Author: JK Parkin

‘Savage’ returns at Valiant from Bemis + Stockman

Kevin Sauvage returns in a new miniseries this June.

Valiant has tapped Max Bemis and Nathan Stockman to tell the next chapter in the story of Savage, a Kazar/Tarzan-esque boy who grew up on a remote island populated by dinosaurs and other terrifying things. The new miniseries will kick off in June.

“Savage is the biggest story I’ve ever told. As in it’s my aesthetic turned up to eleven and crammed into the skin of a summer blockbuster film,” Bemis said in a press release. “If you dig the more fun and up-tempo stuff I’ve done like Worst X-Man Ever, this is the book you’ve been waiting for.”

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Yang + Ruan + Tan team for ‘Shang-Chi’ in June

The miniseries will feature Shang-Chi going up against his super villain father, Zheng Zhu.

Marvel has announced a new miniseries starring martial arts master, former Avenger and current Agents of Atlas member Shang-Chi, by the team of Gene Luen Yang, Dike Ruan and Phillip Tan.

“I mean, it’s Shang-Chi,” Yang told the New York Times. “He’s probably the most prominent Asian — I guess he’s Asian-American now since he’s moved over here — Asian-American superhero.”

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CCI postpones WonderCon

Convention, originally set for April 10-12, will be ‘postponed until a later date.’

Comic-Con International has announced they are postponing this year’s WonderCon, their annual spring convention in Anaheim, California. This year’s convention was scheduled for April 10-12.

“To protect public health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19, the California Department of Public Health announced a recommendation that gatherings and events of more than 250 people should either be postponed or cancelled. Comic-Con (organizer of WonderCon) will abide by this recommendation,” the organization said on their website. “Therefore WonderCon Anaheim, scheduled for April 10-12, 2020 in Anaheim, California, will be postponed until a later date.  We will begin processing refunds in the coming days.”

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Staying home this weekend? Stream these comic-related events

In the wake of Emerald City Comic Con being postponed due to the coronavirus, there’s a lot going on online this weekend you can take part in.

While the coronavirus pandemic is causing event cancellations across many — heck, every — industry, one of the first events in the comics sphere to face the tough decision about whether to cancel or postpone was the Emerald City Comic Con, which was scheduled for this coming weekend in Seattle. ECCC was official postponed last week, with plans to pick a new date this summer.

But if the comic industry is anything, it’s resilient, made up of creative minds that can adapt to a changing landscape. This article in the Seattle Times spotlights several creators impacted by the cancellation and efforts to support the comics community this weekend — which includes many “pop up” online events.

Here’s a round-up of both live and virtual events that have popped up in the wake of the ECCC news. If we’ve missed any, please email me at jkparkin@yahoo.com.

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Comics Lowdown: MoCCA postponed due to coronavirus

Plus: News about WonderCon, Jim Lee, Webtoon, Dark Horse and more!

Events: New York’s MoCCA Arts Festival, originally scheduled for April 4-5, is the latest event to be postponed due to the novel coronavirus, which has now been declared a pandemic.

“While New York is not officially calling for events of large gatherings to be canceled, many have been and we do not know what the next few weeks will entail. We recognize the amount of work and finances our exhibitors put into their tables and are trying to minimize the burden on them,” The Society of Illustrators, who puts on MoCCA every year, said in a statement.

They added, “In the meantime, we have made the decision to move forward and continue to judge the Awards of Excellence. In addition to the cash prize and Wacom tablets for Gold and Silver medalists, the Society will feature the award winners in an exhibition at the onsite Gallery we build at MoCCA Fest.”

A new date for the two-day festival has not been announced. It joins the Emerald City Comic Con, South by Southwest, E3, the London Book Fair and countless other events that have been impacted by COVID-19.

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March MODOK Madness kicks off for 2020

The annual tradition returns.

I know there’s plenty of “madness” in the world right now, but there’s something comforting in knowing that the March MODOK Madness site is back again for more fun fan artwork of everyone’s favorite big-headed Marvel villain. And there’s little chance this event will be cancelled.

