Cartoonists dedicated last Monday to making and posting new comics every hour; check out the results of their hard work.
Here’s a round up of some of the best comics we’ve seen online recently. If we missed something, let us know in the comments below.
Every February comics artists wake up and just start drawing for #HourlyComicsDay, where cartoonists commit to making and posting a comic every hour for a day — or whatever frequency they chose. Most hourly comics typically fall into the “autobiography” category, as participants detail their day in comics form, but some will share fictional stories as well.
The official Hourly Comics Day was last Monday, and I thought I’d dedicate this edition of Sunday Comics to spotlighting some of them (with a big thanks to Brigid Alverson for sharing a long list of the ones she found).
‘Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory’ heads to post-WW2 Japan in April.
The Eisner-winning Beasts of Burden returns in April with a new miniseries, Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory.
Writers Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer tell a story set in post-World War II, as a member of the Wise Dogs must deal with a curse that creates an army of crawling heads. They’re joined by artist Benjamin Dewey and letterer Nate Piekos, while series co-creator Jill Thompson will provide a variant cover for issue #4.
“I’m very excited to have a new Beasts of Burden story for the fans and I’m extremely happy with the way everything came together working with Sarah, Benjamin and Nate,” Dorkin said. “Why post-war Japan? I used to half-jokingly ask editor Daniel Chabon if we could have his Shiba Inu, Zell. He said we should have a Shiba in the series, instead. One thing led to another, one idea led to three more, and that’s where our latest story of dogs fighting supernatural evil ended up.”
‘Bill & Ted Are Doomed’ will serve as a prequel to the upcoming movie ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music.’
With a third Bill & Ted movie headed to theaters this summer — Bill & Ted Face the Music — the duo are also making their triumphant return to comics. Dark Horse Comics now has the license to make Bill & Ted comics, and they’re launching a four-issue miniseries, Bill & Ted Are Doomed, this September.
The comic will be written by Evan Dorkin, who has a bit of history with the characters himself, as he wrote and drew the most execllent Bill & Ted’s Excellent Comic Book, which was published by Marvel back in the 1990s — and received an Eisner nomination. He’ll be joined by Fred the Clown/The Muppets creator Roger Langridge on art. Langridge will draw, color and letter the book. Ed Solomon, who co-created Bill & Ted, is overseeing the project.
Evan Dorkin, Veronica Fish and Andy Fish reunite for ‘Blackwood: The Mourning After.’
A new semester at the creepiest college around begins this winter, as Evan Dorkin, Veronica Fish and Andy Fish reunite for Blackwood: The Mourning After.
“I’m very happy to be able to return to the halls of Blackwood. I enjoy writing these characters and putting them through hell, and I love seeing how Veronica and Andy bring it all to life. Especially the dead things,” Dorkin said in the press release.
The writer and co-creator of ‘Beasts of Burden’ discusses his long career in comics, his collaborations, ‘Blackwood’ and much more.
Evan Dorkin seems to have many careers. For many comics readers, he’s the writer and artist behind Dork,Milk and Cheese and The Elitingville Club. He wrote and drew Bill and Ted’s Excellent Comic Book series for Marvel back in 1991-92, which has since been reprinted. He’s contributed to MAD Magazine and other outlets. In television, he’s worked extensively with his wife, the noted creator Sarah Dyer, on shows like Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Superman: The Animated Series and others.
He is also the writer and co-creator of the award winning comic series Beasts of Burden. Dorkin’s approach to horror and suspense and his skill at writing animal protagonists — combined with the painted artwork of initially Jill Thompson and later Benjamin Dewey — have made the books a favorite among readers and critics. Beasts of Burden: Neighborhood Watch was just released by Dark Horse, which collects a lot of the one-shots and other stories featuring the supernatural-battling pets, including a crossover with Hellboy co-written by Mike Mignola.
A two-part series by Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson and Benjamin Dewey will complete the second Burden Hill collection.
Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson will return to Burden Hill for another round of Beasts of Burden, their award-winning series about guardian dogs and cats facing supernatural menaces.
Beasts of Burden: The Presence of Others Part Onewill arrive in May, featuring artwork by Thompson, who co-created the series with Dorkin. Part Two will feature artwork by Benjamin Dewey, who drew the most recent Beasts of Burden series, Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men. It will “complete the second Burden Hill collection begun with the Hellboy crossover published in 2010,” Dorkin revealed.
The artist of ‘Archie,’ ‘Silk,’ ‘Slam!’ and more discusses her latest project ‘Blackwood,’ collaborating with Andy Fish and Evan Dorkin, and more.
