Author: JK Parkin

Gillen + Wijngard + Cowles bring ‘The Power Fantasy’ to life in August

The new series about superpowered beings will be published by Image Comics.

Kieron Gillen, Caspar Wijngaard and Clayton Cowles will present “the eternal fight against fighting” in the new series The Power Fantasy, coming in August from Image Comics.

The series will feature six superpowered people, with “superpowered” being described as having the destructive power of America’s nuclear arsenal. So for the good of the world, it’s important that they never come into conflict.

“This is very much the new big swing book,” Gillen said on social media. “I think you’ll love it.”

Here’s the teaser:

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Smash Pages Q&A | Murewa Ayodele + Dotun Akande on ‘Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods’

The creators of ‘I Am Iron Man’ discuss their new Yoruba-influenced barbarian tale, which Oni Press will release in April.

Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande made a splash on their native continent as the founders of Collectible Comics NG, their own Nigeria-based comics studio, and as the creators of comics like My Grandfather Was a God. They then broke into the U.S. market first with New Men from Action Lab, followed by several stories for Marvel, including the I Am Iron Man miniseries.

Their latest project is Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods, which Oni Press will publish next month. It’s an oversized three-issue miniseries that combines their love for Western comics and animation like Conan the Barbarian and Samurai Jack with Yoruba mythology, bringing an African lens to the traditional sword and sorcery tale.

“According to Yoruba mythology, we were all made by a drunk god, and during one of his drunken stupor, he made horrific monsters also. The first of the gods to visit this new, twisted world was the erratic god of war,” Ayodele said. “When we discovered this little bit of our culture’s mythology, we knew we wanted to tell a gritty fantastical story set in this primordial African world — a world of barbarous violence, monstrous creatures, and gods who give in to primal, destructive urges.” 

I spoke with both creators about the new series, their love for mythology and comics, and more. My thanks to both of them for their time.

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Visit a town cast in eternal darkness in Lambert + Sharpe’s ‘The Night Mother’

Jeremy Lambert and Alexa Sharpe’s new graphic novel will arrive in October from Oni Press.

Oni Press will cozy up to The Night Mother, a new graphic novel by Jeremy Lambert, writer of Doom Patrol, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Goosebumps and more, and artist Alexa Sharpe, who has worked on Lumberjanes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and more. They’re joined by letterer Becca Carey for the dark fantasy.

The story is set in a seaside town cast into perpetual night when the sun disappears, where Madeline Tock lives in the local graveyard and talks to the dead — and prepares to battle the Night Mother for the soul of her town.

“The Night Mother is a supernatural snow globe world of the unknown where a frightened Madeline Tock must learn to trust herself in a place of warped expectations. A place where the dead can whisper and the woman from the moon gathers their souls in her lantern,” Lambert said. “We all have our own crucible when we are younger… a pressure cooker of fears, loves and discoveries… when we learn about who we are along with the many shadows that follow us. This is Maddy’s.”

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Michael Walsh will bring ‘Frankenstein’ to comics in August

Skybound announces a third miniseries featuring the classic Universal Monsters.

Skybound has announced a third miniseries in their Universal Monsters line-up, as Michael Walsh will write and draw a miniseries featuring Frankenstein.

Each of the four issues will tell the story behind one of the body parts used to create Frankenstein in the original film — which seems like the perfect approach from the creator and artist of The Silver Coin, an anthology series that follows a cursed coin into different horror stories.

“The story of Dr. Frankenstein and his poor, misunderstood monster is one of the most recognizable and influential horror tales ever told… It’s also one of my favorites,” Walsh said. “The original 1931 film from Universal Pictures is a continuing inspiration for my art and storytelling, so, as you can imagine, I was honored to be able to play in that sandbox. Trying to tell an original story while staying true to the canon of that film was an exciting yet daunting prospect. It’s been some of the most fun I’ve had making comic books, and I know that fans of Frankenstein and horror will have a blast experiencing these characters and iconic scenes like never before.” 

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‘Holler’ tells the story of the ‘unkempt, final generation of analog teenagers’

Dark Horse Comics will collect Jeremy Massie’s comic into one volume later this year.

Dark Horse Comics will collect Holler, Jeremy Massie’s ode to the grunge era of the 1990s, into one volume this fall.

Originally self-published via crowdfunding and It’s Alive, the collection will include all eight issues Massie produced and eventually posted on his website. The comic tells the story of Magnesium Mama, the grunge band formed by four friends in an Appalachian town in Virginia.

“I’ve gotten to a certain time in my life where I’ve gotten introspective, maybe even sentimental, about the time and place I grew up,” said Massie. “Even if the times and place weren’t the greatest, I was dwelling on that period a lot. I was so hung up on it I started making comics about my band-playing teenage years. They’re the type of comics I’ve always wanted to make.”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Sarah Byam on ‘Billi 99’

The writer of one of Tim Sale’s first comics projects talks about the new hardcover being crowdfunded by Clover Press.

Before Long Halloween, Superman for All Seasons or the various shades of Marvel miniseries like Hulk: Gray and Daredevil: Yellow came Billi 99, the first major comics work of Tim Sale.

