2023 is already at a close, and it’s time to look back on this momentous year for comic books. This year, fan-favorite heroes were killed off, horror comics continued to thrive, and DSTLRY launched a new approach to creator-owned comics. Without further ado, here are the very best comics that came out this year. 

MARVEL

The Incredible Hulk

The Hulk has been around since 1962, and it’s about time he starred in his own Southern Gothic body horror story. This year, The Incredible Hulk quite literally exploded his way to becoming one of Marvel’s strongest books. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Nic Klein delivered a haunting and lyrical tale of Bruce Banner and a spunky teenager named Charlie traveling through the American South. There’s creepy church songs, creatures exploding out of bodies, abandoned mining towns, and a brand new Ghost Rider – what more could you want? Horror comics are popular right now, but The Incredible Hulk has its own corner of the market because of its Southern Gothic specificity. Johnson and Klein are one of the finest creative teams at Marvel today, so don’t miss out. 

Immortal Thor

One of the most powerful things that can happen while reading a superhero book is being reminded of why you love, or loved, a character so much. Immortal Thor by Al Ewing and Martín Cóccolo presents this type of awakening. Al Ewing has stated that his favorite kind of Thor is a smiling Thor. And seeing the god of thunder smile in Immortal Thor #1 breaks down any sense of separation we might feel from this arguably unrelatable character. Thor is at his best when you can feel chummy with him, even if you don’t quite understand the life he lives. Under Ewing and Cóccolo’s stewardship, Thor feels like your best friend who also happens to be a god. He sparks enough joy to pass the Marie Kondo test. How lucky we are to have him. 

Star Wars: Dark Droids

If you are anything of a Star Wars fan yourself, run – don’t walk – to Marvel’s Star Wars comics. The ongoing Dark Droids event highlights the strength of the Star Wars line in its entirety, between the title series by Charles Soule and Madibek Musabekov, Bounty Hunters by Ethan Sacks and Davide Tinto, Doctor Aphra by Alyssa Wong and Mingkyu Jung, and Darth Vader by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco. Dark Droids poses the simple question of what would happen if all of the droids and cyborgs in the galaxy were corrupted by an evil virus. Considering how widespread droids are, it’s a genius question. Not even Vader is safe. 

The X-Cellent

As algorithms continue to sway the course of popular culture, the X-Statix have never felt more relevant. The X-Statix are an X-Men team created by Peter Milligan, Michael Allred, and Laura Allred. Unlike other X-Men teams, the X-Statix have always had a strong satirical bent, as they are reality stars more than honest superheroes. The X-Cellent by Milligan and the Allreds is their latest adventure, where Mr. Sensitive’s team battles their vomiting foe, Zeitgeist, once again (yes, you read that right). The X-Statix are just about the most dysfunctional superhero team around, and The X-Cellent highlights everything that makes them so refreshing.  

She-Hulk/The Sensational She-Hulk

The world is a better place when She-Hulk has an ongoing series. The Sensational She-Hulk is a continuation of Rainbow Rowell and Andrés Genolet’s She-Hulk series that wrapped up earlier this year. Rowell and Genolet’s love for the character shines through with their work, as it has more of a slice-of-life feel than most superhero stories. In a genre overcrowded by insanely high, universe-shattering stakes, The Sensational She-Hulk provides the rare opportunity to sit down on a comfortable couch and listen to characters have conversations with each other. She-Hulk is such a wonderful character that she makes every issue a gift. 

DC

Green Lantern

Jeremy Adams and Xermánico’s Green Lantern is the Top Gun: Maverick of Hal Jordan stories. It’s effortless, impeccably executed, heavy on “hang-out” time with the characters, and there’s a motorcycle or two. This isn’t your typical Hal Jordan story, as he’s living out of a trailer and his old flame, Carol Ferris, has moved on. Regardless of what your feelings about Hal Jordan are, Green Lantern will give you a reason to root for this guy. Additionally, Xermánico continues to prove that he is one of the most versatile artists working in comics today. He nails soft, bright, emotional scenes alongside pulse-pounding, gritty action sequences. The sky is the limit in Green Lantern.

Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville

Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville is the female-led buddy comedy we’ve always needed. For those who aren’t familiar, Fire and Ice were on the Justice League back in the late 1980s and 1990s. Despite being one of DC’s best friendships, the two superheroines haven’t gotten their due. But now, thanks to Joanne Starer and Natacha Bustos, Fire and Ice shine as they set up their own hair salon in Smallville, Kansas. Each issue will make you fall in love with this dynamic duo even more, and there’s some hilarious cameos sprinkled throughout.

