Month: June 2024

Kyle Starks + Piotr Kowalski return for another nightmare-fueled ‘Where Monsters Lie’ miniseries

‘Where Monsters Lie: Cull-De-Sac’ slashes its way into stores in October.

Kyle Starks and Piotr Kowalski’s Where Monsters Lie will get a sequel this fall, as Dark Horse Comics has announced Where Monsters Lie: Cull-De-Sac kicks off in October. They’re joined by colorist Vladimir Popov and letterer Joshua Reed.

That subtitle sounds not so much like a place, but what’s going to happen, doesn’t it? If you read the first series, you know that’s probably true. It featured a neighborhood filled with horror/slasher icons living their best lives when they’re interrupted by Connor Hayes, a former victim who managed to escape from a serial killer and went on to become a bad-ass monster hunter. He showed up to take his revenge in what was a fun and well done, yet oh so bloody, miniseries.

“I love a good horror movie like nobody else,” said Starks. “I adore a great horror slasher. But you know what I like even more? A SEQUEL!  Brilliant artist Piotr Kowalski did such a great job of bringing the awful beasts of Site A to life I just had to see what he would do at Site B! If you LOVED Volume One you have a great treat coming here in the Cull-de-sac. IF you didn’t read Volume One what are you doing! Read it then come pick this up! What terrible, evil fun we’re having!  JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN!!!”

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Nominees announced for the 2024 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award

The annual awards program that recognizes promising artists will be presented during the Eisner Awards in July at Comic-Con International.

Comic-Con International has announced this year’s Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award nominees. Named for the creator of Magnus, Robot Fighter and illustrator of the Tarzan and Star Wars comic strips, the award recognizes a new artist who “shows a superior knowledge and ability in the art of creating comics.”

Previous winners include Dave Stevens, Eleanor Davis, Jeff Smith, Marion Churchland, David Petersen, Tyler Crook, Dan Mora, Lorena Alvarez, Nate Simpson and Luana Vecchio. Last year Zoe Thorogood won the Manning Award.

The 2024 nominees are:

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Dark Horse celebrates Halloween with two specials in October

The ‘Headless Horseman’ annual will return, while Christopher Chaos gets his own special.

October is typically the month when we can expect an onslaught of Halloween-themed comics, and it looks like this year will, thankfully, be no different. Dark Horse will celebrate the greatest of holidays twice this year, with a 2024 Headless Horseman Halloween Annual and the first Christopher Chaos Halloween Special. Both specials will feature multiple stories by different creative teams.

First up, coming your way Oct. 2 is the Christopher Chaos anthology, featuring stories set in the weird world of James Tynion IV and Isaac Goodhart’s hero. The two creators will contribute a story that Goodhart says springs from a personal conversation between the two of them.

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Rest in peace, Peter B. Gillis

The co-creator of ‘Strikeforce: Morituri’ and writer of ‘Doctor Strange,’ ‘Defenders’ and ‘Micronauts’ has passed away at the age of 71.

Peter B. Gillis, the writer of Strikeforce Morituri, Shatter, Doctor Strange, The Defenders and more, has passed away. His brother Rob shared the news on Facebook, saying that Gillis passed away around 2 a.m. this morning after battling health issues for the last two years. He was 71.

“Many of you know my brother Peter has been struggling almost the the last two years with health issues,” his brother posted. “Getting better, getting much worse, getting much better, getting far worse. Yesterday he went from being ‘on the road back home’ in the morning to a quick decline and passed away around 2am this morning in the presence of some close friends who drove to Albany to be with him.”

Gillis began his career in comics in the late 1970s, with his first published story appearing in Captain America #224, which featured artwork by Mike Zeck. He went on to write issues of Marvel Two-In-One, Super-Villain Team-Up and What If…?, of which he wrote about 12 issues in the early 1980s, which gave him the chance to write everyone from the Fantastic Four to Conan the Barbarian.

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The Power Rangers will meet Usagi Yojimbo in a one-shot this fall

Ryan Parrott, Shawn Daley and James Fenner send the Power Rangers back in time to meet Stan Sakai’s samurai rabbit.

Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo will receive some visitors from the future in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Usagi Yojimbo, a one-shot coming from BOOM! Studios and Dark Horse Comics in September.

The time-displaced tale will be told by writer Ryan Parrott, artist Shawn Daley and colorist James Fenner.

“I think one of the most exciting elements of comics is the unexpected crossover, so when BOOM! Studios asked me if I was interested in pairing the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with Usagi Yojimbo, I didn’t hesitate,” said Parrott, a veteran of the Power Rangers franchise. “I’ve been a fan of Stan Sakai’s work and the epic story he’s been telling my whole life, so it was a true honor to get to step into that world and play with those characters. Plus, the moment I saw Shawn Daley’s artwork, I knew this had the potential to be an insanely fun, one of a kind ride that hopefully both Ranger and Samurai fans will enjoy.” 

Although it doesn’t appear that Sakai is involved with creating the comic (except for a variant cover), he did endorse it in the press release:

“I’m really excited with Usagi’s crossover with the Power Rangers,” Sakai said. “This is the first time Usagi has teamed up with real superheroes (that do not have shells)!  It’s a great story with fantastic art!”

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Marvel’s ‘Star Wars’ titles draw to a close this September

The post-Empire Strikes Back era will end, preparing for something new later this year.

Marvel’s current Star Wars line will end in September to make way for “a different era of the galaxy, far, far away.”

Longtime readers of Marvel’s Star Wars comics will remember back to 2019, when Marvel’s post-Star Wars, pre-Empire Strikes Back comics came to an end, only to be rebooted a few months later in a post-Empire Strikes Back timeline. With the current storyline getting closer and closer to the Return of the Jedi, it makes sense that something new is coming up. Could it be something set post-Return of the Jedi? One can only hope, as that’s a pretty unexplored, fertile era for stories, at least when you’re talking about Luke, Leia and the gang. There are also plenty of other characters now for them to interact with, as we’ve seen in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, Ashoka and the like.

