Month: April 2025

Dan Parent tells a hypnotizing story featuring Kardak the Mystic in ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #361

Check out a preview of a new story coming in May from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to share a preview of a new story appearing in Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #361, which arrives in May.

In it, Dan Parent brings Kardak the Mystic to Riverdale Beach, where the gang is enjoying some rest and relaxation. But a frisbee accident sends Kardak’s hypnotism powers out of control, causing some chaos in the sand — and a fun reference to the Archie Horror line. Parent is joined by inker Bob Smith, colorist Glenn Whitmore and letterer Jack Morelli for some beach day fun.

Check out the preview below, along with a complete classic story by Frank Doyle and Harry Lucey.

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Exclusive Preview | John Jennings + Damian Duffy + David Brame adapt Octavia E. Butler’s ‘The Parable of the Talents’

The timely graphic novel about a nation under the grip of a fascist regime arrives in stores this week.

Courtesy of Abrams ComicArts, we’re pleased to share a preview of The Parable of the Talents, an adaptation of the novel by Octavia E. Butler.

The graphic novel reunites John Jennings and Damian Duffy, who worked on the Hugo Award-winning adaptation of Butler’s The Parable of the Sower. They are joined by artist David Brame.

“Being chosen to adapt the Parable duology by Octavia E. Butler into a graphic novel is both an honor and a very serious responsibility,” said Jennings. “Those two books were so prescient and incredibly accurate with their forecasting that we are still amazed by the insightful creative acumen of Butler. It’s our hope that we did the story justice and that the underlying messages resonate through every word and every panel.”

The Parable of the Talents continues Butler’s story from the first volume, known collectively as the Earthseed series. Set on a war-torn continent under the control of a fascist state, the story follows Asha, who searches for answers about her own past while struggling to reconcile with her mother’s legacy. While Butler’s original novel was published in 1998, it feels very timely today — not only does it feature a country under the grip of a Christian fundamentalist denomination, but that group even used the slogan “Make America Great Again” in their propaganda.

The Parable of the Talents is available in stores this week. Check out the preview below.

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The Reuben: The National Cartoonist Society announces nominees for the 2024 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year

The winner will be announced in August.

The National Cartoonist Society has announced six nominees for this year’s Reuben Award, their annual recognition of the cartoonist of the year for the previous calendar year.

The NCS typically nominates five cartoonists for the award, but due to a tie in voting this year, we have six.

The Reuben Award has been presented annually since 1954 and was named for Rube Goldberg. Past winners include Lynda Barry, Stephen Pastis, Al Jaffee, Matt Groening, Sergio Aragones, Roz Chast and Charles Schulz, to name a few who have taken home this prestigious award.

This year’s nominees include:

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | A new Masters of Evil debuts in ‘Avengers’ #25

Plus: Spider-Man! Predator! Moonshine Bigfoot! The Legion of Doom! The Witcher! And more new comics arriving in stores this week!

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 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 check with your retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Wednesday | A new Masters of Evil debuts in ‘Avengers’ #25”

The X-Men pay tribute to Krakoa in ‘X-Men: Hellfire Vigil’

Gail Simone, Jed MacKay, Stephanie Phillips and more will contribute to the one-shot.

With Krakoa gone, there’s no Hellfire Gala planned for this year, but the X-Men will mark the occasion with a vigil for their lost nation.

X-Men: Hellfire Vigil sounds more solemn than what we saw in the party-filled Hellfire Gala specials of years past. But Marvel is promising “a night of joyous celebration, delicious drama, and, of course, super hero high fashion,” so maybe it won’t be as depressing as it sounds.

The one-shot will feature the work of several current X-Men creators, including Gail Simone, Jed MacKay, Eve Ewing, Stephanie Phillips and more.

“We’ve been working towards the Hellfire Vigil for a year now, and all of the assorted X-creators came together to make this a moment of significance for the X-Men and their world as a whole,” X-Men Editor Tom Brevoort said. “If you’ve been wondering when somebody was going to encounter somebody else, the answer is right here in this book! It’s a capstone to events that began in From The Ashes and sets up major movements that will be playing out across the coming months. Plus it’s full-packed with great art and great character moments.”

