Mike Mignola + Ben Stenbeck team up for a new shared universe called ‘Lands Unknown’

‘Bowling With Corpses & Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown’ will debut from Mignola’s new imprint at Dark Horse in December.

Dark Horse Comics today announced Bowling With Corpses & Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, the first publication in a new shared universe, called “Lands Unknown,” created by Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck.

It’ll also be the first publication to carry the name of Mignola’s new imprint at Dark Horse, Curious Objects. In recent years everyone from Stan Sakai to Brian Michael Bendis has launched an imprint with the publisher as a part of moving there — or moving back there, in Sakai’s case. So it seems only fair that the longtime Dark Horse creator, whose Hellboy is celebrating 30 years this year, would have one as well.

The release doesn’t say much more about what to expect from Curious Objects, but Mignola did share more about the Lands Unknown shared universe.

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‘Joker: The World’ will feature creators from 13 countries

The anthology will arrive in September, just in time for Batman Day.

Back in 2021, DC’s Batman: The World anthology brought together Batman stories by creators from around the world. DC has announced a similar project for this September titled Joker: The World, which will again bring together international creators to tell stories about the Clown Prince of Crime.

The book will include stories by creative teams from 13 different countries, with contributions from Geoff Johns, Satoshi Miyagawa, David Rubin, German Peralta, Alvaro Fong Varela, Jason Fabok and more. In the press release, DC said the stories will be “tailored to the authentic style, tone and cultural sensibilities of different nations around the world.”

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Marvel + DC’s Black History Month anthologies will return in 2024

Look for both anthologies the week of Jan. 29.

Both Marvel and DC have announced their plans for Black History Month, which includes the return of their traditional anthologies featuring Black creators and characters.

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‘Marvel’s Voices: Avengers’ anthology assembles in December

Robbie Thompson, Sid Kotian, Justina Ireland and more will tell stories featuring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Marvel’s next “Voices” anthology will spotlight members of the Avengers, bringing together a diverse group of talent to tell stories featuring Captain America, Photon, Robbie Reyes and more.

The anthology series, which originated from a podcast on Marvel.com with the same name, has been published since 2020. It spotlights “diverse storytellers and their journeys,” as well as characters from diverse backgrounds. This year Marvel began spotlighting specific character groups, like the Spider-Verse characters, the X-Men and the citizens of Wakanda, in stories by diverse creators.

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Rafael Grampá is editing an anthology for Fantagraphics

‘Braba’ will collect 13 stories from 16 Brazilian comic creators.

Rafael Grampá, the artist of Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child and the creator of the upcoming DC Black Label series Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham, will co-edit an anthology of Brazilian creators for Fantagraphics and Brazilian publisher MINO.

Grampá will work with Brazilian comics editor Janaina de Luna on Braba, which will feature “13 short stories created by 16 pioneering Brazilian cartoonists captures the vibrant and daring nature of the Brazilian comics scene.”

“I discovered many artists I love through anthologies,” Grampá said. “I have always dreamed of working with Fantagraphics, and I’m happy to be able to share this opportunity with some of the most talented Brazilian comic artists today. I hope BRABA will impact more readers around the world with the vibrant and powerful comic scene happening in Brazil.”

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Marvel will enter the ‘Crypt of Shadows’ again this year

Al Ewing, Paul Davidson, Declan Shalvey, Alex Lins and more will tell haunting tales about Daredevil, Man-Thing, Deadpool and more.

For the second year, Marvel is once again opening the doors to the Crypt of Shadows, showcasing creepy stories starring their characters by Al Ewing, Cavan Scott, Declan Shalvey, Sarah Gailey and more.

Crypt of Shadows was originally a 1970s reprint title of older Marvel material, but Marvel dug it up last year to spotlight new horror stories. This year’s anthology will feature stories starring Scarlet Witch, Deadpool, Daredevil, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night and Hulk, among others. Victor Strange, Doctor Strange’s brother, will once again serve as “host.”

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Hold on to your heads: Dark Horse announces ‘Headless Horseman Halloween Annual’

The anthology will come out in October, of course.

Dark Horse heads to Sleepy Hollow this October for Headless Horseman Halloween Annual, an anthology of “five terrifying tales to warm up your cold soul.”

“Doing a Halloween-themed anthology has always been a dream of mine, and we were able to assemble a fantastic crew of creators to help carry out that vision,” said editor Megan Walker. “The book is full of fun, creepy and iconic stories that will scare and delight readers. I can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on it!”

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Eric Powell recruits Becky Cloonan, Mike Mignola, James Harren for a spooky Christmas anthology

‘Four Gathered on Christmas Eve’ continues the Victorian tradition of telling spooky stories on Christmas Eve.

