Tag: comic books

Smash Pages Q&A | Paul Cornell on ‘Con & On’

The writer of Ahoy’s newest title talks about comic conventions, working with Marika Cresta and more.

Most people reading this are probably familiar with the San Diego Comic-Con, the annual gathering of Hollywood, the comics community, media of all shapes and sizes, and fans from around the world. But are you familiar with the Vista Al Mar Comics Festival, which also has taken place on the California coast for the past five decades?

If not, don’t worry — the Vista Al Mar Comics Festival is fictional, a construct of writer Paul Cornell and artist Marika Cresta for their new miniseries from Ahoy Comics, Con & On. The first issue arrives in stores this week.

The comic is set in five different years in the life of the Festival—one year per issue, spanning three decades—from the points of view of “a diverse bunch of desperate people whose lives revolve around this greatest show on Earth.” The comic will track the lives of two young comics talents trying to break into the business; three “brilliant, boozy and bombastic” British creators; as well as crusty editors, forgotten TV stars and fans who “make the convention experience something to revisit year after year.” 

Cornell was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about his work on the title, as well as share some convention memories. My thanks for his time.

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‘Minor Threats’ gets a spinoff miniseries starring ‘The Alternates’

Tim Seeley, Christopher Mitten and Tess Fowler join Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum on the September-debuting series.

Minor Threats, the genre-bending superhero mystery by Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum and Scott Hepburn, will get a spinoff miniseries in September. Oswalt and Blum will be joined by co-writer Tim Seeley, with Christopher Mitten and Tess Fowler on art.

“I love the first Minor Threats series so much that I couldn’t help but imagine another team of lovable losers in their world–this time, a squad of forgotten superheroes who got rebooted, and now crave their old lives so bad it borders on addiction,” Seeley said. “Jordan and Patton not only liked the idea, they added their creativity to make something that fits their universe perfectly!”

While Minor Threats paid tribute to the Bronze Age of comics and the “grim and gritty” titles of the 1980s, From the World of Minor Threats: The Alternates has a different era in its heart.

“If the first Minor Threats series was a love letter to the c-list working class supervillains, then The Alternates is one for the early Vertigo comics of the 90s like Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing and Animal Man,” said Blum. “Forgotten goofy heroes pulled into a suddenly ‘mature’ existence that both humanizes and alienates them. Tim is such a master and historian of comics, we were so thrilled with the new sandbox he built for us all to play in — once again offering a fresh and unique point of view we hadn’t yet seen explored in superhero comics. This story of existence, addiction, recovery and monster smashing was beautifully rendered thanks to the art of Christopher Mitten and paintings by Tess Fowler. “

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Mark Russell + Ramon Rosanas invite you to their ‘Rumpus Room’

AWA presents a new parable about billionaires, skin cream and revenge.

Second Coming and Not All Robots writer Mark Russell is back at AWA Studios this fall for a new miniseries, Rumpus Room, with artist Ramon Rosanas.

Rumps Room tells the story of a psychotic billionaire who needs a special cream to hide his skin condition. That cream is made from people, so naturally he kidnaps all the people he hates and locks them in his Rumpus Room, letting them vote for his next victim.

“Rumpus Room is a parable for how in American civilization, on some level, we’re set against each other by forces that are too powerful for us to reach,” Russell said. “It parallels the underlying assumption of American life as well: ‘I can’t do anything about the real things that are destroying me, so I’ll take all my rage out against the people who cross me.’ Rumpus Room is about this misguided anger that we all have and how it weaponizes us against each other.”

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Here are the Transformers Daniel Warren Johnson will use in the new Skybound series

See the Autobots and Decepticons who will throw down in the new series.

With their surprise reveal of a whole new universe featuring both G.I. Joe and Transformers in the pages of Void Rival #1, Skybound has revealed the teams of Autobots and Decepticons that will star in the new series by Daniel Warren Johnson.

