Month: September 2024

Magik will star in her own solo series next year

Writer Ashley Allen and artist Germán Peralta send the Darkchylde on a demon hunt in January.

Illyana Rasputin, a.k.a the mutant known as Magik, is getting a long-overdue ongoing series next year. Marvel has announced that Ashley Allen, who wrote the character earlier this year in her Blood Hunt one-shot, will work with Loki artist Germán Peralta.

The popular mutant has technically been around since the 1970s, as she debuted as a child in the pages of Giant-Size X-Men #1 by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. In the 1980s, due to magical shenanigans and a weird time lapse in Limbo, she was aged up to be a teenager and starred in the Magik: Storm and Illyana miniseries, which is also where we saw her mutant powers blossom and the debut of her soulsword. She’s been a member of both the New Mutants and the X-Men, but this is her first solo ongoing series.

“I’m beyond excited to be returning to write Illyana!” Allen said. “Supernatural stories featuring characters with hearts of gold are my favorite, so this series has been a dream to write! I can’t wait for readers to experience the adventure we take Magik on to slay some demons … and maybe accept some of her own.”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Matt Bors + Ben Clarkson on ‘Justice Warriors: Vote Harder’

The creators of the dystopian satire sequel graphic novel talk about their secret origins, being ‘plagiarized’ by real-world events, meatball riots, buddy-cop bro-mances and more.

I’m not sure if Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson could have asked for better timing for their new graphic novel, Justice Warriors: Vote Harder, which arrives in stores today.

Now, obviously, it is election season here in the U.S., and their sequel to the first Justice Warriors miniseries is focused on an election in the fictional city of Bubble City — so that tracks. But when the project was announced by Ahoy Comics, they had no idea that it would arrive the day after the second presidential debate or that said debate would feature different candidates than the first debate.

If you read the first Justice Warriors miniseries, you know that the story drew heavily from the headlines, twisting our reality into a dystopian satire series that poked fun at capitalism and law enforcement in a future of severe inequality — and one populated by mutants. This time around our two protagonists, Swamp Cop and Schitt, get pulled into the chaos of the first Bubble City elections that have happened in, like, forever.

I spoke with Bors and Clarkson about the new graphic novel, their work process, why they went with an OGN instead of another miniseries and more. I thank them both for their time — or at least the concept of their time.

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Rest in peace, John Cassaday

The artist of ‘Astonishing X-Men,’ ‘Planetary’ and more has passed away at 52.

John Cassaday, the co-creator and artist of Planetary, has passed away yesterday at the age of 52. The news was reported by his sister on social media, as well as by his colleagues and friends.

“My dear friend John Cassaday passed today at the absurdly young age of 52 and I miss him already,” said writer Mark Waid, who met Cassaday when he reviewed his portfolio in the 1990s.

“John Cassaday, I will say without hesitation and with very little fear of disagreement, was one of the very best illustrators and storytellers to ever work in the comics medium,” Waid continued. “Like Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, or Michael Golden, he is a touchstone, a reference point to the dozens and dozens of artists whose work was influenced by his. Most people are lucky if more than a dozen people are still talking about them a month after they pass. My friend John will be talked about and remembered by an entire industry for ages. And rightfully so. Rest in peace, sir.”

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | A double dose of Wolverine

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Chip Zdarsky, David Brothers, Marcus To, Matt Wilson, Tony Fleecs, Tim Seeley, Kev Walker, Saladin Ahmed, Martin Coccolo, Stephanie Williams, Khary Randolph, Matt Bors, Ben Clarkson, Aaron Alexovich 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 brings two new first issues featuring Wolverine, as he returns in a new ongoing series as well as a Venom Wars tie-in. We’ve also got the final issue of Star Wars, a new Groo series and the return of Justice Warriors.

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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Who is the ‘All-New Venom’?

Al Ewing and Carlos Gómez take Venom back to the streets in a new series this December.

In the aftermath of the Venom War, Venom will return to his own title in December — but who exactly is underneath the symbiote?

