Mail Call | Scout Comics combines trading cards + digital comics with Comic Tags

Check out news and announcements from Marvel, Image, First Second, Dark Horse 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.

Scout Comics has announced a new digital publishing initiative called Comic Tags, which they describe as “a  way to both distribute and collect digital comic books that addresses some of the biggest problems that comic publishers and comic collectors face.”

These comic/trading card hybrids are limited edition collectible cards, but the kicker is that each of them comes with a scratch-off code to download a PDF copy of the graphic novel featured on the card.

“They’re attached to hangable backers that open, close, and look like a mini-comic book,” the press release reads. “These backers have interiors that are pulled right from the comic, giving you a glimpse at what you’re getting and a fun art piece to hang on to along with the collectible card.”

Don Handfield, a member of the Scout Comics board of directors, said, “I always felt like digital sales for comics were not near the numbers they should be. Digital comics should be for comic publishers what the CD was for the music labels or DVDs were for film studios. But digital comic sales account for less than 8-9% of overall sales industry wide. I think this is because collectors want something they can touch and feel. Collectors want to collect.”

You can find more information on them at the Comic Tags website. Scout Comics is selling several of them for $6.99 each, for titles like Mindbender, The Source, Solar Flare and more.

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Mail Call | ‘Spawn’s Universe’ #1 orders exceed 200,000

Check out all kinds of announcements and previews from Skybound, Marvel, Bad Idea, AfterShock 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.

Never let it be said that kids don’t still love chains. Image Comics and Todd McFarlane Productions sent out a release this week touting that the upcoming Spawn’s Universe #1 has shattered the record for “Image Comics’ top selling, first issue comic book of the 21st century by selling well over 200K units.”

The release goes on to mention that the comic is only the beginning for this year’s Spawn-pocalypse; Spawn’s Universe #1 will arrive in June, followed by King Spawn #1 in August, Gunslinger #1 in October and The Scorched #1 in December.

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Mail Call | ‘That Texas Blood’ returns with a new story arc in June

Today’s round-up includes announcements and previews from Marvel, DC, Skybound, Image, Dark Horse 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.

That Texas Blood, the excellent small-town noir series by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips, returns next month from Image Comics with a new story arc that delves into Ambrose County’s past, “blowing off some of that desert dust and seeing what lurks beneath,” Phillips said.

That Texas Blood #7 will arrive in comic shops on June 30.

“Returning to Ambrose County and these characters is like going home in many ways. They feel like old friends more than old creations and none more so than Sheriff Joe Bob Coates. I’m beyond excited to explore a bit of Joe’s past in this next story arc as we travel back in time to 1981. We’ll see new places, meet new people, and explore ideas we haven’t before. I’ve always believed that the beginning years of any decade are the hangover of the previous one, and I am absolutely thrilled that we are allowed to dissect this over the next six issues with our merry band of Ambrose Countians,” said Condon. “But don’t be fooled, we aren’t viewing the past through rose-colored glasses. I’ve said before that Texas is America’s mystical land, but every fantasy world has a minotaur lurking in the dark or a dragon breathing through smoking nostrils over armor-clad corpses. Our Texas is no different. The shadows there stretch to the horizon, devouring all light. But there are some who see the darkness and strike a match to light the way. I hope that you’ll join us on our trip down Highway 90, into the heart of Ambrose County and into the dark depths of the past. But don’t you fret, we’re not out of matches yet.”

Check out the first issue’s covers:

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Skybound Xpo reveals new comic series, teases ‘Skybound X’

Creators appeared to discuss ‘Rick Grimes 2000,’ ‘Everyday Hero Machine Boy,’ ‘Clementine’ and more.

Robert Kirkman’s Skybound held one of its online Xpo events today, revealing a comic adaption of the video game Trover Saves the Universe as well as some addition details and preview art from the upcoming Skybound X miniseries.

Trover Saves the Universe is a video game created by Justin Roiland, co-creator of the hit cartoon series Rick & Morty. Skybound has enlisted Tess Stone to work with Roiland on the miniseries.

“When Skybound mentioned they were interested in doing a Trover Saves the Universe comic with the help of Tess Stone, I knew it was going to be something of high quality,” said Roiland, who is also CEO and co-founder of Squanch Games. “Important cosmic jobs is such fertile soil for storytelling, and Tess has successfully expanded it beyond the game’s DLC to create a whole new crazy adventure for Trover fans to follow.”

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Mail Call | The Avengers brace for ‘World War She-Hulk’

Plus: More news and announcements from Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, AfterShock, Top Cow, Skybound 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.

Marvel is dusting off a classic event title for an upcoming Avengers storyline — “World War She-Hulk,” which references the popular “World War Hulk” story from 2007.

The new storyline will find She-Hulk declared a global menace, so the Winter Guard decides to bring her in.

“When the Russian Winter Guard invade Avengers Mountain to arrest She-Hulk, it sets off a global espionage adventure that takes us from the notorious assassin training academy of the Red Room to an undersea kingdom on the verge of violent revolution,” said writer Jason Aaron. “Along the way, traitors will fall, regimes will crumble and the dark evolution of Jennifer Walters will reach its bloody red crescendo, all as we build toward the epic events of Avengers #50.”

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Skybound will celebrate its 10th anniversary with ‘Skybound X’

New stories featuring Rick Grimes, Clementine, Science Dog, Ultramega and more will appear in the five-issue weekly anthology series.

To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, Robert Kirkman’s Skybound will publish a five-issue miniseries featuring character from across their line, including a few new ones.

