Month: July 2020

CCI@Home: Legendary Comics announces ‘Head Wounds: Sparrow’

New project from Oscar Isaac, Bob Johnson and John Alvey will be written by Brian Buccellato and drawn by Christian Ward.

During their Comic-Con@Home panel yesterday, Legendary Comics announced a new graphic novel called Head Wounds: Sparrow, that was developed by childhood friends Oscar Isaac (a.k.a. Poe Dameron from the most recent Star Wars trilogy), Bob Johnson and John Alvey, and will be written by Brian Buccellato and drawn by Christian Ward.

The story originated with Johnson, who had Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and used writing as a way to cope with his illness. During the panel, he said he had a dream where he had been shot in the head, but no one could see the wound — so no one could help him. Head Wound is about a cop who has a psychic “head wound” that pulls him into the war between angels and devils.

“Bob Johnson has a mind and a soul like no one else,” Isaac said. “Our friendship and creative collaboration has spanned nearly three decades. I couldn’t be more excited to bring his unique and singular vision of Head Wounds: Sparrow to life with the incredible group of artists we’ve assembled.”

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CCI@Home: ‘Crossover’ team reveals details on the new title

Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe and John J. Hill discuss their upcoming ‘anti-event’ title.

After teasing their new comic earlier this month, Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe and John J. Hill revealed more details about Crossover during a virtual panel as a part of Comic-Con@Home.

“Crossover is the scariest goddamn book I have ever attempted to produce in my entire life, and that is why it’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever done,” Cates said. He compared it to “Avengers: Endgame, but as Cloverfield,” then shared that the idea came to him while talking to Geoff Shaw about event comics back in 2017, before he worked for Marvel.

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IDW announces ‘Marvel Action: Chillers’ for October

The miniseries written by Jeremy Whitley will feature Ironheart, Doctor Strange and more.

IDW’s Marvel Action line, which stars Marvel characters in comics aimed at younger readers, will launch a biweekly Halloween-themed miniseries in October.

Written by former Unstoppable Wasp writer Jeremy Whitley, each issue will feature a framing story starring Doctor Strange and Ironheart, with a second “spooky adventures” tale starring Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Elsa Bloodstone and more.

“Marvel characters have an incredibly long and colorful history in horror stories, from the traditional Marvel Monsters, to Werewolf By Night, to Tomb of Dracula. Those were all titles that I loved growing up, and getting to introduce young readers to the world of spooky Marvel characters is an honor and a privilege. I can’t wait for everyone to see what we’re cooking up,” Whitley said.

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Transformers head ‘Back to the Future’ in a new crossover miniseries

IDW will debut the first issue in October.

Great Scott! Marty and Doc Brown will meet the Transformers in an upcoming crossover miniseries from IDW Publishing.

“When I was asked to write the official crossover comic, I could only shout ‘Great Scott’ and dive in,” said writer Cavan Scott. “It’s the perfect fit. Both Transformers and Back to the Future are packed with adventure, humor, and (most importantly) heart. Plus, it gave me a chance to play with multiple Transformers timelines, harkening back to some of my favorite Transformers storylines of the ‘80s, while also bringing in elements of all three Back to the Future movies. Look out for classic characters, both human and Cybertronian, and a few surprises along the way!”

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Smash Pages Q&A: Cole Pauls

The creator of ‘Dakwäkãda Warriors’ discusses his work, making a bilingual comic, the influence of ‘Calvin & Hobbes’ on his comics and more.

In his comics series Dakwäkãda Warriors, which was recently collected by Conundrum Press, Cole Pauls tells a story that draws equally from pop culture and from Southern Tutchone culture. If that weren’t enough, the book is bilingual, intended to help teach the Southern Tutchone language. Before I reached the end of the book, I found myself not needing the notes as I had picked up the ability to read a few words. 

It’s hard to say what’s more impressive, the ways that Pauls is able to craft a comic that is both entertaining and educational, or the way that he manages to craft a story that references and pays tribute to his culture, that is wonderfully specific, but also uses these pop culture elements to make it familiar, though Pauls is intent on using and subverting the stories in interesting ways. 

Conundrum just announced that they’ll be publishing Pauls’ second book, Pizza Punks, next year, and we have a preview of the book here. I spoke with Pauls recently about his work, what he doesn’t like about a lot of indigenous picture books, and the influence of Calvin and Hobbes.

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Killjoys will make more noise this fall

‘The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem’ will arrive in October from Gerard Way, Shaun Simon, Leonardo Romero and Dark Horse Comics.

It’s been about seven years since Gerard Way, Shaun Simon and Becky Cloonan teamed up for The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, the comic book spinoff of the My Chemical Romance album of the same name. Well, look alive, sunshine: The Killjoys, just like My Chemical Romance, are returning, in the new miniseries The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem from Dark Horse Comics.

