Comics Lowdown | Zunar is in trouble again

Plus: A new graphic novel looks at Japanese Americans who resisted internment.

Zunar’s cartoon critiquing the minster of the state of Kedah, who canceled the festival of Thaipusam. The cleaver says “No Thaipusam” and the caption on the right reads “Kedah’s inhabitants lived in peace until he came.”

The Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar is in trouble with the law again. Police in the state of Kedah have summoned him to appear before them on May 7 (the original date, given in the linked article, was May 2 but it was rescheduled) for violating the country’s sedition law, a much-criticized relic of its colonial past, with a cartoon criticizing the Kedah state minister’s decision to cancel the traditional Tamil Hindu festival of Thaipusam.

Zunar got into lots of trouble during the tenure of Prime Minister Najib Razak, whom he mocked endlessly for his corruption; Razak was not amused and his government repeatedly raided Zunar’s studio, confiscated his books, banned him from traveling, and brought charges against him that could have led to lengthy prison sentences. The pressure eased once Najib was voted out.

Ironically, Zunar’s latest skirmish coincides with World Press Freedom Day, which was Monday; several national and international groups have criticized the Malaysian government for its repressive stance.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | 35 years later, Barry Windsor-Smith’s ‘Monsters’ arrives

This week brings another Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips joint, a new Robin series, ‘The Marvels,’ new takes on Shadowman and the notorious Clone Saga, and much more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week. This week brings new debuts from Kurt Busiek, Yildiray Cinar, Cullen Bunn, Jon-Davis Hunt, Joshua Williamson, Paul Cornell and, 35 years in the making, a new graphic novel from Barry Windsor Smith.

Check out a few highlights below, or visit ComicList for this week’s full list of new comics arriving in stores, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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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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‘The Marvels’ returns to Marvel’s schedule in April

The new series by Kurt Busiek and Yildiray Cinar will offer ‘a smorgasbord of Marvel heroes and history.’

Marvel has announced that The Marvels, a new series by Kurt Busiek and Yildiray Cinar, will now arrive in April.

The series, which was described as telling “stories that span decades and range from grand adventure to intense human drama, from street-level to cosmic, starring Marvel’s very first heroes to the superstars of tomorrow,” was originally announced last year, but was delayed due to the pandemic.

Alex Ross, who Busiek previously worked with on the Marvels miniseries and Astro City — two projects whose influences seems to live on in this series — will provide the covers.

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Kurt Busiek returns to Marvel for a history-spanning series

Busiek teams with artist Yildiray Cinar for a new series that could include just about any Marvel character.

Kurt Busiek’s known for his work on a lot of different comics, from Avengers to Arrowsmith, but his latest project seems to marry the themes from two of his past projects: Marvels and Astro City.

The Marvels, which will feature artwork by Yildiray Cinar, will tell “stories that span decades and range from grand adventure to intense human drama, from street-level to cosmic, starring Marvel’s very first heroes to the superstars of tomorrow,” according to Marvel.com.

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