Nominees announced for the 2023 L.A. Times Book Prize

Noah Van Sciver, Tommi Parrish, Jamila Rowser, Robyn Smith and more were nominated this year.

The nominees have been announced for this year’s L.A. Times Book Prize, which includes a category for Graphic Novels/Comics.

The Los Angeles Times has given an award in the graphic novel category since 2009, when Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli won the award. Other previous winners include The Love Bunglers by Jaime Hernandez, Duncan the Wonder Dog by Adam Hines, Beverly by Nick Drnaso, Tillie Walden’s On a Sunbeam and The Hard Tomorrow by Eleanor Davis. R. Kikuo Johnson’s No One Else won the prize last year.

The nominees for this year are:

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DC will bring Superman, Batman and Joker manga to English audiences

‘Superman vs. Meshi,’ ‘Batman: Justice Buster,’ and ‘Joker: One Operation Joker’ will arrive on DC Universe Infinite before coming to print in the U.S.

Another announcement from DC coming out of the ComicsPro meeting currently happening in Pittsburgh: they plan to translate and publish three manga published in Japan by Kodansha for English-speaking audiences.

The three manga — Superman vs. Meshi, Batman: Justice Buster, and Joker: One Operation Joker — will be released as digital comics for DC Universe Infinite subscribers before being collected in print later this year.

Here’s a look at the covers and descriptions for each of them:

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DC announces horror event ‘Knight Terrors’ for this summer

Joshua Williamson, Howard Porter, Chris Bachalo and more will send DC’s heroes and villains to a nightmare realm in July.

During the ComicsPro meeting currently happening in Pittsburgh — that’s the retailers’ industry meeting where publishers present their plans to them, among other activities — DC revealed their big crossover event for this summer. The horror-themed Knight Terrors will involve Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Deadman and more as they battle a new villain in the realm of nightmares.

Joshua Williamson spearheads the event, which will feature artwork by Howard Porter, Guillem March and more

“I love horror comics, and it’s been a blast bringing the energy to Dawn of DC. Knight Terrors showcases the horror side of our heroes as a brand-new villain confronts them with their worst nightmares,” said Williamson. “It’s a fun and horrific event that brings together all of the heroes and villains of DC, along with some surprises!”

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Captain Valor returns in ‘World of Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest’ #23

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

Courtesy of our friends at Archie Comics, we’re happy to present a preview of this time for World of Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #23, which comes out March 11.

One of the fun things about posting these previews from Archie Comics’ upcoming digests is seeing what past superheroes they “unearth.” And this week’s preview features not only an unearthed hero from the 1940s, but also some literal unearthing at a dig site. Captain Valor, who first appeared back in the 1940s in Zip Comics, returns in a new Little Betty & Veronica story by Tom DeFalco, Bill Galvan and Ben Galvan.

This issue also sees the return of Captain Commando in a high-seas adventure that features Cheryl Blossom, who is jealous that Veronica’s yacht is better than hers, hiring a group of pirates to sink it. Y’know, as one does. This one is written by Ian Flynn with art by Steven and Lily Butler, and both stories featuring colorist Glenn Whitmore and letterer Jack Morelli.

Below you’ll find previews of both stories, plus a complete classic Archie tale featuring Betty, Veronica and Ethel, who gives off some big artistic energy in the story.

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Hickman + Hitch will revisit the Ultimate Universe in ‘Ultimate Invasion’

The four-issue miniseries begins in June.

Reports of the death of the Ultimate Universe may have been premature, as Marvel announced today that Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch will spotlight the “other” Marvel Universe in a new four-issue miniseries titled Ultimate Invasion.

Ultimate Marvel, later called Ultimate Comics and sometimes referred to as the Ultimate Universe (designation 1610 in Marvel’s multiverse) launched back in 2000 with Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimates and other more “modernized” versions of Marvel’s heroes. Top creators like Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, Mark Millar and Hitch himself created these alternate stories that went in different directions than their 616 counterparts. For instance, Ultimate Peter Parker died and was replaced by Miles Morales as Spider-Man, while Ultimate Reed Richards became The Maker, a villain who would go on to plague the regular 616.

The whole thing came to a close in 2015, when Hickman wrote Secret Wars and brought the Ultimate universe to an end — though some characters made their way to the 616.

“[Revisiting the idea of Ultimate Comics] couldn’t be replicating or revisiting what Bryan did in the original Ultimates—creating a streamlined, modernized version that would eventually become the spine of the MCU, and it certainly couldn’t be what I did, which was a final chapter of a pre-existing universe,” Hickman told Entertainment Weekly. “We also thought the very idea of Ultimate Comics needed to be inverted from what the original universe was—we wanted this to be something that could really only exist in the comic space: a new way of thinking about, and enjoying, a new version of the Marvel Universe. I’m pretty happy to say that it feels like we’ve accomplished those things and we’re very excited for everyone to get to read it.”

