Slugfest | Mary Jane officially becomes a superhero in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #31

Plus: News on the Witcher’s next comic series, White Widow, ‘Coda’ returns, Ram V and Filipe Andrade reunite, ‘Killer Queens’ is back, and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel has been teasing Mary Jane Watson’s new power set, most notably in the recent Mary Jane & Black Cat miniseries, but the longtime supporting character will put on a costume and go full superhero in Amazing Spider-Man #31.

The oversized issue will not only feature a story by the regular creative team of Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr., but also will include a story by Celeste Bronfman and Alba Glez that features Mary Jane suiting up to become Jackpot.

Here’s a look at her costume, designed by Humberto Ramos:

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Marvel will collect its ‘Rom: Spaceknight’ run for the first time

An omnibus of the first 29 issues will arrive next January.

Now this is interesting — Marvel has announced, in collaboration with Hasbro, plans to collect their early 1980s series Rom: Spaceknight in a series of omnibus volumes.

Rom: The Original Years Omnibus Volume 1, coming next January, will collect Rom #1-29, as well as Power Man and Iron Fist #73. Marvel is also planning to reprint the first issue as a “facsimile edition” in September.

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Slugfest | Frank Miller draws a new variant cover featuring Wolverine

Plus: a manga tribute to Marvel, Star Trek’s ‘Day of Blood,’ Power Rangers, Oni Ronin and Whoopi Goldberg!

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Frank Miller draw Wolverine. Before moving on to DC to work on Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, Miller worked with writer Chris Claremont on the character’s first miniseries in the early 1980s, which, along with his work on Daredevil, established Miller as a top-tier creator.

Decades later, Miller has drawn a variant cover for Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons of Vengeance Alpha #1:

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Quick Hits | More details emerge on several Frank Miller Presents projects

Featuring news on Dan DiDio, Christian Cooper, two new comics retailers and more.

Over the weekend, IGN posted a story featuring artwork and quotes from Dan DiDio about Frank Miller Presents, the new initiative he’s been named publisher for. They also revealed the date of publication for Ronin: Book Two, the first project coming out of FMP — Nov. 23. Miller is working with Phillip Tan and Daniel Henriques on the sequel to his 1980s miniseries.

“Frank’s intimately involved in everything going on. The reason why we’re doing Ronin is because it’s never been exploited before,” DiDio told IGN. “We feel that there’s a lot of areas that Frank has story for. And actually, he’s had this story in mind for Ronin: Book Two since the end of the original series 40 years ago. So this is exciting for him to be able to tell that story because he still carries it with him and he’s finally getting it out.”

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Quick Hits | Rest in peace, Dijjo Lima

A round-up of news on colorist Dijjo Lima, ‘Heartstopper,’ ‘Batman: The Dark Knight Returns’ and more.

Passings | Artist Mike Deodato, Jr. announced on Twitter that colorist Dijjo Lima, whose work included X Deaths of Wolverine, Devil’s Reign: Omega, Amazing Spider-Man and many other titles, passed away. A cause of death was not given. Multiversity Comics has posted an obituary for the 34-year-old Brazilian. You can see more of his work on his website.

Original Art | Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s original art for the cover of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1 will go up for auction on June 16, and Bloomberg is reporting it could go for up to $2 million.

Crowdfunding | If Kickstarter’s weird blockchain announcement from late last year left you scratching your head, Erin Ptah writes up a lengthy explanation about what it all means for The Beat.

Webcomics | Writing for Cherwell, Hetta Johnson provides some background on Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper, the webcomic turned hit Netflix adaptation.

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Frank Miller, Dan DiDio team to form ‘Frank Miller Presents’

The new publishing venture plans to release a sequel to Miller’s ‘Ronin,’ ‘Sin City’ and more.

Frank Miller, whose career has led him from comics to movies and TV and from Marvel to DC to Dark Horse and more, has announced plans to form his own comics company, Frank Miller Presents.

Miller will serve as president and editor-in-chief, according to The Hollywood Reporter, while former DC Comics publisher Dan DiDio will serve as publisher for the new company. Silenn Thomas, the CEO of Frank Miller Ink, joins them as COO of the new venture.

Per the article, the new company will not only serve as the home for a new Ronin sequel series and a Sin City prequel set in the Old West, it’ll also be the home of new titles by new creators — something Miller says is important to him.

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Legendary Comics will never reprint ‘Holy Terror’

The publisher says the book “has not been reprinted since the initial publication and will never be reprinted by Legendary Comics.”

