Month: May 2022

Three Count | Steve Lieber, ‘Griz Grobus,’ newts

Here are three things to know, to read and to support today.

Three Count is a new column that spotlights, as the title suggests, three things from comics today. It’ll be three things with links, no more, no less. This is the second one, and a big bwahahaha to everyone who thought I’d only ever do one of them.

1. To Know: Steve Lieber’s alt.text skills are unparalleled

Earlier today DC revealed that the Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? team of Matt Fraction, Steve Lieber, Nathan Fairbairn and Clayton Cowles have reunited for a new story featuring Perry White as part of a one-shot that’s coming out next month.

While you can visit my original post from today to see what the final cover will look like, Lieber took to Twitter to show off an alternative cover he had created for the issue:

Continue reading “Three Count | Steve Lieber, ‘Griz Grobus,’ newts”

Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Savage Avengers,’ Earth-M, new ‘Fables’ and more arrive this week

Check out new comics and graphic novels from David Pepose, Carlos Magno, Greg Pak, Khoi Pham, Scott Hanna, Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Dean Haspiel, Geof Darrow, Johnnie Christmas, John Porcellino 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.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Savage Avengers,’ Earth-M, new ‘Fables’ and more arrive this week”

‘Perry White’ one-shot will include a new story by ‘Jimmy Olsen’ team

The award-winning team of Matt Fraction, Steve Lieber, Nathan Fairbairn and Clayton Cowles reunite for a new story about Jimmy Olsen’s boss.

DC has announced a new one-shot, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen’s Boss Perry White #1, which will not only come out next month (Great Caesar’s Ghost! That’s fast!) but will also include a new seven-page story from the team behind the award-winning Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? maxi-series.

Matt Fraction, Steve Lieber, Nathan Fairbairn and Clayton Cowles will have a story in the anthology, which will also include reprints of stories by Elliot S. Maggin and Curt Swan, Neil Kleid and Dean Haspiel, and Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis.

It really is Miracle Monday, isn’t it?

Continue reading “‘Perry White’ one-shot will include a new story by ‘Jimmy Olsen’ team”

What Are You Reading? | ‘Batman: Killing Time’ and ‘Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to Be Kin’

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately. Today’s edition includes thoughts on Batman: Killing Time and a new Shaolin Cowboy miniseries coming this week.

Let us know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments or on social media.

Continue reading “What Are You Reading? | ‘Batman: Killing Time’ and ‘Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to Be Kin’”

‘What a time to be (un)alive’: Zdarsky + Loo’s ‘The All-Nighter’ returns for a second season

The vampires-as-superheroes series continues with issue #6 this Tuesday.

The vampires-cosplaying-as-superheroes story The All-Nighter by Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo will return later this week for a second season.

ComiXology Originals has announced The All-Nighter #6, which follows the first five-issue arc that debuted last fall.

“I’m thrilled to be continuing this story with Jason,” Zdarsky said. “He’s become quite popular these days and has more than once said, ‘Who are you again?’ when I email him, so the fact that he’s delivering the best work of his career on volume two of The All-Nighter is fantastic! I think every comic book reader in the world should be reading this book, that’s just my humble opinion!”

Continue reading “‘What a time to be (un)alive’: Zdarsky + Loo’s ‘The All-Nighter’ returns for a second season”

Three Count | Ed Brubaker, public domain Dr. Seuss, Evan Cohen’s ‘Life’

Here are three things to read, to back and to buy today.

Three Count is a new column that spotlights, as the title suggests, three things from comics today. Or yesterday, or last week, or whatever. It’ll be three things with links, no more, no less.

[Image above: Reckless: Follow Me Down promo image by Sean Phillips]

1. TO READ: Reckless, the graphic novel series from the award-winning team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, gets the spotlight in this feature story by the L.A. Times. Jim Ruland, author of Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall of SST Records talks with Brubaker about ‘80s L.A., mining his personal history for the story and updating the lurid detective series his father used to read for the new century.

Continue reading “Three Count | Ed Brubaker, public domain Dr. Seuss, Evan Cohen’s ‘Life’”

‘Amazing Fantasy’ #1000 celebrates 60 years of Spidey

Neil Gaiman, Kurt Busiek, Dan Slott, Ho Che Anderson, Rainbow Rowell and more contribute stories to the anthology one-shot.

For the 60th anniversary of Spider-Man, Marvel will return him to his roots with a new issue of Amazing Fantasy featuring stories by Neil Gaiman, Kurt Busiek, Dan Slott, Jim Cheung, Olivier Coipel and more.

