Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Everyday Hero Machine Boy,’ ‘All-Out Avengers’ and more

Check out what’s arriving in comic shops this week.

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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‘Far Sector’ wins the Hugo Award

N.K. Jemisin wins a fifth Hugo for her work with artist Jamal Campbell on the DC title.

Far Sector, the critically acclaimed Green Lantern story written by N.K. Jemisin with art by Jamal Campbell, has added another award to the Oan trophy case, as it took home the Hugo Award in the Best Graphic Story or Comic category this past weekend.

The winners of the annual awards were announced during a ceremony at Chicon 8, the 80th World Science Fiction Convention.

“Well, that’s some nice news to get surprised by at 3 am!” Jemisin posted to Twitter. “Woo hoo, Hugo #5! I’m super-proud of the work we did there, so nice to get some extra recognition! Congrats fellow Far Sector folks!”

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‘Miracleman’ #0 preview features Young Miracleman, Big Ben, a new Warpsmith and more

The one-shot anthology includes stories by Jason Aaron, Leinil Francis Yu, Ty Templeton, Ryan Stegman, Peach Momoko and more.

Marvel has revealed more details and some preview artwork from the upcoming Miracleman #0, a one-shot anthology that celebrates the character’s anniversary and return to comics. It will also preview Miracleman: The Silver Age, which marks the return of Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham to a story they began telling several decades ago.

Other creators contributing to the anthology include Jason Aaron, Leinil Francis Yu, Michael Carey, Ty Templeton, Ryan Stegman, Peach Momoko and Paul Davidson.

Stories in the special zero issue include, according to Marvel:

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DC signs a distribution deal with Universal Distribution

The agreement kicks into gear in January.

Canada-based Universal Distribution will begin directly distributing DC’s comics and graphic novels to comic retailers in January 2023. Retailers can begin placing orders through them in October.

“The DC and Universal Distribution partnership is an exciting opportunity to reach new audiences with DC’s iconic Super Heroes and Super-Villains,” said Nancy Spears, DC’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “Our new partnership with Universal is in line with DC’s overall strategic vision to strengthen the Direct Market and grow the number of fans who read comics worldwide.”

While Universal is based in Canada and already serves that market for comics and other collectibles, this new deal is a global agreement, according to ICv2. Universal will distribute DC product to retailers in Canada, the U.S. and other territories.

“This agreement enables us to provide retailers with the tools they need to grow their DC business,” said Angelo Exarhakos, CEO of Universal Distribution, in the press release. “Our primary focus has always been to work closely with our key partners to help retailers provide a great experience for their customers. We are huge fans of DC and are extremely excited with this new relationship between our companies.”

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Archie + Sam Hill team up to take down a hacker in ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #333’ [Exclusive Preview]

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 Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #333, which comes out Sept. 7.

This digest will include two brand-new stories, in addition to a selection of classic Archie material. Our preview today includes pages from “Case of the High Grade Hacker!” by Ian Flynn and Ryan Jampole, who you might know from their work on Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man. This one has Archie teaming up with Sam Hill, the private investigator who was first introduced back in the 1950s, as they take on a hacker who is plaguing Riverdale.

We also have a full-length classic Archie story for you, featuring the work of Bob White, the creator of Cosmo the Merry Martian. The story features Archie having all sorts of money troubles.

Check out the preview and solicitation information below.

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Jillian Tamaki + Mariko Tamaki’s 2023 graphic novel gets a name + cover

‘Roaming!” will arrive in the fall of 2023.

Drawn + Quarterly announced a new graphic novel by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki project for 2023, and this week they revealed both the title and the cover.

Roaming!, which is about two best friends going to college in New York, will arrive in stores in fall 2023. Here’s the cover:

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Nominees announced for the 2022 Ringo Awards

The awards will be presented during the Baltimore Comic-Con on Oct. 29.

The nominees for the 2022 Ringo Awards have been announced, marking the sixth year for the awards program named for artist Mike Wieringo, who passed away in 2007.

Nominees were chosen by fans, along with a panel of judges. The awards presentation will take place at The Baltimore Comic-Con on Oct. 29.

And the nominees are …

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Marvel revives the Forgiven for a mini-event by Tim Seeley and Sid Kotian next year

The team, which first appeared during ‘Fear Itself,’ will team with Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Avengers across three one-shots.

Marvel is reviving an obscure team of superhero vampires that first appeared during the 2011 event Fear Itself for a mini-event that will be published next year.