Writer Al Ewing teased to Polygon that All-New Venom will be a “scaled-down, earthbound continuation” of his Venom series, as Dylan Brock seeks to uncover who the new Venom is, with four suspects — Robbie Robertson of Daily Bugle fame, mob boss Madame Masque, perpetual sidekick Rick Jones and “Mayor Power Man” himself, Luke Cage. Ewing will work with artist Carlos Gómez on the relaunched title.

“If people have a strong hankering for something different from me, this is that. It’s almost more like a Spider-Man-level story,” Ewing told Polygon. “It is set on Earth, very much in the normal New York City. Everywhere we go in the story is a place you could go, or at least the type of place you could go. Obviously, when we go to a warehouse… well, I do have a tendency to look up actual warehouses, and then change them just enough to pass legal. So yeah, everywhere we go in this story is a natural place you can go in New York City.”

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Crowdpuncher | Derek Laufman returns to ‘Crimson Fall’

Check out crowdfunding campaigns you can support by Andrew Maclean, Erik Whalen, Mark Bertolini, James Boulton and more.

Welcome to Crowdpuncher, where we round up cool comics crowdfunding campaigns. If you’re looking to support a creator or project directly, you’ve come to the right place.

 Derek Laufman, creator of the excellent RuinWorld and many other comics, shared a new webcomic called Crimson Fall: Lambs of God not too long ago. It’s about Sir Duncross, a former-knight-turned-mercenary who stands between the surface world and “what lurks beneath the surface of this horrid land.”

The comic can be read online or bought in print from Laufman’s store, and now he’s returning to this world for a new graphic novel that he’s crowdfunding: Crimson Fall: The Shore Tower.

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Paul Tobin + Carlos Olivares ‘String’ together a new supernatural thriller at Mad Cave Studios

The first issue arrives in November.

Mad Cave Studios has announced String, a new series about a woman who can see the “strings” that tie together murderers and their victims. String by writer Paul Tobin and artist Carlos Javier Olivares, with colors by Sara Colella and letters by Taylor Esposito, will kick off in November. 

“I’ve always been fascinated by the differences in how people see the world, and Yoon is a culmination of my fascinations. She can see connections others can’t. Secrets others can’t possibly know,” Tobin said. “It’s fun stepping into her world. Intimidating, though, too! And working with Carlos has been the most amazing part of it all, because he and I are doing the exact thing I’m talking about–working the same world in different ways! Whenever he turns in art I’m like, “Ooo! I didn’t expect that! But he’s RIGHT!”

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Christopher Cantwell + Victor Santos ‘revive’ the forgotten comic ‘Kid Maroon’

Things get surreal in the publicity for Vault Comics’ new series.

Vault Comics has announced Kid Maroon, a “revival” of a “lost” and “forgotten” controversial comic strip from the 1940s.

Yep, that’s a lot of words in quotes. Vault first announced the project with claims that they’d obtained the rights to a 75-year-old comic strip that nobody remembers by legendary cartoonist Pep Shepard, who people also don’t remember. But wait, there’s a fan website and everything, with comments! So he’s gotta be real, right?

But then they announced the creative team, and suddenly everything made sense. The series is written by Christopher Cantwell, who wrote The Blue Flame for Vault (in addition to things like She Could Fly and Iron Man and that recent Thanos miniseries that got a little “meta” at times). But The Blue Flame, in particular, told the story of a street-level repairman-turned-hero trying to make a difference in his community — or was it about an Adam Strange-like hero who was put on trial by a galactic tribunal with the fate of the entire planet Earth at stake? Sometimes it was hard to tell what was actually real across the 10 issues (which were excellent, by the way; if you haven’t read it, I recommend it), and Cantwell and Vault seem to be taking a similar approach with this new title, including how they market it.

So take the quotes and such they’re sharing for what they are — something fun that’ll probably make the book that much more interesting. What you need to know is Cantwell is good at this sort of thing, and he’s joined by the wonderful Victor Santos, who drew Polar, Ginger’s Revenge, Violent Love and other noir series.

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Aabria Iyengar + Mari Costa team up for the magical coming-of-age story ‘The Fade’

The new miniseries from BOOM! Studios begins in November.

