Category: Comic Books

Nelson Greaves + Davide Castelluccio enroll at ‘The Carlyle School for Kings’ this fall

Class is in session at Dark Horse Comics this October.

School is in session at The Carlyle School for Kings this fall, which features classes in revenge, friendship, romance and betrayal.

The story is by screenwriter Nelson Greaves, who wrote the 2014 film Unfriended, and artist Davide Castelluccio. They’re joined by colorist Francesca Vivaldi and letterer Frank Cvetkovic for the story of Emmelene Heron and her time at a school that prepares you to be king.

“Carlyle was born from the trauma I experienced as a country boy at a cut-throat Ivy League university,” said Greaves, who attended Harvard. “The culture encouraged us to win by any means necessary, and it wasn’t a Monday if you weren’t getting torn down, mocked and stabbed in the back. Unlike Emme, no one actually tried to kill me, and there wasn’t a giant living under my dining hall, but school still felt like a fight for my life, and I wanted to tell a story for anyone who’d felt that way, too.”

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Christopher Cantwell + Alex Lins combine body horror + superheroes in ‘Plastic Man No More’

The DC Black Label series begins in September.

Plastic Man isn’t the first character that comes to mind when I think “Who should star in a Black Label series?” but when you throw in the words “body horror,” suddenly it all comes together.

DC will release Plastic Man No More, a four-issue miniseries featuring a Plastic Man who suffers “catastrophic cellular damage,” loses control of his body and faces the prospect that he could die. It’s by writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Alex Lins, who work together on BOOM!’s Briar series.

“I don’t know about you, but when I think about Plastic Man, I immediately think of David Cronenberg,” Cantwell said. “There is an element of body horror to his story that I have always found fascinating. And I also found myself wondering recently—How would Plastic Man actually die? What would that look like? Is he immortal? And then I thought of the long and particularly nasty way real plastics and petroleum products break down when and if they finally do. That’s how I learned about depolymerization and the chemical process of ‘unzipping,’—from a particularly morose afternoon on the ol’ Internet, picturing what might happen to Eel if his entire cellular structure started to give way.”

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Celebrate 50 years of Deathlok with Denys Cowan, Justina Ireland, Christopher Priest + more

‘Deathlok 50th Anniversary Special’ arrives in September.

Marvel will celebrate 50 years of Deathlok this September with a special that will include contributions from Christopher Priest, Justina Ireland, Denys Cowan, Dale Eaglesham, Matthew Waite, Luke Ross and more.

“I’m always excited and humbled to write anything in the Marvel universe, but Deathlok as a character is especially important to me because as a U.S. Army veteran, his origin story really resonates in a horrifying way,” Ireland said. “So I’m excited to dig into the emotional core of what makes Deathlok so unique, while also having some fun.”

Ireland, the writer of Dread Nation, Deathless Divide, Ophie’s Ghosts and several Star Wars books, served as an Arabic linguistics expert in the U.S. Army. In addition to writing, she works as a supervisor in logistics for the Department of the Navy.

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Breaking the law comes with an interesting price in Greg Pak + Diego Galindo’s ‘Lawful’

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Molly Knox Ostertag, Sara Varon, Zac Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Peter Bagge, Jed Mackay, Pepe Larraz, Andy Diggle, Leandro Fernandez, Louie Joyce and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

If you’ve been following Marvel’s Blood Hunt, then this is the week for you, as it brings not only the third issue but also four crossover issues. DC meanwhile presents a new miniseries set in the world of the classic Gotham by Gaslight, while Peter Bagge returns to one of the most beloved alternative comix of all time in Hate Revisited. There’s also new graphic novels from Molly Knox Ostertag and Sara Varon, a creator-owned title by Zac Thompson and Hayden Sherman, and a skateboarding Godzilla comic. Or maybe I should say a “Godzilla-meets-skateboarding” comic, because I’m not sure if the king of all monsters actually shreds in it or not. But we’ll see.

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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There’s a demon in the White House in ‘The Exorcism at 1600 Penn’

Hannah Rose May + Vanesa Del Rey’s new IDW title arrives this October, just in time for election season.