Spider-Man: Unforgiven will kick things off, by Tim Seeley and Sid Kotian. Mini-events, as we’ve taken to describing them, are a series of connected one-shots that typically feature a similar theme or hero. In the past they might have been miniseries, but Marvel has brilliantly come up with a way to ensure every issue has a #1 on it.

The three-part Unforgiven will kick off with the Spider-Man issue, to be followed by one-shots featuring the X-Men and the Avengers teaming up with The Forgiven. They first appeared in the Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula miniseries by Victor Gischler and Ryan Stegman.

“I love Marvel super heroes, no doubt, but I’ve got a special obsession with Marvel’s horror heroes,” Seeley told Marvel.com. “Unforgiven gives that creepy, sexy, weird underbelly a chance to shine as a horrific conspiracy unites a crew of vampires with Spider-Man, the X-Men and Captain America, and shows us the stark differences (and surprisingly similarities) of those who are gifted with the ability to fight evil, and those who have to carry evil’s curse. By the end of this epic event, we’ll have toured a lot of dark corners of the Marvel Universe, and reminded readers that monsters are at its shrunken black heart!”

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Virginia judge dismisses case against ‘Gender Queer’

The court dismissed it based on First Amendment and due process grounds.

Circuit Court Judge Pamela Baskervill has dismissed the case that sought to label the graphic novel Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and the novel A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. K. Maas as obscene and illegal to sell.

The judge found that the statute pursuant to which the petitions were filed violated the First Amendment and the constitutional right to due process. You can read the judge’s full decision here.

Jeff Trexler from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund served as Kobabe’s co-counsel and offered more details on the decision in a lengthy Twitter thread.

“Normally an obscenity statute works the way you’d expect a criminal statute to work: a person produces, possesses, distributes, etc. certain material, gets arrested on obscenity charges, gets convicted or found not guilty,” he posted. “Virginia Code § 18.2-384 is different. It provides that a citizen or attorney of any VA county/city in which sale or commercial distribution of a book occurs can initiate a proceeding to have the book declared obscene. When that happens, the judge can issue an order to show cause that the book is not obscene & can also issue a temporary restraining order against the sale or distribution of the book!”

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DC reverses course on Jorge Molina’s Hispanic Heritage Month cover

The variant cover for ‘Titans United: Bloodpact #1’ will feature a tribute to Mexican artist and muralist Jorge Gonzales Camerena, as Molina originally intended.

Artist Jorge Molina posted on Twitter today that his original variant cover for Titans United: Bloodpact #1 will in fact be used on the comic, rather than the version that popped up on Diamond’s website.

Molina’s original cover features Green Lantern Kyle Rayner paying tribute to Mexican artist Jorge Gonzales Camerena by recreating Camerena’s “La Patria,” a famous piece used on numerous textbooks in Mexico since the 1960s.

Molina shared the final version of the cover as well:

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Alex Ross comes ‘Full Circle’ with the Fantastic Four

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week from Alex Ross, Tom Taylor, Jon Sommariva, Jim Zub, Sean Izaakse, Zack Kaplan, Arjuna Susini and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. As is normal when a month has a fifth week, Marvel and DC are heavy on the annuals and specials this week.

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.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Comics | Alex Ross comes ‘Full Circle’ with the Fantastic Four”

Smash Pages Q&A | Stephen Graham Jones on ‘Earthdivers’

The award-winning horror writer and university professor talks about his new IDW Originals title, the differences between writing comics and prose, and teaching ‘Secret Wars.’

Stephen Graham Jones has written an extensive library of novels and prose stories, bringing home the Locus Award, four Bram Stoker Awards, two Shirley Jackson Awards, the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize, the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, the Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction and a whole lot more. His novels, like The Only Good Indians and My Heart is a Chainsaw, tend to fall into what could be described as the literary horror genre, usually with a dose of sharp social commentary as well. When he’s not writing, he’s teaching creative writing, literature, pop culture and other subjects at the University of Colorado.

Or, he might be reading comics.

photo by Gary Isaacs

Jones is an old-school 1980s comics fan who discovered the medium in the time of Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars, and his love for them has only grown since. He not only teaches about them at the university level, but he’s also started writing them. His latest project is Earthdivers, a miniseries set to kick off Oct. 5 as part of IDW’s Originals line, beautifully drawn by the incomparable Davide Gianfelice. The time travel story focuses on four Indigenous survivors in a post-apocalyptic United States who embark on a mission to save the world: by sending one of them back in time to kill Christopher Columbus and prevent the creation of America.

Jones was kind enough to answer a few questions I had about the new series, as well as talk about some of his favorite comics to teach.

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