Jen Bartel covers this year’s WonderCon program book

Wonder Woman takes center stage on this year’s cover.

This year’s program for WonderCon will sport a “wonderful” cover, featuring Jen Bartel‘s vibrant rendition of Wonder Woman.

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‘Michael Golden’s Micronauts Artist’s Edition’ coming in June

Proceeds from the book will be donated to writer Bill Mantlo’s medical care.

Although we live in the age of reprints, trade paperbacks, digital comics and old material being collected in fancy formats, there are certain comics from the past that, for one reason or another, we’ll probably never see collected or show up on sites like comiXology. Case in point, comics like Micronauts and Rom, which were licensed books published by Marvel that were integrated into the Marvel Universe — and thus featured guest appearances by the X-Men, Spider-Man and other Marvel characters on occasion. They also featured the debuts of original characters to the mythos, like various spaceknights in Rom and Bug in Micronauts, who are actually owned by Marvel.

While this made for a fun time in comics, those licenses eventually expired or transferred over to someone else — case in point, both Rom and Micronauts are published by IDW these days. That means we might see Bug show up occasionally in Guardians of the Galaxy, but he’s no longer a Micronaut, and it’s unlikely his buddy Acroyear is going to show up. Marvel owns Bug, Hasbro owns Acroyear, and all those great comics published back in the day end up in limbo in our reprint-driven era.

So all this is to say that besides the back-issue market, the upcoming Michael Golden’s Micronauts Artist’s Edition coming from IDW may be some fans’ only chance to own some of Bill Mantlo and Golden’s classic Micronauts comics.

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Project Art Cred returns with a new story from Tom Taylor

Different artists draw the same script to show the importance of artists to the comic-making process.

Project Art Cred returned this week with another round of artists drawing the same comics script to show the impact they have on the comics you read. This time around, they tried their hand at a very topical script by Suicide Squad writer Tom Taylor.

We had an idea to demonstrate the impact artists brings to a comic script. We gave artists a one page script written by the legendary @TomTaylorMade and they put their stamp on it.

Here’s the script. Check out some of the results below …

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Artists pay tribute to Wein + Cockrum in ‘Giant-Size X-Men’ recreation

Tribute issue arrives from Marvel in May.

Almost 40 artists will come together to recreate Giant-Size X-Men #1 for the milestone issue’s 45 anniversary. Each page will be redrawn by a different artist, including Mark Brooks, Carmen Carnero, Alex Ross, Chris Samnee, Kevin Nowlan, Kris Anka, Aaron Kuder and Mike Hawthorne, among many others.

“The artists were so excited to work on it because the art in this book inspired them all,” said Editor Jordan D. White. “Everybody involved loves this comic book and is doing amazing work. You’ve gotta check it out.”

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Fund Me Monday: ‘The Hated,’ ‘Box of Bones’ and more

Check out and support comics projects from David F. Walker, Allan Amato, Rosarium Publishing and more.

As crowdfunding continues to serve as a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors, comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGoGo. The internet also allows creators to sell their projects direct to fans, through sites like Gumroad, Etsy and of course their own websites. If you’re looking to buy something from or support a creator directly, you’ve come to the right place.

Here’s a look at a few recent projects that fall into those buckets that caught my eye. Send any suggestions of your own to jkparkin@yahoo.com.

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Nominees announced for the 2019 Bram Stoker Awards

Winners of the annual awards for horror/dark fiction will be announced April 18.

The Horror Writers Association has announced the nominees for the 2019 Bram Stoker Awards. The annual awards for horror/dark fiction include a “Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel” category.

Presented annually since 1987, the winners will be announced at StokerCon 2020 in Scarborough, England on April 18. The nominees in the graphic novel category are:

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CBLDF announces the Rory D. Root Comics Ambassador Grant

New program offers grant money to retailers to encourage ‘community building through the creation of events promoting comics as a valuable form of free expression.’