Skybound X will run weekly in July and will include new stories featuring The Walking Dead, Ultramega, Manifest Destiny, Rednecks, Stillwater, Excellence, Birthright and more. Each issue will feature a Rick Grimes 2000 story, which spins out of The Walking Dead #75 and features the re-teaming of Invincible creators Kirkman and Ryan Ottley for a different take on The Walking Dead saga. Also, Clementine from The Walking Dead Telltale Games will make her comic book debut.

“Surprise! Did you really think we would let Skybound’s 10-year anniversary pass us by without bringing back some of our favorite characters?” Kirkman said. “We are forever thankful for our community’s support over the past decade and are honored to share this special series with the larger Skybound family. None of these characters have such monumental journeys without the fans, so Skybound X is for all of you!”

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Starks + Schweizer head to Hollywood for ‘The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton’

The new ‘Whodunnit?’ series starts in June.

Six former sidekicks of a terrible TV will team to solve his murder in The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton, by Kyle Starks and Chris Schweizer, who previously worked together on Mars Attacks! The new series from Image Comics/Skybound will start in June.

“I’m so excited to be working with Skybound again on another great action-comedy series,” said Starks. “This time I get to do it with my best friend, America’s best kept cartoonist secret and three-time Eisner nominee Chris Schweizer. Chris came to me and suggested the remarkable title which we crafted into the tale of six former kid TV sidekicks trying to solve the murder of their awful human TV mentor. Sort of like Knives Out meets Once Upon A Time In Hollywood? If there are two things I love to write, it’s charming dummies and action, and this book is full of both plus rising stakes, escalating nonsense and a lot of fun. Comics should be fun, so we made a fun one!”

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Mail Call | Black Cat kicks off Marvel’s ‘Infinite Destinies’ event this summer

Plus more news from Marvel, DC, Image, AfterShock, Dark Horse 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.

Last summer the “Infinite Destinies” storyline was supposed to run through several Marvel annuals, including Iron Man, Captain America, Black Cat and Thor, among others. The story revolves around the returning “infinity stones,” those pesky don’t-call-them-infinity-gems MacGuffins that regularly take center stage at Marvel.

Anyway, like with many other things, the COVID pandemic and comics industry shutdown threw a wrench in Marvel’s plans, and those annuals were never released. But now it looks like they are back on the schedule for 2021, with an added prelude comic to kick things off — Black Cat #8 by Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa.

“Felicia Hardy- the Black Cat- gets tangled up with the Infinity Stones, some of the most dangerous prizes in the universe. Felicia may be the most accomplished jewel thief on the planet, but when those jewels hold the power of the cosmos, it’s a whole new ball game. Felicia is in a race against the others who would seek to control the stones for their own ends- like Nick Fury (and a secret someone you won’t see coming!),” MacKay said. “Who can cross the world’s most dangerous men, wrangle a pack of villains hopped up on fragments of infinite power, (hopefully) get the job done and look great all the while? The Black Cat, that’s who!”

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Mail Call | Z2 to publish graphic novel inspired by All Time Low

Plus: news from Image, AdHouse, Dark Horse, BOOM! 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.

Z2 Comics has announced another music-related collaboration, this time with the pop-punk band All Time Low. In June, the publisher will release a graphic novel inspired by the 2017 album Last Young Renegade.

“When we wrote our album ‘Last Young Renegade’ we imagined an entire world separate of our own, almost a “what if” version of All Time Low, both with our musical sound and with the visual narrative we put together around it” says All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth. “Creating ‘Young Renegades’ the graphic novel allows us to tell more stories in the universe we imagined and delve deeper into the mythos and thematic ideas that were at play when we were celebrating that era. ‘Young Renegades’ is another branch, another thread and another look into the LYR continuity through an incredible medium we’ve never collaborated in before. Working with the story-tellers and artists on this project has been an incredible new undertaking and we can’t wait for everyone to enjoy it with us.”

Young Renegades will be written by Tres Dean and Robert Wilson IV, with art by Megan Huang.

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Out of thin air, Kirkman + Ottley’s ‘Solid Blood’ #17 arrives in comic shops this week

‘Confusing’ find at the printer has the creators scratching their heads.

Robert Kirkman posted a video to his new YouTube channel last week to reveal a “confusing” find at the printer — a palette of Solid Blood #17, a comic by Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Cliff Rathburn and Rus Wooten. And low and behold, the comic is on this week’s list of comics coming out from Diamond, despite the fact that it was never announced nor solicited.

You can watch the video below:

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Harren + Stewart team for big Kaiju action in ‘Ultramega’

The new series stomps its way into comic shops in March.

Get ready for some giant monster action next year in Skybound’s Ultramega, a new series written and drawn by Rumble artist James Harren, with colors by the award-winning Dave Stewart.

The first issue from Image Comics will come in at 68 pages “of colossal goodness,” the press release reads.

“I hope readers appreciate an honest stab at making visceral, surprising and bizarre comics,” said Harren. “It’s a celebration of the kinds of books I grew up reading—comics that move and curse and bleed. Skybound has given me the unbelievable privilege to play and experiment—and with any luck, deliver a book that doesn’t look like anything else. And Dave Stewart’s there to hit home runs and make the world a better place with his color art.”

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Skybound announces a ‘Summoners War’ prequel comic

Justin Jordan and Luca Claretti will bring the mobile game to comics.

Skybound has announced a prequel comic for the hit mobile video game, Summoners War, by the creative team of Justin Jordan and Luca Claretti.

Summoners War is one of the world’s top mobile games thanks to its rabid fanbase, roaring esports community and a rich in-game universe, so we’re expanding the IP into new frontiers by partnering with Skybound Entertainment on our first official comic book series, Summoners War: Legacy,” said John Nam, VP of IP Strategy Department at Com2uS, who make the mobile game. “Our friends at Skybound are a powerhouse of imagination and a perfect partner for helping Com2uS grow Summoners War in new directions.”

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