Month: April 2023

‘Star Wars: Dark Droids’ kicks off in August

The crossover event introduces a droid virus that corrupts their programming and spreads like wildfire across the galaxy.

Both the Empire and the Rebel Alliance will face dire consequences when their droids break bad during an event that will run through Marvel’s Star Wars titles starting in August.

Announced during the Star Wars Celebration event earlier this month, Star Wars: Dark Droids will introduce something called the Scourge that will spread through the galaxy. It’ll infect everything from Lobot to a squad of Clone War-Era Prototype Battle Droids, bringing a sense of dread and horror to the Star Wars line.

The event kicks off in Star Wars: Dark Droids #1, which comes out Aug. 3 from writer Charles Soule and artist Luke Ross, before spreading through the other Star Wars titles. Here’s the rundown …

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Kate Beaton, Jonathan Dyck + more win at the 2023 Doug Wright Awards

Henriette Valium was inducted into the Giants of the North hall of fame.

The winners of the 2023 Doug Wright Awards were announced during the Toronto Comic Arts Festival last night, in an in-person ceremony that was also livestreamed from the Arts & Letters Club in Toronto.

In what could become a common refrain during this year’s award season, Kate Beaton’s Ducks took home the award for best book. The critically acclaimed graphic novel details Beaton’s time working in Fort McMurray during Alberta’s oil rush. Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth’s You Know, Sex from Triangle Press received multiple nominations, and took home the award for best kids’ book.

The Doug Wright Awards annually honor “the best work and most promising talent in Canadian comics.” Here’s the complete list of winners:

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Andolfo + Braga will release ‘Purr Evil’ on the world in July

The six-issue miniseries from Image Comics will feature ‘blood, sweat, tears and a tremendous lot of malevolent kittens.’

The cat’s out of the bag on Purr Evil, a new miniseries coming this summer from Image Comics. Sweet Paprika creator Mirka Andolfo will team with Harley Quinn artist Laura Braga to tell a story of mothers, daughters and evil kitties.

“I’m very excited to see this new comic come to life,” said Adolfo. “And, even more to have my friend Laura with me to work on such a great and fulfilling project, as well as Bryan Valenza, our colorist, Fabio Amelia, our letterer, and the whole team at Arancia Studio! I can’t wait to find out what the fans think of our new madness, and I’m enormously grateful to Image Comics and the other international partners for believing in our crazy project. We are sure fans will love it, too!”

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Dark Horse will publish ‘Transplants’ this fall

Dave Collard, Domenico Carbone and team combine organ donation and superheroes in a new graphic novel.

Dark Horse Comics has announced Transplants, a graphic novel by TV writer Dave Collard (Family Guy, Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness), with art by Domenico Carbone, colorist Josh Rodriguez and letterer Frank Cvetkovic.

“The idea for this graphic novel came, like all great ideas, while I was standing in line at the DMV,” said Collard. “When I checked the box on my license renewal, consenting to be an organ donor, I thought, ‘I feel bad for the poor sap who gets my very near-sighted eyes.’ And that led (naturally) to the questions, ‘Hey, what if Superman was an organ donor? And what if this square-jawed white dude had his powers transferred to a group of people who traditionally haven’t had power?’ All of a sudden, I finally had my way into telling a superhero story. With Transplants, I’m trying to deconstruct the superhero genre a little while placing it in the ongoing national debate about power and privilege. I hope you like it. But if you don’t, blame the Department of Motor Vehicles.”

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Marvel + Clover Press will crowdfund a series of fine art books

‘The Marvel Art Of David Mack’ and ‘The Marvel Art Of Alex Maleev’ will be available via Kickstarter.

Marvel and Clover Press have announced plans to release a series of art books showcasing different artists, starting with David Mack and Alex Maleev.

The Marvel Art Of David Mack and The Marvel Art Of Alex Maleev are described as “prestige coffee table books” that will feature “iconic images alongside rare and never-before-seen artwork.” Clover Press, which is no stranger to crowdfunding, will use Kickstarter to raise funds for both volumes — which might be the first time we’ve seen an official Marvel project on the platform.

“Since its launch in 2019, Clover Press has established a reputation as an eclectic publisher whose books celebrate the arts and the creative process,” said Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz. “The Marvel Art Of David Mack and The Marvel Art Of Alex Maleev are a testament to the vision of two awesome artists whose storytelling helped define the look and feel of today’s Marvel Universe. We’re working very closely with the artists on the design and contents of the book to create stunning art books that you will not want to miss.”

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The future’s gone to the dogs in ‘Scrapper’

Cliff Bleszinski, Alex De Campi and Sandy Jarrell tell the story of a stray dog who fights for justice in a post-apocalyptic domed city.

