Category: Comic Books

A ‘Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker’ sequel will arrive in September

‘Junior Baker the Righteous Faker’ by Joe Casey and Ryan Quackenbush will explore the superhero genre from a different angle than its predecessor.

Joe Casey will return to the world of Butcher Baker in the five-issue miniseries Junior Baker the Righteous Faker, where he’ll be joined by artist Ryan Quackenbush.

The new title coming from Image Comics has a definitively different look and tone than the 2011 series, which featured gonzo art by Mike Huddleston. Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker was an in-your-face tribute to, and satire of, the excesses of the superhero genre, channeling books like Marshall Law, Brat Pack and pretty much anything Howard Chaykin did in the 1980s.

Casey said questions about his own waning interest in the superhero genre led to the sequel.

“Lately, I’ve been asking myself a lot of questions about my own relationship with the superhero genre, something I’ve been associated with professionally for over twenty-five years,” said Casey. “Did it still speak to me? Did it still hold the same kind of relevance as it did when I was just a fan? How many other readers of my generation were feeling this ambivalence to something that meant so much to us since we were kids? Doing this kind of sequel series confronts some those questions. So both conceptually and narratively, it’s a really big swing we’re taking here. Not to mention, Ryan is a brave, new talent and his art on this alone is worth the price of admission.”

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Skybound announces a second ‘Creepshow’ miniseries with Hester, Cloonan, Ennis + more

The anthology will run for five issues and include stories by Michael Walsh, Dan Watters, Abigail Larson, Zoe Thorogood and more.

Creepshow, the iconic horror movie that Skybound turned into a comic last year, will return with a second miniseries in September.

Creepshow by director George Romero and writer Stephen King debuted in theaters back in 1982. Inspired by EC Comics’ horror titles like Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror, the film featured a kid reading a comic called Creepshow and a host, “The Creep,” who was reminiscent of the Cryptkeeper and other horror comic hosts.

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Ahoy will collect Russell + Snejbjerg’s ‘Cereal’ in October

The trade paperback collects ‘a dark, distinctly adult and lovingly funny take’ on breakfast cereal mascots.

Sugary cereal has never been scarier than when it’s in the hands of writer/satirist Mark Russell and artist Peter Snejbjerg. Their “Cereal” serial, which first appeared in the Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of… series of miniseries, will be collected in October by Ahoy Comics.

Described as “a dark, distinctly adult, and lovingly funny take on an earlier generation’s beloved monsters,” the story follows several breakfast-loving monsters who will seem familiar to any fans of General Mills’ “Monster” line of cereal. I was always a big fan of Franken Berry.

“Monsters play such an expansive role in our collective conscience, being used for everything from giving face to our deepest fears to selling us breakfast cereal,” said Russell. “This book looks at monsters from every angle at once. It sees them as we are — as cartoonish but scary, as comical, and yet, still sad.”

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Black Canary recruits Harley, Zealot, Barda and Batgirl for ‘Birds of Prey’

The new series by Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero, Jordie Bellaire and Clayton Cowles debuts in September.

After a week of social media teases by writer Kelly Thompson, DC Comics has officially announced the new Birds of Prey series.

Thompson will team with artist Leonardo Romero and colorist Jordie Bellaire, who she worked with on Hawkeye for Marvel, and letterer Clayton Cowles. The series will feature Black Canary, Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot and Harley Quinn.

“When I say this is a dream come true for me, I mean not just working on the iconic Birds of Prey title, but also the characters we were able to fold in, and the creative team we assembled,” Thompson said. “Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire were two of my first partners-in-crime making superhero books and I’ve been trying to make this happen ever since. It won’t surprise anyone to learn that Leonardo and Jordie are even better than they were the last time we worked together—and working together on this wild book is pure magic.”

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The Wasp will try to solve ‘every mystery in the Marvel universe’ in ‘Avengers Inc.’

Al Ewing and Leonard Kirk set up a new status quo for Janet Van Dyne and former Vision alias Victor Shade.

The Avengers are going full Avengers in a new series by Al Ewing and Leonard Kirk. Avengers Inc. will feature the original Wasp and Victor Shade, the former alias of the Vision, in a story featuring super villain murders, conspiracy and the pair solving “every mystery in the Marvel universe,” Steed and Mrs. Peel style.

“Avengers Inc. takes the beating, buzzing heart of the original Avengers, teams her up with an undead mystery man with an identity so secret even he doesn’t know it, and sends them both out to solve the most amazing, fantastic and uncanny whodunnits the Marvel Universe has to offer!” Ewing said. “It’s kind of a classic ‘will-they-won’t-they’ crime-solving partnership—or it would be if the ‘will-they’ in question was ‘save the world from…’ Well, that’d be telling. See you in September!”

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‘Ultimate Invasion’ sets the stage for a new Ultimate Universe

Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch are setting the table for a superhero universe that’s a ‘reflection of the world outside your window.’

Marvel’s upcoming Ultimate Invasion miniseries won’t just revisit the previous incarnation of the Ultimate Universe — it will also set up a new Ultimate Universe, according to creators Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch.

