So Radiant Black turns five in February. Kyle Higgins and Marcelo Costa’s book launched back in 2021 and became the foundation for the whole Massive-Verse, and now Image is releasing something pretty special to celebrate—a black and white edition of the first issue.
Radiant Black & White strips away all the color and lets you see Marcelo Costa’s artwork in a completely different way. His inks and line work really pop when there’s nothing else on the page. It’s one of those things where you think you know a comic, but then you see it like this and notice details you missed before. David Finch did the cover for this edition, and there’s a pencils-only variant (1:20) if you’re into that sort of thing.
What makes this release more interesting than your average anniversary reprint is that they’re including the original script for the issue. You don’t usually get to see the actual script, so being able to read it alongside the finished pages is a nice peek behind the curtain. It’s a good way to see how the creative process works on a book like this.
If you somehow missed Radiant Black when it came out, the premise is pretty straightforward: Nathan Burnett is 30, broke, stuck in lousy jobs, and has to move back home with his parents. Then he finds this cosmic power called the Radiant and suddenly has abilities he never imagined. The problem is that the entities who created the Radiant want it back, and they’re not the negotiating type. It’s basically a superhero origin story filtered through millennial financial anxiety, which probably explains why it connected with so many readers.
Radiant Black & White hits shops on February 11, 2026. It’ll be available digitally too—Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play, the usual places. Cover A is the David Finch standard cover (Lunar Code 1225IM0296), and Cover B is the pencils variant (Lunar Code 1225IM0297). Worth checking out if you’re a fan of the series or if you’ve been curious about what started the Massive-Verse.
Beam Me Up Scotty
Born and raised in the city of Miami. Lifelong pro wrestling fan. Been deep in the 'zine scene since ’84, interviewing locals, Hardcore, Punk, and Metal bands. Spent 26 years in the comic book biz and still obsessed with all things pop culture—Mego, Micronauts, Shogun Warriors, Die-Cast Metal Super Robots, you name it. I can go on about comic books and bad movies all day.
