Tag: DC

Comics Lowdown: ‘Astro Hustle’ canceled after sexual misconduct allegations against Jai Nitz

Plus: Mark Alessi passes away; DiNKy award nominees and more.

Dark Horse Comics has canceled the final two issues of Astro Hustle after writer Jai Nitz was accused of sexual misconduct.

The allegations were first published on the Her Campus website by Hannah Strader, a University of Kansas student who met Nitz when he was a guest lecturer in one of her classes. Nitz, whose recent work also includes a Suicide Squad story for DC Comics, briefly deleted his Twitter account (which is now set to private) and bailed on his appearance at 2019 Planet Comicon last weekend.

“Dark Horse takes all allegations seriously. We have cancelled future issues of Astro Hustle,” the publisher said in a statement to CBR.com. “While we were unable to prevent our distributor’s shipping of Astro Hustle #2, we are also suspending our professional ties with Jai Nitz.”

Astro Hustle artist Tom Reilly addressed the cancellation on Twitter, saying it was “for the best” and showing support for the victim. And Nitz released a statement to Bleeding Cool, saying “I am stepping away from comics and public life. I am seeking counseling and trying to live a better life for my loved ones.”

Continue reading “Comics Lowdown: ‘Astro Hustle’ canceled after sexual misconduct allegations against Jai Nitz”

DC’s Walmart-exclusive stories headed to comic shops

DC Comics announced at WonderCon that stories by Brian Michael Bendis, Tom King and others will be released in the direct market.

DC Comics answered a question at WonderCon that’s been in the minds of readers and retailers — will the stories they’ve released exclusively to Walmart ever be collected and available in comic shops?

The answer is yes, as DC announced at their publisher’s panel today that stories like Brian Michael Bendis and Nick Derington’s Batman: Universe will be collected and released in the direct market.

Continue reading “DC’s Walmart-exclusive stories headed to comic shops”

‘Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles’ wins a GLAAD Media Award

The comic by Mark Russell and Mike Feehan was recognized in a ceremony this week in Los Angeles.

The DC Comics revival of several classic Hanna Barbera cartoons as comics has brought some interesting results — and now it’s brought them a GLAAD Media Award.

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles took home the award last night in the Outstanding Comic Book category. The comic re-imagined the pink cougar as a gay playwright in the 1950s dealing with McCarthyism and the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

The comic was created by writer Mark Russell, penciller Mike Feehan, inker Mark Morales, colorist Paul Mounts and editors Marie Javins, Diego Lopez and Brian Cunningham.

Continue reading “‘Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles’ wins a GLAAD Media Award”

Miller + Romita Jr.’s ‘Superman: Year One’ lands in June

Frank MIller and John Romita Jr.’s Black Label project gets a release date; DC reveals the covers for all three issues.

DC Comics has revealed the release date for another of its Black Label projects, Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.’s Superman: Year One. The first “large-format ” issue is scheduled to arrive in June.

The series will run for three issues, with the last two arriving in August and October. A collected edition will arrive in November.

Continue reading “Miller + Romita Jr.’s ‘Superman: Year One’ lands in June”

Darkseid unleashes the zombie apocalypse on the DCU in ‘DCeased’

New miniseries kicks off in May from by Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, Stefano Gaudiano and James Harren.

In their latest round of solicitations and through an article on IGN, DC Comics has officially announced DCeased, a zombie story written by Tom Taylor with art by Trevor Hairsine, Stefano Gaudiano and James Harren. Like the original Marvel Zombies, this story will take place outside regular DC continuity — so expect a high body count.

“While the characters are the ones everyone knows so well, this is very much its own thing,” Taylor told IGN. “The reason being, the stakes are real. We can tell a story without holding back. No one you love is safe. Even the icons can fall.”

Continue reading “Darkseid unleashes the zombie apocalypse on the DCU in ‘DCeased’”

‘Detective’ #1000 to feature Dini, Lee, Bendis, Cloonan, Ellis and more

DC Comics has unveiled the line-up for Detective Comics #1000, the landmark issue that arrives in stores in March.

The comic will feature short stories by a variety of creative teams, from classic Batman creators like Denny O’Neil, Paul Dini and Kelley Jones, as well as more recent creators like Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and Tom King.

“Following in the footsteps of the blockbuster Action Comics #1000, Detective Comics #1000 is going to be a must-have for every kind of Batman fan,” said DC Publisher Dan DiDio. “Everyone we asked to be a part of this monumental issue immediately said yes and we can’t wait for fans to get their hands on the comic book.”

Continue reading “‘Detective’ #1000 to feature Dini, Lee, Bendis, Cloonan, Ellis and more”

IDW and DC announce Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

James Tynion IV, Freddie Williams II, Kevin Eastman and Jeremy Colwell will work together on a story featuring Krang.

Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are practically old friends at this point, and they will meet up again this May in Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, courtesy of DC Comics and IDW Publishing.

James Tynion IV, Freddie Williams II and Jeremy Colwell will wrap up this final part of this crossover trilogy, with TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman doing variant covers and some “pivotal” interiors as well.

“I still remember the e-mail asking me if I wanted to write the first Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover,” said Tynion IV in a press release. “My brain couldn’t even process what I was reading for a few seconds, and I started having a panic attack about fitting it into my work schedule. Then, finally, I pictured Michelangelo’s reaction to seeing the T. rex in the Batcave for the first time and started laughing out loud.”

Continue reading “IDW and DC announce Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III”

DC announces ‘Year of the Villain’ 25-cent comic

The almost-free comic arrives a few days before this year’s Free Comic Book Day.

