‘Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds’ anthology supports Ukraine relief efforts

A comics anthology featuring an impressive line-up of talent that’s being offered through Zoop will benefit Operation USA.

A new anthology featuring the works of Walt Simonson, Kurt Busiek, John Layman, Rob Guillory, Stan Sakai, Sergio Aragones, Dave Gibbons and more will benefit relief efforts in the war-torn Ukraine.

Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds can be purchased in several variations from the comics crowdfunding website Zoop, which will donate proceeds to Operation USA. The charitable organization is raising money to support Ukrainian refugees on the ground in Poland and other nearby countries.

The project is being edited by Scott Dunbier, who currently works at IDW and heads up the Artist’s Edition line. The campaign ends in May, when funds will be collected and sent to Operation USA, and delivery of the final books is expected to be wrapped up by December.

“Like everyone, I have been sickened by the atrocities perpetrated on the Ukrainian people for nearly two months,” said Dunbier, “and I had to do something, anything, to try and help. The comic-book community is full of good and caring people who have stepped up to say, ‘I stand with Ukraine,’ and to contribute to this book.”

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Smash Pages Q&A: The ‘Mañana’ anthology interview

Alberto Rayo, Maddi Gonzalez and Tristan J. Tarwater discuss the stories they helped create for ‘Mañana: Latinx Comics From The 25th Century.’

Power & Magic Press run by Joamette Gil has put out a series of exceptional anthologies in recent years, including Heartwood, Immortal Souls and The Queer Witch. Their most recent book – and arguably their best anthology to date – is Mañana: Latinx Comics From The 25th Century, which came out at the end of 2021 in both Spanish and English language editions. The book, edited by Gil, features 27 stories that are set in Latin America in the 2490s, or in the diaspora among other planets. It features an incredible lineup of talent, including Julio Anta, Terry Blas, Kat Fajardo, Jamila Rowser, H. Pueyo and Dante Luiz.

The anthology offers a wide variety of stories, styles and approaches that are realistic and poetic, set on Earth and much further afield, small stories and large. They are stories of survival, of continuance, of possibility, of transformation, of community. They are stories of hope. As Gil wrote in the book’s introduction, “Mañana presents dozens of possible futures, with one thing in common: we’re still here. El futuro es nuestro.”

I had the chance to speak with three of the creators involved in the book. Alberto Rayo wrote “A Dream of a Thousand Stars,” which was drawn by Sebastian Carrillo. Maddi Gonzalez drew “A Little Esperanza,” which was written by Jamila Rowser, and Tristan J. Tarwater wrote “Bats and Fish,” which was drawn by Molly Mendoza. The three were kind enough to speak about their work and the possibilities of the future.

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Archie celebrates the holidays with ‘Archie’s Holiday Magic Special’

The anthology will feature stories by Micol Ostow, Michael Northrop, J. Torres, Gretel Lusky and more.

Archie and the gang will be simply having a wonderful Christmastime this December in the Archie’s Holiday Magic Special.

The anthology will feature three new stories by Micol Ostow, Michael Northrop, J. Torres, Gretel Lusky, Arielle Jovellanos, Dan Schoening and more. It’ll feature stories set in the worlds of “Little Archie” and “Life With Archie.”

“We were definitely inspired by the Archie reboot series from Mark Waid and Fiona Staples, and feel-good Hallmark movies for this fun and heartwarming anthology,” Archie’s Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante said. “We think it’s a perfect way to celebrate 80 years of Archie by taking a trip through different eras of Archie’s life as he ultimately rediscovers the importance of friendship and community during the holiday season.

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‘Marvel’s Voices: Heritage’ will spotlight Indigenous creators and characters

The anthology will arrive in November.

Marvel has announced another issue of their anthology series Marvel’s Voices for November, titled Marvel’s Voices: Heritage. Like last year’s Marvel’s Voices: Indigenous, this one will feature creators and characters from Indigenous communities.

Contributors include Nyla Innuksuk, David Cutler, Jim Terry, Maria Wolf and Rebecca Roanhorse.

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Archie announces ‘Chilling Adventures in Sorcery’ for November

The anthology will feature the return of Madam Satan and other horror stories by a variety of creators.

Archie Comics has announced a new anthology, Chilling Adventures in Sorcery, that will make its debut in November.

Jamie L. Rotante, who became senior director of editorial for Archie earlier this year, is overseeing the anthology, which is described as an expansion of last year’s Madam Satan one-shot.

