Head to the beach with Archie and Darkling in this preview of ‘Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest’ #315

Check out an exclusive preview of a new story coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to help you kick off the summer with a preview of a new story from Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #315, which comes out June 28.

Writer Ian Flynn and artist Holly G! reunite Archie with Darkling, the mystical superhero from the 1980s who he has had his eye on in the past. Darkling’s not really a fan of the beach, but Archie wants to prove that the beach can be fun. Inker Jim Amash, colorist Glenn Whitmore and letterer Jack Morelli help bring this one to life.

Check out the preview below, along with this issue’s cover by Dan Parent and a complete, classic story starring Sabrina the Teenage Witch by Frank Doyle and Stan Goldberg.

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Sabrina bonds with Darkling as Steel Sterling teams with Pureheart in this preview of ‘World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #126

Check out an exclusive preview of two new stories coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of our friends at Archie Comics, we’re pleased to kick off the new year with a preview of World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #126.

We’re always happy to share the latest stories featuring some of our favorites from the Mighty Crusaders and Archie’s superhero line, and this time is no different. Up first we have a new story by Ian Flynn, Steven Butler and Lily Butler featuring a magical team-up between Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the mystical superhero Darkling. Then Archie in his superhero identity — Pureheart the Powerful — teams with Steel Sterling to take on the villainous Suprema. It’s by the legendary Tom DeFalco, who you might remember as the former editor in chief from Marvel and the writer of Fantastic Four and other titles, along with artists Bill and Ben Galvan.

Check out the previews below, as well as a classic story by Bill Golliher and Bob Bolling.

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Halloween comes early for Archie Comics in August

Lil’ Jinx hosts an Archie Horror one-shot, while a classic Archie story revisits the world of “Mirrordale.”

Archie Comics is starting the Halloween festivities early this year — well, early for most people. My wife actually starts decorating for Halloween at the beginning of September, and she’d probably go even earlier if I let her.

But I digress — Archie’s solicitations bring news of three Halloween-themed projects for the publisher. First up is Jinx’s Grim Fairy Tales, an anthology of spooky stories hosted by Lil’ Jinx, a character created in 1946 by Joe Edwards.

“Jinx is a character we’ve been wanting to explore more and we’re so excited we finally get the chance to . . . and what better way than having her as the cool babysitter who scares kids with creepy stories?” said Jamie L. Rotante, Archie’s senior director of editorial . “I mean, her name is JINX, how perfect is that? We were so happy we were able to blend the framework of spooky fairy tales and Jinx as our eager narrator and protagonist.”

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Archie Comics announces two Sabrina projects

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa will return to write ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ as well as a new series that spins out of the Netflix series.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch turns 60 this year, and to celebrate, Archie Comics has announced two projects written by Riverdale television series creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.

First up is the return of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the Archie Horror series that re-imagined the character and established her “satanic horror roots” that eventually made their way into the Netflix series. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #9 picks right back up where the series paused in 2017 with the “Witch War” storyline. Aguirre-Sacasa will team up once again with artist Robert Hack and letterer Jack Morelli.

“Bringing Sabrina and her family and friends to life on the screen for Netflix was a dark dream come true, and I couldn’t be prouder of our four seasons, but it all started with a comic book series that was truly a labor of love for everyone who worked on it,” said Aguirre-Sacasa. “Reuniting with Robert Hack and the entire Archie Comics team and getting to pick up where we left off has been the best homecoming I could have ever asked for.”

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Can Wait for Wednesday: DC, Marvel delay many of this week’s digital comics

Just a handful of digital releases will arrive on comiXology this week.

Although it seemed to take them longer to make a decision than most of the other publishers, both DC and Marvel have indicated that many of the single-issue comics they had planned to release this week digitally have been pushed out.

The news comes after Diamond Comic Distributors announced they would halt physical comics distribution to comic shops due to the coronavirus, starting with the comics originally scheduled for this Wednesday, April 1.

Many comics publishers announced fairly quickly after the news broke that they planned to hold off on releasing their comics digitally until their print releases were rescheduled.

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Comics Lowdown: RIP Monkey Punch, Kazuo Koike

Plus: Bill Mantlo in need, halfway through ‘Saga,’ awards and more.

The manga community has lost two legends in April, as both Lupin III creator Monkey Punch and Lone Wolf & Cub co-creator Kazuo Koike have passed away. Both men died from pneumonia six days apart, and were once considered rivals when their respective manga ran in Weekly Manga Action magazine. They also worked together on the Secretary Bird manga mini-series that ran in the magazine in 1970.

Monkey Punch, whose real name was Kazuhito Kato, was 81 when he passed away. His most famous creation, Lupin III, started as a manga and was later adapted into six animated television series, eight animated feature films, two live-action feature films, two musicals and several video games. He passed away April 11.

In addition to Lone Wolf & Cub, Koike is also known for such titles as Lady Snowblood, Crying Freeman, Samurai Executioner and many other popular series. His work influenced many American creators, including Frank Miller, who drew covers for First Comics’ publication of the series. Koike also worked on a few western series, including a Hulk manga and an issue of X-Men Unlimited. He passed away April 17 at the age of 82.

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Comics Lowdown: Comic books sales up in 2018, Marvel top publisher; stalker sets cosplayer’s car on fire

Plus: ‘Drama’ drama with the Ottawa Catholic School Board! Faith Erin Hicks! Jed MacKay! And more!

The 2018 direct market numbers from Diamond are in and comic sales are ever so slightly up from 2017. Comics saw an increase to sales by 3.3%, but graphic novels were down by 6.6%. The combined sales of the two formats mean a wee increase of 0.6% for the direct market.

Marvel Comics increased their market share slightly to gain an extra 2% over DC Comics, who seemed to have flat lined and lost 0.3% of their market share. This indicates that Marvel’s market share gains mostly come from the expense of small publishers or independent comic sales, with the exception of Image Comics, who also saw a slight increase.

The best-selling graphic novel of the year was Infinity Gauntlet. The 1991 story is enjoying a revival because of the Avengers: Infinity War movie. The best-selling comics was Action #1000, a landmark issue featuring unpublished artwork by legendary Superman artist Curt Swan and the introduction of writer Brain Michael Bendis to the DC universe.

Complete lists and more insight are available on comichron.com.

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For the first time, a graphic novel makes the longlist for the Man Booker Prize

Nick Drnaso’s ‘Sabrina,’ published by Drawn and Quarterly and Granta Books, up for the prestigious prize this year.

Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina, published by Drawn and Quarterly and Granta Books, has been nominated for the Man Booker Prize — the first such nomination for a graphic novel.

A baker’s dozen of books made the prize’s longlist, with the shortlist due out in September. The final winner will be announced in October.

The Man Booker Prize is awarded every year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the UK. Established in 1969, the award includes £50,000 in prize money as well as the £2,500 awarded to each of the shortlisted authors.

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Drawn and Quarterly announces 2018 titles

New graphic novels by Shigeru Mizuki, Rina Ayuyang, Nick Drnaso, Matthew Thurber and more.

At Comic-Con International on Saturday, Drawn and Quarterly shared their spring/summer line-up for 2018, which includes titles from Matthew Thurber, Nick Drnaso, Shigeru Mizuki, Rina Ayuyang and more. Here’s a rundown of what they shared:

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