X-Men news: Uncanny Avengers, Hellfire Gala, Negasonic Teenage Warhead

Marvel announces details on several new projects coming straight out of Krakoa.

The Unity Squad will return in a new title later this year as a part of the Fall of X event, Marvel revealed yesterday during a virtual event celebrating the 60th anniversary of the X-Men.

Uncanny Avengers will return to store shelves starting in August by the team of Gerry Duggan and Javier Garron. But before that they’ll appear in a story in Marvel’s Avengers/X-Men Free Comic Book Day title coming in May, and the need for their return will be revealed in July’s X-Men: Hellfire Gala one-shot, which kicks off the Fall of X storyline.

“Everything we’ve been working towards in our third act is coming to a head this summer,” Duggan said. “The Uncanny Avengers have existed to provide an example of unity between humanity and mutantdom, and they will need to work extra hard at that now as relationships and friendships have frayed in the events of Fall of X.”

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GlobalComix adds several new publishers as they prepare to launch an app

BOOM!, Image, Archie and more will soon join the digital comics service.

The web-based digital comics platform GlobalComix has announced publishing agreements with several new publishers, including Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Tokyopop and Archie Comics, as they prepare to launch their first mobile app.

“I have waited for this moment for years,” said Christopher Carter, CEO of GlobalComix. “Not only are we finally about to change the landscape of digital comics publishing entirely, but we are also fortunate enough to do it together with a vibrant community of creators from both popular web and indie comics; and also many of the most venerable and well respected publishers in the entire world [of comics]. We will be bringing more comics to even more readers, worldwide, and doing so in a fiscally accessible way. With this, we’re paving the way for a vibrant and thriving ecosystem in which creators and publishers can make a sustainable living, doing exactly what they love, and that is one of the major reasons for why we’re doing what we do.”

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It’s time for ghost-punching in Gunter + Andan’s ‘Grammaton Punch’

The digital title will debut on Comixology March 14.

Comixology Originals has announced Grammaton Punch, a new five-issue miniseries by writer Miles Gunter, artist Briane Andan, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Taylor Esposito, which will debut on the platform on March 14.

Gunter, whose credits include BPRD, Terminator and Weird War Tales, said the new title is a twist on the “classic ghost story,” mixed with his love for video games. It’s about a teenager who can see and fight the ghosts that prey on his classmates.

“In Grammaton Punch, Van Nguyen was born during a solar eclipse and while that might sound cool, it’s not,” Gunter said. “That’s because eclipse babies are born with something extra and, for Van Nguyen, that means he can see ghosts.”

And he doesn’t just see them — he also punches them.

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Bendis’ ‘Fortune and Glory: The Musical’ debuts on Substack

Brian Michael Bendis returns to autobiographical comics to talk about that time he was asked to work on ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.’

Brian Michael Bendis has kicked off the long-awaited sequel to Fortune and Glory this week on his Substack.

Bendis wrote and drew the original Fortune and Glory, which was published as a three-issue miniseries by Oni Press in 1999-2000. Dark Horse plans to release a new printing of the collected series in April.

Fortune and Glory was a graphic novel I did years ago, pre-Marvel, about my first adventures in Hollywood as a young independent comic book creator,” he wrote. “It was one of the books that got me where I am. I always wanted to do a sequel. Many of you have asked for one over the years. I loved doing an autobiographical comic book. I always thought I would do another one, or a bunch of them, but Spider-Man kept getting in the way.”

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Celebrity chef Kim-Joy teams with artist Alti Firmansyah for the OGN ‘Turtle Bread’

The graphic novel arrives on digital from Comixology Originals in May and in print from Dark Horse this fall.

The Great British Bake Off finalist and bestselling cookbook author Kim-Joy is collaborating with Alti Firmansyah on her first graphic novel, Turtle Bread: A Graphic Novel About Baking, Fitting In, and the Power of Friendship. The project will arrive on digital via Comixology Originals in May, to be followed in print from Dark Horse Comics in October.

They’ll be joined by letterer Joamette Gil, designer Cindy Leong, and editors Felix Horne and Allison O’Toole for a project that explores not only friendship and baked goods, but also mental health issues.

Turtle Bread is a book about self-awareness,” said Kim-Joy. “It’s about that feeling of loneliness, of not fitting in or feeling good enough, of self-criticism, and the path towards self-acceptance. This is explored through baking, and in particular, the symbolism of the turtle–coming out of its shell and moving forward; however slowly that may be. Hence: Turtle Bread! (And yes, there’s actual turtle themed bread! Plus loads of other recipes). It’s NOT a magical story about how baking and friendship fix everything, but a story about the small steps forward (and sometimes sideways and backwards) gradually adding up.”

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Comixology Originals announces ‘Trick Pony’ by Greg Lockard + Anna David

The new graphic novel will arrive on the platform on Feb. 28.

While we ponder the fate of Comixology amidst all the layoffs and what that means for all those digital comics we’ve “acquired” from them, I guess there’s some solace in the fact that there are still new releases and announcements coming from their original comics line, Comixology Originals. That has to be a good sign, he says, as he realizes contracts were likely signed months in advance and maybe they just haven’t had time to sunset that program yet. Hey, don’t ruin my Sunday, okay?

