Ethan Sacks teams with his daughter to write Syzygy’s ‘Haunted Girl’

Ethan and Naomi Sacks will work with artist Marco Lorenzana on the paranormal thriller.

Syzygy, the comics imprint started by Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood back in 2021, have announced Haunted Girl, a four-issue miniseries written by Ethan and Naomi Sacks and drawn by Incredible Hulk artist Marco Lorenzana.

Described as a paranormal thriller, the inspirational story will also detail a teenage girl’s struggles with anxiety and depression, which is something Ethan and his daughter Naomi also experienced.

Four years ago, while my daughter was hospitalized, I came up with the idea of a story about a girl who’s battling depression and finds out she’s the sole hope to save the world,” said Ethan Sacks.“That she would find a way to endure and to save everyone she loves. It was meant to be uplifting and cathartic. Now four years later, my daughter is in a place where she could help write that story. To inspire others going through similar struggles. As a father, I’m proud.  As a comic book writer, I’m inspired. As a human being, I’m moved.”

The first issue features a cover by Joe Quesada:

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NYCC: Joe Quesada is back at DC drawing Batman covers

The former Marvel editor in chief returns to the company where he got his start.

At New York Comic Con today, DC Publisher and CCO Jim Lee welcomed a special guest during his Jim Lee & Friends Panel — Joe Quesada, the longtime Marvel executive who left the House of Ideas earlier this year to pursue other projects.

Apparently one of those projects will be drawing variant covers for Batman. DC revealed two of them at the panel:

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Joe Quesada announces he is leaving Marvel

The former editor-in-chief and chief creative officer shares his plans for the future.

Joe Quesada, the one-time overseer of the Marvel Knights line who went on to become editor-in-chief and then chief creative officer for Marvel, has announced he’s leaving the company after more than 20 years.

Quesada took to social media to announce his departure, noting that he won’t “ever be too far away, cheering my Marvel family on and contributing from time to time.” He hinted he has a project with them coming later this year:

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Comics Lowdown | Geppi resumes duties as president of Diamond’s parent company

Plus: News on #BacktheComeback, TCAF, Heavy Metal, Thought Bubble and the first graphic novel to win the Wodehouse Prize and have a pig named after it.

Diamond Comics Distributor’s parent company has a new president, kind of. Stan Heidmann, the president/COO of Geppi Family Enterprises who took that role about a year ago, will depart the company as Steve Geppi resumes the role. Geppi has been serving as Chairman and CEO since Heidmann joined the company.

“Under my guidance, the executive leadership team will support a comprehensive strategic review to position the enterprise for future growth,” Geppi said in the message posted to the Diamond website. “I feel a tremendous responsibility to our employees and the industry, and I fully intend to set all Geppi Family Enterprise brands on a path for robust growth. I am confident we have the right leadership with talented teams in place and I see enormous opportunities for GFE.”

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Donny Cates + friends bring back ‘Marvel Knights’ for its 20th anniversary

Daredevil, Black Panther, Punisher and more will be featured in ‘MK20’ #1 this fall.

It was 20 years ago that two creators at a small publishing house called Event Comics got the green light to take over several Marvel titles. Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti helped usher Marvel out of the dark ages of the 1990s and into the future, bringing in creators like Kevin Smith, Brian Michael Bendis, Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, Christopher Priest and many others to tackle Daredevil, Black Panther, Punisher, Inhumans and several other Marvel characters.

Overall it is was very successful, especially from a storytelling perspective; Quesada eventually took over as Marvel editor-in-chief, and the tone of the stories set the course for much of Marvel’s success over the past two decades. The Marvel Knights imprint eventually evolved into something else, featuring high-profile miniseries, and went dormant about five years ago.

Until now.

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Comics Lowdown: RIP James Vance

The man who finished ‘Omaha the Cat Dancer’ passes away, Frank Quitely finally gets that degree, and more.

James Vance

Passings: James Vance, the author (with artist Dan Burr) of the graphic novels Kings in Disguise and On the Ropes, died on June 5 at the age of 64. Kings in Disguise was first published as a limited series by Kitchen Sink Press in 1988 and in 1989 won the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best New Series, and the first issue won the Eisner for Best Single Issue. W.W. Norton published a collected edition in 2006, with an introduction by Alan Moore. The sequel, On the Ropes, was published by Norton in 2013. Vance was married to Omaha the Cat Dancer writer Kate Worley from 1994 to 2004, and many years later he collaborated with Omaha artist Reed Waller to complete the story, which was left unfinished at Worley’s death; it was published in 2013. Vance, who was also a playwright, talked about his work with Alex Dueben at CBR in 2013. His illness and death leaves his family in a difficult financial situation, so a GoFundMe has been set up to help.

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