Quick Hits | DC is looking into whether Andrea Sorrentino used AI to create art for a recent ‘Batman’ story

Plus: Steve Ditko is a Disney Legend, Ngozi Ukazu, Denny O’Neil, banned books and more!

DC is investigating whether artist Andrea Sorrentino used AI to create some of the artwork in a recent Batman arc. Sorrentino contributed some of the artwork to the recent “The Joker Year One” story that ran in Batman #142-144, and that work has come into question as to whether he drew it or if he used AI in some capacity.

A spokesperson for DC Comics told indy100 that”DC Comics has longstanding policies in place that all artwork must be the artist’s original work. We are looking into the specifics of this situation.”

The concern was initially raised on social media by James Leech, who expressed his concerns that Sorrentino hadn’t drawn the artwork himself. “First off, there are the usual telltale signs – strange anatomy, errors a human is unlikely to make. The weird hands, Joker being insanely ripped in one panel and wasting away in another. His wandering nipples!” Leech said. “Secondly, there’s the style, which Sorrentino doesn’t appear to have used before outside of a couple of instagram posts. His other work is very distinctive – heavily photo-referenced, high contrast lighting. This is quite a departure from that. Not enough on its own, but telling.”

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Thanos plagues the Marvel Universe this summer in ‘The Infinity Watch’ crossover

The Mad Titan and the Infinity Stones return in an event that runs through Marvel’s annuals.

Thanos’ ongoing quest to control the Infinity Gems Stones returns to prominence this summer in nine of Marvel’s 2024 annuals. The crossover event, spearheaded by writer Derek Landy, will begin in Thanos Annual #1 and continue through Amazing Spider-Man, Immortal Thor and more.

Landy will write some of the main stories in the annuals and all of the back-up stories, which will be drawn by Sara Pichelli.

Now, if you’re not up on your Infinity Stones lore, they are indeed the powerful artifacts formerly known as the Infinity Gems, which Thanos once used to form the Infinity Gauntlet and wipe out half the population of the universe, back in the Infinity Gauntlet series by Jim Starlin, George Perez and Ron Lim. More recently, in the Infinite Destinies event (which itself ran through several Marvel annuals a few years back and happens to be on sale on Comixology today), the stones were grafted into “the very bodies and souls of a few of Marvel’s up-and-coming heroes and villains.” These included Star, who has appeared in Captain Marvel and was on a recent team of Thunderbolts; Prince of Power, who appeared in Al Ewing’s run on Guardians of the Galaxy; Multitude; and Overtime. Overall, though, they’ve been under the radar since the Infinite Destinies event.

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‘Destro’ and ‘Scarlett’ land in the Energon Universe in June

Kelly Thompson, Marco Fereari, Dan Watters and Andrei Bressan continue to re-introduce the G.I. Joe and Cobra teams at Skybound.

Skybound’s Energon Universe will continue to grow in June with two more miniseries focused on characters from G.I. Joe — Scarlett by Kelly Thompson and Marco Ferrari, and Destro by Dan Watters and Andrei Bressan.

The two miniseries follow the recent series starring Cobra Commander and Duke, which brought characters from G.I. Joe into the larger shared universe that also includes Transformers and Void Rivals.

Duke and Cobra Commander were two of the highest-selling G.I. Joe comics of all time, and they’re only the start of our new beginning for the amazing G.I. Joe franchise,” said Skybound’s Sean Mackiewicz. “With G.I. Joe and Cobra now locked on an unavoidable collision course, Scarlett and Destro will introduce new characters and factions that will disrupt their most carefully laid plans. Kelly Thompson, Marco Ferrari, Dan Watters and my favorite madman, Andrei Bressan are crafting action-packed, jaw-dropping comics that will forever change the Energon Universe.”

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Duggan + Brown team for ‘Falling in Love on the Path to Hell’ at Image Comics

A gunslinger and a samurai walk into purgatory …

If you’re wondering what Gerry Duggan will be up to once his run on X-Men ends, never fear — he’s teaming up with artist Garry Brown for an ambitious creator-owned series at Image Comics.

Falling in Love on the Path to Hell will start at the end for the two main characters — an Onna-musha warrior and an Old West gunslinger. After being mortally wounded on different continents, the pair “awake together in a purgatory ruled by a ruthless, nightmarish society of damned warriors.”

“We’re inspired by samurai films, grindhouse, westerns, Tarantino, Lone Wolf & Cub and of course all our favorite weird, supernatural comic books,” said Duggan. “This romance is our love letter to creator-owned comics—it’s a story we can only tell at Image Comics.”

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Daredevil goes ‘Giant-Size’ in June as he faces a possessed Kingpin

Saladin Ahmed and Paul Davidson bring a very different Wilson Fisk back into Matt Murdock’s life.

Daredevil’s past and present will collide in Giant-Size Daredevil this summer, as regular Daredevil scribe Saladin Ahmed and artist Paul Davidson show what happens when the demonic forces making Matt Murdock’s life a living hell in his monthly title decide to take control of the Kingpin.

“I’ve always loved villain POV stories, and Wilson Fisk has the ultimate street level villain POV,” Ahmed said. “We went really big and bloody with this, bringing Kingpin back in a huge way, and I can’t wait for fans to check it out.”

