Smash Pages Q&A | Hank Kanalz on the Marvel Masterworks line moving to Clover Press

The Kickstarter for the first four volumes is now live.

For nearly 40 years, Marvel Masterworks has been one of Marvel Comics’ definitive archival collections, bringing classic stories from across the company’s history to readers in carefully produced hardcover editions. Now the long-running line enters a new era with a new publisher, as Clover Press takes over publication.

The boutique publisher behind the line of comics-related art books, special editions and original comics launched its first Marvel Masterworks releases yesterday through Kickstarter, with plans to bring them to the direct market. The first wave includes Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 18; The Mighty Thor, Vol. 25; The Tomb of Dracula, Vol. 6; and Super-Villain Team-Up, Vol. 1.

The new editions will retain the familiar Marvel Masterworks legacy trade dress while also introducing a new variant design by Clover Press art director and co-founder Robbie Robbins. But the publisher’s plans go well beyond a new look. The books will feature extensive restoration work overseen by longtime Marvel Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier, including material restored from original art, new scans and high-resolution reproduction.

I spoke with Clover Press co-founder Hank Kanalz about how the partnership with Marvel came together, why maintaining continuity with the existing line was important, the challenges of restoring hundreds of pages of classic comics and what Clover Press has planned for Marvel Masterworks over the next three years.

Continue reading “Smash Pages Q&A | Hank Kanalz on the Marvel Masterworks line moving to Clover Press”

Marvel reveals David Colton as [SPOILER] in ‘Avengers: Armageddon’

The final page of today’s issue reveals whose powers the former Captain America received from that Origin Box

Hey, you like avoiding SPOILERS? Then please STOP READING NOW if you haven’t read today’s issue of Avengers: Armageddon, especially if you’ve somehow avoided any spoilers up until now.

OK, all read up, or simply want to know what’s going on? Then let’s continue …

David Colton has a new identity, and it’s a pretty significant one in the history of comics.

Continue reading “Marvel reveals David Colton as [SPOILER] in ‘Avengers: Armageddon’”

Marvel announces ‘Black Widow: Black, White & Red Room’ miniseries spotlighting Natasha + Yelena

Stephanie Phillips, Devin Grayson, JG Jones and more will contribute stories to the anthology series, which launches in December.

Marvel’s Black, White & Blood anthology miniseries returns this December with Black Widow: Black, White & Red Room, a four-issue miniseries featuring Black Widow, White Widow and the brutal training program that made them.

Each issue will carry three stories: one centered on Natasha Romanoff, one on Yelena Belova and one digging into the broader Red Room and the characters it has shaped over the years. And like the other miniseries in this format, all the stories will be told in three colors: black, white and red.

Continue reading “Marvel announces ‘Black Widow: Black, White & Red Room’ miniseries spotlighting Natasha + Yelena”

EC Comics’ holiday horror anthology returns with ‘Shiver Suspenstories 3’

John Arcudi, David Lapham, Jay Stephens and more contribute to this year’s anthology.

EC Comics’ holiday horror tradition continues for a third year with Shiver Suspenstories 3 #1, a 56-page special arriving in December from Oni Press.

The oversized issue will feature new stories from a lineup that includes John Arcudi, Sarah Gailey, Ryan Kelly, David Lapham, Jay Stephens and more.

The one-shot puts a horror spin on the holiday season, with stories on seasonal subjects like wintertime madness, holiday-party greed and Santa’s infamous Naughty List. The issue will also include a restored and remastered classic EC story from the archives.

Continue reading “EC Comics’ holiday horror anthology returns with ‘Shiver Suspenstories 3’”

Frankenstein’s Monster becomes a detective in ‘Prometheus Graft’

George Northy and Caitlin Yarsky are on the case in December.

Frankenstein’s Monster gets a new life as a supernatural detective in Prometheus Graft: The Slayings at Death’s End, a new series by writer George Northy and artist Caitlin Yarsky that launches in December from Oni Press .

The series reimagines Mary Shelley’s iconic creation as Prometheus Graft, a brilliant investigator who has spent decades reinventing himself after his creation. His scars have faded and his once-hulking form has been tamed, but as we all know, you can’t take the monster out of the monster.

