Mail Call | The Avengers brace for ‘World War She-Hulk’

Plus: More news and announcements from Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, AfterShock, Top Cow, Skybound and more!

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel is dusting off a classic event title for an upcoming Avengers storyline — “World War She-Hulk,” which references the popular “World War Hulk” story from 2007.

The new storyline will find She-Hulk declared a global menace, so the Winter Guard decides to bring her in.

“When the Russian Winter Guard invade Avengers Mountain to arrest She-Hulk, it sets off a global espionage adventure that takes us from the notorious assassin training academy of the Red Room to an undersea kingdom on the verge of violent revolution,” said writer Jason Aaron. “Along the way, traitors will fall, regimes will crumble and the dark evolution of Jennifer Walters will reach its bloody red crescendo, all as we build toward the epic events of Avengers #50.”

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DC puts the spotlight on Batman’s associates this summer

The Signal and the Huntress are the first to take center stage in ‘Batman Secret Files.’

In addition to Batman: Urban Legends, Future State: Gotham and various back-up features in the regular Batman books, DC has announced Batman Secret Files, “a new monthly series of one-shots featuring Batman’s partners in crimefighting.” Just in case you weren’t getting enough Batman in your life.

The first one will feature The Signal in a story by Tony Patrick with art by Christian Duce, while the second will focus on the Huntress, by the inspired team of Mariko Tamaki and David Lapham.

Here are the details on each from DC’s press release:

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‘Future State: Gotham’ #1 will include a Katsuhiro Otomo Batman story

Joshua Williamson, Dennis Culver and Giannis Milonogiannis send the Red Hood after Gotham’s vigilantes.

DC Comics has released a preview of the upcoming Future State: Gotham #1, which spins out of the Future State event from earlier this year. The comic will feature the ongoing story of the Red Hood hunting down masked vigilantes for The Magistrate — which brings him into conflict with The Next Batman.

The comic is co-written by Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver, with black-and-white art by Giannis Milonogiannis. Along with the preview came the news that DC will reprint “The Third Mask,” a Batman story written and drawn by Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of the manga and anime AKIRA. It originally appeared in a 1996 issue of Batman: Black & White.

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Christmas comes in July in the ‘Batman/Catwoman Special’

Tom King and John Paul Leon team up for the story of Catwoman before she was Catwoman.

The Eisner-nominated team of Tom King and John Paul Leon will reunite for a one-shot interlude to the Batman/Catwoman comic book maxiseries. Dave Stewart joins them on colors.

Batman/Catwoman Special arrives in July, tracing the life of Selina Kyle from he early days to her arrival in the criminal underworld, showing how Bruce Wayne factored into her life during that time.

It also sports a fun holiday cover:

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DC will introduce Monkey Prince in ‘DC Festival of Heroes’

The new character will meet Shazam! in a story by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang.

DC Comics will introduce a new character called Monkey Prince in their upcoming anthology DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration. They also revealed more about the contents in a press release today.

Monkey Prince will debut in a story written by Gene Luen Yang with art by Bernard Chang. Per the release, Monkey Prince is inspired by the Monkey King, legendary hero of Chinese mythology and the classic tale Journey to the West. In Yang and Chang’s 12-page story, “The Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes,” Monkey Prince battles and teams up with Shazam! to defeat Dr. Sivana and a Chinese deer demon spirit.  

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DC wants your help in picking its next series

DC shares 16 pitches from real creators and asks fans to choose which one will get made.

DC would like your help picking its next new series, and has launched its own version of “April Madness” called 2021 Round Robin Brackets to help make that happen.

They’ve listed 16 possible future titles and their descriptions, and are asking fans to vote on them in various places –including Instagram, Twitter and the DC Universe Infinity Community message boards, depending on the round. Voting for round one goes through April 7, with plans to reveal the creative teams for each pitch coming as round two starts on April 8.

The pitches range from comics focused on DC’s top characters, like Green Lantern and Superman, to some focusing on lesser-known characters, like Nightrunner, the “Batman of Paris” whose debut was marred by racists back in 2010. There’s also a pitch for Asteria, who is probably best known from her appearance in the most recent Wonder Woman movie.

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John Romita Jr. returns to Marvel later this year

The artist returns to the place where he started his career almost 50 years ago.

After almost seven years working for Marvel’s distinguished competition, John Romita Jr. will return to the House of Ideas later this year.

Marvel announced the return on their website today, noting that Romita will begin working in the Marvel Universe again in July.

“I have been very fortunate more than a few times in my life, and now I can add this latest event to that list. I have returned to Marvel, the company that I started my career in, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!” said Romita in a statement. “I am literally, at this very moment, working on my next big Marvel project, and it’s a blast!!! I am JUST as excited as I was when I first started, and I will do my best to let the work show that again. I hope fans will see that too!”

