Author: JK Parkin

Worlds collide in comiXology’s ‘Forgotten Home’

‘At its heart, Forgotten Home is a story about family with problems, misunderstandings and imperfections, all of which play out in a fantastical and unexpected setting.’

This October will bring another new series from the comiXology Originals line — Forgotten Home, an eight-issue urban fantasy series “full of magic, mystery and family secrets.”

The digital comic providers’ latest is written by Erica Schultz, with art by Marika Cresta, colors by Matt Emmons and Jackie Von Spanks, letters by Cardinal Rae and covers by Natasha Alterici.

“I’ve had a fabulous time creating a magical world that the audience will believe truly exists,” Schultz said. “Yissel Ayala, a fashion designer for several comic books, was kind enough to take on the task of creating the initial designs for the Jannadan royal outfits. Her style is impeccable, and, coupled with Marika Cresta’s line art, this book is just gorgeous.”

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Dark Horse announces ‘Dragon Age: The Blue Wraith’

Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir and Fernando Heinz Furukawa reunite for a new miniseries by Bioware and Dark Horse.

In the lead up to the New York Comic Con, Dark Horse has announced a new Dragon Age miniseries, spinning out of the popular Bioware video game franchise. While this story takes place after Dragon Age: Inquisition, it actually focuses on a character from the second Dragon Age game — Fenris, the broody, elven former slave turned mage hunter. He’s the “Blue Wraith” noted in the miniseries’ title.

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Jim Shooter returns to comics for ‘Slow City Blues’

Samuel Haine, Shawn Moll, John Livesay, JD Smith and Thomas Mauer tell the story of a detective trapped in his own mind.

Former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter is helping to bring a ‘new ongoing genre-bending series’ to Image Comics next year, titled Slow City Blues.

Writer Samuel Haine, penciler Shawn Moll, inker John Livesay, colorist JD Smith and letterer Thomas Mauer tell the story Detective John Loris, “who gets trapped inside his imagination after accidentally killing a little girl in the line of duty,” the press release reads. “After trying to take his own life, John instead ends up in Slow City, a construct of his mind’s eye, a place where anything and everything is possible, except a way out.”

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DC celebrates Batman Day by announcing a new creative team

James Tynion IV, Tony S. Daniel, Danny Miki and Tomeu Morey will take over ‘Batman’ in 2020.

It’s Batman Day, and to celebrate, DC has announced the new creative team that will take over the flagship Batman title next year. James Tynion IV, Tony S. Daniel, Danny Miki and Tomeu Morey will chronicle the adventures of the Dark Knight in January.

“I loved writing stories for Eternal, Detective Comics and even Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but my desire to tell a Batman story, one focusing solely on Bruce Wayne instead of an ensemble, is what drove me back to the Batcave,” said Tynion. “I want to dig deep into the Bat himself and tell an epic story that pushes him to his absolute limits. I want to tell a Batman story like the kinds I grew up loving, one that embraces the horror and gothic elegance of Gotham and dives deep into Batman’s greatest villains.”

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Zdarsky, Carroll and more take home 2019 Shuster Awards

Annual awards recognize outstanding achievement in the creation of comic books, graphic novels and webcomics by Canadians.

The winners of the 15th annual Joe Shuster Awards were announced this weekend, which included Chip Zdarsky, Emily Carroll, Karl Kerschl and more.

Established in 2004, The Joe Shuster Awards are Canada’s national award recognizing outstanding achievement in the creation of comic books, graphic novels and webcomics. Named in honor of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster, the awards recognize the best of the Canadian comics world; nominees must be either Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Canada. The winners were chosen by a jury.

Congratulations to this year’s winners, whose names are in bold below::

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Fund Me Monday: More ‘Disturbances,’ vampires and a Prince tribute

Check out new projects from Shortbox, Craig Hurd-McKenney, Jason McNamara and more.

As crowdfunding continues to be a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors and connect directly with fans, comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGoGo. This column offers a look at recent crowdfunding comics projects that might be of interest to fans.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t start out this time by calling out a recent controversy surrounding Kickstarter, where the company has been accused of firing two employees who were part of efforts to start a union at the online crowdfunding company. I mention it in the interest of public knowledge rather than as any sort of indictment against anyone who use the forum to raise money (Particularly those I mention this week, most of whom started their projects before this even came to a head). Kickstarter is certainly not the only company to be called into question about their labor issues, and their response to the allegations of union busting can be read over at Gizmodo. There’s also a form being circulated on social media asking creators who have used Kickstarter to support the employees attempting to unionize.

