Category: Comic Books

The State of Future State, Part 5

JK, Shane and Tom wrap up their look at DC’s Future State first issues, including ‘Legion of Super-Heroes,’ ‘Aquaman,’ ‘Suicide Squad’ and more.

And we’re back with our final look at DC’s Future State titles, as Shane, Tom and I talk about the first issues of Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman/Batman, Superman: Imperious Lex, Suicide Squad and Aquaman.

You can see what we had to say about some of the other Future State first issues in parts one, two, three and four.

This is also my last opportunity to post the Future State timeline, my best friend and lifeline while reading these titles:

The second issues of everything we talk about arrive today, as DC wraps up the event and prepares for Infinite Frontier — which will feature some of the characters we met during FS. We talk a little bit about that at the end.

And away we go …

Continue reading “The State of Future State, Part 5”

Bunn + Talajić plan a trip to ‘Eden’ this May

The creators of ‘Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe’ team up again for a new one-shot from AfterShock Comics.

Cullen Bunn and Dalibor Talajić, who previously worked together on Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, will team up on a new one-shot for AfterShock about tattoos, romance and horror. They’ll be joined by colorist Valentina Briški and letterer Marshall Dillon.

“Eden is the story of Niles, a tattoo artist who is stuck in something of a rut,” Bunn said. “His life is a cycle of work, drunkenness and guilt—lather, rinse, repeat. All that changes for him, though, when a mysterious young woman named Eden walks through the doors of his tattoo shop. She’s looking for something… different… and she finds it with Niles. But Eden is a woman surrounded by deep enigmas… not the least of which is how and why her new tattoos vanish after only a few days. As Niles learns more about Eden, he is driven to fathomless depths of both love and horror.”

Continue reading “Bunn + Talajić plan a trip to ‘Eden’ this May”

Reptil roars in a new series from Marvel this May

The ‘Avengers Academy’ student breaks out into his own miniseries.

As revealed in their May 2021 solicitations, Marvel will put the spotlight on the shape-changing Reptil in a new miniseries by Terry Blas and Enid Balám.

The character first appeared in the pages of Avengers Initiative by Christos Gage and Steve Uy, and went on to appear in Avengers Academy and Avengers Arena. But his breakout moment likely came from his appearances on Marvel’s animated Super Hero Squad Show.

“I’m so excited to be making my Marvel debut with such a fun and complex young character,” Blas said. “He’s Mexican-American, like me, and I’m delighted to bring a story with more of that representation to Marvel. Also, he can turn into dinosaurs and isn’t that every kid’s dream?”

Continue reading “Reptil roars in a new series from Marvel this May”

Learn what happened when Boba Fett lost a frozen Han Solo in ‘War of the Bounty Hunters’

The crossover event starts with an “alpha” issue by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven.

Star Wars’ most notorious bounty hunter, Boba Fett, will take the spotlight in a new crossover event launching in May called War of the Bounty Hunters. The story will kick off with an “alpha” issue by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven, as we learn what Boba Fett was up to between the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi films.

It sounds like that infamous cargo he was carrying may have gotten lost somewhere between the two films.

“Boba Fett is in possession of Han Solo at the end of Empire Strikes Back, and at the beginning of War of the Bounty Hunters, he is not,” Soule told StarWars.com. “And he is going to do everything he can to get him back, no matter what. No matter who is standing in his way.”

Continue reading “Learn what happened when Boba Fett lost a frozen Han Solo in ‘War of the Bounty Hunters’”

Shalvey, McConville + Palmer plot a time-travel caper in ‘Time Before Time’

The new science fiction series debuts in May.

Image Comics has announced that Bog Bodies‘ Declan Shalvey and the Write It In Blood team of Rory McConville and Joe Palmer are teaming up on a new series, Time Before Time. They’ll be joined by colorist Chris O’Halloran and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

Set in the future, the story centers on two career criminals who steal their employer’s time machine.

“I loved what this team did on Write It In Blood so I’m really excited to take that crew and work on something more ambitious,” Shalvey told IGN. “This is a book with miles of potential, brilliantly realized by Joe Palmer and Chris O’Halloran. Their work to me, looks like the baby of Aeon Flux and Hellboy. I think readers will enjoy the gorgeous pages, but also the core story that follows Tatsuo into a more and more complicated set of troubles. With Time Before Time, Rory and myself get to write a crime drama that’s injected with even more dramatic twists and the compelling visuals that sci-fi provides.”

Continue reading “Shalvey, McConville + Palmer plot a time-travel caper in ‘Time Before Time’”

Image Comics announces ‘The Good Asian’ by Pichetshote + Tefenkgi

The nine-issue noir series starts in May.

Infidel writer Pornsak Pichetshote will partner up with Outpost Zero artist Alexandre Tefenkgi for The Good Asian, a nine-issue “noir” miniseries.

According to Image Comics, the miniseries will “explores race through a genre lens” and is scheduled to hit shelves in time for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

“The Good Asian isn’t just writing what I want to read—it’s writing what I want to exist: a story incorporating the Asian American history unacknowledged in textbooks to make a thriller that’s just as much about gangland murders, lust, and plot twists, as it is about immigration bans, police brutality, and Asian American identity,” Pichetshote told Comic Book Resources.

Continue reading “Image Comics announces ‘The Good Asian’ by Pichetshote + Tefenkgi”

Afua Richardson’s new series about mermaids will emerge in May

The Eisner-winning creator will write and draw ‘Aquarius: The Book of Mer.’

