Author: JK Parkin

2023 Free Comic Book Day gold titles include Spider-Man, Fishflies, Dog Man and more

The first 13 titles include selections from Marvel, BOOM!, IDW, Image, Dark Horse and more.

Diamond has announced the first round of Free Comic Book Day titles for 2023. The “gold sponsor” titles for next year will include comics from Marvel, Dark Horse, AfterShock, Image, VIZ, Kodansha, Archie, BOOM!, Graphix, IDW, Titan and Dynamite, for a total of 13 titles, as Marvel will have two gold level books.

“This year’s lineup of titles has something for every kind of comic fan,” said Ashton Greenwood, Free Comic Book Day spokesperson. “We’re looking forward to another great year celebrating comic books and comic book shops, and we think this year’s lineup gives fans a lot to be excited about!”

The rest of the batch — otherwise known as the silver sponsor titles — will be announced later this week. Free Comic Book Day is scheduled for May 6, 2023.

Here’s a look at each gold-level title:

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Return to Fairyland with Skottie Young and Brett Bean

Check out new comics and graphic novels coming to shops this week by Skottie Young, Brett Bean, Gerry Duggan, Matteo Scalera, Lorenzo De Felici , Jason, Peach Momoko, Christopher Cantwell and more.

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

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.

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James Tynion IV’s Substack comics will arrive in print from Dark Horse

‘Blue Book’ and ‘Christopher Chaos’ will arrive in shops next year.

James Tynion IV has been building up a library of creator-owned comics on Substack since last year, when he was part of the first wave of creators to sign on to the platform. Through his Empire of the Tiny Onion newsletter, he’s released comics with Michael Avon Oeming, Tate Brombal, Isaac Goodhart, Kurt Michael Russell and many more, with at least one of them, The Closet with artist Gavin Fullerton, already making it to print via Image Comics.

Given his existing relationships with Image, BOOM! and even DC, it’s somewhat surprising to see that his remaining Substack comics will be collected and published by Dark Horse Comics. Blue Book will launch in February of next year, and The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos will follow in June.

Tynion explained why he went with Dark Horse for these particular books:

“Why Dark Horse? Well, honestly, I’ve always liked being able to silo similar projects together,” Tynion said in his newsletter. “I think Blue Book, all the True Weird stories we’re looking to tell, and the world of The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos fit very neatly on the shelves next to titles like Hellboy, Black Hammer, Norse Mythology, and a little-known series from Michael Avon Oeming called Powers (not to mention the whole Jinxworld library!). And like I told Dan Chabon and Tim Wiesch early in our conversations… I want a shelf of those gorgeous Dark Horse Library Editions. And as I’ve said to Tate a few times, now we can refer to the Chaosverse as the queer teenage cousin to the Mignolaverse!”

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New comic helps promote the importance of vaccinations

‘One for All, All for One’ is available digitally today and will be released in print later this month.

With vaccinations becoming a hot political issue over the last few years, a UK nonprofit is kicking off a campaign to help drive “conversations about vaccines, community protection, trust and working together in research.”

Part of that campaign includes the launch of a new comic, One for All, All for One, that’s available digitally today and will be released in print later this month. The comic is written by Planet Divoc-91’s Nabeel Petersen and illustrated by Cape Town street artist Mohamed Hassan.

“Vaccines are one of the most effective tools that we have to protect people against life-threatening infections,” said Prof. Bella Starling, co-director of One for All, All for One. “Yet vaccine hesitancy is on the increase worldwide, prompted by misinformation, poor access and infrastructure, suboptimal communication from clinicians, public health and policy makers, and lack of awareness. For me, the co-creation of the comic’s narrative (with scientists, healthcare workers, community and faith leaders, young mothers, young adults and artists) is one of the most important aspects of this project.”

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DC reveals their 2023 Black History Month plans

With Milestone celebrating its 30th anniversary next year, DC will release several projects spanning both universes.

DC has announced their plans for next year’s Black History Month in February, which include not only a new anthology and variant covers, but also several projects coming out of Milestone as the imprint celebrates its 30th anniversary.

In addition, several creators coming out of the Milestone Initiative, a program launched last year “to identify, support and elevate emerging diverse writers and artists within the comic book industry,” will see their first work published during Black History Month.

Let’s take a look at the DCU projects first …

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Sunday Comics | ‘Webcomic Name,’ ‘Let’s Play’ and more

A round-up of news items from the webcomics world this past week.

Typically I use this space to recommend interesting webcomics I come across, but this week I’m going start with some recent news topics in the webcomics world.

The first is the ongoing effort by Alex Norris to reclaim his rights to Webcomic Name, his popular online comic. Even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, more than likely you’ve seen his fun, blobby characters in your social media feed at some point:

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Slugfest | Beware Doom the Living Planet!