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Tamaki, Valero-O’Connell and more win 2019 Ignatz Awards

Annual awards presented at the Small Press Expo honor excellence in independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics.

The winners of the 2019 Ignatz Awards were announced this weekend at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland.

The big winners of the night were Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, who took home three awards between them, including “Outstanding Graphic Novel.” The political cartoon site The Nib also continued its recent winning streak, taking home the award for “Outstanding Series.”

The Ignatz, named after George Herriman’s brick-wielding mouse from the classic comic strip Krazy Kat, recognizes exceptional work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an art form and as a means of personal expression. The awards have been presented annually since 1997.

The awards presentations were hosted by cartoonist Keith Knight:

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New ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ one-shot coming from Miller, Grampa, Bellaire

‘Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child’ shows ‘the next generation of heroes in action.’

DC Comics has announced a new one-shot set in Frank Miller‘s Dark Knight Returns universe, Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child. Miller will be joined by artists Rafael Grampá and Jordie Bellaire in the follow-up to 2015’s Dark Knight III: Master Race.

According to the press release, the story takes place three years after the events of Master Race, where Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Carrie Kelley and Lara Kent overcame the renegade priest Quar and his cult of Kandorian fanatics in their bid to convert humanity into worshipping them as gods. During this interim, Lara has spent time learning about what it means to be human, while Carrie has grown into her role as Gotham City’s new protector, Batwoman.

 “The Dark Knight Returns story began with its heroes getting older,” said Miller. “Now we’re seeing the next generation of heroes in action, and Rafael was the obvious choice for me to usher in these heroes that are vigorous, untested and loaded with promise. I think that Jonathan Kent in particular will surprise everybody with his unforeseen abilities and impossible mind.”

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‘Harrow County’ returns in new story set during World War II

Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook are joined by artist Naomi Franquiz as they journey back to Harrow County.

Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook‘s Harrow County series may have wrapped up in 2018, but that doesn’t mean they’re done with the world they created. Tales from Harrow County: Death’s Choir, a miniseries that follows the events of the series, will kick off in December.

Written by Bunn and Crook, the miniseries will be drawn by Naomi Franquiz, who also provides the cover for the first issue:

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‘Breaklands’ debuts on comiXology this week

Justin Jordan, Tyasseta, Sarah Stern and Rachel Deering team on a post-apocalyptic miniseries.

The comiXology Originals line will expand in September with four new titles, starting first with Breaklands by Justin Jordan, Tyasseta, Sarah Stern and Rachel Deering.

The five-issue series is set 150 years in the future in a world where everyone has powers except Kasa Fain, who is desperate to find her recently kidnapped brother.

“We wanted to do a book about what would happen if a lot of people suddenly got a lot of power,” Jordan said. “It was important that the world didn’t look like what readers have seen in traditional post apocalypse stories which, generally, ends up deserts and barren landscapes. Instead,the environment has had a chance to bounce back. And there’s plenty of high action, colorful new cultures and weird creatures.”

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Prepare for ‘A Radical Shift in Gravity’ this fall

Watch the world float away in Kate Glasheen and Nick Tapalansky’s upcoming graphic novel from Top Shelf.

What happens when gravity starts to disappear? Find out this fall, as Top Shelf Comix will release A Radical Shift in Gravity by Kate Glasheen and Nick Tapalansky this November.

“Against the wondrous backdrop of massive planetary transformation, this stunning watercolor graphic novel explores one family’s struggle to stay grounded,” Top Shelf says about the new project. Tapalansky is the writer of Awakening from BOOM! Studios and Cast No Shadow from First Second. Glasheen’s credits include Hybrid Bastards! from Archaia and her crowdfunded, self-published graphic novel Bandage: A Diary of Sorts.

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DC reveals more Jim Lee art from ‘Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium’

DC’s publisher teams up with longtime collaborators Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair on new pages for the project.

With the first issue of Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium arriving this Wednesday, DC Comics has released some additional preview pages by the art team of Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair.

The trio of artists have worked together many times in the past, going back to the pre-DC Wildstorm days, and on titles like All-Star Batman and Robin, Batman: Hush and Superman. This time around, they’re working with writer Brian Michael Bendis as one of several art teams contributing to the two-issue miniseries.

It’s a collaboration that’s been in the works even before Bendis made the jump to DC from Marvel, as the writer told Entertainment Weekly that several years ago, he received a note from Lee asking if he’d like to work on Legion with him.

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