More Godzilla coming from IDW next year

IDW and Toho International reach a new agreement to bring Godzilla and other monsters to comics, graphic novels, games and more.

IDW and Toho International, Inc., the parent company that owns Godzilla, have announced “a multi-year publishing program that will bring Godzilla and dozens of monsters from the Godzilla live action films to a wide selection of publications and merchandise.”

IDW has previously held the license for Godzilla comics, publishing projects like Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2011 and James Stokoe’s Godzilla: Half Century War in 2013. The new deal includes comic books, graphic novels, trade collections, art books, coloring books, journals, tabletop games and puzzles.

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‘Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures’ will launch next year

IDW will kick off the all-ages title, set in the heyday of the Jedi Order, in February.

IDW has announced that Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures will launch next February. The comic falls under “The High Republic” umbrella that Lucasfilm announced earlier this year and will include novels, comics and more.

Writer Daniel José Older, author of Star Wars: Last Shot, artist Harvey Tolibao and colorist Rebecca Nalty will team up for a tale of the Republic’s glory days.

“I’m so very excited to be able to tell this epic story of Padawans as the galaxy changes dramatically around them and danger lurks around every corner. Working on The High Republic has been a dream come true and getting to watch this world come to life through the brilliant art of Harvey Tolibao is one of the highlights of my career. I can’t wait for the fans to see what we’re cooking up,” Older said.

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Mail Call | John Ridley makes his Marvel debut in January

A round-up of news from Marvel, IDW, Top Shelf and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.

Academy Award winner John Ridley has several projects in the works at DC right now, but DC’s not the only publisher he’s doing work for. Marvel has announced that the writer of 12 Years A Slave will have a story in Wolverine: Black, White and Blood #3. The anthology series will feature short stories about the popular mutant, told in black and white … and red. Jorge Fornés is the artist on his story.

“I can think of no better way to kick off my writing relationship with Marvel Comics than by contributing to a truly fantastic anthology series centered around Wolverine,” Ridley told Marvel.com. “Equally exciting is having the story illustrated by Jorge Fornés. I look forward to writing more stories set in the Marvel Universe, and with their roster of iconic characters.”

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Comics Lowdown: Archie goes day-and-date on ComiXology Unlimited

Covid, ComiXology, and ‘Contradictions.’

Big news from Archie Comics, which this week began releasing all its comics on the ComiXology Unlimited service the day they come out. This is the first time a publisher, other than ComiXology itself, has put its comics on the all-you-can-read platform on the publication date. The Beat has a good piece putting this move into perspective, noting that Archie has been publishing fewer single-issue comics of late, and that these comics are also available day-and-date on the free (to the user) library service Hoopla.

IDW Entertainment has set up a new initiative within its Kids, Family, and YA division that will focus on developing original material for young readers. Erika Turner has been named senior editor of original content at IDW Publishing; she comes to IDW from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, where she was senior editor of their Versify imprint. On the IDW Entertainment side, Jeff Brustrom is the new vice president of kids, family, and animation, and Daniel Kendrick is the director of animation; both will work on developing animated properties.

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IDW to retell Marvel origin stories in new series

The origins of Spider-Man, Hulk, Thanos, Venom and more will be retold in the all ages series.

IDW will add to its Marvel Action line in December with Marvel Action: Origins, a new series that retells the origin stories of Spider-Man, Thanos, Venom, Hulk and more.

Christopher Eliopoulos will write the series, while Lanna Souvanny will provide the art.

“Creating a gateway for young readers to learn more about the amazing characters of the Marvel Universe is a dream job,” Eliopoulos said. “In this series, readers are going to learn about the emotions and inner thoughts of these heroes and villains while learning about values and character. It’s a series that shows the character behind the characters!”

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Comics Lowdown | Dog Man once again rules the best-seller charts

Plus: News on ‘Fun Home,’ Vault Comics, IDW, DC’s new GM and more.

Not surprisingly, Dog Man has once again claimed the top spot on best-seller charts for USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Indie Bound, Toronto Star, and The Globe and Mail, among others. It’s the ninth book in Dav Pilkey’s popular kids graphic novel series to land at No. 1 on the best-seller chart.

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IDW names Nachie Marsham as their new publisher

Company also promotes Veronica Brooks to vice president of creative affairs.