Veronica Fish has made a name for herself with her work for Archie (Archie) and Marvel (Spider-Woman, Silk), as well as with books Slam!, the roller derby comic that she created with writer Pamela Ribon, and The Wendy Project, written by Melissa Jane Osborne. The latter overlaid the story of Peter Pan with a girl’s real trauma and was a visually stunning work by Fish that really showed off a masterful sense of design and color.
Fish’s new comic is Blackwood. Written by Evan Dorkin (Beasts of Burden, Dork) and published by Dark Horse Comics, the miniseries follows a group of students who arrive at a small college to learn magic. The Dean kills himself in the opening scene, and the students find the only thing stranger than the locals are the teachers. The setup may sound familiar, but the characters and the creatures in the book really stand out. And the art is as accomplished as it is different from Fish’s other comics. The second issue of Blackwood came out this week, and I asked Fish a few questions about the book.
Guest artist Benjamin Dewey heads to Burden Hill to help Dorkin tell a tale featuring the Wise Dogs.
Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson’s Beasts of Burden has appeared as a series of miniseries and one-shots over the years, winning awards and sharing tales from the fictional town of Burden Hill, where a group of dogs and cats defend their world against supernatural threats.
In the background of these stories has been another group called the Wise Dogs, who seem to have a much bigger jurisdiction than just Burden Hill. Dorkin and guest artist Benjamin Dewey (The Autumnlands, The Tragedy Series) will explore this other group in Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men. Nate Piekos will letter the four-issue miniseries.
Also: Dave Gibbons talks about writing, Dyer and Dorkin discuss ‘Calla Cthulhu,’ and ‘Criminy’ finds a publisher.
Sketch of what the gunman who shot al-Ali might look like nowCold Case Files: Thirty years after the murder of Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali, London police have appealed to the public for any information they may have on the case. Ali was shot in the back of the neck on July 22, 1989, near the London office of the Kuwaiti publication Al-Qabas, and he died on August 29 of the same year. Police released descriptions of the two suspects and a sketch of what the shooter might look like today.
The dogs and cat of Burden Hill return this year in a new story by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer and Jill Thompson.
The dogs and cat of Burden Hill return this year in a new story by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer and Jill Thompson. The “all-cat” issue will detail where Dymphna, the witch’s familiar who has allied herself with the protectors of Burden Hill, disappears to at night.
Dymphna
“Dark Horse is mapping out the issue, and if all goes well we’re looking at a Spring release,” Dorkin said on his LiveJournal. “However, we have some blank pages to fill in the back of the comic, and we’re trying to see if anyone has any questions or comments for us to print in a letters page for the issue. Even if we only fill a page, that’s one less ad in the issue and a little something extra to read. Right now we only have one letter. Eep.”
The Eisner Award-winning comic from Dark Horse Comics stars a group of dogs and cats that investigates supernatural events in their town. Beasts of Burden began as a recurring feature in the Dark Horse Book of … anthologies before graduating into its own miniseries. The animal protectors have also teamed up with Hellboy and appeared in Dark Horse Presents.
Update, 2/11: Dark Horse issued a press release on the return of Beasts of Burden, which you can find below with art:
Dorkin, Dyer and Thompson Discover What the Cat Dragged In!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MILWAUKIE, OR—Evan Dorkin (Eltingville Club, Milk and Cheese), Sarah Dyer (The Dark Horse Book of Monsters) and Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother) return to the characters that won them the Eisner Awards for Best Short Story and Best Publication for Teens with a new one-shot comic: Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In!
This standalone adventure is a perfect entry point for readers new to the award-winning series. When curiosity gets the best of Burden Hill’s cats (and one reluctant raccoon), sleeping demons are awakened and black magic is unleashed on the town of Burden Hill.
Multiple award-winning comics creators Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson first introduced these very special investigators in The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings and the other Dark Horse Book of . . . anthologies, for which they won coveted Eisner Awards for Best Short Story and Best Painter.
In 2009, the beasts of Burden Hill received their own miniseries, Animal Rites, which garnered widespread critical acclaim. In 2010, they met up with Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, cementing these unlikely heroes in the pages of Dark Horse history.
The one-shot Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In (MAR160030) is in stores May 4, 2016. Preorder your copy today at your local comic shop!
You need to understand one thing about a guy as talented as Jim Gibbons. There are some people that are born to be leaders — born to be damn good editors. I firmly believe Jim came out of the womb that way. There are few comics editors that I put on par with Tom Brevoort. Jim is on that par. He has never steered me wrong when it came time to praise a note. To learn he is one of the leaders of the new Stela venture does not surprise me and it makes me want to think that this thing will succeed out of the gates. To say I was eager to talk to him about this goes without saying and I can’t wait to see what is store for Stela in 2016. Please enjoy the interview as much as
