The Comics Super Blog!
Get a print of the cover to ‘Incomplete Works,’ his next collection due out in April.
Following quickly on the heels of the January release of Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen, Hicksville creator Dylan Horrocks’ next work will be Incomplete Works. In conjunction, Horrocks is offering a print of the cover for $70 over on his website. Here’s the volume’s cover:
It’s due out in April from Alternative Press. In addition, Horrocks is offering original art from both Magic Pen and his classic graphic novel Hicksville on his website.
Kwanza Osajyefo, Tim Smith 3, Jamal Igle, Sarah Litt and Khary Randolph launch a Kickstarter to bring ‘Black’ to life.
Kwanza Osajyefo, Tim Smith 3, Jamal Igle, Sarah Litt and Khary Randolph have teamed up to create a new graphic novel called Black: “In a world that already fears and hates them – what if only Black people had superpowers?” They’re looking to raise a little under $30,000 via Kickstarter to bring it to life.
Here’s a description of the story:
After miraculously surviving being gunned down by police, a young man learns that he is part of the biggest lie in history. Now he must decide whether it’s safer to keep it a secret or if the truth will set him free.
“With Black, we’re looking to tell a great story, but we’re also purposefully challenging the pop culture status quo, which is dominated by a White male aesthetic,” Osajyefo said in a press release. “Black tackles the very real and palpable issue of race, which is at the forefront in America and around the world. We are trying to confront the issue of race head-on by creating a world in which only Black people are superheroes — and the Black superhero trope isn’t subtly cast under a label of mutant, inhuman, or meta-whatever. It is also both thrilling and liberating to create the superheroes we’ve always wanted to see — and, frankly, be — outside of the entrenched publishing system.”
If funded through the Kickstarter campaign, Black will be available digitally to backers as DRM-free PDFs in monthly installments, starting in mid-2016. The limited edition print run of the six-chapter Black graphic novel is due out late in 2016. The campaign runs through Feb. 29. For more information, check out the Kickstarter page, their web site or this Washington Post article.
Over the years Wade von Grawbadger has made a name for himself by bringing out the best of whoever’s work he happens to be inking. The Eisner, Harvey and Inkwell award-winning artist/inker’s most recent work includes Batman/Superman with Robson Rocha and Astro City with Gary Chaloner.
Always of note, though, is his work with Stuart Immonen. The duo have worked together on New Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man, All-New Captain America and Star Wars, just to name a few titles, and as von Grawbadger describes below, their tight collaboration has helped the inker become more versatile. The duo will work together again on the upcoming Empress, written by Mark Millar.
Continue reading “Smash Pages Q&A: Wade von Grawbadger”The award-winning letterer celebrates his birthday by discussing how he got his first job at DC Comics.
In grade school, a vocational test decided I should become a forest ranger. I thought that sounded okay, I loved the outdoors. In grade school I did well in math and science, but less well in high school with more competition. I didn’t head in the Art direction until senior year when I finally realized art class was my favorite, and had been all four years. I went to art school for two years, then ran out of money and had to get a mundane job to support myself. I worked at several paperwork jobs, and at one was able to use some of my art training to design air conditioner user manuals.
–Letterer Todd Klein, who turned 65 last week, explains on his blog how he broke into comics when DC Comics offered him a two-week stint filling in for a vacationing production artist. He says Vince Colletta “must have seen something in those air conditioner manual paste-ups.” Also, happy belated birthday to Todd Klein!
The Sandman and Batwoman artist says if he had never discovered Micronauts, “I seriously doubt I’d be working in comics at all.”
I’ve cited in many interviews and general conversations just how this series impacted my childhood, I grew up a bit with those comics, and read them for as long as they were published. But ultimately what hooked my loyalty was the very beginning of their adventures, created by masters Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden. They were so very smart. If I had never come across their work on Micronauts I seriously doubt I’d be working in comics at all. Their brilliance on the title forever changed my direction, much to the dismay of many of the adults in my young life. However, along the way, I proved I was right. That deep down, from that very long ago discovery of the work on the series, I knew then that I was meant to do what I do now. And so when IDW announced they had garnered publishing rights for a new Micronauts series, and Rom as well (another very influential series), I had to reach out to them to see how I could be involved, even if only a little. To make an inner child’s dream come true.
