2017's Calexit certainly made waves in the comic book industry, given that its premise was very directly inspired by the events surrounding the 2016 presidential election. Now writer and Black Mask publisher Matteo Pizzolo is following up that story with an equally topical speculative fiction series called Rogue State.

IGN can exclusively reveal the first details about Rogue State ahead of the book's official unveiling at SDCC this weekend. This ongoing series reunites Pizzolo with Calexit: San Diego artist Carlos Granda. It explores an alternate version of the US that has splintered into a series of paramilitary militia groups, and where a new freedom fighter named Vya of Brightstars emerges to rally a terrified nation.

Black Mask will be teasing the new series through a free preview ashcan booklet being released exclusively at Comic-Con. Check out the slideshow gallery below to see some of the unlettered artwork featured in that ashcan:

Here's Black Mask's official plot description for the new series:

In ROGUE STATE, a crew of young vigilantes will rise against an authoritarian state robbing Americans of their rights. The ongoing series tells the story of Vya Of Brightstars, a mysterious freedom fighter rising from the unrest, and Clara Santos (she/her), a young professional who becomes activated in Vya’s movement when her fiancée Taylor Sanchez (they/them) is disappeared as militias take over their Mission District neighborhood. As a nationwide police state takes shape following a contested Presidential election and The Supreme Court’s Second Amendment ruling to deputize paramilitary groups, Vya and Clara’s rogue state will blaze a path across America, inspiring others to raise their own armies… some in solidarity, others in opposition. Each issue of ROGUE STATE will also include non-fiction material about building local support networks and grassroots campaigning for coming elections.

“This is an amazing and crucial moment in the history of comics. It’s a real renaissance for socially relevant and politically challenging comic books and graphic novels, but at the same time these books are facing more attacks, lawsuits, and bans than they have in a generation,” said Pizzolo in a press release. “Researchers are pointing out the explosion in book banning has been disproportionately impacting graphic novels--and whether it’s Maia Kobabe’s powerful GENDER QUEER, Art Spiegelman’s incredible MAUS, Alison Bechdel’s moving FUN HOME, or Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s piercing V FOR VENDETTA, it’s clear that deeply personal and fearlessly political comics and graphic novels are capturing imaginations across our polarized world. There’s never been a more robust range of comics and graphic novels speaking to the demand for social and political change than right now.”

The Rogue State preview ashcan will be distributed at Black Mask's Comic-Con booth and during the Rogue State panel being held on Saturday, July 23 at 5pm PT. Additionally, the publisher will be offering the following exclusive comics at the con:

• Calexit: Our Last Night In America [Uncut]
• Godkiller: For Those I Love I Will Sacrifice #1 advanced issue
• Godkiller: Tomorrow’s Ashes Collected Edition Hardcover & Softcover
• Rogue State ashcan
• Destiny, NY Chapter 1

Rogue State #1 will be released in October 2022.

For more on San Diego Comic-Con, find out how to watch this year's event and what to expect.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

The all-new PlayStation Plus has introduced seven-day trials for both the Extra and Premium tiers of the subscription service in the UK.

Both the PS Plus Extra (£10.99/month) and Premium options (£13.49/month) will now also give you the option to try the new service before having to pay anything.

At the time of writing, seemingly only the UK has access to the trial, but this doesn't rule out the possibility of it coming to other regions as well in the future.

The trial is only available for those who are currently not PS Plus members (even on the Essential tier), and there aren't separate trials for Extra and Premium available.

Essentially, you are signing up for PS Plus Extra/ Premium, and can then continue to pay for 1, 3 or 12 months of the service at your discretion, or cancel if you so chose to.

The T&Cs show you can cancel the free trial before you are charged at the end of the seven days. But, if you don't stop the renewal, you will be automatically charged a recurring subscription fee until you cancel.

PS Plus additions for July include the sci-fi cat adventure Stray, alongside PS5 games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade and Marvel's Avengers.