The Vigil

If you’re a fan of morally-grey superheroes, look no further than The Vigil by Ram V and Lalit Kumar Sharma. A brand new team composed of metahumans from India, The Vigil are built in a similar vein to the WildC.A.T.S. from the 1990s, except they’re even cooler. There’s a kid on the team named Castle who is so terrifyingly smart that The Vigil would rather have him on their team than risk the chance of someone else scooping him up. The evocative character designs by Sharma hint at the interesting backstories for each character, with Saya’s mask being an instantly iconic look. V and Sharma’s miniseries proves that The Vigil have immense potential in the DC Universe, so now is a good time to jump aboard! 

Peacemaker Tries Hard! 

If you’ve haven’t cried from laughter while reading a comic, you haven’t lived. Peacemaker Tries Hard! by Kyle Starks and Steve Pugh is one of the funniest books of the year. Kyle Starks launches one-liners like a potato gun, executed with precision by Steve Pugh’s gorgeous and expressive artwork. What makes Peacemaker such a delight is that he is not very good at being a superhero, and he lacks any sense of self-awareness. Coupled with the fact that he has an adorable puppy named Bruce Wayne, it doesn’t get much funnier than Peacemaker Tries Hard! 

Action Comics

2023 was the year that Action Comics became a book celebrating the entire Superman Family. With new costumes designed by artist Dan Mora, the Super-Family has never felt more central to the evolving DC mythos. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson has consistently transformed a different Superman villain with every arc on Action Comics. Under the pen of artist Rafa Sandoval, Metallo reached new heights as a villain, with the story focusing on his chances for redemption. It’s the perfect model for Superman’s values in restorative justice, while also providing a counter to Action’s more clear-cut evildoers, like Mongul and Lex Luthor. 

INDIE PUBLISHERS

Phantom Road

Image Comics’ Phantom Road is written by one of the most distinctive voices in horror comics today, Jeff Lemire. Together with artist Gabriel H. Walta and colorist Jordie Bellaire, Lemire takes us on a highway to hell with haunting images we can never unsee. The story follows a trucker named Dom who stumbles across a stretch of highway where desiccated zombie-like creatures roam. What ensues is like if Resident Evil 2 met Kentucky Route Zero. Walta’s grimy artwork is not to be missed. 

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees

Every once and a while, we are lucky enough to find a series that has us screaming, “WHAT IN TARNATION?!” at the end of the first issue. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees from IDW Publishing is one of those series. Written and drawn by Patrick Horvath, Beneath the Trees has an adorable aesthetic that doesn’t hide the grisly habits of its protagonist, a serial killer named Samantha. However, Samantha is a very cuddly-looking bear, living in a quaint town with other animals, not unlike your own island in Animal Crossing. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees has a gleefully macabre sense of humor and eye-popping visuals. Don’t miss it. 

Killadelphia 

If you haven’t read even a bit of Image Comics’ Killadelphia, you’re missing out on one of the greatest horror books of the past decade. Written by Rodney Barnes with art by Jason Shawn Alexander, Killadelphia explores the sins of America’s past and present through vampires. Only, these aren’t your typical vampires, they’re figures like Former President George Washington. Killadelphia continues to be a thought-provoking look at American history. Alexander’s art captures the violence at the center of it all with gritty excellence. Come for the vampire former Presidents, stay for the heartfelt meditations on family. 

Carmilla: The First Vampire 

Between Killadelphia and Carmilla: The First Vampire, vampires have never felt more fresh in comics. Amy Chu and Soo Lee’s graphic novel is set in 1996 in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Social worker Athena Loo is pulled into a web of mystery after a number of her clients are murdered. Chu’s writing beautifully captures the everyday culture of Manhattan Chinatown, seamlessly weaving the dangers of gentrification with the vampire metaphor. The title of the graphic novel comes from Sheridan Le Fanu’s novella of the same name, and it stays true to the original as a lesbian vampire story. But make no mistake, Carmilla: The First Vampire has its own unique story to tell. 

The post Nerdist’s Best Comics of 2023 appeared first on Nerdist.

Doctor Who is celebrating 60 years of time and space adventures in style with a slate of anniversary specials with David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble. The pair reunited in “The Star Beast,” as the Doctor went up against a very furry antagonist being chased by scary looking bug-like creatures. The adorable yet angry Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors are brand new to many fans of the TV show. However, these characters are far from new to the overall Doctor Who universe. Here’s what you should know about the Big Finish and Doctor Who comics history of Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors and how they appear in “The Star Beast.” 

