Author: JK Parkin

‘The Woods,’ ‘Batwoman,’ ‘America’ among 2018 GLAAD Award nominees

DC Comics, Marvel, BOOM! Studios and Black Mask Studios all represented in the 10 nominees in the comic book category.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, have announced the nominees for their 2018 Media Awards, which recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ community and the issues that affect their lives.

BOOM! Studios received four nominations, including one for last year’s winner, The Woods. They were followed by Marvel with three, DC Comics with two and Black Mask Studios with one. James Tynion IV, writer of The Woods, was involved with three of the books that received nominations.

The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will be held in Los Angeles on April 12 at The Beverly Hilton, and in New York on May 5 at the New York Hilton Midtown.

Check out the full list of nominees below.

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‘300’ prequel gets a release date

Frank Miller’s ‘Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander’ arrives from Dark Horse Comics in April.

Frank Miller’s prequel to his hit graphic novel, 300, will arrive in April from Dark Horse Comics.

Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander follows Persian King Xerxes as he sets out to conquer the world to avenge his father Darius’ defeat and create an empire unlike anything the world has ever seen — until the hardy Greeks produce a god king of their own, Alexander the Great. This five-issue series boasts issues with 30+ plus pages of story and features wrap-around covers in a deluxe collector format. Miller will write and draw it, while Alex Sinclair will provide colors.

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Kalish, Ormes announced for Eisner Hall of Fame class of 2018

Comic-Con International announces the 2018 judge’s picks and other nominees for this year’s Eisner Hall of Fame.

Direct market pioneer Carol Kalish and black female newspaper cartoonist Jackie Ormes will be inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in July at Comic-Con International, as announced by CCI on their official blog this week.

Kalish, who worked as direct sales manager and vice president of new product development at Marvel Comics from 1981 to 1991, is credited with pioneering the comics direct market when it was in its adolescence, in part through a program in which Marvel helped pay for comic book stores to acquire cash registers. Kalish also spearheaded the expansion of the Marvel’s distribution into major bookstores such as B. Daltons and Waldenbooks. Kalish passed away in 1991 from a brain aneurysm, at the age 36.

Ormes was the first, and for a long time only, black female newspaper cartoonist. In the 1930s she wrote and drew Dixie in Harlem comics featuring Torchy Brown. After returning to her roots in journalism, she published Candy, a single-panel cartoon about a witty housemaid in 1945. Then she created Patty-Jo ’n’ Ginger, another single-panel cartoon about a pair of sisters, which ran for 11 years through 1956. Finally, from 1950 to 1954, Ormes revamped Torchy Brown into Torchy in Heartbeats, an 8-page color comic insert that included paper dolls. Ormes passed away in 1985.

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‘Barrier’ jumps to print on Free Comic Book Day 2018

Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente’s pay-what-you-want digital comic lands at Image as a five-issue, weekly miniseries coming next May.

Diamond Comics Distributors has announced the 12 Gold Sponsor comic book titles for 2018’s Free Comic Book Day, which includes titles from DC, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW and more. While many publishers use the opportunity to kick off events or new series, Image is doing something interesting this year — their FCBD title is Barrier #1, bringing to print Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente’s pay-what-you-want digital comic.

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‘Cyber Force’ reloads in 2018

Matt Hawkins, Bryan Hill and Atilio Rojo revive Marc Silvestri’s first Image title.

An Image Comics original returns next year as Marc Silvestri’s Cyber Force reboots in March, courtesy of Matt Hawkins, Bryan Hill and Atilio Rojo.

“I’ve always loved Cyber Force,” said Hawkins. “These heroes are more technologically based, and we’re very close to transhumanism as it is! This story has a philosophical slant to it that is very appropriate to the changing times we’re in.”

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Archie Comics announces new ‘Dick Tracy’ series

Michael Moreci, Alex Segura, Thomas Pitilli and Dee Cunniffe team up to bring the yellow-clad detective back to comic books.

Hold on to your fedora — Dick Tracy will return to comic books next April, courtesy of Archie Comics.

The series will be co-written by Roche Limit and Hoax Hunters writer Michael Moreci and Archie Comics co-president (and crime novelist) Alex Segura, with art by Thomas Pitilli and colorist Dee Cunniffe.