“I’ve always adored an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit and wanted to create a classic detective tale with a supernatural twist,” said Northy. “But who to cast as the Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes or Benoit Blanc of this monster mash-up mystery? Then it came to me: The Creature in Mary Shelley’s iconic Frankenstein was brilliant, tortured and a ‘living puzzle’ himself. What if he set out to try to solve the mystery of what he really is—and who exactly makes up his disparate, grafted-together pieces—and, along the way, discovered a talent for solving all manner of occult mysteries? That became our hero detective, Prometheus Graft. In his debut mystery, Graft is invited to Death’s End Castle to observe a peace treaty renewal between clans of vampyrs, witches and werewolves—but instead must solve a series of brutal slayings to avert all-out paranormal war.”

Continue reading “Frankenstein’s Monster becomes a detective in ‘Prometheus Graft’”

Smash Pages Q&A | Zack Quaintance on ‘Death of Comics Bookcase: Reign of the Comics Bookcases’

Quaintance talks to us about his latest project, which is currently up on Kickstarter, as well as writing comics about comics and the enduring legacy of an aspiring actor-turned-furniture.

Death of Comics Bookcase started with a pretty simple question: What if a comics bookcase could tell stories?

Two years after the first volume, Zack Quaintance is back with Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 2: Reign of the Comics Bookcases, a 48-page anthology that uses its titular piece of furniture as a framing device for stories that range from superheroics and science fiction to fantasy and comics-industry satire.

Quaintance, a writer and editor at The Beat, brings his own experience as a comics journalist to the project, recruiting artists whose work he’s encountered through his reviewing and reporting. Reign of the Comics Bookcases features stories illustrated by Nick Cagnetti, John P. Golden, Luke Horsman, Ryan Lee, Jeremy Hyler and Jim Lavery.

The second volume is currently up on Kickstarter, following the first book’s successful 2024 campaign. I talked with Quaintance about the secret origin of the Comics Bookcase, finding the right artists for each story and what comes next for the Bookcase.

Continue reading “Smash Pages Q&A | Zack Quaintance on ‘Death of Comics Bookcase: Reign of the Comics Bookcases’”

Can’t Wait for Wednesday | The X-Men + Fantastic Four team up in ‘DNX’

See what’s arriving at your local comic shop this week from creators like Jed MacKay, Federico Vicentini, Che Grayson, Matías Bergara, David Pepose, Jonathan Lau, Adam Gorham, Guillem March, Derf Backderf, Leah Hayes and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what’s coming to your local comic shop this week.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights for this week below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So check with your retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Wednesday | The X-Men + Fantastic Four team up in ‘DNX’”

Smash Pages Q&A | Craig Hurd-McKenney on ‘Best Friend Show’

Craig Hurd-McKenney talks with us about ‘Best Friend Show,’ youth dog shows and finding the right story for a young-adult audience.

Craig Hurd-McKenney and I go way back, far enough that our connection to comics probably isn’t the most interesting part of the story. But I’ve had the pleasure of watching him create stories and comics from the beginning, and I’ve talked with Craig about his comics work for Smash Pages a couple of times over the years, most recently in 2025.

Now he’s taking on something a little different with Best Friend Show, a Young Adult graphic novel coming Mad Cave Studios’ Nakama Press imprint on Oct. 13. After a family illness and a breakup, the main character, Landon, spends the summer with his aunt at her dog rescue. There, he discovers an unexpected talent for working with dogs and finds himself drawn into the world of competitive youth dog shows.

Illustrated by Melisa Jones with colors by Jok, Best Friend Show is a story about dogs and competition on the surface, but Craig says his fascination with youth dog shows came from something deeper: the confidence and agency they can give young people. As Landon finds his way back into the world, his relationships with the dogs and the group of young handlers he meets become an important part of that journey.

I spoke with Craig about the real-life inspiration behind Best Friend Show, what he learned about youth dog shows, working with artist Melisa Jones and his longtime collaborator Jok, and the challenge of writing his first YA graphic novel.

Continue reading “Smash Pages Q&A | Craig Hurd-McKenney on ‘Best Friend Show’”

Carol Tyler, Lee Lai, Jesse Lonergan + more win at the 2026 Ignatz Awards

The annual awards were given out at the Small Press Expo in Maryland this weekend.