If you aren’t familiar with the concept, every March artists share their interpretations of MODOK, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee back in the 1960s. You can see some of them below, and all of this year’s submissions on the MMM blog. You can also follow along on Twitter.

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Orlando + Tormey reopen the book of the ‘Darkhold’ at Marvel

The notorious tomb returns to the Marvel Universe — lands in the hands of Doctor Doom.

Former DC-exclusive writer Steve Orlando will make his debut for Marvel on a book of mystical proportions — Darkhold, named for the evil text that exists within the Marvel Universe. Darkhold Alpha #1, which suggests it’s tied to a bigger event, will come out in June.

Orlando will team with artist Cian Tormey on the comic, which features a cover by Greg Smallwood.

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Nominees announced for the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards

Winners will be announced in June.

The Lambda Literary Awards have announced their nominees for 2020, which honor LGBTQ writing across 24 categories, including one for comics.

The finalists were selected by a panel of over 60 literary professionals from more than 1,000 book submissions from over 300 publishers. The winners will be announced at an event in New York City in June.

The nominees are:

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PDX Popup Con 2020 to take place this weekend [Update: It is cancelled]

Portland area retailers will host creators this Saturday and Sunday as an alternative to ECCC.

Update, March 12: PDX Popup Con has been cancelled.

Original story:

With ECCC postponed, we’ve seen several alternatives pop up, from Pajama Con to Oni’s online convention shop. For those in Portland, here’s another way to spend your weekend — PDX Popup Con, which is being put on by PDXComicArts.com and several Portland-area comics retailers.

“With the last-minute cancellation of Emerald City Comic-Con due to fears of a COVID-19 outbreak, many artists, publishers and exhibitors have been left without an opportunity to share their work and chat with their audience next weekend,” their site reads. “Many self-published artists rely on conventions like ECCC as a financial foundation for their year, and income lost from these shows can be devastating. Not to mention the upfront costs of booking travel and hotels, which at this point probably cannot be canceled or refunded.”

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Mariko Tamaki to write ‘Wonder Woman’ beginning in June

The award-winning writer joins artist Mikel Janín on the title.

DC Comics has recruited Mariko Tamaki for one of their key flagship titles. The writer of This One Summer and Laura Dean keeps Breaking Up With Me will begin writing Wonder Woman with issue #759 in June.

“Writing for comics is pretty much a dream job, full stop,” Tamaki said. “It’s pretty fricking cool. Wonder Woman was the hero I grew up with, she was my little-kid-living-room-cosplay. I have always wanted a golden lasso and an invisible jet, and I feel like now, writing Wonder Woman, I’m one step closer.”

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday: A little ‘Decorum’ goes a long way

Check out what’s hitting comic shops this week from DC, Marvel, Image Comics and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, our look at the comics and graphic novels hitting stores this week. With this week’s column I’m very pleased to welcome back several of our colleagues, including Tom Bondurant, Carla Hoffman and Corey Blake, for their thoughts on this week’s releases.

You can see the complete list of this week’s releases over at The Comic List, and I encourage you to share what you’re planning to get in the comments below.

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Johns + Fabok’s ‘Three Jokers’ arrives in June

Jokers take the spotlight in this homage to ‘The Killing Joke.’

Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok’s long-awaited Three Jokers miniseries now has a release date — DC Comics will target the first issue for June 17.

Johns said the story would focus not only on the Joker and Batman, but also Barbara Gordon and Jason Todd, both whom have been victims of the Joker in the past.

“It goes back to the beginning when Batman first encountered the Joker, but it’s also The Killing Joke and A Death in the Family that speak to the book and that we’re building off emotionally,” Johns told Entertainment Weekly. “Barbara and Jason have gone through so much, as has Bruce, and it’s really focused on healing, on scars and wounds and what that does to somebody. If you suffer some trauma, you don’t just get over with it and move on with your life, it changes who you are. Sometimes it changes you for the better, sometimes it changes you for the worse. You can heal right, and you can heal wrong. That’s really what the book’s about: Healing right, healing wrong, and surviving.”

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