Author: JK Parkin

The Bloodstone family adds a member in their ‘Death of Doctor Strange’ tie-in

Lyra Bloodstone will join her siblings Elsa and Cullen to battle the forces of evil this January.

Next month The Death of Doctor Strange miniseries wraps up, revealing the identity of his murderer. But January also brings the final tie-in one-shot to for the event series, Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone, which puts the spotlight on the monster-hunting Bloodstone family.

The one-shot is by Tini Howard and artist Ig Guara, and introduces a new member to the family.

Notable among this family are Ulysses Bloodstone, the once-immortal, now deceased father who first appeared in Marvel Presents back in 1975; his daughter Elsa Bloodstone, who was introduced in 2001 and later appeared in Nextwave and Fearless Defenders; and her younger brother Cullen Bloodstone, who debuted in Avengers Arena and can transform into a monster called a Glartrox.

And come January, Marvel will introduce their long-lost sister Lyra Bloodstone, whose “unique Blood gem” gives her awesome powers and makes her a target.

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Mail Call | ‘TerrorWar’ debuts from Saladin Ahmed + Dave Acosta

Check out recent news and updates from Saladin Ahmed, Top Shelf, IDW, James Tynion IV, Kyle Higgins and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of cool things we’ve received in our mailboxes recently from comics creators, publishers and more. Hit the links for more information.

Saladin Ahmed posted the first pages of TerrorWar this week, the comic he first announced when he launched the paid version of his Substack newsletter. Drawn by Dave Acosta and Jay Leisten, the comic is about a city where people’s worst fears have come to life somehow, and the terrorfighters who face them with really big guns.

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Subscription-based comics platform Zestworld will launch next year

New titles by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Phil Jimenez, Eric Canete, Alex Segura, Dean Kotz and more are expected next year.

A new digital comics platform that’s focused on helping creators “monetize their creations” will debut next year with titles by Eric Canete, Amanda Conner, Phil Jimenez, Jimmy Palmiotti, Alex Segura, Peter Tomasi and more, according to The New York Times.

Zestworld, who have a very basic website set up here, was founded by Chris Giliberti, who told the NYT that “this industry is broken for creators; and it’s broken in publishing and TV and film; it’s also broken in events and collectibles.”

“We wanted to build something that’s useful across all areas of their business — anywhere they generate income,” he said, noting that the creators they’re working with will be stockholders in the company.

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Curt Pires + Sunando C’s ‘Memoria’ will debut next Tuesday

The horror noir follows two detectives pursuing the unsolvable case of America’s most prolific serial killer.

ComiXology will release Curt Pires and Sunando C’s Memoria graphic novel next Tuesday, the digital comics platform announced today.

Announced back in April, Memoria is the latest title coming from Pires’ publishing deal with comiXology, following the release of Youth and its sequel, as well as Lost Falls. The two creators are joined by colorist Mark Dale and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou for the project.

“Memoria is a dark and literary exploration of institutional corruption and the fall of America, through the lens of a sprawling murder mystery that sends two broken men on the trail of a prolific serial killer,” Pires said. “This is a book for fans of true crime and the films of David Fincher. I believe this series includes some of my strongest writing and I’m excited for everyone to check out the amazing work that Sunando, Hassan and Mark have done on this project.” 

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Lemire + Nguyen unleash ‘Little Monsters’ in March

The creators of ‘Descender’ re-team for a story about vampire children at the end of the world.

Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen blasted off for new worlds in the pages of Descender and Ascender, but now they’re returning to this world for a new post-apocalyptic ongoing about vampires at the end of the world.

Little Monsters will debut from Image Comics next March.

“Little Monsters is a real departure from the space-opera and sci-fi of Descender,” Lemire said in his Substack newsletter. ” Much more grounded and character-driven, this new series will follow a group of child vampires who have outlived humanity and now live in the decaying husk of Los Angeles, lost in an endless wonderland of innocent childhood games and dramas. But their paradise is soon shattered, and their innocence put to the test, when unforeseen events force them to reconcile with their pasts, and with each other.”

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A third ‘Cat Kid Comic Club’ graphic novel will arrive in April

‘Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose,’ the third graphic novel in Dav Pilkey’s popular series, hits stores April 5.

Dav Pilkey’s Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives arrived in stores this week and currently sits at #6 on Amazon’s best-selling books list, but Pilkey isn’t resting on his laurels. Scholastic has announced that the third volume in the series, Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose, will arrive in stores next April.

The series spins out of the popular Dog Man series and features Li’l Petey, aka Cat Kid, as he teaches readers — and a bunch of baby frogs, — about making comics.

“With the Cat Kid Comic Club series, my hope is that kids find joy in reading, appreciate different ways of thinking, and find their purpose as they dream up their own stories,” Pilkey said in a press release.

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Marvel + Scholastic send Black Panther + Shuri ‘Into the Heartlands’

Roseanne A. Brown, Dika Araújo, Natacha Bustos and Claudia Aguirre present a new graphic novel starring the brother and sister duo.

Marvel and Scholastic have announced another graphic novel in their ongoing partnership, this one featuring T’Challa, the Black Panther, and his sister Shuri.

