Month: March 2022

Marvel will relaunch Shang-Chi in July

Writer Gene Luen Yang and artist Marcus To will continue the adventures of Shang-Chi and his family in ‘Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings.’

The current Shang-Chi series by Gene Yang and Marcus To will wrap up with issue #12 in May, but the leader of the Five Weapons Society won’t be gone for long. Marvel has announced that the previously solicited Shang-Chi #13 wll be re-titled and repackaged as Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings #1 in July.

Yang and To will remain the creative team on the series, which, as the title might have given away, will focus on the Ten Rings seen in the Shang-Chi film last year.

“It’s been such a joy to work with Marcus To over the last couple of months.  He’s a brilliant artist.  His characters are vibrant and full of energy, and he’s so good at fight choreography!” Yang said. “We’re all really excited about the new #1!  And about bringing in ten of the most powerful items ever into the Marvel Universe!”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Alisa Kwitney on ‘G.I.L.T.’

The comics writer, novelist and former Vertigo editor discusses her latest comic from Ahoy Comics, which she describes as ‘The Golden Girls’ meets ‘Sex and the City’—by way of ‘The Twilight Zone.’

Alisa Kwitney is a name familiar to many comics readers. For many years, she was an editor at Vertigo, overseeing The Dreaming and many other projects, in addition to being the Eisner-nominated writer of comics like Vertigo Visions: Phantom Stranger, Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold and A Flight of Angels. She’s also written number of other comics, including Token for the short-lived Minx imprint and Mystik U. Kwitney is also a well known novelist of books including The Dominant Blonde, Sex As a Second Language, and Cadaver & Queen, in addition to being one-half of the people behind the Endless podcast.

In the new Ahoy Comics series that launches next week, Kwitney and artist Alain Mauricet introduce us to G.I.L.T. An acronym, we come to learn, that stands for “Guild of Independent Lady Temporalists.” The book opens in 1973 before jumping to 2017 and to say much more would spoil it, but Kwitney was kind enough to talk about the book without, we hope, saying too much.

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Arizona Opera brings Georges Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ to comics

Back the Kickstarter for a new graphic novel adaptation of the classic opera by Alek Shrader, P. Craig Russell and Aneke.

You might not expect an opera to be referenced on a comics blog, but the two art forms have more in common than you might think, according to tenor, director, writer — and comic fan — Alek Shrader.

“Comics and opera have a lot in common,” Shrader told Smash Pages. “Engaging stories, interesting characters, artistic escapism… both art forms exist to communicate in storytelling. BUT, I think it’s the differences between live opera and comics that make graphic adaptation a strong idea. That being said, in their own fashion, both opera and comics tell dramatic and cathartic stories in meaningful, beautiful ways.”

In an effort to help connect more people to opera, the Arizona Opera has turned to Kickstarter to fund their first graphic novel — an adaptation of Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet, which itself was adapted from the novella by Prosper Mérimée.

“It’s a thrill for Arizona Opera to share the work of this remarkable team of artists through the graphic novel format and the timeless story of Carmen,” said Joseph Specter, Arizona Opera’s President and General Director, in a pres statement. “Throughout the pandemic, our company has constantly pursued novel approaches to connecting people through opera, when people need art and meaning the most. Carmen: The Graphic Novel represents an amazing opportunity to extend that focus on innovation, impact, and community.”

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Preview | ‘Mezo: Battle At Coban Rock’ #1

The new miniseries by Tyler Chin-Tanner, Val Rodrigues, Gab Contreras and Varga Tomi debuts in May.

Courtesy of the fine folks at A Wave Blue World, we’re pleased to present a preview of their new title, Mezo: Battle at Coban Rock, which kicks off in May.

The five-issue miniseries by writer Tyler Chin-Tanner, with artwork by Val Rodrigues, Gab Contreras and Varga Tomi, continues the story set up in Mezo: Rise of the Tzalekuhl. Though Mezo has some “show-stopping magical moments,” at its heart it’s a gripping wartime adventure filled with political intrigue and old-world combat, as the daughter of a fallen chief tries to form new alliances to turn the tides against the rising Tzalekuhl empire.

Below, you can check out the cover by Rodrigues, the variant cover by Terry Blas and five pages from the first issue.

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Comics Lowdown | Marvel editors participate in #DisneyWalkout

Plus: ‘Persepolis’ under fire in Pennsylvania school district! David Gallaher, real-life superhero! News on Behemoth, Zestworld, Julie Doucet and more!

Marvel employees joined their colleagues from Pixar, Lucasfilm and other Disney-owned divisions in a walk-out on Tuesday to protest the company’s response to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education act, which has become to be known as the “Don’t Say Gay bill.”

The bill bans lessons about sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade and prohibits lessons in other grades unless they are “age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate.” Critics say the law could stigmatize LGBTQ+ students, and lead to bullying and attacks. The bill has yet to be signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but it’s just a matter of time, as the governor has expressed his support for it.

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Smash Pages Q&A | Kendra Wells

The creator of ‘Real Hero Shit’ discusses the role-playing origins of the graphic novel, working with publisher Iron Circus, their work at The Nib and more.

