Slugfest | ‘Masters of the Universe’ starts a ‘Revolution’

Plus: Check out news and announcements on Ghost Machine, Spider-Man, Archie Horror, Dr. Frederic Wertham and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Dark Horse has announced another miniseries tie-in to the Masters of the Universe Netflix show, which returns to the streaming platform on Jan. 25.

Masters of the Universe: Revolution is written by show producers Tim Sheridan, Rob David and Ted Biaselli, with illustrations by Daniel HDR, inking by Keith Champagne, coloring by Brad Simpson and lettering by AndWorld Design. The first issue features a variant cover by Tyler Boss:

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The Hulk’s ‘Joe Fixit’ persona returns in a new miniseries at Marvel

Peter David and Yildiray Cinar bring the grey-skinned mob bodyguard returns to comics next year.

Following the recent string of miniseries featuring the villainous Maestro, Peter David will next turn his attention to a different — but equally as unpleasant — Hulk persona, Joe Fixit.

The co-creator of Hulk’s grey-skinned “mobster bodyguard” personality will team with artist Yildiray Cinar for a new miniseries set during David’s original run on Incredible Hulk.

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Mail Call | Shang-Chi’s mutant sister debuts in ‘Shang-Chi’ #3

Like fireworks lighting up the night sky comes a barrage of news, previews and announcements from Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Mad Cave Studios and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

Gene Luen Yang and Dike Ruan’s run on Marvel’s Shang-Chi has focused both on family and legacy, and in the third issue Marvel’s Master of Kung Fu finds out he has yet another sibling — and she’s a mutant.

Zhilan is a mutant warrior with a dazzling power: she can turn music into solidified energy. According to Marvel.com, she was exiled by Shang-Chi’s evil father years ago, and now Shang-Chi is seeking her out — as is the Krakoa mutant nation, which will lead to a confrontation with Wolverine.

Check out the variant cover by Michael Cho, along with some preview pages by Ruan, below:

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Peter David writes a new X-Factor story for ‘X-Men Legends’

The ‘writer of stuff’ teams with Todd Nauck for a new story featuring Havok, Polaris, Madrox and more.

Peter David’s run on X-Factor is the next classic X-title to get the X-Men Legends treatment, as issue #5 of that title will feature a new story by David and artist Todd Nauck that is set between X-Factor #75 and #76, which came out in 1992.

The story will feature the characters you remember from his run, such as Havok, Polaris, Madrox, Wolfsbane and Strong Guy, among others.

X-Men Legends, if you weren’t aware, revisits classic X-Men runs with new, in-continuity stories by some of the original creators. Fabian Niceiza kicked off the series with a story about the Summers clan, while Louise and Walt Simonson will return to their version of X-Factor — the team that featured the original X-Men — in X-Men Legends #3.

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Maestro returns in January for another miniseries

Peter David and Javier Pina tell more stories of the Hulk’s evil, future self.

Peter David will once again dive into the futuristic dystopia created by the Hulk in Maestro: War & Pax. This time he’s joined by artist Javier Pina to tell the story of the Hulk’s futuristic, evil alter-ego, who was introduced in the landmark Future Imperfect miniseries.

“I am thrilled that, 20 years after I created him, the Maestro still intrigues people so much that the first series garnered the sort of success that demanded a follow-up,” David told Marvel.com. “As long as folks want to keep reading about him, I’m happy to keep giving them stories.”

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Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Shadow Service,’ ‘Maestro’ and more

Check out new comics coming this week from Cavan Scott, Corin Howell, Daniel Warren Johnson, Peter David, Dale Keown and more.

We are back again with a look at what’s arriving in comic shops, bookstores and on digital this week. Or I’m back, anyway, as I fly solo on this week’s comics.

If you’re wondering what to get this week, check out a few recommendations below. You can check the Comic List page to see what’s arriving in your local shop, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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What Are You Reading? | ‘Avengers,’ Batman, ‘Bleed Them Dry’ and more

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

Welcome to another edition of What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately. You can play along in the comments if you wish.

