Tag: P. Craig Russell

Slugfest | Black Widow gets ‘Venomous’ in a new one-shot

Plus news and announcements on Hellverine, Misty, Nick Cagnetti, Paul Pope, Blood Hunt, Briar, Joy Operations and more!

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you that we haven’t otherwise covered. Hit the links for more information.

If you’ve been reading Venom of late, you know that the Black Widow — who already has a cool spider name — has gone and gotten herself a symbiote. This summer, writer Erica Schultz and artist Luciano Vecchio will “unleash Natasha Romanoff’s full potential as a symbiote warrior” in a new one-shot.

Black Widow: Venomous will not only show the super-spy figuring out how to work with her new partner, but will also set the stage for the upcoming Venom War event.

“Who doesn’t want to write Natasha Romanoff? And with a badass symbiote, it didn’t take much to convince me,” Schultz said. “Luciano Vecchio’s art is so amazing. It’s been so fun to delve into Nat’s spy craft techniques, and you just may learn something new about her.”

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Marvel’s Pride special will introduce an X-Men team, a new Nightshade and more

‘Marvel’s Voices: Pride’ will arrive in June, along with several Pride-themed variant covers.

Marvel has announced details for this year’s Pride special, which will once again come under the Marvel’s Voices banner in June. And like previous specials, which introduced new characters like Escapade and Somnus, this one also will include several character and creator debuts.

Probably the biggest news is that the special will introduce a new X-Men title that will debut later this year from Steve Foxe and Rosi Kampe. Their story will feature Gimmick, one of the Children of the Atom, who you might remember as being teased as the X-Men’s sidekicks before debuting (they all looked liked versions of the original X-Men) and starred in their own miniseries in 2020. The only true mutant on the team was Gimmick, who was later invited to the Hellfire Gala by Storm. I don’t think we’ve seen much of this team since they were introduced.

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Mark Gruenwald, P. Craig Russell + four more inducted into Eisner Hall of Fame

Judges chose six individuals for automatic induction and 17 for voters to choose from.

Six individuals will automatically be inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame this summer, with four more to be chosen by voters before the Eisner Awards ceremony at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Those four will be chosen from a field of 17, which include many names that make you stop and think, “Wait, they’re not in the Hall of Fame yet?” It’s a loaded field, leading to some hard choices for voters: Howard Chaykin, Gerry Conway, Kevin Eastman, Steve Englehart, Moto Hagio, Larry Hama, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, David Mazzucchelli, Jean-Claude Mézières, Grant Morrison, Gaspar Saladino, Jim Shooter, Garry Trudeau, Ron Turner, George Tuska, Mark Waid and Cat Yronwode.

The judges chose the following six people for automatic induction into the HoF:

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Smash Pages Q&A | Alek Shrader

The opera singer and comics writer discusses the graphic novel adaptation of ‘Carmen’ that is currently being crowdfunded by the Arizona Opera.

Alek Shrader is a an opera singer and director, and the writer behind the new graphic novel Carmen. It’s an adaptation of the opera by Georges Bizet, one of the most popular and successful operas of all time, which has been adapted to other mediums a lot of over the years.

Joining Shrader on this project is the great P. Craig Russell, who has adapted many operas in the past, and artist Aneke, who is drawing the critically acclaimed Bylines in Blood on the stands now. The project from Arizona Opera is being kickstarted now, and I spoke with Shrader and about his background as a comics reader, his approach to adaptation and his thoughts on the opera.

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Arizona Opera brings Georges Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ to comics

Back the Kickstarter for a new graphic novel adaptation of the classic opera by Alek Shrader, P. Craig Russell and Aneke.

You might not expect an opera to be referenced on a comics blog, but the two art forms have more in common than you might think, according to tenor, director, writer — and comic fan — Alek Shrader.

“Comics and opera have a lot in common,” Shrader told Smash Pages. “Engaging stories, interesting characters, artistic escapism… both art forms exist to communicate in storytelling. BUT, I think it’s the differences between live opera and comics that make graphic adaptation a strong idea. That being said, in their own fashion, both opera and comics tell dramatic and cathartic stories in meaningful, beautiful ways.”

In an effort to help connect more people to opera, the Arizona Opera has turned to Kickstarter to fund their first graphic novel — an adaptation of Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet, which itself was adapted from the novella by Prosper Mérimée.

“It’s a thrill for Arizona Opera to share the work of this remarkable team of artists through the graphic novel format and the timeless story of Carmen,” said Joseph Specter, Arizona Opera’s President and General Director, in a pres statement. “Throughout the pandemic, our company has constantly pursued novel approaches to connecting people through opera, when people need art and meaning the most. Carmen: The Graphic Novel represents an amazing opportunity to extend that focus on innovation, impact, and community.”

