Category: Comic Books

A slew of awesome creators deconstruct ‘The Dark Knight Returns’

‘Shitty Dark Knight’ brings together Dave Baker, Andrew MacLean, Jim Rugg, Zack Soto and more for the ‘worst possible execution’ of Miller’s classic comic.

In a week full of news and announcements about comics and related stuff, this right here is the one that most intrigues me. Several creators, including Zack Soto, Paul Maybury, Malachi Ward and Jim Rugg, have come together to “redraw” The Dark Knight Returns, the classic Frank Miller/Klaus Janson/Lynn Varley magnum opus from the 1980s. Their goal is to see how well the visual storytelling holds up.

Titled Shitty Dark Knight, the book can be pre-ordered from Dave Baker’s online store, and will also be available this week at Comic-Con International.

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Berger Books adds ‘Invisible Kingdom’ from Wilson + Ward to its line-up

The ‘epic multi-part sci-fi saga’ about a religious conspiracy debuts next year.

Dark Horse’s Berger Books imprint, headed up by former Vertigo editor Karen Berger, welcomes a new book by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward into the fold next year — Invisible Kingdom.

“It’s a delight to be working with my mentor Karen Berger once again, especially on such an exciting project,” said G. Willow Wilson in a statement. “Christian Ward’s art is truly visionary—this is one of the most dynamic collaborations I’ve ever been involved with. I can’t wait to show the world what we’ve cooked up.”

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Boothby + Lagace conjure up ‘ExorSisters’ in October

New series follows two sisters, Kate and Cate Harrow, with a dark secret.

After winning multiple awards for his work on The Simpsons comics for Bongo over the years, MAD Magazine contributor Ian Boothby is branching out to his own creator-owned property, ExorSisters, a new comic with artist Gisele Lagace. The new series launches in October from Image Comics.

“As a kid, I loved Scooby-Doo. That love for mysteries mixed with the supernatural then got me into shows like Buffy and Supernatural as an adult. If you liked those shows, you’ll love ExorSisters,” Lagace said in the press release. “It’s a universe full of fun and intriguing characters with many stories to tell.”

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Eat a bug: ‘Umbrella Academy’ returns in October

Gerard Way and and Gabriel Bá’s dysfunctional super-powered family make sits return this fall in ‘The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion.’

Dark Horse Comics has announced that Gerard Way and and Gabriel Bá’s dysfunctional super-powered family will return this October, as the duo get set for The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion.

It’s been almost a decade since we last visited the academy. The titular team debuted in 2007 with The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, which was quickly followed by The Umbrella Academy: Dallas in 2008. The story revolves around seven super-powered children who were adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, an extraterrestrial entrepreneur/scientist, and trained to save the world. After growing up and growing apart, the team reforms when Hargreeves dies and one of their number becomes a super villain.

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Mignola, CCI celebrate 25 years of Hellboy

Mike Mignola’s monster-fighting monster returns with three new projects from Dark Horse and a tribute cover on the CCI events guide.

This week’s Comic-Con International celebrates 25 years of Hellboy by placing Mike Mignola’s most famous creation on the cover of their annual events guide — while publisher Dark Horse Comics has taken the occasion to announce three new Hellboy-related titles.

“From the beginning I knew Hellboy was going to be a book about monsters fighting monsters,” Mignola said in a press release. “I started off with a 4-page teaser about a shabby dog at a gas station turning into the Egypian god Anubis, and since I got away with that I just kept going—the Baba Yaga, the Penanggalan, demonic Mexican wrestlers, Irish goblins, flying Japanese heads—there’s a whole world of monsters out there, so still plenty of work for Hellboy to do.”

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Death cults and depravity descend in post-apocalyptic ‘Death Orb’

New title from Ryan Ferrier, Alejandro Aragon and Chris O’Halloran follows a “heartbroken, axe-wielding wasteland survivor in search of his wife and son.”

Writer Ryan Ferrier (D4VE) artist Alejandro Aragon (Robocop) and colorist Chris O’Halloran (Ice Cream Man) are headed back to the future — a post-apocalyptic, mutant infested, nightmarish future in Death Orb, a new miniseries from Dark Horse Comics.

“We’re going off the rails with this one,” Ferrier said on Twitter.

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DeMatteis + Cavallaro travel the cosmos and more in ‘Impossible, Incorporated’

The creative team behind ‘The Life And Times Of Savior 28’ returns with a new five-issue series this September.

A long-gestating project by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Cavallaro will see the light of day in September, when IDW Publishing will release Impossible, Incorporated, a five-issue comic book miniseries about a 17-year-old and her train that can travel to “other worlds, new dimensions, parallel universes and through time itself.”

