Sunday Comics | Guard Dog from ‘Mutts’ is finally free

Check out recent webcomics by Grover, Chris Eliopoulos, Joshua Barkman and more.

Here’s a round up of some of the best and most interesting comics we’ve seen online recently. If we missed something, let us know in the comments below.

Followers of the comic strip Mutts by Patrick McDonnell will recognize Guard Dog, one of the strips most enduring and popular characters. Introduced about a year after the strip debuted, Guard Dog has been tethered to a stake in his owner’s yard ever since, a symbol of the cruelty of dog chaining.

After being abandoned by his owner and left to fate, Guard Dog is finally free and has a new home — not to mention his own web page.

“I started in my sketchbooks drawing a tough dog,” McDonnell told AP News about the dog’s origins. “I drew a big gruff dog and I put a studded collar on him. And then I drew a chain. And when I did that, it changed everything. I realized that it wasn’t a villain. It was a tragic character.”

McDonnell said fans of the strip have asked for the dog to be freed in the past, while animal welfare groups would ask him to keep the dog tethered as a way to bring attention to the dangers of animal neglect.

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Erman + Beck journey to ‘Loving, Ohio’ in a new graphic novel coming next year

Dark Horse Comics will publish the new graphic novel about surviving cults, murderers and high school.

Dark Horse Comics will publish Loving, Ohio next year, a graphic novel about four friends trying to survive high school in a town built around a cult.

Matthew Erman, writer of Good Luck, Witchblood, Terminal Punks and Mariko Between Worlds, and Sam Beck, the wonderful artist of Verse and Renegade Rule, will introduce The Chorus, a cult that “has infiltrated every structure of Loving.”

 “Loving, Ohio is the best piece of fiction I’ve written so far in my life,” said Erman. “I grew up in a cult, as many people do and Loving, Ohio says everything I want to say on the matter. I am immensely proud of it and so grateful for Sam and the gorgeous book she created with me. I can’t wait for you to read this because I think you all are going to be wowed by what we’ve made. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Bendis + Maleev reveal their ‘Masterpiece’

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Charles Soule, Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque, David and Maria Lapham, Zack Kaplan, Emily Carroll 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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Jaguar’s greatest foe might be too many Christmas cookies in this preview of ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #346

Check out an exclusive preview of a new story coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of two new stories from Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #346, which comes out Dec. 13.

This story features the original Jaguar, whose magical belt isn’t fitting quite as well as it was before the holidays (I’ve been there) — which throws him for a loop as he tries to save Santa from a gang of criminals. This tale of too much holiday cheer (and maybe cookies?) is by Bill Golliher, Jim Amash, Glenn Whitmore and Jack Morelli.

Check out the preview below, along with a complete Little Archie Christmas story.

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Oni’s NacelleVerse comics will launch in March

‘NacelleVerse’ #0 will kick things off, followed by ‘Roboforce,’ ‘Biker Mice from Mars’ and more.

One of the more interesting and perhaps surprising announcements at New York Comic Con came from Oni Press and the Nacelle Company, who own the rights to various toy lines from years past, including Biker Mice from Mars and Sectaurs. Now all those different characters will come together to form a shared universe.

Oni will publish a line of comics based on this new shared universe, starting in March with NacelleVerse #0 by writer Melissa Flores and artists Diogenes Neves and Francis Portela. That’ll be followed by three-issue miniseries for Roboforce, coming in April, and Biker Mice from Mars, coming in July. Sectaurs and Power Lords will follow sometime after that.

“I’m very excited that we’ll be launching the NacelleVerse with comic books that will set up all the characters, worlds and plot lines that will be unfolding over the next five years as our series come to life,” said Nacelle Founder and CEO Brian Volk-Weiss.

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For today only, get DSTLRY’s ‘The Devil’s Cut’ on digital for $1

The new comic company launches their first limited digital comic.

DSTLRY, the comics company founded by former Comixology guys David Steinberger and Chip Mosher, has released their first digital comic — an online version of The Devil’s Cut, the anthology title that kicked off their line this past summer. And if you buy it today, it’s only $1, so head on over to their website before the price goes up at midnight.

Update: The price has now increased to $6.66.

You might recall from their initial announcement/unveiling of their company that DSTLRY plans to have “limited digital releases,” selling them directly through their website rather than through a service like Comixology. They plan to somehow make the digital releases “collectible and resellable” at the same time, through some sort of online marketplace. If this all sounds very NFT-ish, well, they say it’s not, but that marketplace apparently isn’t ready quite yet, as noted in their launch message on their site:

Remember, these pioneering single-issue releases won’t be available again digitally until our Marketplace launches in early 2024—and then only if owners decide to sell! Seize this unique opportunity to be part of DSTLRY’s evolving story from the outset. Our digital collections will be available when they launch with no immediate end-of-sale date. 

