Author: JK Parkin

Sharknife returns in Corey Lewis’ ‘Sun Bakery’ #5

The popular character who previously appeared in two graphic novels makes his triumphant return in August.

Corey Lewis’ infectiously fun restaurant defender, Sharknife, will return in the creator’s Sun Bakery anthology this summer.

Last seen in 2012, Sharknife previously appeared in two graphic novels published by Oni Press. An employee of The Guandong Factory, Caesar Hallelujah protects the restaurant from the monsters that live inside its walls by transforming into the heroic Sharknife — much to the delight of the establishment’s customers.

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Prepare for winter with Benjamin Dewey’s ‘Game of Thrones’ prints

Have Jon Snow and Daenarys Targaryen face off on your wall before they face off on TV.

Benjamin Dewey, artist for The Autumnlands and creator of The Tragedy Series, will help hype you for the return of A Game of Thrones with these two prints, featuring everyone’s favorite Mother of Dragons and King in the North.

It’s more than likely that we’ll see Jon Snow and Daenarys Targaryen stand face to face at some point before the series ends, so why not hang these two prints up facing each other and live out that scene now?

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Image Comics pulls ‘Divided States of America’ #4 cover after widespread criticism

After criticism from creators and fans, Image Comics announced that they would not use the controversial cover to Divided States of America #4 that was originally solicited. Instead, they will use the planned cover for issue #6 on issue #4.

The quick version:

1. Released with Image Comics’ September 2017 solicitations, the original cover to Divided States of Hysteria #4 featured an image of a Pakistani man being lynched, his pants down with his genitals mutilated, and a name tag with the slur “Paki” on it.

2. The cover was met with criticism from creators, fans and critics; these reactions followed quickly on the heels of negative reactions to the first issue and its portrayal of a trans sex worker being attacked.

3. Image Comics released a response over the weekend, which included the announcement that they would not use the original cover, replacing it with what would have been the cover for issue #6.

So what’s this all about? Let’s break it down …

[NOTE: The original cover to Divided States of America #4 is pretty graphic, but I’ve included it below and have attempted to hide it … but given differences in browsers, there’s no telling if the code doing so will work as intended in every browser instance. So, please be warned.]

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Fund Me Friday: ‘A Perfect Circle,’ Elizabeth Beier and more

Plus: ‘Blocked: Stories from the World of Online Dating,’ Chris Samnee, Craig Rousseau and the Killer Bees!

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.

A Perfect Circle minicomic

Creators involved: Writer Eric Esquivel and artist Ryan Quackenbush
Deadline: July 22
Goal: $150 (Funded!)

What to know: Esquivel shared where the story idea for this eight-page minicomic came from on Tumblr. “I got dumped at the tail end of October last year. It was, as these things often are, horrible,” he wrote. “To cope with my confusion, I did what I always do: wrote a comic about it. Specifically: a comic book about a guy who–after realizing that the last three decades of his life have been essentially a repeat of the same sad story over, and over, and over again– embarks on an epic journey to find a supernatural means with which to obliterate his personality, and start fresh.”

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Archie returns to his ‘classic’ style in ‘Your Pal, Archie’ #1

Check out a preview of the first issue, due out July 26.

This past spring Archie Comics announced that their “classic-style” Archie would return in a new series by Ty Templeton and Dan Parent … with a small twist. Parent and Templeton have tweaked the artwork a bit, noting it “will be influenced from the styles and fashion of The CW’s hit new Riverdale TV series, but will remain familiar for fans of the classic style.”

The company has now released a preview of the first issue, which looks and feels more like the traditional Archie, but with the twist they noted in their release. The first five issues will feature connecting variant cover by Les McClaine, and there’s also an Incredible Hulk #181 tribute cover featuring Archie vs. Jughead that’s exclusive to Stadium Comics.

Check the preview out below.

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DC Comics teases another Colonel Sanders comic

Worlds collide again as a third DC/KFC comic arrives in July.

The comic book/fast food crossover event of the decade is set to continue, as DC Comics teases a third comic featuring KFC mascot Colonel Sanders teaming with anyone and everyone in the DC Universe. The last two comics were pretty insane, so who knows what they have in store this time — we only have the promise that he’ll go where “no colonel has gone before.”

If you missed the first two issues, never fear — you can download both of them for free, courtesy of the DC Entertainment app and, of course, KFC. So don’t miss out on The Colonel of Two Worlds or The Colonel Corps. Be warned: they may make you hungry for chicken.

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Gumby tackles fashion in this complete story by Kyle Baker

In advance of the first issue of ‘Gumby’ coming next week, Papercutz shares a story from that issue by one of comics’ greats.