Just prior to Free Comic Book Day, DC Comics will release a 25-cent DC Year of the Villain comic that spotlights several villains and sets the stage for future stories.

The book will include stories by Scott Snyder, Brian Michael Bendis, James Tynion IV, Jim Cheung, Francis Manapul and Alex Maleev, with a cover by Greg Capullo. Variant cover artists include Maleev and Cheung, as well as Stanley “Artgerm” Lau.

Continue reading “DC announces ‘Year of the Villain’ 25-cent comic”

Comics Lowdown: Comic books sales up in 2018, Marvel top publisher; stalker sets cosplayer’s car on fire

Plus: ‘Drama’ drama with the Ottawa Catholic School Board! Faith Erin Hicks! Jed MacKay! And more!

The 2018 direct market numbers from Diamond are in and comic sales are ever so slightly up from 2017. Comics saw an increase to sales by 3.3%, but graphic novels were down by 6.6%. The combined sales of the two formats mean a wee increase of 0.6% for the direct market.

Marvel Comics increased their market share slightly to gain an extra 2% over DC Comics, who seemed to have flat lined and lost 0.3% of their market share. This indicates that Marvel’s market share gains mostly come from the expense of small publishers or independent comic sales, with the exception of Image Comics, who also saw a slight increase.

The best-selling graphic novel of the year was Infinity Gauntlet. The 1991 story is enjoying a revival because of the Avengers: Infinity War movie. The best-selling comics was Action #1000, a landmark issue featuring unpublished artwork by legendary Superman artist Curt Swan and the introduction of writer Brain Michael Bendis to the DC universe.

Complete lists and more insight are available on comichron.com.

Continue reading “Comics Lowdown: Comic books sales up in 2018, Marvel top publisher; stalker sets cosplayer’s car on fire”

DC adds two new Walmart titles, renames others

‘Flash” and ‘Swamp Thing’ join the line-up, with new material by Tim Seeley, Gail Simone and more.

DC Comics is adding two more titles to its slate of Walmart-exclusive comics, bringing the number from four to six. And they are renaming two existing ones.

The two new titles are Swamp Thing 100-Page Giant and Flash 100-Page Giant, and like the other titles in the line they will feature new stories packaged with reprints of previous stories. Justice League and Teen Titans, meanwhile, will get new names — the former becomes Wonder Woman, while the latter will shorten its name to Titans — no doubt to match the name of the show that can be found on DC’s streaming service.

Continue reading “DC adds two new Walmart titles, renames others”

DC Comics titles now available via comiXology Unlimited

DC Comics joins up with comiXology and Amazon to offer select titles on their ‘all you can eat’ subscription plans.

ComiXology Unlimited just got a nice bump in content, as the digital comics company announced today via press release that select DC Comics will now be available via their “all you can eat” subscription model. They’ll also be available via Amazon’s Kindle Prime and Prime Reading services.

“We are thrilled to now include an incredible selection of DC’s vast library of Super Heroes and DC Vertigo titles as part of comiXology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited, and Prime Reading, bringing an even bigger benefit to all our subscription members” said comiXology CEO and Co-Founder David Steinberger in the release. “With the addition of DC and DC Vertigo titles we’re providing more convenience and a great opportunity for readers to discover and explore some of the best stories comics have to offer at no additional cost to their current Prime, Kindle Unlimited or comiXology Unlimited subscription.”

comiXology Unlimited launched in 2016 and offers unlimited reading of about 20,000 comic titles for $5.99 per month. It offers titles from Marvel, Image Comics, IDW Publishing, Dark Horse and many others, but DC Comics has been a holdout until now. DC’s own DC Universe service, which launched last year, also includes a buffet of comics in addition to streaming TV shows and movies.

Continue reading “DC Comics titles now available via comiXology Unlimited”

Comics Lowdown: Tom King’s CIA service

Plus: ‘The Arrival’ selected for Hong Kong’s first ‘One City, One Book’ campaign, the obituary Marie Severin should have received, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phoebe Gloeckner, Diamond Gem awards and more best-of-2018 lists!

Happy New Year from the Smash Pages staff! Coming back from the holiday break, let’s ring out the old and ring in the new with today’s collection of comic book news links.

Let’s start with a weird one: Last week Abhay Khosla, comics critic and past Superman writer, posted about his attempts to confirm with the CIA that Batman and Heroes in Crisis writer Tom King used to work for them. The topic of King’s former employer frequently comes up in interviews related to his Batman work (not to mention King’s Vertigo series The Sheriff of Babylon), and Khosla questioned whether any reporters who interviewed King about it had ever confirmed it. So Khosla sent the CIA a letter back in 2016 asking for confirmation, and the response he received from the agency was inconclusive.

This exchange occurred in 2016, and why Khosla decided to go public with it now isn’t clear. The point of Khosla’s post doesn’t seem to be to call out King as a liar (he starts his post by saying, “I don’t think this is really a story about Tom King”) but is more of a statement about entertainment journalism and fact-checking. He points out similar situations where a past DC writer, Micah Wright, lied about being in the armed services, as well as current Marvel editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski pretending to be Japanese early in his career.

The problem isn’t in asking the question — it’s posting about it without an answer or actually asking King about it. Like verifying facts, that’s also journalism 101. After the post went live, King was quick to respond on Twitter, showing proof that he was, indeed, in the CIA. Bleeding Cool, The Comics Reporter and Nick Hanover have more commentary on this.

Continue reading “Comics Lowdown: Tom King’s CIA service”