Tag: graphic novels

Slugfest | ‘Batman/Spawn’ gets an ‘inks only’ edition

Today’s round-up includes news and announcements on ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ Brian Michael Bendis, Keanu Reeves, Shakespeare, ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you from comics creators, publishers and more. Most of this edition includes all those end-of-the-year announcements I missed because I was on vacation. Hit the links for more information.

DC and Todd McFarlane have announced Batman/Spawn Unplugged, an uncolored and unlettered version of the recent crossover comic by Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo.

“It’s always exciting whenever us artists can present our work in as unfiltered a manner as possible,” said McFarlane. “This book will let you see the true skill of how Greg Capullo does his masterful storytelling… and every line that we both put down.”

Continue reading “Slugfest | ‘Batman/Spawn’ gets an ‘inks only’ edition”

Flappers, forehands and infamy: A brief history of tennis fashion scandals

Tom Humberstone, creator of the graphic novel ‘Suzanne,’ offers a guest essay today on tennis and fashion.

Here’s something you probably didn’t expect to see on Smash Pages — a column on tennis and fashion. Today we’re pleased to present a guest column from Tom Humberstone, the creator of the recently released Suzanne from Avery Hill Publishing.

In Suzanne, Humberstone tells the story of Suzanne Lenglen, one of the unsung heroes of women’s sports. She became a championship tennis player at the age of 15, breaking records for ticket sales and match winning streaks, all while breaking societal norms with her playing outfits during the trailblazing jazz age.

In his essay, Humberstone traces the advances Lenglen made in both tennis and fashion to the present day. You can also check out a few pages from his graphic novel.

by Tom Humberstone

When Serena Williams stepped onto Arthur Ashe stadium for what could be the last time, the world watched with nervous anticipation, awaiting answers to a volley of questions. Having recently announced her “evolution” away from playing tennis, people were curious what this final US Open might look like for her. Would she make a fairy-tale run and secure that elusive, record-extending 24th major title? Or, given her recent form in Cincinnati, would she exit in the first round? Is it really the end? What will a tennis world without Serena Williams look like? And, perhaps most importantly of all, what will her final outfit be?

Continue reading “Flappers, forehands and infamy: A brief history of tennis fashion scandals”

Ghosts, goblins and gardening: Norman Shurtliff’s ‘Skull Cat’ starts his job at ‘The Curious Castle’ next month

The new Top Shelf graphic novel kicks off a middle grade series by the creator.

Ghosts, vampires, goblins … they’re all in a day’s work for Skull Cat, the new garden-keeper at Le Dark Chateau, the local spooky castle.

Skull Cat and the Curious Castle is the first in a planned series by Norman Shurtliff and arrives in stores on Feb. 21. The thing I find interesting about it, besides the supernatural elements, is the fact that Skull Cat is a gardener — which makes sense given Shurtliff has a degree in horticulture. So come for the cute cat being chased by monsters, stay for the (hopefully plentiful) gardening tips.

Continue reading “Ghosts, goblins and gardening: Norman Shurtliff’s ‘Skull Cat’ starts his job at ‘The Curious Castle’ next month”

‘Funny Things’ tells the story of Charles Schulz — in comic strip form

Top Shelf will publish the graphic novel by Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi next year.

Italian creators Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi will bring their unique style to tell the story of a very American legend — Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. Top Shelf will release Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz next year.

“While Schulz was working on his last strip, looking back on five decades of Peanuts characters and situations, he laughed and said: ‘I really drew some funny things,’” Matteuzzi said. “That phrase, Funny Things, stuck with me since I first read it: it’s both accurate and a huge understatement of what he accomplished. So simple, and yet so powerful, just like the strips he left us which we will cherish forever.”

Continue reading “‘Funny Things’ tells the story of Charles Schulz — in comic strip form”

Fantagraphics launches their Cyber Monday sale early

Get 40% off almost everything on their website for today only.

