Author: JK Parkin

Eat a bug: ‘Umbrella Academy’ returns in October

Gerard Way and and Gabriel Bá’s dysfunctional super-powered family make sits return this fall in ‘The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion.’

Dark Horse Comics has announced that Gerard Way and and Gabriel Bá’s dysfunctional super-powered family will return this October, as the duo get set for The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion.

It’s been almost a decade since we last visited the academy. The titular team debuted in 2007 with The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, which was quickly followed by The Umbrella Academy: Dallas in 2008. The story revolves around seven super-powered children who were adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, an extraterrestrial entrepreneur/scientist, and trained to save the world. After growing up and growing apart, the team reforms when Hargreeves dies and one of their number becomes a super villain.

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Mignola, CCI celebrate 25 years of Hellboy

Mike Mignola’s monster-fighting monster returns with three new projects from Dark Horse and a tribute cover on the CCI events guide.

This week’s Comic-Con International celebrates 25 years of Hellboy by placing Mike Mignola’s most famous creation on the cover of their annual events guide — while publisher Dark Horse Comics has taken the occasion to announce three new Hellboy-related titles.

“From the beginning I knew Hellboy was going to be a book about monsters fighting monsters,” Mignola said in a press release. “I started off with a 4-page teaser about a shabby dog at a gas station turning into the Egypian god Anubis, and since I got away with that I just kept going—the Baba Yaga, the Penanggalan, demonic Mexican wrestlers, Irish goblins, flying Japanese heads—there’s a whole world of monsters out there, so still plenty of work for Hellboy to do.”

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IDW to publish ‘Spider-Man,’ ‘Avengers,’ ‘Black Panther’ series aimed at younger readers

Marvel and IDW team up to ‘develop middle-grade comic books designed for younger readers.’

I guess this shouldn’t come as a shock, given how Disney has licensed IDW to create Big Hero 6 and Star Wars comics aimed at younger readers, but still, that headline …

IDW and Marvel announced today that they “will develop middle-grade comic books designed for younger readers. Featuring some of Marvel’s most popular characters, the monthly issues and trade paperback collections, published by IDW, will be available for sale at local comic book shops and book retailers across the country, expanding opportunities for the next generation of Super Heroes to experience the Marvel Universe.”

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Nominees announced for the 2018 British Fantasy Awards

‘Bitch Planet,’ ‘Monstress,’ ‘The Wicked + The Divine’ among this year’s nominees for the comics category.

The British Fantasy Society has announced the nominees for the 2018 British Fantasy Awards, including the “Best Comic/Graphic Novel” category.

The entrants are selected after two rounds of nominations, and votes are tallied from the members of the British Fantasy Society and FantasyCon. Winners will be announced Oct. 21 at FantasyCon 2018. Monstress took home the award last year.

The nominees in the “Best Comic/Graphic Novel” category include:

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Death cults and depravity descend in post-apocalyptic ‘Death Orb’

New title from Ryan Ferrier, Alejandro Aragon and Chris O’Halloran follows a “heartbroken, axe-wielding wasteland survivor in search of his wife and son.”

Writer Ryan Ferrier (D4VE) artist Alejandro Aragon (Robocop) and colorist Chris O’Halloran (Ice Cream Man) are headed back to the future — a post-apocalyptic, mutant infested, nightmarish future in Death Orb, a new miniseries from Dark Horse Comics.

“We’re going off the rails with this one,” Ferrier said on Twitter.

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DC Universe app to offer comics as well

The new app will include ‘decades of comics creations’ via a subscription service, in addition to new TV shows, classic movies, a community forum and more.

DC Comics has been talking about their forthcoming digital app for a while now, announcing that it will be the home of new TV shows like Teen Titans, Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing and a new season of the animated Young Justice animated series, among others. But today they announced it will be more than a streaming service — it will also feature comics.

While Marvel Unlimited and comiXology Unlimited both offer “all you can eat” subscription models through their services, DC Comics has yet to offer a similar service for their comics. But the new service, DC Universe, will change that.

“DC Universe is so much more than a streaming service. It’s a welcoming place for everyone to immerse themselves in their own level of DC fandom, with the epic characters, stories and experiences they have come to expect from DC,” said Jim Lee, chief creative officer and publisher, DC Entertainment. “We are investing in and creating original, high-quality shows including the new Titans series, and curating the most beloved nostalgic content, while at the same time elevating the comic reading experience to new heights. Nothing this robust has ever been offered to fans before.”

