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The announcement follows recent allegations of misconduct against Piskor.
Jim Rugg has shared he has ended his professional relationship with Ed Piskor, who was accused of inappropriate behavior by multiple women this past week.
“In light of this past week’s shocking revelations, I find it necessary to reevaluate my professional associations to ensure they align with my values of respect and integrity,” Rugg wrote on Instagram. “Therefore, I have ended my working relationship with Ed Piskor.”
Continue reading “Jim Rugg ends working relationship with Ed Piskor”Marvel will also release Young’s ‘Giant-Size Little Marvels’ in print.
If there’s one artist who has become synonymous with Marvel variant covers, it would have to be Skottie Young, who has been drawing his “Little Marvels” versions of their characters for more than 10 years now. Gentle Giant even released statues based on his art.
Marvel plans to celebrate that milestone with a new poster, the print release of the Giant-Size Little Marvels Infinity Comic in June and, you guessed it — a series of variant covers.
“It’s hard to believe that we’re celebrating 10 years of my Young Variants,” Young said. “It’s easier to believe that we’re celebrating 10 years of my covers on the 12th year of me doing them. I mean, it’s Marvel Comics. Everyone’s crazy busy and it’s hard to keep track of every anniversary. And hey, we love playing fast and loose with numbering of things, right? Joking aside, it’s a been such a fun 12 years of getting to make people smile and laugh with my take on the Marvel Universe. Here’s to 10-ish or 12-ish more!”
Continue reading “Marvel celebrates 10-ish years of Skottie Young variant covers with a new series of Skottie Young variant covers”Multiple women have accused the creator of ‘Hip Hop Family Tree’ of inappropriate behavior, including grooming an underage artist.
A planned exhibit of Ed Piskor’s artwork from Hip Hop Family Tree has been “indefinitely postponed,” according to the Pittsburgh City Paper, following allegations of misconduct that were revealed this past weekend.
The exhibit was scheduled to begin in April at the 707 Penn Gallery in Pittsburgh and would have run through August.
“The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust learned yesterday of allegations of misconduct made by an individual against artist Ed Piskor, whose work was scheduled to be on exhibition at 707 Penn Gallery starting April 6, 2024,” a spokesperson for the Trust told Pittsburgh City Paper. “The Trust takes the allegations very seriously and has decided to postpone the exhibition indefinitely.”
Both Hip Hop Family Tree and Piskor’s Red Room were published by Fantagraphics. When Smash Pages reached out to the publisher, they shared this statement: “Fantagraphics has no future projects in the works with Ed Piskor.”
Continue reading “Ed Piskor gallery showing ‘indefinitely postponed’ after misconduct allegations”‘Creating Copra: Michel Fiffe’s Definitive DIY Guide to Making and Self-Publishing Comics’ will reveal the ‘Copra’ creator’s secrets.
If you’ve ever wondered how Copra creator Michel Fiffe produces and publishes his own comics, it’s time to find out –he’s offering a guide to making and publishing your own comics for pre-order on his website.
Creating Copra: Michel Fiffe’s Definitive DIY Guide to Making and Self-Publishing Comics is as the title describes, as detailed by one of the modern-day masters. Fiffe has self-published roughly 45 issues of Copra — minus a few that were published by Image — along with several spinoffs.
Continue reading “You can pre-order Michel Fiffe’s DIY guide to creating comics”The Hall of Fame comics artist and co-creator of Metamorpho and Aqualad has passed away at 97.
Ramona Fradon, the longtime DC artist and co-creator of Metamorpho, passed away yesterday at the age of 97 — a little more than a month after officially retiring from drawing comics.
The news was announced by her art agent, Scott Kress of Catskill Comics, on Facebook.
“Ramona was 97 and had a long career in the comic book industry and was still drawing just a few days ago. She was a remarkable person in so many ways. I will miss all the great conversations and laughs we had. I am blessed that I was able to work with her on a professional level, but also able to call her my friend,” the post reads.