IDW Publishing has named Nachie Marsham as their new publisher. Marsham brings about 25 years of experience in the publishing industry to his new job, following roles at Disney Publishing, where he also worked on their Marvel Press imprint, and before that at DC Comics and Wizard Entertainment.

“Working collaboratively to create powerful stories has always been my passion,” said Masham. “IDW is home to some of the most beloved IP in the business and I couldn’t be more excited to join them in furthering these stories and expanding their creative direction across all platforms.”

In addition, IDW announced that Veronica Brooks has been promoted into the role of vice president of creative affairs.

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Mail Call | Dark Horse to bring several comiXology Originals titles to print

A round-up of news from DC, Marvel, Titan Comics, IDW and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.

ComiXology announced this week that they’ve struck a deal with Dark Horse to bring several of their comiXology Originals digital titles to print, starting with four titles next spring: Afterlift, Breaklands, Youth and The Black Ghost.

“We were always hopeful comiXology Originals books would get into readers’ hands via comics retailers and book stores, and Dark Horse is a terrific collaborator to work with to do so, with an unmatched history of supporting creator-owned projects alongside unmatched distribution expertise. This deal fortifies the ability for these stories to reach customers like never before,” said David Steinberger, comiXology co-founder and CEO. “We’re thrilled to be working with Dark Horse.”

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Comics Lowdown | Warner Bros. shares details on DC FanDome’s reach

Plus: News on Image Comics, IDW, Si Spurrier and more.

The first day of DC Comics’ FanDome event, which was held this past Saturday, garnered 22 million global views from more than 220 countries and territories, according to The Wrap.

The publication spoke with Lisa Gregorian, Warner Bros. Television Group chief marketing officer, and Blair Rich, president of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros., who came up with the idea for the event.

“We had a couple of sort of mission things in mind as we built it that were our North Stars that we never wavered from,” said Rich. “Number one, it had to be for the fans, by the fans, about the fans, and be completely fan-centric, and anything that wavered from that was not allowed. We wanted it to be accessible. That’s why it was free. It was a global event translated into nine languages and we wanted it to feel like a major moment.”

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Mail Call | Wolverine, Ninja Turtles, Star Trek and more

A round-up of news from DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel has announced Wolverine: Black, White & Blood, a second series starring Marvel’s favorite mutant.

“I can’t stress how exciting it is getting all of these pages from the absolutely killer level of talent assembled for this book,” said series editor Mark Basso. “It’s become a hype cliché, but you’ve really never seen anything quite like this from Marvel Comics. And you’ve only seen a fraction of the first issue…”

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IDW details their ‘Locke & Key’ plans through the winter

IDW reopens the doors on the Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez series with miniseries, crossovers and more.

Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez’s Locke & Key series has proven popular not just for publisher IDW, but also for Netflix, which streams the TV series. With a second season the way from the streaming giant, IDW has outlined their publishing plans over the next seven months.

“I always wanted to have my own series character, like Philip Marlowe, Jack Reacher, or Sherlock Holmes. I just somehow never imagined my series character would be… a house. But that house is a home — my creative home,” Hill said in a press release. “I’ve spent some of the happiest hours of my life knocking around Keyhouse’s closets, cabinets, and odd corners, hanging there with my artistic compadres, Gabriel Rodríguez, Chris Ryall and Jay Fotos. We’ve never stopped having fun and I couldn’t be more excited about the stories we’ve got ahead of us. We’re going to do our very best to unlock some good things in 2020.”

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Comics Lowdown | IDW ‘has parted ways’ with Publisher Jud Meyers

Plus: How the pandemic has impacted Scholastic and VIZ Media, the ‘Thundarr the Barbarian’ comic that almost was and more!

IDW Publishing has “parted ways” with Jud Meyers, who they had named as their new publisher on July 22.

“IDW Publishing has parted ways with Jud Meyers and would like to thank everyone for their discretion,” the company said in a short statement. Meyers was named publisher after longtime publisher Chris Ryall departed the company, but was then placed on administrative leave a few days after the announcement.

Publishing: Publisher’s Weekly looks at Scholastic’s fourth-quarter and full year results for fiscal year 2020, which ended May 31 for the company. Not surprisingly, given the COVID-19 pandemic, they were down significantly compared to last year. Revenue was down $187 million, or almost 40%, leading to a 10% drop in their full-year revenue for FY20.

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