Comics Lowdown: Stan Lee speaks out on elder-abuse allegations

Patti LaBoucane-Benson appointed to Canada’s Senate! Finding Olivia James at CXC! Plus: Grant Morrison, Matthew Thurber and why we love Spider-Man so dang much!

People: In an interview subtitled “Those I Trusted Betrayed Me,” Stan Lee speaks to The Daily Beast about elder-abuse allegations against his daughter and the removal of several of his associates from his life.

“There really isn’t that much drama,” Lee said. “As far as I’m concerned, we have a wonderful life. I’m pretty damn lucky. I love my daughter, I’m hoping that she loves me, and I couldn’t ask for a better life. If only my wife was still with us. I don’t know what this is all about.”

People: The Outside Circle comic writer Patti LaBoucane-Benson has been appointed to Canada’s Senate by Prime Minister Trudeau.

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Comics Lowdown: Judge Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra passes away

Mark Waid sued, and gets a new job! Vertigo prepares for NYCC! Plus Ryan Ferrier, Jason Lutes, John McCrea and more!

Passings: Carlos Ezquerra, 2000 AD artist and co-creator of Judge Dredd, has passed away, the Guardian and the Hollywood Reporter both reported this week. The 70-year-old artist was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010, and the disease returned this year.

“It is difficult to put this into words, but we have lost someone who was the heart and soul of 2000AD. It is no exaggeration to call Carlos Ezquerra one of the greatest comic book artists of all time, and his name deserves to be uttered alongside Kirby, Ditko, Miller, Moebius and Eisner,” reads a statement issued by 2000AD. “Yet this doesn’t really do justice to someone whose work was loved by millions and has had an influence far beyond the comic book page. From Judge Dredd to Strontium Dog, from Rat Pack to Major Eazy, Carlos has left us with a legacy of stunning and distinctive work that was and always will be 2000 AD. He has been one of the pillars, producing the same dynamic, enthralling and arresting art we always loved him for. We thought we had many more adventures to come from the master, so we are devastated to discover we were wrong.”

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Fabio Moon has a lovely new poster for NYCC

The ‘Daytripper’ artist adapts a Walt Whitman poem for the convention.

For this week’s New York Comic Con, artist Fabio Moon has designed a new poster he’ll have at his table in Artist Alley (L1-L2).

Moon took a poem by Walt Whitman and gave it a cosplay spin, in comics form:

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Harvey Awards announce 2018 nominees

Streamlined awards will feature only six categories and will be presented during the New York Comic Con this October.

After taking a year off to regroup and prepare for arrival at their new home, the Harvey Awards have announced their nominees for 2018. It’s a very slimmed-down list of categories — just six, when typically they’ve had more than 20.

The most noticeable change is the lack of any awards recognizing creators; instead, the six categories recognize specific works. The other oddity is the addition of a “Best Adaptation” category, recognizing films, TV and any adaptations based on comics. Both of these changes have received criticism from comic creators since the nominees were announced yesterday.

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Oni Press launches ‘Spectacle’ webcomic

Read Megan Rose Gedris’ supernatural murder mystery on the web for free before it’s collected.

Earlier this year Oni Press announced Spectacle, a supernatural murder mystery by Megan Rose Gedris planned for publication next year. At New York Comic Con, they revealed the series will see life a whole lot sooner than next winter — they’ve actually launched it as a webcomic, which you can start reading now.

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comiXology, Marvel announce ‘Black Panther: Long Live The King’

Novelist Nnedi Okorafor and artist Andre Araujo team up for a new miniseries from the comiXology Originals line.

comiXology and Marvel have announced another miniseries as part of the comiXology Originals line — Black Panther: Long Live The King, a six-issue bi-weekly series written by Nnedi Okorafor and with art by Andre Araujo.

Black Panther follows two comiXology Originals/Marvel joints — Immortal Iron Fists (which my kid loves; we hope Pei is going to be ok!) by Kaare Andrews and Afu Chan, and Thor vs. Hulk: Champions of the Universe by Jeremy Whitley and Simone Buonfantino. Both series can bought off comiXology and are available to comiXology Unlimited subscribers.

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‘Black Hammer’ returns in 2018

‘Black Hammer: Age of Doom’ by Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston picks up after the cliffhanger from ‘Black Hammer’ #13.

