‘Planet Divoc-91’ comes to print

The webcomic funded by several UK science organizations arrived in the early days of the pandemic.

An early webcomic inspired by COVID-19 is coming to print later this month, courtesy of Velocity Press.

Back in July of 2020, in what could still be considered the early days of the COVID pandemic, several UK-based scientific organizations funded the creation of a sci-fi satire that drew its inspiration from what the world was going through at the time. Planet Divoc-19 debuted on Webtoon and featured stories and art by Charlie Adlard, Alex Paknadel, Marco Finnegan, Matt Kindt, Hannah Berry, James Devlin, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Elsa Charretier and more.

“Although the topics we’re discussing in the series are incredibly serious, Planet Divoc-91 is full of humor and is occasionally ridiculous,” said Sara Kenney, who wrote the first chapter. “We’re aiming for more of a District 9 or The Good Place feel than, say, Star Trek.”

The print edition of Planet Divoc-19 is a not-for-profit publication, with 100% of profits go towards helping young creatives in South Africa, India and UK. It arrives in UK bookstores today; those of us outside the UK can order it directly from Velocity.

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NYCC: ‘Cold War’ puts the heat on the Winter Soldier + Nomad next year

Marvel reveals more details + art from their Captain America-centered crossover that’s coming in 2023.

Marvel announced its first crossover between its two Captain America titles earlier this year — Cold War will feature both Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, not to mention Bucky Barnes, Ian Rogers, the White Wolf and more.

At New York Comic Con this week, Marvel revealed a few more details about the event, which will run through both Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty and Captain America: Symbol of Truth — not to mention the requisite tie-in one-shots. Speaking of which, Marvel revealed some variant cover art for Captain America & the Winter Soldier Special #1, which was announced last month. Here’s Carmen Carnero’s variant:

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DC announces ‘Lazarus Planet’ event at New York Comic Con

Mark Waid will oversee an event that spins out of the upcoming ‘Batman vs. Robin’ series.

DC has announced a new crossover coming next year, Lazarus Planet, that spins out of Mark Waid’s work on both World’s Finest and the upcoming Batman vs. Robin series.

Lazarus Planet, a series of seven one-shots, will see the DC Universe “rocked to its core” as “dangerous and transformative chemicals” are released into the atmosphere, causing some ordinary humans to develop super powers and already empowered metahumans to find their abilities have changed. It’s chaos, baby!

NOTE: This story contains some spoilers for the upcoming Batman vs. Robin, which hasn’t even started yet.

Here’s the teaser art, which features Batman and Robin, as well as Power Girl, Poison Ivy, Cyborg and the Monkey Prince:

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Douek, Cormack + Birch reunite for ‘Breath of Shadows’

The horror miniseries about a 1960s rock star kicks off in February.

Writer Rich Douek, artist Alex Cormack and letterer Justin Birch return to IDW next year for Breath of Shadows, another horror miniseries following their work on Road of Bones and Sea of Sorrows. This one will fall under the IDW Originals banner that’s being shepherded by editor Mark Doyle.

Breath of Shadows is the story of a 1960s rock star/heroin addict who goes looking for an easy solution to his addiction in the South American jungle, only to find “primal horrors that put his own inner demons to shame.”

“With Breath of Shadows, Alex and I wanted to continue exploring the dark themes we began with in Road of Bones and Sea of Sorrows,” Douek said. “I absolutely love working with Alex—Breath of Shadows is the latest example of how our creative partnership has evolved over the years into something awesome, and I hope to be working with him for a long, long time.”

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The Power Pets assemble in ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #334 [Exclusive Preview]

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

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #334, which comes out Oct. 12.

This digest will include two brand-new stories, in addition to a selection of classic Archie material. Our preview today includes pages from “Here Comes the Power Pets” by Tom DeFalco, Bill Galvan, Glenn Whitmore and Jack Morelli. A villain named Snowboy puts Pureheart and the rest of the SuperTeens on ice, and it’s up to Pawsheart, Claws and the rest of the Power Pets to come to the rescue. We also have a complete Little Archie story that’s perfect for the Halloween season.

Check out the preview and solicitation information below.

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DeMatteis + Spellbound Comics will launch ‘The DeMultiverse’ next week

DeMatteis will team with several artists on four new comics coming to Kickstarter Oct. 11.

J.M. DeMatteis, one of the most prolific and beloved comics writers of the last several decades, will team up with an exceptional group of artists for four new comics coming from Spellbound Comics, which they’ve dubbed “The DeMultiverse.”

