Mail Call is a roundup of cool things we’ve received in our mailboxes recently from comics creators, publishers and more. Hit the links for more information.
DC Comics and Milestone Media revealed more details about the anthology they plan to release this coming February during Black History Month, which was initially announced during DC FanDome last month.
Milestones in History will feature Hardware, Icon, Static and more narrating stories “Black trailblazers from across human history,” including Hannibal, the Queen of Sheba, Alexandre Dumas and more.
The 96-page prestige one-shot will cost $9.99 and arrives Feb. 15.
Here’s the full solicitation:
Celebrate Black History Month the Milestone way, as the superpowered citizens of Dakota (including Static, Icon, Rocket, Hardware, and more) narrate the true stories of Black trailblazers from across human history! Witness the military campaigns of Hannibal and the Queen of Sheba, the literary accomplishments of Alexandre Dumas, the World War One dogfights of Eugene Bullard against the legendary Red Baron, and many, many more, all written and drawn by a who’s who of comics and literary talent! On sale February 15th, this 96 page anthology honors Black History from around the world in a beautiful, prestige format book.
Written by REGINALD HUDLIN, ALICE RANDALL, TOURÉ, MICHAEL HARRIOT, and more
Art by VARIOUS
Cover by CHRISCROSS
Variant cover by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
$9.99 US | 96 pages | Prestige Format | One-shot
Look for it on Feb. 15.
Love is in the air in Weird Love Tales
DC also announced their Valentine’s Day anthology, Weird Love Tales, will come out Feb. 8. The 80-page, $9.99 collection will include stories about Peacemaker, Dinosaur Island and more by Devin Grayson, Rex Ogle, Ram V, Ande Park, Phil Hester and more, with a cover by Yanick Paquette.
Monkey Prince #1 will come ‘wrapped in gold printed lucky red envelopes’
Also announced during DC FanDome was a 12-issue Monkey Prince series by Gene Yang and Bernard Chang. According to DC, the series starts on Lunar New Year, Feb. 1, “with select covers wrapped in gold printed lucky red envelopes to celebrate.”
Free Comic Book Day 2022 date set
Next year’s Free Comic Book Day will return to May in 2022, as Diamond Comics announced that the annual event will occur on May 7, 2022. According to the distributor, next year will bring 45 free titles, and while Diamond hasn’t revealed what those titles will be yet, Jeff Lemire did reveal at least one of them recently in his Substack newsletter:
The Bone Orchard Mythos is a new initiative from Lemire and artist Andrea Sorrentino, as they are planning to release several graphic novels and miniseries under that banner over the next few years. And it looks like fans will get their first taste of it in a Free Comic Book Day offering from Image Comics next year.
Manor Black returns next year
Dark Horse Comics will release a second Manor Black miniseries next year, by the team of Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt and Tyler Crook, who worked together on the first series.
Subtitled “Fire in the Blood,” the new series continues the story of Roman Black, a master sorcerer who takes a young fire mage under his wing. The first issue arrives Feb. 2.
Third Faithless miniseries debuts next year
A third Faithless miniseries by Brian Azzarello and Maria Llovet will debut next February, completing the planned trilogy by the two creators.
The six-issue sequel series begins as “Faith mysteriously reappears on the art scene with a hidden secret that spells disaster and damnation for everyone in this explosive end to the cult hit series.”
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to be working with Maria again, while being all melancholy at the same time,” said Azzarello. “I’m sorry for what we’re about to do to you, Faith. This is the end, beautiful friend.”
Copper Bottle launches Starsigns
Through his Copper Bottle Substack newsletter, writer Saladin Ahmed has launched a new, free comic titled Starsigns with Megan Levens with Kelly Fitzpatrick, Shawn Lee and Heather Antos.
While initially Ahmed planned to offer comics only to paid subscribers, he has reversed course and said that all comics offered through Copper Bottle will be free to read.
“The reason is simple: We want these stories to be read by as many people as possible,” he said. “We want them to be shared and talked about. That happens more easily with free work, especially in an environment where so many people are struggling so hard for basics that even a few bucks a month for comics is a luxury.”
