Comics Lowdown: The future of MAD Magazine

Plus: New superhero universe Catalyst Prime, comics to fight fake news, Jillian Tamaki, Rico Renzi’s color palette, and more!

What’s up with MAD Magazine? Mark Evanier lays out a brief history of MAD, which has been part of DC Comics for a long time (it’s complicated!), and updates us on its current status, which is… not good. Like pretty much all print magazines, MAD has been struggling for a while, although Evanier thinks editor John Ficarra has been doing a bang-up job. When the rest of DC packed up and moved to Burbank, California, a while ago, the MAD staff stayed, but they are moving out of their New York office at the end of this year, and DC has not been forthcoming with any news about what will happen next, beyond the fact that the magazine is moving to Burbank and only one staffer, a production artist, will be going with it. The February 2018 issue will be the last one produced by the Usual Gang of Idiots. DC has not made any announcements about what happens next, but Evanier suggests following the blog of artist Tom Richmond, one of the most frequent contributors to the magazine, for updates.

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Get great deals on this year’s Eisner noms in latest Humble Bundle

And the nominees are … on sale! Buy Eisner-nominated titles at a great price and help two charities while doing it.

With the Eisner Awards presentation set to occur at Comic-Con International next month, Humble Bundle is offering a great deal for two good causes in its latest offer. They’re offering 16 Eisner-nominated comics, including Black Hammer, Blammo, Hot Dog Taste Test, Faith, Beasts of Burden and Love Is Love, to name a few, in support of the Hero Initiative and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

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Image reveals Pride Month variant covers for ‘Deadly Class,’ ‘Shutter’ and more

All proceeds from these variant covers will go to the Human Rights Campaign.

As previously announced, Image Comics will celebrate their 25th anniversary and Pride Month in June with a series of variant covers that pay tribute to the LGBTQ community. All proceeds from the sales of these variants will go to the Human Rights Campaign.

Earlier in May Image revealed the covers for The Walking Dead, Redneck and several others, while today they share five more — for Crosswind, The Old Guard, Deadly Class, Black Magick and Shutter.

Check them out below:

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Image to donate June variant cover proceeds to Human Rights Campaign

The publisher celebrates Pride Month with variant covers on ‘Walking Dead,’ ‘Redneck’ and more.

Image Comics will continue to celebrate their 25th anniversary — as well as Pride Month — in June with a series of variant covers that pay tribute to the LGBTQ community. All proceeds from the sales of these variants will go to the Human Rights Campaign.

“We are so thankful for the opportunity to support the LGBTQ community during Pride Month this year by partnering once again with the Human Rights Campaign,” said Eric Stephenson, Publisher at Image Comics, in a press release. “It’s never been a secret that Image Comics is supportive of creative freedom, but it’s important that we also make it clear that we stand for inclusivity, diversity and equality, now more than ever. We hope these variants will serve as a positive display of that ongoing commitment.”

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Have Faith: Valiant, Threadless team for Mental Health Awareness Month

Valiant’s popular Faith character takes center stage on a limited edition shirt created to raise money for the nonprofit Hope for the Day.

Fans of Valiant‘s Faith character will want to check this out: the publisher has teamed with T-shirt site Threadless and Hope for the Day, a mental health education and suicide prevention organization, to sell shirts featuring the popular character. All proceeds will be donated to Hope for a Day, and the shirt will only be available during May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month.

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‘Love is Love’ raises $165,000 for victims of Orlando Pulse nightclub attack

The benefit anthology Love is Love has raised more than $165,000 thus far through print and digital sales, according to the Washington Post and a press release from co-publisher IDW.

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Birdcage Bottom benefit backs ACLU

Publisher/distributor J.T. Yost shares more on his current fundraiser.

Birdcage Bottom Books, which publishes minicomics and distributes for other small presses and individuals, is running a fundraiser through the month of February: 50% of the sales of selected comics will go to the ACLU. This is a great opportunity to pick up minicomics by rising and accomplished creators such as Glynis Fawkes, Whit Taylor, Hazel Newlevant, Kevin Budnik, and Jonathan Baylis, and help a great cause at the same time.

I checked in with J.T. Yost, who runs Birdcage Bottom and publishes his own comics there, to find out more about the fundraiser—and ask for some personal recommendations!

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Creators unite for anthology benefiting Orlando shooting victims [Updated]

Marc Andreyko, IDW Publishing and DC Comics’ “Love is Love” will feature 144 pages of stories from Damon Lindelof, Patton Oswalt, Phil Jimenez and more.

Marc Andreyko, IDW Publishing, DC Comics and an army of comics creators are coming together to create Love is Love, an anthology to benefit Equality Florida and their fund supporting the victims of the June 12 attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

“Events like this shouldn’t be compartmentalized,” Andreyko told The New York Times. “They should hurt, and we should want to change for the better.”

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