Month: May 2024

Tim Bird incorporates his mother’s paintings into the stunning ‘Adrift on a Painted Sea’

Check out our exclusive preview of the new graphic novel, which Avery Hill is currently funding through Kickstarter.

Courtesy of Avery Hill Publishing, we’re happy to present a preview of Adrift on a Painted Sea, a new graphic novel by Tim Bird that also features the paintings of his mother Sue Bird. It’s currently up on Kickstarter, with a campaign that runs through June 21.

Bird is an award-winning illustrator and comic artist based in Winchester, England; his graphic novel From the City to the Sea a British Comic Award in 2015. He’s published a number of comics through Avery Hill, including The Great North Wood and Infrastructure, but this latest one may be his most personal work yet.

Adrift on a Painted Sea is about the life of Bird’s mother, who passed away during the height of COVID. She was an amateur painter who created countless works of art — botanical art, landscapes, still lifes and painting of the sea. She never sold her paintings, but would give them away to family and friends, and hang them in her own home. Bird has brilliantly combined his own comics work with her paintings to capture her life, and also showcase her incredible work.

You can find our preview below, along with more information on the graphic novel.

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Chip Zdarsky sets up at DSTLRY for a four-book deal

The first miniseries, ‘Time Waits,’ is co-written by David Brothers and features artwork by Marcus To.

Over the past several months we’ve seen DSTLRY roll out miniseries after miniseries from their founding creators, all spinning out of their first anthology, The Devil’s Cut. But with their announcements for August, we’re starting to see them branch out from that list, starting with The Missionary by Ryan Stegman and Jason Howard, and now Time Waits by co-writers Chip Zdarsky and David Brothers, artists Marcus To and Matt Wilson, and letterer Ariana Maher.

TBH I was surprised that Zdarsky was not on the list of DSTLRY’s founding creators, back when they rolled out the new company. Zdarsky worked with founders Chip Mosher and David Steinberger during their time at Comixology, even garnering an Eisner Award for Afterlift, his comic with artist Jason Loo. But this week’s announcement shares that he has a four-book deal with them at DSTLRY.

“I’m really excited to work with the DSTLRY crew again, who helped usher in Afterlift and The All-Nighter over at Comixology,” Zdarsky said in his newsletter. “So excited in fact that this is just the first of FOUR PROJECTS that I’m doing with them! I’ve got an incredible lineup of creators working with me on everything and can’t wait for all of it to be out in the world.”

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Slugfest | Wolverine seeks ‘Revenge’ in Marvel’s August solicitations

We run through Marvel’s August solicitations, which include Venom War, Phases of the Moon Knight, Blood Hunters and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you, with this edition focusing on Marvel’s August 2024 announcements. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel’s solicitations for August landed late last week, right before the long weekend here in the U.S. (which I made even longer!) so let’s catch up on all the new stuff they plan to release in the last month of the summer. Just like I did with DC, I’ll hit the titles I haven’t previously covered. You can read about Spider-Society, the Iron Fist 50th anniversary anthology, Storm joining the Avengers and Rob Liefeld’s final Deadpool comic elsewhere on the site.

Now let’s get to it …

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Dark Horse returns to ‘Survival Street’ this fall

A second miniseries by James Asmus, Jim Festante, Abylay Kussainov, Ellie Wright and Taylor Esposito begins in September.

Survival Street, the 2022 miniseries that turned the puppets of Sesame Street into freedom fighters, will reload another round this fall.

The original creative team of James Asmus, Jim Festante, Abylay Kussainov, Ellie Wright and Taylor Esposito reunites for Survival Street: The Radical Left, a four-issue miniseries coming from Dark Horse Comics. The satire will feature “battles against A.I., soulless kids’ entertainment, American colonialism and much more.”

“James and I have always been drawn to satire because you can take a really big, really complex issue and use humor to make it accessible,” Festante said. “When it’s not grounded in something you see every day (like anthropomorphic puppets), it’s easier to step back and say, ‘Wow, that’s pretty messed up – how can I address or fix that?’ We wanted people who don’t usually read comics to be excited for Survival Street. I imagine the sets of our little Venn diagram involve an awareness of politics, love of puppets and a desire for catharsis in a world where tech bros pump out AI-driven nonsense for kids whose only goal is to keep little eyes glued to a screen.”

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Ryan Stegman + Jason Howard raise some hell at DSTLRY with ‘The Missionary’

The three-issue series begins in September.

Ryan Stegman’s summer is heating up — in addition to drawing a brand-new X-Men title that’s coming this summer, he’s also writing The Missionary, a new series from DSTLRY featuring artwork by Jason Howard.

The three-issue series is about a down-on-his-luck religious man who decides to accept possession instead of resisting it — forming an unconventional partnership with the demon he’s now sharing a body with.

“Jason and I are having a hell of a time grappling with eternal questions of ethics and spirituality, but we’re also making The Missionary as exciting as possible,” Stegman said. “Jason is doing the work of his career, and I can’t wait for you to see these tortured souls on their missions of damnation.”

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‘The Masked Macher’ hits the ring this fall

Dark Horse enters the squared circle this summer for a new pro wrestling comedy by David A. Goodman, Gonzalo Duarte, Alex Andrés and Mauro Mantella.

Dark Horse Comics will ring the bell for a new pro wrestling comedy series by The Orville executive producer and writer David A. Goodman, co-writer Gonzalo Duarte, artist Alex Andrés and letterer Mauro Mantella. The Masked Macher “showcases the comedic story of a would-be actor entering the very different world of professional wrestling.”

