Waid + Lupacchino revisit the original Teen Titans in a new series

‘World’s Finest: Teen Titans’ will spin out of Waid’s work on ‘World’s Finest.’

Readers of Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s World’s Finest know that the Teen Titans, Robin in particular, have played a key role in the series. Now the younger heroes who will one day become DC’s premiere superhero team will have their pasts explored in World’s Finest: Teen Titans by Waid and artist Emanuela Lupacchino.

“I’ve had so much fun writing the Teen Titans in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest that DC asked for more, and I couldn’t be happier,” Waid said. “Taking our cue from the main World’s Finest book, the series is set in the not-too-distant past, when Robin led the team—including Bumblebee and Mal Duncan—as they answered calls for help from kids worldwide and dealt with their celebrity status. The real fun for the wonderful Ema Lupacchino and me is revealing many surprising secrets about who each of the Titans really is. Even longtime readers will be stunned by these untold revelations.”

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Waid + Hitch team for ‘Last Days of Lex Luthor’ Black Label series

The ‘JLA: Heaven’s Ladder’ team is back together for a story that spins out of ‘Superman: Birthright.’

Mark Waid and Bryan Hitch, who previously worked together on JLA: Heaven’s Ladder, will reunite for a new Superman miniseries under DC’s adult-oriented Black label imprint.

Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor will feature the Man of Steel traveling far and wide to find a cure for a dying Lex Luthor, and will extend the story Waid told in Superman: Birthright. Waid and Hitch will be joined by inker Kevin Nowlan and color artist David Baron.

“For the first time, Superman’s fighting the tide of public opinion, embarking on a mission that billions of people outright oppose. But he has his reasons—partly because of who he is, but partly because of a debt he feels he owes—and readers of Superman: Birthright might already guess what that perceived debt is,” Waid said. “Together, Superman and Lex are racing the clock in search of a cure as they travel the breadth of the super-universe, from Atlantis to Kandor to the Phantom Zone, all spectacularly re-imagined by Bryan Hitch.”

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CCI announces 2023 Eisner Hall of Fame inductees and nominees

They also announced a programming change to when the Hall of Fame inductees will be recognized.

Comic-Con International has announced this year’s automatic inductees into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame, as well as the field of nominees voters can choose from. They’ve also announced a big change to when the Hall of Fame inductees will be honored.

First off, the judges have selected 15 people who will automatically be inducted, which may be a record number — in previous years, the judges’ choices typically numbered less than six. The judges have chosen 11 deceased individuals and four living to induct.

The deceased greats are: Jerry Bails, Tony DeZuniga, Justin Green, Jay Jackson, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Win Mortimer, Diane Noomin, Gaspar Saladino, Kim Thompson and Mort Walker. The judges’ living choices are Bill Griffith, Jack Katz, Garry Trudeau and Tatjana Wood.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ charts a new course into the frontiers of space

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Ben Hatke, Jeffrey Brown, Brian Michael Bendis, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Kev Walker, James Tynion IV, Lisandro Estherren, Stan Sakai, John Allison, Max Sarin 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 brings a new Guardians of the Galaxy series, more Usagi Yojimbo and a new John Allison miniseries. One thing that was supposed to be on the list this week but isn’t is Worldtr33 #1, the new James Tynion IV/Fernando Blanco series. Image Comics has announced that due to a printing error, the series won’t kick off until April 26. But hey, there’s plenty more coming out this week, including a new Nightmare Country miniseries written by Tynion.

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:

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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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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John Allison’s X-Men fan comic debuts on his website

‘Kit & the Wolf’ features Kitty Pryde looking for a concert buddy — and Wolverine’s the only one home.

It’s a big week for John Allison fans; not only is his new comic from Dark Horse, The Great British Bump-Off, debuting in shops tomorrow, but he has also launched an X-Men fan comic on his website and Patreon. The first comic debuted this week.

“I had to move house recently, there were weeks of stress and upheaval, and I didn’t have anything on the slate that I wanted to work on in tricky circumstances – no scripts for Steeple (which was meant to be next up), no fill-in Solver story, or anything else,” he wrote. “So I made the default comic I might have made as a child – an X-Men comic. If it hadn’t worked, you’d have been reading here that I am currently taking ‘a much needed break.’ It’s not a crossover, and it’s not a joke – I tried really hard! If I make an X-Men comic, it’s not going to be a ‘the guys hang out and have breakfast’ comic. There has to be pulse-pounding† action and mutant danger. The things I couldn’t write or draw when I was 13 years old.”

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Exclusive: ‘Black Cat Social Club’ preview and trailer

The new graphic novel by Christopher Painter, Bob Quinn and more will arrive from Humanoids on April 25.