According to Alternative Press, Simon and Way will be joined by illustrator Leonardo Romero, colorist Jordie Bellaire, and letterer Nate Piekos for the new series. Cloonan will return, but only to do variant covers:

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The Justice League at 60, Part One: Eight Eras

With the team’s first appearance arriving in December of 1959, Tom Bondurant looks back at the different eras that have defined the Justice League over the last 60 years.

The Justice League of America debuted on Dec. 29, 1959, in the pages of February-March 1960’s The Brave and the Bold #28. Therefore, since we’re in their 60th anniversary year, and since the feature is going through yet another transition, it’s a good time for a retrospective. This is an overview, so subsequent posts will examine each League era in more detail.

Although the JLA wasn’t the first all-star super-team – the Justice Society of America turns 80 on Nov. 22, 2020 – it casts a very long shadow over those which followed. Everyone from the Avengers to the Zoo Crew compares and contrasts with the League in one way or another. Indeed, there may not have been a Marvel Comics if (as the legend goes) its publisher hadn’t wanted a series to capitalize on the popularity of Justice League of America. Nevertheless, those groups’ successes have turned the League into something of a default. The Teen Titans are younger, the Justice Society is older, the X-Men are persecuted, the Defenders are ad hoc, etc. Over the years the League has tried its own various tweaks in attempts to stay relevant; but ultimately it’s reverted to the mean – a group of the “World’s Greatest Super-Heroes,” matched against comparable threats.

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Humanoids releases Jodorowsky + Mœbius ‘Metabarons’ story

Just in time for Comic-Con, check out a rarely seen story — and also take advantage of a great Humble Bundle.

Humanoids has released a hard-to-find Metabarons short story by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Mœbius on ComiXology this week, just in time for ComicCon@Home. You can purchase it for 99 cents.

“2020 is the 40th anniversary of The Incal,” said Humanoids Publisher Mark Waid. “With ComicCon@Home happening this week, we wanted to celebrate this anniversary by making this rare short story by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Mœbius available widely. This story plants the seeds for the great saga that would be told in The Metabarons. It is, as always, a great joy to see these two masters collaborate.”

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IDW promotes three following Ryall’s departure

Jerry Bennington, Jud Meyers and Rebekah Cahalin all move into new roles at the company.

In the wake of yesterday’s announcement that Chris Ryall is leaving IDW to pursue a new publishing venture, IDW has announced a new president and a new publisher, as well as one more promotion.

Ryall served as president, publisher and chief creative officer of IDW up until yesterday, but today’s announcement notes that the president and publisher roles will no longer fall under one person.

Jerry Bennington, who currently serves as IDW Publishing’s EVP of product management, has been named president of IDW. Jud Meyers, who is currently IDW Publishing’s sales director, will move into the publisher position. A new chief creative officer has not been named.

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‘Werewolf by Night’ will howl again in October

Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas will help tell the story of a new Native American werewolf.

As announced earlier this year, Taboo of the music group The Black Eyed Peas and his writing partner Benjamin Jackendoff will write a new Werewolf by Night miniseries for Marvel. Scott Eaton will join the duo for the tale of a new Werewolf by Night — a young Native American named Jake, who lives in Arizona.

“We’re going through a Native lens because of my Native American heritage,” Taboo told Comicbook.com. “I always liked storytelling from a native perspective. Although I was born in the city of Los Angeles, recently I’ve been really connected to the Indian country or to native communities to be able to be a service and help native youth, inspire them, especially when it comes to health and wellness, and arts and music. So we built our partnership knowing that when we create, we create through a native lens…”

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comiXology Originals, Kodansha to release ‘Shaman King’ digitally

The entire saga — including three volumes never released in English — will hit comiXology on July 28.

Kodansha and comiXology originals announced this week that Hiroyuki Takei’s shonen manga Shaman Kings will arrive on the platform in its entirety on July 28.

“It’s been over 10 years since I’ve completed Shaman King. But finally –– at last –– I can deliver the true ending to the story to the fans in America,” said Shaman King creator Hiroyuki Takei in the press release. “It’s a message from my heart, and I think it’s a particularly important one in this day and age. I hope that it’ll reach the hearts of many comrades.”

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2020 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award winners announced

The Hero Initiative, creators4comics, the Comicbook United Fund and Binc will all be honored later this week.

The Hero Initiative, creators4comics, the Comicbook United Fund and Binc have been named the recipients of the 2020 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award. Named for Beany and Cecil creator Bob Clampett, the award is given out annually as part of the Eisner Award ceremony each July.

The Hero Initiative received the award for its ongoing charity efforts; the organization has been helping comic creators in need for more than 20 years.

“Hero Initiative is honored to receive the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award for 2020. Now more than ever, organizations such as Hero Initiative, which helps comic book creators in medical and financial need, are desperately needed,” Jim McLauchlin, on behalf of the Hero Initiative, said in a statement. “We continue to focus on this mission, and continually build for the future. Hero Initiative would not exist without the widespread support and assistance of creators, fans, and publishers all over the world. We share this award with them. We are grateful, humbled, and very appreciative of the recognition.”

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