The Doctor Who Comics and Big Finish Audios History of Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors

Beep the Meep made his debut in the black-and-white comic story Doctor Who and the Star Beast (1980), written by Pat Mills and John Wagner with illustrations by Dave Gibbons. In the comics, Beep the Meep is big, furry, and white, much like the character appears in the TV show. Beep is the leader of the Meeps, a peaceful race who lived joyfully until their planet orbited near a Black Sun. The rays mutated them, making them an angry collective hellbent on conquering other planets. The Meeps were stopped by the Wrarth Warriors, a group of genetically engineered law enforcers with red eyes and a detachable claw for their left arm. The Star Council designed them specifically to deal with the Meeps, which they mostly succeeded at. However, Beep managed to escape death.

Beep’s ship crash landed into Earth, specifically the city of Blackcastle. The Meep leader put on a sweet front and befriended two kids named Sharon and Fudge. The innocent duo gave Beep shelter and the Fourth Doctor soon came along to help the fuzzy creature out. However, Beep the Meep’s true nature came to light. The Doctor teamed up with the Wrarth Warriors to defeat him. Following this story, Sharon became the Fourth Doctor’s next comic companion. 

Beep the Meep later made a brief cameo in Doctor Who Magazine #173’s Party Animals in 1991. This time, he appeared at a party that the Seventh Doctor and Ace attended. Here, Beep was colorized as a blue creature with yellow eyes. But we don’t see more action from him until 1996’s The Star Beast II. In that story, he got out on parole and wanted sadistic revenge. Once again, the Fourth Doctor got the upper hand, using black star energy to trap Beep inside For the Love of Lassie, a kids’ movie.

The most hilarious Beep the Meep comic appearance is Doctor Who Magazine #283’s TV Action! (1999). Beep tried to take over BBC’s TV hub to turn everyone in the UK evil, until the actor Tom Baker distracted him from his evil plan. You see, Beep the Meep thought Tom Baker was the Fourth Doctor (can’t imagine why…) and focused on destroying his longtime nemesis. The Eighth Doctor and Izzy came together to defeat Beep. 

Beep the Meep made the leap to audio stories with Big Finish’s The Ratings War, which was a CD that came with Doctor Who Magazine #313 (2002). Toby Longworth gave Beep the Meep a voice as the character faced the Sixth Doctor. Again, Beep tried to use TV to control the masses but he did not succeed. Once again, Beep ended up back in the hands of the Wrarth Warriors. In March 2019, Beep the Meep was in a Big Finish audio adaptation of Doctor Who and the Star Beast, with Bethan Dixon Bate providing the leader’s voice.

For the most part, the Wrarth Warriors only made comic and audio appearances to stop Beep the Meep. However, the Wrarth Warriors do briefly face the Slitheen family in the Russell T Davies’ story “Raxacoricofallapatorius,” which was in the book Monsters and Villains. In this adventure, they are still star police who deal with the Slitheen family’s illegal deeds. 

Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors in Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary Special Episode “The Star Beast” 

In the episode, Rose Noble, the Doctor, and pretty much everyone else in London except Donna Noble see a spaceship that appears to crash land in London. The ship lands in a steelworks mill; however, a separate vessel ends up near the Noble family home. Rose walks in an alleyway and runs into Beep the Meep (voiced by Miriam Margolyes). Who can resist a furry white creature with big brown eyes?! Beep is undeniably cute and Rose immediately tries to befriend this new alien creature. Meanwhile, large bug-like creatures are dead set on hunting him down.

The Doctor arrives at the Noble home, with Donna’s mum Sylvia trying to prevent Donna from remembering her TARDIS travels. Beep the Meep tells them that the bug creatures, known as Wrarth Warriors, cultivated Meepkind for their fur until the galaxy said that was no longer acceptable. So the Wrarth Warriors slaughtered them and said that they will hunt down Beep. We also learn Beep has two hearts like the Doctor. 

Things predictably go awry when the Wrarth Warriors and UNIT soldiers, who are under a mind spell of sorts, get into battle. They destroy poor Donna’s home as the Doctor works to get them and Beep the Meep out alive. The Doctor soon realizes the Wrarth Warriors are perhaps not the villains after all. He brings Donna and her family along with Beep to an abandoned garage. Fourteen then summons the two main Wrarth Warriors via teleportation. 

