JK Parkin

DC launches ‘Harley Quinn Black + White + Red’ digital series

The first issue of the anthology series features a new story by Stjepan Šejić.

DC launched a new digital series today, Harley Quinn Black + White + Red, an anthology series that will feature stories about Harley Quinn by a variety of creators. It’s kind of like Batman: Black & White, only with Harley Quinn. And the color red.

Stjepan Šejić, creator of the Black Label Harleen series, is featured in the first issue, which is available now. His story is set in that world.

“In Harleen canon, this story takes place after the fallout with the Joker and before the forming of the Sirens,” Šejić said. “A lot of stuff has happened in that time and some of it is hinted at in both her flashbacks and conversational nods.”

Warhammer 40,000 comes to Marvel

Kieron Gillen and Jacen Burrows will collaborate on ‘Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar.’

The Warhammer tabletop miniature wargame is returning to comics, this time at Marvel. The company has announced that writer Kieron Gillen and artist Jacen Burrows will serve as the creative team for Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar, which debuts in October.

“I am venerable enough to have bought Rogue Trader in 1987,” Gillen told Marvel.com. “Since then, I like to think every hastily dry-brushed Necron, every badly edge-highlighted Marine, every ignored Harlequin (as painting Motley petrified me) has prepared me for writing the first Warhammer comics for Marvel. If I said, ‘Getting to explore the roots of Marneus Calgar and setting the stage for Marvel’s Warhammer comics is a dream come true,’ I would be betraying everything this grim future should be since ‘dream’ implies the possibility of hope. But getting to do this is the sort of thing Slaanesh would wave in my direction if she wanted me coming over to the tentacle-y side.“

Dark Horse severs ties with Scott Allie after sexual assault accusations

A former Dark Horse employee said Allie assaulted her in 1999.

Dark Horse Comics has issued a statement saying they will no longer work with Scott Allie, a freelance writer and editor who used to serve as the company’s editor-in-chief. The statement follows allegations by former Dark Horse employee Shawna Gore that Allie sexually assaulted her in 1999.

According to Gore, “I was assaulted, harassed, and retaliated against by Scott Allie during our tenure at Dark Horse,” she said on Twitter.

Remender recruits a different team of artists for each issue of ‘Scumbag’

The new Image title about a ‘profane’ super-spy ‘with a fifth-grade education’ starts in October.

Rick Remender‘s next project is all about a Scumbag — Ernie Ray Clementine, a “profane, illiterate, drug addicted, biker, with a fifth-grade education.” He’s also a super-spy.

Scumbag kicks off in October from Image Comics, and the first issue will feature artwork by Lewis LaRosa and Moreno Dinisio. After that, the art team will change every issue.

“It is very hard to get an artist to commit to one book for a long run,” Remender told ComicBook.com. “It’s a lot of investment, harder still is getting a really great artist to sign on for a long run. So, I had the idea to lure in a bunch of my favorite artists to each do a single issue. The great experiment is underway and going really well. This new ongoing series will feature a murderers’ row of all-star artistic talent rotating each issue.”

Charles Brownstein resigns from the CBLDF

The move follows several days of creators saying they would no longer support the CBLDF as long as he was their executive director.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund board released a statement today saying that they have “accepted the resignation of Charles Brownstein as Executive Director.”

The move follows several days of creators calling for his removal on social media, which you can read about on The Beat. The push for his removal stems from a 2005 incident where Brownstein allegedly assaulted artist Taki Soma.

Here’s the statement in full:

Can’t Wait for Comics | Building toward ‘Empyre’

New comics arrive this week from Terry Moore, Mark Russell, Steve Rude, Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino and more.

The summer crossover season gets in full swing at your local comic shop this week; following the release of Dark Knights: Death Metal last week, Marvel delivers the start of their big cosmic event, Empyre. This week also brings several debuts from IDW, AHOY and Image, among others … it’s almost starting to feel like comics have returned to normal.

If you’re looking for something to get this week, check out a few recommendations below. You can check the Comic List page to see what’s arriving in your local shop, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally. As always, you should check with your local shop on their hours, curbside pick-up, mask requirements, etc. due to COVID-19. Stay safe out there.

What Are You Reading? | Death Metal and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has checked off their ‘to read’ list lately.

Speaking of this week’s comics, the big release this week was probably Dark Knights: Death Metal #1, DC’s big crossover series. Although the pandemic slowed down its release, it’s appropriate that it came out right here at the beginning of summer, kicking off the season with something big and brash and, as Carla puts it, “Stupid.” Summertime is the right time for crossovers and comics.

