comic books – Page 59

Smash Pages Q&A | Hannah Templer on ‘Cosmoknights, Book Two’

The creator of the science fiction graphic novel series discusses the changing dynamics of the team, maintaining a sense of fun and why she launched it as a webcomic first.

Known for her work on G.L.O.W., Flung Out of Space, The Vampire Slayer and many other titles, Hannah Templer‘s most ambitious work has been the critically acclaimed Cosmoknights, an original graphic novel series that first debuted as a webcomic back in 2019.

The first volume introduced a universe where “mech-suited warriors duel over the daughters of the aristocracy, and a fledgling resistance of lady knights aim to bring down the system from within.” While the first volume brought the crew together, the second volume focuses on how they come together as a team, exploring their relationships and the drama that entails, while still bringing the same sense of adventure that made the first volume so much fun.

Top Shelf will publish Cosmoknights Volume Two in June, and Templer was kind enough to answer my questions about it.

‘Star Wars: Dark Droids’ kicks off in August

The crossover event introduces a droid virus that corrupts their programming and spreads like wildfire across the galaxy.

Both the Empire and the Rebel Alliance will face dire consequences when their droids break bad during an event that will run through Marvel’s Star Wars titles starting in August.

Announced during the Star Wars Celebration event earlier this month, Star Wars: Dark Droids will introduce something called the Scourge that will spread through the galaxy. It’ll infect everything from Lobot to a squad of Clone War-Era Prototype Battle Droids, bringing a sense of dread and horror to the Star Wars line.

The event kicks off in Star Wars: Dark Droids #1, which comes out Aug. 3 from writer Charles Soule and artist Luke Ross, before spreading through the other Star Wars titles. Here’s the rundown …

Andolfo + Braga will release ‘Purr Evil’ on the world in July

The six-issue miniseries from Image Comics will feature ‘blood, sweat, tears and a tremendous lot of malevolent kittens.’

The cat’s out of the bag on Purr Evil, a new miniseries coming this summer from Image Comics. Sweet Paprika creator Mirka Andolfo will team with Harley Quinn artist Laura Braga to tell a story of mothers, daughters and evil kitties.

“I’m very excited to see this new comic come to life,” said Adolfo. “And, even more to have my friend Laura with me to work on such a great and fulfilling project, as well as Bryan Valenza, our colorist, Fabio Amelia, our letterer, and the whole team at Arancia Studio! I can’t wait to find out what the fans think of our new madness, and I’m enormously grateful to Image Comics and the other international partners for believing in our crazy project. We are sure fans will love it, too!”

The future’s gone to the dogs in ‘Scrapper’

Cliff Bleszinski, Alex De Campi and Sandy Jarrell tell the story of a stray dog who fights for justice in a post-apocalyptic domed city.

Video game designer Cliff Bleszinski, who helped bring games like Gears of War and Fortnite to life, is teaming up with Alex De Campi and Sandy Jarrell on a new comic series called Scrapper.

Image Comics will publish the science fiction series, which is about a stray dog living in a post-apocalyptic domed city

“As a lifelong fan of comics it’s an honor to actually create one with Alex,” said Bleszinski. “Scrapper comes from the heart; first, the loss of my Aussie Teddy and then finding puppy love again with our Pomsky Lady. I truly hope everyone enjoys this deeply personal work.”

Marvel’s ‘What If?’ returns this summer

Walt Simonson, Gerry Conway, Stephanie Phillips, Scott Eaton and more create new stories set in alternate universes.

Marvel has announced the return of What If?, their classic alternate history comic, for the summer, with four one-shots planned under the title What If? Dark.

I chuckled a bit when I saw that they added “Dark” to the title. If you ever read any of the original What If? run, you know that more times than not, the stories would take a dark turn. For instance, “What If Phoenix Had Lived?” ended with the death of pretty much everything else.

In any event, What If? helped introduce Marvel’s version of the multiverse, and this year will introduce four new universe where things took a different turn. The one-shots also mark the return of two classic Marvel creators, Walt Simonson and Gerry Conway, as they revisit stories they’ve become synonymous with.

Here’s the rundown:

DC announces new titles featuring Power Girl, Fire & Ice

Both titles will spin out of May’s ‘Power Girl Special.’

The upcoming Power Girl Special will serve as the launching point for two new Dawn of DC titles.

Due out on May 30, the first story in the special, naturally, focuses on Power Girl, who has new powers as seen in back-up stories in the pages of Action Comics. Come September, Power Girl will star in her own title by writer Leah Williams and artist Eduardo Pansica.

Per DC, Power Girl will face “a long dormant Kryptonian threat” that has returned to take down Superman and his family.

Birks + Roberts head south — far, far south — for the science fiction tale ‘Antarctica’

Top Cow and Image Comics will kick off the new series in July.

Simon Birks and Willi Roberts will follow a conspiracy to the bottom of the world in Antarctica, a new title debuting from Top Cow in July.

The story’s roots go back to a six-page short story in Top Cow’s Stairway Anthology, which came out in 2020. It follows a woman whose search for her missing father takes her to an Antarctic research station.