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Alaska battles a supernatural invasion in ‘Survival’

Dark Horse Comics will publish the new miniseries by Sean Lewis and Bryndon Everett.

With the release of Dark Horse’ solicitations for May 2023 comes word of a “new political horror-action comic” called Survival by Sean Lewis and Bryndon Everett. It’s about Russia invading the United States, specifically Alaska, with supernatural forces.

Survival was written years before Russia invaded Ukraine,” Lewis said. “Some would call it prescient, but it seemed obvious—old empires don’t like to fall. Survival merges a social aspect with a very fun, very pulp story of vampires and machine guns, survivalists and invaders.”

Natalie Barahona provides colors, while Ed Dukeshire is lettering the project.

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Slugfest | A round-up of Marvel announcements for May 2023

See what’s coming up this May for the Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, Hulk and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition is all about Marvel’s May announcements, of which there are many. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel released their solicitations for May last week (You can find the complete listings on The Beat) and they included several new stories and big storylines that I may or may not have already covered here. So, here’s a round-up of what to expect and what looks interesting …

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Ablaze will release four manga classics by Osamu Tezuka

‘One Hundred Tales,’ ‘Tomorrow the Birds’ and more will arrive in the U.S. starting in August.

Comics publisher Ablaze will bring four of manga master Osamu Tezuka’s titles to the English-speaking world via a publishing agreement with DI Books.

The titles include One Hundred Tales, which will arrive in August, as well as Shakespeare Manga Theater, Tomorrow the Birds and Neo Faust.

Sometimes referred to as ‘The Father of Manga” or “The God of Manga,” Tezuka was the creator of numerous manga and anime over the course of his career, including Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Princess Knight, Phoenix and Buddha, just to name a few. Although he passed away in 1989, his works still continued to receive awards, especially in the U.S. where they’ve been translated and reprinted over the years. He was a judge’s choice to enter the Eisner Hall of Fame in 2002.

“Osamu Tezuka is perhaps the most renowned manga creator of all time and his works have been loved by multiple generations of fans for more than 70 years,” said Rich Young, co-founder of Ablaze, in a press release. “We are honored to expand the Ablaze manga catalog with four of his esteemed works
and look forward to comics and manga fans adding to their collections with these new releases.”

Here’s a bit more on each title:

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IDW explores what happened after ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ in a new miniseries

Marc Guggenheim and Oleg Chudakov pit Captain Kirk and crew against their doppelgängers.

IDW continues to explore new and established frontiers in their Star Trek comics line, and their latest announcement points to more of the latter — Star Trek: The Motion Picture–Echos will follow the original crew in the immediate aftermath of the first Star Trek film.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture hit theaters way back in 1979, and its place in history stands as being the first Star Trek film and immediately proceeding the much more loved Wrath of Khan. I honestly couldn’t even tell you what the story was about, but it sounds like writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Oleg Chudakov thankfully have a better memory than I do.

“Despite watching the occasional fragment of a Star Trek episode here and there with my father, my true introduction was going to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture with my grandparents—I was entranced. I’m thrilled that IDW and Paramount Global have allowed me to revisit that time period, which was so impactful to me and my love of Star Trek,” Guggenheim said. “Almost all Trek stories are told from the point of view of the Enterprise crew, but I was interested in telling a story from the perspective of an outsider as a means of recapturing how it felt for me when I first saw Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Dawn of DC brings a new ‘Superman’ title

Check out what new comics and graphic novels will arrive in stores this week by Dan Santat, Norman Shurtliff, James Tynion IV, Michael Avon Oeming, Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs, Joshua Williamson, Jamal Campbell 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.

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Drew Craig will unleash ‘The Savage Strength of Starstorm’ in May

The new Image Comics series follows an orphaned, amnesiac high school student who holds the fate of the entire universe in his hands.

Image Comics has announced a new series written and drawn by Drew Craig, an “up and coming” creator, as the press release puts it, whose name you’ll likely hear a lot in the future.

Craig is the creator of a whole universe that’s coming to life inside the pages of The Savage Strength of Starstorm, which kicks off in May.

“It’s a love letter, and homage to all the great stories, characters and creators I loved in my adolescence, and my hope is that in doing so, I’ve created something new, and that Starstorm and his world will excite and captivate readers the way those stories captivated me growing up,” Craig said.

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What Are You Reading? | In ‘Miracleman,’ ‘the character work alone would be worth the read’

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately, including Dark Web, Doctor Strange, Aquaman and more.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately. Today’s reviews include recent issues of Miracleman and Mary Jane & Black Cat, some classic Doctor Strange and Aquaman, and some new/classic Bishop stories.

Let us know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments below or by tagging us on social media.

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