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Smash Pages Playlist | Happy Superman Day

Faster than a speeding ballad, here comes a bunch of songs about the Man of Steel.

Action Comics #1 debuted on April 18 in 1938, and would go on to become the most expensive comic on the planet. More importantly, though, it also introduced a new superhero to the world, Superman.

Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman set the stage for superhero comics as we know them today, serving as the archetype for the whole genre. He’s starred in his own titles, in radio serials, in movies, on TV and Broadway, action figures, on T-shirts and cereal boxes, … and in songs!

Which brings me to today’s Smash Pages Playlist. The word “Superman” appears in a lot of different songs, both in reference to the character but also in many instances as a concept — a.k.a. someone who is strong, stands up for others or (in love songs) knows how to treat their partner right. I’ve tried to include songs here that at least make reference to the comic character and his traits, but some are more Superman-y than others. I’ve also mixed in theme songs from various Superman films and TV shows (I’d totally forgotten Remy Zero did the Smallville theme). Anyway, enjoy, and feel free to suggest some of your favorite Man of Steel songs I missed (because there are plenty more!)

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Take a look inside June’s ‘Superman: The World’ hardcover

Creators from all over the world will share their takes on Superman in this anthology.

Back in 2021 DC celebrated Batman Day with the release of Batman: The World, an anthology graphic novel featuring stories about Batman by creators from all over the world. But Bruce Wayne isn’t the only global trotter in the Justice League (and let’s face it, it’s easier to do when you can fly) — this year, as part of their “Summer of Superman” initiative, DC will release Superman: The World in June.

The graphic novel will include contributions from creators from 15 different countries, including Dan Jurgens, Jorge Jimenéz, Satoshi Miyagawa, Stepan Kopriva, Dr. Ejob Gaius, Jefferson Costa Sylvian, Lee Weeks, Jorge Jimenéz, Kai Kitago, Michal Suchánek, Jefferson Costa, Marcial and more. 

“The Man of Tomorrow usually soars through the skies in Metropolis, but no matter where in the world a cry for help comes, Superman will always be there to save the day,” the press release read.

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Corner box art will return just in time for the ‘Summer of Superman’

This summer’s Superman titles will feature an old staple with new art by Dan Mora.

Comic fans of a certain era will remember the days when a comic cover from Marvel or DC included not only a logo, but also a corner box that included the price, the Comics Code Authority symbol and artwork featuring the characters in the book. DC is bringing them back this summer as part of their “Summer of Superman” initiative, featuring stellar artwork from Dan Mora.

DC revealed five new Superman-themed corner boxes that will appear on Supergirl, Superman Unlimited, Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton, Superman and Action Comics. The new corner box images “celebrate the classic look of beloved DC comic book covers, which traditionally featured at least one of the stars of the title in miniature on the upper left corner of the comic,” according to DC.

Here’s a look at the revised cover for Supergirl #1, which features artwork by Sophie Campbell:

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DC resurrects a classic format this July with ‘Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All’

The Summer of Superman adds a treasury-sized story by Dan Jurgens, Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas.

As a part of their big “Summer of Superman” plans, DC is bringing back their classic “treasury-sized edition” formatting for a “larger than life” story by Dan Jurgens, Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas.

Superman Treasury 2025: Hero for All will come in at 10 1/8” x 13 5/16” — the format used for several “Vs.” titles starting in the 1970s, like Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali and the Marvel/DC crossover Superman Vs. Spider-Man.

“Since Superman is the cornerstone on which our entire industry is built, the term ‘Treasury Sized Edition’ seems to be the perfect vehicle for him,” said Jurgens. “As a kid, the term ‘Treasury Edition’ meant that it was sure to be a special project and one that I just had to have. From the very start, most of those projects focused on Superman.”