One warrior gives them the real story. He says the Meeps’ planet once basked in the light of the living sun. One day the sun went mad and became psychedelic, its radiation mutating all of Meep-kind into cruel beasts who live for conquest. Basically they all went mad and they can transfer this psychosis through their eyes. The Meep army captured the Galactic Council, beheaded them, and ate them. So, the Wrarth Warriors were summoned to stop them. They eliminated majority of Meepkind and now Beep the Meep, the cruelest of them all and the leader, is the only one left. Beep finally reveals his true nature and kills the two Wrarth Warrior leaders. This story largely lines up with the comic origins for Beep and the Wrarth Warriors. 

Beep the Meep’s ship did not crash at all. He purposely landed on Earth to use its dagger drive to gain energy by stabbing into the ground and burning everything within a five-mile radius for fuel. Yep, that means Beep the Meep would destroy the entirety of London to give his ship some more juice. Of course, the Doctor and the DoctorDonna (!!!) come together once again to save the day. They work together in the engine control room to disable the dagger drive system and render his ship useless.

The Doctor ejects Beep out of the capsule and into the custody of the Wrarth Warriors. Beep the Meep gets 10,000 years in prison but, before he goes, he says he will tell “the Boss.” We can assume this is the Celestial Toymaker, whom the Doctor and Donna will face in the upcoming specials. For more about him, check out our explainer about his Doctor Who history. 

It’s unclear if we will see Beep the Meep or the Wrarth Warriors in the next two Doctor Who anniversary specials. We doubt it considering the Toymaker is on the way. But it was fun to see deep-cut Doctor Who comic characters come to life to celebrate the show’s enduring legacy.

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In The Marvels, Iman Vellani makes a delightful return as Kamala Khan after we last saw her in the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel. The Pakistani-Canadian actress has been widely noted as a scene-stealer in the film, bringing all of Kamala Khan’s joy over meeting her idol Captain Marvel to the big screen. Vellani is fully living the dream of a comic book nerd in many ways. She recently co-wrote Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant alongside Sabir Pirzada, which introduces Kamala Khan as a mutant and member of the X-Men in the Marvel Comics universe.

We caught up with Iman Vellani to talk about her ideas for Kamala Khan’s future, her relationship with her The Marvels co-stars, and her hopes for Ms. Marvel to meet a certain character in the MCU.

Nerdist: What is it like living every comic book nerd’s dream? Your joy in being in this film was so palpable and so wonderful to see. What was the experience like?

Iman Vellani: I really have been trying to figure out how to sum it up and it’s near impossible. I feel like such an imposter at times. I am very, very lucky and I can acknowledge that, but what if I’m not enough? What if there’s a bigger fan? It’s a lot of pressure when you actually think about it and knowing the fan base very well from God knows how many years I’ve been a part of this community… It’s a little intimidating, but I think if I’m happy doing the work, then people will be able to see that. So hopefully that’s enough.

The relationship between Kamala, Carol, and Monica was the highlight of the film. What was it like building that relationship and bonding over the filming throughout?

Vellani: Yeah, I was going into this thinking we’re going to be like sisters, super close, and they kind of just took me in. It was very sweet because both of them have not only been in Marvel things before, but they’ve just been in Hollywood before and I had just come off of Ms. Marvel. I hadn’t done any press yet. I haven’t been exposed to the world. I basically had these two years where I could just prepare for my life to change. Brie and Teyonah were both very good at giving me space to ask questions and be vulnerable and open.

There’s so many weird questions that you can’t really ask until you’re put in that situation, in terms of press and your makeup or body image. There’s so much of just being a woman in the public eye and I think they understand that on such a deep level. It was very great for me to have them as support, and then they just let me take off once the universe got ahold of me and they’ve always been available if I ever needed anything. It was a very sweet relationship.

In The Marvels, Kamala goes through this journey of learning not to put Captain Marvel on such a high pedestal. Did that journey parallel your own at all as someone who’s just entering this world of Marvel and this massive limelight?

Vellani: Absolutely. I say this all the time, but me and Kamala are going on a very similar trajectory here. With Ms. Marvel, it was like a homey environment, small, everyone was kind of my age and we were all new and this was everyone’s first big thing. Then suddenly, two weeks later, I’m doing a scene with Samuel L. Jackson and my brain cannot wrap my head around it. I’ve gotten a lot better at realizing famous people are also people.

I think at the same time, Kamala realizes Carol has so many stressors already on her, and she very clearly does not know how to express her feelings. She doesn’t know how to be vulnerable in front of other people. She doesn’t have any relationships in her life, whereas Kamala has her friends, her family, her religious community. She’s got her mentors, her idols, and so many people around her in her life and her entire Jersey City squad and Carol doesn’t have that. [Carol] has Goose. She has a freaking cat. That’s it.

