sophie campbell

As far as opening lines go, "This is bad, right? Bebop and Rocksteady just traveled through time to who knows where!" is probably one of the more ominous starts that a comic has ever had. I mean, really, considering those two dudes can't even walk into a building without bringing the whole thing down around their heads, giving them access to the time stream can only be bad. For the people in that universe, I mean. For those of us here in this dimension who are reading the comic, we're in for a treat as Ben Bates, Dustin Weaver, Sophie Campbell, Giannis Milonogiannis and Bill Crabtree chronicle the second stop on the destructive duo's trip through the time stream: A journey back to the distant past of the year 2000 (and another journey back to dinosaur times for a team-up with the demonic master of the Cretaceous, Savanti Romero! Check out a preview below!

This week at Comixology, IDW has launched a big sale on their all-ages titles, and folks, if you have been waiting for the opportunity to jump onto the epic, ongoing saga that is Angry Birds (written by Jeff Parker and Paul Tobin, for real!), now is your opportunity. But even if your interest goes beyond flinging birds at pigs, there's plenty in there to check out, including Top Shelf titles from James Kochalka, Aaron Renier's Spiral Bound, and of course, their massively successful My Little Pony comics. But mixed in with the rest of the books, there's one title that stands out as the unquestionable star of the show: The first volume of Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell's Jem and the Holograms, which is not only one of ComicsAlliance's favorite ongoing titles, but may actually be the best possible adaptation of Jem - and you can grab it today for only four bucks.

Jem and the Holograms is about an all-woman glitter rock band and their quest to rise from the ranks of the Sufficiently Outrageous to become Truly Outrageous. The group has run into a problem: the lead singer, Jerrica, is terrified of singing in public. Thanks to Jerrica’s deceased father, though, they also have a solution: a holographic supercomputer that helps Jerrica create a stage persona that lets her get over her phobia. There would be a lot of resonant storytelling with me if it just stopped there, since I know a thing or two about how a persona you can put on and take off can make things easier –- and harder. Like Jerrica, I also have a secret identity. However, sometimes solutions just free you up to tackle new problems, and the new problem that plagues Jem and the Holograms is their rival band, the Misfits, who claim that their songs are better and that they are going to get her.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is in theaters worldwide right now, and whether you loved or hated it, it's certainly an interesting take on The Caped Crusader and The Man of Tomorrow. A great many independent comics have taken the core ideas of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other iconic characters and given them a unique spin that could only be explored outside the confines of DC Comics mainstream continuity. If you're looking for superhero stories with a bit of an edge, we've got five of the best to recommend to you.

If there's one thing that drives Bebop and Rocksteady more than anything else, it's that they are massive, unstoppable screwups. Those dudes can't even go into a building without bringing the whole thing down to its foundation and kicking off a gang war, so just imagine how much trouble they could get into if they had access to, say, the entire time stream. This June, that's exactly what's happening. Over at the AV Club, IDW has announced Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything, in which the eternal misfits of the TMNT franchise find themselves bouncing around through time itself courtesy of writers Dustin Weaver and Ben Bates, with a cast of artists that includes Nick Pitarra, Sophie Campbell, Giannis Milonogiannis, and Ryan Browne. And if that wasn't enough, they're bringing a few old friends along for the ride, too!

Jem and the Holograms has been one of the best comics on the stands ever since its debut, and one of the things that really makes it work is how it expands on the original cartoon in ways that make perfect sense. Jerrica's stage fright, Stormer and Kimber's super-cute relationship, and the recasting of Rio as a music reporter put off by Jem's standoffish nature, have all helped to build Kelly Thompson, Sophie Campbell and Emma Vieceli's story into a great, fleshed-out world. Now, with "Dark Jem" kicking off this week, they're turning that world upside-down. The Misfits have lost a lead singer, the Holograms are going dark, and something's wrong with Synergy. To find out more, ComicsAlliance spoke with Thompson about the direction for the next arc, the challenge of making Pizzazz and the Misfits sympathetic, and why the current arc has an awful lot to do with The Karate Kid.

Our judges have adjudicated; our readers have voted. We’re proud to present to you the outstanding artist of 2015 — and four exceptional runners up.

Our judges have adjudicated; our readers have voted. We’re proud to present to you the breakthrough talent of 2015 — and four exceptional runners up.

Our judges have adjudicated; our readers have voted. We’re proud to present to you the best character redesign of 2015 — and four great runners up.

The weekend is here! Put down your paperwork, throw your stationery out of the window, and do a victory spin in your office chair, because it’s time to catch up on that greatest of all media: comics! What’s been going on this week? There’s so much comics that there’s no way anybody can keep up with all of it — so Weekender is here to catch you up on some of the stories you may have missed, and some of the best writing about comics from the past few days.