Chip Zdarsky sets up at DSTLRY for a four-book deal

The first miniseries, ‘Time Waits,’ is co-written by David Brothers and features artwork by Marcus To.

Over the past several months we’ve seen DSTLRY roll out miniseries after miniseries from their founding creators, all spinning out of their first anthology, The Devil’s Cut. But with their announcements for August, we’re starting to see them branch out from that list, starting with The Missionary by Ryan Stegman and Jason Howard, and now Time Waits by co-writers Chip Zdarsky and David Brothers, artists Marcus To and Matt Wilson, and letterer Ariana Maher.

TBH I was surprised that Zdarsky was not on the list of DSTLRY’s founding creators, back when they rolled out the new company. Zdarsky worked with founders Chip Mosher and David Steinberger during their time at Comixology, even garnering an Eisner Award for Afterlift, his comic with artist Jason Loo. But this week’s announcement shares that he has a four-book deal with them at DSTLRY.

“I’m really excited to work with the DSTLRY crew again, who helped usher in Afterlift and The All-Nighter over at Comixology,” Zdarsky said in his newsletter. “So excited in fact that this is just the first of FOUR PROJECTS that I’m doing with them! I’ve got an incredible lineup of creators working with me on everything and can’t wait for all of it to be out in the world.”

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Image announces a sequel to Zdarsky, Anka + Wilson’s ‘The White Trees’

The trio of creators returns to the fantasy world they created with ‘The Whisper Queen,’ which begins in May.

Back in 2019, Chip Zdarsky, Kris Anka and Matt Wilson introduced the fantasy world of Blacksand in the two-issue Image Comics miniseries The White Trees. They’ll return to that world in The Whisper Queen, a three-issue miniseries that begins in May.

The White Trees is the best project I’ve ever been involved in, thanks to the gorgeous work by Kris and Matt,” Zdarsky said. “We always knew there were more stories to tell in the world of Blacksand, so getting the gang back together for another wild, action-filled adventure was a no-brainer. It’s years in the making, and I hope everyone is ready to find out what happened next in The Whisper Queen!”

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‘Fire Power’ will conclude with issue #30

Robert Kirkman, Chris Samnee and company bring the story of Owen Johnson and his family to a close in December.

Fire Power, the Skybound title published by Image Comics and created by Robert Kirkman, Chris Samnee, Matthew Wilson and Rus Wooton, will end with issue #30 this December.

The 56-page oversized issue will wrap up the story of Owen Johnson and his fireball-wielding family, which began back in 2020.

“It’s all been building to this. From the humble beginnings of Owen’s journey for the truth about his parents, to a world-spanning battle with a gargantuan ancient evil that threatens to destroy the world,” Kirkman said. “It’s been a real thrill to work with Chris for these last few years, building this world and working toward this dramatic conclusion. I can’t believe we’re finally here! I can’t wait for people to see it!” 

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Doug Wagner + Doug Dabbs light the fuse of revenge in ‘Klik Klik Boom’

The five-issue miniseries kicks off in June.

Writer Doug Wagner and artist Doug Dabbs, who worked together on a story for the 2019 miniseries The Ride: Burning Desire, will reunite on a new miniseries at Image Comics titled Klik Klik Boom. They’ll be joined by colorist Matt Wilson and letterer Ed Dukeshire.

The five-issue miniseries will focus on a mute woman named Sprout who was raised off the grid by her grandfather. After he’s murdered, she heads to New York City to seek revenge.

“I can’t wait for everyone to see the insanity Doug, Matt, Ed and I cooked up for this book. When this was all starting to stew, I told Doug Dabbs the muses were speaking to me about mixing movies like Fargo and The Fifth Element with the artistic inspirations of Robert Valley and Bengal,” said Wagner. “I wanted to try to find this balance between the old and the new, between neon cyberpunk and crime noir, and wrap all of that in a modern day action tour de force tortilla. The team didn’t let me down.”

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Orlando + Pichelli conjure up a new ‘Scarlet Witch’ title

The Scarlet Witch gets a new status quo as she runs a witchcraft shop aimed at helping the hopeless.

Wanda Maximoff will once again take the spotlight in a new solo ongoing series by Steve Orlando, Sara Pichelli and Matt Wilson.

The Scarlet Witch will feature Wanda taking a new role — as the proprietor of a witchcraft shop that appears to those who need it the most.

“Since I first stepped into the House of Ideas, the Scarlet Witch has been with me—in fact, she was the star of my first Marvel work ever, kicking ass, weaving spells, and humbling Doom in Darkhold! So, there was no way I could pass up the chance to work on Scarlet Witch,” Orlando said. “Wanda Maximoff has finally broken free of the shadows she’s wrestled with for years. And now? Sara Pichelli, Russell Dauterman and I are unveiling the next chapter of her powerful, improbable, magical life. When you have nowhere else to turn…you turn to the Scarlet Witch. And God help anyone who gets in her way.”

