Comic News

Batman to get Backups Starting with Issue #8

Starting with issue #8 Scott Snyder will also be penning a backup story in Batman.  These backup stories are going to elaborate on the Court of Owls that has been a thorn in Bruce’s side since the book was relaunched in the New 52.  As part of a great bonus for fans of his American Vampire series, Rafael Albuquerque will be doing the art on these backup stories.  I know I find his work to be just short of dazzling in American Vampire, so it’ll be interesting to see his take on the Dark Knight.  All of this emphasis on the Cour of Owls is leading towards a crossover that will be involving all the Bat-books.  

The Creator of Captain America Passes

Only a week after the creator of the Joker, Jerry Robinson, passed away, on December 14th, Joe Simon, co-creator of Captain America and several other characters from the Golden Age of comics, passed away at the age of 98.

Joe Simon was a writer, artist and editor of comic books, particularly Marvel Comics.  His was the first editor of Timely Comics, which later became known as Marvel Comics.  Simon’s resume of comics did not just consist of superhero-inspired ones; when the popularity of superheroes was down, Simon worked with his partner Jack Kirby on romance comics, western comics and horror comics, including the likes of Young Romance, Boys’ Ranch and Black Magic (one from each respective genre and all well-received in their day).

The Creator of The Joker Passes

The creator of the Clown Prince of Crime – as well as comic book historian and creator’s rights advocate – Jerry Robinson, passed away at the age of 89 on December 7th, 2011.  He began working on Batman with creator Bob Kane and not only created Batman’s most famous enemy, but also co-created Robin and influenced the creation of both Harvey “Two-Face” Dent and Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s most trusted ally and butler.

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Robinson began working in comics when he was discovered at the age of 17 by Bob Kane, who noticed Robinson working at an ice-cream parlor in a jacket covered in Robinson’s own artwork.

First Look: Whispers #1

Another supernatural mini-series from Image Comics will be hitting the stands in January, 2012.  It will be written by Joshua Luna (Girls), an acclaimed creator who usually collaborates on projects with his brother Jonathan Luna, but Joshua will be working alone as both the artist and writer of Whispers.

Sam Webber ‘s life is starting to spiral out of control thanks to his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.  His life takes another, even wilder spiral, when he finds out he can walk around in a ghost form.

Entering a New Era: New Writer for The Darkness

In the beginning of March 2012, The Darkness will be having a new writer: David Hine, who has written for such titles as The Bulletproof Coffin, Detective Comics and The Spirit.  He will be joined by artist Jeremy Haun, who is the Detective Comics creative partner and has worked on the Top Cow cross-over event of the decade: Artifacts, as well as the DC Comics title Red Hood: The Lost Days.

Hine and Haun will work for the first time on The Darkness beginning with issue 101.  Hine will be taking over for previous Darkness writer Phil Hester (Wonder Woman), who wrote the Darkness for four years since 2007, when The Darkness re-launched.  But Hine is not new to writing the Darkness’s main protagonist Jackie Estpanoza.  He wrote the mini-series The Darkness: Four Horsemen. 

We’ll get to see how well Haun and Hine work together in The Darkness #101, which will go on sale in March 2012, for $3.99.

Image Comics Announces New Zombie Mini-Series

Image Comics recently announced that they will be publishing, in conjunction with Shadowline Comics, a four-part zombie mini-series called Rebel Blood.  The series will mimic such great horror classics as The Vault of Horror and Tales from the Crypt, and will be written by a newcomer to the comic book biz, Alex Link, and drawn by Riley Rossmo (Green Wake).

In Rebel Blood we meet Chuck Neville, a forest ranger who hears a radio message warning of a plague that is about to hit.  Neville learns that the plague has turned everyone into flesh-eating zombies (but really, what other kinds are there?).  Now he must rush home to save his family, but is in for a horrifying surprise when he gets there.

First Gay, Interracial Marriage in Archie

Archie has been making numerous headlines ever since it was first announced that an openly-gay character, Kevin Keller, would be appearing in the series in Veronica #212. Now, Archie is back in the headlines again with the announcement of Kevin Keller’s engagement to a male African-American.

Kevin Keller’s marriage will be hitting the stands in January in Life With Archie #16. Life With Archie is a series that shows possible future happenings in the town of Riverdale (sort of a What If…? series for the Archie universe).

First Look: Incredible Hulk #3

After a confusing first issue, the third installment of the Incredible Hulk will be released in December with Hulk sporting a Conan the Barbarian look. The third issue will be the finale of the first story arc of the new Incredible Hulk series. Check out the first four pages below.

The Incredible Hulk is written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Marc Silvestri. The colors are provided by the always wonderful Sunny Gho. The third issues has the final showdown between Bruce Banner’s mutated beats and the Jade Giant – and now the Hulk must seek Amanda Von Doom out for help, a decision that will change his life forever. Incredible Hulk #3 will be on sale this upcoming December on the seventh.

Homestuck – Act 6 to Begin on 11-11-11

For those of you that have been sitting and waiting patiently for Act 6 of Andrew Hussie’s Homestuck to begin, your wait is just about over. Andrew announced on his site and Tumblr account that this Friday, November 11th, 2011 will mark the beginning of regular updates to the comic about four friends that got together to play a game. 

After a hiatus that lasted over a month, Hussie released the end of Act 5 on October 25, 2011. The single animation, entitled [S] Cascade, was posted on the hosting portal Newgrounds, and subsequently broke the site due to the massive onslaught of fans attempting to view it. After a few hours of everyone refreshing their browsers every nine seconds, Andrew ‘gave up’ and tweeted a link to a Megaupload that allowed readers to download the file directly to their computer. 

First Look: Uncanny X-Men #2

Uncanny X-Men is off to a great start. If you haven’t picked up the first book yet, maybe these preview pages of the next issue will make you rethink your decision. Mister Sinister is back, and apparently he brought some sinister friends. Check out these great pages of the issue coming out later in the month.