Comics Lowdown | ‘The Other History of the DC Universe’ gets a release date

Plus: News on Fantagraphics’ new logo, the CBLDF, Ignatz Awards and more.

Publishing: DC Comics’ long-delayed The Other History of the DC Universe finally has a release date: the first issue by 12 Years a Slave screenwriter John Ridley and artists Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrea Cucchi and José Villarrubia will arrive in November. That issue will focus on Black Lightning, and Ridley spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his history with the character:

When Black Lightning came out, I remember, as a younger person, how that felt to have a series that was led by a man of color, who in his regular identity was a teacher. Like I said, my mom was a teacher. It was a comic book that really, for me, for the first time, I felt like, “Oh, okay, this is for us as much as anybody else. The book, the universe, all of those things, you know, this is for us.” If I ever had at an age felt like, “Oh, I want to be a writer, I want to be a creator, I want to be a storyteller, I want to deal in the fantastic,” certainly when Black Lightning came out, it was a moment that galvanized that feeling.

Continue reading “Comics Lowdown | ‘The Other History of the DC Universe’ gets a release date”

Dark Horse severs ties with Scott Allie after sexual assault accusations

A former Dark Horse employee said Allie assaulted her in 1999.

Dark Horse Comics has issued a statement saying they will no longer work with Scott Allie, a freelance writer and editor who used to serve as the company’s editor-in-chief. The statement follows allegations by former Dark Horse employee Shawna Gore that Allie sexually assaulted her in 1999.

According to Gore, “I was assaulted, harassed, and retaliated against by Scott Allie during our tenure at Dark Horse,” she said on Twitter.

Continue reading “Dark Horse severs ties with Scott Allie after sexual assault accusations”

Second volume of ‘Fresh Romance’ hits Kickstarter

New volume includes comics by Sally Jane Thompson, Cecil Castellucci and more.

The romance comics anthology Fresh Romance returned to Kickstarter this week, courtesy of the book’s new publisher Emet Comics.

Maytal Gilboa, CEO of Emet Comics, emailed backers of the first volume (of which I am one) on International Women’s Day to announce the new volume. “Fresh Romance was a romance anthology founded by Janelle Assellin in 2015 as a way to promote female and LGBT creators, and to showcase diverse stories about love,” she said. “Fresh Romance Volume 1 was a huge success, being published by Oni Press, and selling over 3,000 copies to devoted readers. When Janelle retired last year, she gave us her blessing to continue the series, and we’re doing everything in our power to make good on the promises that were made to everyone who rooted for this series to succeed.”

Continue reading “Second volume of ‘Fresh Romance’ hits Kickstarter”

Love ain’t just in the air: ‘Fresh Romance’ heads to print

The romance comic anthology returns with a new Kickstarter and publisher, Oni Press.

Fresh Romance, the romance comic anthology that raised more than $50,000 via crowdfunding last year, returns to Kickstarter today to raise funds for a print collection.

The collection, which will be published by Oni Press, will include all the stories that appeared in the digital anthology thus far in a 6×9 paperback format — or hardcover “if we hit our goal early in the campaign,” the project page reads. In addition, series editor Janelle Asselin is making sure the original creators receive a piece of the reward:

With these talented creators on board, Fresh Romance forges a new future for romance comics with modern characters, stories and a wide array of genres. These stories are all creator-owned and the creators have been paid a page rate for their work already thanks to our previous Kickstarter, which covered the cost of producing six issues. The primary use for the funds raised from this Kickstarter is the cost of printing and distributing the physical book. Anything we earn above and beyond the goal will go to creating more FRESH ROMANCE comics.

Still, paying creators fairly is a cornerstone of the Rosy Press business model; we wouldn’t exist without the hard work of creators, so we firmly believe they should be compensated fairly and retain control over their work. So when we hit our goal and for every $10,000 we go over our goal, every single creator whose work is included in this collection will get a one-time bonus of 2x their page rate.

Here’s a rundown of the comics that have appeared in the anthology; “Beauties” and “The Ruby Equation” were my favorites:

  • School Spirit by Kate Leth, Arielle Jovellanos, Amanda Scurti, and Taylor Esposito. School Spirit is the story of four teens embroiled in keeping their love lives secret from everyone around them. It’s never quite that simple, though, and complications for this group include bigoted parents and witch-y powers!
  • Ruined is an historical romance by Sarah Vaughn, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Ryan Ferrier featuring a couple entering a loveless marriage at the prompting of society and their families. The future looks bleak for Andrew and Catherine, but there’s more to each of them than either one knows. (Just chapter 1 — 60 pages of story — will be included)
  • The Ruby Equation stars a cynical matchmaker from another dimension who has to learn to believe in love for real! But is a coffee shop the right place to learn lessons of love? Written by Sarah Kuhn, drawn by Sally Jane Thompson, colored by Savanna Ganucheau, and lettered by Steve Wands.
  • Beauties by Marguerite Bennett, Trungles, and Rachel Deering takes readers to a lush fantasy world where the beautiful are beastly and the beasts are beautiful — and true love can be either.

The print edition will feature a cover by Kevin Wada, which you can check out below:

774e06d7891ceb2221086fc9d134e521_original

For more information or to pledge, check out the Kickstarter page.