32 Years After Brandon Lee's Epic, The Crow's First Female-Led Series Returns

Published Nov 10, 2026, 9:00 AM EST Hannah is a senior writer and self-publisher at ScreenRant. There, she focuses on writing news, features, and list-style articles about all things comics, books, anime, and manga. She works as a freelance writer in the entertainment industry, focusing on video games, anime, and literature. Her published works can be found on Screen Rant, FinanceBuzz, She Reads, and She Writes. Thirty-two years after Brandon Lee gave Eric Draven an unforgettable face in 1994’s The Crow, the franchise is returning to one of its most distinctive stories, and its lead is not Eric. The Crow: Flesh & Blood has returned to comic shops, putting Iris Shaw, the first woman to become the Crow, back at the center of a dark revenge tale. The revival is especially notable because Flesh & Blood is not an entirely new storyline designed to replace the original hero. It brings James Vance’s 1996 comic miniseries back into print, introducing a different kind of avenger whose tragedy gives the familiar supernatural premise a new emotional focus. Its first new issue arrived October 7, 2026. Iris Shaw's Story Begins With A Brutal Murder Iris is a federal conservation officer working in the western mountains when right-wing extremists destroy her office in an explosion, killing her. The attack is devastating on two levels, because Iris is pregnant when she dies, so the violence also ends the life and future she was preparing to share with her unborn child. As in Eric Draven’s story, death does not bring Iris the peace she deserves. A crow returns her to the world of the living, giving her the chance to hunt down the people responsible. Her resurrection turns the wilderness into a supernatural revenge ground, with Iris pursuing her killers one by one rather than seeking a conventional legal resolution. The original The Crow: Flesh & Blood ran as a three-issue miniseries from Kitchen Sink Press between May and July 1996. Vance wrote the story, Alex Maleev illustrated it, and series creator James O’Barr supplied the covers. Dark Horse later collected the complete story in a 96-page trade paperback published in 2004. The 2026 Relaunch Brings Iris Back In Monthly Issues Massive Publishing’s 2026 edition restores the story to single-issue comic-book format after its original 1996 run. The Crow: Flesh & Blood #1 went on sale October 7 for $4.99, with a main cover by Suspiria Vilchez and variant artwork from Ingrid Gala, Damian Connelly, Brao Var, and Christian Rosado. The relaunch brings Iris back to comic-book shelves. The second comic issue of The Crow: Flesh & Blood is scheduled for November 11, continuing directly from Iris’s revenge campaign. The FBI is now pursuing her, adding a new complication to a mission that has so far been driven by grief and supernatural fury. Their investigation also forces Iris to confront what she is becoming and whether vengeance is the only purpose left to her. A third issue is scheduled for December 9, giving the revival another chapter before the end of 2026. That release plan makes the return more than a one-off reprint or anniversary collectible: readers are being offered the story in installments again. Eric Draven Remains The Franchise's Defining Face For many audiences, The Crow still means Eric Draven, the musician resurrected after he and his fiancée Shelly are murdered. Lee’s performance anchors Alex Proyas’ 1994 film, while Mark Dacascos later took over the role for the 1998 television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven. Iris’s return expands that legacy without displacing its best-known figure. The wider lore has already made room for other people to inherit the Crow’s supernatural power. Later stories introduced Elorah in The French Crow, Carrie in The Crow: Curare, and Angeles Cero in the 2019 The Crow / Hack/Slash crossover. Iris, however, arrived first among the female Crows, making Flesh & Blood an important branch of the franchise’s history. That history is what gives this re-release significance beyond nostalgia for the 1994 film. Eric remains the character most closely associated with The Crow, but Iris shows that its main idea can support stories with different protagonists, settings, and sources of trauma. Her return lets a long-overlooked chapter stand beside the legend that made the franchise famous. Movie(s) The Crow, The Crow: City of Angels, The Crow: Salvation, The Crow: Wicked Prayer, The Crow TV Show(s) The Crow: Stairway to Heaven First Film The Crow First TV Show The Crow: Stairway to Heaven Cast Brandon Lee, Bill Skarsgard, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Mia Kirshner, Vincent Perez, Edward Furlong, David Boreanaz, Tara Reid, Rochelle Davis Created by James O'Barr