Professional TTRPG gamemaster and podcaster Aabria Iyengar is teaming with Belle of the Ball artist Mari Costa for a new miniseries coming from BOOM! Studios’ BOOM! Box imprint. The Fade is about a college freshman in a world where people can pass over into a fantasy realm called The Fade while they sleep.

“The Fade is my love letter to everyone that dreams of who they might be in a wilder, more fantastical world as a way of figuring out who they want to be in this one,” said Iyengar. “The dream is the first step. Keep going!”

Iyengar has made a name as not only a professional gamemaster for tabletop role-playing games, but overall as a great storyteller and improv talent. She is the gamemaster for the webseries Dimension 20: Misfits & Magic, which returns for a second season later this month. Costa is the artist of graphic novels like Belle of the Ball from First Second and the Demon of Beausoleil, and also the author of the forthcoming novel Shoestring Theory.

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IDW prepares for ‘Star Trek: Lore War’ in 2025

Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Christopher Cantwell and Davide Tinto take the bridge for a crossover event next March.

Data’s evil twin, Lore, gets a huge upgrade next year after he becomes a god and remakes reality in Star Trek: Lore War by writers Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing and Christopher Cantwell, and artist Davide Tinto.

The event was teased in today’s release of Star Trek #500, the 500th issue of Star Trek published by IDW. The story will also run through IDW’s Star Trek and Defiant titles, along with various one-shots.

“Since the line’s inception, our grander story in both titles has dealt with Star Trek’s concept of godlike beings and the rejection of those godlike beings — order and entropy as it exists throughout the four quadrants of the galaxy,” Cantwell said. “Who pulls the strings and who dares to cut them? Lore War is quite literally the apotheosis of that shared theme, two years in the making.”

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Rest in peace, Bernie Mireault

The creator of ‘The Jam’ and ‘Grendel: The Devil Within’ has passed away at 63.

Bernie Mireault, creator of The Jam, Mackenzie Queen and Dr. Robot, and the artist of Matt Wagner’s Grendel: The Devil Inside, has passed away at the age of 63.

Mireault’s death was shared by his friend and fellow artist Howard Chackowicz, who posted on Facebook that Mireault committed suicide on Monday.

“Bernie was a wonderful friend (truly like a brother to me),” Chackowicz wrote. “I can’t tell you how much he’s helped me over the years, what a great, great person, I love him so much. My heart and soul goes out to his two sons and his three sisters, his family and friends.”

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Quick Hits | Publishers push back against Florida book bans

Plus: IDW lays off Mark Doyle + three others, Webtoon targets pirate sites, Declan Shalvey, Jay Hosler, a lost Alan Moore comic and more.

Several book publishers have joined with parents and authors to sue the state of Florida over House Bill 1069, the ironically titled bill that, among other things, restricts books in school libraries that depict or describe “sexual content.” Hundreds of titles have been banned across the state since the bill became law in July 2023, according to a press release issued by the publishers.

Penguin joins with Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers and Simon & Schuster as plaintiffs in the suit, along with two parents, two students and a list of authors that includes Julia Alvarez, Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Jodi Picoult and Angie Thomas.

“Florida HB 1069’s complex and overbroad provisions have created chaos and turmoil across the state, resulting in thousands of historic and modern classics—works we are proud to publish—being unlawfully labeled obscene and removed from shelves,” said Dan Novack, VP and associate general counsel for PRH. “Students need access to books that reflect a wide range of human experiences to learn and grow. It’s imperative for the education of our young people that teachers and librarians be allowed to use their professional expertise to match our authors’ books to the right reader at the right time in their life.” 

Today’s LOL moment comes in the form of a statement from Nathalia Medina, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Education. “There are no books banned in Florida,” she told the Washington Post. “Sexually explicit material and instruction are not suitable for schools.” The Miami New Times has a list of the books that have been banned in Florida since 2021 through June of this year. The extensive list by school district includes several graphic novels, including Flamer, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Drama and Gender Queer: A Memoir.

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