Author: JK Parkin

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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L.A. Times announces 2020 Book Prize nominees

Works by Eleanor Davis, Michael DeForge, Jaime Hernandez, Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell received nominations.

The Los Angeles Times has announced the nominees for their annual Book Prize awards, which includes a graphic novel category. Three Drawn and Quarterly releases received nominations, along with one each from Fantagraphics and First Second.

The L.A. Times has given an award in the graphic novel category since 2009, when Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli won the award. Other previous winners include The Love Bunglers by Jaime Hernandez, Duncan the Wonder Dog by Adam Hines and Beverly by Nick Drnaso. Tillie Walden’s On a Sunbeamwon the award last year.

The nominees in the “Graphic Novel/Comics” category are:

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Valiant revives ‘Shadowman’

Cullen Bunn and Jon Davis-Hunt tapped to bring horror back to Valiant.

Valiant’s Shadowman will return in May with a new series by Cullen Bunn, Jon Davis-Hunt, Jodie Bellaire and Clayton Cowles.

“We’re taking Shadowman in some directions he’s never been taken before,” Bunn said in a press release. “He’s confronting a growing supernatural threat that is popping up all over the world. We are introducing the concept of the Blight, which is a weakening of the veil between our world and the Deadside. And these Blights occur in places of great sorrow and misery and evil.”

Bunn added, “We’re also introducing a new villain who will be changing the face of the supernatural in the Valiant Universe.”

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Creators for Creators accepting 2020 grant applications through May 11

The Creators for Creators grant is ‘intended to encourage, support, and promote original works through grants and education.’

The nonprofit Creators for Creators is taking applications for their 2020 grant through May 11. Complete details on submitting can be found on their website.

As their website says, Creators for Creators “is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization intended to encourage, support, and promote original works through grants and education.” The grant was founded by several creators, who also serve as mentors for recipients: Charlie Adlard, Jordie Bellaire, David Brothers, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Nick Dragotta, Leila del Duca, Matt Fraction, Kieron Gillen, Jonathan Hickman, Joe Keatinge, Robert Kirkman, Jamie McKelvie, Rick Remender, Declan Shalvey, Fiona Staples, Eric Stephenson, C. Spike Trotman and Brian K. Vaughan.

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Hail to the king as Aaron, Asrar reteam for ‘King Conan’

Mahmud Asrar, Matt Wilson and Jason Aaron will continue telling Conan stories later this year.

It looks like the band is getting back together as artist Mahmud Asrar announced on Twitter that he’s working with writer Jason Aaron and colorist Matt Wilson on a new King Conan comic.

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Fund Me Monday: ‘Trekker,’ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more

Check out new projects from Ron Randall, Birdcage Bottom Books, Ballot Box Comics and more.

As crowdfunding continue to become 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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Dini, Burnett, Templeton team for ‘Batman: The Adventures Continue’

DC revisits the world first created in ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ in a new digital-first miniseries.

Three names that became synonymous with the classic Batman: The Animated Series are returning to that world for a new six-issue miniseries.

Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, who produced the animated series, and Ty Templeton, who worked on the comic series based on the show, are working on Batman: The Adventures Continue, which will debut digitally in April and in print in May.

“Fans familiar with the Batman of The New Batman/Superman Adventures will be right up to speed,” Dini said. “Alan and I approached the writing with the idea that we were doing the season you might have seen if we had not put the series aside to do Batman Beyond.”

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DC announces plans for ‘Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-page Super Spectacular #1’

Liam Sharp, Geoff Johns, Darryl Banks, Mike Grell, Jeff Lemire, Ron Marz and more help celebrate DC’s 80th anniversary.

Following the footsteps of Batman, Superman, Wonder and the Flash, Green Lantern will break out into his own 80th anniversary special issue this May.

DC announced the 100-page special will include contributions from Geoff Johns, Darryl Banks, Charlotte Fullerton McDuffie, Sina Grace, Mike Grell, Jeff Lemire, Ron Marz, Denny O’Neil, Fernando Pasarin, Ivan Reis, Rafa Sandoval, Mariko Tamaki, Peter J. Tomasi, James Tynion IV, Robert Venditti and more, with a cover by current Green Lantern artist Liam Sharp. Strangely, current Green Lantern scribe Grant Morrison isn’t listed.

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DC announces the metal-er ‘Death Metal’ miniseries

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo get the band back together for a sequel to the ‘Metal’ event series.

If DC’s Metal event wasn’t “metal” enough for you, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are coming back in May for an encore — Dark Knights: Death Metal. It promises to be “metal-er” than Metal. Metal!

“I’ve been waiting to do this story since we finished Dark Nights: Metal,” said Snyder. “As much as it was a complete event, we left some threads hanging there for sure. I’d hoped that if people liked the first series enough, we’d have a chance to set up something bigger, and that’s our plan for Death Metal.”

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North +Monteys’ ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ adaptation arrives Sept. 9

Archaia will bring Kurt Vonnegut’s classic anti-war novel to comic shops.

Archaia’s adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children’s Crusade became unstuck in time this week, as the BOOM! Studios imprint announced the graphic novel will arrive in comic shops Sept. 9 and in bookstores Sept. 15.

The anti-war novel will be adapted by writer Ryan North (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) and artist Albert Monteys (Universe!), with colors by Ricard Zaplana. Archaia also revealed the cover:

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Kurt Busiek returns to Marvel for a history-spanning series

Busiek teams with artist Yildiray Cinar for a new series that could include just about any Marvel character.

Kurt Busiek’s known for his work on a lot of different comics, from Avengers to Arrowsmith, but his latest project seems to marry the themes from two of his past projects: Marvels and Astro City.

The Marvels, which will feature artwork by Yildiray Cinar, will tell “stories that span decades and range from grand adventure to intense human drama, from street-level to cosmic, starring Marvel’s very first heroes to the superstars of tomorrow,” according to Marvel.com.

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