IDW returns to its horror roots this October with The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, a four-issue miniseries by writer Hannah Rose May, artist Vanesa Del Rey, colorist Jordie Bellaire and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

The series is about the first woman president of the United States and the demons she must contend with when she and her family move into the White House. Literal demons, just for clarification.

“As someone who has always loved horror, I wanted to tell a story that let me play with the genre’s tropes but in a setting we haven’t seen before,” Rose May said. “The White House is arguably the most famous house in the world and I thought it would be fun to use it as a location to set an exorcism. At its core, this is a story about family and faith, but it also addresses the intensity of the 24/7 news cycle, the noise of social media and the expectations put upon the First Family.”

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Dan DiDio + Jim Calafiore revive ‘Defenders of the Earth’ at Mad Cave Studios

The eight-issue series featuring Flash Gordon, the Phantom and more will launch in August.

As part of their revival plans for Flash Gordon, Mad Cave Studios has announced the creative team for Defenders of the Earth, an eight-issue series based on the animated TV show. Former DC Publisher and current Frank Miller Presents publisher Dan DiDio will write the series, with Jim Calafiore of Exiles, Secret Six and Leaving Megalopolis fame on art.

Defenders of the Earth ran for 65 episodes back in the mid-1980s, and featured Flash Gordon teaming up with other King Features comic-strip characters to battle Ming the Merciless. Flash, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician and Lothar, Mandrake’s assistant, were joined by their children as they, um, defended the Earth.

“As a fan of the original animated series, I was excited by the opportunity to work on this title,” said DiDio. “I’m hoping to build on some of the show’s classic elements and move them in new directions while exploring the personalities and lives of the characters that make the series great. One of the best aspects of the series was finding a way to unite the show’s four disparate, iconic stars following the end of their war with Ming. What sets it apart from other books featuring Flash Gordon, Mandrake, The Phantom, and Lothar is the added generational aspect of the story—that’s the fun part of writing. The father/son relationships of Flash and Rick, and Lothar and LJ; the father/daughter relationship of The Phantom and Jenna; and the mentor/protege relationship of Mandrake and Kshin are really the heart of the story. What makes and breaks these families is key to saving the world from a new and more deadly challenge.”

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Kyle Higgins, Alec Siegel + Rod Reis return to the world of ‘C.O.W.L.’

‘C.O.W.L.: 1964′ will launch in August and will tie into Higgins’ larger Massive-verse line of titles.

Kyle Higgins, Alec Siegel and Rod Reis will reunite 10 years later for C.O.W.L.: 1964, a three-issue miniseries that begins later this summer.

C.O.W.L., which has officially joined the Massive-verse titles overseen by Higgins, first launched in 2014. Set in the 1960s, the comic centers on the Chicago Organized Workers League, the world’s first super-hero labor union, which battled super villains, organized crime and eventually their own faltering public image. The previous series has been collected into two volumes.

“Returning to C.O.W.L. is very special for me,” said Higgins. “The series’ origins date back to my college thesis film, The League, and before that to the short story I wrote that got me into film school. It’s something that’s been with both Alec and myself for a long time. When Alec, Rod and I started this book In 2014, the idea of building it to be a part of a something larger wasn’t something that we thought we would ever be able to do. Now, as we come back to finish the core story, we’ll also be setting the stage for the future of C.O.W.L. and in some ways, The Massive-Verse.”

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John Arcudi + Savannah Finley bring ‘Convert’ to Image Comics

The miniseries kicks off in August.

Veteran comics writer John Arcudi will return this summer with a new miniseries drawn by Savannah Finley. Convert is a science fiction story about a science officer who is stranded on an alien planet, where he’s haunted by his dead crew.

The writer of B.P.R.D., Major Bummer and more said the new series is a “more intimate” approach to science fiction for him.

“Convert was maybe my first opportunity to write a science fiction story the way I wanted to, meaning something more personal, more intimate—while at the the same time more fantastic—than what I’m used to seeing in the genre,” Arcudi said. “My hope is that this human element in the comic will connect with readers.”

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Jacket required: Steve Orlando + friends return to Avengers Mansion for ‘Avengers Assemble’

The second ‘Avengers’ title will feature some old classics and some new faces.

