Month: September 2024

Dan Watters + Hayden Sherman team for ‘Batman: Dark Patterns’ in December

The 12-issue maxi-series will feature four different cases from the early days of Batman’s career.

Home Sick Pilots writer Dan Watters and Absolute Wonder Woman artist Hayden Sherman will revisit the early days of Batman’s career in Batman: Dark Patterns, which will delve into “four mysterious cases as he attempts to cement his place as Gotham City’s protector while the city itself fights back against him.”

Watters and Sherman are joined by colorist Tríona Farrell and letterer Frank Cvetkovic for the 12-issue series, which will be broken into three-issue story arcs that focus on a specific case. The first one, “We Are Wounded,” involves a series of “sickeningly gruesome murders sending shock waves through Gotham City.”

“I love the strangeness of Batman. A man dressed as a huge, gothic bat, solving crimes in a hostile city of black magicians, mad scientists, and superstitious, cowardly criminals. I’ve always wanted to write a series of mystery stories that would home in on that aspect of the character- a dweller in the shadows of Gotham’s towering, dilapidated spires,” said Watters. “After watching The Batman, this desire was reaffirmed. Batman: Dark Patterns explores the pulpiest part of the Dark Knight’s rich history and gives readers an entirely new perspective on the early years of DC’s Dark Detective.”

Continue reading “Dan Watters + Hayden Sherman team for ‘Batman: Dark Patterns’ in December”

‘Hulk Teach!’ by Jeffrey Brown will arrive next school year

Marvel and Scholastic team up to present a lesson in patience and anger management in the worst environment possible.

Marvel has announced a smash-worthy new graphic novel by Jeffrey Brown, creator of Batman and Robin and Howard and Clumsy, among many other projects. Hulk Teach! shows what happens when you give Dr. Bruce Banner a job as a middle school teacher.

The middle-grade graphic novel, which comes as part of the publishing partnership between Scholastic and Marvel, arrives next August.

“Marvel Comics were a big part of my childhood, so when Scholastic asked if I’d be interested in doing a middle grade series with Marvel super heroes, I immediately knew I wanted to—I just didn’t know which characters I wanted to write about,” Brown said. “Doing talks at schools gave me the inspiration I needed. I was watching teachers navigate their days with more patience than I have and realized it would be really funny to see Bruce Banner try to teach middle school without getting frustrated and turning into the Hulk. I was also excited for the chance to write a version of Hulk I had in mind, somewhere between smart Hulk and dumb Hulk – and of course he’s fun to draw, so it all fit together nicely!”

Continue reading “‘Hulk Teach!’ by Jeffrey Brown will arrive next school year”

DC announces ‘Two-Face’ by Christian Ward + Fábio Veras

Harvey Dent finally won the coin toss and gets his first solo miniseries this December.

Following in the footsteps of the Joker, the Penguin and Catwoman, Two-Face is the latest Batman villain to get a solo series.

The new series featuring Harvey Dent and his alter ego will be written by Christian Ward, with art by Fábio Veras, colors by Ivan Plascencia and lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

“After falling in love with writing the beautiful, complicate, Harvey in Batman: City of Madness,” said Ward, “I couldn’t be more excited to be, or prouder, to be writing Two-Face’s very first solo series! Two-Face is without any hesitation not just my favorite Batman villain but my favorite character in all of Gotham, and I’m thrilled to be taking him, together with superstar artist in the making Fábio Veras and the legends that are colorist Ivan Plascencia and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, to some wild places you might not be expecting. The first of which takes Harvey Dent back to the courtroom.”

Continue reading “DC announces ‘Two-Face’ by Christian Ward + Fábio Veras”

‘The Bad Batch’ headline their first comic in January

Clone Force 99 hunt a Separatist ghost agent in a new miniseries from Dark Horse Comics.

The Bad Batch show on Disney + may have ended, but that doesn’t mean the adventure is over for Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair and Tech. Dark Horse and Lucasfilm have announced Clone Force 99 will appear in their first comic miniseries next year.

Titled Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents — I’m sorry, that’s an ungodly amount of colons there — the miniseries is written by Michael Moreci and illustrated by Reese Hannigan, Elisabetta D’Amico and Michael Atiyeh, with lettering by Comicraft.