“I’ve been bouncing around the idea for Impossible, Inc. with Mike Cavallaro for five or six years now. We wanted to create something that had the innocence of Silver Age comics; the expansive imagination of Jack Kirby; a cosmic perspective on life; and – most of all – a big, beating heart at its core. A story that could explore the quantum corners of both the universe and the human soul. Now that dream is a reality and we’ve uncorked a tale that we hope meets our goals and delights our audience,” DeMatteis said in the press release. “I’ve been blown away by Mike’s art, which has a power and purity of vision that encompasses both infinity and intimacy. We hope comic book readers join us on this journey. We’re having a blast and we think that they will, too.”

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Walmart to offer exclusive ‘giant’ anthologies from DC — with new content

New material by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Dan Jurgens, Tim Seeley, Tom King, Brian Michael Bendis and Andy Kubert joins past stories in new monthly line.

DC Comics and Walmart have teamed up to offer an exclusive line of 100-page “giant” anthologies at the big-box retailer. The anthologies will feature a mix of previously published and new materiel, including new material by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Patrick “Patch” Zircher, Brian Michael Bendis, Dan Jurgens, Tim Seeley, Rick Leonardi, Steve Buccellato, Andy Kubert, Scott Eaton and Tom King.

“We are extraordinarily excited about working with Walmart to expand the reach of our books,” said DC Publisher Dan DiDio in a statement. “These new monthly books combine new and accessible stories with reprints of classic comic series. It’s a great way for new readers to get into comics and follow the characters they’ve grown to love in TV and film.”

Each of the four titles – Superman Giant, Justice League Of America Giant, Batman Giant and Teen Titans Giant – will arrive in stores by July 1. Beginning in August, the Superman and Justice League titles will arrive in week one of each month, with Batman and Teen Titans arriving approximately two weeks later. They’ll cost $4.99.

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Sam Kieth returns to the Maxx with ‘Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams’

IDW and DC Comics team up to publish a five-issue miniseries starring the Dark Knight and Arkham’s newest patient: The Maxx.

Sam Kieth’s The Maxx hasn’t been seen in about a decade, but that changes in September when IDW Publishing and DC Comics come together to present Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams. The first issue of the five-issue miniseries, written and drawn by Kieth, will feature covers by Kieth and DC CCO/Publisher Jim Lee.
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Tommaso + the Allreds bring Dick Tracy back to comics at IDW

The four-issue ‘Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive’ miniseries starts in September.

After a false start late last year involving a licensing snafu that kept Archie from publishing a Dick Tracy comic, the fedora-wearing detective is back in a new series from IDW Publishing.

Michael Allred, Lee Allred, Rich Tommaso and Laura Allred will team up for Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive, a four-issue miniseries launching in September. Lee and Michael will co-write the series, while Tommaso will draw it.

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The Mockingbird agenda: Creative team reunites for ‘Man-Eaters’ from Image Comics

Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Rachelle Rosenberg and Joe Caramagna re-team for a new series where ‘a mutation in Toxoplasmosis causes menstruating women to turn into ferocious killer wildcats.’

After enduring terrible treatment on Twitter because of the cover to her final issue of Mockingbird, writer Chelsea Cain returns to comics with Man-Eaters — and she’s bringing the Mockingbird creative team with her.

Cain is joined by her previous collaborators, artist Kate Niemczyk, colorist Rachelle Rosenberg and letterer Joe Caramagna, as well as Lia Miternique and Stella Greenvoss, for the new series.

“It’s my first comic since Mockingbird, so I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some Twitter-related PTSD,” Cain wrote on her website. “But I also have much better privacy settings and a hair trigger. I know the story goes that I left comics after Mockingbird, that I was driven away, dropped off at the state line by some trolls in a pick-up truck. I didn’t leave comics. Comics left me. I’ve been right here. I’ve been busy, working on this series, developing the exact story I wanted to tell, finding the perfect home for it – Image Comics – and then putting together my dream team. (If you’ve ever seen the TV show, The A-Team, it was EXACTLY like that.) Man-Eaters combines a lot of my interests: cats, murder, feminism, propaganda, dad with beards, detectives, people who are good at their jobs, sarcastic t-shirts, etc.”

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Dark Horse announces ‘Stranger Things’ comic books

Jody Houser and Stefano Martino take a trip to the Upside Down this September.

Dark Horse Comics is heading to the Upside Down with their latest project, as the company announced they’ve acquired the license for the hit Netflix TV series Stranger Things.

The first miniseries is set to launch in September, according to Entertainment Weekly, and will focus on Will Byers and his time in the other dimensional Upside Down, set during the first season of the show. The miniseries is written by Jody Houser, illustrated by Stefano Martino, inked by Keith Champagne, colored by Lauren Affe and lettered by Nate Piekos.

Houser celebrated the news on Twitter:

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