‘Shuri’ jumps into her own series by Okorafor + Romero

Marvel launches a new series starring Black Panther’s genius little sister.

One of Marvel’s breakout movie sensations is getting her own comic, as the publisher announced this week that Nnedi Okorafor and Leonardo Romero are working on a new Shuri series.

Shuri is the younger sister to the Black Panther, who first appeared in comics during Reginald Hudlin and John Romita, Jr.’s run on Black Panther in 2005. When her brother was injured, she took on the role of the Black Panther, and later died when their home country of Wakanda was attacked by the evil Thanos cronies The Cabal. She was revived in the latest volume of Black Panther. The character was a big part of the Black Panther film and also appeared in Avengers: Infinity War.

“[Shuri is] an African young woman of genius level intelligence who is obsessed with technology and has traveled spiritually so far into the past that she’s seen Wakanda before it was Wakanda. The Ancestors call her Ancient Future. And she’s super ambitious. What do I love about her? Alllll that and more,” Okorafor told Bustle. “She’s a character in the Marvel Universe who really sings to me.”

Sam Spratt is providing covers; here’s his first one:

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Starks + Schweizer conspire to bring back ‘Mars Attacks!’

New series featuring the zany Martians from the 1960s trading card series begins in October at Dynamite.

Dynamite Entertainment and Topps have found a way to make me want to buy a Mars Attacks! comic — and their names are Kyle Starks and Chris Schweizer.

Starting this October, the duo — who are also best friends — will team up to revive the 1960s-trading-card-series-turned-1990s-feature-film, which, as the title implies, features Martians attacking Earth.

Mars Attacks! is coming back to comic stands and I’m thrilled to be a part of it,” said writer Kyle Starks. “I’ll be bringing my two-time Eisner nominated trademark humor and action to this totally awesome and classic franchise.”

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A slew of awesome creators deconstruct ‘The Dark Knight Returns’

‘Shitty Dark Knight’ brings together Dave Baker, Andrew MacLean, Jim Rugg, Zack Soto and more for the ‘worst possible execution’ of Miller’s classic comic.

In a week full of news and announcements about comics and related stuff, this right here is the one that most intrigues me. Several creators, including Zack Soto, Paul Maybury, Malachi Ward and Jim Rugg, have come together to “redraw” The Dark Knight Returns, the classic Frank Miller/Klaus Janson/Lynn Varley magnum opus from the 1980s. Their goal is to see how well the visual storytelling holds up.

Titled Shitty Dark Knight, the book can be pre-ordered from Dave Baker’s online store, and will also be available this week at Comic-Con International.

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Berger Books adds ‘Invisible Kingdom’ from Wilson + Ward to its line-up

The ‘epic multi-part sci-fi saga’ about a religious conspiracy debuts next year.

Dark Horse’s Berger Books imprint, headed up by former Vertigo editor Karen Berger, welcomes a new book by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward into the fold next year — Invisible Kingdom.

“It’s a delight to be working with my mentor Karen Berger once again, especially on such an exciting project,” said G. Willow Wilson in a statement. “Christian Ward’s art is truly visionary—this is one of the most dynamic collaborations I’ve ever been involved with. I can’t wait to show the world what we’ve cooked up.”

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Marvel debuts a new digital ‘Jessica Jones’ series by Thompson + de Lulis

Check out comiXology to purchase and download the first double-sized issue.

Following a not-so-cryptic teaser earlier this week, Marvel has debuted a new Jessica Jones digital series on comiXology.

Kelly Thompson and Mattia de Lulis team up to tell the tale of a cold case from Jones’ past — one she screwed up in typical Jessica Jones fashion. When her client winds up dead, Jones ends up as the chief suspect.

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Boothby + Lagace conjure up ‘ExorSisters’ in October

New series follows two sisters, Kate and Cate Harrow, with a dark secret.

After winning multiple awards for his work on The Simpsons comics for Bongo over the years, MAD Magazine contributor Ian Boothby is branching out to his own creator-owned property, ExorSisters, a new comic with artist Gisele Lagace. The new series launches in October from Image Comics.