“This horror anthology is the perfect love letter to both classic Archie tales and the more modern stories,” said Rotante. “The genre lends itself to have a timeless appeal to audiences and I believe that plays a factor into the excitement for Archie horror comics.”

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International artists interpret the Dark Knight in ‘Batman: The World’ hardcover

The new hardcover collection will arrive in stores just in time for this year’s Batman Day.

DC Comics will release Batman: The World, a hardcover collection of stories featuring the Caped Crusader by creators from around the world, in September.

The release comes just in time for Batman Day on Sept. 18, and will feature stories about Batman set in locations across Europe, Asia and South America. Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo will kick the anthology off with a story set in Gotham where Batman “realizes that the call for justice knows no borders,” setting up the rest of the stories in the book.

“Batman has grown into a true pop culture icon, known the world over,” said DC publisher and chief creative officer Jim Lee. “Batman: The World is DC’s way of showing fans everywhere that Batman is more than a character; Batman is a phenomenon that transcends languages and borders.”

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DC announces ‘Wonder Woman: Black & Gold’

The six-issue anthology series debuts in June.

Following in the footsteps of Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman has staked out her portion of the color wheel with Wonder Woman: Black & Gold.

The six-issue anthology series will feature stories by various creators, told in two colors — black and gold, “the color of her famous lasso.”

For the first issue, DC has recruited John Arcudi, Becky Cloonan, Amy Reeder and more to tell stories featuring the Amazon.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Girls, unicorns and nuclear war

New comics and graphic novels arrive this week from John Ridley, Olivier Coipel, L.L. McKinney, Robyn Smith, Matt Fraction, Lilah Sturges, Colleen Doran, Kurt Busiek, Ben Dewey and many more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide each week to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. This week sees the wrap-up of DC’s Future State event and the latest Ms. Marvel series, as well as debuts from AfterShock, Scout, Image and more.

Check out a few highlights below, or visit ComicList for this week’s full list of new comics arriving in stores, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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Mail Call | DC in May brings Star Girl and more

A round-up of news from DC, Marvel, Oni Press and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

DC Comics released their May solicitations on Friday, and with them came several announcements and reveals throughout the week. In addition to the new Wonder Girl, Mister Miracle and Future State: Gotham projects, DC announced they will release two interesting one-shots — the first being Star Girl one-shot, featuring not only the star of the hit CW show, but also the Seven Soldiers of Victory. It’s by the character’s co-creator, Geoff Johns, and artist Todd Nauck.

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DC announces ‘Superman: Red & Blue’ anthology miniseries

The series will feature stories told in red and blue.

If Batman has his Black & White series, then naturally Superman would get a “red & Blue” one. DC announced this week Superman: Red & Blue, an anthology miniseries featuring the Man of Steel told in shades of red and blue (or magenta and cyan, to be specific).

The first issue will include a Clark Kent story by John Ridley, whose name is all over DC lately, with artist Clayton Henry. Brandon Easton and Steve Lieber will have a “street level” story set in Metropolis.

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‘Batman: Urban Legends’ anthology title launches in March

First issue will feature stories about Batman and his entourage by Chip Zdarsky, Eddy Barrows, Stephanie Phillips and more.

DC has announced a new, monthly anthology title focused on Batman and all his Gotham City friends.

The first six issues will include a story by Chip Zdarsky and Eddy Barrows, featuring a team-up between Batman and the Red Hood.

“… this has been a ton of fun to work on,” Zdarsky said in his email newsletter. “I’m not going to lie, growing up on the comics, TV shows and movies, it was like Batman raised me. Like he was a father to me and I was simply another one of his Robins, trained to fight in daddy’s war.”

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Marvel announces plans for Black History Month

The publisher announces an anthology titled ‘Marvel’s Voices: Legacy’ and a series of variant covers by Ernanda Souza.

Marvel has announced plans to release another addition of Marvel’s Voices during Black History Month in February, similar to the one arriving this week to celebrate Indigenous history. This one is titled Marvel’s Voices: Legacy and will feature a variety of stories by Black creators.

“I don’t think comics can call itself a successful industry unless it’s reached out to all kinds of fans,” said the anthology’s co-editor, Sarah Brunstad. “Comics are a medium, not a genre, you know? So it’s immensely important to me that we bring in new readers and make them welcome in the Marvel Universe. We do that by telling all different kinds of stories with all different kinds of creators.”

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