Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘World’s Finest: Teen Titans,’ ‘Web of Carnage’ and more debut this week

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet the kids from ‘Stranger Things,’ Moon Knight hits a milestone, Knight Terrors kicks into high gear and … Svengoolie?

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital. It’s another packed week as summer hits its stride, with more Knight Terrors, a new Carnage title, a big TMNT/Stranger Things crossover and more.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘World’s Finest: Teen Titans,’ ‘Web of Carnage’ and more debut this week”

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.

Continue reading “Smash Pages Q&A | Paul Cornell on ‘Con & On’”

Paul Cornell + Marika Cresta satire Comic-Con in the new miniseries ‘Con & On’

The five-issue miniseries will arrive from Ahoy Comics in (naturally) July.

Paul Cornell and Marika Cresta are teaming up for a new comic about Comic-Con — Con & On is “a tragicomic satire of five decades of the world’s biggest comics festival, and the industry that parties there,” according to Cornell, and it’s coming from Ahoy Comics in July.

“This is a heartfelt insider comedy history of the roller coaster that is the comics industry, with bite but also with love,” Cornell continued. “It’s about the romance of every big convention, the bittersweet journey through time and success, the highs and the lows and the silliness. It’s the story of every fan and every pro and everyone who’s just trying to make a buck in the midst of extremity. Through the narratives of our large cast of characters we see, in miniature, the story of the last few decades of modern comics: how some things have changed and how some things have stayed exactly the damn same.”

Continue reading “Paul Cornell + Marika Cresta satire Comic-Con in the new miniseries ‘Con & On’”