Check out our updated lists of all PS Plus Premium Catalog Games and PlayStation Plus Classic Games Catalog on IGN Playlist. You can use these lists to plan what to play next, create custom ranked lists of your favorites, and track your backlog.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

The all-new PlayStation Plus has introduced seven-day trials for both the Extra and Premium tiers of the subscription service in the UK.

Both the PS Plus Extra (£10.99/month) and Premium options (£13.49/month) will now also give you the option to try the new service before having to pay anything.

At the time of writing, seemingly only the UK has access to the trial, but this doesn't rule out the possibility of it coming to other regions as well in the future.

The trial is only available for those who are currently not PS Plus members (even on the Essential tier), and there aren't separate trials for Extra and Premium available.

Essentially, you are signing up for PS Plus Extra/ Premium, and can then continue to pay for 1, 3 or 12 months of the service at your discretion, or cancel if you so chose to.

The T&Cs show you can cancel the free trial before you are charged at the end of the seven days. But, if you don't stop the renewal, you will be automatically charged a recurring subscription fee until you cancel.

PS Plus additions for July include the sci-fi cat adventure Stray, alongside PS5 games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade and Marvel's Avengers.

Check out our updated lists of all PS Plus Premium Catalog Games and PlayStation Plus Classic Games Catalog on IGN Playlist. You can use these lists to plan what to play next, create custom ranked lists of your favorites, and track your backlog.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

The UK government will not introduce lootbox laws following a near-two year enquiry into their potential dangers, but has instead requested that the industry self-regulates.

The government's website released the enquiry's findings, stating that "the government does not intend to amend or extend the scope of gambling regulation to cover loot boxes at this time".

The report highlighted that there are both positive consequences of loot boxes (good loot and progressing and improving gameplay) and negative ones (causing financial difficulties, poor mental health, and gambling problems amongst other things).

The government is asking the video game industry to make changes itself, however, rather than following the lead of countries like the Netherlands and Belgium, which introduced laws to change how lootboxes are utilised.

Per the UK government, evidence from 15 peer-reviewed empirical studies "identified a stable and consistent association between loot box use and problem gambling" but the report said "there are a range of plausible explanations that could underpin this association between loot box spending and problem gambling behaviours," and further evidence is therefore required.

This call for more research is one of the UK government's requests to the video game industry, as "better evidence and research, enabled by improved access to data, should be developed to inform future policy making".

Its other requests are that no children or young people should be able to buy lootboxes without parental approval, and every player should have access to or be aware of spending controls and "information to support safe and responsible gaming".

While no formal changes are being made at a governmental level right now, the report does state that lawmakers "will not hesitate to consider legislation if companies do not bring in sufficient measures to keep players safe."

This is just the latest in a long-running and ongoing conversation around lootboxes in gaming, though the first in a while that hasn't explicitly condemned them. An investigation from the Norwegian Consumer Council in June (that was backed by 18 European countries) found lootboxes to be manipulative and exploitative.

Some U.S. politicians also took a stance against lootboxes last year by sending a letter to game companies that asked them to better protect young people from predatory game design.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

IGN can exclusively reveal that Kanata Hongo has been officially cast as Hiei in Netflix's adaptation of Yoshihiro Togashi's mega-popular manga series Yu Yu Hakusho. Hiei is one of the anime's main characters and an early nemesis of the show's protagonist, Yusuke Urameshi.

Hongo is best-known for playing Cheng Jiao in Shinsuke Sato's adaptation of the popular manga Kingdom. He also played Armin Arlert in 2015's live-action adaption of Attack on Titan.

"Yu Yu Hakusho is one of Japan's most popular manga. I believe that we will create a powerful, visually stunning series using the latest modern technology, while respecting the popular original work," Hongo told IGN. "I am sure that the series will exceed expectations, and I hope fans will get a chance to check it out!"

