David F. Walker

Sanford Greene's art is just uncommonly charming, right? That was my first thought when the earliest images were released from the upcoming Power Man and Iron Fist, and seeing this preview has only strengthened that opinion. The new ongoing series, featuring Greene and writer David Walker, will be in stores on February 17th.

Unless you're the kind of traditionalist who knows that today is the day to send your true love four colly birds, the post-Christmas hangover is well and truly upon us. But doesn't that just mean that it's time to do something for yourself? Of course it does, and to help you with that, Comixology has kicked off a sale on Dynamite Entertainment's entire line, offering up over 2,500 comics to get for half off. But with that many, you might need some help narrowing it down, and if that's the case, I've picked out two of the best comics you can grab before the sale ends on Sunday, featuring two of your favorite cinematic heroes: James Bond and Shaft.

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.

David F. Walker and Bilquis Evely's Shaft: A Complicated Man was one of the best comics of the past couple of years. Focused on the first case for the legendary private eye, it was the origin story that I never knew I wanted, an engaging and very, very personal revenge case that set the stage for the character in a brutal and highly entertaining way and left me wanting to read a whole lot more. Fortunately, that's exactly what we're going to get. Today, Dynamite announced that Walker would not only return to Shaft with Imitation of Life, a new comic with artist Dietrich Smith, he'll also be writing Shaft's Revenge, the first new prose novel about the character in over forty years.

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.

Standing alongside the Justice League since the start of the New 52, Victor Stone has long been a calm but grounding presence for the team. Unlike so many other heroes, he cannot take off a mask and cowl and go off to live a regular life. Victor Stone is always Cyborg. That brings a different perspective to superhero life that, one that, up until now, has never been fully explored. This month writer David F. Walker takes on the character for an ongoing series, fresh off a fantastic run on Shaft over at Dynamite. Joined by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Adriano Lucas as the artistic team, Walker has already demonstrated a little of what he plans to bring to the Cyborg series in a 'Sneak Peak' issue published by DC at the end of May. With Cyborg #1 due on shelves next week, we spoke to Walker about how he came on board, working with DC, and finding the humanity in Victor Stone.

One of the really nice things about the rise of digital comics is that there's always a sale going on, and this week, Dynamite has one that's definitely worth checking out. It's listed on the site as a "Recent Hits" sale, and there are a lot of great comics from the past year that are up for 99 cents each: the amazingly weird Bob's Burgers tie-in that features a new installment of Tina's Erotic Friend Fiction in each issue; the beautiful Conan/Red Sonja crossover; the surprisingly great Django/Zorro series from Matt Wagner, Quentin Tarantino and Esteve Polls; the Kirby-inspired Captain Victory; and even the first issues of their new King Features line. It's one of those sales where it's easy to spend a whole lot of money --- which, I believe, is the entire idea --- but if you've only got the budget to check one thing out, then there's one book that I can recommend over everything else: David F. Walker and Bilquis Evely's Shaft, one of the year's best miniseries.

While this week's cheap comic news might be dominated by DC's big ol' New 52 sale, digging a little deeper on Comixology will provide even more: A short but thorough sale on Dynamite's pulp-themed comics, featuring the Shadow, Doc Savage, the Spider and more, dropped down to as little as a buck an issue.

The recent free eight-page preview for DC's upcoming Cyborg series by David F. Walker and Ivan Reis revealed a significant change for title character Victor Stone; after having his cybernetic arms severed and his life ended by rampaging monsters, the three-quarters mechanical hero came back to life with new, more human-looking limbs. To some readers it might seem a mere cosmetic makeover, but the change may have deeper implications. To understand why, it's helpful to understand how Cyborg is regarded by black critics.

Next Saturday at the Long Beach Comic Expo the first ever winner of the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity will be named, and today the organizers revealed an impressive roster of nominees that includes a tribute to the first Chinese-American superhero, a blaxploitation revival, and the most prominent Muslim superhero in North American comics.