Now here we go …

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Hulk’s evil alter ego gets an origin story in August

Peter David, Dale Keown and Germán Peralta present “Maestro” this summer.

The former Hulk creative team of Peter David and Dale Keown will reteam to tell the origin story of the Maestro, the evil, future version of the Hulk from the landmark Future Imperfect miniseries.

They’ll be joined by artist Germán Peralta as they reveal how the Maestro took over the world after a nuclear holocaust.

“I had no idea that when I first created the Maestro for Future Imperfect that he would have the kind of popularity and staying power he has now,” David told Marvel.com. “Until now, I’ve only been able to allude to his origins, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to explore them in this series, and I can’t wait for fans to see all the artwork that’s been coming in!”

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What Are You Reading? ‘Friday,’ Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and more

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

If you’re looking for something to read while sheltering in place, you’ve come to the right blog, as the Smash Pages crew has a whole mess of comics to talk about this week. So without further ado …

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Comics Lowdown: Remembering Stan ‘The Man’ Lee

Plus: ‘The Brotherhood’ writer revealed! Transformers’ growing female fan base! Plus Art Spiegelman, Stan Webb and the scariest comic panel in ages!

Following the death of Marvel legend Stan Lee on Monday, many outlets covered not only his death, but turned the focus on his wide-reaching life and legacy. Some of the mainstream coverage included:

  • The New York Times not only wrote a thorough obituary of “The Man,” but also featured a comic by Brian Michael Bendis, Bill Walko and Howie Noel.
  • Peter David, freelance comics writer and a former Marvel employee, wrote a remembrance of Lee for Vulture. “Still, there was a time where Stan became the incarnation of that line from The Dark Knight: You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. In the ’80s and ’90s, it became increasingly stylish to bash Stan, to accuse him of hogging attention for his creations from the artists. But the fact is that before Marvel Comics, comics writers and artists were anonymous. It was Stan who made the artists the centerpieces of the work, giving them snappy nicknames like ‘Stainless’ Steve Ditko, ‘Genial’ Gene Colan, ‘Larrupin’’ Larry Lieber (no, even his brother wasn’t immune), and many others. We would come to know the artists (and other writers) as well as, if not better than, members of our only families. DC editors were so disdainful of this practice that they referred to him as ‘Stan Brag,’ before eventually following suit and crediting people.”
  • Roy Thomas, a legendary comics writer in his own right, shares the memory of his last Saturday spent with Lee at the Hollywood Reporter.
  • Marvel dedicated a special section of their website to Lee, with a tribute video.

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IDW celebrates 20 years with ‘IDW 20/20’ one-shots

Ghostbusters, My Little Pony, Star Trek and more head back to the future (or the past) in January.

At this week’s New York Comic Con, IDW announced IDW 20/20 — five one-shots featuring some of their licensed properties that will celebrate the publisher’s 20-year history.

Featuring Ghostbusters, Jem and the Holograms, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Trek and My Little Pony, each story will be set either 20 years in the past or 20 years in the future.

“An anniversary like the one IDW is celebrating is a cause to look to the future and the past,” said IDW Editor-in-Chief John Barber. “It gives us a moment to reflect on where came from and where we’re going, because both directions are pretty exciting. We’re lucky to have partners like Hasbro, Nickelodeon, CBS Consumer Products, and Sony to share in the celebration — and to have these five sets of characters that have helped place IDW at the center of the pop culture universe!”

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Fund Me Friday: ‘Comics for Choice,’ Niobi and more

Help bring comics to life by checking out campaigns for ‘Niobe: She is Life,’ the ‘Comics for Choice’ anthology, ‘As the Crow Flies’ and more.

As crowdfunding continues to be a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors and connect directly with fans, comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGoGo. Here’s a look at a few recent campaigns that caught our eyes.

Niobe: She is Life hardcover & She is Death #1

Creators involved: Sebastian Jones, Amandla Stenberg, Ashley Woods, Sheldon Mitchell and Darrell May, plus a host of cover artists
Deadline: June 25
Goal: $21,500 (Funded!)

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