Seeley + Campbell + Terry head ‘West of Sundown’

The new horror/western series from Vault Comics arrives in March.

Tim Seeley, Aaron Campbell and Jim Terry will team for a new comic next year “that mashes up Hammer Horror and Sergio Leone,” according to Seeley.

West of Sundown, announced today by Vault Comics, will feature Seeley and Campbell as co-writers. Terry will draw the comic, which will be colored by Triona Farrell, lettered by Crank! and designed by Tim Daniel.

“West of Sundown is about the great mythologies of the old world slamming into the folklore of the new world…the legends of Europe, and the birth of the American beast,” Seeley said in the press release. “And, taking that theme as a skeleton, we’ve draped it with the sewed together skin of Sergio Leone Westerns and Hammer Horror films. Gritty sunsets meets foggy nights. The gothic graveyard meets Boot Hill. What horrors lie in our shared unconsciousness, and how do we stuff them all into a too-tight corset?”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Natasha Donovan on ‘Borders’

The artist and cartoonist discusses adapting Thomas King’s short story into a comic, working digitally, the often-thankless work of mothers and more.

Natasha Donovan has been working for many years as a picture book artist and cartoonist. She drew the Mothers of Xsan series of books written by Brett D. Huson, and the graphic novel Surviving the City, written by Tasha Spillett. She’s contributed to many anthologies, including This Place: 150 Years Retold and The Other Side: An Anthology of Queer Paranormal Romance. She also drew a story in the upcoming Marvel’s Voices: Heritage #1.

Donovan’s new book is Borders, an adaptation of the acclaimed short story by Thomas King. The fable-like tale is about a mother and son traveling from Canada to the U.S. to visit family, and when asked their citizenship at the border, the mother responds “Blackfoot.” It’s a book about strength, resisting categories and the imaginary lines that divide us. Adapting and drawing the story required a fine touch, and Donovan was masterful at depicting silence, telling it from the point of view of a child who doesn’t quite understand what’s happening, but is reflecting back on these events years later. It’s a striking book in so many ways.

Donovan was kind enough to talk recently about the book and how she works.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Into the multiverse with ‘Avengers Forever’

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving in shops this week from Jock, Katie O’Neill, Junji Ito, Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar, Aaron Kuder and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week. As we approach the end of the year, you’d expect the Wednesday haul to get a little lighter, but there’s plenty of comics and graphic novels to enjoy this week between holiday parties and Hallmark movie marathons.

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:

Also, 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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Embracer Group announces plans to acquire Dark Horse

The acquisition is expected to be completed next year; Mike Richardson will continue to lead the publisher.

The Embracer Group, which is the Sweden-based holding company that owns several video game companies, has announced its intention to buy Dark Horse Media, LLC, who comic fans know better as Dark Horse Comics.

The purchase includes not only the comic publishing business, but also Dark Horse Entertainment, the film/TV arm, as well as comic retailer Things From Another World, which is owned by Dark Horse.

Dark Horse CEO Mike Richardson will continue to lead the company, which will become Embracer’s “10th operative group,” alongside THQ Nordic, Koch Media, Coffee Stain, Amplifier Game Invest, Saber Interactive, DECA Games, Gearbox Entertainment and Easybrain. If these names don’t seem familiar, they are mostly game design studios, who make games like Saints Row, Dead Island, Darksiders, Kingdoms of Amalur, Borderlands and, my personal favorite, Goat Simulator.

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Aaron, Saiz + Azaceta will tell the definitive ‘Punisher’ story

The three creators will get frank about Frank Castle in a 13-issue, prestige format series from Marvel.

Marvel has announced Punisher, a prestige format, 13-issue series by Avengers scribe Jason Aaron with art by Jesús Saiz, Paul Azaceta and Dave Stewart.

According to Aaron, the series will cover “the full life of Frank Castle, from troubled kid to heroic soldier to revenge-driven vigilante…to the duly anointed King of Killers.” Saiz will draw the present-day story, which involves The Hand, while Azaceta will draw Castle’s past through flashbacks.

“After writing the Punisher over the years, I’ve always been fascinated by the character of Frank Castle. What moments made him the Punisher, even before that fateful day in the park? And how far will he go to win the war that has consumed his life? Spoiler: as far as it damn well takes,” said Aaron. “This story is the destined next step in the dark and tragic evolution of Frank Castle, from troubled kid to heroic soldier to revenge-driven vigilante…to the duly anointed King of Killers. Believe me when I say, I am as excited about this story as anything I’ve ever written for Marvel.”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Bill Campbell talks ‘The Day the Klan Came to Town’

The writer and editor talks about his latest graphic novel, which is based on true events that occurred in Carnegie, Pennsylvania in 1923.

Bill Campbell is a writer and editor who readers might know from his books like Sunshine Patriots, My Booty Novel, Baaaad Muthaz, or anthologies like Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany; APB: Artists against Police Brutality. He’s also the founder and publisher of Rosarium Publishing, which has been publishing a great lineup of books and comics including The Hookah Girl and Other True Stories by Marguerite Dabaie, Box of Bones by Ayize Jama-Everett and John Jennings, and Ghost Stories by Whit Taylor.

