Author: JK Parkin

Karma gets a new first name in Trung Le Nguyen’s ‘Karma in Love’

The Vietnamese character now has a first name more befitting of her background and culture.

A classic New Mutant received a name change — well, more of a name tweak — in a recent Marvel Unlimited Infinity Comic. Karma, whose real name was Xi’an, is now Xuân.

The Magic Fish creator Trung Le Nguyen, who is also Vietnamese like the character, wrote and drew “Karma in Love,” the story where the new name was noted. He spoke to Marvel.com about the change.

“I’ve had quite a journey around Karma’s civilian name. As a reader who spoke Vietnamese as a child, it was really difficult for me to connect with Karma because I knew her name was gibberish,” he said, noting that the “sh” sound in “Xi’an,” which was shown to be pronounced as “Shan” in various comics, didn’t exist in the Vietnamese language.

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‘She-Hulk’ celebrates 175 issues in April

Rainbow Rowell, Andrés Genolet and more will celebrate with a double-sized milestone issue.

Add up all those issues of She-Hulk and you’ll get to 175 with issue #12 of the latest series, which arrives in April. Writer Rainbow Rowell and artist Andrés Genolet, who worked together on Runaways, will reunite to celebrate the milestone.

The doubled-sized issue that will introduce a new villain, The Scoundrel, into Jennifer Walters’ already complicated life.

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Fantagraphics will publish Maria Bamford + Scott Marvel Cassidy’s ‘Hogbook and Lazer Eyes’

The new graphic novel will arrive in stores in June.

Fantagraphics has announced Hogbook and Lazer Eyes, a new graphic novel from actress and comedian Maria Bamford and painter Scott Marvel Cassidy.

The two creators, who were married in 2015, met through the dating app OK Cupid, as chronicled on the quasi-autobiographical Lady Dynamite! show on Netflix. The graphic novel will recount their story through the eyes of their pug housemates.

“As a dog lover, and as a comics fan, I was immediately charmed by Hogbook and Lazer Eyes from almost the first page,” said Fantagraphics Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds. “Maria and Scott have crafted something as sweet and beautiful as it is laugh out loud funny.”

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Maia Kobabe has a new graphic novel arriving from Scholastic in 2025

Kobabe will team with artist Lucky Srikumar on ‘Saachi’s Stories.’

Gender Queer creator Maia Kobabe’s next graphic novel will arrive from Scholastic in 2025, according to a report on Publisher’s Weekly. Kobabe will team with artist Lucky Srikumar for Saachi’s Stories, a middle-grade graphic novel being released through Scholastic’s Graphix imprint.

“I have sold my second book!” Kobabe said on Tumblr. “It’s called Saachi’s Stories and I wrote it with my wonderful, smart, hot, funny, talented friend @diamoric-comix! It’s due out from Scholastic Graphix in 2025. It’s fiction, and it’s aimed at a younger audience than Gender Queer but it is once again about a character wrestling with gender, identity and sexuality, this time in the crucible of junior high. I am really excited about this book, and can’t wait to share it with you in a couple more years.”

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Marvel will launch a new ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ series in April

Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Kev Walker and Matt Hollingsworth chart a new course into Marvel’s cosmic frontier.

Marvel has announced that co-writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, along with artist Kev Walker and colorist Matt Hollingsworth, will plot a new course for the Guardians of the Galaxy beginning in April.

The team, which will consist of Star-Lord, Gamora, Nebula, Drax and Mantis, will “venture to new, never-before-seen planets, encounter brand-new alien species, and discover long-hidden galaxy-bending truths that will make readers question everything they thought they knew about the cosmic side of Marvel.”

I dig the Western vibe they have going in the preview art:

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Slugfest | ‘Batman/Spawn’ gets an ‘inks only’ edition

Today’s round-up includes news and announcements on ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ Brian Michael Bendis, Keanu Reeves, Shakespeare, ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you from comics creators, publishers and more. Most of this edition includes all those end-of-the-year announcements I missed because I was on vacation. Hit the links for more information.

DC and Todd McFarlane have announced Batman/Spawn Unplugged, an uncolored and unlettered version of the recent crossover comic by Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo.

“It’s always exciting whenever us artists can present our work in as unfiltered a manner as possible,” said McFarlane. “This book will let you see the true skill of how Greg Capullo does his masterful storytelling… and every line that we both put down.”

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Sabrina bonds with Darkling as Steel Sterling teams with Pureheart in this preview of ‘World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #126

Check out an exclusive preview of two new stories coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of our friends at Archie Comics, we’re pleased to kick off the new year with a preview of World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #126.

