Author: JK Parkin

‘Ginseng Roots’ subscription box now available to preorder

Buy a subscription to Craig Thompson’s first serialized comic and receive a box for storing all 12 issues.

Craig Thompson’s first serialized comic book series arrives this summer, a 12-issue series called Ginseng Roots that tells the story of he and his brother weeding and harvesting ginseng root in Wisconsin when they were kids.

If you’re already committed to picking up all 12-issues, then the book’s publisher, Uncivilized Books, has a deal for you. Subscribe today, and you’ll receive a collectible box to store all 12 issues.

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Lemire’s ‘Frogcatchers’ hops into shops this fall

Lemire will write and draw a new graphic novel coming in September from Gallery 13.

Jeff Lemire stays pretty busy with monthly comics, but in addition to his work on titles like Black Hammer and The Terrifics, he still finds time to both write and draw original graphic novels.

Over on his blog he’s announced his next one — Frogcatchers, a ” surreal descent into one man’s psychosis” due out from Gallery 13 in September.

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VIZ announces ‘VIZ Originals’ imprint

New imprint will bring ‘original, creator-owned content’ to the manga publisher.

Dust off the “OEL” acronym — Manga publisher VIZ Media has announced a new imprint, VIZ Originals, dedicated to publishing original graphic novels developed by “manga-inspired creators.”

“VIZ Originals will be an incubator for innovative ideas and storytelling,” said Leyla Aker, Executive Vice President & Publisher. “There’s a demonstrated appetite for manga and manga-inspired content. With VIZ Originals, we have an opportunity to leverage over 30 years of experience in the industry to bring original, creator-owned content from top creative talents to fans worldwide.”

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Jonathan Hickman returns to Marvel for ‘House of X,’ ‘Powers of X’

The X-Men-themed event titles kick off this summer.

Jonathan Hickman said “See you later” to Marvel back in 2015, departing the company to focus on creator-owned books at Image, like East of West, The Dying and the Dead and other titles.

It’s later, and at C2E2 Marvel announced Hickman will return to the company this year to write two X-Men-focused event series, House of X and Powers of X. (The second one is pronounced “Powers of 10.”)

“We are excited to have Jon back with the Marvel family, and we could not have asked for a better creative team to help usher the X-Men into a whole new era,” said Marvel Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski. “While we can’t reveal too much about the story just yet, these new stories will redefine the X-Men and their place in the Marvel Universe. This is a historic moment both new and passionate fans won’t want to miss.”

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Marvel to deliver ‘Absolute Carnage’ this summer

Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman and Frank Martin re-team on a new event series starring the Spider-Man villain.

Marvel has announced their next Spider-Man related event, Absolute Carnage, at this weekend’ C2E2 convention in Chicago. The series will feature the symbiote-wearing character Carnage as he goes hunting for “every single character who has ever worn a symbiote.”

Donny Cates, the current writer of Venom, will write the series, who re-teams with artist Ryan Stegman and colorist Frank Martin.

“Cletus Kasady is back, and he is deadlier than he’s ever been,” Cates teases in the video announcement. “ABSOLUTE CARNAGE encompasses every single character who has ever worn a symbiote and every symbiote that has ever been, going all the way back to when Peter found the black suit. Going from there to Maximum Carnage to Venomized to everything…everyone is a target.”

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Grim grinning ghosts arrive at IDW

Sina Grace and Egle Bartolini team up on a Haunted Mansion graphic novel for the 50th anniversary of the ride.

IDW Publishing has added another Disney property to their line-up, joining books like Duck Tales, Big Hero 6 and their “younger reader” Marvel books. Sina Grace and Egle Bartolini are teaming up for a Haunted Mansion original graphic novel, based on the popular ride that originated at Disneyland in California about 50 years ago.

“As someone who solemnly swears to have boarded a Doombuggy every Disneyland visit, I am utterly thrilled to join the 999 happy haunts with a story full of laughs, gasps, and a few surprises,” Grace said in a press release. “The Haunted Mansion is one of the most iconic attractions in all of Disneyland, and I am so honored to be writing a tale commemorating its historic 50th anniversary.”

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Nominees announced for this year’s NCS divisional, Reuben awards

Daniel Acuna, John Allison, Greg Smallwood, Rick Geary, Brenna Thummler and more receive nominations.

Nominees have been announced for the National Cartoonists Society’s annual awards program, which includes their divisional awards and the “Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year” award, a.k.a. The Reuben.

Four of the five Reuben nominees mirror last year’s line-up, as Lynda Barry, Stephan Pastis, Hilary Price and Mark Tatulli have all been nominated again. Joining them is Brain Basset, creator of the comic strips Red and Rover and Adam @ Home. Glen Keane won the award last year.