Check out news and announcements about ‘Avengers Assemble,’ Miracleman, ‘Space Job,’ Spawn and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you from comics creators, publishers and more. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel’s upcoming Avengers Assemble crossover is set to kick off in Avengers Assemble Alpha later this month, but Marvel’s already teasing what’s in store for the big multiversal event in February.

Those plans include more info on Avenger Prime, the “most important Avenger in the Multiverse,” as well as the introduction of Doom the Living Planet! You’d have to have a pretty big Ego to turn yourself into a planet, so it’s no surprise to see a multiverse version of Dr. Doom has done exactly that.

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Artemis hunts the gods in ‘Hunt. Kill. Repeat.’ from Mad Cave Studios

Mark London, Francesco Archidiacono + more pit the Goddess of the Hunt against her former family in a new series coming next March.

Hell hath no fury like a goddess scorned, something that Zeus and company will find out first hand in the new Mad Cave Studios series Hunt. Kill. Repeat.

The new title is written by Mark London with art by Francesco Archidiacono and Marc Deering. Lee Loughridge and Rus Wooton round out the team on colors and lettering, while Ryan Kincaid will provide covers.

“From Francesco Archidiacono’s perfectly executed penciling to Lee Loughridge’s vibrant colors, Hunt. Kill. Repeat. came to life exactly the way I had envisioned it in my mind,” London said. “It’s been a wild ride and truly invigorating to work with such talented individuals like the artists mentioned above, but also Marc Deering, Rus Wooton, Ryan Kincaid and Chris Fernandez. I am beyond excited for the fans to get this double-sized first issue in their hands and for everyone to see what we have in store for them with Hunt. Kill. Repeat.“

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Read Kevin Conroy’s ‘DC Pride’ story for free

Conroy, who passed away yesterday from cancer, shared his secret origin in the story drawn by J Bone.

One of the highlights of the DC Pride anthology special that came out earlier this year was an autobiographical story written by Batman: The Animated Series voice actor Kevin Conroy. Drawn by J Bone and lettered by Aditya Bidikar, the moving story was about Conroy’s life prior to becoming the voice of Batman and the abuse he suffered as a gay man in Hollywood, and how he channeled those experiences into bringing the character to life.

Conroy passed away at the age of 66 yesterday after a short battle with cancer. In his honor, DC has released not only Conroy’s “Finding Batman” story, but also the entire 2022 DC Pride anthology. You can read it on the DC Universe Infinite website.

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The Corinthian faces venture capitalists in a new ‘Nightmare Country’ miniseries next year

The Sandman Universe series by James Tynion IV and Lisandro Estherren returns.

Nightmare Country, the Sandman Universe series featuring The Corinthian, will return next year as another miniseries — Nightmare Country: The Glass House. James Tynion IV and Lisandro Estherren, who worked on the previous series, will return.

“I’m thrilled to announce that Nightmare Country’s follow-up miniseries, The Glass House, is coming early in 2023,” said Tynion. “The Corinthian is going to be making his way to Silicon Valley, where he will go head-to-head with angels, demons and a breed of creature far more terrifying that anything he’s faced before—venture capitalists. Lisandro and I are excited to continue this nightmare tour through modern America and can’t wait for you all to see what we’ve got in store for you.”

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Spider-Gwen encounters more clones in a new miniseries

‘Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones’ by Emily Kim and Kei Zama introduces a new set of familiar villains designed by Peach Momoko.

Following the events of the recent Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse miniseries that pit a multiverse of Gwen Stacys against the villain Finale, Marvel has announced Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones by Emily Kim and Kei Zama.

The miniseries will feature the character sometimes known as Ghost Spider battling an army of Gwen Stacy clones based on various Spider-Man villains, including Sandman, Vulture and more. The new verisons of Gwen have all been designed by artist Peach Momoko.

“I was a little nervous taking on Spider-Gwen because she’s such an iconic hero,” Kim said. “But the rich story premise and fantastic team has made the process a blast. I’ve quickly fallen in love with Gwen and her unique voice and am excited for people to see how she handles a crazy slew of Gwen clones.”

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Scott + Jack Snyder team for a post-apocalyptic game of The Floor is Lava in ‘By A Thread’

The father and son duo are joined by Valeria Favoccia and Whitney Cogar for the Comixology Originals title.

Scott Snyder, who has extended his deal with Comixology Originals through 2023, has announced a new title he’ll debut on the platform — By A Thread, which will be co-written by his son Jack. Valeria Favoccia and Whitney Cogar are the art team for the project.

By A Thread is described as “a post-apocalyptic adventure about kids surviving in a future after a mysterious and deadly infection spreads across the Earth, making the very ground we tread on untouchable…” The ground is LAVA, kids — stay off of it!

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