Category: Creators

Tillie Walden named Vermont’s next Cartoonist Laureate

The creator of “Spinning” and “On A Sunbeam” will begin her tenure in April.

The Vermont Arts Council and the Center for Cartoon Studies have announced that Tillie Walden will serve as the next Cartoonist Laureate for the state. Her tenure will begin on April 13 when she will be recognized on the Vermont Statehouse floor.

“I’m so pleased Tillie Walden will serve as Vermont’s next cartoonist laureate,” said U.S. Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) in a press release. “She creates richly imagined worlds that transport readers on emotional and fantastical journeys and reminds us all of the importance of having a deep sense of self. Congratulations for this special accomplishment, and thank you for being part of a unique tradition that sets Vermont apart.”

Walden is the award-winning creator of several graphic novels, including the Eisner-winning Are You Listening? and Spinning, the L.A. Times Book Prize-winning On A Sunbeam and The Walking Dead tie-in graphic novel Clementine. She has two new graphic novels due out this year — a second Clementine book and Junior High, a collaboration with musicians Tegan and Sara.

Walden will be the fifth Cartoonist Laureate for Vermont, which I believe is still the only state that has one. Her term will last three years. She joins a list that includes James Kolchalka, Ed Koren, Alison Bechdel and Rick Veitch in holding the title.

‘Body Bags’ creator Jason Pearson passed away in December

The artist’s family announced this week that Pearson died from natural causes at the age of 52 last month.

Jason Pearson, the creator of Body Bags and a founding member of Gaijin Studios, passed away on Dec. 19 at the age of 52. His family revealed that he died on his Facebook page.

“Jason leaves behind a legacy of work that will be cherished by readers for decades to come,” their statement reads, which says he passed away from natural causes. “His hyper-kinetic style and breathless pace will be studied by both aspiring artists and seasoned professionals as long as the comic book medium exists. While sometimes a controversial figure, no one could ever question his commitment to the craft or the quality of work he produced as both a writer and artist.”

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In Memory: Comic creators we lost in 2022

As we move into the new year, we pay tribute to some of the creators who passed away in 2022.

As we move into the new year, we take a moment to remember the comic writers, artists and editors we lost in 2022.

Comic writer and former DC editor Brian Augustyn passed away in early 2022 after a sudden and severe stroke. The longtime DC editor was known for his work on Action Comics Weekly, Justice League, The Flash and the Impact Comics line. He also wrote many titles, including Gotham by Gaslight and its sequel, Out There, Crimson and many more.

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James Tynion IV’s Substack comics will arrive in print from Dark Horse

‘Blue Book’ and ‘Christopher Chaos’ will arrive in shops next year.

James Tynion IV has been building up a library of creator-owned comics on Substack since last year, when he was part of the first wave of creators to sign on to the platform. Through his Empire of the Tiny Onion newsletter, he’s released comics with Michael Avon Oeming, Tate Brombal, Isaac Goodhart, Kurt Michael Russell and many more, with at least one of them, The Closet with artist Gavin Fullerton, already making it to print via Image Comics.

Given his existing relationships with Image, BOOM! and even DC, it’s somewhat surprising to see that his remaining Substack comics will be collected and published by Dark Horse Comics. Blue Book will launch in February of next year, and The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos will follow in June.

Tynion explained why he went with Dark Horse for these particular books:

“Why Dark Horse? Well, honestly, I’ve always liked being able to silo similar projects together,” Tynion said in his newsletter. “I think Blue Book, all the True Weird stories we’re looking to tell, and the world of The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos fit very neatly on the shelves next to titles like Hellboy, Black Hammer, Norse Mythology, and a little-known series from Michael Avon Oeming called Powers (not to mention the whole Jinxworld library!). And like I told Dan Chabon and Tim Wiesch early in our conversations… I want a shelf of those gorgeous Dark Horse Library Editions. And as I’ve said to Tate a few times, now we can refer to the Chaosverse as the queer teenage cousin to the Mignolaverse!”

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Read Kevin Conroy’s ‘DC Pride’ story for free

Conroy, who passed away yesterday from cancer, shared his secret origin in the story drawn by J Bone.

One of the highlights of the DC Pride anthology special that came out earlier this year was an autobiographical story written by Batman: The Animated Series voice actor Kevin Conroy. Drawn by J Bone and lettered by Aditya Bidikar, the moving story was about Conroy’s life prior to becoming the voice of Batman and the abuse he suffered as a gay man in Hollywood, and how he channeled those experiences into bringing the character to life.

Conroy passed away at the age of 66 yesterday after a short battle with cancer. In his honor, DC has released not only Conroy’s “Finding Batman” story, but also the entire 2022 DC Pride anthology. You can read it on the DC Universe Infinite website.

