The new series kicks off from BOOM! Studios in May.
Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist SOM will team for a new “macabre thriller” from BOOM! Studios, Crocodile Black.
It’s about a COVID-era kid who goes through a “dark reinvention,” highlighted by his new black crocodile boots.
“Crocodile Black is a story about dark reinvention. It’s about hidden trauma, unchecked obsession, the power that masks give us, and a dead man’s black crocodile-skin boots. It’s about a COVID-era kid with no prospects finding something he never knew he wanted, and using it to become someone he never knew he wanted to be: a dangerous man,” Johnson said.
Titles by Scott Snyder, Francesco Francavilla, James Tynion IV, Christian Ward, Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso will arrive next year.
DSTLRY has announced three more titles that spin out of its recent anthology The Devil’s Cut, all of which will debut next spring.
The titles include White Boat by Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla, Spectregraph by James Tynion IV and Christian Ward, and The Blood Brothers Mother by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso.
DSTLRY, the new comics company formed by former Comixology execs David Steinberger and Chip Mosher, released The Devil’s Cut in print back in August and a digital edition a couple of weeks ago. They’ve also released print editions of Gone by Jock and Somna by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay, which were followed this month by limited-edition digital releases (The digital Somna #1 should go on sale on the DSTLRY site this week). Blasfamous by Mirka Andolfo was announced to come out this week.
With these three announcements, that leaves two more titles that were featured in The Devil’s Cut that you can expect to see in the future — one by Elsa Charretier and another by Marc Bernardin and Ariela Kristantina.
The three-issue series will feature the Court of Owls and a twisted version of Batman.
DC’s solicitations for October arrived today, revealing a project from Christian Ward that originated from a social media post last year.
“One day I’ll do my cosmic horror Batman,” Ward wrote on Twitter (0r X, or whatever it’s called now). Someone was listening, because that image spawned a three-issue, 48-page Black Label series from DC, and it kicks off Oct. 10.
With this being the day after San Diego, it might seem odd that DC wouldn’t have mentioned such a major project at the convention, but there is something appropriate about Ward essentially announcing it on Twitter. Here’s the original tweet:
Chew and Chu writer/co-creator John Layman is back at Image Comics this summer with a hellish new title — In Hell We Fight!, a new creator-owned title with artist Jok
“I’m thrilled to be back at Image with a new book,” said Layman. “In Hell We Fight is the most ambitious thing I’ve done in a while, and also the most fun. Nonstop action, adventure and general weirdness, with loads of heart, and I can say with confidence this will be the best time anyone will have reading about kids condemned to an eternity in hell. Luckily for me I’ve teamed up with a great artist—Jok—who’s probably the one person on Earth who can capture this unique balance of light and dark, horror and heart. I think this is the perfect vehicle to introduce him to a broader American comic book-reading audience.”
Andy Diggle and Rubine tell a story set between ‘Babylon’s Ashes’ and ‘Persepolis Rising.’
The Expanse, the popular science fiction show that wrapped up last year after its sixth season, will return to comics this year with a new 12-issue series. BOOM! Studios has announced The Expanse: Dragon Tooth, by writer Andy Diggle and artist Rubine. Christian Ward will provide covers.
“It’s not often you get to work on something you already love with your whole heart, and everyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about The Expanse. Suit up and strap in — we’re gonna be pulling some high-g maneuvers!” Diggle exclaimed.
Like they’ve done with titles like BRZRKR, BOOM! plans to run a Kickstarter campaign for the project, which will offer “exclusive premium variants of each issue and exclusive variant editions of each collection, along with highly limited edition collectibles.”
Check out recent news and announcements from DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse and more.
Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.
Following the end of the Joker War storyline, DC’s current Batgirl series will wrap up with its extra-sized 50th issue this Tuesday. DC has revealed that this issue will also see the debut of Ryan Wilder, the character taking over the Batwoman mantle on The CW’s Batwoman TV show.
Will this new character also take over as Batwoman in the comics? I guess we’ll find out. You can see a preview of that issue here.
A round-up of news from DC, Marvel, Image Comics, Valiant and more.
Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.
The Dark Nights: Death Metal event grew again this week, as DC announced two new anthology one-shots for November prior to releasing their full November solicitations.
