‘The Mask’ returns at Dark Horse

Christopher Cantwell and Patric Reynolds team up for a new politically charged miniseries starring Big Head.

Christopher Cantwell and Patric Reynolds will bring Dark Horse’s The Mask back to comics this fall for a new miniseries, The Mask: I Pledge Allegiance to the Mask!

Cantwell is the co-creator and showrunner of the AMC drama Halt and Catch Fire, while Reynolds has worked on comics like Abe Sapien, Hellboy & the BPRD, Joe Golem, Aliens and Serenity.

“In a time when we’re constantly being bombarded from every corner by absurdity, amorality, public violence, pure chaos, apathy, and real moral darkness in the country, it felt like no better time than to bring the original punk underground spirit of The Mask back to confront where we are as a nation,” Cantwell said in a statement to Forbes. “The Mask has been gone for nearly 20 years, and now, the world is completely on f—ing fire. The world is ANGRY, HATEFUL, SPLITTING AT THE SEAMS. There is no truth anymore. There is only hysteria and a cacophony of disparate shouting voices. There is so much institutional crime on an ethical and moral scale that it washes over you in waves of misery that also sadly have the effect of dental novocaine. Worse, a lot of people seem to LOVE IT.”

Continue reading “‘The Mask’ returns at Dark Horse”

Holy cowabunga: Batman, Ninja Turtles team up for action figure sets

GameStop will offer these figures from DC Collectibles exclusively this fall.

Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have met many times now, both in the pages of comics and in an animated movie. So the only logical place this relationship could go next is action figures.

DC Collectibles will release a series of action figures from both universes, as the Bat family and the Turtles appear in two-packs that’ll be exclusive to GameStop starting in September, with a price of $49.99 each, or $249.99 for the whole set.

Check them out below:

Continue reading “Holy cowabunga: Batman, Ninja Turtles team up for action figure sets”

John Carpenter + Anthony Burch re-team for a Joker one-shot

“Year of the Villain” tie-in will feature art by Philip Tan and Marc Deering.

If you need a scary Joker, go to the master. DC has announced that John Carpenter, the writer/director/producer behind Halloween, Escape from New York and Vampires, among many others, will co-write a Joker one-shot this October.

“The Joker is the greatest villain in comics,” Carpenter said in a press release.  “I’m proud to be reunited with Anthony on this project.”

Joining Carpenter is Anthony Burch, writer of the video games Borderlands 2 and League of Legends, and who worked with Carpenter on BOOM! Studios’ Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack series. They’ll be joined by artists Philip Tan and Marc Deering.

Continue reading “John Carpenter + Anthony Burch re-team for a Joker one-shot”

‘Contagion’ infects Marvel’s street-level heroes in October

Weekly series pits Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, The Thing and more against a new threat.

Ed Brisson will team up with five different artists in October for a five-part weekly series called Contagion. In it, a new threat will require the attention of Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Cloak and Dagger, the Thing, Moon Knight and other street-level heroes.

Joining Brisson on the project are Roge Antonio, Stephen Segovia, Mack Chater, Damian Couciero and Adam Gorham. Juan Jose Ryp drew the covers, which you can see below.

Continue reading “‘Contagion’ infects Marvel’s street-level heroes in October”

It’s all about the hair in Valiant’s ‘Roku’ miniseries

Cullen Bunn and Ramón F. Bachs take the deadly assassin on a globe-trotting adventure.

Roku, the former-lover-turned-adversary of Valiant’s Ninjak, will star in her own four-issue miniseries, courtesy of Cullen Bunn, Ramón F. Bachs, Stéphane Paitreau and Dave Sharpe.

“Roku is perhaps the deadliest assassin in the Valiant Universe, and this is her first solo series,” Bunn said on his blog. “I’m sending her on a globe-trotting adventure where she will not get a chance to catch her breath. This is The Killer meets Hard-Boiled meets Replacement Killers meets John Wick… with psychic assassins.”

Continue reading “It’s all about the hair in Valiant’s ‘Roku’ miniseries”

Celebrate the legacy of Rick Grimes with these SDCC exclusives

Skybound will offer a new shirt, print set and CGC Signature editions of ‘The Walking Dead’ #192.

