Category: Comic Books

Re-reading ‘World’s Finest’ #258, the comic that got Jason Aaron into world-building

Tom Bondurant dives into a classic issue of DC’s ‘Dollar Comics’ line that helped inspire the architect of Marvel’s ‘Heroes Reborn’ event.

As part of our round-robin Heroes Reborn [2021] coverage, I learned that writer Jason Aaron’s first superhero comic book was August-September 1979’s World’s Finest Comics #258. Back then it was part of DC’s “Dollar Comics” line, boasting 68 pages’ and five features’ worth of colorful characters. In his newsletter, Aaron says

I fell in love with these books, in part because they didn’t just give me one story, but instead gave me a taste of an entire world of characters and adventures and history that was out there waiting for me. The sort of gargantuan super-world that would come to consume a large portion of the rest of my life. […] In other words, I think I’ve been primed from the beginning to want to build my own world of superheroes. And HEROES REBORN is maybe as close as I’ll ever come to doing exactly that.

It will surprise none of you to learn that I also read World’s Finest Comics regularly as a kid, especially during the Dollar Comics phase. (It lasted over five years and almost 40 issues, from April-May 1977’s #244 through August 1982’s #282; and a Green Arrow/Black Canary backup continued for a couple of issues past that.) Although the Dollar Comics line was largely an experiment in marketing and economics of scale, World’s Finest was pretty impressive among the company’s late-1970s output.

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Marvel will debut the new character Somnus in ‘Marvel’s Voices: Pride’

Steve Orlando, Claudia Aguirre and Luciano Vecchio bring the new character to life.

The Marvel’s Voice: Pride anthology arrives in June, and when it does, it will bring the debut of a new character — Somnus, who will appear in a story written by Steve Orlando and drawn by Claudia Aguirre.

“Somnus, Carl Valentino, is inspired not only by my own family history, but by my experiences with past generations of LGBTQ+ folks from across the country, people I wouldn’t have met without comics,” Orlando said. “While there is still plenty of work to do, we’ve also come a long way as a community. Somnus is a chance to explore how my own late queer relatives may have felt, living in more prejudiced times. He’s also a chance to celebrate past generations as a whole and acknowledge the strides we’ve made that they may not have lived to see.”

The character was designed by artist Luciano Vecchio, who also provides a variant cover featuring Somnus:

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Marvel announces ‘The Trial of Magneto’ for August

Leah Williams and Lucas Werneck are the creative team for the upcoming miniseries.

Marvel has revealed more details about that teaser they released last week concerning Magneto, and it has some potential SPOILERS for an upcoming X-Men-related storyline. So consider yourself warned before reading further.

Coming in August is X-Men: The Trial of Magneto, the first of a five-part miniseries featuring the Master of Magnetism. It’s by the team of Leah Williams and Lucas Werneck.

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Rest in peace, John Paul Leon

The artist of ‘Static,’ ‘The Winter Men,’ ‘Earth X’ and many other comics projects passed away at the age of 49.

Multiple sources are reporting that artist John Paul Leon, whose work included Static, The Winter Men, Earth X, Batman: Creature of the Night and the upcoming Batman/Catwoman Special, has passed away. He was 49 when he died.

According to a press release from his family, Leon had battled cancer for 14 years. He is survived by his wife, his daughter and an older brother. Artist Tommy Lee Edwards has set up a Gofundme page in honor of Leon, with proceeds to go to Leon’s daughter’s future education.

DC Black Label editor Chris Conroy shared the news on Twitter. “It seems the news is out. Last night we lost John Paul Leon, one of the greatest draftsmen in the history of comics, the kind of artist that EVERY artist revered,” Conroy wrote. “Those who loved him had some warning, but not enough.”

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Hulk, Spider-Man and more headline Marvel’s 2021 Free Comic Book Day titles

Jason Aaron, Chip Zdarsky, Greg Smallwood and more will contribute to this year’s offerings from the House of Ideas.

Marvel has shared the covers and a few more details on their two 2021 Free Comic Book Day titles, which between the two of them will include stories featuring the Avengers, Hulk, Venom and Spider-Man.

Marvel’s gold title, Avengers/Hulk, features a cover by Ryan Ottley:

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The gods are among us in Higgins + Watanabe’s ‘Ordinary Gods’

The new science fiction/epic fantasy series begins in July.

Kyle Higgins and Felipe Watanabe are bringing an epic new series to Image Comics. Ordinary Gods will kick off with an extra-sized issue in July.

“Sometimes an idea is so good, it’s impossible to ignore. Even if it initially seems impossible to crack, you circle back to it time and time again, bringing with you new life experiences and concepts learned from other projects. And even if it takes ten years before you’re ready to announce the book to the world, that’s okay. Because, as Ordinary Gods will be exploring, everything’s connected for a reason,” Higgins told SYFYWIRE. “This is a book that I’ve been working on for many years, alongside an incredible cast of artistic partners and collaborators, to try to tell a generational action epic that spans eras, worlds, dimensions and the connections between them all. And that’s just issue one.”