Avengers old and new will assemble under the leadership of Steve Rogers in Avengers Assemble, which launches in September.

Scarlet Witch and The Scale Trade writer Steve Orlando will work with several different artists on the series, including Cory Smith, Scot Eaton, Marcelo Ferreira and more, with Smith drawing the first issue.

As for the premise, it follows the current Avengers storyline that’s running during Blood Hunt, which has Captain America assembling a ragtag team to battle vampires while the primary Avengers team goes up against Blade and his minions. Steve Rogers will also head up this new team, which will include several classic Avengers, like Wonder Man, Hercules, She-Hulk, Hawkeye, Wasp and Photon, along with some more obscure Avengers like Shang Chi and Lightning, plus two new faces to the team — former New Warriors leader Night Thrasher and Power Pack’s Lightspeed.

“This is a great time to assemble!” Orlando shared. “Avengers Assemble is bringing a murderer’s row of classic Avengers back to the Mansion, and classic comics storytelling is coming with it! A team of icons and new recruits alike, but heavy on the icons! And in every issue, a barnburner of an entire story packed into 20 pages!”

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Dark Horse will collect the 2000 miniseries ‘Space Circus’ this December

The hardcover will feature some of the final art colored by Tom Luth, who passed away last month.

Dark Horse Comics has announced a collection of Space Circus by the Groo the Wanderer creative team of Mark Evanier, Sergio Aragones, Tom Luth and Stan Sakai.

The miniseries was originally released in 2000 but was never collected. Dark Horse will release the 112-page story as a hardcover this December. It features a new cover by Aragones and Luth, which could be the final piece of art that Luth worked on. The longtime colorist of Groo the Wanderer, The Badger, Usagi Yojimbo and more passed away last month from an apparent heart attack, according to Evanier.

“The last thing he colored for Sergio — and I suspect for anyone — was the cover to a forthcoming collection of our 2000 mini-series, Space Circus,” Evanier wrote on his blog in May. “Tom colored the original series back then and he colored a wonderful wrap-around cover that you’ll see on the book when it’s released later this year.”

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Jeph Loeb + Tim Sale’s most beloved Batman story gets a sequel in September

Loeb will team with Eduardo Risso, Klaus Janson and more for ‘The Last Halloween.’

Prior to his death, Tim Sale was working with his frequent collaborator Jeph Loeb on a sequel to their career-defining Batman maxi-series, The Long Halloween. That sequel will continue on, according to DC, who officially announced The Last Halloween at MCM London last month.

Loeb will write the 10-issue series and will be joined by a different artist on each issue, starting with 100 Bullets artist Eduardo Risso. Klaus Janson, known for his work on books like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Daredevil, will draw the second issue, while Mark Chiarello, the former art director for DC, will draw the third issue. They’ll be joined by letterer Richard Starkings, who worked on the original series, and colorist Dave Stewart.

“Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween is Tim Sale’s parting gift to me,” Loeb said. “Tim and I had already decided to tell this last chapter following Batman: The Long Halloween Special, which will serve as the prologue to this 10-part action-packed mystery.”

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He-Man + the Ninja Turtles cross over in September

Find out what chaos occurs when Skeletor teams up with Shredder in ‘Masters of the Universe/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles of Grayskull.’

Two titans of the toy shelves will collide in September as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Masters of the Universe meet in comic book form for the first time.

I mean, I think it’s the first time? Given how often the Turtles have crossed over with other properties, it seems odd to say that. There have been action figure crossovers in the past, but I believe this is the first time Dark Horse and IDW have brought the two together in comics.

The series’ creative team includes talent from each side, with He-Man scribe Tim Seeley writing the crossover, and Freddie Williams II, who drew the various Turtles’ crossover series with Batman, drawing this one as well. They are joined by colorist Andrew Dalhouse with letters by AndWorld Design

“As inevitable as a meet up between He-Man and the Turtles has felt, it took some time getting done! And now that it’s here, I have a huge pile of newly purchased figures, and a bunch of pages for what is one of the most awesome comics I’ve ever gotten to work on,” said Seeley. “To say Freddie and I approached this Dark Horse series with some screaming-our-heads-off-style enthusiasm is underselling it a bit. I can’t wait until you get to read this.”

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