A ‘Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker’ sequel will arrive in September

‘Junior Baker the Righteous Faker’ by Joe Casey and Ryan Quackenbush will explore the superhero genre from a different angle than its predecessor.

Joe Casey will return to the world of Butcher Baker in the five-issue miniseries Junior Baker the Righteous Faker, where he’ll be joined by artist Ryan Quackenbush.

The new title coming from Image Comics has a definitively different look and tone than the 2011 series, which featured gonzo art by Mike Huddleston. Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker was an in-your-face tribute to, and satire of, the excesses of the superhero genre, channeling books like Marshall Law, Brat Pack and pretty much anything Howard Chaykin did in the 1980s.

Casey said questions about his own waning interest in the superhero genre led to the sequel.

“Lately, I’ve been asking myself a lot of questions about my own relationship with the superhero genre, something I’ve been associated with professionally for over twenty-five years,” said Casey. “Did it still speak to me? Did it still hold the same kind of relevance as it did when I was just a fan? How many other readers of my generation were feeling this ambivalence to something that meant so much to us since we were kids? Doing this kind of sequel series confronts some those questions. So both conceptually and narratively, it’s a really big swing we’re taking here. Not to mention, Ryan is a brave, new talent and his art on this alone is worth the price of admission.”

Continue reading “A ‘Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker’ sequel will arrive in September”

A slew of awesome creators deconstruct ‘The Dark Knight Returns’

‘Shitty Dark Knight’ brings together Dave Baker, Andrew MacLean, Jim Rugg, Zack Soto and more for the ‘worst possible execution’ of Miller’s classic comic.

In a week full of news and announcements about comics and related stuff, this right here is the one that most intrigues me. Several creators, including Zack Soto, Paul Maybury, Malachi Ward and Jim Rugg, have come together to “redraw” The Dark Knight Returns, the classic Frank Miller/Klaus Janson/Lynn Varley magnum opus from the 1980s. Their goal is to see how well the visual storytelling holds up.

Titled Shitty Dark Knight, the book can be pre-ordered from Dave Baker’s online store, and will also be available this week at Comic-Con International.

Continue reading “A slew of awesome creators deconstruct ‘The Dark Knight Returns’”

Fund Me Friday: ‘A Perfect Circle,’ Elizabeth Beier and more

Plus: ‘Blocked: Stories from the World of Online Dating,’ Chris Samnee, Craig Rousseau and the Killer Bees!

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.

A Perfect Circle minicomic

Creators involved: Writer Eric Esquivel and artist Ryan Quackenbush
Deadline: July 22
Goal: $150 (Funded!)

What to know: Esquivel shared where the story idea for this eight-page minicomic came from on Tumblr. “I got dumped at the tail end of October last year. It was, as these things often are, horrible,” he wrote. “To cope with my confusion, I did what I always do: wrote a comic about it. Specifically: a comic book about a guy who–after realizing that the last three decades of his life have been essentially a repeat of the same sad story over, and over, and over again– embarks on an epic journey to find a supernatural means with which to obliterate his personality, and start fresh.”

Continue reading “Fund Me Friday: ‘A Perfect Circle,’ Elizabeth Beier and more”