Golden Gail, Abraham Slam, Barbalien and the rest of the displaced comic characters from Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s excellent Black Hammer comics series will return next year in a new series, Black Hammer: Age of Doom.

“One thing Black Hammer has always done is comment on the history of superhero comics and we live in a world where superhero universes seem to be rebooted, relaunched, and rebirthed every year,” Lemire said in a press release. “It felt like we needed to play around with that idea, but put a Black Hammer spin on it. So, starting in April, Dean, Dave Stewart, Todd Klein, and I will continue the story and the mystery of Black Hammer farm in Black Hammer: Age of Doom! It’s a new series, but everything you love will stay intact and we’ll deliver the next chapter in the story of Golden Gail, Abraham Slam, Barbalien and the rest of the gang.”

The previous series ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, which Ormston said they plan to pick up on in Age of Doom.

Black Hammer ends with a major, game-changing revelation,” Ormston said. “Readers are super keen to find out how our heroes are stuck on the farm and more answers, twists, and turns are coming in Black Hammer: Age of Doom.”

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Harvey Awards will return in 2018 at the New York Comic Con

Annual awards will skip 2017 as ReedPOP plans a reception honoring Harvey Kurtzman at this year’s show.

The Harvey Awards will find a new home next year at the New York Comic Con, the annual fall convention managed by ReedPop. According to Newsarama, NYCC will host a reception this year honoring the legacy of Harvey Kurtzman and the awards that were named after him, with a full awards ceremony planned for 2018.

“We are thrilled to host such an iconic award show during one of the biggest comic events of the year, New York Comic Con,” said Lance Fensterman, Global Head of ReedPOP. “We are even more excited to honor the life and work of the late great Harvey Kurtzman here in his hometown, while celebrating the industry’s best work.”

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‘Dapper Men’ books land at Top Shelf

Jim McCann and Janet Lee’s whimsical tale gets a deluxe edition next summer and a sequel in 2018.

Return of the Dapper Men and its planned sequels have found a new home at Top Shelf Productions. Announced at the New York Comic-Con this past weekend, the IDW imprint will release a deluxe edition of the book next summer.

Return of the Dapper Men, by Jim McCann and Janet Lee, was originally published by Archaia in 2010, and McCann and Lee acquired the rights from them to the book in 2014. The whimsical story of a boy, a robot girl and the Dapper Man known as 41 won the Eisner Award for “Best Graphic Album: New” (tying with Daniel Clowes’ Wilson) in 2011.

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Dark Horse to publish ‘American Gods’ comic

P. Craig Russell, Scott Hampton and many more will adapt Neil Gaiman’s novel into a 27-issue comic series.

With all the attention on the upcoming television adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods novel, it’s no surprise that Dark Horse Comics has announced a comic book adaptation as well.

“There’s a tremendous amount of excitement, in my house and in the world, about the American Gods TV series coming up on Starz,” Gaiman said in a press release. “What we’ve managed to keep a secret until now is that there is something just as exciting out there: American Gods, the comic. I’ve been watching P. Craig Russell breaking down the book into comic form, watching Scott Hampton painting the pages, watching Glenn Fabry create the covers, and grinning to myself with delight, because the American Gods comic is going to be an astonishing, faithful and beautiful adaptation.”

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DC to launch new ‘Batwoman’ title next year

Spinning out of ‘Detective Comics,’ Marguerite Bennett and Steve Epting team up to tell solo stories starring Kate Kane.

Batwoman will once again star in her own solo title beginning next February, by writer Marguerite Bennett and artist Steve Epting, who returns to DC Comics after a 16-year absence. James Tynion IV, who currently writes the character in Detective Comics, will co-write the first arc.

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James Stokoe is doing an ‘Aliens’ comic

Dark Horse announces two new projects due out in time for next April’s “Aliens Day 2017.”

In space, no one can hear you scream … with excitement. Dark Horse announced today that James Stokoe, creator of Orc Stain and Wonton Soup, will write and draw a four-issue Aliens series.

Per the press release, Aliens: Dead Orbit finds Wascylewsk, an engineering officer, trapped in a space station after a horrific accident. Wascylewsk is forced to use all available tools—a timer, a utility kit, and his wits—to survive an attack from the deadliest creature known to man. The first issue will feature a variant cover by Geof Darrow and goes on sale next April.

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