Author: JK Parkin

Cosmo returns from Archie Comics

1950s humor title returns from writer Ian Flynn.

Along with the news last week that Mighty Crusaders will return and Betty & Veronica are joining a biker gang came another announcement from Archie Comics that slipped by me — the return of Cosmo, The Merry Martian.

If you don’t know who Cosmo is, well, that’s not surprising. It was a very short-lived humor/science fiction comic published in the late 1950s created by Bob White, who also worked on The Fly and a few other Archie properties. The new comic will be written by Ian Flynn, who is also spearheading the Crusaders revival.

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Seeley & Molnar’s ‘Imaginary Fiends’ is coming to get you this November

New six-issue Vertigo series features aliens, murder and the creepy ‘Polly Peachpit.’

Hack/Slash and Nightwing writer Tim Seeley returns to horror for a new miniseries from Vertigo, Imaginary Fiends, which pits a young woman against a “hungry spectral alien” parasite that made her try to kill her best friend. Seeley will be joined by Star Trek artist Steve Molnar on the title.

“Imaginary Fiends is a return to horror for me … a chance to tell a story about a broken person and her monster friend,” Seeley said in a press release. “But Fiends is darker, scarier and more fanatical than anything I’ve ever done. Stephen Molnar is providing some amazing artwork, and his Polly Peachpit is one of the creepiest monsters I’ve ever seen. I’m proud to bring this book to Vertigo and work with my friend and editor Molly Mahan—who is, fortunately, as far as I know, not imaginary.”

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‘Monstress’ takes home a Hugo Award

In the “Graphic Story” category, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s fantasy series beats out ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Saga,’ ‘The Vision’ and more to win the award.

Monstress, the fantasy series written by Marjorie Liu, drawn by Sana Takeda and published by Image Comics, has won the 2017 Hugo Award in the “Graphic Story” category.

Presented annually since 1955, The Hugo Awards recognize the best science fiction in books, comics, movies, TV and more. The Hugo Awards are voted on annually by members of the World Science Fiction Convention. The Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story has been awarded annually since 2009, with previous winners including Saga, Ms. Marvel and Girl Genius. The Sandman: Overture won last year.

Other nominees in the category this year included Saga, Paper Girls, Black Panther, Ms. Marvel and The Vision. Takeda was also nominated for best professional artist, a category won by Julie Dillon.

You can see the complete list of winners here.

‘Mighty Crusaders’ returns from Archie Comics

Ian Flynn and Kelsey Shannon team up on the new series featuring The Shield, The Comet, The Web and many others.

Archie Comics will bring back its flagship superhero team, Mighty Crusaders, this December in a new series by Ian Flynn and Kelsey Shannon.

You may be asking yourself, “Wait – Archie published superhero comics?” Why yes, yes they did (and still do). Characters like The Web, The Shield, the Comet and many others appeared in comics back in the 1960s, eventually forming a team called the Mighty Crusaders. They’re appeared several times since then, under Archie’s “Red Circle” banner in the 1980s, as part of the Impact line from DC Comics in the 1990s and even as a part of the DC Universe circa 2010. Archie launched New Crusaders as a digital series back in 2012, by Flynn and Ben Bates, which was followed by the Dark Circle line a few years later, which features new takes on The Fox, Black Hood and The Shield, among others.

“I’m really excited to return to the Dark Circle heroes and pit them against the greatest challenges they’ve ever faced,” said writer Ian Flynn. “I think fans of the classic and newer Crusaders will enjoy our new, high-paced approach to their world!”

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Betty and Veronica re-imagined as biker chicks in ‘B&V Vixens’

New series by Jamie Rotante and Eva Cabrera launches in November.

Archie Comics continues its wave of “re-imaginations” of its characters with B&V Vixens, a take on Betty and Veronica as leaders of a biker gang in Riverdale. The idea for the series came from Archie editor Jamie Rotante, who will be joined by artist Eva Cabrera.

“I couldn’t be more honored and excited for the opportunity to not only let pop culture’s two most recognizable BFFs take center stage, but to give them the opportunity to kick a whole lot of ass along the way,” Rotante said to The Hollywood Reporter. “Betty and Veronica aren’t just two young ladies who happen to like the same boy — they’re two hard-working, intelligent and strong women who maintain a friendship despite their differences; consistently defying all expectations to overcome the odds stacked against them. That’s something I really wanted to explore with this series — and not just Betty and Veronica, many of the female Archie Comics characters will get a chance to tell their own unique stories in a way that’s fun and action-packed.”

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Alternative rockers Me Like Bees creating soundtrack for Image’s ‘The Realm’

Each issue of the apocalyptic fantasy series by Seth Peck and Jeremy Haun will coincide with a new single by the band.

