Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘In Hell We Fight,’ ‘Loki’ ‘The Flash’ #800 and more

Check out comics and graphic novels this week by John Layman, Jok, G. Willow Wilson, Jim Benton, Dan Watters, Germán Peralta, Michael Dorn, Sami Basri, Rob Liefeld, Mattie Lubchansky and more.

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

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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Matt Emmons unleashes ‘Crusader’ at Mad Cave

The new series begins in September.

Mad Cave has announced a new series by writer/artist Matt Emmons — Crusader, the story of a Templar knight who has to battle his way through a high-fantasy world. He’s joined by letterer Andriy Lukin on the project.

“I’ve been trying to capture the feeling of a pulpy, fun adventure story that embodies everything I’ve loved about the genre, and I hope it translates,” Emmons said. “I’ve also been wanting to draw Pilgrim in action for years, so it’s very exciting to finally bring him to the page. Crusader has been a fun challenge!”

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Oni Press teases a new ‘The Sixth Gun’ project from Bunn + Hurtt

“Sometimes what’s dead doesn’t stay gone.”

Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s The Sixth Gun may have ended in 2016, but “Sometimes what’s dead doesn’t stay gone.”

A new teaser released by Oni Press today hints that a new The Sixth Gun project is on the way via Kickstarter. While the supernatural western had a definitive end, Bunn and Hurtt always hinted that they had more stories to tell, and even launched a second series, Shadow Roads, that was set in the same world.

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A new D-Squad assembles for the ‘Dark Droids’ Star Wars event

Marc Guggenheim, Salva Espín and David Messina will pit R2D2 and a squad of droids against the Scourge.

Marvel’s upcoming Dark Droids crossover event will resurrect a concept from the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series — the D-Squad. Marc Guggenheim, Salva Espín and David Messina will enlist a group of droids to help R2D2 battle the Scourge, the virus spreading through the galaxy’s droid population that’s making them turn homicidal.

While Dark Droids has been billed as a horror story set in the Star Wars universe, Guggenheim says the D-Squad miniseries will have a different tone.

“It’s high adventure mixed with as much humor as I could conjure. I approached it like the first Avengers movie, but with droids instead of superheroes,” he told StarWars.com.

The original D-Squad was a group of astromech droids, which is the type of droid R2D2 is. This time around the squad will feature several different types of droids, including two bounty hunters.

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Sunday Comics | Read these Eisner nominees online

Check out webcomics by Jimmy Stamp, Débora Santos, Michael Adam Lengyel, Joshua Barkman and more.

With the Eisner Award nominations still fresh on everyone’s minds, I thought I’d take a look this time at some of the nominees you can read for free online, starting with one of the nominations for “Best Short Story.”

The Beekeeper’s Due by Jimmy Stamp and Débora Santos originally appeared in Scott Snyder Presents: Tales from the Cloakroom, a collection of stories by students in Snyder’s Substack writing course. The anthology was crowdfunded, so it might not be as easy to find as the other stories it is competing against from Marvel, DC and Z2, which could hurt its chances.

But the creators have a remedy for that — put it out on the web for free.

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Open letter calls for more transparency from the Eisner Awards

The request comes after Thomas Woodruff’s multiple, controversial nominations.

In the wake of this year’s Eisner Award nomination controversy, a group that includes comics professionals, journalists and readers has asked for more transparency from Comic-Con International on the Eisner Award process.

Editor/journalist Jennifer de Guzman, who has worked for SLG and Image Comics in the past, and Mariah McCourt, a comics writer and former editor at Vertigo, wrote the open letter following the controversial nomination of Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral by Thomas Woodruff in several categories this year. It’s been co-signed now by more than 30 individuals.

“This troubling disparity between who is judging the work to be nominated and the makeup of the industry itself has created an environment of systemic inequality,” the letter reads “There is a distinct need for more diverse and inclusive backgrounds in the people responsible for these nominations, every year. We need the active participation of creators of color, LGBTQIA+ creators, artists, writers, letterers, colorists, cover artists, editors, and those with more direct and every day experience with the medium itself. Right now the panel appears to be made up mostly of journalists, librarians, and academics which, intentionally or not, skews the point of view of the nominations.”

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J. Michael Straczynski returns to Marvel this fall to write ‘Captain America’

Jesús Saiz joins the writer for a story set in Steve Rogers’ past and present.

After more than a decade writing for other publishers, J. Michael Straczynski will return to Marvel to write Captain America in September.