It’s not even a cat. So it makes total sense that she is the way that she is, and I think Carol actually ends up learning a lot from Kamala about being open and having emotions and honoring those feelings and just like Kamala does. It was very sweet to watch our characters progress and go through this entire arc throughout the course of the film.

Kamala/Ms. Marvel is one of my favorite characters, not only as a South Asian Muslim woman, but also because so much of her culture and religion is woven into who she is in every comic page of portrayal. The same is true for her in live-action, too. Do you have a favorite example of a certain cultural or religious reference that happened in The Marvels?

Vellani: There’s this one part where Muneeba, Kamala’s mom, is saying how she’s going to kill Carol Danvers in Urdu. That was really funny. I don’t know why. That just makes me crack up every single time. That, and obviously [the moment where] Aamir is praying as they’re about to crash-land back on to Earth and Nick Fury was like, “Well, don’t stop. We need all the help we can get.” There are these little moments like that that make these characters so specific and [to me], this is representation. Not being “this is what Islam is and this is what being Pakistani means.” It’s just having these little moments. My parents talk to me half in English, half in Urdu. They’re sprinkling in little words just like the Khan family does. It makes me feel seen, and I love that we have that in the film.

Yeah, absolutely. I think something special about Kamala is that kind of specificity, but that is universally appealing, because, ultimately, she is just a girl trying to fit in.

Vellani: Exactly. Aren’t we all?

Kamala gets her little Nick Fury in Iron Man moment at the end of the film, which had me so excited. It seems that this new team seems quite intriguing. Do you have a dream team, aside from Kate and now potentially Cassie, even someone who isn’t in the MCU yet?

Vellani: People really love these Young Avengers, but I don’t even know if they actually read those comics—not that they’re bad. The chemistry between Kamala, Miles [Morales], and Sam [Alexander], it’s too good. I would love to see that trio in the MCU. Neither of those characters exist yet in live action, but I’m praying for it. Yeah. I love Sam Alexander. One of their first interactions that they had. Also when Sam tried to reveal his identity and Kamala was like, “Get away from me.” I love it.

If there were a Ms. Marvel season two, which we are all hoping for, what is your favorite comic storyline that you would like to see done in live action next?

Vellani: Doc.X, I think. Gen Z and their phones, people love talking about that and just the impact that technology really does have on us. I think Doc.X is such a good villain to incorporate and act as the metaphor for how much content we’re consuming and the ways we use technology to ruin other people’s lives.

I think that could work so well in a college setting or even her senior year. I really want to see that storyline play out. And also, I think it’s one of the storylines where Kamala is just at her peak nerdiness. The comic also starts with her hosting a LAN party with all these other nerds, gaming. It’s so amazing, honestly. So I want to see more of that. I want to see gamer Kamala. I want to see her just fueling on bags of chips and pop. 

Speaking of comics, co-writing the first comic book run where Kamala is now a mutant is a big responsibility! I’m sure you were over the moon at the opportunity. Did you learn anything new about Kamala’s character?

Vellani: I honestly wanted to honor a lot of G. Willow Wilson’s original Ms. Marvel run. She does such a good job of painting the picture of who Kamala is right down from the very first frame of her smelling bacon at Circle Q, and I love it. I love how much personality she has. For me, I wanted the comic that I co-wrote to showcase why I love this character so much in this specific medium.

I love Kamala in the MCU, but I wanted people to see why she’s even cooler in the comics. I wanted to put her powers on full display, so me and my co-writer Sabir Pirzada, who is my favorite human to work with, were just like, “Okay, how crazy can we go with these powers? What kind of shapes can we come up with?”

These powers work so well and only in comics. You could do so much with it. And as long as the artist can draw it, the sky’s the limit. That was my main takeaway, and I think I found so many new things Kamala can do with her powers. It’s crazy. She uses her own body as a slingshot at one point. Her fingers elongate into spaghettis and they separate drones. It’s so weird and crazy. You couldn’t do that in live action. So yes, this was my love letter to her powers, I guess.

Now that you’ve written for Ms. Marvel, if you had the chance to write for any other superhero, who would it be?

Vellani: That’s tough. Maybe Deadpool, honestly. I think he’s a pretty fun character and I love reading his comics. He just comes to the top of my mind because I recently have been reading some Deadpool. But I love his humor, and honestly, when you read enough Deadpool comics, you can just mimic it and I feel like that would be really fun and put him in really strange situations.

