‘Day of Blood’ flows through IDW’s Star Trek titles this summer

Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Christopher Cantwell and Mike Feehan will kick off the crossover event on Free Comic Book Day.

Two of IDW’s ongoing Star Trek titles will come together for a crossover event later this year — Star Trek: Day of Blood. The story will kick off in IDW’s Free Comic Book Day issue on May 6, then run through issues of Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant.

Prelude to Day of Blood, the Free Comic Book Day issue, will be co-written by Star Trek writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and Star Trek: Defiant writer Christopher Cantwell. Mike Feehan will provide the art.

“I’ve been nothing short of ecstatic to be a part of this new, larger Star Trek initiative at IDW,” says Cantwell. “There were moments in our writers’ room with Jackson and Collin where I couldn’t believe we were really doing this—not just telling one Star Trek story but weaving together multiple Trek stories at the same time, with plotlines from Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant converging. We threw all our boldest ideas and best character pairings into a story of pure chaos, starship battles, and real epic dramatic resonance you can only achieve in the scope of comics.”

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Marvel will launch a new ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ series in April

Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Kev Walker and Matt Hollingsworth chart a new course into Marvel’s cosmic frontier.

Marvel has announced that co-writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, along with artist Kev Walker and colorist Matt Hollingsworth, will plot a new course for the Guardians of the Galaxy beginning in April.

The team, which will consist of Star-Lord, Gamora, Nebula, Drax and Mantis, will “venture to new, never-before-seen planets, encounter brand-new alien species, and discover long-hidden galaxy-bending truths that will make readers question everything they thought they knew about the cosmic side of Marvel.”

I dig the Western vibe they have going in the preview art:

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Batman villains steal the spotlight in ‘One Bad Day’ one-shots

Tom King, Mitch Gerads, G. Willow Wilson, Jamie McKelvie and more tell new stories about Riddler, Catwoman, Bane and more.

DC Comics spent the day on social media revealing a series of eight one-shots starring Batman’s villains by a variety of comics’ finest.

The 64-page one-shots will feature The Riddler, Two-Face, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Bane, Clayface and Ra’s al Ghul, by the likes of Tom King, Mitch Gerads, John Ridley and more. They’ll be released monthly starting in August.

Here’s a rundown of who is doing what, along with cover art for six of the projects:

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‘Devil’s Reign’ gets all sorts of crazy crossover titles in January + February

Moon Knight, Spider-Man, Emma Frost and more get caught up in the Kingpin’s war on superheroes.

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s epic run on Daredevil will give way to a crossover event called Devil’s Reign in December, one of several “tentpole” events Marvel announced in August. And in the Mighty Marvel fashion, the main Devil’s Reign title will be accompanied by all sorts of tie-in titles in January, February and beyond.

In case you missed the news, Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto, the creative team for the ongoing Daredevil title, are also the creative team behind the crossover event’s main miniseries. It will run for six issues and will see the Kingpin “bring his full criminal and political power to bear on the super heroes who call NYC home.” Yep, NYC’s mayor is declaring war on the superhero community, and he’s got his new team of Thunderbolts on his side.

Let’s take a look at what’s coming in January and February …

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What Are You Reading? | Sometimes what is lost can still be found

The Smash Pages crew shares what they’ve been reading lately, including ‘Amazing Fantasy,’ ‘Star Trek: Year Five,’ ‘The Legend of Auntie Po,’ ‘Bloom County’ and more.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our (cough, cough) weekly (cough, cough) look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately. Ok, so it’s been a little more than just a week since we last shared what we’ve been reading, but we’re back now, locked and loaded with all kinds of comic reviews just for you.

Let us know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments or on social media.

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Kelly, Lanzing + Magno will provide the definitive origin of ‘Kang the Conquerer’

The Marvel villain takes the spotlight in a new miniseries that starts in August.

Marvel has announced plans to release a miniseries that’ll tell the “definitive origin story” of one of the Avengers’ greatest foes. Kang the Conquerer will launch in August by the writing team of Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, with art by Carlos Magno, Espen Grundetjern and Joe Caramagna.

“Time may mean nothing to Kang, but Kang means everything to us. This is the book we’ve been wanting to write for years,” Lanzing said. “It’s a total dream come true for Collin and I to be making our Marvel debut – we’re best friends who first met through a mutual love of Young Avengers, Runaways and Ultimate Spider-Man. But to make our first mark with a character as storied as Kang the Conqueror, on a very personal pitch we never in a million years thought would be greenlit, is a genuine honor. Carlos Magno is delivering jaw-dropping work that recalls the exacting detail and operatic emotion of Kang’s co-creator Jack Kirby. We’re genuinely stunned by every new page. Add the brilliant colors by Espen Grundetjern, letters by the Marvel master Joe Caramanga, and the insightful leadership of our editor Alanna Smith, and you’ve got a team worthy of one of Marvel’s greatest unsung characters.”

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Mail Call | John Ridley makes his Marvel debut in January

A round-up of news from Marvel, IDW, Top Shelf and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.

Academy Award winner John Ridley has several projects in the works at DC right now, but DC’s not the only publisher he’s doing work for. Marvel has announced that the writer of 12 Years A Slave will have a story in Wolverine: Black, White and Blood #3. The anthology series will feature short stories about the popular mutant, told in black and white … and red. Jorge Fornés is the artist on his story.

“I can think of no better way to kick off my writing relationship with Marvel Comics than by contributing to a truly fantastic anthology series centered around Wolverine,” Ridley told Marvel.com. “Equally exciting is having the story illustrated by Jorge Fornés. I look forward to writing more stories set in the Marvel Universe, and with their roster of iconic characters.”

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DC revs up a new ‘Gotham City Garage’ digital series

Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly will write the series, with a rotating cast of artists.

DC Collectibles’ Gotham City Garage line, which features the company’s heroines as bikers, is getting its own digital comic series. The comic will feature leathered up, helmet-wearing (safety first!) verisons of Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Lex Luthor and more.

Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly will team up to write the series, which will have rotating artists. Supergirl artist Brian Ching and DC Talent Development Workshop student Lynne Yoshii are up first.

Gotham City Garage is an anti-fascist anthem for the open road, starring reimagined takes on DC’s great female characters through an outlaw lens,” Kelly said in the press release. “We’re bringing Big Barda, Steel, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Silver Banshee, Hawkgirl and the first Kryptonian this world has ever seen—the mysterious girl named Kara Gordon—into a world of bikes, outlaws and elaborate tattoos.”

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