Andrew Wheeler
Exclusive: Read Blue Delliquanti’s Eerie Tibetan Folk Tale from ‘Cautionary Fables: Asia’
This week sees the launch of the Kickstarter to fund the latest of Kel McDonald and Kate Ashwin's Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales anthologies, featuring folk tales recreated and reimagined by some of the finest independent small press and webcomic cartoonists in the business. After previous volumes focused on tales from Europe and Africa, the third volume is comprised of Asian folk tales from the storytelling traditions of China, India, Japan, Tibet, and beyond, adapted by an impressive roster of creators that includes E.K. Weaver, Carla Speed McNeil, Lucy Bellwood, Terry Blas, and Gene Yang.
The Kickstarter is a third of the way towards its $29,000 goal, and with all the stories already completed and digital copies available from the $5 reward level, Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales: Asia Edition is a safe bet for anyone who loves great comics or great storytelling. But if you still need convincing, we can whet your appetite with this unsettling Tibetan folk tale from O Human Star creator Blue Delliquanti, debuting exclusively on ComicsAlliance.
New Marvel Book Series Sees Korean Creators Take On Classic Avengers Stories
The world is simply too full of comics that most of us are never going to read. For example, all the manga that gets translated into English is just the tip of that particular iceberg, and the French market is brimming with comics that you're unlikely to get to if you don't read French. So it's especially dispiriting to consider that Korea's wealth of home-grown comics, or manhwa, has a presence among English language readers that makes even those libraries look bountiful.
All of which means that Marvel publishing an adaptation of Roy Thomas and John Buscema's classic 'origin of Ultron' storyline from the late '60s Avengers comics from a group of Korean manhwa creators may be the first experience a lot of readers will have of Korean comics.
Welcome Back Claire Roe As Series Artist on ‘Welcome Back’ #3 [Preview]
After pinch-hitting with a four page contribution to the second issue of Welcome Back, Claire Roe takes over as full-time series artist for the third issue of the hit series about reincarnated assassins in a multi-generational cat-and-mouse game. She joins writer Christopher Sebela and replaces co-creator Jonathan Brandon Sawyer, who sadly had to step down for personal reasons, but will continue as cover artist.
Originally launched as a four-issue series, Welcome Back has been extended to open ended status after the first issue went to a third printing (and the second issue to a second). That's great news for relative newcomer Roe, whose previous credits include Saltire at Diamondsteel Comics and a short story for Vertigo's SFX anthology, and great news for the readers who get to discover her crisp, kinetic artwork!
Best Doctor and Best Companion to Star in New ‘Doctor Who’ Series from Titan
The received wisdom about your favorite Doctor from the various iterations of Doctor Who is that most people prefer the one they grew up with, or the first one they encountered. Your first Doctor is the one who established what the Doctor is meant to be. In that regard, Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor has an advantage, simply because his unmatched seven year tenure in the role made him a presence in more people's childhoods.
Even without that statistical advantage, Baker's Doctor still towers above his peers from the original series in terms of reputation and affection --- and his most enduring companion, Sarah Jane Smith, is still one of the most popular companions, brought to the screen by the late and beloved Elisabeth Sladen in multiple series. So it's no surprise that Titan's next Doctor Who mini series, following on from those spotlighting versions of the Doctor most recognizable to modern audiences, will bring back the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane for brand new adventures.
Wanda Goes For A Wander in Robinson and Del Rey’s ‘Scarlet Witch’ #1 [Preview]
That tiara in her hair; that not-Magneto's-daughter stare, which strips mutant-dom bare, it's Scarlet Witchcraft.
As one of the biggest female heroes in the Marvel Universe never to have had her own book before, it's welcome news that Wanda Maximoff is finally getting her time to shine in Scarlet Witch #1. Written by James Robinson, the series promises to dig deep into the question of how witchcraft works (or doesn't) in Wanda's world, and might even explain how her formerly-mutant powers work. Check out a preview, with art by Vanesa R. Del Rey.