Video game designer Cliff Bleszinski, who helped bring games like Gears of War and Fortnite to life, is teaming up with Alex De Campi and Sandy Jarrell on a new comic series called Scrapper.

Image Comics will publish the science fiction series, which is about a stray dog living in a post-apocalyptic domed city

“As a lifelong fan of comics it’s an honor to actually create one with Alex,” said Bleszinski. “Scrapper comes from the heart; first, the loss of my Aussie Teddy and then finding puppy love again with our Pomsky Lady. I truly hope everyone enjoys this deeply personal work.”

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IDW cuts 39% of staff ‘in response to operational challenges’

The parent company of the publisher of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,’ ‘Star Trek’ and more will also delist its stock from the New York Stock Exchange.

IDW Media Holdings, the parent company of IDW Publishing, announced “significant moves in response to operational challenges,” including the elimination of 39 percent of its workforce.

Their 8-K statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission states that 28 employees were laid off yesterday. “The Board has elected to take these actions to preserve capital and put the Company in a better position possible to unlock value from its assets, including its intellectual property and ability to generate new intellectual property,” it states.

According to a report at The Beat, “the entire marketing and PR staff and half of editorial have been let go, including publisher Nachie Marsham,” who joined the company in 2020 after longtime IDW employees Chris Ryall, Dirk Wood and Alex Cox all left the company. IDW built a solid bench of editorial pros after those changes, and it’s really disheartening to hear that they’re having to go through this.

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Marvel’s ‘What If?’ returns this summer

Walt Simonson, Gerry Conway, Stephanie Phillips, Scott Eaton and more create new stories set in alternate universes.

Marvel has announced the return of What If?, their classic alternate history comic, for the summer, with four one-shots planned under the title What If? Dark.

I chuckled a bit when I saw that they added “Dark” to the title. If you ever read any of the original What If? run, you know that more times than not, the stories would take a dark turn. For instance, “What If Phoenix Had Lived?” ended with the death of pretty much everything else.

In any event, What If? helped introduce Marvel’s version of the multiverse, and this year will introduce four new universe where things took a different turn. The one-shots also mark the return of two classic Marvel creators, Walt Simonson and Gerry Conway, as they revisit stories they’ve become synonymous with.

Here’s the rundown:

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Preview: ‘Nervosa’ by Hayley Gold searches for hope amid disordered eating and the health care system

Check out a preview of the new graphic novel from Street Noise Books.

Courtesy of Street Noise Books, we’re pleased to share this preview of Nervosa, the new graphic novel from Hayley Gold.

Named for the eating disorder known as anorexia nervosa, the graphic memoir details Gold’s personal experience not only with the disease, but with navigating a health care system that seems “disinterested in the very patients it is supposed to treat.” I was impressed with the use of color in Nervosa, which is effective in its sparseness. Fans of Gold’s Letters to Margaret will note she uses a crossword puzzle in one of the sequences.

Nervosa is available now. You can check out the cover, a preview and the description from the publisher below.

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DC announces new titles featuring Power Girl, Fire & Ice

Both titles will spin out of May’s ‘Power Girl Special.’

The upcoming Power Girl Special will serve as the launching point for two new Dawn of DC titles.

Due out on May 30, the first story in the special, naturally, focuses on Power Girl, who has new powers as seen in back-up stories in the pages of Action Comics. Come September, Power Girl will star in her own title by writer Leah Williams and artist Eduardo Pansica.

Per DC, Power Girl will face “a long dormant Kryptonian threat” that has returned to take down Superman and his family.

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Birks + Roberts head south — far, far south — for the science fiction tale ‘Antarctica’

Top Cow and Image Comics will kick off the new series in July.

Simon Birks and Willi Roberts will follow a conspiracy to the bottom of the world in Antarctica, a new title debuting from Top Cow in July.

The story’s roots go back to a six-page short story in Top Cow’s Stairway Anthology, which came out in 2020. It follows a woman whose search for her missing father takes her to an Antarctic research station.

“Antarctica takes no prisoners, and I’m excited to share our adventure with the readers. Willi and I have created something exceptional; an incredible experience full of unique twists and turns to keep everyone guessing right up until the end,” Birks said.

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Marvel + Abrams team up for team-ups

Cartoonist Mike Maihack has two ‘Mighty Marvel Team-Up’ graphic novels in the works.

Marvel and Abrams’ partnership will continue in June and next January with the release of two Mighty Marvel Team-Up graphic novels, both written and drawn by cartoonist Mike Maihack.

Spider-Man: Animals Assemble! will arrive in stores on June 13, and features Spider-Man helping out the Avengers by pet-sitting for them. It’ll feature appearances by Redwing, Lucky the Pizza Dog, Captain Marvel’s cat Chewie, Throg and more.

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