Usagi returns to Dark Horse this September

Stan Sakai’s rabbit samurai contends with the mystical villain Jei in a new miniseries.

Stan Sakai’s long-eared samurai, Usagi Yojimbo, will return to Dark Horse this fall in a new miniseries, Usagi Yojimbo: Ice and Snow. The five-issue miniseries is part of Sakai’s Dogu Publishing imprint, which Dark Horse announced last fall.

“I’m very excited, honored and thankful to have my own publishing imprint with Dark Horse,” Sakai said at the time. “As the sole creator and owner of Usagi Yojimbo, this is a significant milestone. I’ve known Mike Richardson for more than 30 years and he is one of the pioneers and champions of creator-owned IP. As the industry continues to change, I feel he brings a unique progressive perspective.”

Dark Horse published Usagi Yojimbo for about 20 years, up until 2019 when it moved to IDW. That relationship did not last long, but did result in several Usagi-related projects, including color versions of the famously black-and-white title and a graphic novel featuring Chibi Usagi. This new miniseries will be in color, thanks to HiFi Colour Design.

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‘Shirtless Bear-Fighter’ returns in August to battle Ursa Major

The shirtless one fights again!

The day you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived — the day you find out there’s going to be a second Shirtless Bear-Fighter miniseries from Jody LeHeup and Nil Vendrell.

And if this is the day you discover there was a first Shirtless Bear-Fighter miniseries, then oh my — what a day to be alive. Image Comics announced the news with a press release filled with an appropriate number of bear puns.

Shirtless Bear-Fighter is quite possibly the most joyful comic of all time and given the events of the last few years, we could all use some of that joy right now,” LeHeup told ComicBook.com. “So I’m absolutely thrilled to announce Shirtless Bear-Fighter 2. We always said we wouldn’t do more unless we found the right story and boy did we find it. I cannot wait for fans to see what Nil and I have in store. If you thought volume one was wild, you haven’t seen anything yet. Prebear yourselves!”

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Ennis returns to the Punisher

Jacen Burrows joins Garth Ennis on ‘Punisher Soviet’ this November.

Garth Ennis is returning to Marvel to write the Punisher and he’s bringing his Crossed collaborator, artist Jacen Burrows, with him.

Punisher Soviet sees Frank Castle blamed for the death of 12 Russian mobsters — but he’s actually innocent this time. So he goes looking for the “kindred spirit” who beat him to the punch.

“There’s a brilliant simplicity about Frank. He never changes — in an ever-shifting and evolving world, he remains resolutely himself,” Ennis told Marvel.com.

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Pandas go wild in Rivera’s variant cover for ‘Shirtless Bear Fighter’

Fourth issue of the miniseries to feature a cover by the popular artist.

Following the “Nude Beariant” cover for Image’s upcoming Shirtless Bear-Fighter #1, Paolo Rivera reveals his variant cover for the book’s fourth issue.

While no one’s naked, it does feature gratuitous panda bears. Take a look below.

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Artists #WakeUpAndDraw for Jack Kirby’s birthday

To celebrate the 99th birthday of the King, artists are drawing his creation to benefit the Hero Initiative.

Today would have been comic book legend Jack Kirby’s 99th birthday, and to celebrate artists from all over the world are waking up to draw various Kirby creations — everyone from the Thing to OMAC to Fin Fang Foom. Many of the drawings are also being auctioned off to benefit the Hero Initiative.

Here are a few of them … you can find more by following the #WakeUpAndDraw hashtag on Twitter and other social media, or check out our Tumblr, where I’ll be posting others I see throughout the day.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Eric-Nolen Weathington on ‘Modern Masters: Paolo Rivera’

While Eric Nolen-Weathington’s Modern Masters Volume 30: Paolo Rivera was released late in 2014, this has been my first opportunity to chat with one of my favorite interviewers in the comics industry about his latest projects. Added bonus, I had no idea that Rivera was mentored by David Mazzucchelli, so that added another layer of enjoyment for this interview.

For fans of Jim Aparo, there is good news about the long-awaited Modern Masters edition. More immediately though the next Modern Masters subject will be J.H. Williams III.

Thanks to Eric for the interview.

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