–Artist J.H. Williams III, paying tribute to the creators of Marvel’s long-running Micronauts series from the late 1970s/early 1980s. Williams will do “a run of covers” for the new Micronauts series by Cullen Bunn and David Baldeón that kicks off in April from IDW Publishing.
Publisher announces new projects by Jarrett Williams, Miss Lasko-Gross and Kevin Colden, Sam Sattin and Chris Koehler, and Gabe Soria and Paul Reinwand.
Z2 Comics, the publisher of Ian McGinty’s Welcome to Showside, Chris Hunt’s Carver and Miss Lasko-Gross‘s Henni, among others, has announced four new titles for 2016 with some impressive creative line-ups.
Probably the name I was most excited to see on the list is Jarrett Williams, who wrote and drew two volumes of the fun wrestling graphic novel Super Pro K.O.! (a third one is due out in April). His new book is about high school students who team up to fight “sinister, intergalactic vagabonds” in what will surely be a fun, action-packed book. Also of note are the wonderful Lasko-Gross and her husband, Kevin Colden (Fishtown, The Crow, I Rule the Night), who will collaborate for the first time on a story about intergalactic smugglers. Author Sam Sattin (The Silent End) teams with illustrator Chris Koehler (Wired, The Atlantic) for a story about dogs and cats living together, while Gabe Soria (Life Sucks, Batman ’66) and Paul Reinwand (28 Warlords) create a “rock’n’roll noir story” that’ll feature a soundtrack by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and the Arcs, with tracks inspired by the comics.
Artwork, release dates and additional details provided by the publisher can be found below.
Hyper Force Neo by Jarrett Williams
April 2016
Hyper Force Neo, from Super Pro K.O.! creator Jarrett Williams takes readers along on the adventures of Dean Masters, a 9th grader tasked with leading a group of tech-savvy teens called Hyper Force Neo. Their Mission? Save New Sigma City and their high school from the sinister, intergalactic vagabonds known as the Dark Edge. With the use of their Hype Suits, Neo Keys, high-tech weaponry and over-sized Neo Mechs, Dean and his friends just may get the job done. The first issue of Hyper Force Neo will be a super-sized 48 pages.
The Sweetness by Miss Lasko-Gross and Kevin Colden
May 2016
Set in the future, the first collaboration from the husband and wife creative team of Miss Lasko-Gross (Henni) and Kevin Colden (Fishtown) follows two bad-ass female intergalactic smugglers of a mysterious controlled substance who cater to the unique tastes of alien drug addicts.
Legend by Sam Sattin, Chris Koehler
June 2016
What if a biological terror agent wiped out most of humanity, and our domesticated animals were left in charge? How would our dogs and cats set about ruling and rebuilding the world? Legend is the story of animals uniting to fight mutant creatures and attempting to restore the world their masters destroyed.
Murder Ballads by Gabe Soria, Paul Reinwand
2016
A meditation on music, obsession and how far someone will go to see their vision become real, Murder Ballads follows the fall and reinvention of Nate Theodore, the dead-broke and deadbeat owner of a failing record label who is on a cross-country drive in the dead of winter, fleeing the wreckage of his business and trying to save his crumbling marriage. Nate is given an unexpected chance to reverse his fortunes when, during a stop in a desolate rust belt town, he “discovers” Donny and Marvell Fontweathers, two African-American brothers who play a raucous brand of doom-laden country blues. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and the Arcs is creating a Murder Ballads soundtrack, which will be released by Nonesuch Records.
Creators Jason McNamara and Greg Hinkle discuss the new edition of their crowdfunded graphic novel, coming from Image Comics in May.
Late last year Jason McNamara (The Martian Confederacy, First Moon, Continuity) and Greg Hinkle (Airboy) announced their crowdfunded horror graphic novel The Rattler had found a new home at Image Comics.
Inspired by true events from McNamara’s own life, the graphic novel will hit stores in March with a new cover and one new page. I spoke with McNamara and Hinkle about the new edition, how the Kickstarter campaign went and the potential for a sequel.