Continue reading “Rest in peace, Ramona Fradon”The former editor-in-chief of Marvel UK and veteran artist passed away on Feb. 10 after a long illness.
Paul Neary, the former Marvel UK editor-in-chief and artist of Captain America, Excalibur, The Ultimates and more, has passed away at the age of 74. Neary died of a long illness on Feb. 10, as reported by his longtime colleague Alan Davis and shared by Paul Levitz.
“In a career of more than 50 years Paul earned international respect and recognition in numerous roles within the comic book industry,” Davis shared. “Paul could write, pencil, ink, colour, letter and edit. Skills he learned from studying the medium with an academic zeal.”
Neary was born in Bournemouth, England in 1949, and would attend college at Leeds University. According to Davis, Neary traveled to New York over his first summer at university to try and break into the comics industry.
“Comics were an enthusiastic hobby for Paul when he moved to Leeds University to study for a degree in Metallurgy, but in his first summer break Paul travelled to New York, bluffed his way into Jim Warren’s office, and secured his first professional work on Eerie magazine,” Davis said.
Neary’s work would regularly appear in Eerie, where he drew the “Hunter” series, which was about a half-breed warrior who fights for survival on a weird, irradiated alternate Earth.
Continue reading “Rest in peace, Paul Neary”Check out comics by Karen Czap, James Chapman, Mel Gillman and more.
It’s February, which means its time for the annual #HourlyComicsDay, where cartoonists commit to making and posting a comic every hour for a day.
That’s certainly a different task than 24-Hour Comics Day, where a creator will try to make a complete comic in a day. Because of the fast nature of trying to post a new comic every hour, most hourly comics typically fall into the “autobiography” or personal journal category, as participants detail their day in comics form.
Here are a few I saw this year. You can also find them by searching for “Hourly Comics Day” on your social media site of choice, be it BlueSky, Tumblr, Instagram or the site formerly known as Twitter.
Continue reading “Cartoonists go all out for Hourly Comics Day 2024”IDW and Paramount prepare to celebrate 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
IDW has revealed several details about their plans for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2024, which will “shell-ebrate” their 40th anniversary this year.
First, Sophia Campell’s four-year run crafting stories featuring the turtles will come to an end with issue #150.
“I still can’t quite believe I’ve gotten to work on this much TMNT. I thought for sure I’d get the boot in the first year, but nope – here I am, four years later, still here against all odds,” Campbell said. “It’s really been amazing, truly a dream job. I wonder what my 10-year-old self would think if she knew what she’d go on to eventually do. The fact that this chapter is ending and I’m leaving the series is bittersweet, I’ll miss it for sure but it’s time to move on and let somebody else have a shot at the Turtles, and I’ll be back for more before you know it, whatever form that might take. As two great men once said, ‘Change is constant’ and ‘Life at best is bittersweet.’”
Continue reading “TMNT: Sophie Campbell’s epic run ends with #150 as Jason Aaron preps a relaunch”The creator will move his Millarworld line to the publisher next year.
Mark Millar will join Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Kindt, Stan Sakai and others as the latest creator to take their creator-owned work to Dark Horse Comics.
According to Forbes, the deal will see Millar and Dark Horse release five new titles in 2024, all under the “Millarworld” banner. Dark Horse will also collect previous Millarworld titles like The Magic Order and Night Club. Previously Millar’s creator-owned work was being published by Image Comics.
“Can I just say that I’ve been a Dark Horse fan since the beginning, and this has been a decades-long love affair finally consummated?” Millar said. “I’ve loved what Mike and the team have been doing for years and so many of my friends are over there, having a great time. I really just wanted to join the party and not only haul my massive, shelf-groaning library with me, but also commit to several years of really exciting stuff in the wake of our Big Game crossover event.”
Continue reading “Mark Millar makes his Dark Horse”The creator collective will publish new comics across several genres through Image Comics.
Geoff Johns and Gary Frank are doubling down on their creator-owned projects, and they’re bringing a bunch of friends with them.
