Return to the world of ‘Little Bird’ this summer in ‘Precious Metal’

Darcy Van Poelgeest  and Ian Bertram return to the world of their Eisner-Award-winning series from Image Comics.

Writer Darcy Van Poelgeest  and artist Ian Bertram will return to the world of their Eisner Award-winning comic series Little Bird in Precious Metal, a six-issue miniseries that launches in June from Image Comics.

Precious Metal has been the biggest, and most fulfilling, undertaking of my creative career,” said Van Poelgeest. “Returning to the world of Little Bird with Ian Bertram brought on a deeper collaboration than I thought possible, and the results are something transformative—for the work and myself. After nearly five years of immersion and experimentation, I’m thrilled to finally bring this monster of a book to readers worldwide.”

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Syzygy engages in ‘Self Help’ this summer

Owen King, Jesse Kellerman, Marianna Ignazzi and more bring this ‘California noir story’ to life.

Syzygy Publishing and Image Comics have announced Self Help, a new five-issue crime noir miniseries by novelists Owen King and Jesse Kellerman, artist Marianna Ignazzi, colorist Fabiana Mascolo and designer/letterer Ian Chagren.

Described as a “California noir story,” Self Help is “a surreal and colorful world populated with two-faced talk-show hosts, cheerful Finnish mobsters, bloodthirsty white supremacists, snide English butlers and panther-wielding Euro-trash assassins.” Sounds like fun!

“I couldn’t be more excited to be working with Jesse Kellerman on Self Help,” King said. “He’s one of my favorite novelists and one of my favorite people. We’re both incredibly lucky to have the brilliant Marianna Ignazzi bringing our sun-baked noir comedy to life.”

King is best known for his novels Sleeping Beauties, which he wrote with his father, Stephen King, and The Curator. Kellerman’s novels include The Genius and The Golem of Hollywood, while Ignazzi has worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and An Unkindness of Ravens for BOOM! Studios.

“Writing Self Help has been nonstop fun—and the credit for that goes to my amazing co-writer, Owen King,” Kellerman said. “This story is the product of two good friends cutting loose and letting our imaginations run wild. And we’re thrilled by the beautiful, stylish, vivid genius of Marianna Ignazzi. We can’t wait for you to get your hands on it.”

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DC announces their plans for Pride Month 2024

The DC Pride anthology returns, along with a tribute book to Rachel Pollack, new YA graphic novels and more.

DC has announced their plans for Pride Month in June, the annual commemoration and celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community. This year will include their annual anthology DC Pride 2024, as well as two YA graphic novels and a tribute to the late Rachel Pollack.

DC has been releasing the Pride special for four years now, and the theme for this year seems to be “Journeys and Destinations,” whether we’re talking Metropolis, Gotham, the Fourth World or “the farthest edges of the DC Multiverse.” DC’s announcement spotlights five different books that’ll arrive between now and September, along with a series of Pride-themed variant covers

Read more about them below …

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Oni’s ‘Cult of the Lamb’ comic crowfunds more than $200K on its first day

The campaign will run on Kickstarter through April 11.

Earlier today Oni Press launched a Kickstarter for a new Cult of the Lamb comic, based on the video game of the same name. Within six minutes, the campaign hits its measly $10,000 goal, and a few hours later was well over $200,000 in pledges.

If you’re not familiar with Cult of the Lamb, it’s a roguelike crossed with a social simulation game — kind of like if Hades and Animal Crossing had a baby, and that baby let you run your own cult. Your character is Lamb, who begins the game being resurrected by an ancient deity and then begins gathering his followers and exploring dungeons. It’s a clever, addictive game that is both super cute and disturbing at the same time. The game’s deveklopers, Devolver Digital and Massive Monster, recently released new DLC for the game, Sins of the Flesh.

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An X-Men era ends, and a new one begins, this summer

Gerry Duggan, Kieron Gillen, Al Ewing, Lucas Werneck, Joshua Cassara, Chris Claremont, Gail Simone and more contribute to an oversized issue celebrating 700 issues of ‘Uncanny X-Men.’

If you’re looking for the comic that will put the period — or maybe exclamation point — on the X-Men’s Krakoa era, look no further than X-Men #35, which arrives in June.

According to Marvel, the issue will also mark 700 issues of Uncanny X-Men, the flagship “X” title for the past 60 years, so it’ll also be an oversized issue featuring stories by a variety of creators. Those include some from the Krakoa-era, including Gerry Duggan, Kieron Gillen, Al Ewing, Lucas Werneck and Joshua Cassara, as well as legendary Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont.

“Being a part of the Krakoan experiment has been a true thrill,” said X-Men Senior Editor Jordan D. White. “Honestly—in many ways—it echoed the experience of mutantkind itself in the era. We worked differently, we tried new things, we survived incredible new experiences. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have worked with such fantastically talented creators throughout the era, and working on the glorious ending is truly bittersweet. I will miss it with my whole heart, but I do know… Krakoa will live on within us forever.”

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‘My Adventures with Superman’ flies from the TV screen to comics this summer

Josie Campbell and Pablo M. Collar bring the hit Adult Swim series to the printed page in June.

Adult Swim’s wonderful My Adventures with Superman animated series is coming to comics, thanks to the show’s producer Josie Campbell and artist Pablo M. Collar. The miniseries will serve as a bridge between the first and second seasons.

