Nominees announced for this year’s L.A. Times Book Prize

Sammy Harkham, Derek M. Ballard, Emily Carroll and more were nominated this year.

The Los Angeles Times has announced the finalists for this year’s L.A. Times Book Prize, which includes a category for Graphic Novels/Comics. The prize recognizes books published in 2023.

The Los Angeles Times has given an award in the graphic novel category since 2009, when Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli won the award. Other previous winners include The Love Bunglers by Jaime Hernandez, Duncan the Wonder Dog by Adam Hines, Beverly by Nick Drnaso, Tillie Walden’s On a SunbeamThe Hard Tomorrow by Eleanor Davis and R. Kikuo Johnson’s No One Else. Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith’s Wash Day Diaries won the award last year.

The winners will be revealed on April 19. Check out the finalists below.

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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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DC announces new creative teams for ‘Wonder Woman,’ ‘Flash’

The two titles will celebrate their 800th issues before being relaunched as part of the Dawn of DC publishing initiative.

With both Wonder Woman and The Flash reaching their 800th issues in June, DC will release oversized, final issues of the current series. They’ll be followed in September by new series launched for both characters.

Let’s start with The Flash and that big 800th issue celebration. The current team of Jeremy Adams, Fernando Pasarin and Oclair Albert will be joined by several writers with some pretty heavy ties to the character — Mark Waid, Geoff Johns and Joshua Williamson. Artist Scott Kolins also returns to the character, along with artists Todd Nauck, Carmine Di Giandomenico and Mike Deodato Jr. — who will also draw the new Flash series kicking off this fall.

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Spurrier + Adlard will ‘Damn Them All’ in October

The new series from BOOM! Studios pits an occultist for hire against the 72 devils of the Ars Goetia.

BOOM! Studios has announced that Step by Bloody Step writer Simon Spurrier will team with The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard for a new horror series titled Damn Them All in October.

Damn Them All is the right project at the right time. A series mixing crime and occultism, it’s the perfect fusion of Charlie’s peerless storytelling and my own ghastly preoccupations,” said Spurrier. “It’s hard boiled, it’s clever, it’s bleakly funny, but above all it’s angry to its core. Angry at the world, at the injustice, at the £$%#s who run the show, and ultimately at the creator responsible for this utterly imperfect creation. This is a book about demons, in which—spoilers—the demons aren’t the bad guys.”

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Spurrier and Quinn put Nightcrawler at the center of ‘Way of X’

The new X-Men title will explore “the dark mysteries of the X-Men’s new way of life.”

With X of Swords in the back issue bins and the X-titles moving into what they’re calling “Reign of X,” Simon Spurrier and Bob Quinn are preparing for their own arrival on Krakoa. The duo will team up on a new title, Way of X, which features Nightcrawler, Dr. Nemesis, Pixie and Blink, among others, confronting “the dark mysteries of the X-Men’s new way of life.”

“I should probably just tell a lie for the sake of a neat elevator pitch and say that Way of X is a story about the creation of a new mutant religion,” Spurrier told Marvel.com. “But it’s not—not really. That’s kinda where it starts, for sure. Nightcrawler realizes something’s wrong with the hearts and minds of mutantkind and sets out to fix it. But as he quickly discovers, this isn’t a job for priests and prayers… The question is, what do they have to become in order to fight it? Preachers? Cops? Executioners? Or something entirely new?”

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Black Knight spins out into a solo miniseries after ‘King in Black’

Simon Spurrier and Sergio Dávila will tell a new story featuring Dane Whitman and the Ebony Blade.

Simon Spurrier and Sergio Dávila will launch a new Black Knight miniseries in March, following the character’s appearance in Marvel’s King in Black crossover.