The 2026 Ignatz Awards, recognizing the best in small press comics, were presented last night during the Small Press Expo. The event featured a keynote by cartoonist Lisa Hannawalt, which you can watch in the replay of their livestream. I’d also recommend checking out Carol Tyler’s heart-felt acceptance speech at the end as well.

The winners list includes some (now) multiple Ignatz Award winners, including Lee Lai, Jesse Lonergan and Michael DeForge. While many of the winners were self-published, Drawn + Quarterly took home two awards, the most of any publisher.

The Ignatz Awards have been presented since 1997 and celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics. They are named for the brick-throwing mouse that appeared in the Krazy Kat comics by George Herriman.

Congratulations to this year’s winners:

Continue reading “Carol Tyler, Lee Lai, Jesse Lonergan + more win at the 2026 Ignatz Awards”

Marvel’s ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #1000 line-up now includes WWE’s Triple H

The publisher reveals the creative line-up for the milestone issue and shares a preview.

Marvel has already pulled out some pretty big names for Amazing Spider-Man #1000, but the landmark issue has one more surprise in store: WWE Hall of Famer and Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque is among the writers contributing to the oversized anniversary issue.

I believe this will actually be his comic writing debut — although he’s certainly appeared in a number of them, as publishers like BOOM! have held the WWE license in the past. He’ll be teaming with artist Ed McGuinness on a story titled “The Big Night,” which is probably safe to guess will be a wrestling-themed story. And it all makes sense, given Peter Parker tried his luck in the squared circle before he became a superhero. In another life, he could have led Degeneration X.

Here’s the rest of the creative line-up for the issue, which will have many stories:

Continue reading “Marvel’s ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #1000 line-up now includes WWE’s Triple H”

Clover Press reveals Marvel Masterworks plans, including four new volumes and a Jim Lee puzzle

The publisher will launch its new era of Marvel’s iconic archival series with restored editions of X-Men, Thor, Super-Villain Team-Up and Tomb of Dracula, and we have an exclusive look at one of the Kickstarter rewards.

The return of Marvel Masterworks under Clover Press was one of the more well-received announcements to emerge from San Diego Comic-Con this summer, especially from fans of the line. Now, the publisher is revealing exactly what that new era will look like as they prepare to launch the first Kickstarter for it.

Clover Press has announced the first four volumes of its ambitious plan to continue Marvel’s long-running archival hardcover series, with new editions devoted to The Uncanny X-Men, Super-Villain Team-Up, The Mighty Thor and The Tomb of Dracula. The books will feature extensive new restoration work, including hundreds of pages sourced directly from original art, as well as three distinct cover treatments, including a new trade dress designed by Clover Press co-founder and art director Robbie Robbins.

Continue reading “Clover Press reveals Marvel Masterworks plans, including four new volumes and a Jim Lee puzzle”

Smash Pages Q&A | Zeronis on the art of character design

The ‘League of Legends’ artist looks back at the games, anime and personal artwork that shaped his distinctive style in ‘Reminiscent: Art of Zeronis.’

Paul “Zeronis” Kwon has spent much of his career creating characters for some of the biggest games in the world, including League of Legends, where he helped design fan-favorite champions such as Ahri, Vi and Gwen. He also worked on the Star Guardian universe and K/DA, bringing familiar characters into different visual worlds.

But Zeronis’ path to the video game industry began much earlier, with Final Fantasy VII and a young artist trying to make friends after moving from Korea to the United States. Unable to speak English, he drew Cloud Strife from memory and gave the drawings to his classmates.

That early connection between games and art eventually became a career, but Zeronis says his artistic identity is still evolving. His new book, Reminiscent: Art of Zeronis, collects 152 pages of professional work, fan art and, most importantly, personal pieces that show the experimentation happening outside the constraints of game development. The deluxe hardcover is currently being crowdfunded through Kickstarter by Clover Press.

I spoke with Zeronis about finding his artistic voice, the difference between designing characters for games and for himself, the lessons he learned creating League of Legends champions and skins, and the games and anime that continue to inspire him.

Continue reading “Smash Pages Q&A | Zeronis on the art of character design”