Today we have an exclusive first look at the trailer for Black Cat Social Club, fresh twist on the story of musicians selling their soul to the devil, coming out on April 25 from Humanoids. Take a look:

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Smash Pages Q&A | William Potter + Philip Bond on ‘Geezer’

The Britpop washouts known as Geezer return to Kickstarter for a second issue.

As grunge took over the American rock music scene in the 1990s, the United Kingdom had its own musical movement — Britpop, a style of alternative rock made famous by bands like Oasis, Pulp, Blur, Elastica and CUD.

William Potter, the bassist for CUD, would go on to become a writer and editor, writing puzzle books, non-fiction, magazines and comics. While Potter was living the life of a musician in the 1990s, artist Philip Bond was drawing comics like Tank Girl, Kill Your Boyfriend, Shade the Changing Man and more.

And now the two of them have teamed up on a new comic series, Geezer, which tells the story of a fictional band during Britpop’s heyday. Published by Off Register Press and edited by Vertigo alumni Shelly Bond, the first issue was published following a successful Kickstarter campaign.

And now Potter and Bond are back for an encore. Geezer #2 is currently up on Kickstarter, having already doubled its initial goal. Potter and Bond were kind enough to answer some questions I had about their plans for the series, revisiting the 1990s music scene and more.

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Marvel will revisit ‘Days of Future Past’ in a new miniseries

Marc Guggenheim and Manuel García will tell the story leading up to the monumental issues by Chris Claremont and John Byrne.

The back story leading up to one of the greatest story arcs in the history of X-Men comics will be revealed in a new miniseries by Marc Guggenheim and Manuel Garcia.

“Days of Future Past” appeared in Uncanny X-Men #141-142 and still resonates with many X-Men fans today. Those two issues helped set the tone for the series for many years after it, as Chris Claremont and John Byrne shared the consequences of where the prejudice and hate against mutants could ultimately lead. It also helped solidify the idea that Magneto could be an ally to the X-Men and introduced Rachel Summers, who would find her way back to the past to join the current day X-Men. And how many variant covers owe their lives to Byrne’s cover for issue #141?

X-Men: Days of Future Past – Doomsday will tell the story of the events leading up to the future state where mutants were kept in concentration camps and a small group of scrappy X-Men fought back — and lost.

“Growing up, I never thought I’d get the chance to write the X-Men as many times as I have. I particularly never thought I’d be able to play around in the amazing timeline that Chris Claremont and John Byrne brought to life in ‘Days of Future Past,'” Guggenheim told Marvel.com. “I still have the most vivid memory of visiting the stationery store where I used to buy my comics and seeing Uncanny X-Men #141 on the rack. That iconic cover blew my nine year-old mind.”

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Pureheart teams with the Crusaders in ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #339

Check out an exclusive preview of two new stories coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of two new stories from Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #339, which comes out April 12.

Over the past few months we’ve previewed stories featuring Archie and the gang teaming up with various members of the Mighty Crusaders, but this preview has not just one Crusader member, but the entire team! Pureheart — Archie’s superhero identity — teams up with Victoria Shield, Inferno, She-Fox and more to face the wrath of the giant rock monster known as Bronto. This one is written by Ian Flynn, with artwork by Steven and Lily Butler, letters by Jack Morelli and coloring by Glenn Whitmore.

In the second story, Shinji — who you might know better as Ghost Fox — goes on a date with Kevin Keller, all while his mother, She-Fox, battles a prehistoric villain named Dino Rex. This one is also written by Flynn, with art by Holly G! and Bob Smith.

Check both previews out below, along with a complete Archie story drawn by Stan Goldberg.

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Nominees announced for the 19th annual Doug Wright Awards

Henriette Valium will be inducted into the Canadian Cartooning Hall of Fame.

The nominees have been announced for the 19th annual Doug Wright Awards, which honor “the best work and most promising talent in Canadian comics.”

Random House, Conundrum Press, and Drawn & Quarterly all received multiple nominations for books they published, while Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth’s You Know, Sex from Triangle Press received multiple nods. The Doug Wright Awards received a “record” 200 entries by Canadian authors and artists this year as part of the selection process. 

The award committee also announced that artist, painter and Palace of Champions creator Henriette Valium, who passed away in 2021, will be inducted into Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartooning Hall of Fame.

This year the awards will be given out live and in-person on April 29 at 8 p.m. Eastern. The event will also be livestreamed on YouTube.

The nominees for 2023 are:

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Can’t Wait for Comics | North + Henderson present ‘Danger and Other Unknown Risks’

New comics and graphic novels arrive this week from Matt Kindt, Tyler Jenkins, Jimmie Robinson, Mark Russell, Richard Pace, Ethan Young and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

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:

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.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Comics | North + Henderson present ‘Danger and Other Unknown Risks’”