It sounds like the series is a reboot back to the time when the Transformers first arrived on Earth:

Transformers #1 begins an all-new era for the iconic Robots in Disguise from Daniel Warren Johnson (Extremity, Do a Powerbomb, DC’s Wonder Woman: Dead Earth) and colorist Mike Spicer (Stillwater, Murder Falcon). Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies—the Decepticons. As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope for survival is Optimus Prime. 

Here’s who arrives with Optimus Prime:

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‘Spider-Boy’ jumps into his own ongoing series in November

Or maybe he’s always had one?

Spider-Boy, the longtime sidekick of Spider-Man who made his debut in the recent Spider-Man #7, will star in his own ongoing series beginning in November.

The character’s co-creator, Dan Slott, will write Spider-Boy, joined by Paco Medina on art. The character’s other co-creator, Humberto Ramos, will provide covers. The series will explore his past and his ties to the Spider-Man mythos, as well as feature a team-up with Squirrel Girl.

“Spider-Man isn’t supposed to have a sidekick. That’s just wrong on so many levels. And that is exactly why we are going to have so much fun with this,” Slott said. “Both this character—and this new title—are going to break all the rules. Bailey Briggs is going to have over-the-top adventures in the Spider-Man corner of the Marvel Universe. He’ll be facing off against a mix of both all-new villains and fan-favorite Spidey bad guys. The one thing we can promise you, whenever you pick up a copy of Spider-Boy, we are going to take the weirdest and wildest swings with every single story! Our goal is to get every reader to ask two questions: ‘What in the hell did I just read?!’ and ‘When is the NEXT one coming out?!'”

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DSTLRY’s ‘The Devil’s Cut’ anthology will launch eight new titles

Check out previews of stories by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Christian Ward, Ram V, Lee Garbett, Becky Cloonan and more.

DSTLRY , the new comics company formed by former Comixology execs David Steinberger and Chip Mosher, will release their first comic next month — The Devil’s Cut, an anthology featuring the work of Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Becky Cloonan, Jock, Tula Lotay and many of the other creators from the murderer’s row of talent they’ve recruited.

Not only has DSTLRY released preview pages from the 11 stories that will appear in it, they’ve also announced that eight of those stories will serve as springboards for new series that will launch later this year and next year.

“With The Devil’s Cut, a majority of the self-contained stories lay the foundation for series to come,” said DSTLRY CCO Chip Mosher. “To be crystal clear, these eight stories found in The Devil’s Cut are not previews, but the first appearances of new worlds from our Founding Creators and Friends.” 

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It’s the kids from ‘Strange Academy’ vs. mathematics in a series of one-shots

Author Carlos Hernandez chaperones a trip to New York for the magical prodigies to meet Miles Morales, Moon Knight and more.

Their ongoing series might have ended, but school is back in session later this year for the students of Strange Academy.

Author Carlos Hernandez (Sal and Gabi Break the Universe) will take the kids on a field trip to New York to meet Moon Knight and two Spider-Man this fall, as the kids enter the Multiversal Math Bowl and take on a new enemy called The Equation. I always knew higher math was evil.

Here’s a look at the three one-shots, all written by Hernandez and featuring artwork by Juann Cabal, Julian Shaw and Vasco Georgiev:

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BOOM! announces ‘Firefly: The Fall Guys’

Sam Humphries, Jordi Perez and Francesco Segala pit the Serenity crew against ‘assassins, jobs gone wrong, and organized crime.’

The crew of the Serenity will fly once again this fall in a new miniseries by Sam Humphries, Jordi Perez and Francesco Segala.

Firefly: The Fall Guys will find Mal and the crew dealing with organized crime and local politics (is that redundant?) as they attempt to make some bank to keep the Serenity in the sky.

“So thrilled to be welcomed into the Firefly ‘verse. I love Westerns, so bringing the best bandits in the galaxy back to their buckaroo roots with a fantastic artist like Jordi has been a dream,” said Humphries. “Don’t worry, there’s still a giant gorram spaceship in the first issue. Yee haw!”