Along with Jason Fabok, Bryan Hitch, Lamont Magee, Francis Manapul, Brad Meltzer, Peter J. Tomasi, and Maytal Zchut, they’ve formed Ghost Machine, a “first-of-its-kind creator-owned and operated media company,” per the press release, where creators will co-own all the characters and universes developed, “sharing in all publishing, media, merchandise, and beyond.” They point to the recent Hollywood strike as an example of why creators need more empowerment in the current media landscape.
“Our ambition for Ghost Machine is to push beyond superheroes, introducing new genres, characters and shared universes, completely co-owned by all the creators involved. We see this as the future of how creatives will work and retain creative control and meaningfully participate in success like never before,” reads the Ghost Machine founding creators’ joint statement. “Our passion is for the magic of graphic storytelling and the emotional resonance of compelling characters. But we are not just a comic book company—we are the first wholly creator-owned and operated media company of its kind, born out of a desire to create and succeed together.”
The founders released a video explaining their vision for Ghost Machine:
Continue reading “Geoff Johns, Brad Meltzer, Francis Manapul, Bryan Hitch + more form ‘Ghost Machine’”The prolific writer and artist whose career spanned decades and countless titles at Marvel, DC and more has passed away.
Keith Giffen, co-creator of Lobo, Jaime Reyes, Jack of Hearts, Maxwell Lord, and Rocket Raccoon, and co-author of some of the best Justice League and Legion of Super-Heroes comics of all time, has passed away.
The news broke on Giffen’s Facebook page, with a post that captured Giffen’s spirit and sense of humor:
“Keith was probably the most fertile creative mind of our generation in comics,” said Paul Levitz, who worked with Giffen on Legion of Super-Heroes. “He had an infinite number of ideas, pouring constantly out. Many, thankfully, never saw print as wholly insane or inappropriate. But the ones that did!”
The duo worked together on roughly five years worth of Legion stories. “Many of them he made far better than they might have been with any other collaborator, because of his ideas and contributions to character moments and drama,” Levitz continued. “A few we had rough times on, but I think no more than could be expected in a long relationship.”
Continue reading “Rest in peace, Keith Giffen”‘It’s not any big secret that there has always been controversy over the parts that were played in the creation and success of Marvel’s characters.’
A documentary about Marvel’s Stan Lee that debuted on Disney+ last week has, no surprise, proven controversial. The family of Jack Kirby, co-creator with Stan Lee of the Fantastic Four, Thor, the Hulk, the X-Men and more, has issued a statement in response to the film.
The heart of the controversy is one that has raged since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first started working together to create the Marvel universe — while both Kirby and Lee played significant roles in Marvel’s success, their contributions and the extent of their involvement in the creation of these characters has always been a subject of debate. While the conflict between the two is brought up in the documentary, it’s not explored in any great detail.
“… most of the narrative is in his voice, literally and figuratively,” Neal Kirby said in his statement. “It’s not any big secret that there has always been controversy over the parts that were played in the creation and success of Marvel’s characters. Stan Lee had the fortunate circumstance to have access to the corporate megaphone and media, and he used these to create his own mythos as to the creation of the Marvel character pantheon. He made himself the voice of Marvel. So, for several decades he was the ‘only’ man standing, and blessed with a long life, the last man standing.”
According to Marvel, the documentary, which was directed by David Gelb, “weaves together personal recorded footage from Lee, along with recorded recollections of his career never before seen by the public. These are accompanied by archived interview clips, newsreels, and models that immerse viewers in Lee’s world, in addition to hearing from some of his closest friends and collaborators.”
Rolling Stone’s David Fear, in his review, called it a “lame infomercial” and that the documentary feels “like it’s just shy of being nothing but a shill.” Variety was a bit kinder in their assessment.
Jillian Kirby, Jack Kirby’s granddaughter, shared the statement from her father on Twitter:
Continue reading “Jack Kirby’s family issues a statement about the Disney+ Stan Lee documentary”