“What made the Ultimate Universe originally really interesting was that it was a reflection of the world outside your window, in the moment that you were living in. What does it look like in the world we’re living in now?” Hickman said during a call with retailers yesterday. “It’s kind of shocking how much the world has changed in that period of time. The idea of what it would be like to see the genesis of super heroes in a brand-new world is a really fascinating exercise.”

The Ultimate Invasion miniseries, which kicks off June 21, will run through September. Then in November, Marvel will release a one-shot, Ultimate Universe #1 by Hickman and Stefano Caselli:

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It’s a battle for the ages in ‘Predator vs. Wolverine’

X marks the spot as The Predator hunts a very lethal target in the upcoming crossover from Marvel.

Claws will be poppin’ in the new miniseries Predator vs. Wolverine, which brings 20th Century Fox’s Yautja into the Marvel universe to hunt Wolverine.

This is the only logical reason for Disney buying 20th Century Fox, so that this story could exist.

Writer Benjamin Percy will be joined by multiple artists on the project, including Greg Land, Andrea Di Vito, Ken Lashley and Kei Zama, as a Predator hunts the former Weapon X across Canada, Madripoor and more in a decade-spanning story.

“The mythologies of both are ingrained in me so deeply they might as well be strands of DNA or wisps of soul,” Percy told Marvel.com. “The guns, claws, beef and blood of both franchises have been stewing in my brain since 1987, when I read myself to sleep every night with a stack of Marvel comics and my friends and I used to play ‘Predator’ with Nerf guns in the woods and river near our neighborhood.”

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‘Birds of Prey’ will return this fall by Thompson, Romero + Bellaire

Black Canary will assemble the ‘most dangerous’ Birds of Prey ‘for mysterious reasons.’

DC’s Birds of Prey will return in September by the creative team of Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire.

Thompson revealed the news both on Twitter and via her Substack, and also shared the team’s first member, Black Canary, with the promise to reveal more of the members throughout the week. Here’s a look at Romero’s design:

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Matt Emmons unleashes ‘Crusader’ at Mad Cave

The new series begins in September.

Mad Cave has announced a new series by writer/artist Matt Emmons — Crusader, the story of a Templar knight who has to battle his way through a high-fantasy world. He’s joined by letterer Andriy Lukin on the project.

“I’ve been trying to capture the feeling of a pulpy, fun adventure story that embodies everything I’ve loved about the genre, and I hope it translates,” Emmons said. “I’ve also been wanting to draw Pilgrim in action for years, so it’s very exciting to finally bring him to the page. Crusader has been a fun challenge!”

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A new D-Squad assembles for the ‘Dark Droids’ Star Wars event

Marc Guggenheim, Salva Espín and David Messina will pit R2D2 and a squad of droids against the Scourge.

Marvel’s upcoming Dark Droids crossover event will resurrect a concept from the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series — the D-Squad. Marc Guggenheim, Salva Espín and David Messina will enlist a group of droids to help R2D2 battle the Scourge, the virus spreading through the galaxy’s droid population that’s making them turn homicidal.

While Dark Droids has been billed as a horror story set in the Star Wars universe, Guggenheim says the D-Squad miniseries will have a different tone.

“It’s high adventure mixed with as much humor as I could conjure. I approached it like the first Avengers movie, but with droids instead of superheroes,” he told StarWars.com.

The original D-Squad was a group of astromech droids, which is the type of droid R2D2 is. This time around the squad will feature several different types of droids, including two bounty hunters.

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J. Michael Straczynski returns to Marvel this fall to write ‘Captain America’

Jesús Saiz joins the writer for a story set in Steve Rogers’ past and present.

After more than a decade writing for other publishers, J. Michael Straczynski will return to Marvel to write Captain America in September.

Artist Jesús Saiz will join Straczynski on the title, which will feature Steve Rogers. In an interview with io9, Straczynski said he’ll focus both on current-day Steve Rogers as well as a younger, pre-World War II Cap prior to gaining his super powers.

“One thing about Steve Rogers that’s never really been addressed is the period between when his parents died, and when he became Captain America,” Straczynski said. “We’re talking about a sickly, skinny 17 year old kid, trying to survive on his own for because he’s stubborn and independent, on the street for several years, hustling for any gig he can get, even if it’s bigger than he is, trying to afford food and a place to stay. So we will counterpoint a present-tense story in which Captain America faces off against a new villain of supernatural origin, with a story about his younger self, with both stories tightly interwoven.”

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Chaos reigns in Marvel’s annuals this summer

Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and more will be drawn into a plot by Agatha Harkness in ‘Contest of Chaos.’

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned summer annual crossover, nor is there anything like a good old-fashioned superhero tournament. And Marvel has both going on this summer.

In the spirit of Atlantis Attacks and Contest of Champions, this summer will bring Contest of Chaos, which will run through several Marvel annuals and features a rejuvenated Agatha Harkness using her chaos magic to cause “Let’s you and him fight” confrontations between different Marvel characters.

Stephanie Phillips is spearheading the event, which will kick off with a prelude issue in Scarlet Witch Annual #1 by Steve Orlando and Carlos Nieto. It’ll then run through eight other Marvel annuals, including the big finale in Avengers Annual #1 in September.

Here’s a rundown of who is fighting who, and when and where …

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