Month: April 2023

Wilson + Wildgoose present a ‘high fantasy tour de force’ in ‘The Hunger and the Dusk’

The new series from IDW will debut in July.

G. Willow Wilson, best-selling novelist and co-creator of Ms. Marvel, will team with artist Chris Wildgoose for a new “high fantasy tour de force” from IDW titled The Hunger and the Dusk.

The series will feature humans and orcs on a dying world who were once mortal enemies but now must team up to face an ancient race called the Vangol that threatened them both. The Hunger and the Dusk will be colored by MsassyK and lettered by Simon Bowland.

“During the pandemic, I thought a lot about the many different times in history when the world has come to an end. I was also revisiting the science fiction and fantasy comfort food that I grew up with, and bit by bit, almost like a bedtime story, this saga—with orcs and humans banding together in a world that is slowly becoming uninhabitable, with enemies facing the choice to stand together or die separately—began to take shape,” said Wilson. “Ordinarily, high fantasy is not something I write a lot of, but coming out of the pandemic, I thought, ‘To hell with it. Death is coming for us all. Do what you love. Write the hot orc saga.’ And here we are!”

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Blue Beetle will face a ‘Scarab War’ in September

The ‘Graduation Day’ creative team will continue to tell stories featuring Jaime Reyes this fall.

With the final issue of Blue Beetle: Graduation Day arriving this week, DC has announced that Jaime Reyes’ adventures will continue in September with an ongoing series by the same creative team of writer Josh Trujillo and artists Adrian Gutiérrez, Wil Quintana and Lucas Gattoni.

The miniseries introduced two new beetles, Dynastes and Nitida, and they’ll continue to play a role in the new series, with the first arc titled “Scarab War.”

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‘Gender Queer’ once again tops the ALA’s list of most challenged books for 2022

For the second year in a row, a record number of books were challenged in libraries and schools.

Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe’s touching graphic novel memoir about gender identity, topped the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books for 2022. It’s the second year in a row that Gender Queer has landed in the No. 1 spot.

The ALA’s annual top 10 list of the most challenged books expanded to 13 for 2022, which saw a record number of 1,269 book challenges for 2,571 unique titles (many challenges include more than one book). Most of the targeted books in the top 13 were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color.

“By releasing the list of Top 10 Most Challenged Books each year, ALA recognizes all of the brave authors whose work challenges readers with stories that disrupt the status quo and offer fresh perspectives on tough issues,” said ALA President Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada. “The list also illustrates how frequently stories by or about LGBTQ+ persons, people of color, and lived experiences are being targeted by censors. Closing our eyes to the reality portrayed in these stories will not make life’s challenges disappear. Books give us courage and help us understand each other.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Discover the secret architecture beneath the internet in ‘Worldtr33’

New comics and graphic novels arrive this week by James Tynion IV, Fernando Blanco, Tim Seeley, Gisele Lagace, Jelena Dordevic, Paul Cornell, Valeria Burzo, Skottie Young, Humberto Ramos, Devin Kraft, Ryan Ottley and more.

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

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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Smash Pages Q&A | ‘Boris Karloff’s Gold Key Mysteries’

Zane Barrow, Michael Conrad, Craig Hurd-McKenney and Jok discuss their work on the first title from the revived Gold Key Comics.

Gold Key Comics first began publishing comics in the 1960s, focusing heavily on licensed material from Disney, Warner Bros., King Features and Star Trek, among others. They also published some original material, including Solar, Turok and Magnus Robot Fighter. Their titles showcased a broad range of genres, from children’s titles to science fiction to superheroes to horror, through the 1970s and early 1980s.

It’s been almost 40 years since Gold Key was active, but one of 2023’s pleasant surprises has been the revival of the company. Entrepreneurs and comics fans Lance Linderman, Adam Brooks, Mike Dynes and Arnold Guerrero have not only relaunched the company, but also have revived one of its biggest titles from back in the day featuring iconic horror actor Boris Karloff.

The Kickstarter campaign for Boris Karloff Gold Key Mysteries, a new anthology title featuring new stories by Michael Conrad, Craig Hurd-McKenney, Jok, Steve Orlando, Kelly Williams and more, surpassed its funding goal very quickly. With three days to go, it’s just south of $40,000, so you still have time to get in on the ground floor.

I caught up with Hurd-McKenney, Jok, Conrad and editor Zane Barrow about the project, the draw of working on a Boris Karloff comic in 2023, their contributions to the anthology and more.

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Jeff Lemire’s ‘Fishflies’ comes to print this summer

Image Comics will publish the comic, which was first syndicated on Substack, starting in July.

Following its debut in print on Free Comic Book Day, Jeff Lemire’s Fishflies will launch as a series from Image Comics in July.

The series, which initially debuted as a subscriber-only digital series on Lemire’s Substack, is a tale of small-town surrealist horror set in Ontario. Each issue of Fishflies will be giant-sized at 56 pages each, and it’ll run for six bimonthly issues.

