Quick Hits | Eric Gitter, Filip Sablik, Jamie S. Rich + Jeremy Haun form a new comic company

Plus: An AI lawsuit moves forward! ‘Blankets’ is banned! The 1982 DC Comics Style Guide is delayed! And ‘A Guest in the House’ receives another awards nomination.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that four industry pros will come together to form an as-yet-untitled comics company. Producer Eric Gitter, formerly with Oni Press and the producer of the big -screen adaptations of Atomic Blonde and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, is teaming up with former BOOM! Studios president Filip Sablik; Jamie S. Rich, a former editor at IDW, DC and more; and Jeremy Haun, whose work includes The Realm, Red Mother, The Approach and more.

Sablik will serve as publisher of the new venture, with Rich taking on the role of editor-in-chief and Haun as creative director. Per THR, the new company “will eschew superheroes and lean toward horror, science fiction, crime and fantasy,” and hopes to start publishing comics next year.

“I can’t imagine partners that I believe in more,” Haun said in his newsletter. “Each of us bring something special to the table. Moreover— we’re lock step in our vision for what we want this company AND industry to be.”

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Past TMNT creators return to celebrate 40 years of Turtles

The oversized one-shot ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 40th Anniversary Comics Celebration’ will arrive in July.

IDW has revealed more details on another project that ties into the 40th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — the aptly titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 40th Anniversary Comics Celebration.

The 70-page special will include contributions from creators who have worked on the Turtles across their 40-year history, including Jim Lawson, Sophie Campbell, Freddie E. Williams II and more. Co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird drew the main cover, while Eastman will also have a story in the one-shot.

“Having a childhood dream – in my case, to write and draw comics for a living – is one thing. To then actually spending every minute of the next 40 years doing it is a whole other matter altogether – humbling is the first word that comes to mind,” Eastman said. “My co-creation of TMNT with the amazing Peter Laird has been the driving force of living that dream, and working with a number of really talented writers and artists along the way has made, and still makes, the journey the greatest shared experience I never imaged and could not be more grateful for.”

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IDW announces five more ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ titles

To celebrate 40 years of Ninja Turtles, the publisher is going all out with a Nightwatcher title, TMNT Mutant Nation and more.

IDW continued to roll out their plans for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ 40th anniversary this week, following the news last month of the main series relaunch by Jason Aaron and a quartet of artists that’s coming in July.

In conjunction with this week’s ComicsPRO meeting, IDW revealed five new series they will launch in the coming months showcasing the Turtles from every angle imaginable.

“One of the great things about being at IDW is seeing all the amazing and diverse talent working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles over the years,” said IDW Co-Publisher Mark Doyle. “We wanted to create a slate of books that reflected that talent and allow them to tell a wide range of stories that would thrill all kinds of fans. It’s an honor to be publishing TMNT comics during the iconic franchise’s 40th anniversary, and we’ve gone all-out to truly celebrate Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s unforgettable creations.”

Here’s the rundown of what they have planned …

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Doyle, McCrillis named co-publishers of IDW; Rich named editor-in-chief

The appointments follow last week’s restructuring and elimination of 39% of their workforce.

Following the cuts that IDW Media Holdings made to its staff last week, IDW Publishing has announced who will be serving in several key roles.

Publisher Nachie Marsham was one of the 28 people let go last week, and IDW announced that Mark Doyle and Tara McCrillis have been promoted to co-publishers. McCrillis joined IDW back in 2019 as director of design and production, then was promoted to VP of publishing operations in 2021.

“Mark’s tireless dedication and vision have been integral to IDW’s growth and success, and I am thrilled for this opportunity to partner with him on our publishing efforts,” McCrillis said in a statement. “Together with our amazingly talented editorial and design teams, we will continue to elevate IDW’s creative output and strengthen our relationships with partners, retailers, creators, and fans.”

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IDW adds three to editorial staff

Jamie S. Rich, Charles Beacham and Russ Busse join the publisher.

IDW Publishing has added three new faces to their editorial staff, they announced in a press release today.

Longtime comics fan will recognize the name Jamie S. Rich, a former editor at places like Dark Horse, Oni Press, DC Comics and Tapas Media, his most current workplace. Rich is also an accomplished comics writer and prose novelist, having worked on books like 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, You Have Killed Me and Lady Killer, among many others.

