Marvel officially announces the event series ‘Judgment Day’

Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti will bring together the X-Men, Avengers and Eternals for a symphony of destruction.

Marvel will bring together the X-Men, the Eternals and the Avengers for Judgment Day, a crossover series coming this summer from Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti.

The story will revolve around conflict between the Eternals and the X-Men, as the latter target Krakoa and the Avengers try to play peacekeeper. With Gillen already writing Eternals and Immortal X-Men on deck, it makes sense that he’d bring them together — and write his first event series for Marvel.

“There’s a classic metaphor to describe the Marvel Universe – a toybox, which creators take toys out of, play with and put back. I get it, but it’s never quite how I’ve seen it – I think ‘play’ in another way. I think of a music shop, with all these instruments with their different qualities suggesting different songs, different stories,” Gillen said. “For all the Marvel instruments I’ve played, I’ve never written an event. Writing an event is something different. It’s not like playing an instrument. It’s having all the instruments in the Marvel music shop. That’s not like writing a song. That’s like writing a symphony.”

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James Tynion IV announces several new Substack projects

The writer launches ‘The Closet’ with artist Gavin Fullerton, and announces more projects for 2022.

James Tynion IV has always had a full dance card when it comes to comics, so it’s no surprise that he’s ramping up to share even more new content this year via his Substack newsletter.

“The plan is set. All of the wheels are in motion,” he wrote today, which has been designated Comic Day on Substack. “There are no more months of strategizing in the dark. Now is when we’re going to unleash my evil plan onto the world and see whether or not it works. The Print Comic Book business is the core of my livelihood. I gamed it out, and there isn’t a month this year I have less than four comic issues with my name on them on the stands.”

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Florida school district removes Telgemeier’s ‘Drama,’ 15 other books from shelves

‘Drama’ is once again at the center of school drama as the often-banned book is targeted by a conservative political group; this comes a few weeks after ‘Maus’ was banned in Tennessee.

Raina Telgemeier’s Drama, one of the most challenged books of the last decade, has been “quarantined” by a school district after a conservative political group complained it contained “obscene material.”

Polk County Public Schools removed 16 books from shelves and placed them in “quarantine” — that’s actually how they referred to it; I hope they gave it a mask — after County Citizens Defending Freedom complained that they violated two Florida statutes related to distributing obscene or harmful materials to children.

“While it is not the role of my office to approve/evaluate instructional or resource materials at that level, I do have an obligation to review any allegation that a crime is being or has been committed,” Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid wrote in the email to the Ledger. “It is also my obligation to provide safeguards to protect our employees. The district will be taking the following steps to ensure that we address this issue honestly, fairly, and transparently.” 

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Jeff Lemire announces ‘The Last Days of Black Hammer’ graphic novel

The writer teams with artist Stefano Simeone for the 100-page story.

As a part of Comics Day on Substack, Jeff Lemire has announced and launched The Last Days of Black Hammer, a new graphic novel with artist Stefano Simeone.

Lemire was one of the first wave of creators last year who began offering a paid tier for his Substack newsletter, Tales from the Farm, with plans to post new comics content for premium subscribers. Those plans included new Black Hammer stories and a graphic novel written and drawn by Lemire called Fishflies (the second chapter of which Lemire recently began posting).

Unlike Fishflies, Lemire says that The Last Days of Black Hammer will be available for free for all subscribers, not just the paid ones.

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‘Comics Day on Substack’ brings a new wave of creators to the platform

Grant Morrison, Tom King, Brian K. Vaughan, Niko Henrichon, Jen Bartel and more join the email newsletter platform.

If you’ve seen the acronym “CDoS” pop up in your email or feeds, you’re not getting spammed about collateralized debt obligation — well, maybe some of you are; I don’t know what you’re into. But in the comics realm, today CDoS stands for “Comics Day on Substack,” as the email newsletter platform welcomes several new creators, and their existing creators announce new projects and share free stuff.

