Category: Breaking It Down

‘Second Coming’ finally makes it to comic shops this week

The first issue of Mark Russell and Richard Pace’s story about Jesus and superheroes arrives Wednesday from AHOY Comics.

It’s been a long, winding road for Mark Russell and Richard Pace’s Second Coming, but this week it finally makes its way into the hands of readers.

The quick version:

  • Second Coming was originally announced more than a year ago as a part of the latest (and, it would turn out, last) wave of Vertigo books, in celebration of their 25th anniversary. The story features a superhero named Sunstar (formerly Sun-Man) becoming roommates with Jesus Christ.
  • News about the comic’s premise caught the eyes of the religious right, who petitioned DC Comics to cancel the book. They called the unreleased comic “inappropriate and blasphemous.” DC canceled it a few weeks before it was slated to hit comic shops.
  • AHOY Comics picked it up in March, with the first issue scheduled to arrive this Wednesday.

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

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News of a ‘Spider-Man’ miniseries by JJ + Henry Abrams sparks mixed reactions

Fans and pros had many opinions on Marvel’s newest Spidey series.

Marvel teased and then announced last week that filmmaker JJ Abrams and his son Henry will write a new miniseries simply titled Spider-Man. The comic will feature artwork by Sara Pichelli and Dave Stewart, with covers by Olivier Coipel.

The quick version:

  • Marvel began hyping the series with a series of teasers on Twitter that counted down to the day it would be announced, starting with a stylized “4” that looked like Spider-Man’s webs.
  • The announcement was made via a New York Times interview with JJ and Henry Abrams.
  • Reactions were, to put it lightly, mixed. Many fans expressed their disappointment with the overall announcement, as many were hoping the teasers were referring to a comic book adaptation of the script for the unmade Spider-Man 4 by Sam Raimi. Many comic creators criticized the fact that the inexperienced Henry Abrams seems to be getting a big break into comics simply because of who his father is.

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

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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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D + Q announces, then cancels, Berliac’s ‘Sadbøi’

Publisher sites 2015 essay “comparing cultural appropriation and transgender people” as a reason they canceled the project.

Three days after announcing plans to publish Sadbøi by cartoonist Berliac, Drawn & Quarterly issued an apology and said they no longer plan to release the graphic novel.

The quick version:

  1. The project was announced last Tuesday, which spurred several reactions on social media.
  2. The issues raised mainly centered around statements Berliac made in 2015 in an essay comparing cultural appropriation and transgender people, and his subsequent reaction to criticism of that essay.
  3. Berliac responded to D+Q’s decision on Facebook.

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

Continue reading “D + Q announces, then cancels, Berliac’s ‘Sadbøi’”