“As a kid, I loved Scooby-Doo. That love for mysteries mixed with the supernatural then got me into shows like Buffy and Supernatural as an adult. If you liked those shows, you’ll love ExorSisters,” Lagace said in the press release. “It’s a universe full of fun and intriguing characters with many stories to tell.”

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Eat a bug: ‘Umbrella Academy’ returns in October

Gerard Way and and Gabriel Bá’s dysfunctional super-powered family make sits return this fall in ‘The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion.’

Dark Horse Comics has announced that Gerard Way and and Gabriel Bá’s dysfunctional super-powered family will return this October, as the duo get set for The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion.

It’s been almost a decade since we last visited the academy. The titular team debuted in 2007 with The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, which was quickly followed by The Umbrella Academy: Dallas in 2008. The story revolves around seven super-powered children who were adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, an extraterrestrial entrepreneur/scientist, and trained to save the world. After growing up and growing apart, the team reforms when Hargreeves dies and one of their number becomes a super villain.

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Mignola, CCI celebrate 25 years of Hellboy

Mike Mignola’s monster-fighting monster returns with three new projects from Dark Horse and a tribute cover on the CCI events guide.

This week’s Comic-Con International celebrates 25 years of Hellboy by placing Mike Mignola’s most famous creation on the cover of their annual events guide — while publisher Dark Horse Comics has taken the occasion to announce three new Hellboy-related titles.

“From the beginning I knew Hellboy was going to be a book about monsters fighting monsters,” Mignola said in a press release. “I started off with a 4-page teaser about a shabby dog at a gas station turning into the Egypian god Anubis, and since I got away with that I just kept going—the Baba Yaga, the Penanggalan, demonic Mexican wrestlers, Irish goblins, flying Japanese heads—there’s a whole world of monsters out there, so still plenty of work for Hellboy to do.”

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IDW to publish ‘Spider-Man,’ ‘Avengers,’ ‘Black Panther’ series aimed at younger readers

Marvel and IDW team up to ‘develop middle-grade comic books designed for younger readers.’

I guess this shouldn’t come as a shock, given how Disney has licensed IDW to create Big Hero 6 and Star Wars comics aimed at younger readers, but still, that headline …

IDW and Marvel announced today that they “will develop middle-grade comic books designed for younger readers. Featuring some of Marvel’s most popular characters, the monthly issues and trade paperback collections, published by IDW, will be available for sale at local comic book shops and book retailers across the country, expanding opportunities for the next generation of Super Heroes to experience the Marvel Universe.”

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Smash Pages Q&A: M.S. Harkness on ‘Tinderella’

Minnesota-based artist M.S. Harkness has been making comics and minicomics for a few years now, like Prizefighter, Normal Girl and A Savage Journey to the Heart of an Anime Convention. Kilgore Books just released her debut graphic novel, Tinderella.

The autobiographical tale is about dating, as the title makes clear, and it’s funny, living up to the title’s promise. It’s also a sharp and thoughtful look at life in one’s 20s — or a nightmarish and horrifying reminder of life in one’s 20s, depending on the reader. The book was excerpted in The Comics Journal before it was published, and I reached out to M.S. to ask about the book and how she works.

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Nominees announced for the 2018 British Fantasy Awards

‘Bitch Planet,’ ‘Monstress,’ ‘The Wicked + The Divine’ among this year’s nominees for the comics category.

The British Fantasy Society has announced the nominees for the 2018 British Fantasy Awards, including the “Best Comic/Graphic Novel” category.

The entrants are selected after two rounds of nominations, and votes are tallied from the members of the British Fantasy Society and FantasyCon. Winners will be announced Oct. 21 at FantasyCon 2018. Monstress took home the award last year.

The nominees in the “Best Comic/Graphic Novel” category include:

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Spider-Man, Doctor Strange co-creator Steve Ditko, 90, passes away

The pioneer of psychedelic surreal comic book art impacted culture like no other.

by Stephanie Chan and James Vicari

Legendary comic book artist Stephen J. Ditko has passed away at his home at the age of 90. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, the New York Police Department said that Ditko’s body was found on June 29th. The cause of death has not been released, but it is believed that he passed away two days prior to being discovered.

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