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Emilia Clarke comes to comics with ‘M.O.M.: Mother of Madness’

Marguerite Bennett and Leila Leiz team up with the ‘Game of Thrones’ star for a comic about a superhero mom.

The Mother of Dragons is writing about a different M.O.M. in a new miniseries for Image Comics. Actress Emilia Clarke is working with co-writer Marguerite Bennett and artist Leila Leiz on M.O.M.: Mother of Madness.

The story is about a single mom/scientist/superhero.

“We’re always calling mothers superheroes, and I’m like, ‘What if they were? What if they legitimately were superheroes?'” Clarke told Entertainment Weekly. “Maya has had a very hard life, and she finds herself in a place where everything that makes her unique, she hates and is ashamed about. It’s only in the discovery of her powers that she finds her true acceptance of who she is.”

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Azzarello + Maleev send the Suicide Squad after the Joker in a new Black Label title

‘Suicide Squad: Get Joker!’ will run for three issues, starting in July.

Brian Azzarello and Alex Maleev are sending the Suicide Squad on a somewhat personal mission for at least two of its member — to stop the Joker.

The DC Black Label title Suicide Squad: Get Joker! will run for three prestige format issues, starting in July.

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AHOY announces the new comedy series ‘Snelson: Comedy is Dying’

Paul Constant, Fred Harper, Lee Loughridge and Rob Steen will introduce the world to Melville Snelson in August.

A ’90s comedian will fight against cancel culture and his own irrelevancy in the new AHOY Comics series Snelson: Comedy is Dying. The miniseries is written by Paul Constant, with art by Fred Harper, colors by Lee Loughridge and lettering by Rob Steen.

“Snelson: Comedy is Dying is more than just a surprisingly violent, unfortunately sexual, thoroughly filthy comedy about an irrelevant older comedian who refuses to give up his ‘edgy’ material from the 1990s,” Constant said. “It’s also a janky-ass carnival ride through the weird griftopia that’s built up around cancel culture, and a skewering of all the money-grubbing controversy seekers who can’t seem to shut up about how silenced they are.” 

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Dark Horse to publish a new ‘Masters of the Universe’ miniseries

‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’ will serve as a prequel to the Netflix series executive produced by Kevin Smith and Rob David.

Dark Horse Comics an d Mattel are teaming up for a new miniseries featuring He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Masters of the Universe: Revelation will serve as a prequel to the Netflix animated series of the same name.

Kevin Smith and Rob David, executive producers of the Netflix series, conceived the story for the new comics. Joining them on the comic are writer Tim Sheridan, artist Mindy Lee and cover artists Stjepan Sejic and Dave Wilkins.

“When the Masters of the Universe franchise first launched nearly 40 years ago, each action figure came with a comic book to enable children to further explore the world of Eternia,” said David. “Now, in partnership with Dark Horse, we will go back to our roots to set-up the upcoming ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation,’ television series with a world-shattering comic book tale.” 

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Return to Bunn + Crook’s ‘Harrow County’ this July

Dark Horse will publish ‘Tales from Harrow County’ by Bunn and artist Emily Schnall this July.

Writer Cullen Bunn is planning return trip to Harrow County this summer, and he’s inviting you along for the ride.

Along with new artist Emily Schnall, Bunn will return to the world he created with Tyler Crook for a new four-issue series: Tales from Harrow County: Fair Folk.

“It’s been too long since we’ve visited Harrow,” Bunn said. “But I’m so glad that this is the story that will welcome us back! There’s a big world to be explored, and this time around we’re delving into the realm of the fey folk as much as the realm of the haints. We’re going to answer a few questions, too, such as how Bernice dealt with her dear friend Emmy leaving. This time out, we’re joined by Emily Schnall, who fits right in among the good folks of Harrow. I absolutely love her version of these characters, and I think longtime fans of the book will love her work, too!”

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DC returns to the Animated Universe in ‘Justice League Infinity’

Almost 15 years after ‘Justice League Unlimited’ ended, DC launches a new comic set in that same world.

Like they did with the recent Batman: The Adventure Continues, DC will revisit their 1990s/2000s Animated Universe — sometimes called the “Diniverse” after Paul Dini — with Justice League Infinity.

The DC Digital First series will feature stories from the world shown in Justice League Unlimited, which went off the air in 2006. JLU producer James Tucker and series writer J.M. DeMatteis will team with artist Ethen Beavers on new stories about Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern John Stewart, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter and many more.

JLU ran for three seasons on Cartoon Network and was best known for its revolving cast that would grow or shrink as needed, pulling in characters from all over the DC universe. So expect to see that in the comic. Hopefully we’ll get to see a Question/Huntress/Green Arrow/Black Canary team-up at some point as well.

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