“Antarctica takes no prisoners, and I’m excited to share our adventure with the readers. Willi and I have created something exceptional; an incredible experience full of unique twists and turns to keep everyone guessing right up until the end,” Birks said.

Wilson + Wildgoose present a ‘high fantasy tour de force’ in ‘The Hunger and the Dusk’

The new series from IDW will debut in July.

G. Willow Wilson, best-selling novelist and co-creator of Ms. Marvel, will team with artist Chris Wildgoose for a new “high fantasy tour de force” from IDW titled The Hunger and the Dusk.

The series will feature humans and orcs on a dying world who were once mortal enemies but now must team up to face an ancient race called the Vangol that threatened them both. The Hunger and the Dusk will be colored by MsassyK and lettered by Simon Bowland.

“During the pandemic, I thought a lot about the many different times in history when the world has come to an end. I was also revisiting the science fiction and fantasy comfort food that I grew up with, and bit by bit, almost like a bedtime story, this saga—with orcs and humans banding together in a world that is slowly becoming uninhabitable, with enemies facing the choice to stand together or die separately—began to take shape,” said Wilson. “Ordinarily, high fantasy is not something I write a lot of, but coming out of the pandemic, I thought, ‘To hell with it. Death is coming for us all. Do what you love. Write the hot orc saga.’ And here we are!”

Blue Beetle will face a ‘Scarab War’ in September

The ‘Graduation Day’ creative team will continue to tell stories featuring Jaime Reyes this fall.

With the final issue of Blue Beetle: Graduation Day arriving this week, DC has announced that Jaime Reyes’ adventures will continue in September with an ongoing series by the same creative team of writer Josh Trujillo and artists Adrian Gutiérrez, Wil Quintana and Lucas Gattoni.

The miniseries introduced two new beetles, Dynastes and Nitida, and they’ll continue to play a role in the new series, with the first arc titled “Scarab War.”

Smash Pages Q&A | ‘Boris Karloff’s Gold Key Mysteries’

Zane Barrow, Michael Conrad, Craig Hurd-McKenney and Jok discuss their work on the first title from the revived Gold Key Comics.

Gold Key Comics first began publishing comics in the 1960s, focusing heavily on licensed material from Disney, Warner Bros., King Features and Star Trek, among others. They also published some original material, including Solar, Turok and Magnus Robot Fighter. Their titles showcased a broad range of genres, from children’s titles to science fiction to superheroes to horror, through the 1970s and early 1980s.

It’s been almost 40 years since Gold Key was active, but one of 2023’s pleasant surprises has been the revival of the company. Entrepreneurs and comics fans Lance Linderman, Adam Brooks, Mike Dynes and Arnold Guerrero have not only relaunched the company, but also have revived one of its biggest titles from back in the day featuring iconic horror actor Boris Karloff.

The Kickstarter campaign for Boris Karloff Gold Key Mysteries, a new anthology title featuring new stories by Michael Conrad, Craig Hurd-McKenney, Jok, Steve Orlando, Kelly Williams and more, surpassed its funding goal very quickly. With three days to go, it’s just south of $40,000, so you still have time to get in on the ground floor.

I caught up with Hurd-McKenney, Jok, Conrad and editor Zane Barrow about the project, the draw of working on a Boris Karloff comic in 2023, their contributions to the anthology and more.

Jeff Lemire’s ‘Fishflies’ comes to print this summer

Image Comics will publish the comic, which was first syndicated on Substack, starting in July.

Following its debut in print on Free Comic Book Day, Jeff Lemire’s Fishflies will launch as a series from Image Comics in July.

The series, which initially debuted as a subscriber-only digital series on Lemire’s Substack, is a tale of small-town surrealist horror set in Ontario. Each issue of Fishflies will be giant-sized at 56 pages each, and it’ll run for six bimonthly issues.

“For years the books I both write and draw seem to switch back and forth between grounded, slice-of-life human drama like Essex County and Royal City or more genre driven work like Sweet Tooth,” said Lemire. “With Fishflies I really tried to combine these two aesthetics into one big story. Fishflies has the scale and drama of my more grounded work but also the genre fun and mythology of things like Gideon Falls. I think the result makes it unlike anything I’ve done before, yet very familiar at the same time.”

IDW + Dark Horse announce a Stranger Things + Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover

Cameron Chittock and Fero Pe will bring Eleven, Mike, Will and the rest to New York for an encounter with Splinter’s boys.

Do Eggos go with pizza? We’ll likely find out this summer when the kids from Stranger Things meet the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things, by writer Cameron Chittock and artist Fero Pe, will bring together the two properties in a four-issue miniseries published by IDW and Dark Horse Comics.

“I’ve loved the Ninja Turtles for quite literally as long as I can remember, and part of the brilliant alchemy of Stranger Things is that, ever since that first binge, it’s felt like it’s always been there. That’s a testament to Eastman, Laird and the Duffer brothers who tell stories that grab hold of you and don’t let go,” Chittock said. “Bringing their creations together is a surreal thrill, and we’re striving to fill every issue with moments worthy of their lofty standards. I can’t wait for fans to join us in 1985 to find out what’s lurking underneath New York.”

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