In any event, September brings two oversized, 50-page issues: Star Wars #50 and Star Wars: Darth Vader #50:

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All the Ghost Riders unite in ‘Spirits of Vengeance’

Sabir Pirzada and Sean Damien Hill bring together Johnny Blaze,Danny Ketch, Robbie Reyes and more this fall.

The many heroes (and villains) who have hosted the Spirit of Vengeance will assemble in a new title this September by writer Sabir Pirzada and artist Sean Damien Hill.

The aptly titled Spirits of Vengeance will bring together Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, Robbie Reyes, The Hood and Kushala, as well as Michael Badilino, aka Vengeance.

“It’s finally time for Michael Badilino to make his long-awaited return as Vengeance, aided by the likes of Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch and more,” Pirzada teased. “The bloody new era for the Spirits of Vengeance starts here—with a shocking ending you won’t see coming.”

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Cody Ziglar + Ryan Lee will unleash ‘Goobers’ on the world this fall

The comedic horror comic draws from b-grade films like ‘Night of the Creeps’ and ‘Ghoulies.’

Spider-Punk and Miles Morales Cody Ziglar will step away from the Spider-verse and return to his roots artist Ryan Lee (Rick and Morty) for Goobers, a new title launching at Vault Comics this fall.

The title will be colored by Kurt Michael Russell, lettered by Andworld and designed by Adam Cahoon, and it pulls from such inspirations as Night of the Creeps, Garbage Pail Kids, Get Out and Ghoulies, among others.

“I  grew up watching ’80s and ’90s b-horror films,” said Ziglar. “I also grew up in a small country town. Goobers is a love letter to both! I love being able to smash some of my favorite genres, movies, and comics together with my love of North Carolina. I also loved being able to voice the frustration of growing up in a small town and being self-conscious about what they thought of me and how I lived my life. Back in 2021 during peak COVID, I moved back home for six months to spend time with my parents and that’s where Goobers was truly born.”

Ziglar said that return to his home town inspired the story — along with some of his favorite horror films, of course.

“I kept wondering what made certain towns feel the same, even if there are small changes, and landed on the obvious answer: alien worms must invade and body-snatch folks,” Ziglar said. “Goobers, in many ways, in just my comedic look on processing those emotions while also paying homage to some of my favorite films like Shaun of the Dead, Night of the Creeps, Get Out and Revenge of the Living Dead.”

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Gerry Duggan + John McCrea bring ‘Dead Eyes’ back to life at Image Comics

‘Dead Eyes: The Empty Frames’ kicks off in September.

Dead Eyes, the series by Gerry Duggan and John McCrea that started life back in 2018, will return with a new miniseries this fall — Dead Eyes: The Empty Frames.

Originally titled Dead Rabbit, the series was recalled after release due to a lawsuit from a New York bar called “Dead Rabbit.” It returned under the new title, Dead Eyes, with four issues being published in total, plus a collection. It’s about a former mercenary/gun-for-hire who gets pulled back into the life after retirement.

“The unkillable Dead Eyes is back! We’ve never stopped working on Dead Eyes, and The Empty Frames has more tragical hilarious action than the first one. As always, McCrea, and colorist Mike Spicer really show off in this new volume and prove once again why they’re one of the best teams in the business,” said Duggan.

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Slugfest | Jonathan Kent and the Amazons join the ‘Absolute Power’ struggle in September

We run through DC’s September 2024 solicitations, which include Lobo, Multiversus, an ending for Nightwing, a milestone for Poison Ivy and more.

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

DC’s September 2024 solicitations arrived at the end of last week, offering crossovers, variant covers, Lobo and more. I thought I’d pull out some of the highlights and hit the stuff I haven’t talked about here yet. You can read about Plastic Man No More elsewhere on the site.

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The Gloucester Sea Serpent surfaces in a story by Carol Lay in next week’s ‘Project: Cryptid’ #10

Check out an exclusive preview of a new story coming in next week’s anthology from Ahoy Comics.

Courtesy of Ahoy Comics, we’re pleased to share a preview of a new story by Carol Lay from next week’s Project: Cryptid #10.

If you’re not familiar with Ahoy’s first ongoing title, Project: Cryptid is an anthology of “unbelievably hilarious and hilariously unbelievable tales about cryptids from around the world.” Lay builds her story around the Gloucester Sea Serpent, which was first “discovered” in the early 1800s off the coast of Massachusetts. The creature shows up at just the right time for a young girl who could use some luck.

Lay, the creator of Murderville, Good Girls and Lay Lines, has had her work featured in The New Yorker, Mad Magazine, the Village Voice and many other publications. She’s also done several back-up pieces for Ahoy and was one of the contributors to their “Partially Naked Came the Corpse” round-robin story that ran through several of their titles last year. Her graphic novel, My Time Machine, will be published by Fantagraphics in September.

Lay’s story is accompanied by “Family Tree” by Atagun Ilhan, and the issue will arrive in stores on June 26. Check out the preview below.

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Uncle Scrooge seeks the Infinity Dime in his first-ever Marvel comic

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Jason Aaron, Dan Watters, Andrei Bressan, Brian Michael Bendis, Stephen Byrne, Michael Avon Oeming, Todd McFarlane, Ibrahim Moustafa, Luke Healy, Sabir Pirzada and more.

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

This week sees Marvel’s first-ever Uncle Scrooge comic arrive in stores, while Destro enters the Energon Universe and Joy Operations by Brian Michael Bendis and Stephen Byrne returns for a second round.

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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