Mail Call | Jim Mahfood’s ‘Grrl Scouts’ returns in November

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

Image Comics has announced a new six-issue Grrl Scouts miniseries from creator Jim Mahfood, titled Grrl Scouts: Stone Ghost. The first issue will arrive in November.

“I’m extremely excited about this new Grrl Scouts series and I think fans and new readers alike will be very entertained and definitely get a lot of bang for their buck with this one,” said Mahfood. “I’m introducing an entire new cast of characters, expanding on the mythology of the Grrl Scouts, and handling every aspect of the production of the book: writing, drawing, coloring, and lettering, to make this a very unique experience! This series is for fans and collectors alike who are looking for something different and off-beat when they’re staring at that wall of new releases in the comic shop.”

You can check out the first issue’s cover by Mahfood, a variant cover by Peach Momoko and some preview pages below:

BOOM! Box is ‘Getting Dizzy’ in November

Shea Fontana and Celia Moscote are teaming up for a new series form BOOM! Studios, titled Getting Dizzy.

“Getting Dizzy is where friendship, super powers, and skating collide. I’m so excited for readers to meet superheroes-in-the-making, Dizzy and her skater pals, and experience the friendships that can only be formed by falling on your face ten thousand times in front of each other,” said Fontana. “These quirky teens bring the laughs and the heart to the skatepark — all while saving the day in a major way.”

The first issue comes out in November.

Zanfardino + Romboli search for A Thing Called Truth

Image also announced a new five-issue miniseries coming from Shadowline in November — A Thing Called Truth by Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli. It’s about “a workaholic scientist who wants to save the world and a woman who fears nothing but discovering her own destiny find themselves mixed up in a chaotic, on-the-road adventure through Europe.”

The first issue will have two covers — the one by Romboli, above, and then one by Zanfardino, shown below — plus a variant by Mirka Andolfo:

Ben Reilly to face Morbius, Kraven in November

Marvel revealed more details and several covers for the November issues of Amazing Spider-Man, which will feature Ben Reilly in the titular role as part of the new “Beyond” era for the title. Four issues of the comic will come out in November, including “78.BEY,” which will be written by Jed MacKay with art by Eleonora Carlini, with a cover by Leinil Francis Yu. Art Adams drew the covers for the other three issues, which you can see in the gallery above.

Marvel spotlights the MCU with new variant covers

Marvel debuted six variant covers coming in November that pay tribute to the first six films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the first two Iron Man films, Hulk, Thor, Captain America and Avengers.

Here’s the breakdown on who drew them and where they’ll appear:

On Sale 11/3

Hulk #1 Infinity Saga Variant Cover By Joe Bennett

On Sale 11/17

Avengers #50 Infinity Saga Variant Cover By Arthur Adams
Iron Man #14 Infinity Saga Variant Cover By Marco Checcetto
Thor #19 Infinity Saga Variant Cover By Ema Lipacchino

On Sale 11/24

Captain America/Iron Man #1 Infinity Saga Variant Cover A By Taurin Clark
Captain America/Iron Man #1 Infinity Saga Variant Cover B By Adam Kubert

BOOM! Studios has announced a Magic:The Gathering one-shot, building on their license with Wizards of the Coast. Magic: Master of Metal #1 will materialize in November from the team of Mairghread Scott, Jorge Coehlo, French Carlomagno, Jacques Salomon, Francesco Segala and Ed Dukeshire.

‘Power Rangers Universe’ begins in December

BOOM! also announced a new Power Rangers project titled Power Rangers Universe. It’s described as a “brand new limited event series” that will “delve into the deepest origins of the Power Rangers, exploring the hidden secrets of the universe like never before.” Oddly, no writer was announced, but artist Simone Ragazzoni will draw it.

Ordway covers Ahoy’s My Bad

In their email newsletter, Ahoy Comics shared a variant cover for the upcoming My Bad by Jerry Ordway, with colors by Lee Loughridge. My Bad is a superhero spoof series from co-writers Mark Russell and Bryce Ingman, with artist Peter Krause. Here’s the solicitation info:

A sharp super-hero spoof from a stellar team that includes co-creators of Irredeemable and SECOND COMING! In Gravel City, the super-villain Emperor King has devised not only a sadistic death trap for his arch-enemy, The Accelerator, but also the means to penetrate the top secrets of his other arch-enemy, The Chandelier! IMPORTANT NEW COMIC BOOK UNIVERSE BEGINS HERE, we say sarcastically!

The first issue comes out Nov. 3.

Comics Experience Publishing to distribute Outland Entertainment’s titles

Last month Outland Entertainment outlined their ambitious plans to publish a line of comics based on the works of 1980s independent comics creator Barry Blair, starting with Dragonring. Comics Experience Publishing has announced that they’ll help Outland get these comics into the direct market with a new distribution deal.

“Outland has been creating explosive graphic literature since 2008, but their focus hasn’t been on the direct market until now,” said Andy Schmidt, Publisher at CEX. They also create games, which they’ve distributed through Studio2 Publishing.