Artist Afua Richardson will dive into a new project at Image Comics this May — Aquarius: The Book of Mer, a quarterly series that will draw from mermaid myths and legends from all over the world.

“I like to look into the origins of things and find what is knowable of our history philosophy, and metaphors that may represent natural phenomena,” Richardson told ComicBook.com. “When looking into the origins of mermaids there seemed to be such a vast culture stretching everywhere I looked. Each land having a flood myth with common themes of half human half aquatic beings that pulled on the strings of nature and the emotions of humans. Where did it come from? What were their names and characteristics? It’s so easy to find what separates us these days. Leave it up to legend to reveal the rivers of our mythologies share a common source of inspiration.”

Continue reading “Afua Richardson’s new series about mermaids will emerge in May”

Todd McFarlane announces plans for a universe of heroes built around Spawn

The creator will expand the ‘Spawn Universe’ with four new titles.

Hey, do you like Spawn? Because Todd McFarlane is working on a whole universe worth of Spawn comics.

The creator of the long-running series — it hit issue #300 back in 2019 — announced today plans to build out his own superhero universe, centered on his creator-owned character. He plans to launch four titles this year — three of them will be ongoing titles — with several other artists and writers.

“The simple question is this: DC Comics started a shared universe in the late 1930s. Marvel Comics began theirs in the early 1960s… so, can lightning strike a third time beginning in 2021? I personally do not have the answer to that question right now, but the only way to get an answer to that question is to make the attempt in the first place,” said McFarlane. He made the announcement to comic retailers at the annual ComicsPRO Conference.

Continue reading “Todd McFarlane announces plans for a universe of heroes built around Spawn”

‘Shang-Chi’ ongoing series debuts in May from Yang + Ruan

The new series will pit the new leader of the Five Weapons Society against other Marvel heroes.

Gene Luen Yang and Dike Ruan, whose Shang-Chi miniseries recently wrapped up, will continue to tell stories about the Master of Kung Fu. Marvel has announced the two creators will helm a Shang-Chi ongoing series, which starts in May.

Now the leader of the Five Weapons Society — the evil organization once run by his dad — Shang-Chi’s new status quo will put him on a collision course with some of Marvel’s other heroes, including his form Avengers teammates.

“I’m very, very thankful for all the support that we got for the Shang-Chi miniseries. I mean, the first two issues sold out,” Yang told Marvel.com. “I’m thrilled that we get to continue the story of Shang-Chi and his siblings in the Five Weapons Society. We’re going to show how Shang-Chi’s brand-new role affects the rest of the Marvel Universe. We’ll have him interact with old friends and new foes… and even old friends who become new foes. Dike Ruan and I are already hard at work. The stuff I’ve seen from Dike so far has been his best yet.”

Continue reading “‘Shang-Chi’ ongoing series debuts in May from Yang + Ruan”

The State of Future State, Part 4

JK, Shane and Tom are back with another look at DC’s Future State first issues, including ‘Immortal Wonder Woman,’ ‘Nightwing’ and more.

After a slight delay, we are back with our fourth roundtable on DC’s Future State titles, where Shane Bailey, Tom Bondurant and I talk about the first issues of Nightwing, Catwoman, Shazam!, Superman: Worlds of War and Immortal Wonder Woman.

You can see what we had to say about some of the other Future State first issues in parts one, two and three.

As always, the timeline DC provided helps put the timing of these stories into context:

I should also add that this conversation took place over the course of several days/weeks, and some of it occurred before announcements like Future State: Gotham and the Mister Miracle miniseries. Now onward!

Continue reading “The State of Future State, Part 4”

‘X-Corp’ to debut from Marvel in May

Mutants get down to business in a new title by Tini Howard and Alberto Foche.

The X-Corporation, a concept introduced back in 2002 during Grant Morrison’s run on X-Men, is coming back in a big way. Marvel has announced that X-Corp, which will tie into the current X-Men line overseen by Jonathan Hickman, will debut as an ongoing title in May.

Tini Howard, the writer of Excalibur, will join artist Alberto Foche (Dan Dare) on the title. This title has been rumored since the launch of the Hickman-era titles, which Howard addressed with Marvel.com.

“Hello! Some of you have been waiting a while for this book, and I’m the one to blame. I first pitched this story because I absolutely love the weird corporate world within Marvel Comics — specifically books like New X-Men, All-New X-Factor, and the history of what the X-Corporation was before. But in a new mutant era of gates and deals, X-Corp‘s ‘corporate embassy’ is a bit obsolete — and I refuse to sell you guys anything I wouldn’t buy myself,” Howard said.

Continue reading “‘X-Corp’ to debut from Marvel in May”

AfterShock Comics plots a course to ‘Silver City’ this May

Olivia Cuartero-Briggs, Luca Merli and Dave Sharpe head into the afterlife in this new supernatural series.

Olivia Cuartero-Briggs and Luca Merli will head to Silver City in May, in a new miniseries from Aftershock Comics. They’ll be joined on their journey by letterer Dave Sharpe.

“Silver City is about a troubled young woman’s posthumous quest to figure out who she is in a strange, purgatorial city, and in so doing, seize her destiny,” Cuartero-Briggs said. “I am so excited for readers to finally get to read this story for several reasons. It’s a really fun exploration into the greater meaning of life, what happens after we die, and even a bit of what happens after that. These first five books are an introduction into an entirely new world, one that I had the time of my life building, and I can’t wait to share it.”

Continue reading “AfterShock Comics plots a course to ‘Silver City’ this May”