Rest in peace, Tom Palmer

The legendary inker of ‘Avengers,’ ‘Tomb of Dracula,’ ‘Uncanny X-Men’ and more died yesterday at the age of 81.

Tom Palmer, the incredible artist known for his work on Avengers, Doctor Strange, Star Wars, Tomb of Dracula and more, passed away yesterday at the age of 81.

The news was reported on Facebook. No cause of death was mentioned.

“We are very sad to share the news that legendary comic book inker and artist Tom Palmer passed away on August 18, 2022 at the age of 81,” the post said. “He will be remembered fondly by his loving family and his many fans.”

That he will. While Palmer’s first work in comics was penciling an issue of Doctor Strange back in 1968, he’s best known as an inker, mainly for Marvel comics throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Over the course of his career, he worked with John Buscema, Jim Steranko, John Romita Jr., Tom Grummett, Gene Colan, Neal Adams, Wally Wood and many more.

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It’s the 1990s all over again this November

DC goes all in on celebrating the 1990s in November, but they aren’t the only ones willing to get ‘extreme.’

The decade of pouches, big guns, variant covers and Image Comics will come back in a big way this November at DC — and on a smaller scale at Marvel. Both publishers will get “extreme” in their own ways later this year.

Let’s start with DC, who earlier this week announced a new Black Label Batman miniseries by none other than Marc Silvestri. Silvestri of course is one of the founders of Image Comics and is one of the names synonymous with 1990s comics, when he launched Top Cow and introduced the world to Witchblade, CyberForce, The Darkness and many other comics.

Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo finds the caped crusader teaming up with his worst enemy.

“Batman and The Joker are two of the world’s most iconic characters and have been at each other’s throats for more than 80 years,” Silvestri said. “I always thought is would be pretty entertaining to have them on the same side, so I wrote a story about it. Needless to say, stuff happens.”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Faith Erin Hicks

The creator of ‘Friends with Boys,’ ‘The Nameless City’ trilogy and more discusses her latest graphic novel from First Second, ‘Ride On.’

Faith Erin Hicks is the Eisner Award-winning writer and artist of a long string of comics and graphic novels. From books like Friends with Boys and The War at Ellsmere, to her webcomics like The Adventures of Superhero Girl, to her collaborations like Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong and Brain Camp, Hicks is masterful at telling stories that are about small moments, subtle changes in relationships, the ways that life often plays out in ways that are funny and relatable. She has a touch for dialogue, but it’s in depicting those small moments that become important that she’s masterful.

More recently, Hicks spent years writing and drawing the epic fantasy trilogy The Nameless City. In the years since, Hicks wrote a novel (Comics Will Break Your Heart), drew a graphic novel written by Rainbow Rowell (Pumpkinheads) and has written a series of Avatar: The Last Airbender comics. Her new book, which she wrote and drew, is Ride On. Out this week from First Second Books, it’s a book about horses and horse girls, but it’s also about growing up, about how we change, and how it can be a difficult and sometimes painful process. Funny and relatable, Ride On is one of Hicks’ best works, and she was kind enough to answer a few questions.

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Nominees announced for the 2022 Ignatz Awards

The annual Ignatz Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo, or SPX, has announced the nominees for the 2022 Ignatz Awards.

The Ignatz Awards, which have been handed out since 1997, celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons. Named for the mouse that appears in the Krazy Kat comics by George Herriman, the logo changes each year as a new artist draws the mouse and his weapon of choice, the brick. This year’s logo is by Pa Luis.

Nominees were determined by a jury that included Cuyler Hedlund, Breena Nunez, Josh O’Neil, Alex Hoffman and Hazel Newlevant. Anyone can vote on the winners, which will be done over email rather than in person at the show, like it’s been in previous years. You can find more details on the SPX website.

Congrats to all the nominees:

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Riddle me this …

New comics arrive this week from Tom King, Mitch Gerads, Jason Aaron, Kev Walker, Kyle Higgins, Mat Groom, Davide Tinto, Garth Ennis, Russ Braun and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. We’re a little late this week due to some technical issues, but hey, if you’re heading to the comic shop after work today, we’ve got you covered.

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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Exclusive preview: Balazs Lorinczi’s ‘Doughnuts and Doom’

A struggling witch and a failing musician face curses and love in the new graphic novel, coming from Top Shelf in September.

Courtesy of Top Shelf Productions, we’re pleased to present an exclusive preview of Doughnuts and Doom, the upcoming graphic novel by Hungarian-Scottish cartoonist Balazs Lorinczi.