Artist Jesús Saiz will join Straczynski on the title, which will feature Steve Rogers. In an interview with io9, Straczynski said he’ll focus both on current-day Steve Rogers as well as a younger, pre-World War II Cap prior to gaining his super powers.

“One thing about Steve Rogers that’s never really been addressed is the period between when his parents died, and when he became Captain America,” Straczynski said. “We’re talking about a sickly, skinny 17 year old kid, trying to survive on his own for because he’s stubborn and independent, on the street for several years, hustling for any gig he can get, even if it’s bigger than he is, trying to afford food and a place to stay. So we will counterpoint a present-tense story in which Captain America faces off against a new villain of supernatural origin, with a story about his younger self, with both stories tightly interwoven.”

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The Devil made them do it in ‘Let Me Out’

Emmett Nahil and George Williams revisit the late 1970s “satanic panic” in the new graphic novel from Oni Press.

Emmett Nahil and George Williams will revisit the “satanic panic” of the late 1970s in Let Me Out, a graphic novel coming from Oni Press in October.

The story is set in 1979 New Jersey, where a group of “queer and trans misfits” accused of murder decide that the devil might not be so bad.

“Let Me Out turns classic horror tropes on their head, while showcasing how marginalized people are sacrificed on the altars of power,” said Nahil, who makes his graphic novel debut with Let Me Out. “This is a story about what happens when a group of queer and trans friends are given the supernatural means to fight back. It is also about found family and the joy one finds in one’s friends, even amidst seemingly inescapable darkness.”

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Ed Brubaker + Sean Phillips will tell us ‘Where the Body Was’ in December

The award-winning team presents a stand-alone suburban mystery graphic novel that draws from Brubaker’s life.

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, creators of the critically acclaimed, award-winning Criminal and Reckless, have a graphic novel coming out from Image Comics at the end of this year — Where the Body Was, which will arrive in December.

Colorist Jacob Phillips, who has worked with the duo in the past as well as on his own projects like That Texas Blood, will join them on the project. Described as “a true crime podcast crossed with a long-lost diary,” Brubaker said he’s drawing from his own life for this one.

“This is a story I’ve been trying to find a way to tell for half my life,” said Brubaker. “Inspired by a bunch of wild things that happened when I was a teenager in Southern California—from small time crimes to a murder plot—this book is kind of a diorama of a crime scene, with all the action confined to one small neighborhood… And it even comes with a map. I can’t wait for our readers to get their hands on this one, just in time for the Holidays.”

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Chaos reigns in Marvel’s annuals this summer

Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and more will be drawn into a plot by Agatha Harkness in ‘Contest of Chaos.’

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned summer annual crossover, nor is there anything like a good old-fashioned superhero tournament. And Marvel has both going on this summer.

In the spirit of Atlantis Attacks and Contest of Champions, this summer will bring Contest of Chaos, which will run through several Marvel annuals and features a rejuvenated Agatha Harkness using her chaos magic to cause “Let’s you and him fight” confrontations between different Marvel characters.

Stephanie Phillips is spearheading the event, which will kick off with a prelude issue in Scarlet Witch Annual #1 by Steve Orlando and Carlos Nieto. It’ll then run through eight other Marvel annuals, including the big finale in Avengers Annual #1 in September.

Here’s a rundown of who is fighting who, and when and where …

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Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ ‘DC Pride,’ ‘The Rocketeer’ and more

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Drew Craig, Andrew Wheeler, Ilias Kyriazis, Jason Aaron, Marguerite Sauvage, Leah Williams, Jesus Saiz and more.

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

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.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ ‘DC Pride,’ ‘The Rocketeer’ and more”

Thomas Woodruff withdraws his work from Eisner consideration

‘Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral’ and the creator himself received widespread criticism since the nominations were announced.

After criticism on a number of points related to his graphic novel Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral, Thomas Woodruff has removed his work from consideration for the Eisner Awards.

The quick version:

  1. Thomas Woodruff received nominations in four categories in the 2023 Eisner Awards, including “Best Graphic Album—New” and “Best Painter/Multimedia Artist.”
  2. Many people, including his former students, raised an issue with his nominations, with the points of contention being a) accusations of mistreatment of students while he was the head of the illustration and cartooning departments at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and b) that the work itself, about a feral child with brown skin, has racist overtones. A petition aimed at the Eisners was started to have his nominations withdrawn.
  3. After Woodruff and his publisher, Fantagraphics, released statements mid-week defending the work, Woodruff has since withdrawn himself for consideration for the awards.

So what’s this all about? Let’s break it down …

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