Andrew Wheeler
‘Power Man & Iron Fist’ Buddy Up Again Courtesy Of David F. Walker & Sanford Greene
One of comics' best known buddy teams, Luke Cage and Danny Rand, will make a comeback early next year courtesy of a new Marvel series from the creative team of David F. Walker and Sanford Greene. Titled Power Man & Iron Fist, the book will be the second new Marvel title by a black writer/artist creative team following the recent announcement of a new Black Panther series by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze.
Piece Together New York’s Stories in Esposito and Von Gorman’s ‘Pawn Shop’ [Preview]
City stories are part of the tradition of comics; the comics page offers unique opportunities to explore both the grids and blocks of the cityscape and the separate but intersecting lives of its inhabitants. From fictional metropolises like Terminal City, Astro City, Sin City and Francois Schuiten's Obscure Cities, to visions of real cities like Jason Lutes' Berlin, Seth Fisher's Tokyo, Eddie Campbell's London, Juanjo Guarnido's Paris, or Will Eisner's New York; comics thrive in cities.
In fact, comics have a particular affinity for New York, where so many comics are made. Z2 Comics is adding another New York story to the library this fall with Pawn Shop, a tale of four lives criss-crossing at a Manhattan pawn shop. Writer Joey Esposito and artist Sean Von Gorman will pull at the threads that link New Yorkers together, with Von Gorman providing watercolors over his digital art. Check out a preview below:
New ‘Black Widow’ Series to Reunite ‘Daredevil’ Team of Waid, Samnee, Wilson & Caramagna
Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's run on Daredevil is rightly regarded as one of the best superhero comic runs of recent years, but creative teams that strong and synergistic don't just fade away, and a reunion always seemed certain. The good news is, we won't have long to wait for it; Marvel announced this morning that Waid and Samnee, and colorist Matthew Wilson and letterer Joe Caramagna, are the new creative team on a Black Widow series launching early in 2016.
Exclusive: Feel the Heat in Candelaria and Slominski’s ‘Ashes’ [Preview]
Up-and-coming publisher Z2 Comics is hoping to set itself apart with a slate of truly intriguing titles in the coming year, including Ian McGinty's weirdly wonderful Welcome to Showside, and books from standout talents like Paul Pope, Dean Haspiel, and the late Harvey Pekar. The publisher also hopes to make names of some of its emerging talents, including Mario Candelaria and Karl Slominski, the creators behind Ashes: A Firefighter's Tale.
Ashes is an intense tale focusing on a New York City firefighter named Matt who has to find his way back from a personal trauma. As our exclusive preview shows, Slominski brings a striking visual style to the story that captures the energy and claustrophobia of firefighters in action, matching it with a dramatic emotional charge.
Mad Magazine’s Keil and Kerschbaum Present ‘The Substitute Teacher’s Manual’ [Preview]
We're now several weeks in to the new school year, which means disillusioned and exhausted teachers may have started calling in sick to work already, and it's time for the substitutes to step up. Thankfully Mad Magazine's usual gang of idiots --- specifically Kenny Keil and John Kerschbaum --- have provided a helpful illustrated guide to the challenges of substitute teaching in the upcoming issue #536, and we've got an exclusive first look. Of course, it's about as respectful of the profession as you might expect.
Has Love Found Its Limit in Colinet and Charretier’s ‘Infinite Loop’ #6? [Preview]
A time-traveler whose job is to fix anomalies finds an anomaly that she falls in love with. That's the elegant high concept behind Pierrick Colinet and Elsa Charretier's The Infinite Loop, a stunningly beautiful and mind-bending love story about two women whose romance has more than the usual sorts of hurdles to overcome.
If you haven't been following the series, this preview of the final issue won't give too much away. Our time-tossed lovers face the sort of choices you expect to find in a final act -- be together or make a sacrifice. But these pages will also show you why you really should have been reading the series from the start, because Elsa Charretier's art and colors are breathtakingly lovely.
Mockingbird and Moon Knight Go Solo, Silver Surfer Returns in 2016
The Diamond Retailer Summit is underway in Baltimore this weekend, timed to coincide with Baltimore Comic Con, and Marvel has taken the opportunity to unveil more new titles for the All-New All-Different line relaunch, including ongoing series for two former West Coast Avengers, Moon Knight and Mockingbird.
Super: The Whole World Is Waiting For You To Come Out As Bisexual
This week is Bisexual Awareness Week, an annual event intended to raise bisexual visibility and combat the marginalization of people who are attracted to both their own and other genders. Bisexuals face challenges not only within heteronormative mainstream culture, but within LGBTQ culture as well. Their identity is often challenged by straight and gay alike, and they're frequently compartmentalized as straight or gay based on their past, current, or preferred partners. Bisexual Awareness Week exists to challenge these preconceptions.
To mark the occasion, artist Kris Anka posted an image of some of his favorite bisexual comics heroes and villains on Twitter. His picks included John Constantine, Catwoman, Psylocke, Mystique, and Prodigy --- all confirmed on-panel bisexual characters --- plus a sixth character that some fans were surprised to see; Wonder Woman. Is Wonder Woman bisexual?
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze Take on New ‘Black Panther’ Series at Marvel
We all knew a Black Panther title had to be on the way from Marvel, given the character's upcoming movie appearance in Captain America: Civil War. We also knew it was a title the publisher had to get right. Black Panther is arguably the most important black superhero in comics, not just because he's the first, and not just because of the resonance of his name, but because his strength, status, and ingenuity mark him out as an icon of black excellence. Marvel needed to pick a creative team that showed due respect to everything the character stands for.
Today Marvel revealed that writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and artist Brian Stelfreeze are the creative team for a brand new Black Panther series. Hey, Marvel; good job.
Exclusive: The Aliens Are Among Us in Abnett & Culbard’s ‘Wild’s End: The Enemy Within’ [Preview]
Dan Abnett and I.N.J. Culbard's Wild's End is most aptly and succinctly described as War of the Worlds meets Wind in the Willows; a classic alien invasion tale set in an English village in the 1930s, with the unusual twist that all the characters are anthropomorphic animals --- an approach that allows readers to make a different kind of attachment to the book's beleaguered cast. Sometimes animal heroes are actually easier to identify with and sentimentalize.
In the first Wild's End story, the residents of Lower Crowchurch averted the threat of alien invasion --- or so they believed. The sequel, The Enemy Within, posits that the aliens may already be among us. Of course, the 'us' in this situation consists of adorable talking squirrels and cats and foxes as they wrestle with the paranoia, violence and horror of alien infiltration. Check out an exclusive preview.