Culture

April 19, 1954 is a date that has lived in infamy for comics fans. That's the day psychiatrist Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent, a book that changed the comics landscape for decades to come, was first published. Wertham's book led to a moral panic over the content of comic books that ultimately resulted in the founding of the Comics Code Authority and the eventual folding of one of the major publishers of the era, EC Comics.

What a week! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to sit back and read some comics. The weekend is finally here, and the world can relax and rest once more — but the comics industry has been busy too, you know, and the last seven days have seen a flurry of comics-based news and announcements fly past at high speed. ComicsAlliance has got your back, though: when it comes to comics, we never slow down, so here’s a look back and just what’s been going on. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

What a week! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to sit back and read some comics. The weekend is finally here, and the world can relax and rest once more — but the comics industry has been busy too, you know, and the last seven days have seen a flurry of comics-based news and announcements fly past at high speed. ComicsAlliance has got your back, though: when it comes to comics, we never slow down, so here’s a look back and just what’s been going on. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

What a week! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to sit back and read some comics. The weekend is finally here, and the world can relax and rest once more — but the comics industry has been busy too, you know, and the last seven days have seen a flurry of comics-based news and announcements fly past at high speed. ComicsAlliance has got your back, though: when it comes to comics, we never slow down, so here’s a look back and just what’s been going on. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

Geekdom has grown rapidly in the past few years, extending beyond comic shelves and hitting the apparel market. Brands such as WeLoveFine and Her Universe have made an effort to incorporate geek culture into their collections and introduce trendy apparel for every type of fandom. With Hero Mode, ComicsAlliance hopes to offer you a selection of the best geek-themed apparel for your wardrobe, inspired by your favorite characters. It's no secret than Ryan Reynold's appearance as the Merc with a Mouth in Fox's Deadpool movie crushed the box office. To celebrate Reynold's spot on portrayal, we’ve sourced some of the best chimichanga-friendly gear to add to your closet of hero wear.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again -- black comics are enjoying a renaissance right now. As black creators permeate the comic book world with independent series and web comics, black characters are making headway onscreen and on the page. Power Man and Iron Fist #1, which was released last week from a black creative team, received rave reviews ahead of Luke Cage's upcoming Netflix series later this year. D.M.C., of Run DMC fame, has been flexing his comic creating muscles in his series, DMC. And black creators have been tearing up Kickstarter with their creations. In order to celebrate work by black comic creators, ComicsAlliance is highlighting some of the artists and writers who are bringing diverse characters and their own stories to the pages. Check out part two of our list below --- and if you haven't already, check out part one here.

Angela has a, shall we say, somewhat interesting path into the Marvel Universe, beginning life as an angelic hunter in the long-running Todd McFarlane superhero horror comic Spawn. However, you don’t need to know a thing about what happened in Spawn to read this series, since the only common thread is the name and the costume (and even then, the costume doesn’t last long). In this series, Angela is revealed to be Thor and Loki’s sister, raised by angels and beholden to their way of thinking, which is purely transactional --- nothing is done without a price, and selflessness is considered weak. This makes her a difficult character to like, but fortunately, the book surrounds her with more sympathetic characters, one of which is the subject of this column.

Ms. Marvel has won the second annual Dwayne McDuffie Award For Diversity In Comics at a ceremony held this weekend at Long Beach Comic Expo. Aside from honoring Ms. Marvel and other diverse works being published today, the event celebrated the life and career of the late McDuffie, with friends and collaborators in attendance to share stories and lessons from the legendary creator.

What a week! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to sit back and read some comics. The weekend is finally here, and the world can relax and rest once more — but the comics industry has been busy too, you know, and the last seven days have seen a flurry of comics-based news and announcements fly past at high speed. ComicsAlliance has got your back, though: when it comes to comics, we never slow down, and so here’s a look back and just what’s been going on. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

We all remember Batkid, aka Miles Scott, the young boy suffering from cancer who got to fulfill his dream of being Batman for a day thanks to the help of the city of San Francisco and the Make-A-Wish foundation. The charitable organization has helped to make another ailing kid's superhero dreams come true, transforming nine-year-old Iron Man fan Domenic Pace into Iron Boy — and he's even been endorsed by Robert Downey Jr. himself.