Let’s hop back to The Marvels. As you talked about before, Kamala has a lot of people to rely on and it shows this emotional maturity that, say Carol or even Monica, can’t really get to. Could you tell me a little bit about how you portray that and what was most important to you in portraying her relationships to her family and friends especially?

Vellani: Kamala is very much the glue of the group in a lot of ways. She has so much more knowledge than them about superheroing. Even though she’s younger than all the rest of the characters, she’s still the most mature, still the most emotionally intelligent because she is such an observer. And I’m very glad for the way the movie is edited because it cuts back to Kamala just reacting and not speaking. There’s little moments where Monica slips up and calls Carol “Aunt Carol,” and you just have that one look from Kamala.

There’s a lot of moments like that and she realizes very quickly early on that she’s in between some really tense moments between Carol and Monica. They have years of history under their belt and yet she still doesn’t shy away from giving her opinion. She doesn’t shy away from making choices under pressure. A lot of the reason is because of her relationships, Kamala just feels like a character who understands what it is like to be human. She’s the epitome of humanity in my eyes. I think she’s the most human character in the MCU. I think she has so many relationships that ground her. I think her religion grounds her. The fact that she has both parents who are alive grounds her, and Carol just doesn’t have that. 

I think that quality just makes her a natural born leader in a lot of ways, which is why I would be so excited to see something like the Young Avengers come to fruition. There’s so much that so many characters can learn from her, and Carol definitely takes a lot of that from Kamala. Kamala teaches them about teamwork and about partnership because she’s researched all this. She reads comics, she writes fan fiction, she’s listening to Scott Lang’s podcast. So she’s so involved in the superhero of it all that sometimes she forgets that her heroes are also adults and they have lives and they’re human too. Carol and Monica teach her more about adulthood, and she teaches them about leadership and about teamwork. So it’s a good balance.

The scene in Aladna, with all the bright colors and set pieces, kind of reminded me of a Bollywood musical. We’ve seen Kamala go through some Bollywood-like scenes in the comics, but would that be something you would like Kamala to do in the MCU too? 

Vellani: I would like for Kamala to do it. I would not like to do it. They already had me dance twice in Ms. Marvel. I can’t move like that. No, I wish I could say I was the Madhuri Dixit of the MCU, but I’m really not. I don’t think I want to be. That seems like a lot, a lot of dance moves. But there are scenes from the comic where she is in Bollywood-esque numbers and stuff and I was like, “That would be fun for Kamala, if I’m thinking not selfishly.” I would love to see it. I’m a little scared of Bollywood. It feels very intimidating and a lot of pressure.

We have to talk about the end credit scene, it is groundbreaking for the MCU. Now that Kamala is already part of the X-Men in the comics, which member of the X-Men would you like to see her meet first?

Vellani: Wolverine. Wolverine any day. Personally, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is one of my favorite characters ever, but also her first mentor in the comics was Wolverine. I wanted to bring Wolverine back into this one. Hopefully, we can do that in the future. I think their interactions are so sweet and she brings out a different side of Logan and I love it when she just has all these superhero parents. It’s wonderful. He’s very protective over her and I think he’s also very real with her. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything and I think Kamala needs just a reality check sometimes. 

The post Iman Vellani on THE MARVELS, Writing MS. MARVEL Comics, and Her Hopes for Kamala Khan’s Future appeared first on Nerdist.

We’ve been waiting years for a follow-up to the Halloween classic Trick ‘r Treat. The film is now celebrating its 15th anniversary with its first major theatrical rollout. As for how a movie can be 15 years old and just get a theatrical release? Well, for that story, we suggest clicking here. And while more of the story is uncertain, Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat has had several comic book prequels and sequels over the years. And now, thanks to Kickstarter, they’re hoping collect them all in a new omnibus just in time for Halloween. You can watch the video for the new Kickstarter campaign below.

The Trick ‘r Treat comics omnibus official description says:

The Trick ‘r Treat 15th Anniversary Omnibus Collection is an oversized, 7.5″x11″ graphic novel featuring over 260 pages of content. Legendary Comics brings fans the full compendium of twisted Halloween tales, brought to life by a top-notch team of creators. These include writers Zach Shields (Godzilla: KOTM, Krampus) and Todd Casey (Krampus), writer Marc Andreyko (Batwoman), artist Fiona Staples (SAGA), Zid (Skull Island: Birth of Kong), Stuart Sayger (Bram Stoker’s Death Ship), Stephen Byrne(Green Arrow),Grant Bond(Supernatural), Mike Huddleston (Man Bat), and Christopher Gugliotti (Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

This new collected edition showcases the original Trick ‘r Treat graphic novel adaptation of the film. It also contains four tales of horror interwoven into one unforgettable Halloween night. They all feature the spirit of Halloween night himself, Sam, paying a visit to the unsuspecting participants of All Hallows Eve. This occurs in Trick ‘r Treat: Days of the Dead, the sequel story featuring Sam on a journey through Halloween history. These stories feature Western pioneers discovering the dark side of the frontier, and a tale set in 1950s Los Angeles. Not to mention a horrifying night in small-town America, where some pranksters are taught a lesson they’ll never forget.

