Two Comixology vets return to comics with DSTLRY

The new publisher will offer creators an ownership stake in the company.

If you’ve been wondering what comiXology co-founder David Steinberger and former comiXology Originals head Chip Mosher have been doing lately, wonder no more. Today the duo have launched DSTLRY [pronounced “distillery”], a “next-generation comics publisher that redefines creator-owned comic books and collectibles.”

The new company will offer “limited physical and digital item drops, available online or in-store at local comic shops, while providing creators with fairer deals alongside company ownership.” There’s a lot to unpack from their press release, so let’s jump in … but first, here’s an image of DSTLRY’s founders drawn by Tula Lotay:

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Quick Hits | Remembering Tim Sale

Plus: News on Comixology, Mark Russell, Michael Allred, Tillie Walden, TCAF, Jerry Craft and Ric Flair!

Passings | Via Tim Sale’s Twitter account comes word that the 66-year-old artist died of kidney failure.

“He was sick for years and was even in the hospital since May 24. He was a private person and never wanted to worry all of you, but his death was neither preventable or unexpected. Tim was a wonderful man and simply didn’t want to cause any unnecessary stress to his friends and fans,” the statement says.

Many have posted remembrances of the Long Halloween artist since his death last week. At The Comics Journal, Joseph McCabe posts an in-depth obituary. Augie De Blieck looks back at several of Sale’s comics, including Batman: The Long Halloween. And artist Elsa Charretier shares a post on Substack titled “I wouldn’t be drawing comics if not for Tim Sale.”

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Mail Call | ‘Love Everlasting’ comes to print in August

Plus: more from Chris Eliopoulos on getting the rights back to ‘Cow Boy,’ plus free comics from Grant Morrison, Saladin Ahmed and more.

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

Love Everlasting, the Substack comic created by Tom King and Elsa Charretier, will make the jump to print, courtesy of Image Comics. The ongoing series kicks off in August.

The comic, which is up to issue #3 on Substack, plays with the tropes inherent to the romance genre:

In Love Everlasting, Joan Peterson discovers that she is trapped in an endless, terrifying cycle of “romance”—a problem to be solved, a man to marry—and every time she falls in love she’s torn from her world and thrust into another teary saga. Her bloody journey to freedom and revelation starts in this breathtaking, groundbreaking first issue.

Here’s a look at the variant cover to the first issue, along with two variants by Clay Mann and Tula Lotay:

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‘Comics Day on Substack’ brings a new wave of creators to the platform

Grant Morrison, Tom King, Brian K. Vaughan, Niko Henrichon, Jen Bartel and more join the email newsletter platform.

If you’ve seen the acronym “CDoS” pop up in your email or feeds, you’re not getting spammed about collateralized debt obligation — well, maybe some of you are; I don’t know what you’re into. But in the comics realm, today CDoS stands for “Comics Day on Substack,” as the email newsletter platform welcomes several new creators, and their existing creators announce new projects and share free stuff.

Jen Bartel, Grant Morrison, Brian K. Vaughan, Elsa Charretier, Niko Henrichon, Khary Randolph and more join the likes of James Tynion IV, Chip Zdarsky, Skottie Young and more on the platform, which launched its comics-focused push last summer.

We’ll get the new ones added to our Comics Newsletter Directory page later today, but for now here’s a rundown of what’s been launched today.

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Sunday Comics | 24-Hour Comic Day, Inktober and more

Check out recent comics by Melanie Gillman, Derek Laufman, Elsa Charretier 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.

I mentioned Swordtember in a post earlier today, and it’s far from the only online challenge aimed at creators going on on social media right now. Yesterday, in fact, was 24-Hour Comic Day, the “annual celebration of comics creation” where artists attempt to create an entire comic in 24 hours.

As the Crow Flies creator Melanie Gillman once again took up the challenge, creating a comic called The Night-Mother. It’s a horror story, and Gillman includes several content warnings at the beginning, including violence and miscarriage. But it’s a very well-done comic, especially for one they created in just 24 hours — or almost, anyway. Gillman still has a few pages left that they were hoping to finish today. Here’s the first page:

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Watch Elsa Charretier deconstruct a ‘Hawkeye’ panel in a new YouTube series

The new series will delve into the comic book process every Friday.