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Mail Call | New release dates for the Milestone revival

Catch up on news and announcements from Dark Horse, Vault Comics, DC, Z2 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.

DC Comics has modified their plans for the upcoming Milestone Media relaunch. The three launch titles — Static, Icon and Rocket, and Hardware — will no longer arrive digitally before they come out in print. Instead, they’ll be released in both formats on the same day, as well as on DC Universe Infinite. Both Static and Icon and Rocket will come out later, but Hardware will be published earlier than originally announced. The new dates (and creative teams for each title) are:

  • Static: Season One, written by Vita Ayala, with layouts by CHRISCROSS, finishes by Nikolas Draper-Ivey with covers by Khary Randolph launches in print and digital on June 15.
  • Icon and Rocket: Season One, co-written by Reggie Hudlin and Leon Chills, with art by Doug Braithwaite and covers by Taurin Clarke launches in print and digital on July 27.
  • Hardware: Season One, written by Brandon Thomas, with art by Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz with covers by Mateus Mahanini, launches in print and digital on August 10.
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Dark Horse to adapt Gaiman’s ‘Norse Mythology’ to comics

P. Craig Russell, Mike Mignola, Jerry Ordway and more will bring Gaiman’s interpretations of Odin, Loki and other Norse gods to the comics page.

Neil Gaiman brought new life to the Norse myths he loved as boy in his book Norse Mythology, and now the writer is teaming up with Dark Horse Comics to turn those stories into comics.

Dark Horse and Gaiman have previously collaborated on several books adapting his prose stories into comics, including “A Study in Emerald” and “Snow, Glass, Apples.” While those became stand-alone graphic novels, Norse Mythology will run as an 18-issue series. P. Craig Russell will help adapt the stories, like he did with “Murder Mysteries,” while artists involved with the project include Mike Mignola and Jerry Ordway, with others to be named later

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2019 Eisner Hall of Fame nominees announced

Jim Aparo, Dave Stevens, June Tarpé Mills and Morrie Turner will be automatically inducted, while voters will choose four more from a field of 14.

Comic-Con International has announced this year’s nominees for the Eisner Hall of Fame. They include the four judges’ choices — who will be automatically inducted — and 14 other nominees, four of whom will be inducted based on voters’ choices.

The judges’ choices are Jim Aparo, who is probably best known for his work on various Batman titles, including Batman and the Outsiders; Dave Stevens, creator of the Rocketeer; June Tarpé Mills, the Golden Age creator of Miss Fury; and Morrie Turner, creator of the Wee Pals newspaper strip in the 1960s.

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Gaiman + Dark Horse double down with ‘A Study in Emerald,’ more ‘American Gods’

Rafael Albuquerque, Rafael Scavone and Dave Stewart will turn Gaiman’s Sherlock Holmes/H.P. Lovecraft story in a graphic novel, as P. Craig Russell and Scott Hampton return for more ‘American Gods.’

Dark Horse Comics has been turning Neil Gaiman’s short stories and novels into comics over the past few years, and in the lead up to New York Comic-Con, they’ve announced two new projects with the writer of Good Omens and American Gods.

This week brings word that Rafael Albuquerque, Rafael Scavone and Dave Stewart will adapt Gaiman’s “A Study in Emerald,” a supernatural mystery set in the world of Sherlock Holmes and H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu. Per the release, “The heart-pounding tale features the brilliant detective and his faithful partner as they attempt to solve a horrific murder of cosmic proportions. The complex investigation takes the Baker Street investigators from the slums of Whitechapel all the way to the Queen’s Palace.”

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Dark Horse to publish ‘American Gods’ comic

P. Craig Russell, Scott Hampton and many more will adapt Neil Gaiman’s novel into a 27-issue comic series.

With all the attention on the upcoming television adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods novel, it’s no surprise that Dark Horse Comics has announced a comic book adaptation as well.

“There’s a tremendous amount of excitement, in my house and in the world, about the American Gods TV series coming up on Starz,” Gaiman said in a press release. “What we’ve managed to keep a secret until now is that there is something just as exciting out there: American Gods, the comic. I’ve been watching P. Craig Russell breaking down the book into comic form, watching Scott Hampton painting the pages, watching Glenn Fabry create the covers, and grinning to myself with delight, because the American Gods comic is going to be an astonishing, faithful and beautiful adaptation.”

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