“My whole career has lead to this point,” said Schmidt. “I’m all about removing obstacles for talented creators and, in the case of Outland Entertainment, other fantastic publishers. The world needs more great comics, and our partnership with Outland is going to deliver just that. I couldn’t be more excited about these books.”

Joe Clark joins the Ordinary Gods team

Image Comics has announced that music composer and arranger Joe Clark has joined the creative team for Ordinary Gods by Kyle Higgins and Felipe Watanabe. Clark will join Higgins as co-writer.

“Sometimes you meet a person and you immediately know that they will forever be a part of your life. Joe and I first met when we were 14 years old, playing trumpet together in our (very competitive) high school jazz band. But rather than competitors, we became fast friends, bonding over a love of music, cinema and comic books. In fact, it was Joe who first introduced me to the work of Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore,” said Higgins. “Over the years, we’ve collaborated on a litany of projects, including The C.O.W.L. Sessions, our original jazz album that accompanied our Image superhero series. Joe has always been someone I talk story with, a multifaceted creator who I could not be more excited for comics readers to finally meet.”

Clark joins the team with September’s issue #3, which will feature the above variant cover by Doaly.

Genis-Vell returns in Captain Marvel #33

Genis-Vell, the son of the original Captain Marvel who took up the name and costume before Carol Danvers, will return in Captain Marvel #33 this September. Above is the variant cover for that issue by Gerald Parel.

New Transformers mini debuts in October

IDW will kick off a new Transformers miniseries in October, Transformers: Wreckers—Tread & Circuits, by David Mariotte, Jack Lawrence and Candice Han. It’s about a “down-and-dirty Autobot special missions force.”

“The Wreckers are an idea that comes from the comics—a team of Autobots willing to do what other Autobots wouldn’t, and look cool as heck while doing it,” said Mariotte. “Every iteration has been a bit different, and with Jack and Candice on art, this one’s going to be a gorgeous new take on who the Wreckers are and how they do what they do best.”

Here’s a look at some additional artwork, including a variant cover by Anna Malkova:

Dark Horse to adapt ‘The Witcher’ short stories

Dark Horse has been publishing comics based in the world of The Witcher for awhile now, and now they’ve announced a series of graphic novels based on author Andrzej Sapkowski’s short story collection The Last Wish. They’ll start with The Witcher: A Grain of Truth next Spring.

The creative team includes writers Jacek Rembis and Travis Currit, with art by Jonas Scharf and a cover by Kai Carpenter.

Here’s the description: The famed witcher Geralt takes a shortcut down a beaten path where he makes a grim discovery of two corpses. Backtracking their trail, he’s led to a derelict mansion adorned with a rare elegance he can’t ignore. Geralt is met with the mansion’s owner—not quite human, but a beast with the faculties of a man. Unfazed by his monstrous appearance and displays of aggression, the beast invites him inside. A kind, but wary host, he shares stories of his family, his life . . . and his curse. If the weight of his misdeeds could condemn him to the body of a beast—a retribution spoken of only in fairy tales, could there be another grain of truth in these tales of fantasy—one that could help him elude his fate and lead him to salvation?

King + Smallwood have Human Target in their sights for November

DC Comics will kick off a new Black Label Human Target 12-issue maxi-series this November, by the team of Tom King and Greg Smallwood. It will also feature the Justice League International.

Here’s the description: Christopher Chance has made a living out of being a human target—a man hired to disguise himself as his client to invite would-be assassins to attempt his murder. He’s had a remarkable career until his latest case protecting Lex Luthor when things go sideways. An assassination attempt Chance didn’t see coming leaves him vulnerable and left trying to solve his own murder…as he has 12 days to discover just who in the DCU hated Luthor enough to want him dead. The DC Universe meets gritty detective noir in this DC BLACK LABEL series by two of comics most celebrated talents!

Bite Sized Archie comes to print

Archie Comics’ highly entertaining webcomic Byte Size Archie by writer Ron Cacace and artist Vincent Lovallo is coming to print next Spring.

“Bite Sized Archie started out as the answer to a question: “How can we create new, original and relevant content for our social media audience on a weekly basis?” said Cacace. “Our series is all about continuing the amazing legacy of Archie Comics, which is telling topical stories that reflect on pop culture trends featuring relatable characters and delivering them in an easy-to-digest format. By publishing as a weekly webcomic, we’ve been able to jump on topics faster than ever before while remaining uniquely ‘Archie.’ And thanks to Vincent’s adorably authentic art style, we’ve been embraced by everyone who has read our stories. It’s a dream come true for us to see our series make it to print and be delivered to an entirely new audience in comic shops and bookstores.”

Cliff Chiang returns to DC for Catwoman: Lonely City

Speaking of DC Black Label, Cliff Chiang will create a new Catwoman miniseries for them that launches in October. The first issue of Catwoman: Lonely City arrives in October. Chiang will write, draw, color and letter each of the four 48-page, Prestige Plus format issues.