Oh, hey, welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what we’ve been reading. You can play along in the comments or on social media if you’d like.

Let’s get to it …

Zdarsky + Perez team for ‘Stillwater’ from Skybound

The horror series will explore a town where ‘nobody dies.’

Chip Zdarsky (Howard the Duck, Sex Criminals, Daredevil) and Ramon Perez (Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, Jane) are teaming up for a new horror series called Stillwater for Skybound/Image Comics.

“I’m thrilled people are finally going to see Stillwater! This idea’s been percolating in my for years now, and it’s been fun working with Ramon to build this tiny, strange world! I’ve always wanted to write a horror comic so I can show the world that I’m not JUST creepy, I can also write creepy!” said Zdarsky. “I love getting to explore immortality on a small stage, the idea that you can live forever but just within such a constrained space. It’s been a treat getting to write characters struggling with that terrifying deal.”

Image announces ‘The Department of Truth’ by Tynion IV + Simmonds

New ongoing series will follow a conspiracy theorist and the organization dedicated to covering them up.

James Tynion IV seems to be competing for the title of comic’s busiest writer (if he hasn’t claimed it already). This week Image Comics announced a new title by the writer of Wynd and Batman, among many others, titled The Department of Truth.

Tynion will team with artist Martin Simmonds, whose work you may know from Friendo, Dying is Easy and Punk’s Not Dead. They’re joined by letterer Aditya Bidikar and designer Dylan Todd.

“It is the story of a young man named Cole Turner recruited into a shadowy organization within the United States government that makes sure that conspiracy theories stay conspiracy theories, a job that will push him to his own limits as he grapples with the nature of truth, history, the human condition and the American dream,” Tynion wrote in his email newsletter. “It is a conspiracy thriller, told with a horror edge.”

Dorkin + Langridge team for a new ‘Bill & Ted’ comic

‘Bill & Ted Are Doomed’ will serve as a prequel to the upcoming movie ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music.’

With a third Bill & Ted movie headed to theaters this summer — Bill & Ted Face the Music — the duo are also making their triumphant return to comics. Dark Horse Comics now has the license to make Bill & Ted comics, and they’re launching a four-issue miniseries, Bill & Ted Are Doomed, this September.

The comic will be written by Evan Dorkin, who has a bit of history with the characters himself, as he wrote and drew the most execllent Bill & Ted’s Excellent Comic Book, which was published by Marvel back in the 1990s — and received an Eisner nomination. He’ll be joined by Fred the Clown/The Muppets creator Roger Langridge on art. Langridge will draw, color and letter the book. Ed Solomon, who co-created Bill & Ted, is overseeing the project.

Here’s Dorkin’s cover for the first issue:

Warren Ellis story pulled from upcoming ‘Dark Knights: Death Metal’ anthology title

‘Dark Nights: Death Metal Legends of the Dark Knights #1’ will instead include a story by Marguerite Bennett and Jamal Igle.

Following the sexual misconduct accusations by many, many women against Warren Ellis that came to light this past week, DC Comics sent an update to retailers yesterday on the contents of Dark Nights: Death Metal Legends of the Dark Knights #1, which was originally intended to include a story by Warren Ellis and Jim Cheung, focused on the T-Rex Batman we saw in the first issue of Dark Knights: Death Metal. I was pretty excited about it when it was announced, but now? No.

DC will replace that story with one by Marguerite Bennett and Jamal Igle, according to comics retailer Ryan Higgins:

Return to the world of ‘The Walking Dead’ in ‘Negan Lives’ one-shot

Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard will reveal what happened to Negan in a new comic exclusive to comic shops.

Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard are returning to the world of The Walking Dead for a one-shot featuring everybody’s favorite bad guy, Negan.

Negan Lives #1 will only be available in comic shops this July, as Kirkman and Adlard wanted to do something for comics retailers to help them as they attempt to recover from the COVID-19 shutdown. It will not be available digitally.

“I’ve been inspired by Steve Geppi and Diamond’s efforts to shine a light on how essential the Direct Market is to our beloved industry with their #backthecomeback campaign,” said Kirkman. “While Charlie Adlard and I had laid the series to rest, this felt like something special we could do for the store owners who made our series a success to begin with. To that end, I’m happy to report that 100% of the revenue generated from this book will go to the stores selling it. The retailer community does backbreaking work to get comics into the hands of our loving fans, we should all be doing more in these trying times to show them how appreciated they are.”

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