“Being the producer of My Adventures with Superman and bringing Clark Kent to TV screens around the world has been nothing but a dream come true for me,” said Campbell. “So I’m absolutely thrilled that Pablo and I get to bring fans even more adventures with Superman, this time in comic book form!”

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It’s mutant vs. mutant this summer as Apocalypse looks for an heir

‘X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse’ by Steve Foxe and Netho Diaz begins in June.

Apocalypse, one of the pillars of those early Krakoa issues, will gather 12 mutants together for a tournament this summer to determine who gets to take his spot as he moves on to his new duties on Arakko.

X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse by writer Steve Foxe and artist Netho Diaz will see Armageddon Girl, Cable, Cypher, Emma Frost, Exodus, Forge, Gorgon, Mirage, Mr. Sinister, Penance, Rictor and Laura Kinney face off for the fate of mutantkind.

“The shadow of Apocalypse has loomed large over not just the Krakoan Era, but a substantial percentage of mutant-focused storytelling since his debut in 1986,” Foxe said. “These past few years have shown so many new facets of En Sabah Nur, and my Krakoan peers aren’t done with him quite yet. So it’s both an immense honor and a ton of pressure to step up to the slab for Heir of Apocalypse, which charts a new path for his legacy in the years to come.”

The four-issue, bi-weekly miniseries will run through June and July. Here’s a look at all four covers by Dotun Akande:

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Tamaki + Rodriguez will ‘Bring Down the House’ in a new Zatanna miniseries

The Black Label miniseries takes the stage in June.

Mariko Tamaki and Javier Rodríguez will work their respective kinds of magic on a new DC Black Label miniseries featuring Zatanna.

The June-debuting Zatanna: Bring Down the House sets the mystical hero in Vegas, where she performs at crappy casinos off the strip. She’ll have to face both her tragic past and a murderous demon when an interdimensional vortex opens up during one of her performances.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with this team, and having the opportunity to tell a story that spotlights Zatanna,” said Tamaki. “We’re very excited for people to see this weird little story we’ve whipped up for their reading pleasure.”   

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The picture’s not so perfect in this preview of a new Shield story from ‘World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #138’

Check out an exclusive preview of a new story coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Check it out — Archie Comics has shared a preview with us of  World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #138, which will arrives in stores March 13.

In “Picture Perfect,” everyone in Riverdale is pretty excited that they’re filming a new Shield movie — everyone that is, except for the Shield himself. This one’s written and drawn by Dan Parent, with inking by Bob Smith, coloring by Glenn Whitmore and lettering by Jack Morelli.

Check out the preview below, along with a complete classic Jughead story by Bill Golliher and Al Milgrom.

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Cullen Bunn + Outland Entertainment announce several new horror comics

The Outer Shadows imprint plan to crowdfund several new projects written by Bunn.

Cullen Bunn and Outland Entertainment have announced plans to publish “dozens” of comics, graphic novels and trade paperbacks via Bunn’s dedicated Outer Shadows imprint, starting with a dark fantasy and an erotic thriller.

Outer Shadows was formed to be a home for both prose and comics projects, and thus far they’ve released Bunn’s novel Crooked Hills, the novella Raze and a short story collection. Today they revealed five new comics projects, along with a collection of one of Bunn’s previous titles.

“I’ve always envisioned Outer Shadows as the place for prose and comics,” Bunn said. “Now, we’re following through on that initial idea with a deep dive into the horror and dark fantasy comic market.”

Each Outer Shadows project will start with a crowdfunding campaign, with plans to release them into the direct market once the campaign is finished.

Here’s what to expect in the months ahead …

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Gillen + Wijngard + Cowles bring ‘The Power Fantasy’ to life in August

The new series about superpowered beings will be published by Image Comics.

Kieron Gillen, Caspar Wijngaard and Clayton Cowles will present “the eternal fight against fighting” in the new series The Power Fantasy, coming in August from Image Comics.

The series will feature six superpowered people, with “superpowered” being described as having the destructive power of America’s nuclear arsenal. So for the good of the world, it’s important that they never come into conflict.

“This is very much the new big swing book,” Gillen said on social media. “I think you’ll love it.”

Here’s the teaser:

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Smash Pages Q&A | Murewa Ayodele + Dotun Akande on ‘Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods’

The creators of ‘I Am Iron Man’ discuss their new Yoruba-influenced barbarian tale, which Oni Press will release in April.

Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande made a splash on their native continent as the founders of Collectible Comics NG, their own Nigeria-based comics studio, and as the creators of comics like My Grandfather Was a God. They then broke into the U.S. market first with New Men from Action Lab, followed by several stories for Marvel, including the I Am Iron Man miniseries.

Their latest project is Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods, which Oni Press will publish next month. It’s an oversized three-issue miniseries that combines their love for Western comics and animation like Conan the Barbarian and Samurai Jack with Yoruba mythology, bringing an African lens to the traditional sword and sorcery tale.

“According to Yoruba mythology, we were all made by a drunk god, and during one of his drunken stupor, he made horrific monsters also. The first of the gods to visit this new, twisted world was the erratic god of war,” Ayodele said. “When we discovered this little bit of our culture’s mythology, we knew we wanted to tell a gritty fantastical story set in this primordial African world — a world of barbarous violence, monstrous creatures, and gods who give in to primal, destructive urges.” 

I spoke with both creators about the new series, their love for mythology and comics, and more. My thanks to both of them for their time.

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