Exclusive Preview: Archie’s ‘Katy Keene’ collection arrives next week

Read Katy Keene stories from the past few decades before her new show debuts next year on The CW.

If you aren’t familiar with the glamorous Katy Keene, you soon will be — she’ll be joining the boys and girls from Riverdale on The CW next year in her own show. Set five years after the events of Riverdale, the series will also feature Josie, played by Ashleigh Murray, who makes the move from Riverdale to New York City to pursue her dreams.

But that’s next year — before the new show debuts (likely causing more headaches for Archie Comics’ social media person), take a look at this preview for next week’s Katy Keene collection. It features stories, art and paper dolls from throughout the character’s history by the likes of Bill Woggon, Andrew Pepoy, Dan Parent, Chic Stone and many more.

Check out the exclusive preview below, courtesy of Archie Comics, and look for the collection in comic shops next week.

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2019 Ignatz Award nominees announced

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

The Small Press Expo has announced the 2019 Ignatz Award nominees.

The Ignatz Awards have been handed out since 1997 and celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons.

The winners will be announced during SPX, which runs Sept. 14-15 at the Marriott North Bethesda Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Congrats to all the nominees:

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Quoted: Kieron Gillen on finishing ‘The Wicked + The Divine’

‘It’s complicated, but good complicated.’

The final issue of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s The Wicked + The Divine arrives Sept. 4. Gillen discussed how he feels about reaching the end of the series in his email newsletter this week:

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Smash Pages Q&A: Maia Kobabe

The comics creator discusses ‘Gender Queer: A Memoir,’ working with siblings, the craft and process of creating comics, and more.

Maia Kobabe has been making comics for The Nib, and anthologies like Mine!, Gothic Tales of Haunted Love, The Secrets Loves of Geeks and elsewhere for years, but eir first book is the just released Gender Queer: A Memoir from Lion Forge.

Gender Queer is an exploration of identity, an explanation of what the term means, but more than that, it’s a thoughtful look at coming to understand oneself over time and what it means to be human. Maia and I spoke recently about the book, working with eir sibling on it and reluctantly crafting a memoir.

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2019 Ringo Awards nominees announced

Winners will be announced at the Baltimore Comic-Con in October.

The nominees for the Ringo Awards have been announced, marking the award program’s third year. The awards are named for comics creator Mike Wieringo, who passed away in 2007.

While fans participated in the nomination process, only comic book professionals can vote for the winners. The awards will be presented at Baltimore Comic-Con Oct. 19.

Congratulations to all the nominees:

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Ennis returns to the Punisher

Jacen Burrows joins Garth Ennis on ‘Punisher Soviet’ this November.

Garth Ennis is returning to Marvel to write the Punisher and he’s bringing his Crossed collaborator, artist Jacen Burrows, with him.

Punisher Soviet sees Frank Castle blamed for the death of 12 Russian mobsters — but he’s actually innocent this time. So he goes looking for the “kindred spirit” who beat him to the punch.

“There’s a brilliant simplicity about Frank. He never changes — in an ever-shifting and evolving world, he remains resolutely himself,” Ennis told Marvel.com.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Casey Gilly

The writer and journalist discusses her contribution to the ‘You Died’ anthology, working with Raina Telgemeier and more.

Casey Gilly has been working in comics for years. She was one of the writers of She Changed Comics, has written essays for Winnebago Graveyard, Codename: Babushka and elsewhere in addition to writing and editing various comics, including two of the best in Andrea Leigh Shockling’s series Subjective Line Weight. Gilly has a new short comic in the upcoming Iron Circus anthology You Died, which she made with Raina Telgemeier.

Gilly and I have known each other for years, since we worked together at CBR back in the day, and I’ve read her comics work over the years, both published and unpublished, and know how talented she is. I think one of the things that has connected us is simply that we both love comics but we have very different sensibilities and tend to write about different things. The Kickstarter for You Died wraps up today, and I wanted to ask Gilly about how she started writing comics, collaboration and her highest profile project to date.

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Skybound announces ‘Heart Attack’ by Kittelsen + Zawadzki

The teenage love story involves superheroes fighting the system.

Shawn Kittelsen and Eric Zawadzki will team up on a new title called Heart Attack for Image/Skybound Entertainment. They’re joined by Michael Garland on colors, Pat Brosseau on letters, and editor Jon Moisan.

The comic features a world where gene therapy has cured disease, but also created “Variants” — people with powers so unique, the government denies their human rights. Described as a superhero teenage love story, the two main characters rebel against the system.

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Carey, Caselli, North, Uy venture into the ‘Negative Zone’

‘Fantastic Four: Negative Zone’ brings two stories in November.

The Fantastic Four will head into the Negative Zone this fall, courtesy of another fantastic foursome — Mike Carey and Stefano Caselli, along with Ryan North and Steve Uy.

Fantastic Four: Negative Zone will feature two stories, the first of which will feature the FF heading into the Negative Zone to deal with the fallout from one of Reed’s experiments — one that didn’t go that well. Carey and Caselli will tell that story.

“The very first Marvel comic I ever read was Fantastic Four #62, a Negative Zone story entitled ‘And One Shall Save Him!’ Maybe for that reason, both the FF and the Negative Zone have always seemed to me to be part of the Marvel Universe’s center of gravity — and part of my imaginative comfort zone,” Carey said. “In writing this story, I was trying to capture some of the anarchic wonder and craziness of those early FF epics. Do I love my job? Why yes, I do.”

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Fund Me Monday: ‘You Died,’ ‘American Cult’ and more

Find out about crowdfunding projects by Iron Circus Comics, Jim Calafiore, Robyn Chapman and more.

As crowdfunding continues to be a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors and connect directly with fans, comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGoGo. Here’s a look at a few recent campaigns that caught our eyes.

YOU DIED: An Anthology of the Afterlife

Creators involved: Spike Trotman of Iron Circus Comics + a host of other creators
Deadline: Wednesday, Aug. 21
Goal: $20,000 (funded)

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‘Monstress’ wins its third Hugo Award

In the “Best Graphic Story” category, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s fantasy series beats out ‘Saga,’ ‘Paper Girls’ and more.

Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, is three-for-three at the Hugo Awards. The fantasy series published by Image Comics took home its third Hugo Award in the “Best Graphic Story” category for “Haven,” its third trade paperback collection. This follows its wins in 2017 and 2018.

Charles Vess, meanwhile, took home the award for “Best Professional Artist,” while The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, which he illustrated, won for “Best Art Book.”

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‘Scream’ spins out of ‘Absolute Carnage’ this fall

New series by Clay McCleod Chapman and Chris Mooneyham stars the Spider-Man villain.

Another Spider-Man villain will receive a new title this fall, as writer Clay McCleod Chapman, artist Chris Mooneyham and cover artist Jim Cheung team up for Scream: Curse of Carnage.

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