Jurgens actually worked on the last treasury edition DC published, Superman vs. the Fantastic Four — which seems appropriate to mention, given it brought together characters who will be battling it out at the box office this summer.

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Marvel heads back to the beach this summer in ‘Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes, Rivals’

The iconic special returns with a new story by Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs and Nick Bradshaw — and a code for a ‘Marvel Rivals’ in-game skin.

A staple of Marvel’s summer comics line-up will return in July as the company resurrects its infamous Marvel Swimsuit Special.

The special will feature swimsuit pin-ups of Marvel characters by Nic Klein, Marguerite Sauvage, Luciano Vecchio and many more, along with a story by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs — the Local Man team — drawn by artist Nick Bradshaw.

Carla Hoffman revisited the classic Marvel Swimsuit Special back in 2021, noting that these would feature a whole bunch of cheesecake pin-ups as well as a story that explained why Captain America was wearing a bathing suit on Monster Island:

What was thought to be utterly salacious drivel by my mother when I tried to get a copy in my youth, the ‘93 Marvel Swimsuit issue has a story. Seriously: the Infinity Watch play a poker game, Pip the Troll wins, so he makes them all use the Infinity Stones to gather all the superheroes of the Marvel Universe to a party at Monster Island. When they are all suddenly transported there by the Space and Time Gems, they are forced into not fighting one another and having a good time by the Mind Stone, so a big beach party breaks out and Pip the Troll takes pictures of everyone in their swimsuits.

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Exclusive | Take a look inside Andrew Wheeler + Rye Hickman’s ‘Hey, Mary!’

The graphic novel about a Catholic teenager reconciling his feelings for another boy arrives in stores from Oni Press this week.

Courtesy of Oni Press, we’re happy to present this preview of Hey, Mary! by Andrew Wheeler, Rye Hickman and Hank Jones.

Hey, Mary! tells the story of Mark, a devoted Catholic who realizes he has a crush on another boy at school. The pages we have today show Mark’s struggle and also illustrate why it’s titled “Hey, Mary!” as Mark turns to his faith for answers.

“Hey, Mary is a book about a lot of things — most obviously, trying to reconcile being Catholic and being gay, but it’s also about first love and teenage anxiety and isolation and trying to find your feet as you learn more about the world,” Wheeler said. “This sequence is at the heart of those themes as Mark struggles with the enormity of the question, ‘Why is this who I am?’ Perhaps the worst part is that the very thing he’s been told will give him comfort, his faith, is actually the source of his pain. I love the expressiveness that Rye and our colorist Hank Jones have brought to these silent moments.”

The relationship with Luka is also on display. Luka clearly has feelings for Mark as well, and the two friends have grown apart as the thought of romance pushes Mark away.

“Mark’s conversation with Luka gives us the other side of Mark’s anxiety,” Wheeler said. “Mark and Luka think they’ve grown apart — the truth is that they haven’t found the language to bridge the gap between them. The panel with the two of them running into the park on either side of a painted line is perfect. Also, Rye and I had a lot of conversations about the boys’ personal styles, and Mark’s ‘Camp’ t-shirt is one of my favorite choices!”

“I feel like teenage friendships are The Most, no matter what’s going on in your life, so I’m very excited for readers to relate to our protagonist, Mark, going for a jog with his estranged friend Luka,” Hickman said. “The secret sauce here, though, is that Mark has a big ole crush on Luka and all signs point to Luka also wanting more than friendship. No spoilers, but there’s friction -Luka has rainbow shoelaces and Mark prays for help with the fear he has about being gay himself- so hopefully you’ll pick up the book and find out how that friction resolves!”

Check out the preview below. Hey, Mary! is available in comic shops and bookstores now.

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | The ‘Summer of Superman’ starts here

New comics arrive this week by Dan Slott, Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Jorge Jimenez, Gerry Duggan, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrew Wheeler, Rye Hickman 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 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 check with your retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Wednesday | The ‘Summer of Superman’ starts here”