The Wasp will try to solve ‘every mystery in the Marvel universe’ in ‘Avengers Inc.’

Al Ewing and Leonard Kirk set up a new status quo for Janet Van Dyne and former Vision alias Victor Shade.

The Avengers are going full Avengers in a new series by Al Ewing and Leonard Kirk. Avengers Inc. will feature the original Wasp and Victor Shade, the former alias of the Vision, in a story featuring super villain murders, conspiracy and the pair solving “every mystery in the Marvel universe,” Steed and Mrs. Peel style.

Avengers Inc. takes the beating, buzzing heart of the original Avengers, teams her up with an undead mystery man with an identity so secret even he doesn’t know it, and sends them both out to solve the most amazing, fantastic and uncanny whodunnits the Marvel Universe has to offer!” Ewing said. “It’s kind of a classic ‘will-they-won’t-they’ crime-solving partnership—or it would be if the ‘will-they’ in question was ‘save the world from…’ Well, that’d be telling. See you in September!”

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Dark Horse will publish ‘Shook! A Black Horror Anthology’

The collection will include stories by David Walker, John Jennings, Rodney Barnes and more.

Dark Horse has announced Shook! A Black Horror Anthology, a new graphic novel coming to stores next year. The publisher is working with Second Sight Publishing on the project, which will include “more than 200 pages of dread, brought to life by award-winning Black writers and artists.”

The anthology will include stories by David Walker, John Jennings, Rodney Barnes, David Brame, Bradley Golden, Flavio Cortés and more.

“The Shook! project is a collaboration between John Jennings, Bradley Golden, and myself who all hail from the south,” said Marcus Roberts, collection editor and COO of Second Sight Publishing. “John and Bradley are from Mississippi, and I am originally from Georgia. Our brand of horror has been called Southern Gothic horror and this has been in the making for two years.”  

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‘Ultimate Invasion’ sets the stage for a new Ultimate Universe

Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch are setting the table for a superhero universe that’s a ‘reflection of the world outside your window.’

Marvel’s upcoming Ultimate Invasion miniseries won’t just revisit the previous incarnation of the Ultimate Universe — it will also set up a new Ultimate Universe, according to creators Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch.

“What made the Ultimate Universe originally really interesting was that it was a reflection of the world outside your window, in the moment that you were living in. What does it look like in the world we’re living in now?” Hickman said during a call with retailers yesterday. “It’s kind of shocking how much the world has changed in that period of time. The idea of what it would be like to see the genesis of super heroes in a brand-new world is a really fascinating exercise.”

The Ultimate Invasion miniseries, which kicks off June 21, will run through September. Then in November, Marvel will release a one-shot, Ultimate Universe #1 by Hickman and Stefano Caselli:

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It’s a battle for the ages in ‘Predator vs. Wolverine’

X marks the spot as The Predator hunts a very lethal target in the upcoming crossover from Marvel.

Claws will be poppin’ in the new miniseries Predator vs. Wolverine, which brings 20th Century Fox’s Yautja into the Marvel universe to hunt Wolverine.

This is the only logical reason for Disney buying 20th Century Fox, so that this story could exist.

Writer Benjamin Percy will be joined by multiple artists on the project, including Greg Land, Andrea Di Vito, Ken Lashley and Kei Zama, as a Predator hunts the former Weapon X across Canada, Madripoor and more in a decade-spanning story.

“The mythologies of both are ingrained in me so deeply they might as well be strands of DNA or wisps of soul,” Percy told Marvel.com. “The guns, claws, beef and blood of both franchises have been stewing in my brain since 1987, when I read myself to sleep every night with a stack of Marvel comics and my friends and I used to play ‘Predator’ with Nerf guns in the woods and river near our neighborhood.”

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Captain Flag means business in this preview of ‘World of Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest’ #26

Check out an exclusive preview of two new stories coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re happy to present a preview of two new stories from World of Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #26, which comes out June 14.

In the first story, Betty, Veronica, Kumi and Eliza Han, the new character created by Tee Franklin last year, face a camping crisis — and only Inferno the Fire Breather can help. Bill Golliher, Rex Lindsey and Glenn Whitmore channel The Doors in “Light My Fire.”

And in the second, Archie and the Superteens get an invite to the annual Crusader Cookout, where Captain Flag schools them on the proper way to display the American flag. Ian Flynn, Steven Butler, Jim Amash, Whitmore and Jack Morelli give us a patriotic lesson just in time for the July 4th holiday.

Check out both previews below, along with a complete classic Archie story by Golliher and Rudy Lapick.

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Colleen Doran, Alex Ross, Sarah Andersen among this year’s NCS divisional nominees

The National Cartoonist Society announces the divisional nominees for the 77th Annual NCS Reuben Awards.

