Kevin Smith and Giuseppe Camuncoli Send Jay and Silent Bob into the Marvel Universe in 'Jays of Future Past' #1

Writer-director Kevin Smith finally cashes in a 31-year-old pitch he made to Stan Lee on the set of 'Mallrats': a Marvel Universe one-shot starring his View Askewniverse stoners Jay and Silent Bob. The book, drawn by 'Amazing Spider-Man' veteran Giuseppe Camuncoli, sees the loitering legends square off with Doctor Doom alongside the Avengers when it hits comic shops on June 10, 2026.

The Marvel Universe is about to get a lot more askew. Kevin Smith — the indie filmmaker who turned a New Jersey corner store into a pop-culture institution — is finally bringing his signature slackers into the House of Ideas with Jay and Silent Bob: Jays of Future Past #1, a one-shot crossover landing in comic shops on June 10, 2026.

A Pitch 31 Years in the Making

For Smith, the project is the payoff to a pitch he first made to Stan Lee in 1995 on the set of Mallrats. "It was less of a pitch and more of a plea," Smith tells Marvel.com. "I didn't present him with a story idea as much as I asked if Marvel would put Jay and Silent Bob in a book where they meet The House of Ideas all-stars."

Smith says the model was already there: cartoonist Fred Hembeck's legendary 1989 one-shot Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe. Three decades later — after ten View Askewniverse films, countless comic appearances, and even cameo skins in Call of Duty — the timing finally felt right for the kooky New Jersey duo to share panels with the Avengers and the Fantastic Four.

"Writing a story in which my kooky characters get to trade word balloons with my childhood heroes in full color means more to me than winning an Academy Award. I've never pursued an Oscar but I worked hard the last 30 years building up enough pop cultural cred for my boys Bob and Jay to warrant Marvel green-lighting this titanic team-up." — Kevin Smith

Doctor Doom, the Avengers, and a Quinjet Surprise

The plot drops Jay and Silent Bob into a confrontation with Doctor Doom, with Earth's Mightiest Heroes along for the ride. Smith teases that his favorite moment is built around a wordless beat: "The moment I absolutely adore features Silent Bob as he boards the Quinjet. He does something that leaves the Avengers agog, so it's one of the only killer Cammo panels that's not obfuscated by a thousand Kevin Smith word balloons."

That "Cammo" is artist Giuseppe Camuncoli, the Italian cartoonist whose Marvel résumé includes lengthy runs on Amazing Spider-Man, Superior Spider-Man, and Star Wars: Darth Vader. Smith calls Camuncoli's contribution transformative: "Cammo is incredible. Not only did he make sense of my silly script dense with dialogue and elevate it into art with his mastery of Marvel heroes, but he also made me and Mewes look young again!"

Smith is also already plotting his next collaboration with the artist. "Working on this book with him was bliss, so I've already got an idea of what Marvel Comic I'd like to make with him next!" he says — though he's not yet ready to reveal the project.

What This Means for Marvel Fans

Marvel has a long history of welcoming outside creators into its sandbox — Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Joss Whedon among them — but few crossovers feel as personal as this one. Smith has spent decades building Marvel into the texture of his work, from the Stan Lee cameo in Mallrats to his acclaimed late-90s/early-2000s runs on Daredevil, Green Arrow, and Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do.

Jays of Future Past arrives during a heavy month for the publisher and slots in alongside MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls news, the Punisher: One Last Kill trailer, and the 10-year retrospective on Captain America: Civil War — making June 2026 a deep month for fans who follow Marvel across comics, TV, games, and film. Mark June 10 on the calendar and find your nearest comic shop at ComicShopLocator.com; digital readers can pick it up via the Marvel Unlimited app on iOS and Android.