NBM’s kid-friendly comics imprint Papercutz announced a new comic series starring everyone’s favorite bendable green guy, Gumby, earlier this year, and now in advance of its July 5 release they’ve shared a full story from the first issue by the wonderful Kyle Baker, who does not disappoint.

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Read Tom Scioli’s ‘director’s commentary’ for his ‘Super Powers’ stories

The creator shares more about his creative process for the back-up that ran in ‘Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye.’

Tom Scioli’s recent revival of DC’s Super Powers drew heavily not just from the source material, but from “The Source” as well, as he dove deep into DC lore, particularly Jack Kirby’s contributions, to tell a crazy new story. With that material being collected in the Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye trade paperback, Scioli took to his blog to share his commentary on his approach to the new story.

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Variant ‘Redneck’ cover spawns a shirt for a good cause

The Pride Month variant covercby Ed Luce for the Skybound title is now a T-shirt benefiting The Trevor Project.

Redneck #3, the Image Comics/Skybound title about Texas vampires by Donny Cates, Lisandro Estherren and Dee Cunniffe, will help celebrate Pride month this week with a variant cover by Ed Luce. That cover features a vampire wearing a shirt that sports a variant of the LGBT slogan “We’re here. We’re queer. Get used to it.” Only more NSFW:

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Help ‘shine a light in all this darkness’ by resurrecting Pepe the Frog

Matt Furie attempts to #SavePepe with a new crowdfunded comic about the stoned frog who was hijacked by white supremacists.

The Associated Press reports that Pepe the Frog, like all good comic book characters, is returning from the grave.

Pepe’s redemption will come via Kickstarter, where creator Matt Furie and his brother Jason are attempting to raise money “to positively resurrect Pepe through the creation of a brand new comic in the spirit of the original Boy’s Club.” Per the AP story, Matt’s attorney, Kimberly Motley, is exploring possible litigation against those profiting off Pepe’s image without Furie’s permission.

Pepe the Frog debuted in 2006 as part of the Boy’s Club ensemble, appearing on MySpace and in comics published by Buenaventura Press. Later his chill nature became the subject of many memes. In 2015, the white supremacists in the far right “alt.right” movement co-opted Pepe for their own white nationalism campaigns, leading to the Anti-Defamation League branding him as a hate symbol in 2016. Furie killed Pepe off on Free Comic Book Day earlier this year. Since then, the ADL has worked with Matt Furie to help #SavePepe.

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Newlyweds fight boll weevils, drug cartels in ‘Gasolina’

Skybound editor Sean Mackiewicz teams with Niko Walter, Mat Lopes and Rus Wooton for horror-crime series.

Readers of The Walking Dead or Invincible are likely familiar with Sean Mackiewicz, editorial director for Skybound, who can be found on both book’s letters pages. But responses to questions about when Daryl’s going to show up aren’t the only thing Mackiewicz is writing; he’s also branching out and writing a new comic called Gasolina, with artist Niko Walter, colorist Mat Lopes and letterer Rus Wooton.

“So, the pitch: Gasolina is a horror-crime epic set in Mexico, full of gun fights against cartels armed with tanks and perverse creatures… shot through the eyes of newlyweds fighting against a world quickly going to hell, who put a human face on a conflict that’s both harrowing and outrageous,” Mackiewicz wrote on the Skybound site. “The short version: shit goes down.”

The first issue arrives in September. Check out some preview pages for it below.

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‘Scales & Scoundrels’ brings all-ages fantasy to Image Comics

Sebastian Girner, Galaad and Jeff Powell team up to tell ‘the adventure of a lifetime.’

Editor and Shirtless Bear-Fighter co-writer Sebastian Girner trades bears for dragons in Scales & Scoundrels, a new all-ages fantasy title he’s working on with artist Galaad and letterer/designer Jeff Powell. The series debuts in September from Image Comics.

“Scales & Scoundrels is a dream project for Galaad, Jeff and myself,” Girner said in a press release. “We are crafting a deep and wondrous world for readers to get lost in, creating heroes, villains and rogues to love and loathe, and spinning tales that will delight and entertain, shock and inspire. A fantasy adventure comic for readers of all ages to escape into, and bring a piece of magic back with them into their lives.”

The series stars a treasure hunter named Luvander who heads into a dungeon crawl called “the Dragon’s Maw.” But, per the release, “what starts out as a road to riches becomes the first step on an epic journey of a much different kind—for Luvander holds a secret in her heart that will shatter the chains of fate and bring light to a world encroached upon by an ancient darkness.”

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