“For years the books I both write and draw seem to switch back and forth between grounded, slice-of-life human drama like Essex County and Royal City or more genre driven work like Sweet Tooth,” said Lemire. “With Fishflies I really tried to combine these two aesthetics into one big story. Fishflies has the scale and drama of my more grounded work but also the genre fun and mythology of things like Gideon Falls. I think the result makes it unlike anything I’ve done before, yet very familiar at the same time.”

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IDW + Dark Horse announce a Stranger Things + Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover

Cameron Chittock and Fero Pe will bring Eleven, Mike, Will and the rest to New York for an encounter with Splinter’s boys.

Do Eggos go with pizza? We’ll likely find out this summer when the kids from Stranger Things meet the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things, by writer Cameron Chittock and artist Fero Pe, will bring together the two properties in a four-issue miniseries published by IDW and Dark Horse Comics.

“I’ve loved the Ninja Turtles for quite literally as long as I can remember, and part of the brilliant alchemy of Stranger Things is that, ever since that first binge, it’s felt like it’s always been there. That’s a testament to Eastman, Laird and the Duffer brothers who tell stories that grab hold of you and don’t let go,” Chittock said. “Bringing their creations together is a surreal thrill, and we’re striving to fill every issue with moments worthy of their lofty standards. I can’t wait for fans to join us in 1985 to find out what’s lurking underneath New York.”

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The end is just the beginning in W. Maxwell Prince’s ‘Swan Songs’

The co-creator of ‘Ice Cream Man’ kicks off a new anthology series about the end of things.

W. Maxwell Prince has proven himself a master of the one-issue story, between the anthology series Ice Cream Man and Haha. Prince will continue this “one-shot formula” in July with the launch of Swan Songs, which will tell one-issue stories about endings.

The series will be published by Image Comics.

Martin Simmonds, artist of The Department of Truth, will join Prince for the first issue. The series will naturally start with the end of the world. Caspar Wijngaard will draw the second issue, which the artist says is about the end of a marriage. Filipe Andrade will also draw a future issue.

“It’s a shame that everything has to end,” said Prince. “But dem’s the rules.”

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Slugfest | Groo goes wild in a new miniseries

Plus: Batman Beyond, more Birdking, Thor vs. M.O.D.O.K., the return of ‘Fire Power,’ Hellfire Gala fashion and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier will reunite for Groo: In the Wild, a new miniseries that kicks off in July.

The duo is joined by letterer Stan Sakai and colorist Carrie Strachan for a story that sees the barbarian and his dog looking for food. Things go downhill from there, in typical Groo fashion.

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Dark Horse will publish ‘Monster Born’ this fall

Steve Niles, Shannon Eric Denton and Tom Mandrake team up for a new horror graphic novel.

Dark Horse has announced the first title they’ll release from Monster Forge, the production company founded by horror writers Steve Niles and Shannon Eric Denton. Dark Horse announced at the New York Comic Con plans to publish “an exciting new line” of projects from Monster Forge.

Niles and Denton are joined by artist Tom Mandrake on the project, known for his work on The Spectre, Grimjack, Swamp Thing and more.

Monster Born will introduce Amanda Lam, who was kidnapped as a child and grows up to become a monster hunter.

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BRZRKR returns in a new one-shot this summer

Keanu Reeves, Steve Skroce and Dave Stewart pit the title character against an ancient evil in ‘Poetry of Madness.’

BRZRKR may have ended last month, but you can’t keep a good immortal warrior down. BOOM! Studios has announced that writer Keanu Reeves will team with Steve Skroce and Dave Stewart on BRZRKR: Poetry of Madness in July.

The one-shot special will find the immortal B. facing off against a “Lovecraftian nightmare” in the ancient city of Atlantis.

“I loved the original BRZRKR series and I’m thrilled to be helping Keanu craft a tale of high fantasy and adventure in his creation’s singular, blood soaked style.  It’s action horror on a scale you can only get on the comics page,” said Skroce.

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Thomas + Kane present ‘a hard-boiled future detective yarn’ this summer

‘Weird Work’ by Jordan Thomas and Shaky Kane will introduce a gritty world filled with crazy characters.

Frank At Home On The Farm writer Jordan Thomas and Bulletproof Coffin artist Shaky Kane will team for a new miniseries, Weird Work, that applies Kane’s colorful, psychedelic artwork to a detective story.

Described as a mix of the “hard-boiled noir of LA Confidential” with “the bright, alien-filled worlds of Futurama,” the four-issue miniseries will arrive from Image Comics in July.

“While tightly scripted, the Weird Work universe was broad enough to allow me to put a pure comic book, Shaky-spin on the visuals,” Kane said. “A real fun book to draw. I just know that readers are going to share our enthusiasm for this off-kilter take on a hard-boiled future detective yarn.”

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