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Seeley hacks, slashes through The Crow in June

Tim Seeley and Jim Terry will bring together two horror comics icons in ‘The Crow: Hack/Slash.’

Hack/Slash creator Tim Seeley will pit his creation against another horror comic icon in June, when IDW Publishing presents The Crow: Hack/Slash. The crossover comic will be written and drawn by Seeley, with The Crow artist Jim Terry providing inks.

Created in the late 1980s by James O’Barr, The Crow, Seeley said, inspired him to tell “dark and personal stories full of pain and beauty.”

“The Crow defined me as a fan of the comics medium, but also introduced me to a whole world of music and fashion that I’d never had access to before – one that completely fit the attitude my teenage brain was desperately looking for,” Seeley said in a press release. “It introduced me to the idea that comics could tell dark and personal stories full of pain and beauty. No doubt about it – without O’Barr’s original The Crow, there would never have been a Hack/Slash. Mixing Cassie, Vlad, and The Crow has been in the making for 25 years, and my buddy Jim Terry and I cannot wait to unleash it on the world.”

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Jemas, Alonso return to comics at AWA

New publisher Artists, Writers & Artisans, Inc. plans to launch several titles this fall.

Two former Marvel executives are making their return to comics at a new publisher called Artists, Writers & Artisans, Inc. or AWA. They’re joined by a slew of creators, with plans to launch their new titles this fall.

Bill Jemas will serve as the company’s CEO and publisher, while Axel Alonso will serve as Chief Creative Officer, according to The New York Times. They’re joined by Jonathan F. Miller as chairman, who helped broker the deal between Netflix and Mark Millar. They plan to have a shared superhero universe in addition to publishing stand-alone titles.

“The model here really is the old United Artists model, where people who are actually doing the creative have ownership, control and decision-making power over the work that they’re doing,” Jemas told the NYT.

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Sex, drugs, séances and secrets abound in ‘Marilyn Manor’

New series by Magdalene Visaggio and Marley Zarcone debuts this summer.

Writer Magdalene Visaggio and artist Marley Zarcone are throwing a party at the White House this June in Marilyn Manor, a new miniseries from IDW Publishing.

“We’ve been trying to capture the feel, the excitement, the energy of the rise of the New Romantics, of the decade that embraced excess and excitement in hugely over-the-top ways, and filled it with chaos and insanity,” said Visaggio in a press release. “This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever written in the best way possible, like an apocalypse directed by John Hughes.”

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Pepose + Guidry team for wedding day mayhem in ‘Going to the Chapel’

Four Elvises and a wedding collide in a new miniseries from Action Lab Entertainment.

What should be Emily Anderson’s best day ever goes off the rails and turns into a hostage situation in Going to the Chapel, a new series by David Pepose (Spencer & Locke) and Gavin Guidry (The Death Defying).

In the upcoming miniseries from Action Lab Entertainment, Emily’s wedding day is going south –and then four Elvis-themed crooks show up, bringing more mayhem to her already crazy day.

“Dating back to my catastrophic turn as best man for my oldest friend’s wedding, Going to the Chapel has been an irreverent passion project long in the making,” Pepose said. “Think Die Hard at a wedding — or Dog Day Afternoon meets The Runaway Bride. With our unique mashup of action, humor, romance and heart — not to mention our sprawling, diverse and downright dysfunctional cast — fans of romcoms and thrillers alike are going to find lots to love about our offbeat and eclectic series.”

The new project follows Pepose’s sequel to Spencer & Locke, which kicks off in April. I interviewed Pepose about the influences behind the series last month.

Check out a preview below:

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Take a look inside the controversial ‘Jesusfreak’

Joe Casey and Benjamin Marra’s original graphic novel featuring a kung-fu Jesus arrives in comic shops this week.

This Wednesday Jesus will rise again in the pages of Jesusfreak, a new graphic novel by Joe Casey and Benjamin Marra. Combining ’70s exploitation comics with the story of Jesus Christ, the book is described as “a bloody, two-fisted tale of heroic historical fiction featuring a certain young Nazarean carpenter who is having some trouble finding his place within a world of ever increasing violence,” according to publisher Image Comics.

“Jesusfreak is less inspired by any strict religious traditions and is instead more concerned with exploring the unique tension that exists between depicting a mythical figure and a historical figure—a tension that is compounded when, for many, they’re considered the same person,” Casey said when the project was announced. “It’s also a chance for Marra and I to indulge in a specific style of hard pulp storytelling that we think perfectly fits this material.”

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