The first one is focused on Lobo and is titled Dark Nights: Death Metal Infinite Hours Exxxtreme! #1. It will feature “Uncle Lobo” telling “familiar yet freaky stories of the DC Universe, exactly as he remembers them: with blood and guts and exxxtreme gratuitous violence.” The creators involved include Frank Tieri, Becky Cloonan, Dale Eaglesham and more, with a cover by Kyle Hotz.
If that one isn’t ridiculous-sounding enough, the second one, Dark Nights: Death Metal The Multiverse Who Laughs “offers the curious—and the brave—a glimpse into the nightmare realities that the Batman Who Laughs has created in tales by creators who know what it means to have a truly twisted sense of misfit humor.” As you can tell by the cover, one of those worlds features evil super pets. It includes stories by Amanda Conner, Patton Oswalt, Jimmy Palmiotti, Scott Snyder, Brandon Thomas, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Chad Hardin and more.
New project from Oscar Isaac, Bob Johnson and John Alvey will be written by Brian Buccellato and drawn by Christian Ward.
During their Comic-Con@Home panel yesterday, Legendary Comics announced a new graphic novel called Head Wounds: Sparrow, that was developed by childhood friends Oscar Isaac (a.k.a. Poe Dameron from the most recent Star Wars trilogy), Bob Johnson and John Alvey, and will be written by Brian Buccellato and drawn by Christian Ward.
The story originated with Johnson, who had Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and used writing as a way to cope with his illness. During the panel, he said he had a dream where he had been shot in the head, but no one could see the wound — so no one could help him. Head Wound is about a cop who has a psychic “head wound” that pulls him into the war between angels and devils.
“Bob Johnson has a mind and a soul like no one else,” Isaac said. “Our friendship and creative collaboration has spanned nearly three decades. I couldn’t be more excited to bring his unique and singular vision of Head Wounds: Sparrow to life with the incredible group of artists we’ve assembled.”
Curt Pires, Tony Pires and Alex Diotto present ‘Olympia,’ coming in November from Image Comics.
Wyrd writer Curt Pires‘ next project is not only a love letter to superhero comics, Jack Kirby and Spielberg movies — it’s also very personal. His co-writer, Tony Pires, is also his father, who passed away from cancer, and they conceived the comic while Tony was in the hospital.
“We started working on Olympia just about three years ago when my father was first hospitalized as a means of giving us something to look forward to, to hope for, in dark times. All these months later the book’s finally coming out, even after he’s left us,” said Curt Pires. “Beyond any Extratextual reasoning I can throw at you, though, this is just good comics. Plain and simple. It’s a love letter to the Spielberg movies we loved so much smashed against the cosmic epicness of the Jack Kirby joints that laid the foundation of our modern entertainment landscape. These are the most personal and raw comics I’ve been a part of, and I hope you’ll join us.”
The stories they imagined together are being brought to life by artist Alex Diotto, who previously worked on Brigands and Southern Dog for Action Lab.
Christian Ward writes a new comic featuring Al Capone and magic.
Eisner-award winning artist Christian Ward will take a rare turn as writer in Tommy Gun Wizards, a new miniseries coming from Dark Horse Comics this summer.
Ward, who co-created ODY-C and has worked on Marvel titles like Thor and Black Bolt, is joined by artist Sami Kivelä, who worked with Saladin Ahmed on Abbott and on Zenescope’s Realm War, among other comics. Ward will provide covers as well as colors on the interior art. He’ll also draw back-up stories for each issue.
The ‘Thor’ and ‘Black Bolt’ artist launches his own Threadless shop, featuring three designs.
Many comic artists have launched their own T-shirt sites through websites like Threadless. Christian Ward, artist on Thor, Black Bolt and the upcoming Invisible Kingdom, joins them with three new designs on his dedicated shop.
The London-based artist and illustrator’s work combines influences from fine art and pop culture into colorful, surreal patterns. Books like ODY-C and The Ultimates brought his science fiction designs to the page, and the three shirts he’s debuted carry that same atheistic to your torso. Check’em out today.
The ‘epic multi-part sci-fi saga’ about a religious conspiracy debuts next year.
Dark Horse’s Berger Books imprint, headed up by former Vertigo editor Karen Berger, welcomes a new book by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward into the fold next year — Invisible Kingdom.
“It’s a delight to be working with my mentor Karen Berger once again, especially on such an exciting project,” said G. Willow Wilson in a statement. “Christian Ward’s art is truly visionary—this is one of the most dynamic collaborations I’ve ever been involved with. I can’t wait to show the world what we’ve cooked up.”