Amazing Fantasy #1000, which takes its name from the comic where Spider-Man first debuted, Amazing Fantasy #15, will be a giant-sized anthology one-shot. The stories will “explores the past and future of Amazing Spider-Man storytelling in tales that leave a profound impact on the Spider-Man mythos and showcase why Spidey is one of the most beloved heroes in history,” according to Marvel.com.

Continue reading “‘Amazing Fantasy’ #1000 celebrates 60 years of Spidey”

‘Wynd’ soars again in August

James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas return to the skies of Esseriel for a new five-issue miniseries.

James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas will return to the world of Wynd this August for another miniseries subtitled “The Throne in the Sky.”

“Wynd at its heart is about how people resist change in themselves and the world around them, and how that fear fills them with hate. It’s about how young people must navigate a world in which change is necessary, and overcome that hate to find themselves and find a path forward for their people and their world,” said Tynion IV.  “I’m absolutely thrilled to be working with Michael Dialynas to bring the Wynd saga to a whole new level. The stage has been set, the world of Esseriel is at the brink of war, and our band of teenagers are at the heart of unraveling a centuries old mystery that could change the face of their world forever. This is where our Fantasy epic kicks into a high gear, and moves ever closer to its action-packed climax. We can’t wait for you to see what we have in store for you.” 

Continue reading “‘Wynd’ soars again in August”

Azim + Del Col + Adams + Hickey win the Pulitzer for ‘Illustrated Reporting and Commentary’

The winning comic details an Uyghur woman’s escape from a Chinese internment camp.

Fahmida Azim, Anthony Del Col, Josh Adams and Walt Hickey of Insider have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for “Illustrated Reporting and Commentary,” for their comic “How I escaped a Chinese internment camp.”

The write-up by the Pulitzer committee says the creators received the award for “using the comics medium to tell a powerful yet intimate story of the Chinese oppression of the Uyghurs, making the issue accessible to a wider public.” The prestigious award comes with a $15,000 prize.

Ann Telnaes of The Washington Post and Zoe Si, a contributor to The New Yorker, were both finalists in the category.

This is a more expansive category for the Pulitzer, which previously recognized editorial cartoons for about 100 years — but not last year — and the new category widens the net to include the growing field of comics journalism.

Continue reading “Azim + Del Col + Adams + Hickey win the Pulitzer for ‘Illustrated Reporting and Commentary’”

Voting opens for the finals of the DC Round Robin tournament

It’s Superboy vs. Suicide Squad Dark in the final vote of the tournament.

DC’s second Round Robin tournament will come to a close this weekend, as voting has opened for the final round. The finals pit Suicide Squad: Dark by Zac Thompson and Garry Brown against Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow by Kenny Porter and Jahnoy Lindsay.

The tournament, which has been conducted through DC’s social media accounts and the DC Community message boards, allowed fans to vote on their choice for a new DC series. Last year’s winner was, appropriately, Robins by Tim Seeley and Baldemar Rivas, which brought together several of Batman’s former sidekicks. It went on to become a six-issue miniseries that recently wrapped up.

Continue reading “Voting opens for the finals of the DC Round Robin tournament”

Smash Pages Q&A | Andrew J. Kunka

The professor and author discusses his new book about the life and work of the late cartoonist Howard Cruse.

Andrew J. Kunka is the author of the book Autobiographical Comics and a professor of English at the University of South Carolina Sumter. The comics scholar’s new book is The Life and Comics of Howard Cruse: Taking Risks in the Service of Truth.

The book looks at the life of the late cartoonist Howard Cruse, but it primarily takes a deep dive into a lot of the short comics work that Cruse did over the course of his career. Cruse is known as the godfather of gay comics and is known for his graphic novel Stuck Rubber Baby, his long running comic strip Wendel and his role as the founding editor of Gay Comix. His short comics work, from the earliest stage of his career and the comics he drew in the later years of his life, have been understudied, and Kunka does a deep dive into why these comics, which are reprinted in full, are important. It is a thoughtful and deep analysis and celebration of an important and understudied cartoonist.

Kunka was kind enough to take some time out to talk about the book and his work.

Continue reading “Smash Pages Q&A | Andrew J. Kunka”

Can’t Wait for Comics | DC goes full dinosaur in ‘Jurassic League’

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week from Donny Cates, Martin Coccolo, Daniel Warren Johnson, Juan Gedeon, Charles Soule, Ryan Browne, Cullen Bunn, Guillem March, Joe Flood 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.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Comics | DC goes full dinosaur in ‘Jurassic League’”