Month: August 2024

Santa’s coming back to the DCU this December

Jeff Parker, Lukas Ketner, Marcelo Maiolo, Pat Brosseau and Michele Bandini make the nice list for bringing us a sequel to ‘Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight.’

This holiday season is shaping up to be the most wonderful time of the year, not just because of the gifts and eggnog and merriment, but because DC is publishing a sequel to last year’s wonderful Silent Knight miniseries that featured Santa Claus teaming up with various DC characters.

Santa’s back to save Christmas and the Justice League in Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns by writer Jeff Parker, who wrote last year’s miniseries, along with artist Lukas Ketner, colorist Marcelo Maiolo and letterer Pat Brosseau. Michele Bandini, who drew the original miniseries, will be back to draw some of the scenes in this one as well, as a trapped Justice League must rely on Robin, Zatanna and Santa Claus to save them.

“I was blown away at how well last year’s Silent Knight series was received, readers really responded to us going full tilt with Norse-mythos Santa in the DCU,Parker said. “We followed the old tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas (remember the line from ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’?). Then to be asked if I wanted to do another one AND have an extra issue? That was the Happy New Year.”

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‘Hellverine’ races into an ongoing series this December

Benjamin Percy will continue to chronicle the adventures of the Wolverine/Ghost Rider mash-up, joined by artist Raffaele Ienco.

Hellverine, the Wolverine/Ghost Rider mash-up that debuted in last year’s Wolverine/Ghost Rider crossover and then landed his own miniseries, will continue to blaze a trail through the Marvel Universe in an ongoing series.

His co-creator, Benjamin Percy, will continue to write the character, joined by artist Raffaele Ienco. Initially Hellverine was a demon-possessed Wolverine, but Logan’s inner heroism turned the demon good. After Logan’s son Akihiro, a.k.a. Daken, was killed by Sabretooth, the demon brought him back to life as the new Hellverine.

“I had so much fun expanding the mythos of the demon Bagra-ghul and finding a way to not only bring Akihiro back from his savage death in Sabretooth War, but to explore some fresh possibilities for a complicated character I’ve always loved. And now? There’s more mayhem and occultism and hellfire on the horizon. I’m grateful to readers and retailers for their support, because a Hellverine ongoing is coming your way. I’m joining forces with powerhouse artist Raffaele Ienco, and we’ve got huge, horrifying plans for the Hellverine and his role in the 616,” Percy said.

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Black Canary + Lady Shiva will go fist-to-fist in Tom King + Ryan Sook’s ‘Black Canary: Best of the Best’

The six-issue series kicks off in November.

Black Canary will take center stage — or is it center ring? — in a miniseries by Wonder Woman writer Tom King and Seven Soldiers: Zatanna artist Ryan Sook.

The six-issue Black Canary: Best of the Best will feature Dinah Lance going up against Lady Shiva to determine the best hand-to-hand fighter in the DC universe.

“I’ve been wanting to tell this story for a few years, and I’m really excited for fans to see what Ryan and I have planned for Dinah,” said King. “He’s got the perfect art style for this series, and fans will feel every punch and kick thrown from the first issue to the finale.”

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Nominees announced for the 2024 Ignatz Awards

The Ignatz Awards, given out annually at SPX, honor outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo, or SPX, has announced the nominees for the 2024 Ignatz Awards.

The Ignatz Awards recognize the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons and are typically given out during the Small Press Expo every Fall. Named for the mouse that appears in the Krazy Kat comics by George Herriman, the logo changes each year as a new artist draws the mouse and his weapon of choice, the brick. The logo for this year was drawn by 2023 Ignatz Promising New Talent Winner Deb JJ Lee.

This year’s nominees were chosen by a panel of comics professionals that included Caroline Cash, Martha Kuhlman, Dawn Bond, Lawrence Lindell, Kriota Wilberg and Emma Jensen. And here are their choices:

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Enter the ‘Houses of the Unholy’ with Ed Brubaker + Sean Phillips

Check out what comics and graphic novels will arrive in stores this week by James Kochalka, Jen Wang, Mark Russell, Bob Quinn, Joe Casey, Sebastián Piriz, Matt Kindt, Margie Kindt, Garth Ennis, Jacen Burrows, Fell Hound, Caroline Cash 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 flipped the script on you this week, starting with this week’s graphic novels before getting into comics. When Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Jen Wang and James Kochalka have new books out, it just feels like the right thing to do.

I’ve pulled out some of the other highlights for this week 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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‘Saga’ wins another Hugo Award

More than a decade since its first win, the space opera takes home its second Hugo Award.

Saga, the long-running Image Comics series by artist Fiona Staples and writer Brian K. Vaughan, has won the 2024 Hugo Award in the “Best Graphic Story or Comic” category.

The winners of the 2024 Hugo Awards were announced yesterday during the Glasgow 2024, a Worldcon for Our Futures convention in Scotland.

The 11th volume of Saga was released last November, and since its debut in 2012, it’s been nominated for the award eight times. This is its second win.

