Author: JK Parkin

You’ve been warned: ‘Doctor Doom’ is coming in October

Look busy.

At Comic-Con International this weekend, Marvel announced that Doctor Doom will return to his own ongoing series, courtesy of Christopher Cantwell and Salvador Larroca.

The story will feature a “conflicted” Doom. “After spending much of his time warning against a trillion-dollar global effort to create the first ‘artificial’ black hole, Doom is now wrestling with visions of an entirely different life and a better future,” Marvel.com said. “But when a massive terrorist attack results in massive casualties, Doom is the prime suspect. What will happen when Doctor Doom is running from the law — and himself?”

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Black Hammer-verse expands with ‘Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy’

New six-issue series kicks off in December.

With phase one of the Black Hammer story wrapping up with Black Hammer: Age of Doom #12 next month, the obvious question is, what comes next? Dark Horse Comics answered that question about the Jeff lemire/Dean Ormston this weekend at Comic-Con International with the announcement of Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy.

Lemire will team up with artist Tonci Zonjic and letterer Steve Wands on the project, which kicks off in December.

“Skulldigger & Skeleton Boy is not only the next book in the Black Hammer Universe, it’s also the first book in the next phase of Black Hammer projects we will be announcing over the coming months,” Lemire told Newsarama. “I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with amazing artists on Black Hammer, and Tonci Zonjic is no exception. His storytelling and artwork in this series is going to blow people away.”

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‘Dead Rabbit’ is dead; long live ‘Dead Eyes’

Gerry Duggan and John McCrea’s gritty series returns with a new title.

The Image Comics title formerly known as Dead Rabbit seems to have found new life as Dead Eyes.

At the Image Expo last year, Image Comics announced a comic titled Dead Rabbit by Gerry Duggan, John McCrea and Mike Spicer. Two issues were released last fall, which were followed by a mandatory recall of both of them to retailers from Diamond Comics Distributors.

A report on Bleeding Cool then stated the recall was due to a New York bar called “Dead Rabbit” that was suing Image Comics and retailer Forbidden Planet for violating the trademark the bar held on the name, which also covers “Comic books; Fiction books on a variety of topics; Non-fiction books on a variety of topics; Recipe books.” Y’see, the bar uses comic-themed menus and also published a recipe book in graphic novel format last year. You can read more about it over on the Comic Lawyer website, which has an interesting FAQ up about the case.

So it sounds like Duggan and McCrea’s comic is back on track, now with a new title. No word on what happened to the lawsuit itself.

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‘Star Trek: Voyager’ heads into the Mirror Universe in new one-shot

IDW Publishing will visit the dark side of Star Trek in three upcoming one-shots.

Captain Janeway and the crew of the Voyager are heading into the Mirror Universe in a new one-shot from IDW Publishing. Star Trek: Voyager: Mirrors and Smoke will introduce us to Pirate Queen Janeway in the twisted alternate universe that the Mirror Universe provides.

IDW has beamed up Paul Allor and J.K. Woodward to serve as the creative team.

“As a child, Star Trek taught me about the power of exploration, the value of kindness and empathy, and the triumph of intelligence and logic over violence and anger… and now, I am so excited to throw all of those values out the window and tell the story of the Mirror Universe Voyager crew pillaging and plundering its way across the far reaches of space!” Allor said.

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Drawn + Quarterly announces new 2020 releases

At Comic-Con International, the Canadian publisher announced new books from Adrian Tomine, Lisa Hanawalt and more.

At Comic-Con International yesterday, Drawn & Quarterly announced several new graphic novels for 2020, including new work from Adrian Tomine, R. Sikoryak, Leslie Stein and Walter Scott, among others.

Check them out below.

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IDW to publish ‘The Addams Family’ one-shot ahead of the movie

Zoë Quinn and Philip Murphy bring Charles Addams’ creations to the comic page this fall.

The Addams Family, the charmingly creepy family created by Charles Addams in 1938, will return to comics in October courtesy of Zoë Quinn and Philip Murphy.

Timed for release with a CGI movie, The Addams Family: The Bodies Issue features Wednesday Addams attempting to achieve ultimate power by following the “dark rituals” hidden within Eleventeen magazine.

“As a goth who fell in love with The Addams Family at a young age, it’s a dream come true to write for the iconic, loving family of oddballs,” said Quinn. “As a comics creator, I’ve really enjoyed being able to play with visual gags and write the most fun dialogue I’ve ever created, too.”