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has announced a new grant program aimed at “encouraging community building through the creation of events promoting comics as a valuable form of free expression.”

The Rory D. Root Comics Ambassador Grant is named for the beloved owner of the Berkeley, California-based comic shop Comic Relief, who passed away in 2008.

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Kelly, Bachalo reunite for ‘Nonstop Spider-Man’

New action-oriented title from Marvel starts up in June.

Marvel has announced a brand-new Spider-Man title by the team of Joe Kelly and Chris Bachalo — Nonstop Spider-Man.

“[Editor] Nick Lowe has a super-power,” Kelly said. “He picks up the phone, calls me, and says the exact combination of words that make me want to drop everything and dive head first into the Marvel Universe. Last time it was Spider-Man, Deadpool, Ed McGuinness. No brainer, YES. This time it was Spider-Man, Non-Stop, Chris Bachalo. Again, YES…but ‘Non-stop?’”

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Séance gets his own ‘Umbrella Academy’ spinoff series

‘You Look Like Death!’ by Gerard Way, Shaun Simon, I.N.J. Culbard and Nate Piekos starts in June.

Dark Horse Comics has announced the first solo series for a member of the Umbrella Academy, the supernaturally charged Klaus Hargreeves, a.k.a. Séance.

The aptly titled You Look Like Death! will be written by co-creator Gerard Way with an assist from Shaun Simon, illustrated by I.N.J. Culbard and lettered by Nate Piekos.

“For a long time, I had wanted to tell the story of Klaus Hargreeves’ life after the Umbrella Academy disbanded and before the events of Apocalypse Suite,” Way said in a press release. “I imagined a pretty wild decade for Klaus– full of ups and downs, seedy places, supernatural excursions, and internal battles within himself. I am thrilled to finally be able to tell this story with my co-writer Shaun Simon, who sees the world of the UA as clearly as I do. Also thrilled to work with such an amazing art and lettering team in I.N.J. Culbard and Nate Piekos.

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IDW, DC announce a Locke & Key/Sandman crossover

The crossover arrives in October, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez.

Locke and Key co-creators Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez are re-teaming for a new story featuring their infamous keys — and this time, they’re unlocking the door to the Sandman universe.

In a move that can only be described as “Netflix synergy,” the IDW title will cross over with DC’s Sandman universe in October.

Besides the creative team, very little has been revealed at this point, but they do have a snazzy teaser video:

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Dan Didio is out as DC publisher

Didio exits the company after serving as co-publisher for 10 years.

Multiple outlets, including ComicBook.com and the Hollywood Reporter, are reporting that Dan Didio is no longer employed at DC Comics after almost 20 years with the company.

No reason has been given as to what happened or why he was released, and DC has not released a statement yet on Didio or their future plans. Didio has been co-publisher of DC alongside Jim Lee since 2010.

Didio joined DC in 2002 and was promoted to vice president and executive editor in 2004. During his tenure, he oversaw the maxi-series 52, the line-wide relaunch The New 52 in 2011, the subsequent reboot DC Universe Rebirth in 2016, the launch of Black Label and the shuttering of the Vertigo imprint. He has also written several comics for DC over the years, including Superboy, Phantom Stranger, OMAC and the current Metal Men miniseries, among others.

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Grist, Di Vito bring ‘The Union’ to Marvel

UK-based superhero team featuring Union Jack will debut in May, just in time for ‘Empyre.’

Paul Grist has brought his distinctive style to a variety of titles over the last three decades, including titles like Jack Staff, Mudman, Kane and the classic St. Swithin’s Day with writer Grant Morrison. He’s a fun writer and talented artist from the UK, and now Marvel has recruited him for a new title called The Union.

Grist will team with artist Andrea Di Vito for the new five-issue miniseries that ties into Marvel’s big Empyre crossover series. It will feature Union Jack, the former Invaders member, along with four new characters designed by R.B. Silva: Snakes, Kelpie, the Choir and Britannia.

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