Jonathan Hickman + friends bring Substack SF universe ‘Three Worlds/Three Moons’ to Dark Horse

The sprawling space opera, which has more than 37,000 subscribers, arrives in comic shops in July with a prestige-format one-shot.

Dark Horse Comics is bringing the Three Worlds/Three Moons comics by Jonathan Hickman, Mike Del Mundo, Mike Huddleston, Nick Spencer and many more to print, beginning with a 32-page one-shot titled Foundations in July.

“We are incredibly excited for the opportunity to partner with Dark Horse so that comic stores and comic fans can get to experience this project that has been years in the making,” Hickman said.

The Three Worlds/Three Moons line debuted on Substack back in 2021, as part of a wave of digital comics that were hosted on the platform, along with James Tynion IV, Saladin Ahmed, Skottie Young, Jeff Lemire, Chip Zdarsky and several others. It was part of a bigger push by Substack to recruit content creators of all sorts to its subscription-model service — some of whom turned out to be less than desirable additions.

But for the creators, it was said to be a lucrative deal, and they used the platform to deliver content to paid subscribers. Until they didn’t. Many creators shifted away from the paid model once their first year was up; some turned their newsletters into promotional tools, while others left the platform altogether. In most cases, the print comics they were producing also had print deals in place, either before they started or soon after; comics like Christopher Chaos and Fishflies eventually arrived from publishers like Dark Horse and Image Comics.

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Smash Pages Q&A | Mike Del Mundo on his new art book from Clover Press

The innovative artist talks about his process and approach to creating some of Marvel’s most striking covers and artwork.

Mike Del Mundo has left a bold and imaginative mark on the world of comics through the use of vivid color palettes, surreal compositions and really cool, concept-driven covers.

Since his breakout run of covers for X-Men: Legacy, he’s brought his distinctive storytelling style to interiors on Elektra, Thor, Avengers and more, earning multiple industry nominations and awards along the way. Now, his career-spanning body of Marvel work is being collected in The Marvel Art of Mike Del Mundo, the latest high-end release in Clover Press and Marvel’s boutique art book series.

The Kickstarter campaign, which is now live, offers the 224-page hardcover alongside exclusive prints, posters, a special sketchbook showing his creative process and other collector’s items.

I caught up with him on the release of the book, his innovative approach to covers, the Three Worlds / Three Moons project and more.

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Spider-Man, Avengers + more feel the impact of ‘The Death of Doctor Strange’

Several tie-in one-shots will accompany the miniseries showcasing the death of Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme.

The upcoming The Death of Doctor Strange miniseries won’t send the Master of the Mystical Arts off into the great beyond quietly. Marvel has announced several tie-ins that show the “major impact” his death has on the rest of Earth — and on the Avengers, Spider-Man, White Fox and Strange Academy in particular.

If you haven’t heard, the Sorcerer Supreme will follow in the footsteps of many other heroes who were killed in the line of battle in what’s turning out to be more than just a miniseries, but an entire event. Jed MacKay and Lee Garbett are the creative team for the main miniseries, which kicks off next month.

Then in October, Marvel will release two specials, featuring the Avengers and Strange Academy. Alex Paknadel and Ryan Bodenheim will team up for The Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers, while Skottie Young and Mike Del Mundo will helm Strange Academy Presents: The Death of Doctor Strange. Then, in November, Jed MacKay and Marcelo Ferreira present The Death of Doctor Strange: Spider-Man, while Alyssa Wong and Andie Tong bring The White Fox into the action.

Find out more about all three titles below.

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The 2018 Joe Shuster Award Nominations

Awards celebrate excellence in the Canadian comic creators and publications.

The nominations for the 2018 Joe Shuster Awards have been announced this week.  Commonly nickednamed “The Shusters”, they are Canada’s national comic book awards that honours and raises the awareness of Canadians that create, self-publish and sell comic books, digital comics and graphic novels.

The award winners will be chosen by a jury vote to ensure every nominee is given adequate consideration.

The ceremony will take place at the Montreal Comic Con July 6-8, 2018 at the Palais des congrès, Montreal, QC.

And the nominees are:

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