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MoCCA reveals its Awards of Excellence winners for 2024

Rebecca Mock, Sofia Warren, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Mark Doox and more took home prizes from the annual festival.

This past weekend the Society of Illustrators held the annual MoCCA Fest in New York, one of the largest independent comic festivals in the United States. As part of the festival, SI gave out its annual Awards of Excellence, a “best in show” award given to a selection of books available at the festival.

Winners received a ribbon, a $100 financial prize and a pen tablet provided by the event’s sponsor, Xencelabs.

This year they gave out 15 awards to attending publishers and creators, as revealed on their Instagram. Winners included:

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Man’s Best, the NacelleVerse, Dog Man + more

New comics and graphic novels arrive this week by Pornsak Pichetshote, Jesse Lonergan, Ram V, Evan Cagle, Kieron Gillen, Luca Maresca, Dav Pilkey, Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Tina Horn, Lisa Sterle, Brooklynn Prince, Takashi Okazaki and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, 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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Archie and the gang prepare for summer movie season in June’s ‘Archie & Friends: Blockbuster Movies’

Get your first look at the sensational character find of 2024, PoolNoodle!

Before you know it, summer will be here, bringing warmer days and a fresh batch of big, blockbuster movies to enjoy.

To help prepare you for the summer movie season, Archie Comics will release Archie & Friends: Blockbuster Movies in June, and we’re pleased to not only reveal the cover, but also give you a look at a new character debuting in this issue — PoolNoodle! Designed by Steven Butler, PoolNoodle will serve as a kinder, gentler, fourth-wall breaking foil for Archie as they “poke fun at every movie you can shake a stick at — or sword.”

The special is written by Ian Flynn, who has helped bring new life to Archie’s superheroes in recent years, and drawn by Steven Butler and Lily Butler. They’re joined by colorist Glenn Whitmore and letterer Jack Morelli.

“Between all the blockbuster movies with escalating premises and the rampant cross-property projects, going to the movies can be a little overwhelming,” Flynn said. “One thing Archie is great at is looking at the world and making these problems more manageable and even a little bit funny. (Although, let’s be honest, if they let me do a Crusaders ‘Cross the Cosmos’ event, it’d look something like this.)”

Is Archie taking votes on a “Cross the Cosmos” event? Because we vote “yes.” In the meantime, check out the cover and solicitation information for Archie & Friends: Blockbuster Movies, as well as a look at PoolNoodle:

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Todd McFarlane has even more plans for expanding the Spawn Universe

The ‘New U’ titles will tackle different genres, including science fiction, true crime, fantasy and more.

Hey it’s Todd McFarlane Day — happy birthday to the creator of Spawn!

That seems like the perfect day to talk about McFarlane’s plan for growing the Spawn universe, as the shared universe he announced back in 2021 will expand with several “New U” titles this year, starting with Sam & Twitch Case Files next week.

Here’s the rundown …

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‘Four-Color Heroes,’ ‘Doctor Aphra’ win at the GLAAD Media Awards

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation recognized comics from Marvel and Fanbase Press in their 35th annual Media Awards.

Four-Color Heroes and Doctor Aphra took home awards at the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards, which recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ+ community and the issues that affect their lives.

GLAAD recognizes the comic arts in two categories — “Outstanding Comic Book” and “Outstanding Original Graphic Novel/Anthology.” The awards were given out Thursday night at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, across categories that recognized film, television, video games and more. Other winners included the TV show Yellowjackets and the video game Baldur’s Gate 3.

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Doug Wagner + Daniel Hillyard return to the twisted world of ‘Plastic’

The prequel miniseries, ‘Death & Dolls,’ kicks off in June.

Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard’s Plastic gets a prequel this summer — Plastic: Death & Dolls. They’re joined on their journey into the world of serial killers and depravity by colorist Michelle Madsen and letterer Ed Dukeshire.

If you missed the first miniseries, it’s about a reformed serial killer, Edwyn, who tries to stay on the straight and narrow for the sake of his true love — a plastic doll named Virginia.

“Getting to spend some quality time with Edwyn again after… well, what seems like only yesterday, really, was just so much fun,” Hillyard said. “Who would have thought that a story about a serial killer in love with a blow-up sex doll would turn out to be so loved, and get a sequel to-boot. It’s a wild crazy ride, and I’m not just saying this, but you won’t want to miss the ending.”

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Clay McLeod Chapman + Andrea Mutti conjure up ‘Seance in the Asylum’ at Dark Horse

The historical horror miniseries begins in July.

Dark Horse Comics has brought two of the scariest words in the English language together to make something even scarier, as they’ve announced the miniseries Seance in the Asylum.

The historical horror series is by Clay McLeod Chapman, writer of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters, and artist Andrea Mutti, whose horror pedigree includes titles like A Legacy of Violence, Maniac of New York, Parasomnia, Bunny Mask and Haunt You to the End.

“Years back, I uncovered an esoteric text — The Homeopathic Principle Applied to Insanity: A Proposal to Treat Lunacy by Spiritualism by Dr. James John Garth Wilkinson — written all the way back in 1857, and I knew within my bones, my blood, that this was destined to be a story,” said Chapman. “As a lifelong acolyte of the Fox Sisters, I’ve always been obsessed with stories about tapping into the hereafter. Now it’s an honor to usher you through the veil and explore the other side… “ 

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