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Umbrella Academy’s Hazel and Cha Cha get a Christmas one-shot

‘Hazel and Cha Cha Save Christmas: Tales from the Umbrella Academy’ arrives in November.

With the Umbrella Academy a hit on Netflix, Dark Horse has announced a slew of new products related to the show — including a Christmas-themed one-shot featuring Hazel and Cha Cha, the masked assassins from the first comic series.

Although they didn’t mention the creators, I’m assuming for now it’ll be Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá (and I’ll update this if I find out differently). But here’s the description from Dark Horse:

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Quoted: Jonathan Hickman on Marvel Comics vs. Marvel Movies

“… one of the big mistakes that some people make at Marvel Comics is that we are reactive to what they’re doing in the Marvel films.”

Jonathan Hickman, whose work with on Marvel’s X-Men comics hits shelves next week with House of X #1, spoke with Entertainment Weekly this week about his plans for Marvel’s mutants. With the X-Men films winding down at Fox, EW asked him about what impact his work might have on a future Marvel Studios X-Men franchise:

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‘Once and Future’ fills the ‘Doctor Aphra shape’ in Kieron Gillen’s heart

Check out a preview of the upcoming series from BOOM! Studios.

Fans of Kieron Gillen’s work on Doctor Aphra, The Wicked and the Divine and Die don’t have long to wait for their next fix. In advance of this week’s Comic-Con International, BOOM! Studios released a preview and a trailer for his six-issue miniseries “Once and Future,” with artist Dan Mora and colorist Tamra Bonvillain.

“I’ve just finished an issue of this before writing this newsletter, and I’m enjoying writing Bridgette and Duncan enormously,” Gillen said in his email newsletter this week. “It’s definitely filled the Doctor Aphra shape in my heart, in terms of doing blackly funny adventure fiction. In this case, with a lot of horror notes.”

Check out the trailer and some preview pages below.

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Bob Burden gets down and dirty in ‘Hitman For The Dead’

The creator of the Flaming Carrot returns with a new project about an assassin who avenges the wrongfully slain.

Dark Horse Comics has announced a new project by Bob Burden, creator of the Flaming Carrot. And it sounds like bonkers fun, as you’d expect from Burden.

Hitman for the Dead is about an assassin who loses his soul in a card game, and “takes up with a crew of vagabond serial killers roaming America, administering one of the last surviving rituals of the Spanish Inquisition, avenging the wrongfully slain, and freeing their souls to pass on and find peace.”

“This project started out as a strategy to promote the new 400-page Flaming Carrot Omnibus that we have coming out in September from Dark Horse,” Burden said. “The story was an experiment. I wanted to change directions, blow out the pipes so to speak, and do a down-and-dirty hardcore thriller/horror/detective thing that would diverge from my humor stuff. Unlike Flaming Carrot, people instantly get what Hitman For The Dead is about and we feel it has a very viral potential.”

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IDW brings Mahnke’s ‘Lore’ podcast to comics

‘Wellington’ from IDW Publishing will explore the stories discussed on the podcast.

Aaron Mahnke’s Lore podcast has spawned books and an Amazon series, and starting in December he’s making the jump to comics. Mahnke will collaborate with co-writer Delilah S. Dawson, artist Piotr Kowalski and colorist Brad Simpson on Wellington.

“History and folklore are deep wells, and they are honestly a fiction writer’s dream come true,” said Mahnke. “With an amazing cast of characters just waiting to be called upon, and centuries of belief in the supernatural setting the stage, I’m excited to share these powerful stories in a brand-new way!”

The comic will delve “even deeper into Lore’s dark side of history.” It will introduce the Duke of Wellington, who investigates the mysteries and monsters discussed on the podcast.

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Zdarsky + Loo offer you a ride to Hell in ‘Afterlift’

New miniseries coming later this year from comiXology Originals.

Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo will tell the story of a ride-share driver with a literal passenger from Hell in Afterlift, a five-issue series from comiXology Originals.

The project was announced today during a press conference at Comic-Con International. Zdarsky and Loo are joined by Paris Alleyne on colors, letterer Aditya Bidikar and editor Allison O’Toole.

“The upcoming publication of Afterlift marks a major turning point in the literary career of Chip Zdarsky, award-considered writer,” said Zdarsky. “Someday soon an Afterlift trade paperback will sit on the shelves of libraries around the world, alongside dusty, leather bound tomes of John Milton’s Paradise Lost and other books.”

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