Question everything you know about the Joker in ‘The Joker Year One’

‘Batman’ goes weekly in February as DC delves into the Joker’s past and future.

DC promises to reveal untold secrets about the origin of the Joker in an upcoming Batman story next year, titled “The Joker Year Zero.,” which will run through three weekly issues in February.

The new storyline is by writer Chip Zdarsky, artist Giuseppe Camuncoli, inker Stefano Nesi, and colorist Alejandro Sánchez, with artist Andrea Sorrentino and colorist Dave Stewart drawing a “juxtaposed” story. It’ll follow the current Batman arc, “Mindbomb,” which also features the Joker.

Here’s a look at the two different art styles, starting with Camuncoli, Nesi and Sánchez’s tribute to The Killing Joke:

And here’s Sorrentino and Stewart’s artwork; they make a great combo for a darker, moodier approach:

Each issue of “The Joker Year Zero” will ship weekly in February. Here’s what to expect from the three-issue arc:

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Almost 50 titles announced for Free Comic Book Day 2024

Diamond reveals the silver sponsor titles, which include Star Wars, Doctor Who, Flash Gordon, Monster High and more.

Diamond has revealed the remaining Free Comic Book Day titles for 2024, which, all told, brings the number of titles that will be available to retailers and fans on May 4 to 48.

Earlier this week they revealed the gold sponsor titles, and today brings the silver tier. Some of the highlights include:

  • DC will have a total of four titles for next year, which have not yet been revealed. One of them, though, will be a MAD Magazine title.
  • Marvel has five titles in 2024, including the two revealed earlier this week. Today brings news on a Star Wars book, a collection of Marvel’s Voices stories and a Spidey and his Amazing Friends title aimed at young readers.
  • Mad Cave has two titles focused on their two recent licensed comics announcements for Flash Gordon and Gatchaman.
  • Lots of other notable licenses pop up in the list, from video game Far Cry to Popeye to Monster High, which IDW recently announced a licensing agreement for. Oh, and Alien Books, who acquired the license to publish Valiant titles, will also be featured.

Check them all out below:

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All the villains were stirring in this preview of ‘World of Archie Jumbo Comics’ #135

Tom DeFalco and Steven Butler pay tribute to a classic Christmas poem in one of two new stories appearing in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Archie Comics has shared a preview with us of one of the new stories appearing in World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #135, which will arrives in stores Nov. 22.

Our preview this week is a fun one, as writer Tom DeFalco, artists Steven Butler and Jim Amash, colorist Glenn Whitmore and letterer Jack Morelli pay tribute to a Christmas classic. A Visit from St. Nicholas, the poem by Clement Clarke Moore, gets turned on its head as Pureheart the Powerful and Pow-Girl hear the “clatter” of super-villain activity before Christmas.

Check out the preview below, along with a complete Archie story by Frank Doyle and Samm Schwartz.

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Comedian Rufus Hound teams with artist Dan Cornwell for a new Strontium Dog story

The tale will appear in 2000 AD’s end-of-year issue.

British actor/comedian Rufus Hound has written a story that will appear in 2000 AD Prog 2362, the annual end-of-year blowout issue that features a giant killer Santa on its cover.

Hound, who has appeared in Doctor Who and voiced Waffles on Waffle the Wonder Dog, worked with artist Dan Cornwell on a new Strontium Dog story.

“I’d never believed that I’d get a chance like this,” Hound said. “That ACTUAL 2000 AD would ask me – ME! – to write so much as a single syllable for their illustrious pages. Not only that, but to be given the opportunity to reimagine something from the golden era of Strontium Dog? Proper dream come true stuff.”

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‘Dutch’ may be ‘the biggest, most expansive story’ Joe Casey has ever told at Image Comics

The three-issue miniseries drawn by Simon Gane begins in February.

Following the release of Dutch #0 this week, which collected Joe Casey and Nathan Fox’s story from the Image 30th anniversary anthology, Image has announced a three-issue Dutch miniseries by Casey and artist Simon Gane.

“This new miniseries with the great Simon Gane is the next, white-hot phase of something much bigger—maybe the biggest, most expansive story I’ve ever told at Image Comics,” Casey said. “Personally, I can’t wait for readers to see the mayhem that Simon and I are cooking up, taking the classic Image action aesthetic and launching it into the next decade!”

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Miles + Peter team up in ‘The Spectacular Spider-Men’

Greg Weisman and Humberto Ramos bring the two heroes together in a new series that launches next year.

Marvel will bring together its two Spider-Men for a new series called, appropriately, The Spectacular Spider-Men. The series will be written by Greg Weisman, who wrote animated Spectacular Spider-Man TV series, and Humberto Ramos, who has drawn several previous Spider-Man series.

“I’m so thrilled to be writing Spidey again, and the fact that I get to write both Spideys, together, makes the gig doubly sweet,” Weisman said. “It’s fun for me, because in this book, I see the younger Miles trying really hard to show his maturity to his mentor Peter, while the older Pete feels free to let out his inner 16-year-old with Miles. So there’s a bit of role reversal to the normal mentor-protege relationship than one might expect to see.”

