Day: July 11, 2019

Loveness + Estherren fly into ‘Strange Skies Over East Berlin’

New miniseries from BOOM! Studios lands in October.

Jeff Loveness and Lisandro Estherren will bring aliens into the Cold War in Strange Skies Over East Berlin, a new four-issue miniseries coming from BOOM! Studios in October. Evan Cagle will provide covers.

“Through comics, I’ve been able to write space operas, dark religious epics and superhero stories, and now I can’t wait to write a sci-fi horror set within the bleak, creeping dread of the Cold War,” said Loveness. “The Iron Curtain surveillance state of East Germany is now far enough removed from us to seem shockingly familiar. It’s been humbling to research that world, only to see how many sad parallels of it we still endure today. There’s body-horror and sci-fi creeping through the paranoia of the story, but it’s also about what it means to be American in a world slipping away from you… a world that was perhaps never truly there to begin with.”

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Jeff Lemire is working on The Question + The Joker for DC’s Black Label

Both projects are due out this fall.

Jeff Lemire is always busy making comics, and this fall he’ll tackle two different projects for DC Black Label featuring the Joker and the Question.

First, he’ll team with his Gideon Falls collaborator Andrea Sorrentino on The Joker: Killer Smile. Lemire told io9 the series will feature “a more grounded, real-world Joker.” He’ll also team with Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz and Chris Sotomayor on The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Ben Sears

The creator of Plus Man and Hank discusses his latest book, ‘House of the Black Spot,’ working with Annie Koyama, designing covers and more.

Comics creator Ben Sears is known for his brilliant use of design, color and composition. His Double+ series of graphic novels feature all-ages adventures about two characters, Plus Man and Hank, and their various escapades as treasure hunters, breaking into haunted houses and old tombs.

His new book House of the Black Spot from Koyama Press is something of a departure for Sears. The wild adventures take a backseat as Hank’s uncle, who raised him, has died under mysterious circumstances, and the two go back to Hank’s hometown to try and solve the mystery. The art in this book manages to be as exciting and dynamic as anything Sears has made.

While the story is a lot quieter than his previous books, Sears makes it as engaging and intense an experience as his previous narratives. It’s his best work to date, and I was thrilled to talk with Sears about how his work has changed, Patreon and working with Annie Koyama.

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Who will reign as the Anti-Christ? Find out in ‘Blossoms 666’ #5 [Exclusive Preview]

Cullen Bunn, Laura Braga, Matt Herms and Jack Morelli’s tale reaches its final conflict, and no one in Riverdale is safe.

The Blossom twins’ devilish schemes will come to a head in the final issue of Blossoms 666 by Cullen Bunn, Laura Braga, Matt Herms and Jack Morelli.

Part of the Archie Horror line, Blossoms 666 features the two Blossom siblings, Cheryl and Jason, competing for the title of Anti-Christ. Throw in their long-lost brother and Satanist family, and you’ve got all sorts of trouble for the rest of Riverdale.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, take a look at an exclusive preview of Blossoms 666 #5 below, which wraps up the five-issue miniseries.

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Comics Lowdown: A meme story with a ‘fine’ ending

Plus: Fred Perry, Michael DeAdder, Kelly Sue DeConnick and more!

This Is Awesome: We all know the horror story of Pepe the Frog, who despite creator Matt Furie’s best efforts has taken on an unsavory life of his own. At Vulture, Abraham Riesman looks at a meme story with a happier ending, talking to creator KC Green about how he kept control of his “This is fine” comic, and even made some money off it as it went viral. There’s a lot here that other creators may find useful, plus it’s just fascinating to see the backstory of such a well known meme.

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