Continue reading “McNamara, Hinkle slither over to Image for new edition of ‘The Rattler’”
News of David Bowie’s passing brought an outpouring of tributes from many who were creatively influenced and admire the pop future legend, including those in the comic industry. Bowie’s eccentric life attracted a diversity of comic industry pros who celebrated his life in their own way.
Continue reading “Comic industry pays tribute to David Bowie”
Comic folks answer the question, “What do you consider to be the top five important events of 2015?”
For this year’s inaugural version of the Smash Pages End of Year Survey I had people answer the question: “What do you consider to be the top five important events of 2015?” I encouraged people to not necessarily answer the question in that manner if it didn’t strike their fancy. I cannot thank everyone enough for the participation during a busy time of year. Part 1 is here, part 2 is here part 4 is here.
Creator of Little White Mouse, Moped Army, Mixtape:1984
1. MS. MARVEL:
The longer this series goes, the better it gets, and seeing Kamala Khan literally become a new comic superstar with an eager brand new audience who has not seen themselves represented in books before now is amazing and heart-warming. Plus, the skill with which G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona and Takeshi Miyazawa craft this book and make it look and read SO differently, yet SO on point is a credit to them all as creators.
2. GRAYSON
I’m not really a Batman family reader, but damn if GRAYSON isn’t a compelling spy thriller, and yeah, I’m going to say it; the beefcake does it for me. But it’s not really just gratuitous; it’s there for a reason. Everything in the book looks great, but seeing Dick look as good as his other fellow spies and enemies, and watching a book knowingly use the art to show equal time to a hunky male lead as they do to the sexy female leads is a nice balancing act. I’m sure it is a welcome gift to any reader who wants to see more attractive men being amazing in their comic stories.
3. BITCH PLANET
This could have gone so wrong, but it’s Kelly Sue Deconnick, and she nails it. Watching exploitation in the hands of the other side is always thrilling, and no less when the creators actually have something smart to say. BITCH PLANET was equal parts social commentary, feminist manifesto and C-movie storytelling, but once again, the balance of those elements proved to be the key to unlocking the good story within. A good shock to the system, that hopefully will rattle loose a few more good stories.
4. SPX and COMIQUE CON 2015
Within 2 months of each other, I got to see how conventions that focused on the less or under-represented creators could really impact me. This year’s Small Press Expo in Bethesda was especially engaging, with some killer panels that addressed needed and (at times) uncomfortable realities that some creators have to deal with because of race, ethnicity and gender. The inaugural year of COMIQUE CON was also inspiring to see a wide, wide range of female creators talk and show instances of overcoming problems that I will never encounter as a white male comic creator. But in both instances, it wasn’t finger-pointing; it was informing and inspiring and letting people know that a well informed community of creators is the first step to making comics better for everyone.
5. AIRBOY
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a creator hang themselves out on the line for all to see (FUN HOME is an obvious choice), but AIRBOY was one of the most bare-naked (sometimes literally) assessments of a creator’s failings I read all year. James Robinson is painfully honest in painting himself as the terrible person he had become, and this comic series seemed to be him building a ladder to climb out of the hole he had dug for himself. Smartly, he wrapped the story in a nice allegory about the unattainable level of the hero trope, but alongside that, Robinson also examines the creative process in all its beautiful and horrible detail, and in the end finds his way to the top of a ladder that puts him back at ground zero. As hard as I fell in love with Robinson during his STARMAN tenure, this was an eye-opening session with him grappling with his creative life after great success.
