Marz + Lim ride the spaceways again in ‘Silver Surfer Rebirth: Legacy’

The miniseries will kick off in September.

Ron Marz and Ron Lim will team up once again on a Silver Surfer story set during their run on the title in the early 1990s. Silver Surfer Rebirth: Legacy will feature the former herald of Galactus teaming up with Legacy, aka Genis-Vell, the son of the original Captain Marvel.

The miniseries will feature the duo going on a “quest across time” that will also feature Thanos, Galactus and the Infinity Watch.

“I can’t say no to Silver Surfer, and I can’t say no to Ron Lim, so here we go again,” Marz said. “Playing in Marvel’s cosmic playground with Ron was how my career started, and I think I speak for both of us when I say this is right where we want to be. It just fits. This new series gives us a chance to build on the stories we’ve been telling, and tie them together into a bigger arc with Surfer at the center. We’re having a blast, so hopefully readers will too.”

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Comics Lowdown | Seuss settlement scotches mash-up

Plus: Politician under fire for threatening cartoonist, Al Plastino’s house is for sale, and more!

Dr. Seuss Enterprises and the creators of a Star Trek-themed parody of the perennial graduation gift Oh, the Places You’ll Go have settled out of court, and the news is not good for mash-up makers.

Johanna Draper Carlson has a quick summary, with links, at The Beat: Former Star Trek writer David Gerrold and artist Ty Templeton mashed up the Seuss book with Star Trek characters and themes to create Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!, which was supposed to be published by ComicMix. The famously litigious Seuss estate sued on grounds of both trademark and copyright infringement; the courts dismissed the trademark case in 2017, and in 2019 a judge found the book was sufficiently “transformative” and met the conditions for fair use. The Seuss folks appealed, and the parties settled out of court this week.

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Marz + Lim surf back to the past for ‘Silver Surfer: Rebirth’

Thanos, the original Captain Marvel and the Reality Gem will play a part in the new story set in the 1990s era.

Ron Marz and Ron Lim, who navigated the Silver Surfer through the spaceways in the early 1990s, will return to that era for Silver Surfer: Rebirth.

Much like X-Men: Legends and Symbiote Spider-Man, Marz and Lim will tell a story set in the past, one featuring the Reality Gem, Thanos and the original Captain Marvel.

“Turns out you can go home again,” Marz told Marvel.com. “Silver Surfer with Ron Lim was literally my first job in comics. The first comic page I ever wrote was drawn by Ron when we were both kids. And now three decades later we get to go back there and slip right back into that same groove. It’s so great to be wielding the power cosmic again.” 

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‘Almost American’ tells the real-life story of a former Russian spy

Ron Marz and Marco Castiello will help tell the story of former spy Janosh “Jan” Neumann and his wife as they defected to the United States.

Who’s better to tell a spy story than an actual spy? Almost American, by former Russian spy Janosh “Jan” Neumann, Ron Marz, Marco Castiello, Flavio Dispenza and Rus Wooton, will tells how Neumann and his wife defected to the United States in 2008.

AfterShock Comics will publish the miniseries, which sees Marz and Neumann unite in what Marz called “a beautiful friendship,” noting this was likely the first of several collaborations between the two

Almost Americans is the real-life story of husband and wife Jan and Victorya Neumann, Russian intelligence operatives who had to flee Russia for their lives, and wound up in America, caught up in the bureaucracy and red tape of the U.S. government,” Marz said.”The story is that much more fascinating because it’s all true. These are real events that happened to real people, and it gives some pretty fascinating insight into the intelligence world works … and doesn’t work.”

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Fund Me Monday | ‘Cupid’s Arrow,’ ‘Dagger Dagger’ and more

Check out new crowdfunding projects by Thom Zahler, Ron Marz, Matthew Dow Smith, Vincent Fiorello and more.

Crowdfunding continues to serve as a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors, as comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGoGo. If you’re looking to buy something from or support a creator directly, you’ve come to the right place. And that’s a good thing to do, now more than ever.