The Infinite Loop creative team of Elsa Charretier and Pierrick Colinet have launched a new YouTube series, with the intent to “share their love of the medium and their professional knowledge of the field with comic book fans and aspiring creators.” The first episode went live yesterday.

“I’ve long deconstructed, studied and obsessed over the work of my peers; partly to elevate my art, partly because I can never get enough comics and graphic novels,” Charretier said. “Our YouTube channel is the latest offspring born out of that obsession and an exciting way to share our studies, professional tips, and love for sequential storytelling with everyone tuning in.”

Check it out below, as Charretier examines one of David Aja’s panels from Hawkeye:

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Science comic ‘Planet DIVOC-91’ launches on Webtoon today

UK science organizations come together to fund a webcomic inspired by COVID-19.

Several UK-based scientific organizations have funded a new webcomic that debuted today on the webcomics platform Webtoon. Planet Divoc-19 is a nine-part series featuring the work of many different creators, including Charlie Adlard, Alex Paknadel, Hannah Berry, James Devlin, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Elsa Charretier and more.

As you might have guessed if you held the title up to a mirror, Planet Divoc-19 is inspired by COVID-19 and is billed as a sci-fi satire.

“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.”

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Smash Pages Q&A: Elsa Charretier

The artist of ‘November’ and ‘Star Wars’ discusses her Kickstarter campaign for her new artbook.

Elsa Charretier seemed to come out nowhere a few years ago when the miniseries The Infinite Loop was released. Since then, she’s drawn Superfreaks, Bitch Planet, Bombshells, Star Wars, Starfire, Harley Quinn and the Unstoppable Wasp, along with co-writing a number of comics, and drawing covers for everything from Archie to Black Panther, Nancy Drew to Domino, Ms. Marvel to Sex Criminals.

Charretier has shown that she has a versatile style and sensibility that shows her equally at home whether telling all-ages adventure tales, adult stories, comedy or action.

Next month Image is publishing November, which she drew and co-created with writer Matt Fraction, but today Charretier has launched a Kickstarter for an artbook that collects a lot of her covers and commissions, and also details her process and provides some insight into the production of November. Just a few hours after launch, the project has already reached its funding goal.

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IDW to publish ‘Star Wars: Forces of Destiny’ weekly comic series

New series will feature work from Jody Houser, Devin Grayson, Elsa Charretier and more, on characters like Rey, Leia, Ahsoka and Hera.

Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, the animated web series and merchandise line featuring female heroes from the Star Wars universe, is taking aim at comics. IDW Publishing announced plans at New York Comic Con for a weekly comic book series featuring Leia, Rey, Padmé, Ahsoka and Hera, along with the newest stars from the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rose and Paige.

Working on the new series are Delilah S. Dawson, Elsa Charretier, Beth Revis, Jody Houser, Devin Grayson, Arianna Florean, Eva Widermann, Valentina Pinto, and Nicoletta Baldari.

“The Forces of Destiny initiative has won over fans with its inspiring tales about these iconic heroes,” said IDW Senior Editor Denton J. Tipton. “IDW Publishing couldn’t be more excited to be part of the celebration of these beloved characters.”

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Ghostbusters 2016 team is back in new comic adventures

Kelly Thompson and Corin Howell reunites Gilbert, Yates, Tolan and Holtzmann in ‘Ghostbusters: Answer the Call’

‘Ghostbusters: Answer the Call’ #1 with art by Valentina Pinto. (IDW Publishing)

In an exclusive to the LA Times, IDW Publishing announced a new Ghostbusters comic, this time featuring the team from the 2016 Paul Feig-directed film.

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call will be a five-issue mini-series written by Kelly Thompson (Hawkeye) and drawn by artist Corin Howell (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers).  In keeping with the theme of a female-centric team, cover artists include Valentina Pinto (Strawberry Shortcake), Emma Vieceli (Manga Shakespeare, Adventures of Supergirl), and Elsa Charretier (Love Is Love).

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