This year PM Press published The Day the Klan Came to Town by Campbell and Bizhan Khodabandeh, which is arguably Campbell’s finest work to date. Based on true events in Carnegie, Pennsylvania in 1923 in which the Klan targeted a town of African-Americans, Catholics, Jews and immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. It is a disturbingly contemporary tale and Campbell took time out to talk about the book and his work. 

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‘Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation’ wins the Hugo Award

Writer Damian Duffy and artist John Jennings adapted Octavia Butler’s dystopian novel into a graphic novel last year.

The graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower has won the Hugo Award for “Best Graphic Story or Comic.”

The book was adapted by writer Damian Duffy and artist John Jennings, and published by Abrams Books. The story is set in the year 2024 after unattended environmental and economic crises lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter living in Los Angeles, sees a vision of the future and goes on to establish her own religion, Earthseed, and gathers a diverse community of believers.

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A dream detective hunts your nightmares in ‘Slumber’

The ongoing series by Tyler Burton Smith and Vanessa Cardinali will debut from Image Comics in March.

Sweet dreams are made of this: Tyler Burton Smith and Vanessa Cardinali springs the forthcoming horror/thriller Slumber. This all-new, ongoing series will launch from Image Comics this March. 

“Slumber is an exploration of the surreal world of dreams that is meant to be as weird, funny, unsettling and unpredictable as the wildest dreams that we’ve all experienced,” said Smith. “Vanessa’s artwork is the perfect marriage of these elements to bring this crazy story to life.”

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Ram V + Francesco Manna unleash ‘Carnage’ next year

The ongoing series starring the homicidal symbiote kicks off in March.

Venom co-writer Ram V and artist Francesco Manna are teaming up to tell new stories about the Carnage symbiote, now on its own after separating from Cletus Kasady.

“This Carnage story is very likely to become the most twisted thing I’ve written,” Ram V told Marvel.com. “The killer symbiote has gone through some pretty significant changes in recent times and I’ve been left with an opportunity to do something new and inventive with the character and the kind of stories you might expect to find in a Carnage book. This is my kind of horror—as frightening in its implications as it is on the page. This is a devilish, scary Carnage and he’s setting out to discover just where the bounds of his abilities really lie. Pity those caught in his wake. The Marvel Universe is not ready for what Carnage is turning into.”

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Chris Claremont returns to Marvel to write ‘Gambit’ next year

The legendary X-Men scribe will team with artist Sid Kotian on the new series.

Legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont will return to Marvel next year for a new series starring Gambit.

Claremont will team with artist Sid Kotian, creator of Beneath an Alien Sky on Webtoon, while former X-Men artist Whilce Portacio provides what I assume is a cover:

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Alex Ross will write and draw large-format ‘Fantastic Four: Full Circle’ graphic novel

Marvel teams with Abrams ComicArt for a unique project from the renowned artist.

Marvel and Abrams ComicArt will team up to present a unique project from artist/painter Alex Ross — Fantastic Four: Full Circle, a large-format hardcover graphic novel featuring Marvel’s first family.

The book will be presented in a format that mirrors the Marvel Graphic Novel line from the 1980s. It also ill include a full-color foldout poster featuring the fully painted origin of the Fantastic Four. According to Marvel, this publication also marks the launch of MarvelArts, a graphic novel collaboration between Marvel Comics and Abrams ComicArts.

“This is the Fantastic Four story I have been wanting to tell for years, and visually it is one of the greatest artistic experiments I have attempted,” Ross told Marvel.com. “I’m excited to share this work with everyone, as it unites the two great publishing forces of Marvel and Abrams ComicArts in a bold new collaboration.”

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The long-awaited return of ‘Astro City’

‘Astro City: That Was Then…’ asks the question, ‘Who were the Jayhawks?’

It’s been too long since new Astro City has hit comic book shelves, but that drought will end in March. Image Comics has announced Astro City: That Was Then…, a new one-shot by the team of Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Alex Ross, Alex Sinclair and Comicraft.

Image Comics announced the return of Astro City to their publishing line last year — along with several other Busiek projects, like the Arrowsmith sequel and a new comic called Free Agents.

The story in the one-shot will delve into Astro City’s past, specifically the late 1960s — the era of the teenage sidekick. It also sets up the forthcoming Astro City series.

“It’s also wonderful to be back in the world of Astro City,” Busiek said back in October, when the new Image deal was announced. “Alex, Brent and I have been planning this for a long time—we’re introducing a teen-hero team, The Jayhawks (and more), in the special, and setting off a mystery as important to Astro City as what happened to the Silver Agent or the story of the Broken Man. Alex has designed a cornucopia of new characters, and Brent is going to town on the artwork. It’ll be a very fun ride—and yes, longtime readers, we will get to the story of the N-Forcer, I promise!” 

Here’s the cover:

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