Category: Creators

Geoff Johns, Brad Meltzer, Francis Manapul, Bryan Hitch + more form ‘Ghost Machine’

The creator collective will publish new comics across several genres through Image Comics.

Geoff Johns and Gary Frank are doubling down on their creator-owned projects, and they’re bringing a bunch of friends with them.

Along with Jason Fabok, Bryan Hitch, Lamont Magee, Francis Manapul, Brad Meltzer, Peter J. Tomasi, and Maytal Zchut, they’ve formed Ghost Machine, a “first-of-its-kind creator-owned and operated media company,” per the press release, where creators will co-own all the characters and universes developed, “sharing in all publishing, media, merchandise, and beyond.” They point to the recent Hollywood strike as an example of why creators need more empowerment in the current media landscape.

“Our ambition for Ghost Machine is to push beyond superheroes, introducing new genres, characters and shared universes, completely co-owned by all the creators involved. We see this as the future of how creatives will work and retain creative control and meaningfully participate in success like never before,” reads the Ghost Machine founding creators’ joint statement. “Our passion is for the magic of graphic storytelling and the emotional resonance of compelling characters. But we are not just a comic book company—we are the first wholly creator-owned and operated media company of its kind, born out of a desire to create and succeed together.”

The founders released a video explaining their vision for Ghost Machine:

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Rest in peace, Keith Giffen

The prolific writer and artist whose career spanned decades and countless titles at Marvel, DC and more has passed away.

Keith Giffen, co-creator of Lobo, Jaime Reyes, Jack of Hearts, Maxwell Lord, and Rocket Raccoon, and co-author of some of the best Justice League and Legion of Super-Heroes comics of all time, has passed away.

The news broke on Giffen’s Facebook page, with a post that captured Giffen’s spirit and sense of humor:

“Keith was probably the most fertile creative mind of our generation in comics,” said Paul Levitz, who worked with Giffen on Legion of Super-Heroes. “He had an infinite number of ideas, pouring constantly out. Many, thankfully, never saw print as wholly insane or inappropriate. But the ones that did!”

The duo worked together on roughly five years worth of Legion stories. “Many of them he made far better than they might have been with any other collaborator, because of his ideas and contributions to character moments and drama,” Levitz continued. “A few we had rough times on, but I think no more than could be expected in a long relationship.”

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Jack Kirby’s family issues a statement about the Disney+ Stan Lee documentary

‘It’s not any big secret that there has always been controversy over the parts that were played in the creation and success of Marvel’s characters.’

A documentary about Marvel’s Stan Lee that debuted on Disney+ last week has, no surprise, proven controversial. The family of Jack Kirby, co-creator with Stan Lee of the Fantastic Four, Thor, the Hulk, the X-Men and more, has issued a statement in response to the film.

The heart of the controversy is one that has raged since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first started working together to create the Marvel universe — while both Kirby and Lee played significant roles in Marvel’s success, their contributions and the extent of their involvement in the creation of these characters has always been a subject of debate. While the conflict between the two is brought up in the documentary, it’s not explored in any great detail.

“… most of the narrative is in his voice, literally and figuratively,” Neal Kirby said in his statement. “It’s not any big secret that there has always been controversy over the parts that were played in the creation and success of Marvel’s characters. Stan Lee had the fortunate circumstance to have access to the corporate megaphone and media, and he used these to create his own mythos as to the creation of the Marvel character pantheon. He made himself the voice of Marvel. So, for several decades he was the ‘only’ man standing, and blessed with a long life, the last man standing.”

According to Marvel, the documentary, which was directed by David Gelb, “weaves together personal recorded footage from Lee, along with recorded recollections of his career never before seen by the public. These are accompanied by archived interview clips, newsreels, and models that immerse viewers in Lee’s world, in addition to hearing from some of his closest friends and collaborators.”

Rolling Stone’s David Fear, in his review, called it a “lame infomercial” and that the documentary feels “like it’s just shy of being nothing but a shill.” Variety was a bit kinder in their assessment.

Jillian Kirby, Jack Kirby’s granddaughter, shared the statement from her father on Twitter:

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Rest in Peace, John Romita Sr.

The iconic artist of ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ and art director for Marvel passed away at the age of 93.

John Romita Sr., one of the greatest Spider-Man artists of all time and the amn who defined the look of many Marvel characters across several decades, has passed away, his son reported on social media. He was 93 years old.

“He was the greatest man I ever met,” John Romita Jr. said on Twitter. He said his father passed away “peacefully in his sleep.”

While Romita’s career started in the late 1940s with runs at Timely and then DC, where he drew romance comics in the late 1950s and 1960s, he’s best known for his long tenure at Marvel. He joined the company in 1965 to draw Daredevil, but soon replaced the departing Steve Ditko on Amazing Spider-Man, the character he’d most be associated with.