Shuri and T’Challa: Into the Heartlands will follow the Miles Morales and Ms. Marvel graphic novels that have already been released (I saw both at my kid’s book fair today, flying off shelves alongside the new Cat Kid Comic Club book). It’s by YA author Roseanne A. Brown and illustrators Dika Araújo, Natacha Bustos and Claudia Aguirre.

The story will be one of sibling rivalry, as Shuri deals with an older brother who will one day be king and an invention that goes awry, causing her mother to become sick.

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Ohioan launches ‘Banned Books Box’ subscription service

The first month’s box will include a copy of ‘Gender Queer,’ along with a lapel pin designed by creator Maia Kobabe.

Ariel Hakim, a librarian former library reference associate in Northeast Ohio, has put a timely spin on the subscription box idea with the Banned Books Box, which delivers banned books and graphic novels to your door each month.

And December’s selection couldn’t come at a better time; it’ll feature Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, a graphic novel that has been making headlines recently in Virginia, Michigan and Florida as school districts face a barrage of criticism from overzealous parents for including it on their library shelves. (Kobabe recently responded to critics in a write-up published by the Washington Post).

“Maia wrote this graphic novel that parents of high schoolers have found in the school library and been completely vocal about how offended they are by some of the images,” Hakim told Cleveland Scene. “Maia wrote it to explain to family members about what non-binary means. Maia came out as queer and then several years as non-binary. When I decided that this was the book I wanted to use, I emailed the agent to see about getting signed books, and we got some book plates, and then Maia designed an enamel pin that will be one of the pieces of the book box. I like the book a lot, and I think it’s entertaining and educational. I love memoirs. Just reading anyone else’s story written in a sincere way is something I will always enjoy.”

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Fund Me Tuesday | ‘Foulbrood’ by Christopher Sebela and Claire Roe

Help fund a comic about crime and beekeeping.

If you’re looking to back a Kickstarter project with (no, don’t say it) literal buzz (ugh, I said it), then check out Foulbrood, a new comic by Christopher Sebela (.Self, Crowded, Dead Dudes) and Claire Roe (Darkhold: Wasp, Bury the Lede).

The duo previously worked together on the queer reincarnation thriller We(l)come Back, and this time around they’re telling a crime story set in the world of beekeeping — if my cheesy lede didn’t spell that out for you.

Their campaign is to fund the first two issues of a six-issue series. They’re looking for $15,000 to bring them to print, and you’ve got until Dec. 11 to help them avoid the sting that comes with not getting funded.

(Sorry, I’ll stop now, I promise).

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Momoko’s ‘Demon Days’ arc ends with ‘Blood Feud’

The last chapter of Peach Momoko’s story that re-imagines the Marvel Universe will arrive in March, followed by a trade paperback collection in April.

Since March, Marvel has published a series of connected one-shots written and drawn by Peach Momoko, as she re-imagined several Marvel characters through the lens of Japanese folklore. Next March, Momoko will wrap up the story she’s been telling with Demon Days: Blood Feud, which will “will tie up the current arc in the ‘Momoko-verse’ as Mariko Yashida’s mesmerizing adventure comes to an end.”

Blood Feud will pit Mariko against her sister, a silver-clad swordswoman named Ogin — who is also the Momoko-verse version of Silver Samurai.

“This was my first time writing and painting a long-term story and honestly I was a bit scared! But in the end I feel very proud to be able to create five issues in the span of a year and a few months,” Momoko told Marvel.com. “I hope everyone reading Demon Days sees my growth and experience leveling up in every issue. And I will continue to grow and hope one day to leave an important mark for everyone to see!”

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Oni Press announces ‘Silk Hills’ by Ferrier, Level + Sherron

The new graphic novel about missing persons and the Mothman legend will arrive next summer.

Oni Press will publish Silk Hills, an Appalachian horror graphic novel that plays off the legend of the Mothman by Ryan Ferrier, Brian Level, Kate Sherron and Crank!, next summer.

The graphic novel will tell the story of Beth Wills, who comes to the town of Silk Hills to find someone who doesn’t want to be found. Her search for a missing troubled youth finds her running afoul of the local drug trade, too-friendly creepers, a very sinister deer and psychoactive moth dust.

“Silk Hills was another chance to work with collaborators I adore and who, in turn, have faith in me when I say ‘Okay, but I wanna try something a little weird here,’” Sherron said. “I prefer to tell dark tales in colorful ways, especially when there’s light and life to dig out from beneath burnt-black story-skin, and bless the boys for supporting such choices from the outset.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Explore the history of the Amazons in ‘Wonder Woman: Historia’

Check out new comics and graphic novels this week by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Victoria Elliot, Joshua Williamson, Dennis Culver, Danny DeVito, Jason Aaron, Mike Mignola, Dav Pilkey, Chuck D and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week. And what a week it is.

Things seem to be back to normal at Diamond Comics Distributors this week, or at least normal-er, following a few weeks of recovering from a ransomware attack. Their Previews World site is up and showing this week’s comics as expected, so I’ve added it back to the list of sites you can visit to get the full picture of what’s arriving this week:

Also, as a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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