Comics Lowdown: A meme story with a ‘fine’ ending

Plus: Fred Perry, Michael DeAdder, Kelly Sue DeConnick and more!

This Is Awesome: We all know the horror story of Pepe the Frog, who despite creator Matt Furie’s best efforts has taken on an unsavory life of his own. At Vulture, Abraham Riesman looks at a meme story with a happier ending, talking to creator KC Green about how he kept control of his “This is fine” comic, and even made some money off it as it went viral. There’s a lot here that other creators may find useful, plus it’s just fascinating to see the backstory of such a well known meme.

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Milligan + Allred teaming for an ‘X-Statix’ spinoff next year

This week’s ‘Giant-Sized X-Statix’ brings old friends and new surprises.

Fans who were happy to see the team reunite again in the pages of this week’s Giant-Size X-Statix #1 will be positively, um, ecstatic to see the final page.

(Spoilers for Giant-Size X-Statix #1 below)

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AHOY Comics announces more ‘Captain Ginger,’ ‘Wrong Earth’ prequel

The publisher will also bring back ‘Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter Of Terror’ in October.

AHOY Comics has announced follow-ups to three of their previous titles, including a prequel for The Wrong Earth, and sequels for Captain Ginger and Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter Of Terror.

“The third wave of AHOY Comic Magazines sees the return of some fan favorite faces,” Publisher Hart Seely said. “And what’s exciting to me, as both a reader and the publisher, is that each of these stories takes these characters to unexpected places. What happens when cats meet dogs in the far reaches of outer space? Is there something evil about being a superhero? Readers who wanted more of these stories can dive right in, but they also work as stand alone stories that provide a jumping-on point for readers who have only recently discovered AHOY.”

The three titles, with the publisher’s descriptions, are:

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Meet Sunstar in this preview of ‘Second Coming’

Mark Russell and Richard Pace’s controversial comic debuts tomorrow.

Mark Russell and Richard Pace’s Second Coming took the long way to get into comic shops, but the first issue will arrive tomorrow in comic shops and digital platforms.

The satirical, controversial and excellent first issue features the first meeting between Jesus and Sunstar, the world’s greatest superhero, and AHOY Comics has provided a few preview pages to whet your appetite before diving in tomorrow.

Check them out below.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Jason McNamara on ‘The Cicada’

The writer of “The Rattler” and “Sucker” returns to Kickstarter for a new project about small town horror.

Jason McNamara is the writer behind Sucker, The Rattler and other graphic novels that fall into, or at least somewhere close to, the horror genre. Using Kickstarter, he has brought his character-driven visions to life over the last few years, establishing himself as a “go to” creator for chills on the comic book page.

His latest project is The Cicada, a five-issue comic series he’s kickstarting in conjunction with Evoluzione Publishing. The first issue introduces the town of Braddock, Texas, where a serial killer returns every 13 years to target children. But this killer may have met their match in teenage prodigy Emma Dale.

I spoke to McNamara about the project, working with a publisher and what else he has planned as part of his new venture, Polite Strangers.

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Fantastic Four gets the ‘Grand Design’ treatment courtesy of Tom Scioli

The two-issue series kicks off in October.

Fans of Tom Scioli‘s creative and inspired approach to comics are in for a treat — the creator behind American Barbarian, Go-Bots and Transformers vs. G.I. Joe will turn his attention to Marvel’s first family in Fantastic Four: Grand Design.

Fantastic Four is like the Magna Carta of Marvel, this founding document, so being allowed to get my hands on it is thrilling,” Scioli told Comicbook.com. “They’ve given me a tremendous amount of creative freedom to just go for it.”

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‘John Constantine, Hellblazer’ joins the Sandman Universe titles this fall

Simon Spurrier, Marcio Takara and Aaron Campbell take the character back to his roots.

After a move to the regular DC Universe, a movie, a TV show and even the announcement of a YA graphic novel, John Constantine will go back to basics in a new Hellblazer title this fall, as part of the Neil Gaiman-curated Sandman Universe line.

The day before Halloween will bring a one-shot by Simon Spurrier and artist Marcio Takara titled The Sandman Universe Presents Hellblazer. That’ll be followed by a new ongoing titled John Constantine, Hellblazer by Spurrier and artist Aaron Campbell.