Described as a “quirky, magical, queer teen romance,” the graphic novel is a love story featuring a struggling witch and a failing musician. Here’s the description:

Margot is a stressed-out witch trying to get her potions business off the ground. Elena is a struggling rock musician whose band is going nowhere. Neither one of them is having a good day when they first meet at the local doughnut shop. Their exchange quickly escalates from words to literal sparks flying as Margot loses her cool. Turns out, accidentally cursing that infuriatingly cute girl at the doughnut shop isn’t a great way to start a relationship. As they work together to disperse this curse, will their initial animosity flare up in their faces or blossom into something sweeter? 

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Return to ‘Planet Hulk’ in November’s ‘Worldbreaker’

Greg Pak and Manuel Garcia head into Sakaar’s distant future in a new miniseries.

Greg Pak will return once again to the planet of Sakaar, the deadly setting of the epic Planet Hulk storyline, for Planet Hulk: Worldbreaker.

The five-issue miniseries will be drawn by Manuel Garcia, Cam Smith and Chris Sotomayor.

“Working on Planet Hulk remains one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had in storytelling,” Pak told Marvel.com. “So it was a huge thrill to get the call from editor Mark Paniccia inviting me to dive back in. What makes this story feel so special is that we’re going back to Sakaar a thousand years in the future. That’s opened up doors to do some spectacular world-building with mind-blowing art from Manuel Garcia, Cam Smith and Chris Sotomayor. And we’re exploring big emotional stories that pay off the huge themes of the Hulk and the Green Scar that I’ve built over many years through all my Hulk stories. In a time of change and crisis, what do we do with the power we have, and how do we handle the terrifying repercussions? A thousand years from now, who knows where those questions will take us?”

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Russell + Meli are ‘Traveling to Mars’ in November

The new series from Ablaze chronicles the last days of the first man on Mars.

Superman: Space Age and Second Coming writer Mark Russell will team with Italian artist Roberto Meli for a new “witty” science fiction series, Traveling to Mars, which kicks off this fall from Ablaze.

The story stars Roy, a former pet store manager who is terminally ill. Because of this, he’s chosen to become the first man on Mars, with no expectation of ever returning to Earth.

“Traveling to Mars is an intimate story about the end of days,” says Mark Russell. “Both Roy’s and ours. But Mars is as good a place as any to bow out of existence, I suppose.”

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Stare into horror this fall in ‘Specs’

The new title by David M. Booher and Chris Shehan arrives from BOOM! Studios in November.

Writer David M. Booher, artist Chris Shehan and colorist Roman Stevens will present a classic view of horror in Specs, a new miniseries coming from BOOM! Studios this fall.

If you’ve read any comics from a certain area, you might remember those crazy mail-order ads for things like x-ray specs. Like in the bottom left-hand corner of this ad:

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Nominees announced for the 2022 Dragon Awards

The awards, which include categories for comics and graphic novels, have been presented annually during DragonCon since 2016.

The nominees have been announced for the 2022 Dragon Awards, which have been presented annually during DragonCon since 2016.

The awards include multiple categories for books, media tie-ins like movies and video games, and two categories for comics — “Best Comic Book” and “Best Graphic Novel.”

The nominees in the comics and graphic novel categories are:

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‘Deadpool’ returns to his own title by Alyssa Wong + Martin Coccolo

The new ongoing series launches in November.

The Merc with a Mouth will return to his own title in November, courtesy of writer Alyssa Wong and artist Martin Coccolo.

“I love chaos,” Wong told Marvel.com. “And what is Deadpool if not chaos incarnate? I’m honored to take the reins for Wade’s next solo adventure–expect romance, expect body horror, and expect a wild time!”

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Marvel announces a mini-event built around Murderworld for the fall

Jim Zub and Ray Fawkes will guide the Avengers, Moon Knight and more into Arcade’s infamous amusement park later this year.

Arcade’s Murderworld will take the spotlight this fall in a new mini-event written by Jim Zub and Ray Fawkes, and featuring artwork by Jethro Morales in the first issue.

Murderworld: Avengers will kick things off in November and will be followed by one-shots featuring Moon Knight, Wolverine and Spider-Man. No doubt some sort of wrap-up “omega” issue will wrap things up, as these mini-events tend to do.

“When I first saw Murderworld in an issue of Uncanny X-Men, I was fascinated by its colorful corniness mixed with deception and violence,” Zub told Marvel.com. “Many years ago, Ray and I chatted about a twisted thriller-survival story set in Arcade’s deadly playground and now, starting with Murderworld: Avengers, we’re finally getting the chance to unleash it!”

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