Author: JK Parkin

Ed Piskor gallery showing ‘indefinitely postponed’ after misconduct allegations

Multiple women have accused the creator of ‘Hip Hop Family Tree’ of inappropriate behavior, including grooming an underage artist.

A planned exhibit of Ed Piskor’s artwork from Hip Hop Family Tree has been “indefinitely postponed,” according to the Pittsburgh City Paper, following allegations of misconduct that were revealed this past weekend.

The exhibit was scheduled to begin in April at the 707 Penn Gallery in Pittsburgh and would have run through August.

“The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust learned yesterday of allegations of misconduct made by an individual against artist Ed Piskor, whose work was scheduled to be on exhibition at 707 Penn Gallery starting April 6, 2024,” a spokesperson for the Trust told Pittsburgh City Paper. “The Trust takes the allegations very seriously and has decided to postpone the exhibition indefinitely.”

Both Hip Hop Family Tree and Piskor’s Red Room were published by Fantagraphics. When Smash Pages reached out to the publisher, they shared this statement: “Fantagraphics has no future projects in the works with Ed Piskor.”

Continue reading “Ed Piskor gallery showing ‘indefinitely postponed’ after misconduct allegations”

‘Joker: The World’ will feature creators from 13 countries

The anthology will arrive in September, just in time for Batman Day.

Back in 2021, DC’s Batman: The World anthology brought together Batman stories by creators from around the world. DC has announced a similar project for this September titled Joker: The World, which will again bring together international creators to tell stories about the Clown Prince of Crime.

The book will include stories by creative teams from 13 different countries, with contributions from Geoff Johns, Satoshi Miyagawa, David Rubin, German Peralta, Alvaro Fong Varela, Jason Fabok and more. In the press release, DC said the stories will be “tailored to the authentic style, tone and cultural sensibilities of different nations around the world.”

Continue reading “‘Joker: The World’ will feature creators from 13 countries”

Greg Pak + Diego Galindo bring ‘Lawful’ to BOOM! Studios

The new series explores the difference between what’s right and what’s the law.

Imagine if the rules Pinocchio lived by applied to a whole city, but instead of their noses growing when they lied, they slowly transformed into monsters. That’s the premise behind Lawful, a new series coming from BOOM! Studios this summer.

Greg Pak of Incredible Hercules and Mech Cadet Yu fame and Diego Galindo, artist of Stranger Things: The Voyage, team up for a new series about a city where breaking the law comes with an interesting price.

“Lawful may be simultaneously one of the most personal and fantastical stories I’ve ever written, and I’m so grateful to be working with this brilliant team to bring it to life,” Pak said. “If you’re a fan of gorgeous, lush, organic art that takes you somewhere you’ve never been and tales of young heroes struggling to do the right thing in a world of impossible mandates, this book is for you.”

Continue reading “Greg Pak + Diego Galindo bring ‘Lawful’ to BOOM! Studios”

Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Batman enters a ‘Dark Age’

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Mark Russell, Mike Allred, Todd McFarlane, Eric Powell, Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs, George O’Connor, Jonah Newman, Jay Hosler, Mirka Andolfo, Celeste Bronfman, Steve Foxe and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. This week Batman gets the Elseworlds-style treatment by Mark Russell and Mike Allred, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and X-Men ’97 both get comic book prequels and George O’Connor turns his attention to a new pantheon of gods. And much, much more!

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

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.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Batman enters a ‘Dark Age’”

DSTLRY announces ‘The Big Burn’ by Joe Henderson + Lee Garbett

The new series begins in July.

Hell is a casino in the new series The Big Burn, coming this summer from DSTLRY. And what better place for a couple of condemned thieves to try and break into, to steal their souls back?

Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett, who worked together on Skyward and Shadecraft at Image Comics, will bring this new vision of the underworld to life.

“Creating these worlds with Lee is always an absolute dream, and I’m excited to introduce readers to our unique and deeply twisted take on Hell this summer,” Henderson said. “While The Big Burn features a darker tone than our previous work, the emotional journey of our star-crossed thieves Owen and Carlie maintains the same heartfelt storytelling we’re known for. It’s exciting for us to challenge ourselves with this book, and I always love a good heist.”