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Support free speech with these ‘retro’ CBLDF designs

Get shirts, hats, phone cases and more featuring artwork by Frank Miller, Jeff Smith, Mike Allred, James Kochalka, Jim Lee and many others.

Over the years comic creators have donated artwork to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund for use on membership cards, T-shirts and other premiums. Many of them quickly sold out and haven’t been available for a while — until now. CBLDF has launched a Threadless shop, offering shirts and other items featuring some of their “retro” artwork.

For instance, you can get a shirt featuring Mike Allred’s Lady Liberty drawing, which graced the cover of a CBLDF anthology in 2014. There’s also Frank Miller’s Defiant Fist, which would look great on a throw pillow. Or this patriotic Bone artwork, if you’re looking for something for the kids. Additional artwork by Cliff Chiang, Terry Moore, Jim Lee, Judd Winick and more can also be found on the site.

Proceeds benefit the fund, so head on over to Threadless to check them out.

Nominees announced for the 2018 Ringo Awards

The nominees for the Ringo Awards have been announced, marking the second year for the awards program named for artist Mike Wieringo, who passed away in 2007.

While fans could participate in the nomination process, only comic book professionals can vote for the winners. The awards will be presented at Baltimore Comic-Con Sept. 29.

Congratulations to all the nominees:

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DeMatteis + Cavallaro travel the cosmos and more in ‘Impossible, Incorporated’

The creative team behind ‘The Life And Times Of Savior 28’ returns with a new five-issue series this September.

A long-gestating project by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Cavallaro will see the light of day in September, when IDW Publishing will release Impossible, Incorporated, a five-issue comic book miniseries about a 17-year-old and her train that can travel to “other worlds, new dimensions, parallel universes and through time itself.”

“I’ve been bouncing around the idea for Impossible, Inc. with Mike Cavallaro for five or six years now. We wanted to create something that had the innocence of Silver Age comics; the expansive imagination of Jack Kirby; a cosmic perspective on life; and – most of all – a big, beating heart at its core. A story that could explore the quantum corners of both the universe and the human soul. Now that dream is a reality and we’ve uncorked a tale that we hope meets our goals and delights our audience,” DeMatteis said in the press release. “I’ve been blown away by Mike’s art, which has a power and purity of vision that encompasses both infinity and intimacy. We hope comic book readers join us on this journey. We’re having a blast and we think that they will, too.”

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Walmart to offer exclusive ‘giant’ anthologies from DC — with new content

New material by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Dan Jurgens, Tim Seeley, Tom King, Brian Michael Bendis and Andy Kubert joins past stories in new monthly line.

DC Comics and Walmart have teamed up to offer an exclusive line of 100-page “giant” anthologies at the big-box retailer. The anthologies will feature a mix of previously published and new materiel, including new material by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Patrick “Patch” Zircher, Brian Michael Bendis, Dan Jurgens, Tim Seeley, Rick Leonardi, Steve Buccellato, Andy Kubert, Scott Eaton and Tom King.

“We are extraordinarily excited about working with Walmart to expand the reach of our books,” said DC Publisher Dan DiDio in a statement. “These new monthly books combine new and accessible stories with reprints of classic comic series. It’s a great way for new readers to get into comics and follow the characters they’ve grown to love in TV and film.”

Each of the four titles – Superman Giant, Justice League Of America Giant, Batman Giant and Teen Titans Giant – will arrive in stores by July 1. Beginning in August, the Superman and Justice League titles will arrive in week one of each month, with Batman and Teen Titans arriving approximately two weeks later. They’ll cost $4.99.

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Sam Kieth returns to the Maxx with ‘Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams’

IDW and DC Comics team up to publish a five-issue miniseries starring the Dark Knight and Arkham’s newest patient: The Maxx.

Sam Kieth’s The Maxx hasn’t been seen in about a decade, but that changes in September when IDW Publishing and DC Comics come together to present Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams. The first issue of the five-issue miniseries, written and drawn by Kieth, will feature covers by Kieth and DC CCO/Publisher Jim Lee.
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Tommaso + the Allreds bring Dick Tracy back to comics at IDW

The four-issue ‘Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive’ miniseries starts in September.

After a false start late last year involving a licensing snafu that kept Archie from publishing a Dick Tracy comic, the fedora-wearing detective is back in a new series from IDW Publishing.

Michael Allred, Lee Allred, Rich Tommaso and Laura Allred will team up for Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive, a four-issue miniseries launching in September. Lee and Michael will co-write the series, while Tommaso will draw it.

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