Tag: SDCC 2025

Smash Pages Q&A | Craig Hurd-McKenney on ‘Curse of Dark Shadows’

The writer of the new graphic novel that dives back into the world of the cult classic supernatural soap opera discusses the project, which is currently up on Kickstarter.

Dark Shadows was a supernatural-themed daytime soap opera that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971, but still holds a place in the hearts of many fans. Barnabas Collins and his brood have lived on in books, movies and through streaming services over the years, bringing new fans to Collinsport, Maine — a city inhabited by vampires, zombies, werewolves, witches, warlocks and more.

Hermes Press has kept the story alive through a series of novels and reprints of previous comics, but now they’re returning to the world of Dark Shadows with an original graphic novel that moves the story into the present. Craig Hurd-McKenney, writer of the recent Station Grand from Oni Press, and Jok, artist of the under-appreciated In Hell We Fight with John Layman at Image Comics, are bringing these characters back to the forefront and continuing the drama that made the show so popular.

Here’s the description of Curse of Dark Shadows:

Carolyn Stoddard-Hawkes made a deathbed promise to her mother. But, in order for Carolyn to complete that promise, she must rely on the one person in the world she doesn’t want to see: vampire Barnabas Collins. His return home after an extended period away sets in motion a chain of events that will change the Collins family forever. Can Carolyn and her cousin David survive the newly-awakened CURSE OF DARK SHADOWS, or will Barnabas be the end of the Collins family line?

The project is currently up on Kickstarter, and Hermes Press has a small number of limited edition copies at the San Diego Comic-Con. They’ll also host a panel this afternoon at 3 p.m. Pacific at the con, featuring Hurd-McKenney and actress Kathryn Leigh Scott, who played Maggie on the show and will join the conversation remotely.

I spoke with Hurd-McKenney about the project, his history with the show and working again with his longtime collaborator Jok.

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SDCC | Abrams ComicArts to publish John Byrne’s ‘X-Men: Elsewhen’

The 600-page story will be told across three hardcover volumes.

I can’t say I ever expected to see this news, but hey, there’s no better time than the week of Comic-Con for a surprise. Abrams ComicArts and Marvel are teaming up to publish X-Men: Elsewhen, a collection of John Byrne’s alternate history X-Men story.

Byrne is one of the legendary artists of the new X-Men, if not THE legendary artist of the new X-Men that debuted back in Giant-Sized X-Men #1. Byrne joined writer Chris Claremont on X-Men with issue #108, shortly before “Uncanny” was added to the title. Together with inker Terry Austin, he drew some of the most well-regarded issues of the title, including the Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, the introduction of Alpha Flight and more. He left the title with issue #143, and went on to work on everything from Fantastic Four to Alpha Flight to Sueprman to Doom Patrol and so much more.

Cut to about seven years ago, and Byrne started posting these X-Men: Elsewhen comics on his Byrne Robotics forum. As the press release describes it:

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SDCC | Jimmy Palmiotti + Dan Panosian enlist for ‘Marvel Knights: Punisher’

Palmiotti returns to the imprint he helped bring to life at Marvel in the 1990s.

Earlier this year Joe Quesada returned to Marvel for Marvel Knights: The World to Come, named for the imprint he helped spearhead starting in 1998 that redefined characters like Daredevil, Black Panther, the Punisher and many more. Now his co-conspirator for Marvel Knights, Jimmy Palmiotti, will return as well for Marvel Knights: Punisher, which is set in the same world as The World to Come.

Palmiotti will work with artist Dan Panosian on the limited series, which features Frank Castle in “one of the most savage comics ever.”

“The secret behind Marvel Knights has always been creative alchemy: the perfect blend of raw talent and fearless storytelling, forged by creators who don’t flinch when things get intense,” Palmiotti said. “Now, years later, under the iconic Marvel Knights banner that Joe Quesada and I created all those years ago, I’m writing a brand-new Punisher series that’s being lit on fire by one of the industry’s most electrifying artists: the incomparable Dan Panosian. This is Frank Castle pushed past his limits into uncharted, brutal territory. Dan and I aren’t revisiting a legend—we’re detonating it.”

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SDCC | Tyler Kirkham levels up to ‘Final Boss’ in November

Kirkham will write and draw the new series, which debuts at Image Comics this November.

Tyler Kirkham started his career at Top Cow, and has since done work for DC and Marvel — enough to get his own The Marvel Art of Tyler Kirkham book from Clover Press — but hasn’t done any creator-owned work at Image, until now. In the lead up to this week’s San Diego Comic-Con, Image has announced Final Boss, a new ongoing series written and drawn by Kirkham that will debut in November.