Dauterman provides the first issue’s cover and also redesigned the Scarlet Witch’s outfit

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Aaron + Asrar’s ‘King Conan’ will reign in December

Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar and Matt Wilson reunite to tell stories about an older Conan and his son.

Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar and Matt Wilson’s King Conan, which the creators first teased in early 2020, will finally take the throne in December.

The trio previously worked together on Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian title in 2019, on the first 12 issues of that title, but Aaron knew that wasn’t his final word on the character.

“I knew as soon as Mahmud, Matt and I finished ‘The Life and Death of Conan’ in Conan the Barbarian, one of the absolute personal highlights from my career as a comic book writer, that I wasn’t done hanging out with everyone’s favorite Cimmerian,” Aaron told Marvel.com. “As King Conan rode into the sunset at the end of that story, with his son, Prince Conn, by his side, I always knew where I wanted that story to take us next. Now at last comes that next chapter, as Mahmud, Matt and I reunite to reveal a pivotal moment in Conan’s life as a king, as a father, as a mortal enemy of snake-worshipping Stygian wizards and as a barbarian who was born to chase the wind, even to the ends of the earth.”

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What Are You Reading? | Red Goblins, celestial avatars, Klan smashers and Texas blood

See what the Smash Pages crew has checked off their ‘to read’ list lately.

Like I said last week, summertime is the right time for crossovers and comics. This week brought us a taste of Empyre, Marvel’s big crossover event featuring the Avengers, The Fantastic Four, the Kree, the Skrulls, the Blue Area of the Moon, the Swordsman and all that crazy cosmic space action Marvel fans have come to know and love. You can see Carla’s thoughts on it below, along with a list of comics Shane has been buying for his kids and Tom’s thoughts on two politically minded books from DC.

You can tell us what you’ve been reading in the comments below or on social media.

Shane Bailey

Lately my kids have started wanting to read more comics. My little one has always been into them, but now the older kids are as well. So I let them pick out their own comics to read on comiXology Unlimited.

My 9 yr old son picked Amazing Spider-Man: The Red Goblin by Dan Slott and Stuart Immonen, and he loves it. He wouldn’t stop commenting on how crazy scary Norman Osborn is, how it was gross when Carnage bit the head off a rat, and during one issue when the Goblin had a captive and was interrogating him, he wondered aloud over who it was, making guesses and gasping when he found out who it was and that Norman knew who Spider-Man was. It’s great seeing him get excited at things that are old hat for me. It made me appreciate those moments more.

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‘Quarantine Coloring Book’ shares an as-yet unproduced Gerard Way project

The writer and singer shares a piece called ‘Pink Station Zero’ that could still become a comic some day.

Gerard Way has shared what’s described as “a character study he did for a comic that may come to life one day” on the site for an online coloring book he started with Sara Taylor of the musical duo Youth Code.

The Quarantine Coloring Book was started by Way and Taylor last month to offer free downloadable coloring pages for people to enjoy during the pandemic. They’re also raising money for the First Responders Children’s Foundation. The art for the project has come from comic artists like Becky Cloonan, Mike Allred and Gabriel Ba; musicians like Frank Iero and Jordan Buckley; and many others.

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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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Hail to the king as Aaron, Asrar reteam for ‘King Conan’

Mahmud Asrar, Matt Wilson and Jason Aaron will continue telling Conan stories later this year.

It looks like the band is getting back together as artist Mahmud Asrar announced on Twitter that he’s working with writer Jason Aaron and colorist Matt Wilson on a new King Conan comic.

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Mail Call | Archaia to adapt Roxane Gay story

Plus: a new Shonen Jump series, Skybound’s ‘Fire Power’ plans and a new ‘Clone Wars’ series at IDW.

BOOM! Studios announced a new graphic novel, The Sacrifice of Darkness, based on Gay’s short story “The Sacrifice of Darkness.” In addition to Gay, the creative team includes writer Tracy Lynne Oliver, artist Rebecca Kirby, and colorist James Fenner, and the pub date is October 2020.

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‘Giant-Size X-Men’ returns in February

The classic Marvel title returns with stories by Jonathan Hickman and various artists.

Giant-Size X-Men #1 kicked off a new era of the X-Men back in 1975, introduced Storm, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird and Colossus to the Marvel Universe, and bringing Wolverine and Banshee onto the team.

With Jonathan Hickman introducing a new era to the X-Men this fall, Marvel is bringing back Giant-Size X-Men as a series, written by Hickman and drawn by different artists. The first issue will feature Russell Dauterman and Matt Wilson on a story featuring Jean Grey and Emma Frost.

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