Day: October 11, 2023

Rest in peace, Keith Giffen

The prolific writer and artist whose career spanned decades and countless titles at Marvel, DC and more has passed away.

Keith Giffen, co-creator of Lobo, Jaime Reyes, Jack of Hearts, Maxwell Lord, and Rocket Raccoon, and co-author of some of the best Justice League and Legion of Super-Heroes comics of all time, has passed away.

The news broke on Giffen’s Facebook page, with a post that captured Giffen’s spirit and sense of humor:

“Keith was probably the most fertile creative mind of our generation in comics,” said Paul Levitz, who worked with Giffen on Legion of Super-Heroes. “He had an infinite number of ideas, pouring constantly out. Many, thankfully, never saw print as wholly insane or inappropriate. But the ones that did!”

The duo worked together on roughly five years worth of Legion stories. “Many of them he made far better than they might have been with any other collaborator, because of his ideas and contributions to character moments and drama,” Levitz continued. “A few we had rough times on, but I think no more than could be expected in a long relationship.”

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Oni Press announces four new titles for 2024

“Oni 2024” will bring new comics from Olivia Cuartero-Briggs, Zac Thompson, Roberta Ingranata, Chris Condon and more.

Following their partnership announcement with the Nacelle Company, Oni Press heads into New York Comic Con by announcing several new miniseries that will land the first months of 2024, dubbed “Oni 2024.”

Including Invasive by Cullen Bunn and Jesús Hervás, which was announced in San Diego this summer, the initiative begins with five new titles “that will fully embrace the potential of the comics medium to invert, collide and reinvent the foundational genres of horror, science fiction, crime, fantasy and beyond throughout the new year.” More titles are planned for subsequent months.

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Art Baltazar, James Kochalka + Kaeti Vandorn will bring Dr. Seuss characters to comics

Random House Graphic will release a new line of graphic novels featuring Cat in the Hat, the Grinch and more

Random House Graphic will publish a series of graphic novels featuring Dr. Seuss characters, starting with the Cat in the Hat next year.

Cat Out of Water by Art Baltazar (Tiny Titans) will arrive in stores next April, followed by a Grinch story by Kaeti Vandorn (Monster Friends) next fall and a Green Eggs and Ham spinoff by James Kochalka (Super F*ckers) in 2025.

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Oni Press + the Nacelle Company team for a new line of comics

The Sectaurs, Power Lords, Robo Force and more will return as part of a connected universe next year.

Oni Press and the Nacelle Company have announced a line of comics based on old toy and animation properties, including the Sectaurs, Biker Mice from Mars, Robo Force and more.

The Nacelle Company has been gathering up these properties since they were formed in 2017, with the idea to turn them into new cartoons, toys, films, podcasts and, now, comic books and graphic novels. Some of them appeared in comics decades ago as tie-ins to the original toy line or cartoon, back in the 1980s and 1990s when deregulation led to a huge influx in toy lines supported by animated shows that were as much ads for the toys as they were stories abut the characters. And in some cases, maybe more so. (Box Brown’s excellent The He-Man Effect tells the story of that particular era really well). Nacelle revealed several of the toy revivals at this year’s Toy Fair.

“Toys and comics have a long and storied history of mutual admiration and cross-collaboration. From Transformers and Micronauts to G.I. Joe and ROM, some of the most impactful comics stories ever told have drawn inspiration from the world of toys. Alongside our partners at Nacelle and our amazing cast of creators, we’re working to craft the next chapter in that time-tested legacy,” said Oni Press President and Publisher Hunter Gorinson. “Having seen firsthand Nacelle’s exciting and ambitious plans for the future, I know toy fans and comic readers alike are going to have a lot to look forward to in the Nacelleverse.”

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