“Final Boss is a culmination of everything I loved growing up as an ’80s and ’90s kid,” said Kirkham. “From the fan-favorite action heroes and beat ’em up arcade games to the groundbreaking energy of early Image comics. It’s a no-holds-barred nostalgic action adventure!”

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SDCC | Dynamite to publish ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ ‘Angel’ comics

Kelly Thompson will serve as the “master architect and writer” for both series.

In the lead-up to the San Diego Comic-Con, Dynamite Entertainment has announced they are working with 20th Century Television on new comic titles starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

Kelly Thompson, writer of Absolute Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey and many other comic titles, will write both series and serve as the “architect” for both. No word yet on when the series will be set in the Buffy mythos or the artists involved, although David Nakayama provided the image used with the press release.

Thompson shared more about her personal connection to the character and the original TV series.

“In my early days trying to figure out how to be a writer and what stories mattered to me and why — no heroine quite broke through for me like Buffy Summers,” Thompson said. “She was somehow everything my young geek heart had always wanted but hadn’t known to ask for. Something about that delicate alchemy of horror, fantasy, and comedy paired with a hero so pure of heart and yet flawed and relatable was… impossible to deny. I fell deeply in love with Buffy, and following that, her whole world. Her ex-boyfriend is now a supernatural detective in Los Angeles you say? Inject it directly into my veins! But unlike a lot of other worlds I loved, the world of Buffy and Angel somehow never fell to the wayside. I could always come back to it and find something new, or something I’d missed, or something I needed. And I hope this new story we’re telling can do the same for old and new fans everywhere.”

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Quick Hits | Rounding up the awards

See who’s up for what awards this Friday during the Eisner Awards ceremony in San Diego.

The 56th annual San Diego Comic-Con kicks off today with preview night, which means we’re only a few days away from the Will Eisner Awards ceremony and Hall of Fame inductions. Which means it’s a good time to not only review the nominees for the prestigious awards, but also take a look at some of the other awards that will be given out this week.

The 37th annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony will be held Friday July 25 in the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront, for those attending in person. For those not attending, you can follow along with us on BlueSky as we cover the results live like we have in years past.

In addition to the Eisner Awards and the Russ Manning Awards, the ceremony will include the presentation of the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, the Bill Finger Award and the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award.

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Kyle Starks + Piotr Kowalski tap the ‘Devil On My Shoulder’

The miniseries debuts from Dark Horse Comics in November.

Kyle Starks first caught my attention with his more humor-oriented comics, but that impression has changed in the past few years as he’s gone deeper into horror. Following Where Monsters Lie and Those Not Afraid, Starks will next work with artist Piotr Kowalski, colorist Brad Simpson and letterer Josh Reed on Devil On My Shoulder.

The four-issue miniseries, coming from Dark Horse Comics this fall, is about a woman who, after being tortured, gets revenge on her captors.

“I wanted to do something new with Devil On My Shoulder – I wanted to do something dark and horrifying. A true Horror Story in the style of the classic Bloody Revenges,” said Starks. “This book has terrible people doing terrible things and then suffering terrible consequences. Our villains are awful, do monstrous things and our heroine’s revenge will be equal to what she takes if not worse. Be forewarned, this is not a comedy. This is not humorous. This is a violent and nasty, action-filled book for fans of horror comics, The Crow, Revenge, Kill Bill or I Saw The Devil. We made a book for lovers of revenge and violence and you couldn’t ask for a better partner than Piotr Kowalski. This is our third book together and I think it’s some of his best work yet – it’s extremely cinematic.”

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SDCC Exclusive | Get ready to flip for this reveal of Jim Fletcher’s Flippitoons stickers

The former DC Direct creative director has a fun new project coming to Kickstarter — and sticker packs you can get in San Diego this week.

Jim Fletcher was one of the driving forces behind the DC Direct line prior to it being shuttered back in 2020. He helped bring many DC characters to life — or at least brought from the printed page to three-dimensional spaces, creating, co-creating or leading the development on DC Ame-Comi, DC Bombshells, DC Artist’s Alley, the long-running Batman Black and White statue series and many more.

Now he’s turning his attention to his own creations, called Flippitoons. He’s teamed with Clover Press to introduce fans to his brand new characters with a 200-page 10” X 10” deluxe hardcover art book, titled The Flippitoons Field Guide of Fantastical Faces, and a trading card series that’ll be available soon on Kickstarter.