The series is based on the legendary Japanese manga of the same name, initially serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump starting in 1990. The manga is considered a fan-favorite (we called its anime adaptation one of the best of all time) and has sold over 50 million copies in Japan alone. The adaptation will present a new version of the 1990 manga in which a teenage boy, Yusuke, dies and begins a new afterlife as an underworld detective.

Known as the "Master of the Evil Eye," Hiei was cast out of the society he was born into and abandoned as a child because he was born male—something strictly forbidden by the matriarchal Koorime race he was born into. After years of developing his powers, Hiei hoped to return to the Glacial Village he was barred from to find his mother. Once there, he learned she committed suicide, guilt-ridden over abandoning her son, and about the existence of his sister, Yukina.

Setting out to find her, Hiei finds himself in the Spirit World, hoping to steal three dangerous weapons from the Reikai—and subsequently becoming the target of Yusuke Urameshi's first case.

The adaptation is being helmed by director Shô Tsukikawa (You Shine in the Moonlight, My Teacher, My Love) with a screenplay written by Tatsuro Mishima. Already announced in the cast are Takumi Kitamura, who will play Yusuke Urameshi, and Jun Shison, who'll play Youko Kurama.

Yu Yu Hakusho will be premiering worldwide and only on Netflix in December 2023. For more news about the adaption, stick to IGN.

Diego Ramos Bechara is a Freelance Writer for IGN, and he's a fan of all things Star Wars, Rockstar, Naughty Dog, and Batman.

You can follow him on Twitter @DRamosBechara.

IGN can exclusively reveal that Kanata Hongo has been officially cast as Hiei in Netflix's adaptation of Yoshihiro Togashi's mega-popular manga series Yu Yu Hakusho. Hiei is one of the anime's main characters and an early nemesis of the show's protagonist, Yusuke Urameshi.

Hongo is best-known for playing Cheng Jiao in Shinsuke Sato's adaptation of the popular manga Kingdom. He also played Armin Arlert in 2015's live-action adaption of Attack on Titan.

"Yu Yu Hakusho is one of Japan's most popular manga. I believe that we will create a powerful, visually stunning series using the latest modern technology, while respecting the popular original work," Hongo told IGN. "I am sure that the series will exceed expectations, and I hope fans will get a chance to check it out!"

The series is based on the legendary Japanese manga of the same name, initially serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump starting in 1990. The manga is considered a fan-favorite (we called its anime adaptation one of the best of all time) and has sold over 50 million copies in Japan alone. The adaptation will present a new version of the 1990 manga in which a teenage boy, Yusuke, dies and begins a new afterlife as an underworld detective.

Known as the "Master of the Evil Eye," Hiei was cast out of the society he was born into and abandoned as a child because he was born male—something strictly forbidden by the matriarchal Koorime race he was born into. After years of developing his powers, Hiei hoped to return to the Glacial Village he was barred from to find his mother. Once there, he learned she committed suicide, guilt-ridden over abandoning her son, and about the existence of his sister, Yukina.

Setting out to find her, Hiei finds himself in the Spirit World, hoping to steal three dangerous weapons from the Reikai—and subsequently becoming the target of Yusuke Urameshi's first case.

The adaptation is being helmed by director Shô Tsukikawa (You Shine in the Moonlight, My Teacher, My Love) with a screenplay written by Tatsuro Mishima. Already announced in the cast are Takumi Kitamura, who will play Yusuke Urameshi, and Jun Shison, who'll play Youko Kurama.

Yu Yu Hakusho will be premiering worldwide and only on Netflix in December 2023. For more news about the adaption, stick to IGN.

Diego Ramos Bechara is a Freelance Writer for IGN, and he's a fan of all things Star Wars, Rockstar, Naughty Dog, and Batman.

You can follow him on Twitter @DRamosBechara.

Intel has shared early details on its upcoming Arc A750 Limited Edition GPU and it looks to perform slightly better than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 for such games as Cyberpunk 2077, Control, Fortnite, and more.