Creator of Hagelbarger and That Nightmare Goat, Barry’s Best Buddy, Baby Bjornstrand
Laura Park’s DO NOT DISTURB MY WAKING DREAM no. 4
Helge Reumann’s SEXY GUNS
Nate Turbow’s Instagram Account
Dustin Harbin’s DIARY COMICS
Rina Ayuyang’s TCJ A CARTOONIST’S DIARY
Writer of The Damnation of Charlie Wormwood, co-owner of Aw Yeah Comics
Archie (Waid, Staples, Wu, and more)
Alex & Ada (Luna and Vaughn)
Rachel Rising (Terry Moore)
Daredevil (Waid and Samnee)
Unflattening (Nick Sousanis)
Writer of Great Big Hawaiian Dick, Bad Karma
1. The continued growth of successful comic-related television shows.
2. Image Comics solidifying their rising position in the marketplace.
3. The exodus of high-profile “Big Two” talent to creator-owned books.
4. Marvel mining the Star Wars franchise for massive success
5. Archie Comics’ revival and push toward new directions
Colorist on The Fade Out, Velvet, Fatale, Outcast
1. Visiting the set of Outcast the television series and having the opportunity to finally meet fellow creators Robert Kirkman and Paul Azaceta in person, as well as, getting to meet all the incredibly talented people in television who are bringing our comic book to life. It was an immensely cool, enlightening, and rewarding experience.
2. Watching my husband Mitch’s new book, The Futurists, start to take shape. I couldn’t be more proud of the work he and co-creator Patrick Stiles are doing, and I can’t wait for everyone else to get to share in the magic they’ve been creating. I’m especially excited about the new approach Mitch is taking with his artwork.
3. River City Comic Con in Little Rock, AR. It’s been great to watch my hometown show grow by leaps and bounds over the past few years. With the new venue at the State House Convention Center in the beautiful downtown River Market District, 2015 was the biggest and the best yet.
4. Getting to add a few beautiful limited edition prints and books to my art collection from two of my favorite modern day creators, James Jean and Mattias Adolfsson.
5. All the great comic industry related films and television shows. The ones that had me most excited: Age of Ultron, Star Wars, and Daredevil.
Even though I stopped writing about comics eight years ago, and even though I hardly ever read comics anymore, Tim O’Shea convinced me to contribute to this year-end review. So from least to most important (at least to me), here are my favorite comics-adjacent productions and events of 2015.
Marvel’s Jessica Jones. I’ve never been a member of the Merry Marvel Marching Society – I’ve been a DC Comics gal since the innocent Silver Age days when Lois Lane dashed around Metropolis in a pillbox hat and white gloves, coming up with harebrained schemes to find out Superman’s secret identity and get him to marry her. And I so loved the first two seasons of the 1990s superheroic romantic comedy Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman that the show actually brought me back to reading comics after an absence of thirty-something years.
So I fully expected to be swept up, up, and away by the new live-action Supergirl TV series. After all, I’d been a fan of both the 1960s version of Supergirl, Kara/Linda Lee (hiding her powers from the world, living in the orphanage where her famous Kryptonian cousin had left her, and longing to be adopted by a family of her own), and writer Peter David’s initially-inspired 1990s reboot of the character. Plus the show and its star, Melissa Benoist, had gotten rave reviews from critics. Why wouldn’t I fall in love with this new version?
But CBS’s Supergirl left me cold. I didn’t like how Kara was saddled with a foster sister who turned out to be a spy for a “super-secret agency,” and how the only people in whom she could place her unqualified trust were men. I also didn’t like how she was depicted as wide-eyed and apologetic and more than a trifle bumbling. Yes, I realize that the point was to show Kara growing into her powers, but the character, and the series, didn’t have the depth I was hoping for.
Instead, the comics-related show that grabbed me this year and wouldn’t let go centers on a super-anti-heroine from the Marvel Universe. Unlike chirpy, naïve Supergirl, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) was deeply cynical and flawed even before the horrific events (seen in occasional brief flashback) that left her traumatized, and that continue to haunt her. And that’s one reason why I love her (and her show) so much: I identify with characters who are prickly and sardonic and difficult to get close to, like Jessica.
Another reason I prefer Jessica Jones to Supergirl is that the Marvel show features a wider range of interesting women characters. Yes, Supergirl’s nemesis is the sister of her late mother; yes, in her secret identity, Kara works for a female media mogul (who has all the warmth and solicitude of Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada). But Jessica’s female supporting cast is far more intriguing: her best friend Trish, whose backstory as a teen TV star could be a series of its own; lesbian attorney Jeri, who is cheating on her wife with one of the employees at her law firm,
and who has her own agenda; and Hope Shlottman, a victim of the same villain who tormented Jessica, to name just a few.
