The Toxic Avenger Is Back, and He's Teaming Up With... Jesus Christ?

AHOY Comics is making waves in 2024, reviving the cult hero The Toxic Crusader in comic book form and celebrating with "Toxic Mess Summer," a crossover event pairing Toxie with AHOY's universe of heroes—including Jesus Christ.

The summer kicks off in May with The Toxic Avenger Pinup Special, featuring various artists' interpretations of Toxie and his world. Following this, the Toxie Team-Up miniseries will launch, showcasing Toxie teaming up with an eclectic cast: the Jersey Devil from Project: Cryptid, Acid Chimp from My Bad, Dragonflyman and Stinger from The Wrong Earth, Swamp Cop and Schitt from Justice Warriors, and, remarkably, Jesus Christ from Second Coming.

For the uninitiated, Second Coming depicts Jesus' return to Earth and his roommate relationship with superhero Sunstar. The series has generated considerable acclaim and controversy, a trend likely to continue with this unexpected collaboration.

Toxie Team-Up #1 is written and illustrated by Mark Russell and Richard Pace, the creative team behind Second Coming. Russell states in AHOY's press release, “Toxic Avenger and Jesus Christ is the team-up everyone's been clamoring for, and I'm not one to stand in the way. Just as in Second Coming, Christ shows that there are more tools in the box than just violence, and that Tromaville, however strange, is still a place someone bullied in the Roman Empire would recognize.”

AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer adds, “Having spawned five films, a cartoon, action figures, a musical, and a Marvel comic book series, the Toxic Avenger is a pop culture icon. The only question is: why doesn’t he have a church of his own?”

The Toxic Avenger Pinup Special releases May 14th, followed by Toxie Team-Up #1 on June 11th. A trade paperback collecting Matt Bors and Fred Harper's The Toxic Avenger miniseries arrives April 1st. Pre-orders are available on Amazon.

Toxie's cinematic return is also slated for 2025. In IGN's review of the 2023 Toxic Avenger, Amelia Emberwing notes, "Troma and Legendary’s partnership on The Toxic Avenger’s 2023 'not remake' delivers a mixed bag. Director Macon Blair and the creative team may have more money than Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman’s 1984 original, but it struggles to deliver on the schlocky goodness of Troma’s stronger films. Still, what it lacks in so-bad-it’s-good silliness it makes up for with its heart and mostly practical slaughterfests. Kevin Bacon and Peter Dinklage having an absolute blast in their roles doesn’t hurt, either."