Intel shared the info in a blog and a video and revealed performance results from a small subset of games that "work very well with Intel Arc and the Alchemist architecture." Intel notes that not all games will show these results, but it's a "view of what Intel Arc A-series cards are capable of with the right software and engineering enablement."

When compared to the 3060 in relative performance in regards to average FPS, 2560X1440 resolution, and High preset settings, the Arc A750 performs 17% better with F1 2021, 15% better in Cyberpunk 2077, 14% better in Control, 13% better in Borderlands 3, and 6% better in Fortnite.

Intel still has a ton to reveal about the A750 GPU, including performance in other games, when it will be available, how much it will cost, how it will handle XeSS and ray tracing, and much more.

Intel is doing its best to be very open about its push into the GPU market, and recetly shared details on the Guinnir Intel Arc A380 and showed how it performs while playing PUBG and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.

The company showed the A380 running Monster Hunter at over 90 frames per second said it is "more than capable of playing the best games at 1080p medium."

More from our Intel Arc Graphics journey in gaming: check out the Intel Arc A380 and @MonsterHunter Rise: Sunbreak running over 90FPS! pic.twitter.com/G02E3WVSGk

— Ryan Shrout (@ryanshrout) July 12, 2022

The Arc brand of graphics cards were revealed by Intel in 2021 and shared that the entry-level Arc 3, specifically the Gunnir Intel Arc A380 Photon 6G OC graphics card would first be released in China, and that the higher-end Arc 5 and Arc 7 cards would follow later this summer.

This sneak peek follows a report that Intel will raise the price of its CPUs in 2022. In some cases, the price increases may reach more than 20%.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Intel has shared early details on its upcoming Arc A750 Limited Edition GPU and it looks to perform slightly better than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 for such games as Cyberpunk 2077, Control, Fortnite, and more.

Intel shared the info in a blog and a video and revealed performance results from a small subset of games that "work very well with Intel Arc and the Alchemist architecture." Intel notes that not all games will show these results, but it's a "view of what Intel Arc A-series cards are capable of with the right software and engineering enablement."

When compared to the 3060 in relative performance in regards to average FPS, 2560X1440 resolution, and High preset settings, the Arc A750 performs 17% better with F1 2021, 15% better in Cyberpunk 2077, 14% better in Control, 13% better in Borderlands 3, and 6% better in Fortnite.

Intel still has a ton to reveal about the A750 GPU, including performance in other games, when it will be available, how much it will cost, how it will handle XeSS and ray tracing, and much more.

Intel is doing its best to be very open about its push into the GPU market, and recetly shared details on the Guinnir Intel Arc A380 and showed how it performs while playing PUBG and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.

The company showed the A380 running Monster Hunter at over 90 frames per second said it is "more than capable of playing the best games at 1080p medium."

More from our Intel Arc Graphics journey in gaming: check out the Intel Arc A380 and @MonsterHunter Rise: Sunbreak running over 90FPS! pic.twitter.com/G02E3WVSGk

— Ryan Shrout (@ryanshrout) July 12, 2022

The Arc brand of graphics cards were revealed by Intel in 2021 and shared that the entry-level Arc 3, specifically the Gunnir Intel Arc A380 Photon 6G OC graphics card would first be released in China, and that the higher-end Arc 5 and Arc 7 cards would follow later this summer.

This sneak peek follows a report that Intel will raise the price of its CPUs in 2022. In some cases, the price increases may reach more than 20%.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Despite a 68% drop from its opening weekend, Thor: Love and Thunder once again won the domestic weekend box office with $46 million in ticket sales.

As reported by Variety, that $46 million Thor: Love and Thunder earned this weekend helped bring its domestic total to $232 million. Globally, the latest MCU film and the fourth solo Thor movie has reached $497.9 million.

