Corin Howell

Released last year through Oni Press, The Mighty Zodiac assembled not just one but two impressive team-ups. Not only did the series join up characters who represent the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac --- from tiger to rat to pig to cat --- but also brought us the creative team of writer J. Torres, artist Corin Howell, and colorist Maarta Laiho. Together, they channeled a shared interest in the classical Disney movie style into a series filled with charm and heart. With the trade collection of the series planned to release from Oni in March, ComicsAlliance reassembled the creative trio to ask about how they first came together as the team, how the story developed from a concept to the final comic, and the challenges of taking a concept like the zodiac and turning it into a story of its own. Along the way, they discuss the series' influences, why it was important for this to be an all-ages story which anybody can enjoy... and why bunnies are the bad guys.

So let's talk for a second about Annuals. The entire point of those things is to give readers more comics, which is something that I think we as comics writers can all get behind as a pretty good idea. The thing is, they've occasionally gotten a bad reputation because "more" doesn't always translate to "good." I've written about it before, about that tricky tightrope that they need to walk just by virtue of being bigger and more expensive comics that exist just slightly outside the main publishing schedule, leading to a tendency to work as weird offshoots rather than as stories that support the ongoing narrative. But the Annuals that IDW released this week sidestepped that problem neatly. With Jem, it was a matter of embracing that weirdness with a sci-fi take on the Holograms that exists as an in-universe fan-comic. With Ghostbusters Annual 2017, though, they've done it by embracing the concept of More.

You'd think the Power Rangers would've had more luck with comic books. They are, after all, superheroes, and not only that, but they're superheroes in a story that brings in pretty much everything superhero fans love: Secret identities, star-crossed romance, giant robot dinosaurs, moon witches, a disembodied head floating in a tube. Admittedly, some of those might just be things I'd like to see in superhero stories, but the point stands. The show's coming up on 23 years of success on television, and while it seems like everything it needs to make a good comic is right there already, every attempt up to now has resulted in what you could charitably refer to as a mixed bag. Now, it looks like that might finally change. This week, Boom Studios is launching an ongoing Power Rangers series with a zero issue, and I have to admit that for a first issue, it's got everything I want from a Power Rangers comic. And by that, I mostly mean that there's a Bulk and Skull solo story.

Earlier this year, after decades --- literal, actual decades --- of rolling my eyes dismissively whenever anyone brought up the franchise, I agreed to sit down with a complete run of IDW's current Transformers comics and write about the experience of reading them. By the end of it, I wasn't just a fan, but I had to admit that they were, bar none, some of the best comic books I have ever read in my life. Now I'm a dude who got really excited about paying fifty bucks to buy an Ultra Magnus figure that included Minimus Ambus. The system works. The only way I could've liked it more is if they'd somehow combined what they were doing on those titles with something that I already loved, like, say, Christmas. This week, they did that very thing, so in order to talk about it, I'm reviving The Transformed Man for a very special look at this year's Transformers Holiday Special, in which presents are given, trees are decorated, and Thundercracker tries to kill Santa Claus.

I've never liked the Transformers. The franchise didn't get its hooks into me as a kid, and while I've tried to give it a shot as an adult, it never really clicked. But now, with a recommendation from almost everyone I know and a well-timed Humble Bundle sale that left me with three years worth (and counting) of IDW's More Than Meets The Eye and Robots In Disguise comics, I'm going on a quest to see if these comics can turn me from someone who has never cared at all about Optimus Prime into someone who uses words like "Cybertron" and "alt-mode" with alarming regularity. And Primus help me, it's working. This week, Windblade embarks on her first solo adventure in the Transformers equivalent of Speed Racer.

DC rocked the comics Internet pretty hard today with a massive announcement of 24 new comics spinning out of their Convergence event, and I can assure you that no one is more excited about this than I am. But the one thing that's most impressive about it is just how weird the publisher is getting. And folks, DC is getting weird. Not only is the publisher reviving some of the deepest cuts in DC history, but it's also putting the spotlight on some truly weird characters -- including a few that I didn't think would ever make a comeback. So for the benefit of those of you who haven't been obsessing over DC Comics for the last three decades, here's a quick breakdown of the three weirdest comics coming up in DC's new lineup!

In the overwhelmingly male comic book industry, it has been a challenge for some editors and readers to see the ever growing number of talented women currently trying to make a name for themselves. With that in mind, ComicsAlliance offers Hire This Woman, a recurring feature designed for comics readers as well as editors and other professionals, where we shine the spotlight on a female comics pro on the ascendance. Some of these women will be at the very beginning of their careers, while others will be more experienced but not yet “household names.” Cartoonist Corin Howell attended the Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated with a degree in Sequential Art. Also one of the first students of the Murphy Apprenticeship with the great Sean Murphy, she writes, draws, and colors her projects, which so far have included work for Viz and Oni, as well as work she's self-publishing.