While the comics will be free to read, he will continue to offer a paid tier with exclusive content like process images, interviews and sneak peaks, as well the ability to comment on posts on Substack.
Winter is coming at First Second Books
First Second Books has revealed the covers for their robust line of Winter 2022 titles. It includes new projects by Hope Larson, Sarah Winifred Searle, Tyler Page, Jon Chad and George O’Connor, whose long-running Olympians series will wrap up with a book on the Greek god of partying down, Dionysos.
Image will collect Tynion’s Razorblades
Watch your fingers, Image: the publisher will collect James Tynion IV’s Razorblades horror anthology next year into a deluxe hardcover.
Tynion has self-published Razorblades and sold it directly through his Gumroad site, and print issues have been hard to come by.
“I’m incredibly proud of this project, and the deep bench of horror talent we were able to bring on board,” said Tynion IV. “Not just with the usual crowd of writers and illustrators from one corner of the comic industry, but incredible horror talents from the full breadth of the medium, all around the world. I couldn’t be happier having a great big beautiful tome on the shelf featuring our entire first self-published run.”
Here’s the description from Image: Razorblades: The Horror Magazine features nearly 400 pages of chills and thrills from some of the most cutting-edge names in the genre. From monsters in the closet to bodies stuffed into washing machines, Razorblades redefines horror comics for the next era. This hardcover will also feature prose, illustrations, and in-depth interviews with horror icons like Scott Snyder.
It’s due out next April.
Dark Horse will collect Errand Boys next year
Dark Horse has announced plans to collect Errand Boys, a miniseries by D.J. Kirkbride (The Once and Future Queen, Never Ending), Nikos Koutsis (Invincible, Savage Dragon) and Frank Cvetkovic that was originally published by Image Comics.
Here’s the description: In the future, a decent job is tough to find, especially if you’re a hard-worn scoundrel with commitment issues. But there’s one position that’s always open—an errand runner. Jace is a lifelong solo act handling miscellaneous tasks that are often dangerous, and rarely legal, for the most questionable of clients. But when his thirteen-year-old half-human half-brother comes to live with him, he’s got two mouths to feed and this is the only one way he knows how to put money on the table. Between evading the law, running from angry aliens, and jumping off skyscrapers, can Jace survive being a big brother? Navigating to the furthest depths of the solar system, the only thing weirder than the vastness of space is family.
The trade paperback arrives April 13.
Z2 announces The Last Comic Book on the Left
Z2 Comics is teaming up with Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski and Ben Kissel, creators of The Last Podcast on the Left, for a new comics anthology.
The Last Comic on the Left will “pay homage to the storied history of horror comics with a curated, interlocking anthology in the vein of Creepy, Eerie, Tales From the Crypt, and The Vault of Horror.” The first volume will include contributions from James Tynion IV, Rick Veitch, Bob Fingerman, Tyler Boss and more.
“We are excited to expand our comic bloodlust with Z2 and The Last Comic Book on the Left,” Zebrowski said. “We get to see many of our more ‘colorful’ ideas receive the evil MAD Magazine treatment. Z2 works with some of the most talented artists and creators in the comic business and it’s a privilege to be in their talented hands.”
Shobo + Shof Coker’s debut miniseries coming in February
New Masters, a six-issue miniseries from Shobo Coker and Shof Coker, will debut from Image Comics in February.
In the comic, a “motley crew of outcasts find themselves caught up in a power struggle for control of an ancient artifact with immense power.”
“New Masters is the culmination of nearly a decade of work Shof and I have put into creating an authentic and thrilling future vision of Africa,” said Shobo. “I’m delighted to share the adventures of our crew of outcasts as they navigate the perils of this exciting new universe.”
The two Nigerian brothers received a grant from the Creators for Creators initiative in 2019, a nonprofit run by several independent creators with the goal of funding new creator-owned comics work.
X-Men vs. MODOK in February
X-Men #8 will find the X-Men going up against a fun and familiar foe — the villainous MODOK. The comic is by Gerry Duggan with art by Javier Pina, with a cover by Pepe Larraz.
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