I know the character of Jessica Jones, played by Ritter, will be featured in the upcoming Netflix series The Defenders, and will undoubtedly show up in the Luke Cage series as well. Still, I’m hoping that Netflix and Marvel see fit to bring the character back for a second season in her own show. I’ll be watching.
Fun Home, the Broadway musical. Pioneer lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s multiple award-winning graphic memoir Fun Home (named Best Book of the Year for 2006 by Time.com) was turned into a stunning theatrical work that opened on Broadway during 2015 – the first Broadway musical to feature a lesbian main character. It won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score (by Jeanine Tesori & Lisa Kron, the first female writing team ever to win the award), Best Book, Best Direction, and Best Leading Actor in a Musical (Michael Cerveris, who played Bechdel’s closeted gay male father). For my money, though, the most unforgettable aspect of the show was the astonishing performance by 11-year-old Sydney Lucas (who has since left the show) as Small Alison. Lucas’s clear-voiced, awed, joyous solo about the moment of recognition she experienced the first time she saw a butch lesbian – a song based directly on a panel from the original graphic novel – haunted me for months after I saw the show. (Lucas was nominated for a Tony Award as well, but her competition included two other Fun Home actresses, a situation that I suspect ended up splitting the vote.)
The Queers and Comics conference. For me, the most important comics-related event of 2015 – heck, the most important comics-related event in years – was getting to go to the first-ever university-based LGBTQ comics conference. Organized by veteran lesbian cartoonist Jennifer Camper (Juicy Mother) and hosted by the Center for LGBTQ Studies at the City University of New York, the two-day conference was billed as “bring[ing] LGBTQ cartoonists, comics writers, and artists together with scholars and fans in order to document the history and significance of queer comics.” And did it ever. I got goosebumps watching queer cartooning pioneers Trina Robbins, Mary Wings, Roberta Gregory, and Lee Marrs talk about creating feminist comix in the early 1970s. I got more goosebumps watching the parade of cartoonists – there had to have been at least 20, if not more — whose work was featured in the longrunning series Gay Comix. I marveled at the range of panels presented during the two days: queers, comics, and disability; “Queer Zinesters Do It By Hand”; “Creating Trans* and Genderqueer Characters in Comics”; queer people of color in art and activism; serialized queer comics; queer comics on the web; female sexuality in queer comics; and on and on and on. Plus there were keynote speeches by gay male pioneer cartoonist Howard Cruse and the aforementioned Ms. Bechdel. It was like a big family reunion: I hugged people I hadn’t seen in years, or even decades. More important, I got to learn about queer comics, and queer comics creators, I hadn’t heard about before.
I think we all have to stop and marvel at the phenomenon that is JESSICA JONES. The days of superheroes’ rarity on the big and the small screen are well over, but to have a binge-able, mature series of this quality at our disposal for entertainment (and for thought-provoking discussion) makes this a transmedia Golden
Even though it began in 2014, it was hugely exciting to see how Grant Morrison’s MULTIVERSITY wrapped up. In fact, it has only faded from memory, I’d argue, due to DC’s weak implementation of the flawed CONVERGENCE event.
Similarly, SANDMAN OVERTURE straddled the calendar line due, in part, to its extended execution. But, all in all, it was worth waiting out the year for.
On a personal note, I’m delighted that the Comics Studies Society (www.comicssociety.org) was approved for official non-profit status just this past month. I’m excited about this organization in terms of the future of high-quality scholarship on the medium in the U.S.
My #1 is without question Nick Sousanis’s UNFLATTENING. It’s a scholarly work like no other, merging the art and the academics of comics in a way we haven’t seen in at least 20 years!
Runner-up: Sophie Campbell’s art in Jem and the Holograms. I thought the 80’s cartoon was vapid and cloying and horribly animated, and I can hardly believe I’m writing this actual sentence, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK AND IT IS GORGEOUS. Campbell is clearly having the time of her life designing all the hair and costumes; the characters vault right off the page, crackling with kinetic energy.
Comic folks answer the question, “What do you consider to be the top five important events of 2015?”