Technically Cyber Monday is next week, but Fantagraphics doesn’t care — they’ve launched their Cyber Monday sale today, offering 40% off on “just about everything” on their website, plus free USPS media mail shipping on orders over $75.

It includes both backlist titles and new releases, including Jordan Crane’s incredible Keeping Two, Barry Windsor Smith’s award-winning Monsters, their collection of Liniers’ Macanudo comic strip and more from Daniel Clowes, Megan Kelso, Simon Hanselman, Jim Woodring, the Hernandez Brothers and lots of other wonderful creators.

That’s it — that’s the post. Go check out the sale, which ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.

Brubaker + Phillips’ ‘Night Fever’ arrives next year

The award-winning duo have a new graphic novel in the works at Image Comics.

Image Comics has announced a new graphic novel from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips that’s coming out next year. The publisher describes Night Fever as a “Jekyll-and-Hyde story of a man facing the darkness inside himself.”

Colorist Jacob Phillips, who has worked with the duo in the past as well as on his own projects like That Texas Blood, will join them on the project.

“Night Fever is a story that’s been scratching at the back of my skull for a long time now and man, is this a weird one,” said Brubaker. “Inspired partly by old Black Lizard noir novels and weird and sexy European comics from the 70s, this book is a dark trip into what being alive right now feels like, but hopefully a thrilling one for our readers, too. I know it’s the best art of Sean’s entire career, which feels almost unbelievable. But it’s true.”

Continue reading “Brubaker + Phillips’ ‘Night Fever’ arrives next year”

Comixology will release Liniers’ ‘The Ghost of Wreckers Cove’ this Tuesday

The Middle Grade graphic novel will feature ghosts, pirates and magic on the coast of Maine.

Comixology Originals will release The Ghost of Wreckers Cove, a “wildly imaginative” Middle Grade graphic novel that blends historical fiction and magical realism, on their platform this Tuesday. The new story is by Liniers (The Big Wet Balloon, Good Night, Planet, Written and Drawn by Henrietta), his frequent collaborator Angelica del Campo, colorist Christian Argiz and editor John Lind.

The new graphic novel about two young girls on the coast of Maine will feature ghosts, pirates, stolen treasure, seashells, swimming and a young lighthouse keeper. 

“Liniers’ work is so profoundly beautiful, spirited, and touching,” Bryce Gold, Comixology Originals Lead, said in the press release. “It is an honor to bring The Ghost of Wreckers Cove to English language audiences worldwide for the first time and my hope that readers of all ages, alive, spectral, or otherwise, enjoy it.”

Continue reading “Comixology will release Liniers’ ‘The Ghost of Wreckers Cove’ this Tuesday”

Comedian Chris Farley’s childhood will be explored in ‘Growing Up Farley’

The new graphic novel from Z2 Comics will be co-written by Kevin Farley, Chris’s brother.

Before becoming a standout among the cast of Saturday Night Live and starring in films like Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, comedian Chris Farley performed in places like the Red Arrow Camp, the Arc Theatre in Wisconsin and The Second City in Chicago. Those early adventures with his brother Kevin will be explored in a new graphic novel Growing Up Farley, coming next fall from Z2 Comics.

“Laughter was always a big part of growing up Farley,” Kevin Farley said in the press release. “I’m excited to partner with the team at Z2 Comics to share all the humor and humanity of growing up with my brother, Chris, in 1970s Madison, Wisconsin and the huge influence our Dad had on our decision to go into comedy.”

Continue reading “Comedian Chris Farley’s childhood will be explored in ‘Growing Up Farley’”

Smash Pages Q&A | Rich Koslowski on ‘F.A.R.M. System’

The creator of ‘Three Fingers’ and ‘The King’ returns with a new graphic novel from Top Shelf in November.

