Mail Call | Tynion offers first ‘Blue Book’ for free

Check out news and updates from Marvel, Dark Horse, Top Shelf, Image Comics and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of cool things we’ve received in our mailboxes recently from comics publishers, creators and more. Hit the links for more information.

James Tynion IV was one of the first creators out of the gate with his plans for his premium Substack newsletter subscription, announcing a new comic called Blue Book with artist Michael Avon Oeming that he planned to share with paid subscribers.

But even if you aren’t a paid subscriber, you can still check out the first one, which he posted for free a couple days ago.

Blue Book is a passion project for myself and Michael Avon Oeming,” Tynion wrote. “We share a lifelong fascination with UFOs and a lifelong frustration with how those stories have been adapted into other media. There is a strangeness in the original accounts of UFO sightings that usually gets swept aside, but Michael and I want to lean into the strangeness. These are human stories of ordinary people who brush against the unknown and must grapple with what they see there. There is a deeper truth, whether you believe in the accounts or not, that lies in the many ways people tell these stories.”

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Momoko’s ‘Demon Days’ continues in December with ‘Rising Storm’

Marvel will also release a ‘Creator’s Cut” edition of the first ‘Demon Days’ comic by Peach Momoko.

Over the last year Peach Momoko has been building out her own alternate universe that combines Japanese folklore with the Marvel Universe. Those stories continue in December with Demon Days: Rising Storm, the second-to-last one-shot set in the same world as the previous Demon Days comics.

The comic will continue to focus on Mariko’s journey, introducing Momoko’s version of Thor and Storm into the story.

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‘X-Men,’ ‘The Magicians: New Class’ win at the 2021 Dragon Awards

Congratulations to this year’s winners.

The 2021 Dragon Awards were announced this past weekend during Dragon Con, recognizing science fiction and fantasy books, movies, video games and comics.

The awards, which have been presented annually since 2016, recognize comics in two categories — “Best Comic Book” and “Best Graphic Novel.” After a jury selected the nominees, the winners were selected in an open vote from the general public.

The winners are:

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Mail Call | More on Al Ewing + Ram V’s symbiotic relationship on ‘Venom’

Check out news, announcements and previews from Image, DC, 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.

When Venom returns in a new series from Marvel later this fall, it’ll be co-written by Al Ewing and Ram V. Each writer, it turns out, will be writing a separate character in the series, as the book focuses both on Eddie Brock and his son Dylan.

“How me and Ram are working together—we’re a band, essentially. Every issue is a new single, every trade is an album, and Eddie and Dylan are our instruments,” Ewing told Marvel.com. “They’re similar, but they make different notes, produce different sounds, build different stories. And for a while—so you should get used to it now—we’re going to be taking turns in the spotlight, playing Dylan songs or Eddie songs, while the other band member stays in the background. As each new single comes out, you’ll see how it fits together, forms one big concept album—or maybe a symphony. And then, when we’re ready, we bring all the instruments in for the crescendo—and that’s going to be something to hear.”

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Hickman plans to leave X-Men after ‘Inferno’

The architect of the Krakoa era of the X-titles will move on to something new for Marvel after ‘Inferno.’

After relaunching the X-Men titles back in 2019 and writing some of the books over the course of the last two years, Jonathan Hickman told Entertainment Weekly that the upcoming Inferno will be his last X-book for now.

Hickman said that wasn’t his plan initially, but came about because of how well the current storyline has been received by the creators he’s been working with .

“Oh, plans have changed entirely,” Hickman told EW. “When I pitched the X-Men story I wanted to do, I pitched a very big, very broad, three-act, three-event narrative, the first of which was House of X. And while this loosely worked as a three-year plan, I told Marvel upfront that I honestly had no idea how long the first part would last because there were a lot of interesting ideas that I had seeded that other creators would want to play with, and so, we left this rather open-ended. I was also pretty clear with all the writers that came into the office what the initial, three-act plan was so no one would be surprised when it was time for the line to pivot.”

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Nominees announced for the 2021 Dragon Awards

The awards, which include categories for comics and graphic novels, have been presented annually since 2016.

The nominees have been announced for the 2021 Dragon Awards, which have been presented during DragonCon since 2016.

The awards include multiple categories for books, media tie-ins like movies and video games, and two categories for comics — “Best Comic Book” and “Best Graphic Novel.”

The nominees in those two categories are:

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Can’t Wait for Comics | A new ‘X-Men’ #1 arrives; Skybound celebrates 10 years; Coates wraps up his ‘Captain America’ run

Plus: Comics featuring the New Day, He-Man, Carnage, Justice League Unlimited, Snake-Eyes and more arrive this week.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week.

Check out a few highlights below, or visit Diamond’s website for this week’s almost complete list of new comics arriving in stores — you can visit Lunar Distribution’s home page to see DC’s release — and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Milestone Media’s revival finally kicks off with ‘Static: Season One’ #1

Check out new comics this week from Tom King, Bilquis Evely, Jason Aaron, Aaron Kuder, Gerry Duggan, Pepe Larraz, Peach Momoko, Stan Sakai and 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 comics and graphic novels from Marvel, DC, AfterShock Comics, Milestone Media, Fantagraphics and more.

Check out a few highlights below, or visit Diamond’s website for this week’s almost complete list of new comics arriving in stores — you can visit Lunar Distribution’s home page to see DC’s release — and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Comics | Milestone Media’s revival finally kicks off with ‘Static: Season One’ #1”

Can’t Wait for Comics | DC celebrates Pride Month; ‘Ant’ returns; 80 years of Archie

Check out new comics this week from N.K. Jemisin, Jamal Campbell, Matthew Rosenberg, Jason Aaron, Erica D’Urso, Fred Van Lente, Dan Parent, Kyle Starks, Chris Schweizer and 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 comics and graphic novels from Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, AfterShock Comics, Viz and more.

Check out a few highlights below, or visit Diamond’s website for this week’s almost complete list of new comics arriving in stores — you can visit Lunar Distribution’s home page to see DC’s release — and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Comics | DC celebrates Pride Month; ‘Ant’ returns; 80 years of Archie”

The next chapter of the X-Men begins in Hickman’s ‘Inferno’

The follow-up to ‘House of X’ and ‘Powers of X’ begins in September.

After building up a new island home for Marvel’s mutants, Jonathan Hickman plans to burn it all down in Inferno, a new miniseries coming in September.

The miniseries follows up on some of the plot elements introduced in House of X and Powers of X, the two miniseries that kicked off the Hickman era of the X-Men. While the story starts with Mystique and the broken promise by the powers that be on Krakoa to resurrect Destiny, the four-issue miniseries will also involve Moira MacTaggert, Nimrod and Hickman’s “game-changing plans” coming to a head.

“I’m very excited that we’re finally getting to share with everyone the follow-up to House of X/Powers of X,” Hickman said. “The story is 160 pages over four issues drawn exquisitely by Valerio Schiti, R.B. Silva and Stefano Caselli. I cannot wait for people to read it.”

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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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Marvel announces ‘The Trial of Magneto’ for August

Leah Williams and Lucas Werneck are the creative team for the upcoming miniseries.

Marvel has revealed more details about that teaser they released last week concerning Magneto, and it has some potential SPOILERS for an upcoming X-Men-related storyline. So consider yourself warned before reading further.

Coming in August is X-Men: The Trial of Magneto, the first of a five-part miniseries featuring the Master of Magnetism. It’s by the team of Leah Williams and Lucas Werneck.

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