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Gerry Duggan launches ‘The Ginormous Kokjü’ on Substack

The prolific comics writer adds a paid tier to his newsletter and launches a new comic with Scott Koblish.

X-Men and Invincible Iron Man writer Gerry Duggan has joined the numerous other creators on Substack who are offering a paid tier for access to comics. Duggan, along with artist Scott Koblish, created The Ginormous Kokjü, a new comic that only paid subscribers to his newsletter will receive, at least for now.

“I’ve always made time for creator-owned comics and I’ve been working pretty diligently on some secret projects that are now ready to bring into the world,” Duggan said in a post on his newsletter. “The pandemic changed so many things, some projects slowed down, others had more velocity. What’s changed for me is far less travel to comic cons and editorial retreats. I’ve reinvested that clock in more creator-owned collaborations.”

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Rest in peace, Carlos Pacheco

The artist of ‘Arrowsmith,’ ‘X-Men’ and so many other comics has passed away at the age of 60.

Carlos Pacheco, the artist of Arrowsmith, Avengers Forever, X-Men Legacy, Fantastic Four and so many other titles, has passed away at the age of 60.

Rumors of his death began circulation on social media this morning, but those rumors proved to be premature, according to his Arrowsmith collaborator Kurt Busiek. Since then, Spanish newspapers, as well as creators and Pacheco’s publishers, have reported that Pacheco has passed away.

Earlier this year the artist had announced a sabbatical from comics after suffering paralysis in his right leg and undergoing spinal surgery. He later revealed he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, commonly known Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, and has no known cure.

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Rest in peace, Kevin O’Neill

The co-creator of ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ and ‘Nemesis the Warlock’ has passed away ‘after a long illness.’

London comic retailer Gosh! Comics is reporting that Kevin O’Neill, known for his work on the earliest issues of 2000AD as well as for being declared objectionable by the Comics Code Authority for his entire art style, has passed away. No cause of death was reported, but Gosh! did say O’Neill had been suffering from a “long illness.”

“We had worked a lot with Kevin over the past two decades and had the highest personal and professional regard for him, and of course the impact he has had on the comics landscape cannot be overstated,” their post reads.

O’Neill’s impact included the co-creation of several comics, including Nemesis the Warlock and Marshal Law, both with writer Pat Mills, as well as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Alan Moore. He’s won multiple Eisner and Harvey awards, as well as an Eagle Award and a Bram Stoker award.

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Jeff Lemire reveals future plans for ‘Black Hammer,’ ‘Bone Orchard Mythos’ + more

The prolific creator also revealed print plans for ‘Fishflies’ and a few new projects to look forward to.

Jeff Lemire has proven to be one of the most prolific comic creators in recent years, and it looks like he has no intention of slowing down. In two different posts to his Tales from the Farm Substack newsletter, Lemire revealed his upcoming plans for The Bone Orchard Mythos, his ambitious publishing initiative with Andrea Sorrentino, as well as projects like Black Hammer, Fishflies, Royal City and more.

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Titan confirms their new Conan creative team

Jim Zub, Roberto De La Torre and José Villarrubia will tell new stories about what is best in life.

Titan Comics have confirmed via press release what we learned earlier this year — Jim Zub will write their upcoming Conan title. He’ll be joined by artist Roberto De La Torre, who drew the preview art that was revealed this summer, while José Villarrubia will provide colors.

All three creators have worked on Conan before. Zub’s written many issues of the title for Marvel over the last few years, while Torre has done a couple of short stories featuring the character. Villarrubia probably has the most Conan on his resume, having worked on the character for multiple publishers, as well as doing illustrations for Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of, a role-playing game released a few years back.

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NYCC: Joe Quesada is back at DC drawing Batman covers

The former Marvel editor in chief returns to the company where he got his start.

At New York Comic Con today, DC Publisher and CCO Jim Lee welcomed a special guest during his Jim Lee & Friends Panel — Joe Quesada, the longtime Marvel executive who left the House of Ideas earlier this year to pursue other projects.

Apparently one of those projects will be drawing variant covers for Batman. DC revealed two of them at the panel:

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DeMatteis + Spellbound Comics will launch ‘The DeMultiverse’ next week

DeMatteis will team with several artists on four new comics coming to Kickstarter Oct. 11.

J.M. DeMatteis, one of the most prolific and beloved comics writers of the last several decades, will team up with an exceptional group of artists for four new comics coming from Spellbound Comics, which they’ve dubbed “The DeMultiverse.”

DeMatteis will work with Matthew Dow Smith, David Baldeon, Tom Mandrake, Shawn McManus and more on Anyman, Godsend, Wisdom and Layla in the Lands of After. Spellbound will release them as individual comics, as well as a single 100+ page trade paperback. The TPB will include an introduction by Tom DeFalco. Their Kickstarter will kick off next week.

Here’s more on the four titles:

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