Until Amazon is willing to share more (or not; their PR email seems to be a black hole) let’s focus on what we do know — that GLAAD award-nominated writer Greg Lockard has teamed up with artist Anna David and letterer Lucas Gattoni for a brand new western graphic novel, Trick Pony, which will arrive on the site on Feb. 28. It’s about a gay rodeo star named Jimmy.

“Trick Pony is a project that has been germinating in my head and heart for over a decade,” Lockard said. “It’s a love letter to all my favorite Western stories but through a distinctly modern lens. Jimmy’s adventure is about self-fulfillment on the path to making your dreams come true… and accepting that some shadows are going to follow you for life.”

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Comixology hit in latest round of Amazon layoffs

The corporate giant plans to lay off a reported 18,000 employees overall.

Some Comixology employees are posting to social media today that they’ve been impacted by the latest round of layoffs from their parent company, Amazon.

Journalist Jason Del Rey, who regularly reports on Amazon for Recode, shared a leaked letter from Amazon retail CEO Doug Herrington about the layoffs. According to news reports, Amazon plans to lay off 18,000 employees in this latest round, or roughly 6% of their global workforce. Herrington’s letter says they hope to have their U.S., Canada and Costa Rica employee notifications done today, with other regions to follow in the weeks ahead.

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Karma gets a new first name in Trung Le Nguyen’s ‘Karma in Love’

The Vietnamese character now has a first name more befitting of her background and culture.

A classic New Mutant received a name change — well, more of a name tweak — in a recent Marvel Unlimited Infinity Comic. Karma, whose real name was Xi’an, is now Xuân.

The Magic Fish creator Trung Le Nguyen, who is also Vietnamese like the character, wrote and drew “Karma in Love,” the story where the new name was noted. He spoke to Marvel.com about the change.

“I’ve had quite a journey around Karma’s civilian name. As a reader who spoke Vietnamese as a child, it was really difficult for me to connect with Karma because I knew her name was gibberish,” he said, noting that the “sh” sound in “Xi’an,” which was shown to be pronounced as “Shan” in various comics, didn’t exist in the Vietnamese language.

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Comixology Originals announces ‘Retroverse’ by Bunn + Bivens

The new series will arrive on the platform next week.

Master of horror comics Cullen Bunn will team with artist John Bivens for Retroverse, a new science fiction title about a a teenage girl who finds herself in an alternate reality where she died.

“After a wild, drunken party, 19-year-old Kacy Martin wakes up in an alternate universe—one where she has been dead for 13 years,” said Bunn. “She must navigate the heartbreaking waters of a world that seems to have turned out much better without her in it. And she must do so while wielding newly discovered, terrifying abilities against alien horrors.”

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DC Universe Infinite adds 5,000 Vertigo, Black Label titles

Subscribers to the “Ultra” tier can now access ‘The Books of Magic,’ ‘The Unwritten,’ ‘Shade the Changing Man’ and much more.

Despite the fact that DC shut down its Vertigo imprint at the end of 2019, the publisher still seems to find ways to keep the brand relevant, whether that’s by bringing back beloved properties like Fables and Sandman, or by adding more than 5,000 mature reader titles from the imprint to their DC Universe Infinite digital comics service.

Today Dc announced the addition of a “metric ton” of Vertigo titles to the service — everything from Sheriff of Babylon to Sandman Mystery Theatre — along with some more recent Black Label titles like Wonder Woman: Dead Earth and Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child. These new titles are only available to subscribers to the recently revealed Ultra tier, which also gives you access to new comics about a month after release.

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Scott + Jack Snyder team for a post-apocalyptic game of The Floor is Lava in ‘By A Thread’

The father and son duo are joined by Valeria Favoccia and Whitney Cogar for the Comixology Originals title.

Scott Snyder, who has extended his deal with Comixology Originals through 2023, has announced a new title he’ll debut on the platform — By A Thread, which will be co-written by his son Jack. Valeria Favoccia and Whitney Cogar are the art team for the project.

By A Thread is described as “a post-apocalyptic adventure about kids surviving in a future after a mysterious and deadly infection spreads across the Earth, making the very ground we tread on untouchable…” The ground is LAVA, kids — stay off of it!

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Comixology will release Liniers’ ‘The Ghost of Wreckers Cove’ this Tuesday

The Middle Grade graphic novel will feature ghosts, pirates and magic on the coast of Maine.

Comixology Originals will release The Ghost of Wreckers Cove, a “wildly imaginative” Middle Grade graphic novel that blends historical fiction and magical realism, on their platform this Tuesday. The new story is by Liniers (The Big Wet Balloon, Good Night, Planet, Written and Drawn by Henrietta), his frequent collaborator Angelica del Campo, colorist Christian Argiz and editor John Lind.

The new graphic novel about two young girls on the coast of Maine will feature ghosts, pirates, stolen treasure, seashells, swimming and a young lighthouse keeper. 

“Liniers’ work is so profoundly beautiful, spirited, and touching,” Bryce Gold, Comixology Originals Lead, said in the press release. “It is an honor to bring The Ghost of Wreckers Cove to English language audiences worldwide for the first time and my hope that readers of all ages, alive, spectral, or otherwise, enjoy it.”

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