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Mark Millar makes his Dark Horse

The creator will move his Millarworld line to the publisher next year.

Mark Millar will join Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Kindt, Stan Sakai and others as the latest creator to take their creator-owned work to Dark Horse Comics.

According to Forbes, the deal will see Millar and Dark Horse release five new titles in 2024, all under the “Millarworld” banner. Dark Horse will also collect previous Millarworld titles like The Magic Order and Night Club. Previously Millar’s creator-owned work was being published by Image Comics.

“Can I just say that I’ve been a Dark Horse fan since the beginning, and this has been a decades-long love affair finally consummated?” Millar said. “I’ve loved what Mike and the team have been doing for years and so many of my friends are over there, having a great time. I really just wanted to join the party and not only haul my massive, shelf-groaning library with me, but also commit to several years of really exciting stuff in the wake of our Big Game crossover event.”

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Molly Ostertag reveals the cover to ‘The Deep Dark,’ coming next year from First Second

The print version of her Substack work will arrive in June.

Over the course of about two years, Molly Knox Ostertag serialized a comic called Darkest Night on her Substack. Now the award-winning creator of The Girl from the Sea and Witch Boy has revealed the cover to the print version of the story, which will be titled The Deep Dark.

First Second will publish the graphic novel next June, as Ostertag undergoes the process of converting the original art, which was made for scrolling on a device, to print pages.

“I’ve spent the past few months turning those long scrolling updates into graphic novel spreads and cursing my past self for being so chaotic about how I layer my photoshop files,” she said in her latest newsletter. “I also hand lettered everything, which looks so good that I’m furious because now I HAVE to hand letter all future projects.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Tis the season to be scary

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by R.L. Stine, Cullen Bunn, Jesús Hervás, Christine Larsen, Matt Smith, Mike Mignola, Pius Bak, Jeff Parker, Michele Bandini and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. And with this being December, we’re getting a big wave of Christmas-themed comics, many of which fall itno the horror genre.

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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Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen go double-sized in March

Marvel announces plans for ‘Giant-Size Spider-Gwen,’ Miles Morales #300 in Los Angeles.

During a panel at this weekend’s L.A. Comic Con, Marvel announced two extra-sized doses of the Spider-gang that will arrive in stores next March.

Spider-Gwen will get the Giant-Size spotlight in Giant-Size Spider-Gwen by Melissa Flores and Alba Glez, while Miles Morales will celebrate 300 issues in the oversized Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18 by Cody Ziglar and a host of artists, including Sara Pichelli and Federico Vicentini.

“To be completely honest, it’s very surreal to be able to write Miles’ 300th issue,” Ziglar said. “This is a character I’ve been following and rooting for for almost 12 years now. There’s so much crammed into this issue and I’m forever grateful that I have been trusted to continue to carry the torch for Miles after [Brian Michael] Bendis and [Saladin] Ahmed.”

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Comixology + Stout Club announce three new projects at CCXP

Rafael Albuquerque, Eduardo Medeiros, Mateus Santolouco and Rafael Scavone will continue making comics for the digital platform next year.

Over the weekend at Brazil’s Comic Con Experience, or CCXP, Comixology and Stout Club Entertainment announced three new projects for 2024.

Stout Club is the studio that includes Rafael Albuquerque, Eduardo Medeiros, Mateus Santolouco and Rafael Scavone. They’ve already released several projects through Comixology Originals, including Red Tag, Hailstone and Funny Creek.

“CCXP is an epic pop culture convention that takes place in our home country of Brazil and Stout Club is so happy to be part of it,” Albuquerque said. “We are very proud of the comics we have released with Comixology Originals–Red Tag, Hailstone and Funny Creek–and are excited to showcase more of our talent and ideas with these new projects in 2024.”

Here’s a look at the three projects that were announced:

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Jackpot and Black Cat team up again in a new miniseries next March

Peter Parker’s ex-girlfriends return in a tale of blackmail and revenge.

Two of Peter parker’s ex-girlfriends have proven to be a formidable team, and next March they’ll come together again to battle a supervillain that’s blackmailing both of them.

Jackpot and Black Cat brings together Felicia Hardy and the now-super-powered Mary Jane Watson in a new story by Celeste Bronfman and Emilio Laiso. The lucky ladies have appeared together before in the Black Cat & Mary Jane: Beyond one-shot, as well as the recent Dark Web miniseries that saw them pull off a heist in Limbo.

“MJ’s been a hero since day one, and I’m so excited to continue her journey as Jackpot—this time with Felicia Hardy by her side!” Bronfman said. “Opposites attract, and I’ve always loved the push and pull of their friendship. Expect them to butt heads through heists, betrayals, and the unexpected!”

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