The campaign will launch after the San Diego Comic-Con, but you can sign up to be notified when it does on its BackerKit page. Fletcher will be at the San Diego Comic-Con this week armed with holographic sticker packs featuring some of his Flippitoons, and we’re pleased to exclusively reveal the art for them:

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SDCC Slugfest | ‘Ultimate Endgame,’ ‘Cult of the Lamb,’ ‘Die!namite’ + more

The Ultimate Universe heads toward its ‘Endgame,’ ‘Cult of the Lamb’ returns and when Ahoy Comics invites you over for ‘Thanksgiving,’ politely decline the invite …

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

The annual San Diego Comic-Con will kick off later this week, and publishers have been releasing announcements in the lead-up to the event. We’re also in the middle of monthly solicitation time, where publishers are revealing what’s coming out in October. In an effort to keep up with all the madness, here’s a round up of recent announcements as we prepare for the big show.

Let’s start with a Marvel teaser for something coming late in 2025, Ultimate Endgame. Readers of Marvel’s Ultimate titles know that the clock is ticking on the return of the Maker, a.k.a. the Reed Richards from the original Ultimate Universe, and Marvel teases his return with a nod to the Marvel Cinematic Universe:

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Matt Kindt + David Rubin scratch their ‘crazy 1950s Superboy’ itch with ‘Space Scouts’

The three-issue, magazine-sized series will begin in November.

Matt Kindt and David Rubin, who previously teamed on Ether, will collaborate once again on Space Scouts. The three-issue sci-fi space odyssey will be published through Kindt’s Flux House imprint at Dark Horse.

“Space Scouts is dream project that David and I have had for a long time – getting to tell a story that centers around thousands of teenage super-heroes recruited to save the universe,” said Kindt. “It gives us a chance to let our creativity run wild – with different super powers and aliens all tied to a competition/reality show. As a long-time fan of the crazy 1950s Superboy comic book covers – this scratches that inspirational itch.”

Each issue will be magazine-sized (8” x 10.875”) with 32 story pages and bonus content.

“Working with David is something I will never turn down. He’s a generational talent – I’m happy to just be alive and working in the same era as him. There hasn’t been a visual artist as inventive and energetic as David since Jack Kirby. He channels that same bonkers energy without being derivative in the least – David is a true original,” Kindt said.

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‘X-Vengers,’ ‘Cloak or Dagger’ + more round out the ‘Age of Revelation’ titles

The final titles announced for the upcoming X-Men event will all kick off in the final week of October.

It’s the fourth and final round of Age of Revelation titles, as Marvel reveals the titles that’ll kick off on Oct. 29. This round features different takes on Deadpool, Cloak and Dagger, the Avengers and more.

The spiritual successor to the Age of Apocalypse event from the 1990s, Age of Revelation features the Heir to Apocalypse, Doug Ramsey, taking over the world and creating a new mutant paradise that’s built on a lie. If you checked out this week’s prelude issue, then Xorn has already explained to you how, 10 years in the future, everything has changed in the Marvel Universe under the rule of Doug Ramsey (which is a weird sentence to type, being an old school New Mutants fan).

Details on these final titles can be found below, and if you’re planning to be at the San Diego Comic Con next week, you can find out more details at Marvel’s X-Men panel on Thursday at 1:45 p.m. PT. Here’s their full panel line-up.

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EC Comics draws down on the Western genre in ‘Outlaw Showdown’

Oni Press will publish the one-shot anthology in October.

John Arcudi, Brian Azzarello, David Lapham, Tony Moore, Ann Nocenti, David Lapham and more will saddle up for Outlaw Showdown, a one-shot anthology coming in October from EC Comics and Oni Press.

While the Western genre may not be the first to come to mind when you think of classic EC Comics, the notorious publisher did release several titles featuring cowboys and outlaws.

“Ever since we first began drawing up plans for the return of EC Comics at Oni Press, we knew there were genres and stories that would fit EC like a glove – and westerns were always close to the top of that list,” said Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson. “It’s no secret that classic Golden Age series like Gunfighter and Saddle Justice have always been integral – if somewhat under-considered – components of EC’s destructive DNA. But, with Outlaw Showdown – and the other forthcoming genre specials that will follow in its wake – we’re aiming to enhance and amplify the combustible combination of ingredients that has made EC’s stories sing – or scream! – across 70-plus years of comics history. These are stories that will grab you tighter than a hangman’s noose . . . and leave you kicking and screaming for more before the last page is through.”

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