For this year’s inaugural version of the Smash Pages End of Year Survey I had people answer the question: “What do you consider to be the top five important events of 2015?” I encouraged people to not necessarily answer the question in that manner if it didn’t strike their fancy. I cannot thank everyone enough for the participation during a busy time of year. Part 1 is here, part 2 is here part 3 is here.
Sensation Comics, Finder
These things happened, and I learned things from them I didn’t expect.
I wrote and drew a WONDER WOMAN story titled BOTH ENDS OF THE LEASH for Sensation Magazine. I’d never tried to wrap my mind around any of the comic book demigods, but the more I read about this princess, the more facets she reveals. I had some odd and, frankly, rather woo experiences trying to find a story for her, which in itself probably is what made it worth doing. The story is about animal defense, so it hit a lot of nerves, and I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from long-term fans, but none more so than the fan I didn’t know about: my older sister.
I had NO IDEA my sister was a Wonder Woman fan. She’s eight years older than I am, so I guess I missed her Underoos stage. But she’s nearly six feet tall, long black hair, green eyes… How tempted was I to make my Diana’s eyes green just for her! But the fact that I found out late in the game that my sister’s such a fan restrained me from redesigning the Princess radically. This time.
I drew an issue of a horror comic called HARROW COUNTY, written and drawn by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook. I’ve never done a straight-up ghost story. This one was about a not-entirely-lost soul, a sad, ferocious little ghost in two parts. The tricky part, the thing I had to keep reminding myself was that, no matter how bad I felt for him, I needed to keep him creepy. That’s what makes him work. Poor little sticky thing.
If that was true of HARROW COUNTY, it’s doubly true of NO MERCY, the book I’m drawing with writer Alex de Campi. She rarely pulls a punch unless it’s for effect, and has been a master class in how fast you can make things happen in a story. It’s all too easy, especially when you love worldbuilding, to get lost in creating the immersive experience, forgetting that stories are about and-then-what.
The storytellers who REALLY surprised me with the depth and deftness of their storytelling are the ones who are making the tv show STEVEN UNIVERSE. If you don’t like goofy, it’s not for you, but that story’s deep heart, complexity of imagined world, and up-close-magic-tricks of throwing down new Plot Cards have left me with my jaw on the floor. I am watching. Taking NOTES.
Dunno if I’m going to be able to get all of these things into the new FINDER story I started in DARK HORSE PRESENTS last November, but they’re all in my head, at the very least. They’ll end up in SOMETHING.
UR, MythBusters
1. Recidivist 4, by Zack Sally
2. Intelligent Sentient? by Luke Ramsey
3. Cosplayers 3, by Dash Shaw
4. Shaolin Cowboy: Shemp Buffet, by Geoff Darrow
5. Idyl – I’m Age, by Jeffrey Jones
Stray, Actionverse, Action Lab: Dog of Wonder
5. The Flash TV show – there’s not enough of it in a week. It’s not even a guilty pleasure. I sit and watch it with a smile from ear to ear. And while I enjoy Arrow (not caught up) and what I’ve seen of Supergirl (not caught up), I never miss Flash.
4. Conventions – I hate conventions, and that’s not a strong hate. It’s just…they’re inconvenient sometimes. But I had great experiences this year in Baltimore, NYCC and New Jersey Comic Expo. More shows are popping up (really looking forward to the 3 Rivers Comicon in May), and I hope the remain a local staple more than the overblown extravaganzas that they can become. Smaller shows are the best.
3. My comics – Stray came out this year. Line Webtoons announced that Dean Haspiel and I are working together again on the New Brooklyn Universe. Actionverse 0 just debuted and I’m writing a new all-ages comic, Action Lab: Dog of Wonder. I’m incredibly fortunate to have such opportunities and such amazing collaborators.
2. My friends’ comics – Beef With Tomato, Schmuck, Smoke, We Are Robin, Ghetto Klown, Plunder, the Bunker…working with my friends on Actionverse. As exciting as it is to see my own stuff out there, it’s just as exciting to see my friends get their work seen and recognized.