The legendary artist teamed with writer Sarah Byam on the project, which was first published in black and white by Dark Horse back in 1991. The four-issue miniseries told the story of a teen vigilante, Billi Chadam, who took up her father’s sword to battle corporate greed and a corrupt government.

And now, more than 30 years later, Billi 99 is back. Clover Press is currently crowdfunding a hardcover collecting the almost 200-page story, with added color by José Villarrubia. The project has surpassed its goal by a landslide, and offers several editions and add ons in addition to the hardcover.

I spoke with Byam about the project, the addition of color, and what it means to see her and Sale’s vision for Billi 99 realized.

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Eisner Hall of Fame announces 19 inductees for 2024

The inductees will be honored at a ceremony at this year’s San Diego Comic Con.

Comic-Con International has announced 19 inductees for the Will Eisner Awards Hall of Fame this year, as chosen by their panel of judges. These 19 will automatically be inducted, while additional choices for the general vote will be announced in April.

With four more inductees typically chosen by voting professionals, that means we’re looking at a Hall of Fame class of 23 people. So it’s a good thing they have their own separate ceremony now, prior to the evening’s ceremony where the Eisner winners are announced.

Last year the Eisners announced the split in the ceremony, which was also the first year they began honoring a larger group of people. Typically the Eisner judges would pick 2-6 people to automatically induct, and then voters would choose four more. Last year that number jumped to 15 automatic inductees.

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It’s time to ‘Skate or Die’ with … Godzilla?

Louie Joyce brings the big green kaiju to Australia to battle Varan.

Move over, Night Thrasher — there’s a new skater in town! And he shreds to the name of … Godzilla!

OK, so when I first saw the art for this pass by while scrolling through social media, I thought it was fan art, combining Godzilla with the 1980s video game “Skate or Die!” It didn’t occur to me until a little while later that hey, this is a real comic that’s going to be published by IDW.

But, thank goodness, it is indeed real. IDW will publish Godzilla: Skate or Die by Australian artist and avid roller blader Louie Joyce, who has drawn comics like A Fistful of Pain and Past the Last Mountain. Joyce is writing and drawing the five-issue miniseries, which features Australian skaters fighting kaiju.

“I am so excited to share Godzilla: Skate or Die with the world,” Joyce said. “A story set right here in Australia, inspired by all the amazing DIY spots I’ve had the privilege of skating, as well as the incredible freedom and power that comes with having wheels under your feet! All against the backdrop of an epic Kaiju showdown. It’s gonna get gnarly!”

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Peter Bagge returns to ‘Hate’ this summer

Buddy and the gang return to comics in the four-issue miniseries ‘Hate Revisited.’

Hate creator Peter Bagge will return to the legendary series this summer for Hate Revisited, which catches up with Buddy and the gang in the present day.

While Hate detailed the trials and tribulations of life in grunge-era Seattle, the new miniseries will add “a layer of emotional gravitas as Buddy and Lisa and co. are confronted with the consequences of some of their youthful indiscretions.” It’ll contain flashbacks to the 1980s and 1990s, showing the cast in both timeframes.

“While it was suggested to me that I revisit the old Hate cast, once I got started on it, I was more than happy with the results,” Bagge said. “This stuff writes itself! I’m also glad I decided to split it between the present day as well as flashbacks to the ’80s and ’90s. This was especially true with Stinky. I forgot what a loose cannon that character was!”

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You can pre-order Michel Fiffe’s DIY guide to creating comics

‘Creating Copra: Michel Fiffe’s Definitive DIY Guide to Making and Self-Publishing Comics’ will reveal the ‘Copra’ creator’s secrets.

If you’ve ever wondered how Copra creator Michel Fiffe produces and publishes his own comics, it’s time to find out –he’s offering a guide to making and publishing your own comics for pre-order on his website.

Creating Copra: Michel Fiffe’s Definitive DIY Guide to Making and Self-Publishing Comics is as the title describes, as detailed by one of the modern-day masters. Fiffe has self-published roughly 45 issues of Copra — minus a few that were published by Image — along with several spinoffs.

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Conan draws his ‘Savage Sword’ once again

Check out new comics and graphic novels by Kevin Sacco, Mark Doox, Jeremy Whitley, Megan Huang, Jeremy Holt and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. And yes, with DC’s announcement last week that they plan to return to a Wednesday release date for their comics every week, I am proactively changing the name of this feature back to its original moniker — even if the change won’t occur until July.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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Aaron + Manna fire off ‘BRZRKR: A Faceful of Bullets’

The one-shot starring Keanu Reeves’ creation will arrive in stores this summer.

Jason Aaron has been busy since his exclusive contract with Marvel expired, writing pop culture icons like Superman, Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Uncle Scrooge. He’ll add another icon to that list, Keanu Reeves, with BRZRKR: A Faceful of Bullets.

BOOM! Studios announced the one-shot at the ComicsPRO meeting last week. Aaron will work with Reeves and artist Francesco Manna on the project, which will take the immortal title character to  the 1800s American West. It also serves as the first of several BRZRKR: Bloodlines specials BOOM! will release.

“Having new writers and artists explore B.’s history in these Bloodlines Specials is something that is so exciting to me,” said Reeves, the creator of BRZRKR. “Jason and Francesco teaming up for a brutal, tragic Western was a perfect match for BRZRKR and the types of stories we want to tell in this universe.”

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