“I think everyone who knows my Star Wars work knows I love the Clone Wars,” Moreci said. “And the Bad Batch is probably my favorite part of that. They’re just so cool and unique; they’re like 1980s action heroes dropped into the Star Wars universe, and I love that. I’m after that look and feel–it’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m just thrilled to bring more Bad Batch stories to life!”

Continue reading “‘The Bad Batch’ headline their first comic in January”

Greg Pak, Evan Narcisse + Eder Messias soar on ‘Sam Wilson: Captain America’

The ongoing series kicks off in January.

With Captain America: Brave New World set to hit theaters in February, I was wondering when we’d see a new comic featuring Sam Wilson. And lo and behold, Marvel has announced Sam Wilson: Captain America, a new series by co-writers Greg Pak and Evan Narcisse, and artist Eder Messias.

“It’s going to be a fun, fast, high-octane adventure that also explores what it means to feel locked out of the American Dream. I feel pretty confident in saying Sam’s never flown through skies like these before,” Narcisse said.

And given that Brave New World includes the Red Hulk, it’s no surprise to see who is joining Sam Wilson on Taurin Clarke’s cover for the first issue:

Continue reading “Greg Pak, Evan Narcisse + Eder Messias soar on ‘Sam Wilson: Captain America’”

Kyle Starks + Patrick Piazzalunga bring ‘Those Not Afraid’ to Dark Horse

Two serial killers compete to break the record for the most murders in the miniseries, which debuts next year.

Kyle Starks, writer of Where Monsters Lie, Sexcastle and much more, will team with Monsters Are My Business artist Patrick Piazzalunga for Those Not Afraid, the story of a twisted competition between two serial killers.

Starks said the title for the project was inspired by Richard Ramirez, the serial killer known as The Night Stalker, and in particular when he said: “We’ve all got the power in our hands to kill, but most people are afraid to use it. The ones who aren’t afraid control life itself.” Probably known best for his horror and humor writing, Starks said he also wanted to do something that was more in the True Crime vein.

“I wanted to dip my foot narratively into that world – to step away from humor at all, to lean hard into the terrifying depths of that world and the terrifying creatures who inhabit it,” Starks said. “With Those Not Afraid, I ask the question, ‘What if two serial killers enter into a terrible competition to break the record for murders?’ If you are a fan of – or know a fan of – true crime and serial killers Those Not Afraid is going to be the book for you.”

Continue reading “Kyle Starks + Patrick Piazzalunga bring ‘Those Not Afraid’ to Dark Horse”

Michael W. Conrad + John J. Pearson cultivate ‘In Bloom’ at BOOM! Studios

The science fiction series about blooming organisms in the human body kicks off in December.

BOOM! Studios has announced the body invasion sci-fi comic In Bloom by Tremor Dose writer Michael W. Conrad and The Infernals artist John J. Pearson.

The comic is not, as I first assumed, about Nirvana or their 1991 hit song. It’s actually based in the science that “43% of the cells within a healthy human body belong to something other than the human host,” which is bit frightening to think about.

“Years ago I came across an article about the human microbiome and it has haunted me ever since,” Conrad said. “Like most people, I want to understand who I am, and the knowledge that much of who we are is not native to our body has been a real mindbender for me. In Bloom is an exploration of that fear, and imagines a world wherein we can no longer ignore that we are a host to a variety of organisms. The things within us awakened, The Bloom is upon us.”

Continue reading “Michael W. Conrad + John J. Pearson cultivate ‘In Bloom’ at BOOM! Studios”

Dark Horse will publish Richard Corben’s final graphic novel

A special edition hardcover of ‘Dimwood’ will arrive next April.

As part of their publishing partnership with Fantagor Press, Dark Horse Comics has announced plans to release the final work of legendary underground artist Richard Corben, who passed away in 2020.

Dimwood is about a woman who returns to her childhood home to try to recover missing pieces in her memory. Written and illustrated by Corben and lettered by Nate Piekos, the hardcover includes a dust jacket, an introduction by author Joe Lansdale, an epilogue by project art director José Villarrubia and other bonus material.

“I’m excited to share his new story that he poured all of his imagination and artistic vision into,” his widow, Dona Corben, said in 2022 when the partnership was announced. “I’m incredibly proud of him as an artist and a person, and touched that his work means so much to so many.”