1. My kids – Unto us, a son was born this year. And while I’m still in the introduction phase with him, my daughter (who will be 3 in February) has become a huge part of my life and is dictating how I create comics in the near future…in a good way. I don’t know…it’s all new to me, but I’m enjoying the lessons.
Wayward, Samurai Jack
1) Image’s Continued Creator-Owned Success
2) Diversity in Characters and Creators
3) Convention Culture Continues to Thrive
4) The Widening Embrace of Comics Content From Mainstream Media
5) Disney the Pop Culture Juggernaut: Animation, Marvel Movies, Star Wars
Amelia Cole, The Bigger Bang, Never Ending
5. COPRA makes me giddy. I was late to the game and missed the single issues, but Bergen Press’s trades are so snazzy. Tough characters in tough stories with tough art — I’m in as long as MICHEL FIFFE continues to create the book. Pure comics power!
4. COMIC BOOK APOCALYPSE: THE GRAPHIC WORLD OF JACK KIRBY, both the amazing CSUN exhibit and the accompanying book from IDW, gave me a jolt of energy regarding the whole medium, and art in general. From his early romance comics to of course all the superheroes to his mind boggling collages, there’s a reason JACK KIRBY is THE KING. It was a true delight seeing his pages in person, and reading amazing essays about the man and his art.
3. DAVID F. WALKER taking over comics! I’ve known Dave for a few years and have always admired his work, so it’s been a true pleasure watching him finally get the credit he deserves. From SHAFT in late 2014 to this year’s CYBORG and the upcoming (as of my typing) POWER MAN AND IRON FIST (with one of my favorites artists, SANFORD GREENE), his success this year just couldn’t have happened to a more deserving creator. Good for my pal, and good for all of us comic fans!
2. MICHAEL ALLRED drawing comics is one of my favorite things each and every year. He’s making magic with DAN SLOTT on SILVER SURFER — the Marvel character (along with, I’d say, DOCTOR STRANGE) that Allred was born to draw. He’s one of the nicest and most talented guys in comics, so it’s always a joy to see work from him.
1. HEROES FOR EVERY READER! Since I was a kid, part of my love of SUPERMAN has always been that, lack of muscles and perfectly chiseled features, I kinda look like him. Big jaw, blue eyes, dark hair… it made Halloween fun growing up (as almost every pic of me was in some Underroos-based Superman costume). Identification is important to kids, to see themselves in their heroes. This is just one of the reasons why characters like MS. MARVEL, BATGIRL, MILES MORALES: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, SPIDER-GWEN, CYBORG, MOON GIRL, AMELIA COLE (I have to mention the hero created by ADAM P. KNAVE, NICK BROKENSHIRE, and myself here, right?), and many more having their own comic book titles is so important. We still have a long, looooong way to go, but it’s great to see some logical and, obviously, long overdue steps FINALLY being made. It’s a no-brainer and win-win for everyone!
Four new titles hit comiXology on Jan. 13.
Comics Experience, the online school/community aimed at future comics creators that’s run by former Marvel and IDW editor Andy Schmidt, will begin publishing digital comics by its members and alumni later this month.
The comics will be sold through comiXology starting Jan. 13 and will include:
“ComiXology offers us a unique way to get even more fantastic content to more fans around the world. And the more truly great creator-owned and controlled projects getting published, and that’s just good for everyone,” said Comics Experience founder and CEO Andy Schmidt in the press release. “The Comics Experience Digital Publishing program is the latest way for us to help bring new, talented creators to audiences around the world and put them in front of the industry’s largest publishers.”
This initiative follows the one announced last year where Comics Experience teamed with IDW Publishing to publish comics by members of their online community. That one brought titles like Tet and Gutter Magic to the publisher.
Check out covers from the new titles below.
Comic folks answer the question, “What do you consider to be the top five important events of 2015?”
For this year’s inaugural version of the Smash Pages End of Year Survey I had people answer the question: “What do you consider to be the top five important events of 2015?” I encouraged people to not necessarily answer the question in that manner if it didn’t strike their fancy. I cannot thank everyone enough for the participation during a busy time of year. Part 1 is here, part 2 is here.
Continue reading “Smash Pages End of Year Survey for 2015, Part 3”