“Year One was just the start. Now you get to inhabit the worlds, books and houses we built for you,” said Gaiman. “I was thrilled when I was told that John Constantine—the original, demon-haunted one who first showed up in Swamp Thing’s ‘American Gothic’ story—is coming back to his murky and dangerous roots. More magic and more darkness and not a few gods and dreams are here for you to explore.”

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‘Heavy Vinyl’ returns for a second spin

Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva reunite for another round of music store fight club.

Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva will reunite for a Heavy Vinyl original graphic novel, a sequel to the 2017 miniseries. Subtitled “Y2K-O!,” this one will take place in the summer of 1999.

“Getting the chance to continue the Heavy Vinyl story is a dream come true! I’m thrilled to be reunited with my precious little ‘90s babies. The story picks up a few months later — it’s 1999, digital music and file sharing have upset the status quo, and Y2K approaches!” Usdin said. “You can expect the same level of exhaustively researched pop culture references with new characters, a new mystery and more Chris/Maggie cuteness. I’ve been having a great time writing it, and I can’t wait for fans to read it.”

The story revolves around a group of girls who work at their local record store, Vinyl Mayhem — which is also the front for a teen girl vigilante fight club. In the new OGN, they’ll have to deal with the led-up to Y2K.

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Haberlin + Hine team up for ‘The Marked’

New series from Image Comics due out in October.

Brian Haberlin and David Hine (Sonata) will re-team for a new series from Image Comics titled The Marked.

The Marked is my chance to do magical, dark and sexy,” Haberlin said in the press release. “The world may seem familiar, but what lies beneath is certainly not. A world readers of my old series Aria and The Wicked will recognize and maybe we’ll even see some characters from those books appear along the way in this new series!”

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DC reveals more Legion of Super-Heroes art

The Legion reboot by Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook kicks off this fall.

DC Comics has revealed both cover and interior art related to the relaunch of the Legion of Super-Heroes this fall.

If you haven’t heard, Brian Michael Bendis and several artists are working on a two-issue prelude called Legion Of Super-Heroes: Millennium, which will feature not only the Legion, but other “future” characters from the DC Universe, like OMAC, Tommy Tomorrow and Booster Gold, among others. It kicks off in September and will be followed in November by a new Legion title by Bendis and Ryan Sook.

Today DC revealed the cover to issue #2 of Millennium, which features a certain teen-aged superhero who is synonymous with the Legion:

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‘Second Coming’ finally makes it to comic shops this week

The first issue of Mark Russell and Richard Pace’s story about Jesus and superheroes arrives Wednesday from AHOY Comics.

It’s been a long, winding road for Mark Russell and Richard Pace’s Second Coming, but this week it finally makes its way into the hands of readers.

The quick version:

  • Second Coming was originally announced more than a year ago as a part of the latest (and, it would turn out, last) wave of Vertigo books, in celebration of their 25th anniversary. The story features a superhero named Sunstar (formerly Sun-Man) becoming roommates with Jesus Christ.
  • News about the comic’s premise caught the eyes of the religious right, who petitioned DC Comics to cancel the book. They called the unreleased comic “inappropriate and blasphemous.” DC canceled it a few weeks before it was slated to hit comic shops.
  • AHOY Comics picked it up in March, with the first issue scheduled to arrive this Wednesday.

So what’s this all about? Let’s break it down …

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Becky Lynch takes center ring in new ‘Smackdown Live’ comic

BOOM! Studios announces a new one-shot focused on The Man and Smackdown Live moving to the Fox network.

BOOM! Studios’ ongoing WWE comic may have been canceled, but the sports entertainment license lives on at the publisher. In their build-up to this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, the publisher announced a new one-shot, WWE Smackdown Live #1.

Written by Kevin Panetta with art by Kendall Goode, the comic will focus on Becky Lynch, a.k.a. The Man, arguably the WWE’s most popular superstar right now. It’ll also tie into Smackdown Live, currently seen Tuesday nights on USA, moving to the Fox network in October. Panetta is the writer of Bloom from First Second and Zodiac Starforce from Dark Horse, while Goode has work on previous WWE comics for BOOM!.

“The Man is one of the most electrifying Superstars to hit the ropes, and what better way to begin a new era of SmackDown Live than with Becky Lynch in the lead?” said Chris Rosa, Editor, BOOM! Studios. “Current WWE Superstars collide with WWE Legends, who are all here for one of the biggest and most unpredictable nights that they’ll ever face in the ring.”

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