Lumberjanes

When it comes to feature film adaptations of comic books, you can keep your grim cape-man broods for three hours action fests, because the project we're most excited to see on the silver screen is Boom Studios' Lumberjanes. Plans for a movie had been announced already, but the project has made one big leap towards reality now that rising star Emily Carmichael has signed on to direct.

Despite all the naysayers and negativity, the new Ghostbusters movie has received a rave reception from critics and audiences, thanks in large part to the chemistry and charisma of its four lead actors, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon. If you loved Ghostbusters and you're after comics in a similar vein, we've rounded up five of the best independent comics that capture the spirit (no pun intended) of the summer's biggest comedy.

San Diego Comic Con is without a doubt the biggest event on the industry’s calendar, and people will be flying from around the world to attend panels, watch trailers, meet creators, and make friends. This year’s event is bigger than ever, with so much going on every single day that it can be difficult to sift through all that information and decide how to spend your time. Yesterday we gave a rundown on what to expect on Thursday and Friday, but things heat up as the weekend kicks in and the major studios make their presence known. Expect big reveals from Marvel Studios, DC's TV offerings and more, plus great panels featuring your favorite creators in comics.

The upcoming crossover between DC's Gotham Academy and Boom Box's Lumberjanes is on track to be the most highly anticipated team-up of the year --- and considering that we've already seen the cast of GI Joe in a karate tournament against the world warriors of Street Fighter and a Batman/TMNT story where Mr. Freeze was turned into an actual polar bear, that's saying something. Point being, anticipation is running pretty high. So high, in fact, that the first issue of Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy has racked up an impressive roster of nine covers, including retailer-exclusive variants from artists like Veronica Fish, LJ co-creator Brooke Allen, and more. Check them out below (along with the five regular covers)!

This Wednesday, May 18, sees the release of the 2016 Lumberjanes special, Lumberjanes: Makin: the Ghost of It, written by Jen Wang with art by Christine Norrie and colors by Maarta Laiho. It tells the story of the Lumberjanes going on a plant-foraging hike that leads to a haunted mining settlement, and the mystery that follows them back to camp. We spoke to Wang about the story, and the direction she approached everyone's favorite summer campers from.

Boom Studios has revealed three Fried Pie exclusive variant covers for Lumberjanes and Might Morphin Power Rangers: Pink by artists Wook Jin Clark, Carolyn Nowak, and Paulina Ganucheau. The Lumberjanes: Makin' the Ghost of It #1 cover by Nowak and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink #1 cover by Clark will both be offered exclusively at Fried Pie Con on May 28th at the 2nd & Charles store in Kennesaw, Georgia, where Power Rangers: Pink co-writer Brenden Fletcher will appear for a store signing. Ganucheau's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink #1 cover will be available from Fried Pie as part of the book's regular release.

Every year, the GLAAD Media Awards aim to celebrate the best of LGBT-inclusive media and the people producing that work. This weekend at a ceremony in Los Angeles, winners for the 2016 awards were announced, with Boom Studios’s acclaimed Lumberjanes taking home the award for Outstanding Comic Book.

This week's most exciting news was undoubtedly the announcement of the Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy crossover, coming in June from Chynna Clugston-Flores and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell. The thing is, though, aside from the creative team, any details of the actual plot of the series have been a kept as hidden as the mysteries of a haunted forest and/or suspiciously supervillainous private school. I mean, sure, we can pretty much expect that we're going to see mysteries and friendship, but beyond that? Who knows. But to tide us over in the meantime, Boom Studios has sent over an exclusive look at the incentive cover for the first issue of the crossover by Gotham Academy artist Karl Kerschl --- and in the process, they have provided us with one major clue. There will be a tree involved.

Every now and then, a crossover idea comes along that's such a no-brainer, such a natural, easy fit, that you start to wonder why you're surprised that it's actually happening. For my money, that's one of the best kinds of surprises, and that's exactly what we're getting today, as Boom Studios has announced an upcoming crossover between Lumberjanes and DC's Gotham Academy.

GLAAD, the advocacy group that monitors lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender representation in the media, has announced the 2016 nominees for its annual Media Awards celebrating positive LGBT representation, including five comic book series that provided outstanding examples of fair, inclusive, original and impactful LGBT characters in 2015. Four publishers are recognized this year; DC leads with two nominees, Harley Quinn and Midnighter. Marvel's sole nominee is Angela, Queen of Hel, while Boom's Lumberjanes and Image's The Wicked And The Divine complete the list. For the first time, the GLAAD website lists the artists for the books rather than just crediting the writers.