Marvel recruited Spurrier, fresh off a recent stint on the critically acclaimed but unfortunately cancelled Hellblazer, for the King in Black: Black Knight one-shot that arrives next month, and must have liked what they read. Spurrier said he enjoyed himself as well:

“Having enjoyed myself a positively indecent amount while writing King in Black: Black Knight, I found that I was even more fascinated by the central character — Dane Whitman — than I’d realized. The surprising new take on him which we present in the one-shot opened so many new doors. Dane and his tangled lore are a treasure trove for anyone fascinated by story, mythology, folklore and psychology — all of which are very much my bag — not to mention the simple thrill of seeing a not-totally-well-adjusted man flying around on a winged warhorse with one of the world’s most devastating magical weapons in his hand,” Spurrier told Marvel.com.

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‘King in Black’ expands its kingdom

Marvel announces several tie-in titles for the upcoming Venom-centric crossover.

Symbiotes are back in fashion this winter, as Marvel’s King in Black event stretches its gooey black tentacles out to characters from Daredevil to Spider-Gwen to Valkyrie.

In case you need a refresher, Knull is the god of the symbiotes, and in King in Black, he’ll be taking on not just Venom, but the Avengers, the X-Men, the Hulk and more, as he heads for Earth. Now Marvel has revealed details on what existing and new titles will help support the event.

Here’s a rundown of what to expect:

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‘Doctor Aphra’ wins a GLAAD Media Award

The Star Wars comic featuring an original character created for the comics also featured a same-sex relationship.

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra has won a 2020 GLAAD Media Award, in the “Outstanding Comic Book” category. The awards were announced by GLAAD on Twitter.

The comic features the adventures of Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, a character created specifically for comics. She is a lesbian, having a same-sex relationship with Magna Tolvan, a member of the Imperial army when they first meet.

Aphra was created by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, but the comics that were nominated were created by a large cast of creators who GLAAD recognized on Twitter: Simon Spurrier, Emilio Laiso, Andrea Broccardo, Wilton Santos, Caspar Wijngaard, Marc Deering, Don Ho, Walden Wong, Chris Bolson, Scott Hanna, Elsa Charretier, Rachelle Rosenberg, Chris O’Halloran, Stephane Paitreau, Lee Loughridge, Edgar Delgado, Jim Campbell, Joe Caramagna.

The announcement video also included some words from Spurrier on the win:

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‘John Constantine, Hellblazer’ joins the Sandman Universe titles this fall

Simon Spurrier, Marcio Takara and Aaron Campbell take the character back to his roots.

After a move to the regular DC Universe, a movie, a TV show and even the announcement of a YA graphic novel, John Constantine will go back to basics in a new Hellblazer title this fall, as part of the Neil Gaiman-curated Sandman Universe line.

The day before Halloween will bring a one-shot by Simon Spurrier and artist Marcio Takara titled The Sandman Universe Presents Hellblazer. That’ll be followed by a new ongoing titled John Constantine, Hellblazer by Spurrier and artist Aaron Campbell.

“Year One was just the start. Now you get to inhabit the worlds, books and houses we built for you,” said Gaiman. “I was thrilled when I was told that John Constantine—the original, demon-haunted one who first showed up in Swamp Thing’s ‘American Gothic’ story—is coming back to his murky and dangerous roots. More magic and more darkness and not a few gods and dreams are here for you to explore.”

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When monkeys fly: Image announces ‘Angelic’

Simon Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard tell the story of teenage rebellion on a human-less Earth.

Simon Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard are teaming up for a new “young adult” title called Angelic, which launches from Image Comics in September.

“Angelic’s about teenage flying monkeys having adventures in the far future, because that’s totally a genre now,” Spurrier said in a press release. “But in the best traditions of age-friendly fiction—think Pixar or Ghibli—there’s also a bunch of meaty themes beneath the fun: religion, parenthood, technology and responsibility, it’s all in the mix. Ultimately it’s a tale about the Earth—after us. And all rendered in the unmistakably vivid color and crackle of superstar-in-the-making Caspar Wijngaard.”

Featuring genetically modified winged monkeys, techno-dolphins and quantum alley cats, Angelic tells the story of Qora, a flying monkey who doesn’t want to lose her wings in a human-less future.

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