While those are obviously impressive numbers, Thor: Love and Thunder's 68% drop was one of the biggest second-weekend declines in MCU history and follows Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' 67% drop. For comparison, Eternals fell 61% in the same time frame and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings fell 52%.

As for why the latest Thor film had that big of a drop, it very well may be related to the complaints by some that Phase 4 of the MCU still doesn't have a Thanos-level threat or something that is connecting all these films as the previous phases did.

We are also getting a TON of MCU films and shows and there could be a bit of superhero fatigue. That being said, MCU films continue to dominate at the box office and may get back on track as the future trajectory of the MCU becomes clearer. With San Diego Comic-Con just around the corner and Marvel returning, that picture may come into focus sooner rather than later.

Minions: The Rise of Gru placed second with $26 million in ticket sales. In its third weekend, The Rise of Gru has brought in $262 million domestically and $532.7 million at the global box office.

Where the Crawdads Sing impressed in its debut with a $17 million third-place finish. The film that is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Delia Owens cost Sony $24 million, so it is on track to make a profit.

In our Where the Crawdads Sing review, we said it "is only accidentally interesting if you know the controversy surrounding its author, Delia Owens. However, as an adaptation of her novel, the movie is too plain and indecisive to make a lasting impact."

Top Gun: Maverick took fourth place with $12 million in its eighth weekend in theaters and brought its domestic total to $617 million. The high-flying film is getting ever closer to passing Star Wars: The Last Jedi's $620 million and The Avengers' $623 million at the domestic box office.

Elvis, which recently passed the $100 million mark at the domestic box office without dinosaurs, superheroes, or fighter jets, rounded out the top five with $7.6 million. Globally, Elvis has passed $185 million.

For more, check out how Marvel brought Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher to life, our explainer of the ending, and our breakdown of the film's mystery character.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Despite a 68% drop from its opening weekend, Thor: Love and Thunder once again won the domestic weekend box office with $46 million in ticket sales.

As reported by Variety, that $46 million Thor: Love and Thunder earned this weekend helped bring its domestic total to $232 million. Globally, the latest MCU film and the fourth solo Thor movie has reached $497.9 million.

While those are obviously impressive numbers, Thor: Love and Thunder's 68% drop was one of the biggest second-weekend declines in MCU history and follows Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' 67% drop. For comparison, Eternals fell 61% in the same time frame and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings fell 52%.

As for why the latest Thor film had that big of a drop, it very well may be related to the complaints by some that Phase 4 of the MCU still doesn't have a Thanos-level threat or something that is connecting all these films as the previous phases did.

We are also getting a TON of MCU films and shows and there could be a bit of superhero fatigue. That being said, MCU films continue to dominate at the box office and may get back on track as the future trajectory of the MCU becomes clearer. With San Diego Comic-Con just around the corner and Marvel returning, that picture may come into focus sooner rather than later.

Minions: The Rise of Gru placed second with $26 million in ticket sales. In its third weekend, The Rise of Gru has brought in $262 million domestically and $532.7 million at the global box office.

Where the Crawdads Sing impressed in its debut with a $17 million third-place finish. The film that is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Delia Owens cost Sony $24 million, so it is on track to make a profit.

In our Where the Crawdads Sing review, we said it "is only accidentally interesting if you know the controversy surrounding its author, Delia Owens. However, as an adaptation of her novel, the movie is too plain and indecisive to make a lasting impact."

Top Gun: Maverick took fourth place with $12 million in its eighth weekend in theaters and brought its domestic total to $617 million. The high-flying film is getting ever closer to passing Star Wars: The Last Jedi's $620 million and The Avengers' $623 million at the domestic box office.

Elvis, which recently passed the $100 million mark at the domestic box office without dinosaurs, superheroes, or fighter jets, rounded out the top five with $7.6 million. Globally, Elvis has passed $185 million.

For more, check out how Marvel brought Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher to life, our explainer of the ending, and our breakdown of the film's mystery character.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.