“Dick Tracy has always been a character that stands shoulder to shoulder amongst the best–Superman, The Shadow, Conan the Barbarian, Spider-Man, you name it,” Moreci said in a press release. “There’s been so many great Dick Tracy stories over the past 75 years, and that’s such a testament to his versatility, his amazing–unbeatable–rogues gallery, and what he represents.”

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‘Black Hammer’ saga continues in ‘Doctor Star & The Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows’

Artist Max Fiumara joins writer Jeff Lemire on a new miniseries spinning out of the Eisner Award-winning series.

Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s award-winning, best-of-2017 list making and genre-defying Black Hammer returns next year with a new series, but that isn’t the only Black Hammer story to look forward to. Dark Horse has announced another spinoff miniseries, Doctor Star & The Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows by Lemire, Abe Sapien artist Max Fiumara, colorist Dave Stewart and letterer Nate Piekos

Doctor Star & The Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows follows the first Black Hammer spinoff, Sherlock Frankenstein & The Legion of Evil, which is out now. The “dual-narrative” story stars Golden Age superhero Doctor Star, an aged crime fighter trying to reconnect with his son, who he hoped would take over his superhero identity.

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Cryptozoic pumps it up with collectible DC high heels

Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Supergirl and more inspire line of ‘DC Pumps.’

Cryptozoic Entertainment is releasing a line of collectible shoes inspired by “the costumes, props, and personalities of DC’s favorite female heroes and villains.”

The “Pumps” line will include nine 2.25-inch vinyl figures of miniature high-heeled shoes — each with its own “blind reveal” shoebox — finished with pearlescent, metallic and/or glitter paint. The shoes included in wave one are Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Supergirl, Catwoman, Batgirl, Hawkgirl, Poison Ivy, Mera and Black Canary.

DC Pumps will be available at retailers this month for a suggested retail price of $9.99 each. You can see them “in action” in this unboxing video.

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Tommaso’s ‘Dry County’ launches in March

New crime series set in the 1990s features a young Gen-Xer looking for his missing girlfriend.

Rich Tommaso, creator of Spy Seal and She Wolf, heads to Miami for a new crime series set in the 1990s.

With the next Spy Seal story, “Flight of the Golden Bells,” now slated for the fall, Tommaso turns to Dry County, which stars “young Gen-Xer Lou Rossi” in a story of love and crime.

“Lou Rossi wants to grow up—he’s finally of legal age to drink, so all he needs now is a steady day job and a serious relationship,” said Tommaso. “He seems to find the latter in Janet Laughton, while out doing his laundry one night. But the drama that comes with his involvement with her turns his new, ordered lifestyle upside down, having to deal with kidnappers, teenage gangsters, threatening letters and Janet’s dangerous ex-boyfriends.”

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Sienkiewicz covers ‘The Walking Dead’ for the comics’ 15th anniversary

First two variant covers feature Rick Grimes and Michonne.

Bill Sienkiewicz, artist on Big Numbers, New Mutants, Elektra:Assassin and many other awesome comics, will provide a series of variant covers for The Walking Dead in honor of the book’s 15th anniversary.

Image and Skybound Entertainment revealed two of the covers, featuring Rick Grimes and Michonne, which will serve as variants for issues #175 and #176. Issue #175 kicks off the “New World Order” storyline.

Check out the covers below:

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James Kochalka’s ‘Mechaboys’ coming from Top Shelf next year

Two teen boys build their own battle suit to fight bullies in a new graphic novel.

American Elf, Johnny Boo and SuperF*ckers creator (not to mention musician and the first official Cartoonist Laureate of the state of Vermont) James Kochalka returns in March with a new graphic novel from Top Shelf — Mechaboys. The story focuses on two teenagers who build their own battle suit after getting picked on by bullies.

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Ted Naifeh, Space Goat look to crowfund ‘Heroines’ collection

Naifeh’s superhero tale comes to Kickstarter for a ‘backpack edition’ collecting the story to date.

Probably best known for the Courtney Crumrin series published by Oni Press, Ted Naifeh turned his attention to superheroes earlier this year with Heroines, a super-team brought together via a Craigslist ad. After publishing several single issues, Naifeh and publisher Space Goat have turned to Kickstarter to fund a “backpack edition” that collects the series to date.

“All my life, I’ve been a fan of superheroes in one form or another,” Naifeh said. “And I’ve always wanted to explore the genre, to see if I could tease out something new. Working outside the mainstream and with readers directly on Kickstarter gives me the creative freedom to do just that.”

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