For years now, cartoonist and illustrator Kendra Wells has been one of those people making short comics for various outlets including The Nib, where they excel at finding ways to make readers laugh out loud as their blood pressure skyrockets, remembering just how angry they are at what’s happening in the world. Last year they collaborated with writer Sam Maggs on the graphic novel Tell No Tales: Pirates of the Southern Seas, and Iron Circus just released Wells’ debut as a writer and artist, Real Hero Shit.

Real Hero Shit features a mismatched group of adventurers who, in between attacking each other, do actually stumble onto a mystery and manage to help a village. It’s funny and weird, and it manages to walk that very fine line of loving and paying tribute to the genre and its tropes, while also undermining and mocking almost all of them. And while it’s no surprise that Wells is able to write funny dialogue, they deftly manage to juggle writing a long narrative with character moments, humor and making a story that feel familiar but also surprising.

The first of hopefully many such books, Real Hero Shit is out now and next week, a new dating sim game that Wells is the lead writer for, Kiss U, goes live on Kickstarter. They were kind enough to answer a few questions about their book.

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Humanoids will donate some proceeds from new graphic novel to benefit Ukraine

Portions of proceeds from ‘Makhno: Ukrainian Freedom Fighter’ will benefit the Ukrainian nonprofit Razom.

Makhno: Ukrainian Freedom Fighter arrives in stores this week, and publisher Humanoids has announced plans to donate some of the proceeds they make from it to the Ukrainian nonprofit Razom, which supplies medical aid to Ukrainian fighters on the front lines.

The graphic novel was created by Philippe Thirault and Roberto Zaghi, and was published through Humanoids’ Life Drawn imprint. It arrived in stores today.

It’s a fitting choice, as the graphic novel spotlights Nestor Makhno, the real-life Ukrainian revolutionary from the early 20th century, who served as the commander of an independent anarchist army in Ukraine. They fought the Ukrainian National Republic, the Central Powers of Germany and Austro-Hungary, the Hetmanate state, the White Army, the Bolshevik Red Army and other factions that sought to impose their authority over southern Ukraine.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Going ‘Rogues’

New comics and graphic novels arrive this week from Gipi, Colleen Doran, Joshua Williamson, Leomacs, Larry Hama, Andrea Di Vito, Joelle Jones, Nick Dragotta, Caleb Goellner and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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Image will release print editions of Tynion + Zdarsky’s Substack comics

Both comics arrive in comic shops in June.

Image Comics has announced plans to publish print versions of two Substack comics — Public Domain by Chip Zdarsky and The Closet by James Tynion IV and Gavin Fullerton.

Zdarsky has been publishing Public Domain via his Substack newsletter almost since the newsletter went live last year, while The Closet debuted just a few weeks ago on Tynion’s Tiny Onion newsletter.

“In June, issue one will hit shelves, and it’ll be an ongoing monthly series (as long as my hand/arm/brain hold out)!” Zdarsky said about Public Domain, which he both writes and draws. “So for those of you who are NOT paid subscribers, you can check it out then and come back here to sign up and find out what happens next!”

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Mind control goes viral in Kaplan + Pearson’s ‘Mindset’

The new Vault Comics series debuts in June.

Vault Comics will publish the “new psychedelic sci-fi thriller” Mindset, written by Zack Kaplan (Eclipse, Port of Earth), drawn and colored by Eisner-winning Blue In Green artist John J. Pearson, lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and designed by Tim Daniel. 

“Mindset is a mind-bending sci-fi thriller about four wide-eyed grad students who discover mind control and put it in an app, and a dark journey that follows, twists and turns, murder and mystery, love and heartbreak through the absurd world of overnight technopreneurs and social media empires,” said Kaplan. “But the series is really about a dilemma I think we all feel today. How do we use devices, social media and apps to connect with each other and feel influential without allowing the technology to influence the very choices we make and thoughts we have? We believe the timing for the story couldn’t be more socially reverent, since we’ve increased our dependency more than ever on technology, but as Silicon Valley tightens its digital grip on our behavior, mind control exists right now.”

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Taboo + B. Earl + Ferreyra team for ‘Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man’

Marvel announces a new Spider-Man series that features the return of the New Mutants’ Demon Bear.

During a virtual event earlier this week celebrating Spider-Man’s 60th anniversary, Marvel announced Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man, a new miniseries by writers Taboo and B. Earl, and artist Juan Ferreyra.

According to Marvel Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski, the story will feature the return of the Demon Bear, the malevolent entity first introduced by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz during their stellar run on New Mutants.

“Being the first Indigenous writer to co-write this new Spider-Man comic with my brother B. Earl is a huge step in opening more doors for underrepresented talent to shape universally known comic characters,” Taboo told SYFY WIRE. “As a lifelong fan of everything Spider-Man, this is a childhood dream come true.”

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Stevan Subic will make his DC debut on ‘Riddler: Year One’

The Black Label title by Subic and first-time writer Paul Dano will kick off in October.

Renowned Serbian artist Stevan Subic, who has drawn the likes of Tarzan and Conan and worked with publishers like Soleil, Titan and Delcourt, will make his DC Comics’ debut on the Riddler: Year One, a new Black Label title coming later this year.

“DC Comics has officially unleashed the word & it is traveling around the globe already. Excited to join the flow!” Subic said on Twitter.

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