Jen Bartel, Grant Morrison, Brian K. Vaughan, Elsa Charretier, Niko Henrichon, Khary Randolph and more join the likes of James Tynion IV, Chip Zdarsky, Skottie Young and more on the platform, which launched its comics-focused push last summer.

We’ll get the new ones added to our Comics Newsletter Directory page later today, but for now here’s a rundown of what’s been launched today.

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Sunday Comics | Where there’s a Wilbur …

Check out recent online comics by Karen Moy, June Brigman, Dave McKean, Ryan Bodenheim and more.

Here’s a round up of some of the best comics we’ve seen online recently. If we missed something, let us know in the comments below.

So have you been following the Mary Worth drama online? Those aren’t words I ever expected to type, but here we are.

If you aren’t familiar with Mary Worth, it’s a long-running, soap opera-style newspaper comic strip. And “long-running” is no joke; it’s been consistently appearing in newspapers and now online since 1938. And it’s origins go back even further than that, to a strip called Apple Mary that started in 1934. So kudos to the creators, Karen Moy and June Brigman, because here we are in 2022, some 80 years later, and the strip is getting all sorts of attention, kind of akin to Days Of Our Lives having Marlena get possessed by the Devil again.

(And yes, June Brigman, the co-creator of Marvel’s Power Pack and all-around awesome comics artist, is the artist of Mary Worth. Alex spoke to her about the comic Captain Ginger back in 2019).

So the attention the strip is getting centers on a character named Wilbur, who I’ve seen described as “miserable,” a “dingdong” and “a giant mayonnaise sandwich” online. Ryan Bradford, who writes for San Diego CityBeat and Vice, wrote about the last few months worth of strips on Substack, where he talks about how Wilbur is dating Estelle but hates her cat, so he kept making death threats against it. Eventually Estelle broke up with Wilbur, but eventually they got back together, and Wilbur proposed to Estelle while on a cruise. That’s where the story really gets interesting.

[SPOILERS WARNING for recent Mary Worth strips, something else I never thought I’d type]

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Marvel will preview Wells/Romita Jr.’s ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ on Free Comic Book Day

Following the release of a new ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #1 in April, Marvel will showcase the new creative team’s work with a free issue in May.

Marvel has announced more details and revealed covers for two of their three Free Comic Book Day titles for 2022.

Last year’s Spider-Man/Venom FCBD title previewed the “Beyond” era of Amazing Spider-Man, where Ben Reilly and the Beyond Corporation took over the Spider-Man name from Peter Parker and Marvel re-introduced a “writer’s room” approach to the comic. With the Beyond era wrapping up soon, Zeb Wells — one of several writers currently writing the title — will team with the legendary John Romita Jr. for a relaunch of Amazing Spider-Man. And Marvel will offer a preview of their run in this year’s Spider-Man/Venom FCBD title.

In addition, like last year, Marvel will preview the work Al Ewing, Ram V and Bryan Hitch are doing on Venom. Here’s a look at the main cover by Romita Jr. and the variant cover for the FCBD issue by Jonboy Meyers. Is this the first time we’ve seen a variant cover on a Free Comic Book Day title? I can’t recall that being a thing before.

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ALA reveals the lists of best graphic novels for kids + adults

The American Library Association reveals their second annual list aimed at adults, and their first-ever list aimed at kids 5-12.

The Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table, a subcommittee of the American Library Association, announced earlier this week their annual “Best Graphic Novels” lists — one aimed at children aged 5-12, and the other aimed at adults.

The ALA has released a list aimed at teens for years, and last year they added one for adults. This is the first year they’ve created a list aimed specifically at kids under 12. Both lists aim “to increase awareness of the graphic novel medium, raise voices of diverse comics creators and aid library staff in the development of graphic novel collections.”