Rich Koslowski is best known by some as the creator of Three Fingers, The List and The King, three graphic novels released in the 2000s that showed off not only his creativity and wit, but also his skill as an artist. Others know him as the creator of The 3 Geeks, which later became Geeksville and was published by Image Comics. And still others likely know him from his long-running work at Archie Comics, where he has drawn or inked everyone from Jughead to Sonic the Hedgehog to the rock band KISS, among many others.

It’s been several years now since we’ve seen him write and draw an original graphic novel, but he’s back at Top Shelf with a new project, F.A.R.M. System, which arrives in stores Nov. 8. Like Three Fingers and The King, it’s a satire that mashes together the world of superheroes with baseball farm teams, as new heroes vie for spots in the Big Leagues.

Koslowski was kind enough to answer some questions about the project, his love of baseball and what else he has in the works.

Continue reading “Smash Pages Q&A | Rich Koslowski on ‘F.A.R.M. System’”

‘Planet Divoc-91’ comes to print

The webcomic funded by several UK science organizations arrived in the early days of the pandemic.

An early webcomic inspired by COVID-19 is coming to print later this month, courtesy of Velocity Press.

Back in July of 2020, in what could still be considered the early days of the COVID pandemic, several UK-based scientific organizations funded the creation of a sci-fi satire that drew its inspiration from what the world was going through at the time. Planet Divoc-19 debuted on Webtoon and featured stories and art by Charlie Adlard, Alex Paknadel, Marco Finnegan, Matt Kindt, Hannah Berry, James Devlin, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Elsa Charretier and more.

“Although the topics we’re discussing in the series are incredibly serious, Planet Divoc-91 is full of humor and is occasionally ridiculous,” said Sara Kenney, who wrote the first chapter. “We’re aiming for more of a District 9 or The Good Place feel than, say, Star Trek.”

The print edition of Planet Divoc-19 is a not-for-profit publication, with 100% of profits go towards helping young creatives in South Africa, India and UK. It arrives in UK bookstores today; those of us outside the UK can order it directly from Velocity.

Continue reading “‘Planet Divoc-91’ comes to print”

Rich Koslowski explores money, fame and super powers in ‘F.A.R.M. System’

The creator of ‘Three Fingers’ returns with a new graphic novel from Top Shelf this November.

It’s been more than a decade since Top Shelf released a triple threat of creative graphic novels from Rich Koslowski — Three Fingers, the faux “behind the scenes” mockumentary about the world of animation and a certain iconic mouse; The King, about an Elvis impersonator who just may have been more than that; and BB Wolf and the Three LP’s, with writer J.D. Arnold, which mixed the tale of the Three Little Pigs with a blues aesthetic.

Since then, he’s certainly kept himself busy with other work for various publishers, including Archie Comics, but this November he’ll return to Top Shelf for F.A.R.M. System, a new graphic novel that combines baseball’s minor league set-up with superheroes.

Continue reading “Rich Koslowski explores money, fame and super powers in ‘F.A.R.M. System’”

Comixology Originals will publish the debut graphic novel from Xavier Saxon

‘Night at the Belfry’ arrives on the platform Oct. 18.

Comixology Originals has announced plans to publish Night at the Belfry, the debut graphic novel by writer and artist Xavier Saxon.

The story is about a 73-year-old former postman who starts remembering his time as a recreational boxer in the 1980s and “hatches a life altering plan to regain the control he believes he’s lost.”

“Night at the Belfry is my first book and I am super proud of it, but it is not where I would have expected myself to start off in the world of comics,” Saxon said. “I don’t have much of an interest in boxing, I’m not a 70-plus year-old retiree (yet), and my preferences in terms of fiction have always skewed more towards the fantastical, genre-based stuff. The idea came from a few places. It started purely visually, the idea of a boxing match in a church belltower. But as I developed the story I became fascinated with the idea of applying undue importance to an, in retrospect, insignificant period of one’s own life. Mostly, though, the book came from a place of frustration. I wanted to finish something. And now that I have, I hope what I’ve made will resonate with readers.”

Continue reading “Comixology Originals will publish the debut graphic novel from Xavier Saxon”