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Free Comic Book Day 2024 Gold sponsors include DC, Marvel and more

Free comics featuring Spider-Man, Hellboy, Jonny Quest, Encanto and more will be available next year on May 4.

Diamond has revealed the “Gold Sponsor” comic publishers and titles for Free Comic Book Day 2024, which includes Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and more. A dozen comics from the gold sponsors will be available during next year’s event, which is scheduled for May 4.

“We’re looking forward to another great year of celebrating comic books and comic book shops!” said Ashton Greenwood, Free Comic Book Day spokesperson. “This year’s lineup has a title for everyone. Whether you’re new to comics or a longtime reader, you’re sure to find a title that grabs your attention. And with the event falling on Star Wars Day this year, that adds a little extra excitement to the day!”

Interestingly, DC returns to the list for 2024, promoting an “exciting new project” that’ll be revealed at a later date. Since DC left Diamond back in 2020, they’ve participated in the event, but their books were not promoted by Diamond nor were they included on the Free Comic Book Day website.

Here’s a look at the gold sponsor titles, many of which are teasers rather than actual announcements. The extensive silver sponsor title list will be announced later this week.

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Amazon will discontinue the Comixology app on Dec. 4

Users will need to switch to the Kindle app to read their comics after that date.

Amazon has announced plans to “retire” the Comixology app effective Dec. 4, according to a message in the app itself. Comixology users will have to start using the Kindle app to access their comics and graphic novels after that date.

The move is not a surprise, given everything that’s happened with Comixology and Amazon over the last two years — starting with the relaunch of the Comixology app that brought it more in line with the Kindle experience, as well as the elimination of a separate Comixology website for buying comics. Earlier this year the Comixology team was severely impacted by Amazon-wide layoffs, leaving the future of the digital comics service in question.

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Preview | ‘The Boy from Clearwater’ explores the history of Taiwan and the White Terror era

Levine Querido shares a preview of the upcoming graphic novel written by Yu Pei-Yun and illustrated by Zhou Jian-Xin.

Courtesy of publisher Levine Querido, we’re pleased to present a preview of The Boy from Clearwater, a graphic novel written by Yu Pei-Yun, illustrated by Zhou Jian-Xin and translated by Lin King.

The Boy from Clearwater tells the story of Tsai Kun-lin, who lives on the island of Taiwan in the 1930s and experienced its occupation by Japan, followed by the rule of the Chinese National Party post-World War II. After attending a book club in high school, he’s arrested for taking part in an “illegal” assembly and spends a decade in prison as part of the White Terror era.

The Boy from Clearwater arrives in stores on Nov. 21. Check out the publisher information and the preview below.

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IDW Original ‘Golgotha Motor Mountain’ will bend minds next March

“… it’s probably the first Southern Gothic, action, sci-fi, drug-fueled body horror concoction ever made.”

IDW has announced a release date and a new artist for Golgotha Motor Mountain, which was one of nine titles they announced last year as part of the IDW Originals line.

Robbi Rodriguez will replace Ryan Lee, who was originally announced as the artist, with Marissa Louise providing colors. They will work with co-writers Matthew Erman and Lonnie Nadler, as well as letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Finally, Nikola Čižmešija rounds out the team, who will draw “a backup short manga that is in-universe to the story.”

As for the comic itself, it sounds a bit bonkers.

“This book is genuinely unhinged, bizarre and unlike anything I’ve ever written before. In fact, it’s probably the first Southern Gothic, action, sci-fi, drug-fueled body horror concoction ever made,” Nadler said. “Something like Mad Max by way of Cormac McCarthy. Yet, at its heart, Golgotha is a story about two brothers at odds who have to find a way to trust one another in the face of absolute bedlam. As you can probably tell from my description alone, the whole team is trying hard to make sure this is like no other comic being released today, and that’s invigorating to be a part of.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘The Ministry of Compliance’ opens its doors as ‘G.I. Joe’ returns to shelves

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by John Ridley, Stefano Raffaele, Larry Hama, Chris Mooneyham, Dan Slott, Mark Bagley, James Tynion IV, Joshua Hixson, Peach Momoko, Karina Shor, Geoff Johns, Gary Frank 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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Hill, Ciaramella + Walsh adapt ‘Wolverton Station’ to comics

The Joe Hill-written story will arrive under the ‘Creepshow’ banner next March.

Author Joe Hill and artists Jason Ciaramella and Michael Walsh will bring one of Hill’s short stories to comics next year under the Creepshow banner — something Hill is intimately familiar with.

“I’m always glad to renew my acquaintance with The Creep and reconnect with the gleeful gross-outs that are the hallmark of Creepshow in all its manifestations, from film to TV to comics,” Hill said. “I wrote ‘Wolverton Station’ over a decade ago, working longhand while I traveled the UK by train for a book tour, and right from the start I knew I was writing a Creepshow kind of thing.”

Hill’s history with Creepshow started with the 1982 film directed by George A. Romero and written by his father, Stephen King. Hill appeared in the opening segment of the film, as the child punished by his father for reading a Creepshow comic. Several of Hill’s short stories also served as the basis for the more recent Shudder TV series.

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