Al Ewing + Steve Lieber ‘get groovy’ with ‘Metamorpho: The Element Man’ this December

‘This is 100% fun comics, delivered with total confidence, visceral joy and absolutely no winking to the camera.’

Some announcements just make you want to smile, like this one: Al Ewing and Steve Lieber will team up for a new series featuring Metamorpho, as part of DC’s All In initiative. Or maybe that should be “Al In,” considering it’s one of Ewing’s first major projects with the publisher.

Metamorpho: The Element Man will feature “done-in-ones” stories that build up to something bigger, according to Ewing, who is paired with Lieber of Jimmy Olsen fame. They’re joined by Lee Loughridge on colors.

“This is 100% fun comics, delivered with total confidence, visceral joy and absolutely no winking to the camera,” Ewing said. “It’s a love letter to Bob Haney, Ramona Fradon and the spirit of superheroes at their wildest and weirdest—we’re aiming to catch the essential fab-freakiness of Metamorpho like lightning in a bottle and get groovy with it in our own special way.”

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Slugfest | BOOM! announces a second ‘I Heart Skull-Crusher!’ arc

Today’s round-up includes news on SDCC, Power Rangers, Something is Killing the Children, Groo, Venom War and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. With the San Diego Comic Con rapidly approaching, you’ll probably see more of these over the next few weeks. Hit the links for more information.

As a part of their annual “Road to SDCC” announcements, BOOM! Studios has revealed that Josie Campbell and Alessio Zonno’s I Heart Skull-Crusher! will continue in October.

The BOOM! Box series was announced late last year and began in March as a miniseries, but it looks like it has grown into something more.

“Josie Campbell and Alessio Zonno have even more action-packed, hilarious hijinks in store for us,” said BOOM! Studios Editor Elizabeth Brei. “The new arc is funny, chaotic and shockingly touching, just as you’d expect from Trini and the rest of her Screaming Pain Ball teammates! We’re so excited for readers to discover the surprises still to come!”

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Mat Johnson + Steve Lieber explore family secrets + time travel in ‘Backflash’

The new graphic novel will debut from Dark Horse’s Berger Books imprint this fall.

Mat Johnson, writer of Incognegro and its sequel, Incognegro: Renaissance, is working with Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen artist Steve Lieber on a new graphic novel that offers “a delightfully strange and fresh take on time travel.” Backflash, which will be published by Dark Horse Comics’ Berger Books imprint, is scheduled to come out this fall.

They’re joined by colorist Lee Loughridge and letterer Clem Robins on the project, which is being edited by Karen Berger. She previously worked with Johnson when she was at Vertigo on the first Incognegro book, as well as Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story, Right State and a Hellblazer special. She also edited the five-issue Incognegro: Renaissance since coming to Dark Horse.

According to the news release, Backflash tells the story of Devin whose life is “spiraling out of control, until he discovers the impossible: with a random touch of an article of family memorabilia, he can travel back in time, mentally reliving the best moments of his past while escaping his problems of the present.” But it comes with consequences, as he discovers a family secret he was never supposed to find out.

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‘Destro’ and ‘Scarlett’ land in the Energon Universe in June

Kelly Thompson, Marco Fereari, Dan Watters and Andrei Bressan continue to re-introduce the G.I. Joe and Cobra teams at Skybound.

Skybound’s Energon Universe will continue to grow in June with two more miniseries focused on characters from G.I. Joe — Scarlett by Kelly Thompson and Marco Ferrari, and Destro by Dan Watters and Andrei Bressan.

The two miniseries follow the recent series starring Cobra Commander and Duke, which brought characters from G.I. Joe into the larger shared universe that also includes Transformers and Void Rivals.

Duke and Cobra Commander were two of the highest-selling G.I. Joe comics of all time, and they’re only the start of our new beginning for the amazing G.I. Joe franchise,” said Skybound’s Sean Mackiewicz. “With G.I. Joe and Cobra now locked on an unavoidable collision course, Scarlett and Destro will introduce new characters and factions that will disrupt their most carefully laid plans. Kelly Thompson, Marco Ferrari, Dan Watters and my favorite madman, Andrei Bressan are crafting action-packed, jaw-dropping comics that will forever change the Energon Universe.”

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Austen + Olliffe re-team for ‘The Tormented’

The horror miniseries will launch on Comixology Originals next week.

Chuck Austen and Patrick Olliffe have reunited for another new series from Comixology Originals — The Tormented, a new five-issue digital comics series that will debut next week. They’re joined by colorist Lee Loughridge, letterer Jodi Wynne and editor Greg Lockard.

Austen, Olliffe and Loughridge previously worked together on Edgeworld, a science fiction series released by Comixology. This new series brings together horror and reality TV.

“Ryan Auster, our protagonist in The Tormented, sees ghosts, but kept it from his ghost-hunting family because he feared his family more than the ghosts, and because he’s been hiding it his whole life. Now in his 20s, he still hasn’t quite learned how to deal with the unexpected spirits, demons and otherworldly creatures that are constantly invading his life,” said Austen. “This series has been an absolute trip to create with Pat, and I hope readers have as much fun reading the story as we’ve had making it.”

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Mad Cave’s ‘Flash Gordon’ plans include a new series, middle-grade graphic novels + more

Flash, Ming and the gang will return to comics in a big way this year.

This week’s ComicsPRO meeting brought news from Mad Cave Studios not only about Gatchaman, but also about their plans for Flash Gordon. Mad Cave announced they’d acquired the license to publish Flash Gordon comics from King Fetaures, the property’s owner, last summer.