The Goon creator Eric Powell is a fan of both Christmas and horror, so it’s only natural he’d put together a crew of elves to help deliver Four Gathered on Christmas Eve, an anthology of Victorian-style Christmas Eve ghost stories coming from Dark Horse this winter.

“As someone who unapologetically loves Christmas and spooky stories, I’ve always been intrigued that telling ghost stories used to be a regular part of the tradition,” said Powell. “I’ve been kicking around the idea of doing a Victorian Christmas Ghost book for a while and was thrilled when three of my favorite comic creators agreed to join me.”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Nick Cagnetti on ‘The Chip’

The creator of ‘Pink Lemonade’ talks about his story in the first issue of the science fiction anthology ‘Xino.’

Oni Press will debut Xino this week, an anthology of “subversive, psych-surrealist science fiction to cure your awful awareness of our meager reality.” Over the course of three issues, they’ve assembled a talented roster of creators, with the first issue featuring stories by Phil Hester, Jordan Thomas and Shaky Kane, Melissa Flores and Daniel Irizarri, and Christopher Condon and Nick Cagnetti.

Cagnetti, best known for his work on Pink Lemonade, worked with Condon on a story titled “the Chip,” which is about the world’s first intravenous video game system and the impact it has on one of its users. Cagnetti was kind enough to answer a few questions about the story, as well as the upcoming collection of the entire Pink Lemonade series.

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Dark Horse will publish ‘Shook! A Black Horror Anthology’

The collection will include stories by David Walker, John Jennings, Rodney Barnes and more.

Dark Horse has announced Shook! A Black Horror Anthology, a new graphic novel coming to stores next year. The publisher is working with Second Sight Publishing on the project, which will include “more than 200 pages of dread, brought to life by award-winning Black writers and artists.”

The anthology will include stories by David Walker, John Jennings, Rodney Barnes, David Brame, Bradley Golden, Flavio Cortés and more.

“The Shook! project is a collaboration between John Jennings, Bradley Golden, and myself who all hail from the south,” said Marcus Roberts, collection editor and COO of Second Sight Publishing. “John and Bradley are from Mississippi, and I am originally from Georgia. Our brand of horror has been called Southern Gothic horror and this has been in the making for two years.”  

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DSTLRY’s first title will arrive in August

‘The Devil’s Cut’ anthology will feature comics by Scott Snyder, Becky Cloonan, Jamie McKelvie, Ram V, Jock and more.

DSTLRY, the new company started by former Comixology execs David Steinbeger and Chip Mosher, has announced their first title: The Devil’s Cut, an anthology featuring comics by the company’s “founding creators.” The anthology will go on sale Aug. 30.

Steinberger and Mosher announced the new venture last month, which is taking some unique approaches to how they operate:

  1. They’ve enlisted a group of creators who they are calling “founding creators” who each have equity in the venture. They’ve set aside an additional 3% of company equity to be distributed among all creators who release projects during the first three years of their publishing slate, with allocations being based on title performance. This part seems to have been generally well-received, as it’s an attempt to address the financial and ownership disparities that have cast a shadow on the industry in the past.
  2. As part of their release plans, they will publish print comics and digital comics, and have announced distribution deals with Diamond and Lunar Distribution for print. Their digital single issues will be sold on their website (and/or through an app, or something … they haven’t released details on the specifics of how this will work yet) and they plan to somehow make them collectible and resellable “with no crypto or NFT-hassle.” This part has not been so well-received, with many noting that digital scarcity is the kind of notion that drives things like the NFT market. DSTLRY has said that they plan to collect individual series in trades that will be available widely in print and on digital, even outside their own marketplace. So they seem to be trying to appeal to both collectors and readers, the two wolves that exist inside the comics community that are constantly eating each other.

The Devil’s Cut will be distributed digitally by DSTLRY through Sept. 6, according to the press release, which signals that their digital marketplace will be up and running by the end of the summer.

Jock provides the main cover, which will be one of six covers for the anthology:

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Marvel’s next ‘Voices’ anthology will spotlight the X-Men

Al Ewing, Greg Pak, Jay Edidin, Jan Bazaldua, Jethro Morales and more will contribute to the anthology.

Marvel’s next “Voices” anthology will turn to the denizens of Krakoa, as the publisher has announced Marvel’s Voices: X-Men.

The anthology series, which followed a podcast on Marvel.com with the same name, has been published since 2020 and has spotlighted “diverse storytellers and their journeys,” as well as characters from diverse backgrounds. This year Marvel began spotlighting specific character groups, like the Spider-Verse characters and the citizens of Wakanda, in stories by diverse creators.

Marvel’s Voices: X-Men will feature stories from the past and present:

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