Super: Out and About With Bobby and Angela
Bobby Drake, aka Iceman, became comics' biggest gay superhero last week — again, but also for the first time, because nothing is ever simple in superhero comics. In a scene by Brian Michael Bendis and Mahmud Asrar in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #600, the older of two Bobby Drakes (from two different points in time) acknowledged his gayness to the other, younger Bobby. The younger Bobby had previously come out in a very similar scene in All-New X-Men #40 back in April, also by Bendis and Asrar. (Both scenes involved an unsolicited confrontation, an intrusive Jean Grey, and an acknowledgement of teammate Angel's good looks.)
While I have a few problems with how all of this was executed, from Jean's willingness to violate people's privacy to Marvel's willingness to taunt readers with an inexplicable six month delay between the two coming out scenes, I think that how Bobby came out matters much less than the fact that he came out at all. It's an especially welcome step forward coming less than a week after Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso fumbled the coming out of another Marvel character.
Michael Cho Brings His Pop Graphic Style to Marvel Heroes In February Variant Covers
As a resident of Toronto, I often have cause to think about the art of Michael Cho; not just because I see him at shows and signings, and sometimes in the pub (full disclosure: I have been to the pub with Michael Cho), but because he created a distinctly niche art book that I'm very fond of; a collection of illustrations of Toronto's back alleys. Toronto has a warren of broad private streets running behind the actual streets, and when I'm strolling this city and the light and shadow hits the alleys in the right ways, I'm reminded how perfectly Cho's high contrast graphic style draws out the character and elegance to these ordinary urban spaces.
And if Michael Cho can do all that to an alleyway, imagine what he can do to a big, bold, actual comic book superhero. Actually, you don't need to imagine it. After years of creating his own striking superhero prints, Cho has been picked to provide variant covers for a slate of Marvel books shipping in February 2016, and the results are fantastic. Check out the first few covers below:
The Devil is Back in Black in Soule and Garney’s ‘Daredevil’ #1 [Preview]
Lawyer. Ninja. Vigilante. These are just some of the two-dozen jobs held by Charles Soule, the new writer on the All-New All-Different relaunch of Daredevil, with art by Ron Garney. The latest iteration of the series sees Matt Murdock back in Hell's Kitchen and back in a black suit, though a rather more swish one than the stocking-over-the-head version made famous by the Netflix TV show. Check out a preview.
Marvel Unveils Second Iron Man Book, New Punisher, And Bootleg Superman and Batman
Marvel has revealed a slate of new titles at a retailer summit in London ahead of this weekend's MCM Comic Con, including the long-touted second Iron Man book from Brian Michael Bendis, International Iron Man, which sees him reunited with his former Daredevil collaborator Alex Maleev.
Marvel also announced a new Punisher series from Becky Cloonan and Steve Dillon; a Nighthawk series from David F. Walker, with no artist named; and a Hyperion series from Chuck Wendig and Nik Virella, plus a digital first five-issue mini series, X-Men: The Worst X-Men Ever, from Max Bemis and Michael Walsh, which is not about Maggott and is therefore misleadingly named.
Rosemary Valero-O’Connell Takes Us Behind The Scenes of ‘Lumberjanes: Beyond Bay Leaf’
Last week's release of the Lumberjanes one-shot special Beyond Bay Leaf introduced two new creators to the world of Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, and while audiences should know writer Faith Erin Hicks from her career of excellent webcomics and teen-friendly tales like Friends With Boys and Adventures of a Superhero Girl, artist Rosemary Valero-O'Connell is just starting to make her name, and the Lumberjanes one-shot is one of her first published works.
ComicsAlliance chatted to Valero-O'Connell about her story of stargazing and ghost ponies, and her relationship to the Lumberjanes characters, and she offered us an exclusive look at her art process, from pencils to finished pages.