Continue reading “DSTLRY announces ‘The Big Burn’ by Joe Henderson + Lee Garbett”

Gerard Way, Shaun Simon + Chris Weston check into a care center for the bizarre this summer

‘Paranoid Gardens’ combines ‘Kafkaesque nightmares with sweet Silver Age reveries.’

Gerard Way and Shaun Simon return to comics this summer with Paranoid Gardens, a six-issue miniseries coming from Dark Horse Comics. The writing team behind The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem team with Judge Dredd artist Chris Weston on the series, which Weston said “combines Kafkaesque nightmares with sweet Silver Age reveries.”

“I’m excited to be back with my incredibly handsome and talented brother-from-another-basement Shaun Simon penning a story that’s really special to us, and honored the masterful Chris Weston joined us to create a visually powerful and emotionally tangible physical object that is this comic,” said Way. “I’m now more complete getting to share something we’ve wanted to for a very long time, and working with this fantastic group of individuals in the process.”

They’re joined by Hellboy colorist Dave Stewart and letterer Nate Piekos on the new series about a care-home filled with aliens, ghosts and superheroes recovering from psychotic episodes.

“Most people dream of rubbing shoulders with someone who is cool, talented, mega-successful and who enjoys a wild rock’n’roll lifestyle. Luckily for Gerard Way the dream came true when he got to work with me on Paranoid Gardens,” Weston said. “It must have been quite daunting for him at first, but once he could see past my notoriety and discover I’m just an ordinary joe who shares his love for the ’60s TV show The Prisoner, we were able to form a joyous union.” 

Continue reading “Gerard Way, Shaun Simon + Chris Weston check into a care center for the bizarre this summer”

Time travel + Dick Wolf: Posehn, Trohman + Johnson team up for ‘Rifters’ from Image Comics

The new series begins in June.

Comic writer and comedian Brian Posehn and Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman are co-writing a new series coming from Image Comics this summer. They’re joined by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles artist Chris Johnson for the “time-traveling comedy romp” that’s described as a cross between Time Cop and Law & Order.

“Joe and I are having a blast with Rifters. We put time travel and police procedurals in a comedy blender, we had underwear on our head and we yelled ‘Dick Wolf‘ three times,” said Posehn.

Continue reading “Time travel + Dick Wolf: Posehn, Trohman + Johnson team up for ‘Rifters’ from Image Comics”

Marvel marks 60 years of Daredevil next month

Saladin Ahmed, Aaron Kuder, Ann Nocenti, Stefano Raffaele, D.G. Chichester and more will contribute to the oversized ‘Daredevil’ #8.

Marvel will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Daredevil next month in Daredevil #8, an oversized issue featuring multiple stories by past and present creators who worked on the title.

And there’s a lot to look forward to in the anniversary issue. It will include a main story by Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder, who relaunched the title last year and cast Matt Murdock as a priest, as he continues to battle demons based on his own seven deadly sins. Other creators contributing to the issue include Ann Nocenti, D.G. Chichester and Erica Schultz, who have written Daredevil in the past, as well as the two artists I most associate with the character: John Romita Jr. drew the main cover, while Frank Miller did a variant.

Continue reading “Marvel marks 60 years of Daredevil next month”

Peter Milligan + Raül Fernandez bend reality in the murder mystery ‘Profane’

The series will debut from BOOM! Studios in June.

Veteran comics writer Peter Milligan, writer of the delightful X-Cellent, the gritty Dogs of London and the enigmatic Engima, among countless other titles, returns this summer with Profane.

The new series, drawn by Detective Comics and Justice League Dark Raül Fernandez, is described as a “mind-bending murder mystery” by publisher BOOM! Studios.

“I’m excited by Profane, exploring as it does the twisty, noir atmosphere that I like, and with the weirdness and existential angst I like even more.  A story like this needs the right artist and Raül Fernandez is not only a great artist but a truly perfect match,” Milligan said.