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Bloodhunting 4 | And in the end, we are all Doomed

We chat about the final issue of ‘Blood Hunt’ — and what’s to come.

Marvel’s Blood Hunt crossover has met its end, and the Smash Pages Kill Krew — myself, Shane Bailey and Tom Bondurant — are here to put the nail in its coffin with our final “Bloodhunting” roundtable. You can read our thoughts on the first issue here, the second one here and issues three and four here.

Please note there are SPOILERS in this discussion related to the story and its repercussions, so you may want to avert your eyes the same way the citizens of the 616 did when their beloved sun returned. OR DID IT? Find out below.

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Exclusive Preview | ‘Ninjak vs. Roku’ #3

The Road to Resurgence of the Valiant Universe continues this week in a new issue by AJ Ampadu, Emiliano Correa and Marina Leon.

Since acquiring the rights to publish comics set in the Valiant Universe last year, Alien Books has been not only rejuvenating the line, but also building toward something big that’s coming in September — Resurgence Of The Valiant Universe. And along the way, there have been plenty of stops on the Road to Resurgence, including the Ninjak vs. Roku miniseries by AJ Ampadu, Emiliano Correa and Marina Leon.

Courtesy of Alien, we’re pleased to present an exclusive preview of Ninjak vs. Roku #3, which will arrive in stores this Wednesday.

The series pits the two former-lovers-turned-rivals Ninjak and Roku against each other, as they search for the same objective in competing missions. As you’ll see in the preview, things aren’t going well for Ninjak, as issue #2 was not kind to him. Ampadu’s taking a smart approach to the comic, pulling enough from Ninjak and Roku’s shared history to keep previous fans interested but providing enough of a “jump on” point for anyone new to the title. Correa returns to art duties for this issue, alternating with Diego Giribaldi, who drew the previous issue.

You can check the preview out below, along with the main cover and a variant, both by Richard Ortiz.

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Three Count | Secret Steward, Heart Acres, Who Killed Sarah Shaw?

Here are three comics to experience, to get addicted to and to binge today.

Three Count spotlights, as the title suggests, three things from comics today. It’ll be three things with links, no more, no less. I’ve got more secrets than you’ll ever know.

1. To Experience: Secret Steward by Sanshirō Kasama and Hikaru Uesugi

If you’re planning to hit the Viz Manga app later this week when the global crossover manga Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man arrives, let me point you to another digital manga you may want to check out while you are there — Secret Steward by Sanshirō Kasama and Hikaru Uesugi.

Yeah, I know — you’re probably looking at the images I’m sharing here and thinking, “I’m not sure this is really for me.” But trust me — this first chapter is worth a read.

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Steve Orlando + Emilio Pilliu helm the ‘Sweet Paprika’ spinoff ‘Open for Business’

The five-issue miniseries kicks off in November.

Mirka Andolfo’s award-winning and much beloved Sweet Paprika series is getting another spinoff miniseries — Sweet Paprika: Open For Business, which will feature characters from Sweet Paprika: Black, White & Pink.

Steve Orlando, writer of seemingly everything these days, will team with Italian artist Emilio Pilliu on the five-issue series, which kicks off this fall.

“As a writer keen on getting folks excited about my work and that of my collaborators, I’ve been known to engage in hyperbole. But even so, without hesitation, I’ve never had a blast working on a book like I have with Sweet Paprika: Open for Business—it’s my favorite book to write, every month,” said Orlando. “And not just that—I’ve never synched with a collaborator like I do with Emilio. He’s subletted my brain and is elevating every single panel beyond my wildest dreams! Open for Business is raw, it’s real, it’s provocative, but most of all—it’s fun! It’s my first office comedy, and I’ve never loved working with a cast as much as this one! I can’t wait for you to meet them!”

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Thomas Krajewski + Jason Muhr revive ‘Marvel Zombies’ with a twist this September

When Groot gets sick, things go very wrong for the Avengers.

It’s been a minute since we’ve seen a new Marvel Zombies title, but this fall Marvel will dig the property up again, with a Groot-flavored twist.

Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay by Thomas Krajewski (DC’s Primer) and Jason Muhr (the awesome By the Horns) will see a new zombie virus unleashed across the Marvel Universe — or a Marvel Universe, anyway. It starts when a sick Groot accidentally spreads a virus among the Avengers that turns them into zombies, and it’s up to Groot and the Hulk to find a cure (and not smash any Avengers in the process).

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Nominees announced for the 2024 Dragon Awards

The awards, which include a comics category, have been presented annually during DragonCon since 2016.

The nominees have been announced for the 2024 Dragon Awards, which have been presented annually during DragonCon since 2016.

The awards include multiple categories for books, media tie-ins like movies and video games, and comics. Last year the “Best Comic Book” and “Best Graphic Novel” categories were combined into a single category — “Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel.” The comic book adaptation of Dune: House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson and Michael Shelfer won the award last year.

The nominees in the comics and graphic novel category — which are all single-issue comic series — are:

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