We’re always happy to share the latest stories featuring some of our favorites from the Mighty Crusaders and Archie’s superhero line, and this time is no different. Up first we have a new story by Ian Flynn, Steven Butler and Lily Butler featuring a magical team-up between Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the mystical superhero Darkling. Then Archie in his superhero identity — Pureheart the Powerful — teams with Steel Sterling to take on the villainous Suprema. It’s by the legendary Tom DeFalco, who you might remember as the former editor in chief from Marvel and the writer of Fantastic Four and other titles, along with artists Bill and Ben Galvan.

Check out the previews below, as well as a classic story by Bill Golliher and Bob Bolling.

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Flappers, forehands and infamy: A brief history of tennis fashion scandals

Tom Humberstone, creator of the graphic novel ‘Suzanne,’ offers a guest essay today on tennis and fashion.

Here’s something you probably didn’t expect to see on Smash Pages — a column on tennis and fashion. Today we’re pleased to present a guest column from Tom Humberstone, the creator of the recently released Suzanne from Avery Hill Publishing.

In Suzanne, Humberstone tells the story of Suzanne Lenglen, one of the unsung heroes of women’s sports. She became a championship tennis player at the age of 15, breaking records for ticket sales and match winning streaks, all while breaking societal norms with her playing outfits during the trailblazing jazz age.

In his essay, Humberstone traces the advances Lenglen made in both tennis and fashion to the present day. You can also check out a few pages from his graphic novel.

by Tom Humberstone

When Serena Williams stepped onto Arthur Ashe stadium for what could be the last time, the world watched with nervous anticipation, awaiting answers to a volley of questions. Having recently announced her “evolution” away from playing tennis, people were curious what this final US Open might look like for her. Would she make a fairy-tale run and secure that elusive, record-extending 24th major title? Or, given her recent form in Cincinnati, would she exit in the first round? Is it really the end? What will a tennis world without Serena Williams look like? And, perhaps most importantly of all, what will her final outfit be?

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Cates + Ottley’s Hulk run ends earlier than expected

‘Hulk’ #14 will wrap up the jade giant’s current run in April.

Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley’s run on Hulk is coming to an end early, as April’s issue #14 will wrap up the story they started back in 2021. Cates, actually, has already left the title, leaving Ottley to wrap things up as both writer and artist.

According to Popverse, Hulk #14 was supposed to be the end of the current “Planet Hulk” arc of the Hulk book, with more issues planned from Cates without Ottley. But Cates left both Hulk and Thor, taking to Twitter to explain that he needed to “deal with a bunch of life.”

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Ghosts, goblins and gardening: Norman Shurtliff’s ‘Skull Cat’ starts his job at ‘The Curious Castle’ next month

The new Top Shelf graphic novel kicks off a middle grade series by the creator.

Ghosts, vampires, goblins … they’re all in a day’s work for Skull Cat, the new garden-keeper at Le Dark Chateau, the local spooky castle.

Skull Cat and the Curious Castle is the first in a planned series by Norman Shurtliff and arrives in stores on Feb. 21. The thing I find interesting about it, besides the supernatural elements, is the fact that Skull Cat is a gardener — which makes sense given Shurtliff has a degree in horticulture. So come for the cute cat being chased by monsters, stay for the (hopefully plentiful) gardening tips.

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Quick Hits | Variant covers exploded in 2022 as number of new comic releases increased year over year

Plus: News on ‘Gender Queer,’ ‘Adora and the Distance,’ and more.

The always essential Comichron by comic sales guru John Jackson Miller has a number of charts up about 2022 comics. With distribution scattered amongst numerous players now, it’s harder to pin down sales numbers for many titles, but Miller has been keeping track of the number of new periodical releases, which gives an indication of the health of the overall comics market:

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Welcome your new, creepy ‘Neighbors’ in March

The new title by Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Letizia Cadonici and Alessandro Santoro will debut from BOOM! Studios.

Get out your welcome basket: writer Jude Ellison S. Doyle, artist Letizia Cadonici and colorist Alessandro Santoro will bring The Neighbors to BOOM! Studios later this year.

It’s described as “changeling horror” — which, according to folklore, was when a fairy stole a child and replaced them with a fairy.

“I am so excited for The Neighbors. It’s a story about what scared me as a kid, what scares me as a parent, and the terror that shadows queer and trans people who are raising families in 2022,” said Doyle. “Letizia Cadonici’s witchy, haunted art provides such a beautiful portal into this other world. I sincerely hope you’ll walk through and see what’s inside.”

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