“Flash Gordon brings a completely new dimension for Mad Cave as a premier comic book and graphic novel publisher,” said Mad Cave Studios Publisher Chris Fernandez. “By expanding our publishing line with a legacy character like Flash Gordon, we’re able to expand our audience across generations of readers through each of our imprints. Whether in grade school or a longtime reader, fans of Flash Gordon and Mad Cave will have lots to look forward to!”

Like Gatchaman, Flash Gordon will debut on Free Comic Book Day in May. The #0 issue will kick off an ongoing series, with the first issue arriving in July.

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Image Comics will publish Sabir Pirzada’s ‘Dandelion’

The graphic novel anthology will include stories drawn by Martín Morazzo, Vanesa R. Del Rey, Eric Koda and more.

Ms. Marvel writer Sabir Pirzada has a new project coming from Image Comics this summer — Dandelion, an anthology graphic novel featuring “climate crisis-infused tales” drawn by several different artists.

“It’s been a grand undertaking to gather some of the industry’s hottest artists, and build a shared continuity where they could take inspiration from one another in illustrating a wide range of genres that all add up to a larger world of speculative fiction with a mystery unfolding in the background: who is the founder of the Dandelion ship?” Pirzada said. “We are excited to present a unique reading experience as can only exist in an anthology graphic novel format.”

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It’s time for ghost-punching in Gunter + Andan’s ‘Grammaton Punch’

The digital title will debut on Comixology March 14.

Comixology Originals has announced Grammaton Punch, a new five-issue miniseries by writer Miles Gunter, artist Briane Andan, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Taylor Esposito, which will debut on the platform on March 14.

Gunter, whose credits include BPRD, Terminator and Weird War Tales, said the new title is a twist on the “classic ghost story,” mixed with his love for video games. It’s about a teenager who can see and fight the ghosts that prey on his classmates.

“In Grammaton Punch, Van Nguyen was born during a solar eclipse and while that might sound cool, it’s not,” Gunter said. “That’s because eclipse babies are born with something extra and, for Van Nguyen, that means he can see ghosts.”

And he doesn’t just see them — he also punches them.

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Artemis hunts the gods in ‘Hunt. Kill. Repeat.’ from Mad Cave Studios

Mark London, Francesco Archidiacono + more pit the Goddess of the Hunt against her former family in a new series coming next March.

Hell hath no fury like a goddess scorned, something that Zeus and company will find out first hand in the new Mad Cave Studios series Hunt. Kill. Repeat.

The new title is written by Mark London with art by Francesco Archidiacono and Marc Deering. Lee Loughridge and Rus Wooton round out the team on colors and lettering, while Ryan Kincaid will provide covers.

“From Francesco Archidiacono’s perfectly executed penciling to Lee Loughridge’s vibrant colors, Hunt. Kill. Repeat. came to life exactly the way I had envisioned it in my mind,” London said. “It’s been a wild ride and truly invigorating to work with such talented individuals like the artists mentioned above, but also Marc Deering, Rus Wooton, Ryan Kincaid and Chris Fernandez. I am beyond excited for the fans to get this double-sized first issue in their hands and for everyone to see what we have in store for them with Hunt. Kill. Repeat.

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Moore + Harper raise a glass to ‘Highball’ in September

The new sf comedy features a space pilot who can only hit a target while drunk.

Stuart Moore and Fred Harper, the team behind Ahoy Comics’ recent The Wrong Earth: Purple one-shot, will re-team for Highball, a new miniseries about a “sozzled space pilot” who can only hit a target when he’s drunk.

They’re joined by colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Rob Steen for the science fiction/comedy series, which shockingly came to Moore while he was at a bar.

“I was out having a few beers with an AHOY Comics colleague when a funny thing happened,” said Moore. “The more my friend had to drink, the better he got at throwing darts. It was uncanny! And at that booze-soaked moment, the idea for Highball was born.”

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‘Fables’ returns from DC Black Label for a crossover + a new 12-issue run

Bigby Wolf will meet Batman in a six-issue series this September as ‘Fables’ returns for a 12-issue run next May.

Fables, the long-running Vertigo series by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha and many others, will make its return later this year and in 2022 with several new projects.

First, September brings Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham, a six-issue miniseries featuring Fables’ resident detective, Bigby Wolf, teaming up with Batman for a case in Gotham. It will be released under DC’s Black Label imprint. Willingham will work with Brain Level, Jay Leisten, and Lee Loughridge on the project.

“I’ve wanted to do this since the very first year of Fables,” Willingham said. “Why? Because Batman is a detective, and Bigby is a detective, and I love a well-crafted story crossing over characters from two different fictional worlds. It’s automatically a fish-out-of-water story for at least one of the main characters, and that sort of story always works. Plus, I knew from the very beginning of Fables that my fictional universe would allow for many ways to get Bigby Wolf into the DCU and Gotham City. Even though those cosmic story structures wouldn’t be introduced in the Fables books for a year or more, they were baked in from the very beginning.”

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AHOY announces the new comedy series ‘Snelson: Comedy is Dying’

Paul Constant, Fred Harper, Lee Loughridge and Rob Steen will introduce the world to Melville Snelson in August.

A ’90s comedian will fight against cancel culture and his own irrelevancy in the new AHOY Comics series Snelson: Comedy is Dying. The miniseries is written by Paul Constant, with art by Fred Harper, colors by Lee Loughridge and lettering by Rob Steen.

Snelson: Comedy is Dying is more than just a surprisingly violent, unfortunately sexual, thoroughly filthy comedy about an irrelevant older comedian who refuses to give up his ‘edgy’ material from the 1990s,” Constant said. “It’s also a janky-ass carnival ride through the weird griftopia that’s built up around cancel culture, and a skewering of all the money-grubbing controversy seekers who can’t seem to shut up about how silenced they are.” 

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