“IDW has a tremendous legacy for bringing people’s favorite characters from across genres and media to life in new and exciting ways,” Rich said. “I am excited to be a part of that and enhance that legacy. The editorial team has been doing some phenomenal work, and I look forward to innovating with them further.”

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Tapas taps Jamie S. Rich as its new editor-in-chief

The former DC editor joins the webcomics company next week.

Former DC and Vertigo editor Jamie S. Rich has joined the webcomics juggernaut Tapas as its new editor-in-chief.

“Growing up reading indie and self-published comics in the 1980s, I saw whole new worlds, and I started telling my stories, too,” Rich told The Hollywood Reporter. “These days the realm may be digital, but it’s still comics. It’s still words and pictures, the basic components of modern storytelling. So, the great thing about Tapas is that it provides a platform for new voices, a place for the storytellers coming up now to share their voices. Anything is possible in a comic book.”

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‘Strange Adventures’ becomes a Black Label title

Tom King, Mitch Gerads, Evan “Doc” Shaner and Clayton Cowles’ Adam Strange maxi-series will be aimed at readers over 17.

DC has announced that Strange Adventures, the upcoming Adam Strange maxi-series by Tom King, Mitch Gerads, Evan “Doc” Shaner and Clayton Cowles, will now be a Black Label title and will carry an “Age 17+ content descriptor” on the cover.

“As Strange Adventures was coming together, we had to take a step back and look at what made the most sense for the project,” said DC Group Editor Jamie S. Rich. “Since its tone and themes are more in the vein of Mister Miracle than, say, Tom King’s work on Batman, we decided that it made more sense to give Strange Adventures its own space, where Tom, Mitch, Doc and Clayton could follow the story to all the different places it might take them.”

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King, Gerads team up on ‘Jack Kirby’s Jesus’ — Mister Miracle

New 12-issue series launches in August.

Paste Magazine shares the news that Tom King and Mitch Gerads, the team behind Vertigo’s popular The Sheriff of Babylon series, are teaming up on a Mister Miracle series at DC Comics. The 12-issue miniseries (Maxiseries? Is that still a thing?) launches in August. Doom Patrol artist Nick Derington will provide the covers.

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Creators unite for anthology benefiting Orlando shooting victims [Updated]

Marc Andreyko, IDW Publishing and DC Comics’ “Love is Love” will feature 144 pages of stories from Damon Lindelof, Patton Oswalt, Phil Jimenez and more.

Marc Andreyko, IDW Publishing, DC Comics and an army of comics creators are coming together to create Love is Love, an anthology to benefit Equality Florida and their fund supporting the victims of the June 12 attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

“Events like this shouldn’t be compartmentalized,” Andreyko told The New York Times. “They should hurt, and we should want to change for the better.”

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Rich, Dewey head ‘Back to the Gutters’ in comics creator interview series

Vertigo editor Jamie S. Rich and artist Benjamin Dewey interview Joelle Jones, Jeff Parker and more in the returning interview series.

Vertigo Editor and comics writer Jamie S. Rich is heading back to the studio for another round of in-depth interviews with comic industry folks. “Back to the Gutters,” a follow-up to the original “From the Gutters” series, will feature both Rich and Autumnlands artist Benjamin Dewey, interviewing creators like Jeff Parker, Joelle Jones and more. The series is produced by Ryan McCluskey.

“Our intent with ‘Back the Gutters’ is to peel back the page a bit and show you the creators behind your favorite comics — both as artists and as people,” Rich said in a press release. “We’re going to dig down to uncover the motivations behind choosing comics as a profession, and the personalities that bring these stories to life, so that we can start to see the art and the artist as a singular unit.”

Rich’s hire mid-shoot as an editor at Vertigo required the team to recruit a new host mid-stream. “We started out interviewing Ben, who is just a terrific talent,” McCluskey said, “and the last three shows are hosted by Ben — because we lost Jamie to Vertigo in the middle of shooting.”

Here’s a list of who you can expect to see:

• Joelle Jones

• Sierra Hahn

• Jeff Parker

• Ibrahim Moustafa

• Robbi Rodriguez

• Randy Bowen (Bowen Designs)

• Emi Lennox

• Steve Lieber

• and Jamie S Rich … interviewed by his frequent collaborator Joelle Jones.

Watch the trailer below.