For more information, and to check out all the rewards, be sure to head on over to the official Trick ‘r Treat omnibus Kickstarter page.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

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Welcome back to the Nerdist Reading List. Each month I curate book recommendations that’ll delight, charm, and terrify. Basically, this is the place to find the best fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and romance books and comics to add to your books-to-read pile. To make things easier, each month will include a selection of already released books you can grab instantly. We also have new books you’ll definitely want to pre-order or add to your library holds. This month we have highly anticipated follow-ups that defy genre, an Obi Wan Kenobi YA, a ton of fantastical fantasy, and our first delightful holiday novel sneaks onto the list. 

Fantasy and Sci-fi to Read

Padawan by Kiersten White – Available Now

Kiersten White turns her unique talent for eerie mystery and relatable characters to the galaxy far, far away here with great success. Being a teenager is never easy, but it’s even harder when you’re training to be a Jedi. Obi Wan wants adventure and mystery, but his master is more concerned with meditation. Things only get worse when Qui-Gon Jinn doesn’t turn up for a mission. So, Obi-Wan heads out on his own. Soon the young Padawan is swept up into a strange mystery when he comes across a community of feral young force users. As he grows closer to them he grows further from his Jedi training and soon begins to question whether he was meant to be a Jedi at all… 

Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia – Available Now

This thrilling fantasy adventure takes inspiration from the Mexican legend of La Llorona. Tehlor Kay Mejia delivers an enchanting and haunting tale in this Rick Riordan presents release. Paola’s passion is space, she adores the cosmos almost as much as she loves her friends, Emma and Dante. The trio know the rule: Don’t go to the river. Ever since a schoolmate of theirs drowned they’ve stayed away. And Paola’s mother has long warned her of a crying woman in the reeds. Paola’s a firm believer in science and doesn’t believe her mother’s superstitions until the weeping woman appears to the trio as they stargaze and their world turns upside down. 

Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting by Roseanne A. Brown – September 6

Another brilliant release from the Rick Riordian presents line is this horror-tinged adventure. Bestseller Roseanne A. Brown makes her middle grade debut with this exciting story that introduces readers to Ghanaian folklore. Serwa doesn’t take catching fireflies lightly, that’s because she knows some of them are actually shape shifting vampires known as adze. As one of the foremost adze slayers of her age, Serwa’s life and mission seem set in stone. But when a witch destroys her home and she’s sent to live with her aunt in Maryland all that changes. Can Serwa be a “normal” girl and when an adze infiltrates her school, what will she do?

How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy – September 27 

Need a new magical school book in your life? How to Succeed at Witchcraft will satisfy your cravings and likely become an instant fave. Shay Johnson is one of the most talented young witches at T.K. Anderson Magical Magnet School. She studies hard and dreams harder. She knows that to become the witch she really wants to be she needs to get the highly-competitive Brockton Scholarship. Pitted against her academic rival in the school musical, Shay thinks she’s a shoe-in but soon realizes her enemy might not be that bad and the musical theater teacher she’s meant to impress might not be the great guy everyone thinks he is. This delightfully cozy story doesn’t shy away from dealing with real issues and wraps it all up in fantastic magical world building. This is one of the best YA debuts of 2022. 

Romance to Read

Drunk On Love by Jasmine Guillory – September 20

There’s no better way to end a steamy hot summer than with a new novel from romance powerhouse Guillory. Margot loves running her Napa Valley winery with her brother. As a successful businesswoman she’s far too busy for love, that is until she meets Luke. The pair instantly hit it off when they cross paths in a bar and flirting quickly turns to something more. It’s a great night but when Luke turns up at her winery as Margot’s newest employee things look like they could get complicated quickly. Guillory brings her trademark charm and steam to this one. If you’re looking for love this fall you have to pick this up. 

