Waid + Adams team for a new Fantastic Four project

Neal Adams draws Marvel’s first family for the first time in ‘Fantastic Four: Antithesis.’

Neal Adams will draw a new story starring the Fantastic Four — his first time to draw the team in a full-length adventure.

“I have always had the sense of missing the chance to draw the Fantastic Four,” Adams told Marvel.com. “It was a quiet sense, since I’ve had every opportunity to do my favorites. More, I felt Kirby and Buscema had done it all, hadn’t they…? When Marvel’s Tom Brevoort asked if I’d like to do the Fantastic Four, I knew I had to ask for Galactus and the Silver Surfer as well. I am humbled and thankful to Tom for the opportunity.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics: Everything must change

Marvel makes its return (digitally) as DC makes Tuesday comics a permanent thing.

Welcome to our newly renamed Can’t Wait for Wednesday Comics, our weekly look at what’s arriving in shops, on digital and wherever else you can find comics.

So why the name change? Well, with comics and graphic novels arriving in different places and channels on different days — and even some publishers shifting weekly comics away from the traditional Wednesday — it seemed antiquated to assume that people are only buying new comics on one day during the week. When DC started releasing their comics again in April, they shifted from the traditional comic-shop Wednesday to Tuesday — which is consistent with when trades and graphic novels arrive in book stores. They plan for this to be a permanent change moving forward.

So yeah, it’s a crazy time in the comics world right now, just like it is in the larger world. But here are some comics and graphic novels you can find this week — in comic shops or bookstores if they’re open, through online shops or via digital channels.

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Marvel to release several comics as ‘digital only’ May 13 + 20

A limited number of comics, including issues of ‘Ghost-Spider,’ ‘Ant-Man’ and ‘Ironheart’ will arrive digitally over the next two weeks.

Marvel has announced that they will release several comics digitally over the next two weeks, before they return to releasing print comics on May 27.

“These comics will only be available as digital comics for the time being,” they say on their website. “However, they will be available in print collections later this year for fans looking to add them to their Marvel bookshelves. More information about these comics will be shared at a later date.”

The comics being released digitally include:

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May the 4th Be With You: ‘Star Wars: Doctor Aphra’ arrives digitally today

The first issue of the new series by Alyssa Wong and Marika Cresta can be found on comiXology now.

Everyone is celebrating Star Wars today, from Disney+to that purse company my wife likes. Marvel is getting in on the action by releasing the first issue of their new Star Wars: Doctor Aphra series on digital today.

Physical copies won’t arrive in comic shops until May 27, in the first wave of Marvel titles scheduled to hit comic shops since the coronavirus shut down Diamond Comics Distributors.

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Marvel plans to release new comics on May 27

Marvel will stagger the release of new comics and collections, as they release their shipping plans through mid-July.

While DC teamed with two new distributors to get their comics back into stores as fast as possible, Marvel has taken a more conservative approach during the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shutdown of Diamond Comics Distributor. This week the company announced that it will begin releasing new comics again starting May 27, with five single issues, a week after Diamond plans to restore distribution.

As they previously announced, Marvel will release a slow trickle of comics into stores, alternating the first few weeks between single issues and collections. Here’s what their release schedule will look like through July 8:

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What Are You Reading? Daredevil, Mister Miracle and more!

See what the Smash Pages crew has checked off their “to read” list lately.

We’re back this week with another look at what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately; we’ve been sheltering in place with several vigilantes, some sci fi characters and a girl that talks to squirrels. Now that’s a party …

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Can Wait for Wednesday: DC, Marvel delay many of this week’s digital comics

Just a handful of digital releases will arrive on comiXology this week.

Although it seemed to take them longer to make a decision than most of the other publishers, both DC and Marvel have indicated that many of the single-issue comics they had planned to release this week digitally have been pushed out.

The news comes after Diamond Comic Distributors announced they would halt physical comics distribution to comic shops due to the coronavirus, starting with the comics originally scheduled for this Wednesday, April 1.

Many comics publishers announced fairly quickly after the news broke that they planned to hold off on releasing their comics digitally until their print releases were rescheduled.

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Comics Lockdown: Publishers react to COVID-19

With news from Marvel, Dark Horse, Humanoids, Vault Comics and more.

Marvel offers some suggestions on how to support local comic shops, along with a list of stores that are still open and what services they provide.

Christina Merkler of Discount Comic Book Service discusses the effect of the Diamond shutdown on the Collected Comics Podcast.

UK comics blogger John Freeman rounds up resources and links, including free comics sites, information on UK stores that sell by mail order, and stuff to keep homebound kids amused, at Down the Tubes.

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Can’t Wait for Tuesday: Going the (social) distance

Check out what’s hitting comic shops this week from DC, BOOM!, Dark Horse and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday Tuesday, our look at the comics and graphic novels hitting stores this week. And what a weird week it is, as we adjust to a new life of “social distance.” Whether your comic shop is actually open probably depends on where you are and your location’s situation. Several counties in California’s Bay Area, including my own, are implementing a “shelter in place” order that begins Tuesday, which is going to be hard on local small businesses like comic shops. There’s a lot of great comic shops in this neck of the woods, and my heart goes out to all of them.

You can see the complete list of this week’s releases over at The Comic List, and I encourage you to share what you’re planning to get in the comments below. My thanks to Tom Bondurant and Shane Bailey for sharing their picks this week.

Update: Per Newsarama, Diamond has given retailers permission to start selling comics on Tuesday this week instead of Wednesday, to try to avoid any potential quarantines or “shelter in place” orders that may be issued this week.

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Yang + Ruan + Tan team for ‘Shang-Chi’ in June

The miniseries will feature Shang-Chi going up against his super villain father, Zheng Zhu.

Marvel has announced a new miniseries starring martial arts master, former Avenger and current Agents of Atlas member Shang-Chi, by the team of Gene Luen Yang, Dike Ruan and Phillip Tan.

“I mean, it’s Shang-Chi,” Yang told the New York Times. “He’s probably the most prominent Asian — I guess he’s Asian-American now since he’s moved over here — Asian-American superhero.”

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Orlando + Tormey reopen the book of the ‘Darkhold’ at Marvel

The notorious tomb returns to the Marvel Universe — lands in the hands of Doctor Doom.

Former DC-exclusive writer Steve Orlando will make his debut for Marvel on a book of mystical proportions — Darkhold, named for the evil text that exists within the Marvel Universe. Darkhold Alpha #1, which suggests it’s tied to a bigger event, will come out in June.

Orlando will team with artist Cian Tormey on the comic, which features a cover by Greg Smallwood.

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C2E2: Marvel announces ‘Ultraman’ creative team

‘The Rise of Ultraman’ will be written by Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom, with artwork by Francesco Manna.

It was a bit surprising last year when Marvel announced plans to bring the popular Japanese superhero Ultraman to America. At C2E2 this weekend, the publisher revealed the creative team and some cover art for the series, which will debut later this year.

The Rise of Ultraman will be written by Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom, with artwork by Francesco Manna.

“A few years ago, thanks to my time on Power Rangers, I was able to discover and learn more about Tokusatsu. With its wildly different conventions and inspirations, Tokusatsu — and Ultraman in particular — has been a huge source of joy for me,” said Higgins. “It’s a genre so ripe with possibilities, even down to what we conceive of in the structure of Super Hero storytelling. It’s both an honor and a privilege to bring Ultraman to Marvel.”

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