Author: JK Parkin

‘X-Men/Fantastic Four’ mini coming in February

Chip Zdarsky, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson and Laura Martin bring the two teams together.

Marvel has announced a new X-Men/Fantastic Four miniseries by Chip Zdarsky, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson and Laura Martin. The story will revolve around Franklin Richards and whether he chooses to go live with all the mutants on Krakoa, their new island nation.

That question stems directly from House of X #1, where Cyclops invited the young hero to come join them.

“I loved that scene in House of X #1 and I knew it needed to be expanded upon, so when I saw the opportunity to pitch this mini, the Franklin question was the heart of it,” Zdarsky, who wrote members of the Fantastic Four in the pages of Marvel Two-In-One, told Newsarama. “Both Jonathan Hickman and Dan Slott have been very encouraging and gracious in allowing me to do what I’ve pitched. Which is surprising. I feel like I’m being punked on some level. You’d tell me if I was, yeah?”

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Matt Bors’ ‘We Should Improve Society Somewhat’ available for preorder

New collection by the man behind The Nib comes out next March.

Although probably best known as the mastermind behind the award-winning editorial cartoon site The Nib, Matt Bors is also a brilliant cartoonist in his own right. After crowdfunding his first collection of comics in 2012, he’s back taking pre-orders for the next one.

“This will be a collection of my best work from the Trump era, a 184 page collection with some additional commentary from me and an introduction by Tom Tomorrow,” Bors said in his email newsletter. “The book takes its name from what has become my most well-known comic and will hit shelves in March 2020. I’m doing a pre-order now through The Nib where you can order it with a sketch, get a tote bag, stickers and some other merch. Print still rules and I’m glad the people at Clover Press reached out to collect this era of my work.”

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‘Shuri’ wins a Nommo Award

The African Speculative Fiction Society recognized the Marvel comic during its annual awards presentation.

Shuri, the comic featuring the Black Panther’s brilliant younger sister by Nnedi Okorafor, Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire has won a Nommo Award in the “Graphic Novel” category.

The Nommo Awards are presented annually by the African Speculative Fiction Society. The four categories recognize works of speculative fiction by Africans, defined as “science fiction, fantasy, stories of magic and traditional belief, alternative histories, horror and strange stuff that might not fit in anywhere else.”

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‘Giant-Size X-Men’ returns in February

The classic Marvel title returns with stories by Jonathan Hickman and various artists.

Giant-Size X-Men #1 kicked off a new era of the X-Men back in 1975, introduced Storm, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird and Colossus to the Marvel Universe, and bringing Wolverine and Banshee onto the team.

With Jonathan Hickman introducing a new era to the X-Men this fall, Marvel is bringing back Giant-Size X-Men as a series, written by Hickman and drawn by different artists. The first issue will feature Russell Dauterman and Matt Wilson on a story featuring Jean Grey and Emma Frost.

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Inktober Spotlight: Tyrell Cannon

The creator of ‘Eris’ dives into the classic video game ‘DOOM’ this month.

If it’s October, it must be time for Inktober. During Inktober, artists from all over the world create a different ink drawing every day of the month — or whatever schedule works for them. While the official Inktober site provides a list of “prompts” to help inspire artists, many of them choose their own themes.

With many comic artists once again participating this year — you can find a lot of them on Twitter or Tumblr using the #inktober hashtag, and we’ve been posting a bunch on our own Tumblr — we thought we’d spotlight a few of the fun ones we’ve seen so far.

Tyrell Cannon is the creator of the webcomic Eris, which he posts on his website and on his Patreon. He’s also created his own comics like Gary and Victus. For Inktober, Cannon has dedicated his pen to DOOM, the classic first-person shooter that pits space marines against demons from Hell. He’s not just doing drawings, but also telling a story along the way, kind of like he did last year. And if you’re into DOOM, you might like this poster he created as well.

Check out a few of his pieces below, and visit his Twitter feed to follow along with Cannon and his space marine all month.

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DC shares details on next summer’s LGBTQ+ Aqualad graphic novel

Alex Sanchez and Julie Maroh put a ‘contemporary twist’ on Jake Hyde’s origin story.

DC has revealed more details and preview pages from You Brought Me the Ocean, one of their upcoming Young Adult Graphic Novels. According to the press release, the story will feature Jake Hyde, a.k.a. Aqualad, and “a fresh, contemporary twist” on his origin story that “tells an eloquent coming-out romance set against the backdrop of the DC Universe.”

Lambda Award-winning author Alex Sanchez is writing the story, while Julie Maroh, creator of Blue is The Warmest Color, will provide the art.