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Mail Call | New release dates for the Milestone revival

Catch up on news and announcements from Dark Horse, Vault Comics, DC, Z2 and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

DC Comics has modified their plans for the upcoming Milestone Media relaunch. The three launch titles — Static, Icon and Rocket, and Hardware — will no longer arrive digitally before they come out in print. Instead, they’ll be released in both formats on the same day, as well as on DC Universe Infinite. Both Static and Icon and Rocket will come out later, but Hardware will be published earlier than originally announced. The new dates (and creative teams for each title) are:

  • Static: Season One, written by Vita Ayala, with layouts by CHRISCROSS, finishes by Nikolas Draper-Ivey with covers by Khary Randolph launches in print and digital on June 15.
  • Icon and Rocket: Season One, co-written by Reggie Hudlin and Leon Chills, with art by Doug Braithwaite and covers by Taurin Clarke launches in print and digital on July 27.
  • Hardware: Season One, written by Brandon Thomas, with art by Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz with covers by Mateus Mahanini, launches in print and digital on August 10.
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DC wants you to help name Nightwing’s dog

DC has opened a poll on their community boards that ends March 30.

Nightwing’s got a new dog, and that dog needs a name. So DC is running a poll on their DC Universe Infinite community boards with four choices.

Unfortunately, you have to have a login to access the boards and the poll, which means you have to live in the United States. But writer Tom Taylor took to Twitter to offer an “informal” option for those who live outside the U.S.:

https://twitter.com/TomTaylorMade/status/1374757908311801856
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Bendis and Marquez jump-start the Justice League

A new era begins in ‘Justice League’ #59, which ‘includes a number of familiar, welcome elements, all deftly executed.’

[Note: This post contains spoilers for the lead story in Justice League #59. The issue also includes a Justice League Dark installment, which was creepy and suspenseful, but won’t be discussed here.]

Last year’s trip through the Justice League’s 60-year history got as far as the start of the “Snyder Era.” (No, not that Snyder — Scott Snyder.) Because some of us still have a slight Death Metal hangover, a post on those years is still TBA. Regardless, the “Bendis Era” began this week with May 2021’s Justice League #59. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, drawn by David Marquez and colored by Tamra Bonvillain, it includes a number of familiar, welcome elements, all deftly executed.

Chief among them is the notion that the Leaguers have lives outside this book. At the risk of being redundant, the point of an all-star team is the interaction of characters who can each carry their own features. Sure, you can craft a perfectly entertaining adventure by dropping a handful of heroes into a standalone story, but the best League runs have incorporated larger DC continuity to one degree or another. (Somewhat ironically, the Bendis Era begins just as DC has decided to have free-range continuity.)

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Ennis + Sharp team for new Batman Black Label miniseries

‘Batman: Reptilian’ kicks off in June.

Garth Ennis and Liam Sharp will bring a new terror to Gotham in the Black Label six-issue miniseries Batman: Reptilian.

“Me and my old mate Garth Ennis. Friends for over 30 years. Working together for the very first time,” Sharp posted on Twitter. “I’m so stoked!”

“It’s very Garth, but it’s not a comedy,” Sharp added. “Some dark humour though of course…”

According to the press release, the series will introduce a villain that even the other Gotham villains are afraid of — even more than Batman.

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Mail Call | DC celebrates 80 years of Wonder Woman, Green Arrow this year

Check out recent news and announcements from DC, Marvel, IDW, Dark Horse and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

DC will celebrate milestone years for two characters in 2021, just like they’ve done for Batman, Superman and others over the last few years.

First up, on June 29, DC will release Green Arrow 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1, celebrating the 80th anniversary of Oliver Queen, who debuted in More Fun Comics back in 1941.

The anthology will feature stories by Mike Grell, Jeff Lemire, Phil Hester, Otto Schmidt, Ben Percy, Tom Taylor, Devin Grayson, Stephanie Phillips, Mariko Tamaki, Ram V, Vita Ayala, Nicola Scott, Chris Mitten, Laura Braga, Max Fiumara and Brandon Thomas, among others. Expect appearances not only by Green Arrow, but also by Black Canary, Speedy, Red Arrow, Connor Hawke, Arsenal and more.

Then in October, Wonder Woman will take the spotlight on, naturally, Wonder Woman Day. DC has announced their plans for Wonder Woman’s 80th anniversary, which will include a 100-Page Super Spectacular of her own. They have not yet revealed details on the contents, but they did share the cover (above) by Yanick Paquette with colors by Nathan Fairbairn. Wonder Woman Day is Oct. 21.

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