The Walking Dead came to an end last week, giving readers a glimpse at what the future holds for the survivors and celebrating the legacy of Rick Grimes. Skybound will continue that celebration with several exclusives they’ll be selling at their booth next week during Comic Con International in San Diego.

Take a look at them below …

Continue reading “Celebrate the legacy of Rick Grimes with these SDCC exclusives”

Loveness + Estherren fly into ‘Strange Skies Over East Berlin’

New miniseries from BOOM! Studios lands in October.

Jeff Loveness and Lisandro Estherren will bring aliens into the Cold War in Strange Skies Over East Berlin, a new four-issue miniseries coming from BOOM! Studios in October. Evan Cagle will provide covers.

“Through comics, I’ve been able to write space operas, dark religious epics and superhero stories, and now I can’t wait to write a sci-fi horror set within the bleak, creeping dread of the Cold War,” said Loveness. “The Iron Curtain surveillance state of East Germany is now far enough removed from us to seem shockingly familiar. It’s been humbling to research that world, only to see how many sad parallels of it we still endure today. There’s body-horror and sci-fi creeping through the paranoia of the story, but it’s also about what it means to be American in a world slipping away from you… a world that was perhaps never truly there to begin with.”

Continue reading “Loveness + Estherren fly into ‘Strange Skies Over East Berlin’”

Jeff Lemire is working on The Question + The Joker for DC’s Black Label

Both projects are due out this fall.

Jeff Lemire is always busy making comics, and this fall he’ll tackle two different projects for DC Black Label featuring the Joker and the Question.

First, he’ll team with his Gideon Falls collaborator Andrea Sorrentino on The Joker: Killer Smile. Lemire told io9 the series will feature “a more grounded, real-world Joker.” He’ll also team with Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz and Chris Sotomayor on The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage.

Continue reading “Jeff Lemire is working on The Question + The Joker for DC’s Black Label”

Smash Pages Q&A: Ben Sears

The creator of Plus Man and Hank discusses his latest book, ‘House of the Black Spot,’ working with Annie Koyama, designing covers and more.

Comics creator Ben Sears is known for his brilliant use of design, color and composition. His Double+ series of graphic novels feature all-ages adventures about two characters, Plus Man and Hank, and their various escapades as treasure hunters, breaking into haunted houses and old tombs.

His new book House of the Black Spot from Koyama Press is something of a departure for Sears. The wild adventures take a backseat as Hank’s uncle, who raised him, has died under mysterious circumstances, and the two go back to Hank’s hometown to try and solve the mystery. The art in this book manages to be as exciting and dynamic as anything Sears has made.

While the story is a lot quieter than his previous books, Sears makes it as engaging and intense an experience as his previous narratives. It’s his best work to date, and I was thrilled to talk with Sears about how his work has changed, Patreon and working with Annie Koyama.

Continue reading “Smash Pages Q&A: Ben Sears”

Who will reign as the Anti-Christ? Find out in ‘Blossoms 666’ #5 [Exclusive Preview]

Cullen Bunn, Laura Braga, Matt Herms and Jack Morelli’s tale reaches its final conflict, and no one in Riverdale is safe.

The Blossom twins’ devilish schemes will come to a head in the final issue of Blossoms 666 by Cullen Bunn, Laura Braga, Matt Herms and Jack Morelli.

Part of the Archie Horror line, Blossoms 666 features the two Blossom siblings, Cheryl and Jason, competing for the title of Anti-Christ. Throw in their long-lost brother and Satanist family, and you’ve got all sorts of trouble for the rest of Riverdale.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, take a look at an exclusive preview of Blossoms 666 #5 below, which wraps up the five-issue miniseries.

Continue reading “Who will reign as the Anti-Christ? Find out in ‘Blossoms 666’ #5 [Exclusive Preview]”

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.

Continue reading “Comics Lowdown: A meme story with a ‘fine’ ending”

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)

Continue reading “Milligan + Allred teaming for an ‘X-Statix’ spinoff next year”