“Launching a new, carefully curated list of the best comics for children would have been a daunting task even during the best of times – and we have certainly not been in those over the last two years,” said Matthew Noe, president of The Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table. “But thanks to the expertise, attention and passion of this year’s committee, we can now present to you GNCRT’s addition to the recognition of children’s comics: our inaugural Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List! There’s a comic here for every reader, from PreK to Grade 6, and in the Top 10 alone we’ve got witchcraft, friendly animals and a story of finding the courage to be one’s true self that will leave even adult readers teary-eyed.”

The selection committees for both lists include GNCRT members with a background in graphic novel selection and their use in adult programming and services.

Here’s the top 10 list for kids:

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‘Devil’s Reign Omega’ paves the way for a new ‘Daredevil’ series in June

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto will continue to tell stories about Matt Murdock and Elektra after the event series ends.

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto will continue their epic run on Daredevil following the end of Devil’s Reign, as both Matt Murdock and Elektra will star in a new title that promises “the darkest Hell’s Kitchen to date.”

Marvel gave the Daredevil comic a break as the two creators turned their attention to Devil’s Reign, the current event series featuring Mayor Kingpin trying to ban, blackmail and arrest all New York City superheroes. But following the end of the big event, Daredevil will be back in June with a new first issue.

“This is the start of our fourth year on the title! And the plan for it is about as big a swing as we could possibly take,” Zdarsky told Marvel.com. “I’m super excited for readers to see where we’re taking our Daredevils!”

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Humanoids will preview ‘The Incal Universe’ on Free Comic Book Day

Mark Russell, Yanick Paquette, Pete Woods and more will contribute new stories based on ‘The Incal.’

Humanoids’ Free Comic Book Day offering for 2022 will preview an ambitious new graphic novel line based on The Incal, the classic graphic novel by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Mœbius.

“Four decades after its publication, the world of The Incal remains a shock to the system and a transcendent work,” said Humanoids CEO Fabrice Giger. “This new Incal Universe project, to which Alejandro Jodorowsky has given his blessing, will open the door for a new generation of readers to discover all new adventures featuring John Difool, the Metabaron, Kill Wolfhead and the Incal.”

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Vault announces the comedy-fantasy series ‘Quests Aside’

Brian Schirmer and Elena Gogou tell the story of a retired adventurer and his tavern.

Pour a cold one and get ready for some stories, as Vault Comics has announced Quests Aside, a new fantasy-comedy series about the local tavern and the retired adventurer trying to keep it open.

The new series is written by Brian Schirmer, writer of the excellent fantasy comic Fairlady, and drawn by Greek comics artist Elena Gogou (Campfire Stories, My City). They’re joined by colorist Rebecca Nalty and designer Tim Daniel, who brings a creative consistency to everything Vault publishes.

“I’ve always loved stories about the thief who wants to take One Last Score, or the outlaw who needs to take One Last Ride,” said Schirmer. “Their eyes are frequently fixed on retiring thereafter. Usually, things don’t work out as they planned. We take this conceit to a fantasy realm, where a legendary adventurer has already actually succeeded in taking One Last Quest, opened a tavern, and got to retire. That’s where we begin.”

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Titan Comics will adapt David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’

Dan Watters and Dev Pramanik will adapt the classic science fiction story into a graphic novel.

Titan Comics has announced plans to adapt the 1976 British science fiction film The Man Who Fell to Earth into a graphic novel by writer Dan Watters and artist Dev Pramanik.

The film starred rock icon David Bowie as an alien searching for water to save his planet, and finds wealth and fame on Earth — a parable about the current climate crisis.

“The Man Who Fell to Earth is a masterpiece of a film with an awful lot to say; about men, about the Earth, and lots of things in between,” Watters said. “There are ideas in the film, about climate crises and corporate greed, that are more relevant now than they were when Nicolas Roeg set out to make it. And now here we are. I think it’s high time to look at the world through Thomas Newton’s mismatched eyes all over again. Perhaps he’ll see something we’ve been missing.”

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