Continue reading “Peter Milligan + Raül Fernandez bend reality in the murder mystery ‘Profane’”

Matt Wagner’s Grendel returns with the ‘Grendel: Devil’s Crucible’ trilogy

The first of three new miniseries follows in the footsteps of ‘Devil’s Odyssey.’

Matt Wagner’s long-running Grendel will return this summer for the first of three new miniseries titled Grendel: Devil’s Crucible–Defiance. Grendel’s creator will be joined again by his son, colorist Brennan Wagner, on the series, along with letterers Steve Dutro and Rob Leigh.

Devil’s Crucible follows the eight-issue Devil’s Odyssey, which advanced the futuristic Grendel: Devil Quest story for the first time since the mid-1990s. Grendel first appeared in the early 1980s at Comico, and has appeared on and off at Dark Horse ever since Comico went bankrupt with stories set at different times and focused on different characters.

“Devil’s Odyssey was a dramatic break in the futuristic setting of Grendel. And Devil’s Crucible goes one step further by turning the precepts and setting of that world on its collective ear,” Wagner said. “Gone are the dominant Grendel clans and their military elitism, and yet that fascistic power structure has been replaced…by something far worse! I’ve got some major surprises on deck for this storyline and a word of warning for longtime readers; be careful what you wish for!”

Continue reading “Matt Wagner’s Grendel returns with the ‘Grendel: Devil’s Crucible’ trilogy”

Sam Maggs + Lisa Sterle bring ‘The Wicked Trinity’ to Greendale High

Sabrina’s not the only teenage witch in Greendale.

Sabrina Spellman’s old high school is getting a new class of witches in The Wicked Trinity, a one-shot written by Sam Maggs with art by Lisa Sterle. They’re joined by colorist Ellie Wright and letterer Jack Morelli for the project.

“Real witches writing real witches — that’s how we do things over at Archie Comics!” Maggs said. “I was named after a famous witch — Samantha from Bewitched — and so I grew up absolutely obsessed with everything witchcraft, devouring every book series I could about teen witches. That makes Wicked Trinity a dream project for me.”

The one-shot will feature Amber Nightstone, Jade Kazane and Sapphire Gill, who have appeared in Archie classic, all-ages titles, but this will be their first appearance in Archie’s line of comics for older readers.

“When Editor-In-Chief Mike Pellerito came up with the idea of the Wicked Trinity, I was immediately intrigued,” said Archie’s Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante. “I even had the good fortune to work on the script for Jade and Sapphire’s first appearance in last year’s Sabrina Annual Spectacular comic for younger readers. What I especially loved about these magical teens is that they could seamlessly transcend from classic-Archie stories into more mature, even horror stories. I was eager to start developing their world with a modern sensibility, taking cues from the great work of Kelly Thompson and Veronica Fish on our Sabrina the Teenage Witch series, and Sarah Kuhn and Carola Borelli on our recent Darkling one-shot. Inspired by series like Charmed and films like The Craft, I knew there was so much potential to build up this coven in a story that beautifully blends magical fantasy with horror.”

Continue reading “Sam Maggs + Lisa Sterle bring ‘The Wicked Trinity’ to Greendale High”

Return to a ‘lake of goo’ in ‘Venomverse Reborn’

Hang with Venoms from around the multiverse in the new anthology series.

Rumors about the death of the Venomverse were apparently exaggerated, as Marvel has announced a follow-up anthology, Venomverse Reborn, for this summer.

Each issue will feature multiple stories by different creators starring different Venoms from around the multiverse. They’ll also include a framing sequence by Venom writer Al Ewing and Danilo S. Beyruth that will “lay the groundwork for the next symbiote epic.”

“I’m doing the framing sequence for these issues, and that means I get to see every one of these new symbiote sensations hit my inbox before anyone else outside editorial, and that’s definitely a perk of the job,” Ewing said. “As for what’s in that framing story—if you’ve been a fan of some of the more cosmic aspects we’ve brought to Venom of late, you should be more than happy. But the beauty of an anthology series like this is that there’s something to please everyone who dives into our lake of goo.”

Continue reading “Return to a ‘lake of goo’ in ‘Venomverse Reborn’”