“This story will allow readers to delve deep into the conflicts of being both a teen and super-powered—and what it’s like to be friends with a super-powered teen,” said Sanchez. “I believe it will be the type of book that fans will read twice—the first time, compelled to turn pages to find out what happens next, and the second time to linger over Julie’s spectacularly beautiful imagery. I hope the book will do what graphic novels do best—tell a story on two levels—through words and art.”

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Faerber + Guglielmini return to the world of ‘Near Death’

Image will publish ‘Over My Dead Body,” an OGN set in the same world as ‘Near Death,’ in January.

Jay Faerber, Simone Guglielmini, Gigi Baldassini and Ron Riley will return to the world of Near Death in an original graphic novel set to be released by Image Comics in January. Titled Over My Dead Body, the story features Markham, a contract killer serving time who is tasked with saving the prison warden’s daughter.

“Since the moment Near Death ended, Simone and I have been planning the next step in Markham’s path to redemption,” said Faerber. “We’re thrilled to unveil this new thriller that serves as a continuation of that series, but is presented in a fresh, accessible format for new readers.”

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‘Dracula: Son of the Dragon’ arrives on comiXology

Long-brewing graphic novel by Mark Sable and Salgood Sam materializes just in time for Halloween.

It’s been six years since Mark Sable and Salgood Sam ran their Kickstarter campaign for Dracula: Son of the Dragon, a historical horror fantasy graphic novel that shows the transformation of the real-life Vlad the Impaler into Dracula. It’s a long time to wait, especially for a book originally targeted to arrive in 2014, but to their credit they’ve actually finished the project and it’s now scheduled to arrive on comiXology this week.

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Cullen Bunn shares an unused pitch for a cosmic X-Men series

The writer shares designs for crew members of the Starship Perilous.

Cullen Bunn’s run on Uncanny X-Men saw Cyclops, Jean Grey and the other time-displaced teenaged originals joining forces with their longtime nemesis Magneto … but that wasn’t Bunn’s original pitch for the series.

His original pitch was to send some of the X-Men into space on a spaceship powered by the Siege Perilous. How cool is that?

“In 2015, I was asked to take over Uncanny X-Men,” he wrote on Twitter. “We all know that yielded the Magneto-led team. My first pitch, however, was a cosmic team with Rachel Summers in charge and a new Captain Britain.”

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Space Jam: de Campi + Neogi launch Josie and the Pussycats into space

The comiXology Originals series will debut this Wednesday.

Josie and the Pussycats are going where no … pussycat has gone before — outer space. ComiXology and Archie Comics have teamed up for a new digital series by writer Alex de Campi with art by Devaki Neogi.

Josie and the Pussycats in Space debuts this Wednesday as part of the comiXology Originals line.

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Inktober Spotlight: Daniel Warren Johnson

The ‘Murder Falcon’ and ‘Extremity’ creator is drawing a different wrestler each day in October.

If it’s October, it must also be Inktober, the other great thing about the 10th month of the year.* During Inktober, artists from all over the world create a different ink drawing every day of the month (or every other day, or whatever schedule works for them). While the official Inktober site provides a list of “prompts” to help inspire artists, many of them choose their own themes.

With many comic artists once again participating this year — you can find a lot of them on Twitter or Tumblr using the #inktober hashtag, and we’ve been posting a bunch on our own Tumblr — we thought we’d spotlight a few of the fun ones we’ve seen so far.

In our first Inktober spotlight, let’s take a look at what Extremity creator Daniel Warren Johnson has been doing. “My inktober this year is themed around wrestlers, cause why not?” he said on Twitter. Since then, he’s shared images of legendary wrestlers like Dusty Rhodes and Andre the Giant, as well as more recent stars like All-Elite Wrestling’s Private Party and Kenny Omega.

He said he has plans to collect all his drawings into a book later this year, with a cover featuring — speaking of legends — an awesome color Jushin Thunder Liger. That’ll be something to watch for, but for now, check out a few of his drawings below. You can see more on his Twitter feed.

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Fiona Staples, ‘Where We Live’ take home multiple Ringo Awards

Annual awards ceremony recognizes ‘the creativity, skill and fun of comics.’

The third annual Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards, a.k.a. The Ringo Awards, were presented last night at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Named for artist Mike Wieringo, who passed away in 2007, the awards celebrate “the creativity, skill and fun of comics.”

Fiona Staples, Sean Phillips and Image’s Where We Live anthology were the big winners of the night, each earning two Ringos. Brian K. Vaughan took home the award for best writer, while Phillips was named best artist.

Two Hero Initiative awards were presented as well. Congratulations to all the winners; the complete list is below.

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