Send any suggestions of your own to jkparkin@yahoo.com.

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Fund Me Sunday: ‘Pink Lemonade,’ ‘Shots Fired’ and more

Find out about crowdfunding projects by Nick Cagnetti, Ominous Press, Doug Gray and … The Intergalactic Postal Service?

As crowdfunding continues to be a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors and connect directly with fans, comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGoGo. Here’s a look at a few recent campaigns that caught our eyes.

Pink lemonade #1

Who is involved? Nick Cagnetti and It’s Alive! Press
Deadline: July 27
Goal: $2,000

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Comics Lowdown: ‘Astro Hustle’ canceled after sexual misconduct allegations against Jai Nitz

Plus: Mark Alessi passes away; DiNKy award nominees and more.

Dark Horse Comics has canceled the final two issues of Astro Hustle after writer Jai Nitz was accused of sexual misconduct.

The allegations were first published on the Her Campus website by Hannah Strader, a University of Kansas student who met Nitz when he was a guest lecturer in one of her classes. Nitz, whose recent work also includes a Suicide Squad story for DC Comics, briefly deleted his Twitter account (which is now set to private) and bailed on his appearance at 2019 Planet Comicon last weekend.

“Dark Horse takes all allegations seriously. We have cancelled future issues of Astro Hustle,” the publisher said in a statement to CBR.com. “While we were unable to prevent our distributor’s shipping of Astro Hustle #2, we are also suspending our professional ties with Jai Nitz.”

Astro Hustle artist Tom Reilly addressed the cancellation on Twitter, saying it was “for the best” and showing support for the victim. And Nitz released a statement to Bleeding Cool, saying “I am stepping away from comics and public life. I am seeking counseling and trying to live a better life for my loved ones.”

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Smash Pages Q&A: Darryl Banks on ‘Harken’s Raiders’ and more

The former ‘Green Lantern’ artist and co-creator of Kyle Raynor discusses his new graphic novel with Ron Marz, his work on ‘Green Lantern’ and more.

Darryl Banks will always be remembered by many comics fans as the co-creator of Kyle Raynor, and the artist who drew Green Lantern for more than seven years. As I told Banks, “my” Green Lantern is Kyle, but what has always stood out for me is the ways that Banks managed to visually redefine the book in exciting ways. Since he finished his run on Green Lantern, Banks has drawn a few books, but he’s mostly been working outside of comics.

The fact that he’s drawing a new book is news in itself. He’s working with his Green Lantern collaborator Ron Marz on Harken’s Raiders, a very different project for the duo, telling a World War II adventure story about a commando team extracting a German scientist from behind enemy lines. The book is being kickstarted now, and one of the rewards is The Art of Darryl Banks, the first-ever art book from Banks. I reached out to ask him a few questions about what brought him back to comics and whether we’ll be seeing more from him in the coming years.

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Dynamite revives ‘Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt,’ ‘Turok’

Both comics set to launch in January.

Heading into this weekend’s New York Comic Con, Dynamite Entertainment announced two reboots of some old comic favorites.

First up is Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, by Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard.

“I’ve been away from the genre for a few years. This is me refreshed, grinning and more than a little bit angry. I want to try things. I want to have fun. Hell, we’ve created a whole new supporting cast of heroes for this series because we wanted to. I wanted to do a state of the art, state of the superheroic nation, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt is it,” Gillen said in a press release. “High adventure, big ideals, epic destruction, heroism, despair and nine-panel grids.”

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Spies save the world from the supernatural in ‘Beasts of the Black Hand’

Paul Harding, Ron Marz, Matthew Dow Smith and Neeraj Menon look to kickstart a new graphic novel featuring a British secret service agent’s battle against the mad monk Rasputin.

Ron Marz and Matthew Dow Smith have teamed up with sculptor Paul Harding for Beasts of the Black Hand, a new graphic novel they’re funding through Kickstarter. Featuring colors by Neeraj Menon, the first volume will come out in early 2018, “laying the groundwork for an epic multi-volume story.”

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