Mail Call | Tynion offers first ‘Blue Book’ for free

Check out news and updates from Marvel, Dark Horse, Top Shelf, Image Comics and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of cool things we’ve received in our mailboxes recently from comics publishers, creators and more. Hit the links for more information.

James Tynion IV was one of the first creators out of the gate with his plans for his premium Substack newsletter subscription, announcing a new comic called Blue Book with artist Michael Avon Oeming that he planned to share with paid subscribers.

But even if you aren’t a paid subscriber, you can still check out the first one, which he posted for free a couple days ago.

Blue Book is a passion project for myself and Michael Avon Oeming,” Tynion wrote. “We share a lifelong fascination with UFOs and a lifelong frustration with how those stories have been adapted into other media. There is a strangeness in the original accounts of UFO sightings that usually gets swept aside, but Michael and I want to lean into the strangeness. These are human stories of ordinary people who brush against the unknown and must grapple with what they see there. There is a deeper truth, whether you believe in the accounts or not, that lies in the many ways people tell these stories.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Orphans, kaiju, cryptids and more

See what comics and graphic novels arrive this week in a comic shop near you.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide each week to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. This week DC continues the rollout of their Infinite Frontier publishing initiative, while two Marvel books delayed by the pandemic finally arrive in comic shops.

Check out a few highlights below, or visit ComicList for this week’s full list of new comics arriving in stores, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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Mail Call | Black Cat kicks off Marvel’s ‘Infinite Destinies’ event this summer

Plus more news from Marvel, DC, Image, AfterShock, Dark Horse and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

Last summer the “Infinite Destinies” storyline was supposed to run through several Marvel annuals, including Iron Man, Captain America, Black Cat and Thor, among others. The story revolves around the returning “infinity stones,” those pesky don’t-call-them-infinity-gems MacGuffins that regularly take center stage at Marvel.

Anyway, like with many other things, the COVID pandemic and comics industry shutdown threw a wrench in Marvel’s plans, and those annuals were never released. But now it looks like they are back on the schedule for 2021, with an added prelude comic to kick things off — Black Cat #8 by Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa.

“Felicia Hardy- the Black Cat- gets tangled up with the Infinity Stones, some of the most dangerous prizes in the universe. Felicia may be the most accomplished jewel thief on the planet, but when those jewels hold the power of the cosmos, it’s a whole new ball game. Felicia is in a race against the others who would seek to control the stones for their own ends- like Nick Fury (and a secret someone you won’t see coming!),” MacKay said. “Who can cross the world’s most dangerous men, wrangle a pack of villains hopped up on fragments of infinite power, (hopefully) get the job done and look great all the while? The Black Cat, that’s who!”

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What Are You Reading? | ‘X-Men Legends,’ ‘Hollow Heart’ and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.


Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately. Let us know what you read this week in the comments or on social media.

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What Are You Reading? | ‘Fear Case,’ ‘We Are Robin’ and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.


Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately. And this week’s list included everything from King in Black tie-ins to Nellie Bly.

Let us know what you read this week in the comments or on social media.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Drunk mermaids and mech-suit Avengers

New comics arriving this week include more Future State titles from DC, some King in Black tie-ins from Marvel and a new underwater horror series from Image.

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

This week brings another wave of DC’s Future State and Marvel’s King in Black tie-ins, as well two Star Wars: The High Republic comics. There’s also a fun new graphic novel featuring drunk mermaids who get stuck on land.

Check out a few recommendations below, or visit ComicList for this week’s full list of new comics arriving in stores, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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Black Knight spins out into a solo miniseries after ‘King in Black’

Simon Spurrier and Sergio Dávila will tell a new story featuring Dane Whitman and the Ebony Blade.

Simon Spurrier and Sergio Dávila will launch a new Black Knight miniseries in March, following the character’s appearance in Marvel’s King in Black crossover.

Marvel recruited Spurrier, fresh off a recent stint on the critically acclaimed but unfortunately cancelled Hellblazer, for the King in Black: Black Knight one-shot that arrives next month, and must have liked what they read. Spurrier said he enjoyed himself as well:

“Having enjoyed myself a positively indecent amount while writing King in Black: Black Knight, I found that I was even more fascinated by the central character — Dane Whitman — than I’d realized. The surprising new take on him which we present in the one-shot opened so many new doors. Dane and his tangled lore are a treasure trove for anyone fascinated by story, mythology, folklore and psychology — all of which are very much my bag — not to mention the simple thrill of seeing a not-totally-well-adjusted man flying around on a winged warhorse with one of the world’s most devastating magical weapons in his hand,” Spurrier told Marvel.com.

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‘King in Black’ expands its kingdom

Marvel announces several tie-in titles for the upcoming Venom-centric crossover.

Symbiotes are back in fashion this winter, as Marvel’s King in Black event stretches its gooey black tentacles out to characters from Daredevil to Spider-Gwen to Valkyrie.

In case you need a refresher, Knull is the god of the symbiotes, and in King in Black, he’ll be taking on not just Venom, but the Avengers, the X-Men, the Hulk and more, as he heads for Earth. Now Marvel has revealed details on what existing and new titles will help support the event.

Here’s a rundown of what to expect:

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