IDW adds three to editorial staff

Jamie S. Rich, Charles Beacham and Russ Busse join the publisher.

IDW Publishing has added three new faces to their editorial staff, they announced in a press release today.

Longtime comics fan will recognize the name Jamie S. Rich, a former editor at places like Dark Horse, Oni Press, DC Comics and Tapas Media, his most current workplace. Rich is also an accomplished comics writer and prose novelist, having worked on books like 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, You Have Killed Me and Lady Killer, among many others.

“IDW has a tremendous legacy for bringing people’s favorite characters from across genres and media to life in new and exciting ways,” Rich said. “I am excited to be a part of that and enhance that legacy. The editorial team has been doing some phenomenal work, and I look forward to innovating with them further.”

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Rest in peace, George Pérez

The renowned artist of ‘New Teen Titans,’ ‘JLA/Avengers’ and more passed away from Stage 3 Pancreatic Cancer.

Legendary artist and Eisner Hall of Fame member George Pérez passed away yesterday at the age of 67 from Stage 3 Pancreatic Cancer.

Pérez revealed his heartbreaking diagnosis last year and took every opportunity over the last few months to connect with fans of his work. The news was shared by his friend, Constance Eza, who manages his Facebook page.

“We are all very much grieving but, at the same time, we are so incredibly grateful for the joy he brought to our lives,” Eza said in the Facebook post. “To know George was to love him; and he loved back. Fiercely and with his whole heart. The world is a lot less vibrant today without him in it. He loved all of you. He loved hearing your posts and seeing the drawings you sent and the tributes you made. He was deeply proud to have brought so much joy to so many.”

The post states that a memorial service for the artist will take place at MEGACON Orlando at 6 p.m. on May 22. It will be open to all.

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Artists celebrate ‘May the Fourth be With You’ Day

Enjoy some Star Wars Day art — and a song.

Today is May 4, Star Wars Day, the day we are legally obliged to celebrate everything Star Wars. And many artists took to social media to fulfill their legal obligation, so let’s take a look at some Star Wars art:

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Dark Crisis expands with five specials focused on the Justice League members who just died

‘Dark Crisis’ will run through December with multiple tie-ins, crossover issues and more.

DC has revealed more of their plans for Dark Crisis, the big event series spearheaded by Joshua Williamson that kicked off in Justice League #75 with the “death” of several members of the Justice League.

I put “death” in quotes because with this latest announcement, we find out that all those dead Leaguers will appear in a series of specials over the next few months, with the big conclusion to the event expected to land in December.

Here’s a look at what’s been announced thus far:

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R. Kikuo Johnson’s ‘No One Else’ wins the 2022 L.A Times Book Prize

The graphic novel about a family on Maui dealing with grief was published by Fantagraphics last fall.

The Los Angeles Times has awarded R. Kikuo Johnson’s No One Else its annual Book Prize for 2022 in the Graphic Novel/Comics category.

“I once believed that awards were given mostly on merit, but obviously luck and other factors have just as much to do with it, and that makes me even more grateful that the dice rolled my way this time,” Johnson said on Instagram. “The five other finalists made beautiful books that make me proud to be a cartoonist and so thankful to the generation of artists before us who built the doorways that we get to walk through.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Last Call’ for Cooke’s Parker, plus ‘Twig,’ Obi-Wan and more

This week’s list includes new comics and graphic novels from Darwyn Cooke, Skottie Young, Kyle Strahm, Nyla Rose, Steve Orlando, David Cutler, Peter Milligan, Artecida, Zack Kaplan, Guilherme Balbi 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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Mark Gruenwald, P. Craig Russell + four more inducted into Eisner Hall of Fame

Judges chose six individuals for automatic induction and 17 for voters to choose from.

Six individuals will automatically be inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame this summer, with four more to be chosen by voters before the Eisner Awards ceremony at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Those four will be chosen from a field of 17, which include many names that make you stop and think, “Wait, they’re not in the Hall of Fame yet?” It’s a loaded field, leading to some hard choices for voters: Howard Chaykin, Gerry Conway, Kevin Eastman, Steve Englehart, Moto Hagio, Larry Hama, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, David Mazzucchelli, Jean-Claude Mézières, Grant Morrison, Gaspar Saladino, Jim Shooter, Garry Trudeau, Ron Turner, George Tuska, Mark Waid and Cat Yronwode.

The judges chose the following six people for automatic induction into the HoF:

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