In 2024, AHOY Comics made a splash by reviving the cult hero The Toxic Crusader in comic book form. This year, they're celebrating an event called "Toxic Mess Summer," where Toxie teams up with various heroes from the AHOY Universe, including an unexpected collaboration with Jesus Christ.
Toxic Mess Summer begins in May with the release of The Toxic Avenger Pinup Special, showcasing diverse artistic interpretations of Toxie and his crew. Following this, AHOY will launch the miniseries Toxie Team-Up, where Toxie will collaborate with notable characters such as Project: Cryptid's Jersey Devil, My Bad's Acid Chimp, The Wrong Earth's Dragonflyman and Stinger, Justice Warriors' Swamp Cop and Schitt, and, notably, Second Coming's Jesus Christ.
For those new to the series, Second Coming features Jesus returning to Earth and living with a superhero named Sunstar. The series has stirred both praise and controversy, and this trend is likely to continue with the unique pairing of Jesus and Toxie.
Toxie Team-Up #1 is crafted by the creative team behind Second Coming, Mark Russell and Richard Pace. Russell shared his thoughts in AHOY's press release, saying, “Toxic Avenger and Jesus Christ is the team-up that everybody has been clamoring for and I am 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, as strange as it is, is still a place that someone who grew up bullied by the jocks in the Roman Empire would recognize.”
AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer added, “Having already 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 is set for release on May 14, with Toxie Team-Up #1 following on June 11. Additionally, Matt Bors and Fred Harper's The Toxic Avenger miniseries will be compiled into a trade paperback edition available from April 1. You can preorder The Toxic Avenger on Amazon.
Toxie is also set to return to the big screen in 2025. In IGN's review of the 2023 'not remake', Amelia Emberwing noted, "Troma and Legendary’s partnership on The Toxic Avenger’s 2023 'not remake' delivers a mixed bag. Director Macon Blair and the rest of the creative team may have more money to play with 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."
