secret cover for issue #2 plus one of two random Creature Corps TCG cards, including a chance to win a holofoil chase card. The announcement separately identifies three revealed card designs and two surprise designs, so those overall reveals should not be read as a guarantee of a particular card in a particular bundle.
Cover C by Jarret Hartnell is UPC 70985304964700131; Cover D, JOK’s Japanese Video Game Magazine variant, is 70985304964700141; Cover E, the Blank Sketch cover, is 70985304964700151; and Cover F by Tyler Kirkham is 70985304964700161. Cover G by Flops uses 70985304964700171, while Cover H, Jae Lee’s standard variant, uses 70985304964700181.
For the incentive lineup, Cover I is JOK’s Absolute Batman homage at 1:25, UPC 70985304964700191. Cover J is JOK’s Japanese Virgin Foil at 1:50, UPC 70985304965400111. Cover K is the Flops Cornerbox Variant at 1:75, UPC 70985304965400121. Cover L is the Jae Lee Virgin Gold Foil at 1:100, UPC 70985304965400131.
Digital availability includes Amazon Kindle, Google Play, Apple’s iBooks, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Scribd’s Everand, Kobo, Overdrive, Hoopla, Sweet app and Comic Plus. For physical copies, speak with your local comic shop about the standard covers, booster bundle and retailer exclusives ahead of December 2. You can also follow Image Comics for further updates and revisit our earlier Creature Corps coverage for more on the launch.
Founded by a collective of bestselling artists in 1992, Image Comics publishes creator-driven stories across horror, science fiction, fantasy, romance, crime, humor and more. Its books include Spawn, The Walking Dead, Invincible, Saga, Monstress and The Department of Truth. Creature Corps joins that lineup with a former child champion, a broken timeline and monsters whose next fight can now follow you home in a card binder.
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