Month: October 2023

Kate Beaton, Rachel Smythe + more win at the 2023 Harvey Awards

The awards were presented last night in conjunction with the New York Comic Con.

Last night the Harvey Awards were given out at New York Comic Con, in the six categories the awards program reintroduced in 2018.

Kate Beaton’s critically acclaimed Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands added another accolade to its shelf, taking home the award for “Book of the Year.” And Rachel Smythe’s Lore Olympus defended the “Digital Book of the Year” category, taking home the Harvey for a second year. And somehow the big blockbuster film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was able to squeak out a victory against The Stuff of Legend – The Board Game in the always odd “Best Adaptation” category.

Six creators were inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame: Chris Claremont, Walt Simonson, Louise Simonson, Marv Wolfman, George Pérez and Bill Griffith.

A committee of “diverse industry voices including creators, publishing professionals, retailers, educators and librarians” determined the nominees, and the winners were chosen by creators and other industry professionals. Check out the full list of winners below.

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Mary Jane hits the Jackpot in the upcoming ‘Gang War’ crossover

At NYCC, Marvel reveals more details about the upcoming storyline that springs from ‘Amazing Spider-Man.’

Today at the New York Comic Con, Marvel shared more about the upcoming Gang War crossover that’ll run through Amazing Spider-Man and related titles.

The crossover, which kicks off in December after a month of set-up in November, was first announced this summer at the San Diego Comic Con. The story will feature the gang lords of New York, including the Owl, Hobgoblin and Mr. Negative, as well as factions like AIM and Hydra, waging war against each other. It’ll be up to two Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales, as well as She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, Daredevil and more, to stop them.

At NYCC, Marvel announced that Mary Jane Watson will get involved in the war, starring a Jackpot one-shot by Celeste Bronfman and Joey Vazquez. It features a cover by Pablo Villalobos, and it hits stores on Jan. 17:

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‘The All-Nighter’ returns for a final season this Halloween

Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo reopen the diner for one more night and one more fight.

Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo’s The All-Nighter will return for a third and final season later this month, as the Comixology Originals series wraps up its run.

The vampires-turned-superheroes will face off with The Takers as they search for their missing friend, finally living up to the dream of being heroes.

“I’m incredibly excited to bring our vampire family adventure to its epic conclusion!” Zdarsky said. “We’ve taken them from flipping burgers to fighting crime, and I can’t wait to show everyone what’s next!”

Zdarskya nd Loo are joined by colorist Paris Alleyne, letterer Frank Cvetkovic and editor Allison O’Toole for The All-Nighter Season 3, which will be released monthly by Comixology Originals. Issue #11 debuts on Oct. 31.

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‘Martine Moon’ debuts on Panel Syndicate

Darko Macan and Goran Sudžuka’s new comic is about a ‘beautiful, bold and only slightly bitchy’ socialite who battles ‘aliens, gods, terrorists and scum from every corner of history.’

Darko Macan and Goran Sudžuka’s Martine Moon is now available on Panel Syndicate. Like everything else on the site, the first issue is available as a pay-what-you-want digital download.

The site’s co-founder, Marcos Martín, shared more about the new series in their newsletter:

Martine Moon is an action adventure story in the tradition of the newspaper strips of old and presented in a similar widescreen, black-and-white format. In the words of their own creators: 

“Beautiful, bold and only slightly bitchy, Martine Moon would like nothing better than to enjoy each new day, champagne and shrimp cocktails, but aliens, gods, terrorists and scum from every corner of history keep showing up and making her life impossible.” 

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DC announces six new Elseworlds projects for 2024

Andy Diggle, Leandro Fernandez, Greg Smallwood, Clay Mann and more will tell stories from across the DC multiverse.

DC will venture into the far corners of its multiverse next year with six new projects that were announced this week at the New York Comic Con.

Three of the projects are sequels to previous Elseworlds tales, including the well-regarded Gotham by Gaslight from 1989. They’ve also announced follow-ups to the recent Dark Knights of Steel miniseries and DC vs. Vampires, where several DC characters were turned into vampires and preceded to try and take over the world.

“Out-of-continuity stories have always been a pillar of DC publishing, granting creators the ability to explore all the wild corners of the DC Universe,” said DC Executive Editor Ben Abernathy. “We’re excited to bring a whole new slate of titles under the Elseworlds banner in 2024, combining some all-new titles from top storytellers, as well as sequels from the current DC line that fit that same out-of-continuity aesthetic.”

Here’s a look at the six projects:

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Penny Parker is on the case in this preview of ‘World of Archie Jumbo Comics’ #134

Check out an exclusive preview coming to Archie Comics’ newest digest next week.

Archie Comics has shared a preview with us of one of the new stories appearing in World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #134, which will arrives in stores Oct. 18.

In “The Gym-Daddy Mystery,” wannabe super-sleuth Penny Parker’s boxing instructor, Pug, finds himself on the wrong side of the law when his business partner mysteriously disappears. So Penny — along with Archie and Veronica — jumps to his defense and puts her detective skills to work. Bill Golliher, Bob Smith, Glenn Whitmore and Jack Morelli deliver the knockout punch on this one.

Take a look at the preview below, along with a “classic” story that involves Archie thinking he’s accidentally gained the ability to see the future.

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Geoff Johns, Brad Meltzer, Francis Manapul, Bryan Hitch + more form ‘Ghost Machine’

The creator collective will publish new comics across several genres through Image Comics.

Geoff Johns and Gary Frank are doubling down on their creator-owned projects, and they’re bringing a bunch of friends with them.

Along with Jason Fabok, Bryan Hitch, Lamont Magee, Francis Manapul, Brad Meltzer, Peter J. Tomasi, and Maytal Zchut, they’ve formed Ghost Machine, a “first-of-its-kind creator-owned and operated media company,” per the press release, where creators will co-own all the characters and universes developed, “sharing in all publishing, media, merchandise, and beyond.” They point to the recent Hollywood strike as an example of why creators need more empowerment in the current media landscape.

“Our ambition for Ghost Machine is to push beyond superheroes, introducing new genres, characters and shared universes, completely co-owned by all the creators involved. We see this as the future of how creatives will work and retain creative control and meaningfully participate in success like never before,” reads the Ghost Machine founding creators’ joint statement. “Our passion is for the magic of graphic storytelling and the emotional resonance of compelling characters. But we are not just a comic book company—we are the first wholly creator-owned and operated media company of its kind, born out of a desire to create and succeed together.”

The founders released a video explaining their vision for Ghost Machine:

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Kindt + McDaid go dimension-hopping in the ‘scuzzy cosmic sci-fi’ story ‘If You Find This, I’m Already Dead’

The miniseries from Flux House/Dark Horse Comics arrives next year.

Matt Kindt and Dan McDaid will go multi-dimensional next year in If You Find This, I’m Already Dead, a new miniseries about a reporter whose job takes her on a cosmic odyssey.

“If Moebius, Richard Corben and Jack Kirby had a baby…well…they actually did. And it’s us,” Kindt said. “We wanted to capture the great tradition of such great sci-fi magazines as Heavy Metal, Epic Magazine and 1984 with a big scuzzy cosmic sci-fi story and format.”

Kindt and McDaid will be joined by colorist Bill Crabtree and letterer Jim Campbell on the project, which will be released through Kindt’s Flux House imprint at Dark Horse Comics.

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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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