DeMatteis will work with Matthew Dow Smith, David Baldeon, Tom Mandrake, Shawn McManus and more on Anyman, Godsend, Wisdom and Layla in the Lands of After. Spellbound will release them as individual comics, as well as a single 100+ page trade paperback. The TPB will include an introduction by Tom DeFalco. Their Kickstarter will kick off next week.

Here’s more on the four titles:

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Brian Cunningham joins AfterShock Comics as editor in chief

AfterShock also hires Chris Ryall as a publishing consultant.

AfterShock Comics has announced that they’ve hired Brian Cunningham, a former editor at DC, as their new editor in chief. Cunningham replaces Mike Marts, who departed the company for a new position at Mad Cave Studios.

“AfterShock stands for quality comic books, and there’s a reason why they’ve grown to be a major player in the industry, as dedicated as they’ve been to working with creators to tell their best stories across a variety of genres. I’m thrilled and grateful to be called upon to carry on that tradition and build on that success,” Cunningham said in a statement.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Slott and Bagley return for a new era of ‘Spider-Man’

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week from Tom King, Phil Hester, Joshua Williamson, Andrei Bressan, Wes Craig, Stephen Graham Jones, Davide Gianfelice, Kieron Gillen 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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Fantagraphics gets spooky in a new collection of Ray Bradbury’s EC Comics stories

Almost 30 stories by the author, drawn by some of EC’s finest artists, will arrive in stores later this month.

EC Comics will also hold a special place in the hearts of comics fans, as they brought together some of the best creators of the time to create comics featuring horror, science fiction, war and other genres — names like Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta, Joe Orlando, John Severin and Al Williamson, among many others. Just in the past week EC Comics was referenced by both Scott Snyder and D.G. Chichester in their respective newsletters.

One name that might not immediately come to mind, though, is Ray Bradbury. The author of Fahrenheit 451, The Halloween Tree, Something Wicked This Way Comes and more was a prolific short story writer, and EC adapted many of those stories into comics — 28 of them, in fact, which are being collected later this month by Fantagraphics.

Home to Stay includes every Bradbury story that EC adapted between 1951 and 1954, including “Home to Stay”— a combination of two Bradbury science fiction stories that Bradbury himself proclaimed topped his originals, combined by scripter Al Feldstein and artist Wally Wood.

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Mike Marts named editor in chief of Mad Cave Studios

Marts will oversee editorial for Mad Cave, Maverick and Papercutz.

Comics veteran Mike Marts has left his position at AfterShock Comics to become executive vice president and editor in chief of Mad Cave Studios.

Marts brings more than 30 years of experience in the comics industry to the company, including roles as an executive editor for Marvel Comics, group editor for DC Comics and editor in chief for AfterShock, where he has been for the last eight years.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mike Marts to Mad Cave Studios. He’s a proven leader and gifted storyteller with a keen eye for talent and quality,” said Mark London, CEO + CCO of Mad Cave Studios. “Not only does Mike himself have 30 years worth of editorial experience, but also he has proven to be a valuable source of guidance for young creators along the way. As Mad Cave continues to establish itself in the growing comic book and graphic novel industry, we can’t think of a better person than Mike to take the role as executive vice president and editor in chief.” 

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Rich Koslowski explores money, fame and super powers in ‘F.A.R.M. System’

The creator of ‘Three Fingers’ returns with a new graphic novel from Top Shelf this November.

It’s been more than a decade since Top Shelf released a triple threat of creative graphic novels from Rich Koslowski — Three Fingers, the faux “behind the scenes” mockumentary about the world of animation and a certain iconic mouse; The King, about an Elvis impersonator who just may have been more than that; and BB Wolf and the Three LP’s, with writer J.D. Arnold, which mixed the tale of the Three Little Pigs with a blues aesthetic.

Since then, he’s certainly kept himself busy with other work for various publishers, including Archie Comics, but this November he’ll return to Top Shelf for F.A.R.M. System, a new graphic novel that combines baseball’s minor league set-up with superheroes.

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Sunday Comics | 24/7 Comictober Fest

Check out comics from Melanie Gillman, Ryan Cody, David Lopez and more.

Here’s a round up of some of the best comics we’ve seen online recently. If we missed something, let us know in the comments below.

October not only brings a change in the weather and the spooky Halloween season, but also a plethora of art challenges and events. Although there’s a bit of shadow over Inktober these days, that hasn’t stopped artists and creators from taking whatever prefix they want, sticking it in front of “-tober” and running with it on social media.

So yes, the fun continues all throughout the month, whether it’s Batober, Jacktober, Comictober or, yes, even Inktober. Let’s take a look at a few examples:

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