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Dan Schkade + Brennan Wagner create a new hero for Portland in ‘Saint John’

Dark Horse Comics and Portland Gear team up on the four-issue miniseries.

Portland-based publisher Dark Horse Comics has teamed up with apparel company Portland Gear for Saint John, which introduces a new superhero operating in the Oregon city.

Local artist Brennan Wagner will team with writer Dan Schkade and letterer Frank Cvetkovic on the four-issue miniseries that introduces a hero “built for the quirks that make the city unique.”

“A few years ago, I set out to create a positive storyline for the city and utilize the connections I’ve had in town for many years.” said Marcus Harvey, founder and owner of Portland Gear. “With the assistance of Brennan, Dan and Mike Richardson, the idea of a superhero for Portland came to life—an individual radiating positivity and dedicated to community building. Portland is a magical place, and I believe that employing the medium of a comic book would provide a unique opportunity to share its wonders with the world.”

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Love, Assassin Style: Jensen, Baruschel, Micelli + Esposito will ‘Tear Us Apart’

The new miniseries will steal your heart in September.

The Flash writer Van Jensen will team with actor Jay Baruschel and The Ballad of Sang artist Alessandro Micelli for a new miniseries about death cults, assassins … and love.

Tear Us Apart features two teenagers who are being trained to be assassins falling for each other. Award-winning letterer Taylor Esposito rounds out the creative team.

“This comic is a love letter to the 1990s,” Jensen said. “A story we can all relate to: A boy and a girl meet and fall in love, and the only thing between them and a happy ending is a horde of the world’s best killers.”

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R.L. Stine’s ‘Stuff of Nightmares’ returns this fall

The ‘Goosebumps’ author will work with artist Adam Gorham on a new miniseries about a comic book writer.

Goosebumps author R.L. Stine will return to BOOM! Studios this fall for a second miniseries under his Stuff of Nightmares banner. Stine will team with Adam Gorham, artist of the awesome The Blue Flame, for Stuff of Nightmares: Red Murder.

“The works of R.L. Stine and illustrations of Goosebumps cover artist Tim Jacobus formed pillars of my pop culture DNA while growing up in 1990’s Canada. Their novels were staples of any school book fair or library and coveted by many fifth graders, myself especially,” Gorham said. “The Goosebumps television show (filmed in Canada) was appointment viewing for me, and I have fond memories of drawing any spooky thing I could imagine while watching that program. If you told me then that nearly 30 years later, I would be working with the legendary author on a comic book of our own… actually, that is exactly the kind of opportunity I’d have hoped for as a kid, which makes this project all the more exciting.”

The previous Stuff of Nightmares miniseries, by Stine and artist A.L. Kaplan, was published last year. Stine called it his “first horror comic book work for grownups.”

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Usagi returns to Dark Horse this September

Stan Sakai’s rabbit samurai contends with the mystical villain Jei in a new miniseries.

Stan Sakai’s long-eared samurai, Usagi Yojimbo, will return to Dark Horse this fall in a new miniseries, Usagi Yojimbo: Ice and Snow. The five-issue miniseries is part of Sakai’s Dogu Publishing imprint, which Dark Horse announced last fall.

“I’m very excited, honored and thankful to have my own publishing imprint with Dark Horse,” Sakai said at the time. “As the sole creator and owner of Usagi Yojimbo, this is a significant milestone. I’ve known Mike Richardson for more than 30 years and he is one of the pioneers and champions of creator-owned IP. As the industry continues to change, I feel he brings a unique progressive perspective.”

Dark Horse published Usagi Yojimbo for about 20 years, up until 2019 when it moved to IDW. That relationship did not last long, but did result in several Usagi-related projects, including color versions of the famously black-and-white title and a graphic novel featuring Chibi Usagi. This new miniseries will be in color, thanks to HiFi Colour Design.

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