When The Realm by writer Seth Peck and artist Jeremy Haun kicks off next month, the series will be accompanied by its own soundtrack, courtesy of the band Me Like Bees.

“Musicians are such natural storytellers,” Haun told Alternative Press. “I’ve always had an obsession with concept albums. You’d have Bowie or Nick Cave or Johnny Cash telling these stories across an album. They were brilliant. Always sparked my imagination. I was as inspired by that as any movie, book or comic story.”

Each issue will coincide with the release of a new single from Me Like Bees, eventually resulting in a new EP from the band. The first single, “The River Divides” is already out and serves as a theme song for the entire series. Check out the video below:

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David Petersen opens his vault in ‘The Plotmasters Project’ podcast

Petersen and his high school friends revisit the comics they made back in the day, starting with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles homage called “Cats Trio.”

Here’s something fun — Mouse Guard creator David Petersen shares a “just for fun” project he developed with two friends in high school, Jesse Glenn and Mike Davis, called “Cats Trio,” Petersen and Glenn revisit the project on their podcast “The Plotmasters Project.”

“…it was a TMNT homage where three mutated/anthropomorphic cats befriend a similar raccoon as the group discover their shared origins, survive in abandoned places away from human eyes, and avoid being hunted by another of their kind,” Petersen wrote on his blog, adding, “I also want to state, that Jesse and I have no current plans to develop Cats Trio (or any of the subjects for our series) beyond these exercises.”

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Harvey Awards will return in 2018 at the New York Comic Con

Annual awards will skip 2017 as ReedPOP plans a reception honoring Harvey Kurtzman at this year’s show.

The Harvey Awards will find a new home next year at the New York Comic Con, the annual fall convention managed by ReedPop. According to Newsarama, NYCC will host a reception this year honoring the legacy of Harvey Kurtzman and the awards that were named after him, with a full awards ceremony planned for 2018.

“We are thrilled to host such an iconic award show during one of the biggest comic events of the year, New York Comic Con,” said Lance Fensterman, Global Head of ReedPOP. “We are even more excited to honor the life and work of the late great Harvey Kurtzman here in his hometown, while celebrating the industry’s best work.”

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Dwayne McDuffie’s widow files lawsuit over Milestone Media

Charlotte McDuffie files a lawsuit against Reginald Hudlin, Derek Dingle and Denys Cowan, claiming they’ve cut McDuffie’s estate out of the planned Milestone revival.

Charlotte McDuffie, widow of Dwayne McDuffie, has filed a lawsuit against Reginald Hudlin, Derek Dingle and Denys Cowan, claiming McDuffie’s estate has been excluded from plans for a planned Milestone Media revival.

The suit, filed in L.A. Superior Court on Monday, claims that after Dwayne McDuffie passed away in 2011, “two of his former business partners thereafter conspired with a third person to obstruct McDuffie’s widow from accessing financial information about the business, and then cut out McDuffie’s estate from Milestone Media’s revival.” You can read the complaint in full here or find it embedded below.

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Action figures come to life in Tom Scioli’s ‘Truth to Power’

The ‘Super Powers’ and ‘G.I. Joe vs. Transformers’ creator shares a toyline of his own creation.

After a bit of a break, American Barbarian and Transformers vs. G.I. Joe creator Tom Scioli has returned to his Tumblr ove rthe last week or so with some fun sequential art, including a page of Thor comics, something called War Dreamers and this one, Truth to Power.

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The dead of summer brings ‘Dead of Winter’ #1 from Oni Press [Preview]

New comic based on the tabletop game kicks off this week from Kyle Starks and Gabo.

As announced at C2E2 earlier this year, Kyle Starks and Gabo have teamed up for a new horror-comedy mini-series based on the board game Dead of Winter by Plaid Hat Games.

The first issue arrives this week, and publisher Oni Press has shared a preview:

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Fund Me Friday: Zombie cop, gothic romance and more

Check out — and help fund — projects from Felipe Smith, Hope Nicholson, Chris Wisnia 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. Here’s a look at a few recent campaigns that caught our eyes.

Death Metal Zombie Cop Issue #1

Creators involved: Felipe Smith
Deadline: Aug. 18
Goal: $22,000

What to know: Smith, who’s previous work includes All-New Ghost Rider for Marvel and Peepo Choo for Kodansha/Vertical, kickstarts his first creator-owned series. He says he’s been working on it for five years. The story revolves around two L.A. police officers, rookie Marco Miranda and his disillusioned training officer, Rhonda Riley. There’s also Death Metal Zombie Cop, “L.A.’s deadliest Urban Legend” who proves to be very real. Smith warns that the book will contain graphic violence and course language.

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