Continue reading “Dark Horse will publish Richard Corben’s final graphic novel”

Bryan Lee O’Malley + Leslie Hung’s ‘Snotgirl’ returns in December

The fashion blogger with a messy life is back, four years later.

Snotgirl, the story of fun-loving fashion blogger with allergy issues by Bryan Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung, will return in December with issue #16 — more than four years since issue #15 arrived.

Snotgirl features Lottie Person, who lives the perfect life on social media, but her real life isn’t quite — but she’d love for it to be.

“This comic has been cave-aged for four years until the crystalline structures are perfect,” said O’Malley. “It will have an incredible mouthfeel.” 

Continue reading “Bryan Lee O’Malley + Leslie Hung’s ‘Snotgirl’ returns in December”

Elektra gets the Red Band treatment in ‘Daredevil: Unleash Hell’

Erica Schultz and Valentina Pinti add a bloody new dimension to the Woman Without Fear’s adventures.

Writer Erica Schultz will continue to tell stories featuring Elektra Natchios in Daredevil: Unleash Hell – Red Band. The mature readers title will feature artwork by Blade and Immortal Thor artist Valentina Pinti.

This is Schultz’s third miniseries featuring the assassin-turned-superhero, but the first to fall into Marvel’s new mature readers line, which “allows Elektra to unleash unrestricted bloodshed against her targets,” according to Marvel. It comes polybagged to protect innocent eyes.

“It’s been such a pleasure to continue writing Elektra, especially donning the horns,” Schultz said. “In this new series, we have the opportunity to show that just because she doesn’t kill doesn’t mean she won’t make you wish she had. Elektra has been known for her brutality, and we’ll see that on display here. Also, with a Red Band rating, that means we can get real nasty with stuff. Don’t know what I mean? You will. Valentina Pinti and I are very excited to show you this new direction.”

Continue reading “Elektra gets the Red Band treatment in ‘Daredevil: Unleash Hell’”

Steve Foxe, Edgar Salazar + Peter Nguyen bring five-star terror to a luxury resort in ‘Alien: Paradiso’

Marvel + 20th Century Studios present a nightmare vacation scenario this December.

A group of hyper-wealthy criminals living it up on a luxury planet get some uninvited guests in Alien: Paradiso, a new miniseries coming from Marvel’s 20th Century Studios imprint this December.

Writer Steve Foxe is working with Edgar Salazar on the five-issue miniseries, which will also feature “special Xenomorph point of view pages” drawn by Peter Nguyen. (Why is this not a Red Band book?)

For his part, Foxe says he was looking to do something different with his contribution to the franchise, which recently got a back-to-basics reboot in this summer’s Alien: Romulus.

“With Romulus taking the franchise back to its roots in many respects, I wanted to make sure we were offering readers a story they couldn’t find anywhere else,” Foxe said. “Setting our tale on the sun-kissed shores of a high-end beach resort populated by underhanded criminals, undercover marshals, and underpaid employees immediately spun us in a new direction.”

Continue reading “Steve Foxe, Edgar Salazar + Peter Nguyen bring five-star terror to a luxury resort in ‘Alien: Paradiso’”

Melissa F. Olson + Sally Cantirino bring ‘Archaic’ to Ahoy Comics

The series features a woman on the run who ends up on an island populated by gods and monsters.

Urban fantasy novelist Melissa F. Olson will make her full-length comic debut with Archaic, a new miniseries coming from Ahoy Comics that will feature artwork by Sally Cantirino (I Walk With Monsters, Human Remains) and colorist Gab Contreras (Witchblood, Mezo).

Archaic is about a woman looking for a place to hide from her husband’s misdeeds who inherits an island from the biological father she never met — an island filled with “retired” gods and legendary creatures.

“This is my first full-length comic book, but, weirdly, it’s also the most personal story I’ve ever written,” Olson said. “When the world came to a standstill during COVID lockdown, a lot of people had to re-think their place in the world, myself included. What does it really mean for me to be employed, to parent, to have purpose? What do I do with the instinct to protect my children from really big things I can’t control? Those are tough questions, and the more I considered them, the more I wanted to write about a character who was doing the same thing in a truly fantastical place. I’m so grateful I was able to connect with Sally, the best monster artist in the business, and honored that AHOY wanted to tell this story with us.” 

Continue reading “Melissa F. Olson + Sally Cantirino bring ‘Archaic’ to Ahoy Comics”