The National Cartoonists Society has announced the 2022 NCS Divisional finalists for the 77th Annual NCS Reuben Awards, which annually recognize creators of comic strips, illustrations, comic books and more. The winners will be announced Sept. 7, and the nominees for their biggest award, the Reuben itself, should be announced soon.

The awards recognize the artist or cartoonist, so you’ll see work, the writer or publisher aren’t called out in the nominations. The graphic novel category nominees for this year include Colleen Doran, artist of Chivalry; Alex Ross, creator of Fantastic Four: Full Circle; and Christian Meesey, artist of Time Shopper. For comic books, the nominees include Brett Bean, artist of I Hate Fairyland; Ben Bender, creator of The Littlest Viking; and Robert Goodin, creator of The Kurdles.

Webcomics creators are recognized in two categories — long form and short form. In the long-form category, the nominees include Phil Foglio, Brad Guigar and Sheldon creator Dave Kellett. In the short-form category, Sarah Andersen, Tex creator Jesse Atwell and Rich Powell have been nominated.

Below is the full list of the nominees.

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‘Birds of Prey’ will return this fall by Thompson, Romero + Bellaire

Black Canary will assemble the ‘most dangerous’ Birds of Prey ‘for mysterious reasons.’

DC’s Birds of Prey will return in September by the creative team of Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire.

Thompson revealed the news both on Twitter and via her Substack, and also shared the team’s first member, Black Canary, with the promise to reveal more of the members throughout the week. Here’s a look at Romero’s design:

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Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘In Hell We Fight,’ ‘Loki’ ‘The Flash’ #800 and more

Check out comics and graphic novels this week by John Layman, Jok, G. Willow Wilson, Jim Benton, Dan Watters, Germán Peralta, Michael Dorn, Sami Basri, Rob Liefeld, Mattie Lubchansky 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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Matt Emmons unleashes ‘Crusader’ at Mad Cave

The new series begins in September.

Mad Cave has announced a new series by writer/artist Matt Emmons — Crusader, the story of a Templar knight who has to battle his way through a high-fantasy world. He’s joined by letterer Andriy Lukin on the project.

“I’ve been trying to capture the feeling of a pulpy, fun adventure story that embodies everything I’ve loved about the genre, and I hope it translates,” Emmons said. “I’ve also been wanting to draw Pilgrim in action for years, so it’s very exciting to finally bring him to the page. Crusader has been a fun challenge!”

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Oni Press teases a new ‘The Sixth Gun’ project from Bunn + Hurtt

“Sometimes what’s dead doesn’t stay gone.”

Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s The Sixth Gun may have ended in 2016, but “Sometimes what’s dead doesn’t stay gone.”

A new teaser released by Oni Press today hints that a new The Sixth Gun project is on the way via Kickstarter. While the supernatural western had a definitive end, Bunn and Hurtt always hinted that they had more stories to tell, and even launched a second series, Shadow Roads, that was set in the same world.

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A new D-Squad assembles for the ‘Dark Droids’ Star Wars event

Marc Guggenheim, Salva Espín and David Messina will pit R2D2 and a squad of droids against the Scourge.

Marvel’s upcoming Dark Droids crossover event will resurrect a concept from the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series — the D-Squad. Marc Guggenheim, Salva Espín and David Messina will enlist a group of droids to help R2D2 battle the Scourge, the virus spreading through the galaxy’s droid population that’s making them turn homicidal.

While Dark Droids has been billed as a horror story set in the Star Wars universe, Guggenheim says the D-Squad miniseries will have a different tone.

“It’s high adventure mixed with as much humor as I could conjure. I approached it like the first Avengers movie, but with droids instead of superheroes,” he told StarWars.com.

The original D-Squad was a group of astromech droids, which is the type of droid R2D2 is. This time around the squad will feature several different types of droids, including two bounty hunters.

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Sunday Comics | Read these Eisner nominees online

Check out webcomics by Jimmy Stamp, Débora Santos, Michael Adam Lengyel, Joshua Barkman and more.

With the Eisner Award nominations still fresh on everyone’s minds, I thought I’d take a look this time at some of the nominees you can read for free online, starting with one of the nominations for “Best Short Story.”

The Beekeeper’s Due by Jimmy Stamp and Débora Santos originally appeared in Scott Snyder Presents: Tales from the Cloakroom, a collection of stories by students in Snyder’s Substack writing course. The anthology was crowdfunded, so it might not be as easy to find as the other stories it is competing against from Marvel, DC and Z2, which could hurt its chances.

But the creators have a remedy for that — put it out on the web for free.

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