BRIEFLY

* IDW Publishing has unveiled four covers for The New Ghostbusters #1, by Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado, coming in February.

Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

* Marvel Comics has announced a February launch for Fearless Defenders, an ongoing series by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Will Sliney.

Here's how the book is described:

"Valkyrie [is] trying to make amends for her mistakes -- mistakes that put the entire world in jeopardy -- is tasked with choosing a group of heroic women to fight by her side, not from the women of Asgard, but from the heroic women of Earth. Circumstance will provide her with an unlikely partner in this task, as she is joined by private investigator Misty Knight. With very different points of view and very different approaches, they will both find their definitions of heroism and honor put to the test by the women they lead and the challenges they face."

"Fearless Defenders will chronicle the adventures of the female heroes of the Marvel Universe," Bunn said. "There will be a central team of characters that will form over time, but the cast will rotate to some degree from arc to arc. This will be a team like none other in Marvel NOW.

"I think readers will have a good time speculating on who will be joining this version of the Defenders. The team up of Valkyrie and Misty Knight is probably unexpected for most people, and that's just one of the surprises I have in store. This will be an offbeat team, and they'll be facing some bewildering threats."

Mark Brooks provides the cover.

* The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan appeared on TBS' Conan on Thursday night.

Click on the thumbnail for the larger and fuller publicity photo.