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Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we received from publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.
Marvel is hyping up their next X-Men event with some new promo art for X-Men: X of Swords, which was announced right before the pandemic at C2E2. Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard and Pepe Larraz bring you X-Men: X of Swords: Creation #1 in September.
Continue reading “Mail Call | Clownhunter joins the ‘Joker Wars’”Artist Evan Stanley will write the main Sonic title as Ian Flynn focuses on the four-issue “Sonic: Bad Guys.”
IDW has announced Sonic the Hedgehog’s summer plans, which include a new writer for the main title and a spinoff series featuring several Sonic bad guys.
Beginning with issue #33, Sonic illustrator Evan Stanley will take over both writing and drawing the main title.
“Sonic the Hedgehog comics have been a constant source of joy and inspiration for me for well over 10 years, and the truth is, this opportunity is a dream I didn’t believe could come true,” said Stanley. “The world of Sonic has a truly amazing creative legacy, and I’ve always pushed myself to make my contributions as meaningful and worthwhile as they can be — and that’s more important than ever now. I hope I can deepen the world of IDW’s Sonic The Hedgehog comics, exploring new places and characters while continuing to deliver exciting adventures about Sonic and his friends!”
Continue reading “IDW announces Sonic spinoff series, new writer”IDW and others react to the news.
The COVID-19 epidemic that has shuttered comic shops and forced the postponement of conventions around the country has also affected Diamond Comics Distributors, the sole major distributor to comics retail shops, and today, Diamond co-founder Steve Geppi announced that they will be shutting down shipments of new product:
Continue reading “Diamond halts new comics shipments for April 1 and beyond”Proceeds from the book will be donated to writer Bill Mantlo’s medical care.
Although we live in the age of reprints, trade paperbacks, digital comics and old material being collected in fancy formats, there are certain comics from the past that, for one reason or another, we’ll probably never see collected or show up on sites like comiXology. Case in point, comics like Micronauts and Rom, which were licensed books published by Marvel that were integrated into the Marvel Universe — and thus featured guest appearances by the X-Men, Spider-Man and other Marvel characters on occasion. They also featured the debuts of original characters to the mythos, like various spaceknights in Rom and Bug in Micronauts, who are actually owned by Marvel.
While this made for a fun time in comics, those licenses eventually expired or transferred over to someone else — case in point, both Rom and Micronauts are published by IDW these days. That means we might see Bug show up occasionally in Guardians of the Galaxy, but he’s no longer a Micronaut, and it’s unlikely his buddy Acroyear is going to show up. Marvel owns Bug, Hasbro owns Acroyear, and all those great comics published back in the day end up in limbo in our reprint-driven era.
So all this is to say that besides the back-issue market, the upcoming Michael Golden’s Micronauts Artist’s Edition coming from IDW may be some fans’ only chance to own some of Bill Mantlo and Golden’s classic Micronauts comics.
Continue reading “‘Michael Golden’s Micronauts Artist’s Edition’ coming in June”The crossover arrives in October, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez.
Locke and Key co-creators Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez are re-teaming for a new story featuring their infamous keys — and this time, they’re unlocking the door to the Sandman universe.
In a move that can only be described as “Netflix synergy,” the IDW title will cross over with DC’s Sandman universe in October.
Besides the creative team, very little has been revealed at this point, but they do have a snazzy teaser video:
Continue reading “IDW, DC announce a Locke & Key/Sandman crossover”The writer and artist of IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles discusses what she has planned for the series and more.
Sophie Campbell has established herself as one of the great comics voices of her generation. From her dynamic artwork that redefined Jem and the Holograms and Glory, to the seven volume series Wet Moon that she wrote and drew, to the science fiction superhero saga Shadoweyes, Campbell has built a unique body of work and in 2020, she’s trying something different.
Though Campbell has previously written and drawn Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics over the years, she took over writing and drawing the series with issue #101. With issue #102 out in stores this week, we spoke recently about what she has planned for the series, the new status quo she’s overseeing and her journey from fan to creator.
Continue reading “Smash Pages Q&A: Sophie Campbell”Plus: Changes at Kodansha, Cullen Bunn goes ‘Rogue’ and whatever happened to Lion Man?
Editorial Cartoons: A cartoon in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, depicting the Chinese flag with the stars replaced by coronaviruses, has, predictably, angered the Chinese government. (Jyllands-Posten is the same paper whose cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad caused an uproar in 2005.) The Chinese Embassy in Copenhagen has demanded an apology, but Jyllands-Posten editor Jacob Nybroe has refused, and the Danish prime minister is backing him up.
The Biz: Restructuring at Kodansha USA means a promotion for Alvin Lu, previously the general manager of Kodansha Advance Media. Publishers Weekly reports that Kodansha’s subsidiaries, including its digital arm Kodansha Advanced Media and the manga and novel publisher Vertical Inc., will be folded into Kodansha USA. Lu will be the CEO, and Ivan Salazar, former public relations and events specialist at ComiXology, has been hired as senior marketing director.
Continue reading “Comics Lowdown: Chinese government upset by Danish coronavirus cartoon”Plus: a new Shonen Jump series, Skybound’s ‘Fire Power’ plans and a new ‘Clone Wars’ series at IDW.
BOOM! Studios announced a new graphic novel, The Sacrifice of Darkness, based on Gay’s short story “The Sacrifice of Darkness.” In addition to Gay, the creative team includes writer Tracy Lynne Oliver, artist Rebecca Kirby, and colorist James Fenner, and the pub date is October 2020.
Continue reading “Mail Call | Archaia to adapt Roxane Gay story”News from Random House, BOOM! Studios, IDW and more.
Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we received from publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.
Congratulations to Random House Graphic, which officially launched this week! RH Graphic is a new line of graphic novels for young readers, spearheaded by Gina Gagliano, former marketing director for First Second.
Continue reading “Mail Call | Off and Running”Robots in disguise collide with robots in disguise in the four-issue miniseries.
The battle of the ‘bots kicks off in earnest next year as the Transformers collide with The Terminator, courtesy of IDW Publishing and Dark Horse Comics, who hold the respective comics licenses for the two properties.
The four-issue miniseries will be written by David Mariotte, Tom Waltz and John Barber, with art by Alex Milne.
Continue reading “Transformers collide with the Terminator next March”Plus: Asterix, Jason Lutes, Derf Backderf, James Romberger and more!
Creator Talk: At The Beat, Matt O’Keefe interviews Chris Eliopoulos about his graphic novels (Cow Boy, Cosmic Commandos), his picture books (Ordinary People Change the World), the difference between comics and book publishing, and how he began his career as a comics letterer—his lettering firm, Virtual Calligraphy, still does a lot of lettering for Marvel.
Continue reading “Comics Lowdown: Con wars, comics in Spanish, new kids’ imprint”‘Guerillas’ creator Brahm Revel will write and draw the miniseries.
The newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle is getting her own miniseries, courtesy of Guerillas creator Brahm Revel. IDW announced a three-issue miniseries starring Jennika will kick off next year.
“Jennika has always been a fascinating character, and her story is now moving in directions none of us could have ever anticipated,” Revel said in a press release. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to revisit Jenn’s past and explore how she’s been handling the recent changes in her life, all while being tested by a world that’s changing just as rapidly as she is.”
Continue reading “Jennika, the fifth Turtle, gets a miniseries next year”