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Rest in peace, Al Jaffee

The world’s longest-working cartoonist and MAD Magazine veteran has passed away at the age of 102.

Al Jaffee, whose career as a working cartoonist spanned more than 70 years, has passed away at the age of 102.

Multiple outlets, from The Washington Post to the New York Times to the BBC and CNN and many more, paid tribute to the record-setting cartoonist. Jaffee died Monday in Manhattan from multiple organ failure, according to his granddaughter, Fani Thomson.

At The Comics Journal, Michael Dean has written an extensive obituary for Jaffee, and I’ll also point you to Alex Dueben’s lengthy post from 2020 on Jaffee when the MAD Magazine icon retired. At the time, Dueben said:

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Tillie Walden named Vermont’s next Cartoonist Laureate

The creator of “Spinning” and “On A Sunbeam” will begin her tenure in April.

The Vermont Arts Council and the Center for Cartoon Studies have announced that Tillie Walden will serve as the next Cartoonist Laureate for the state. Her tenure will begin on April 13 when she will be recognized on the Vermont Statehouse floor.

“I’m so pleased Tillie Walden will serve as Vermont’s next cartoonist laureate,” said U.S. Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) in a press release. “She creates richly imagined worlds that transport readers on emotional and fantastical journeys and reminds us all of the importance of having a deep sense of self. Congratulations for this special accomplishment, and thank you for being part of a unique tradition that sets Vermont apart.”

Walden is the award-winning creator of several graphic novels, including the Eisner-winning Are You Listening? and Spinning, the L.A. Times Book Prize-winning On A Sunbeam and The Walking Dead tie-in graphic novel Clementine. She has two new graphic novels due out this year — a second Clementine book and Junior High, a collaboration with musicians Tegan and Sara.

Walden will be the fifth Cartoonist Laureate for Vermont, which I believe is still the only state that has one. Her term will last three years. She joins a list that includes James Kolchalka, Ed Koren, Alison Bechdel and Rick Veitch in holding the title.

‘Body Bags’ creator Jason Pearson passed away in December

The artist’s family announced this week that Pearson died from natural causes at the age of 52 last month.

Jason Pearson, the creator of Body Bags and a founding member of Gaijin Studios, passed away on Dec. 19 at the age of 52. His family revealed that he died on his Facebook page.

“Jason leaves behind a legacy of work that will be cherished by readers for decades to come,” their statement reads, which says he passed away from natural causes. “His hyper-kinetic style and breathless pace will be studied by both aspiring artists and seasoned professionals as long as the comic book medium exists. While sometimes a controversial figure, no one could ever question his commitment to the craft or the quality of work he produced as both a writer and artist.”

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In Memory: Comic creators we lost in 2022

As we move into the new year, we pay tribute to some of the creators who passed away in 2022.

As we move into the new year, we take a moment to remember the comic writers, artists and editors we lost in 2022.

Comic writer and former DC editor Brian Augustyn passed away in early 2022 after a sudden and severe stroke. The longtime DC editor was known for his work on Action Comics Weekly, Justice League, The Flash and the Impact Comics line. He also wrote many titles, including Gotham by Gaslight and its sequel, Out There, Crimson and many more.

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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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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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Gerry Duggan launches ‘The Ginormous Kokjü’ on Substack

The prolific comics writer adds a paid tier to his newsletter and launches a new comic with Scott Koblish.

X-Men and Invincible Iron Man writer Gerry Duggan has joined the numerous other creators on Substack who are offering a paid tier for access to comics. Duggan, along with artist Scott Koblish, created The Ginormous Kokjü, a new comic that only paid subscribers to his newsletter will receive, at least for now.

“I’ve always made time for creator-owned comics and I’ve been working pretty diligently on some secret projects that are now ready to bring into the world,” Duggan said in a post on his newsletter. “The pandemic changed so many things, some projects slowed down, others had more velocity. What’s changed for me is far less travel to comic cons and editorial retreats. I’ve reinvested that clock in more creator-owned collaborations.”

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Rest in peace, Carlos Pacheco

The artist of ‘Arrowsmith,’ ‘X-Men’ and so many other comics has passed away at the age of 60.

Carlos Pacheco, the artist of Arrowsmith, Avengers Forever, X-Men Legacy, Fantastic Four and so many other titles, has passed away at the age of 60.

Rumors of his death began circulation on social media this morning, but those rumors proved to be premature, according to his Arrowsmith collaborator Kurt Busiek. Since then, Spanish newspapers, as well as creators and Pacheco’s publishers, have reported that Pacheco has passed away.

Earlier this year the artist had announced a sabbatical from comics after suffering paralysis in his right leg and undergoing spinal surgery. He later revealed he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, commonly known Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, and has no known cure.

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