As the cover states, “Macher” is Yiddish for “Big Shot,” or someone who can produce a lot of money. That’s what aspiring actor Tony Hollywood wants to be, but circumstances send him down a different path — to the squared circle.

“The Masked Macher is trying to do a lot,” Goodman said. “First, it’s a comedic portrayal of how people make their way in show business. ‘Macher’ if you don’t know, is Yiddish for ‘big shot,’ which is all Tony wants to be. But the story is also about nostalgia, how we can look back and long for a time that really wasn’t all that pleasant. And on top of all that, we’re trying to make the whole thing funny and exciting.”

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Joe Casey + Sebastián Piriz bring ‘Jonny Quest’ back to comics this summer

Jonny, Race, Hadji, Bandit and more return to comic shops this August.

Although it’s been more than 50 years since it debuted, Hanna-Barbera’s Jonny Quest cartoon still holds a place in the hearts of many fans, thanks to a generous syndication schedule, a 1980s reboot and a popular comic series from Comico. That comic series in particular was a gem, as it featured the work of Doug Wildey, William Messner-Loebs, Wendy Pini, Joe Staton, Steve Rude, Mark Hempel, Dave Stevens, Ernie Colon, Adam Kubert, Ken Steacy and many more.

And now Jonny Quest and the gang return to comics. Dynamite released a taste of what to expect from their new series on Free Comic Book Day, and now they’ve revealed more details on the series itself. It’s written by Joe Casey, writer of Automatic Kafka, Uncanny X-Men, Gødland and so much more, and drawn by Sebastián Piriz, who previously worked on We Ride Titans and Deadweights.

“The hope is that we’re maintaining the bouncy spirit of the original TV show,” Casey said. “From one episode to the next, Jonny Quest always had a particular dramatic rhythm that was completely unique. We want our book to have that same kind of vibe. Plus, the fact that Benton and Jonny are father and son automatically makes this a generational story. We’re taking that angle and really running with it, taking that specific generational aspect to the extreme in ways that, we think, deepen the characters and give them the proper amount of gravitas that we demand from our beloved genre fiction.”

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Stephanie Phillips + Goran Sudzuka team for the crime thriller ‘Red Before Black’

The new series from BOOM! Studios begins in August.

Stephanie Phillips and Goran Sudzuka are headed down south to Florida — where you can beat the heat if you beat the charges too — for a new series from BOOM! Studios. Red Before Black “is a violent, hyper kinetic, women-led Florida crime thriller”that begins in August.

“For me, Florida is like that relative that you make fun of but become defensive about the minute you hear someone else making fun of them. I grew up there…I’ve been chased by water moccasins, had to call someone about alligator removals, thrown more than one hurricane party, and dressed like a pirate for the annual invasion of Tampa’s bay,” Phillips said. “There is truly no better place I could think of to set Red Before Black–a weird crime story with an even weirder setting. Val and Leo might be our main characters, but Florida is ever present and Goran truly draws the s*** outta this curious place that will forever feel like home for me, no matter where I live.”

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | ‘White Boat’ sets sail from Scott Snyder + Francesco Francavilla

Check out comics and graphic novels arriving in shops this week by Stephanie Phillips, Chris Campana, Joe Casey, Paul Fry, Tom Taylor, Bruce Redondo, Vera Brosgol, Kyle Starks, Jed MacKay, Pepe Larraz and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, 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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Vault Comics launches ‘spicy’ comics line this summer with ‘Lilith’

Threshold will feature science fiction, fantasy and horror stories for mature readers.

Vault Comics will launch a mature readers imprint this summer, with the first sexy title for the sexy new imprint being Corin Howell’s sexy horror series Lilith.

According to Vault, the Threshold imprint will feature science fiction, fantasy and horror stories, much like the traditional Vault line, but with “a spicy new twist.” They plan to announce several more titles in the coming months. Vault hasn’t shied away from adult-oriented content in the past — they already publish a comic titled Money Shot — so it’ll be interesting to see where they go with Threshold.

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Slugfest | DC’s vampire war continues in August

We run through DC’s August solicitations, including the Absolute Power crossover, Zero Hour, Super Powers action figure variant covers and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on DC’s August 2024 announcements. Hit the links for more information.

DC released their August 2024 solicitations at the end of last week, offering a smorgasbord of vampires, crossovers, variant covers, graphic novels and more for the last month of summer break. I thought I’d pull out some of the highlights. I’ll hit the stuff I haven’t talked about here yet; you can read about Jenny Sparks and Gotham City Sirens elsewhere on the site.

So let’s begin …

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The Jewish mob confronts U.S. Nazism in ‘Kosher Mafia’

The historical crime thriller by David Hazan and Sami Kivelä arrives in August.

Mad Cave Studios has announced a new historical crime drama, Kosher Mafia, by Nottingham writer David Hazan and Deer Editor artist Sami Kivelä. They’re joined by colorist Ellie Wright and letterer Simon Bowland.

Set in the 1930s, Kosher Mafia is about a Jewish bookkeeper who tries to spur the Jewish mob to fight back against the rising sentiments of Nazism in the American heartland.

“I poured my heart and soul into Kosher Mafia,” Hazan said. “The characters live and breathe and talk like people I know, love or would love to have known, family or otherwise. It’s a crime thriller that’s more than a little transgressive and provocative, and it’s steeped in Jewish Cleveland, where our modern comic book industry was born.”

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