When Frank Miller’s 2011 graphic novel Holy Terror was published in 2011, Wired’s Spencer Ackerman called it “a screed against Islam, completely uninterested in any nuance or empathy toward 1.2 billion people he conflates with a few murderous conspiracy theorists.” Now the book is back in the news, and publisher Legendary Comics told Smash Pages they will never reprint it.

A spokesperson for Legendary gave Smash Pages the following statement:

The graphic novel was published in 2011 by a prior Comics group. It has not been reprinted since the initial publication and will never be reprinted by Legendary Comics.

Smash Pages reached out to Legendary after Zainab Akhtar of Shortbox announced she would not attend the Thought Bubble Comics Festival in Leeds, UK, because Miller was scheduled to be a guest there. 

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Dark Horse will issue new ‘Sin City’ editions starting in September

‘Frank Miller’s Sin City Volume: 1 The Hard Goodbye’ kicks off a line of softcover editions with new covers and a pinup gallery.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Frank Miller’s Sin City series, Dark Horse will release new softcover editions of each volume starting in September with The Hard Goodbye.

These new editions will be presented at their original size, with new wrap-around cover art and a pinup gallery featuring a variety of artists, including Joyce Chin, Amanda Conner, Klaus Janson, Paul Pope, Philip Tan and Gerardo Zaffino.

“Frank Miller’s association with Dark Horse has flourished for over 30 years,” said Dark Horse founder and publisher Mike Richardson. “The original publication of Sin City was a watershed moment for our company, and we are very pleased to celebrate its 30th anniversary with a brand-new edition. Readers will find that Sin City is just at powerful today as it was the day it was first released, exactly what you would expect from one of comics’ master creators.”

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DC deletes Batman image from social media after receiving Chinese complaints

An image promoting ‘The Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child’ sparks complaints of ‘support of Hong Kong’s rioters.’

DC Comics deleted social media postings last week featuring a promotional image from the upcoming Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child one-shot by Frank Miller and Rafael Grampa after receiving numerous complaints from Chinese commenters.

The comments said the image looked like it supported the pro-Democracy protests currently occurring in Hong Kong. The Global Times out of China said it “implied its support of Hong Kong’s rioters,” noting that many critics saw “Batman’s gesture as supportive of Hong Kong’s unrest and violence.”

Grampa, the artist of the piece, had a one-word response to the attention the piece received: “Surreal.” Here’s the image in question:

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New ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ one-shot coming from Miller, Grampa, Bellaire

‘Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child’ shows ‘the next generation of heroes in action.’

DC Comics has announced a new one-shot set in Frank Miller‘s Dark Knight Returns universe, Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child. Miller will be joined by artists Rafael Grampá and Jordie Bellaire in the follow-up to 2015’s Dark Knight III: Master Race.

According to the press release, the story takes place three years after the events of Master Race, where Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Carrie Kelley and Lara Kent overcame the renegade priest Quar and his cult of Kandorian fanatics in their bid to convert humanity into worshipping them as gods. During this interim, Lara has spent time learning about what it means to be human, while Carrie has grown into her role as Gotham City’s new protector, Batwoman.

 “The Dark Knight Returns story began with its heroes getting older,” said Miller. “Now we’re seeing the next generation of heroes in action, and Rafael was the obvious choice for me to usher in these heroes that are vigorous, untested and loaded with promise. I think that Jonathan Kent in particular will surprise everybody with his unforeseen abilities and impossible mind.”

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‘Superman: Year One’ preview showcases key moments on the Kent farm

As a matter of fact, we ARE in Kansas anymore for this preview of the Black Label project from Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.

DC Comics has released a preview and some additional details on Frank Miller and John Romta Jr.’s upcoming Superman: Year One project, which starts in June. Not only do they share some interior pages, but they also have a Q&A with the creative team.

“This is baby Kal-El’s odyssey from planet Krypton to planet Earth. From a strange little boy to Superman. It’s a hero’s journey wherein a boy discovers his powers and more importantly, his destiny,” Miller said. “It ties in with my Dark Knight Universe and Batman: Year One.”

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Miller + Romita Jr.’s ‘Superman: Year One’ lands in June

Frank MIller and John Romita Jr.’s Black Label project gets a release date; DC reveals the covers for all three issues.

DC Comics has revealed the release date for another of its Black Label projects, Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.’s Superman: Year One. The first “large-format ” issue is scheduled to arrive in June.

The series will run for three issues, with the last two arriving in August and October. A collected edition will arrive in November.

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