A Highly Anticipated Follow-Up Novel to Read

People Person by Candice Carty-Williams – Available September 13

After her brilliant best-selling debut novel Queenie, Candice Carty Williams is back with another beautiful book that deftly avoids being slipped into any of our categories. This punchy read follows Dimple Pennington and her half-siblings. The children of the titular “people person” Cyril Pennington, their charming yet absent patriarch. The only thing the siblings have in common are their abandonment issues until a shocking turn of events brings them together. This is the kind of read that you won’t be able to put down, but that’ll leave you warm and satisfied when you turn that final page. Carty-Williams has blessed us once again. 

Horror/Thriller to Read

Bloody Fool For Love by William Ritter – Available Now 

If you’ve been missing everyone’s favorite goth vampire bad boy then you’re in luck. This new YA novel centers on Spike and his paramour Drusilla as they struggle in the wake of Angel’s abandonment. This punky tale takes place in Spike’s hometown of London, and is a total riot. Relocated and without their patriarch the family are trying to find a new purpose. With Dru a wreck, Spike decides to steal her a powerful relic, so yes… this is a Spike heist story!! How fun! And it’s filled with wit and sarcasm that’ll send you right back to your teenage Buffy fandom. So strap in for a wild bloodsucking ride.

Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus – Available Now 

The queen of contemporary murder mystery is back! Karen M. McManus’ new novel is another twisty thriller centering around a shocking killing and its fallout. After the horrific murder of a beloved teacher Brynn left St. Ambrose school. Four years later she’s headed back home with a new job and a mission. As an intern at her favorite true crime podcast Brynn is determined to find the truth about what happened to Mr. Tripp. But as she reconnects with her ex-best friend whose testimony was key to making sure none of the kids who found Tripp were jailed, Brynn realizes she might end up unearthing darker and more terrible secrets than she ever expected. 

Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by Various Authors – September 13 

Jane Marple is headed back to our bookshelves. Agatha Christie’s whip-sharp detective has been charming readers for decades in her classic mysteries. But a new anthology puts the iconic sleuth in the hands of an impressive array of authors. Lots of our faves in the radical roster: Naomi Alderman, Leigh Bardugo, Alyssa Cole, Lucy Foley, Elly Griffiths, Natalie Haynes, Jean Kwok, Val McDermid, Karen M. McManus, Dreda Say Mitchell, Kate Mosse, and Ruth Ware. Each author brings their own twist to Marple in this delightful collection. 

Comics/Manga/Graphic Novels to Read

Birds of Maine by Micheal DeForge – Available Now

If you’ve yet to discover the amazing work of Michael DeForge, this hardcover tome is a joy. Collecting his Birds of Maine webcomics, this is an abstract utopian story about a better world and way of living told through DeForge’s inventive and eye-catching cartooning. Birds of Maine is a rare positive post-apocalyptic tale, and it’s vibrantly hopeful and engaging. This is the sort of book that has to be read to be believed, so add this one to your to-read list today to discover the kind of expansive and brilliant work that publisher Drawn & Quarterly constantly delivers. 

Other Ever Afters: New Queer Fairy Tales by Melanie Gillman – Available September 20

Melanie Gilman has been delighting comics fans for ages with their incisive, sweet, and beautifully illustrated stories. This gorgeous collection brings together some of their best work, subversive, romantic, and delightful queer fairytales brought to life in Gillman’s unique style. “What if the giant who abducted you was actually thoughtful and kind? What if you didn’t want to marry your handsome, popular, but cold-inside suitor? What if your one true love has all the responsibilities that come with running a kingdom?” This tease perfectly sets up what you can expect from this stunning soon to be classic collection.

Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto – Available September 20 

Originally released by the Chainsaw Man creator as a webcomic, this gorgeous, moving manga is finally in book form and it’s lovely. Far from the fantasy horror of his most famous work, Fujimoto turns his hand to a friendship between two young women. Ayumu Fujino and Kyomoto meet in elementary school, their passion for drawing manga pits them against each other but over the years eventually brings them together. This one-shot follows the pair as they grow up and apart, but when a tragedy strikes a strange turn of events gives them another chance. 

Holiday Stories to Read

The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish – Available September 6 

Yes it is that time of year already where I’ll be popping a roster of holiday reads on our list as they roll into bookshops near us. The inaugural selection is this delightful queer rom-com from Roan Parrish that’s perfect to get you in the holiday mood. Taking inspiration from the beloved movie, The Holiday, two strangers swap houses for Christmas. It’s a fun experiment that gives both of the home-swappers a chance to explore, but when the two begin to find love in their new cities they’ll have to decide whether or not their new lives and lovers are worth fighting for.

The post 13 Spectacular Books to Read This September appeared first on Nerdist.

Our favorite adopted family of superpowered children are back! No silly, not the X-Men—though Charles and his kids were a big inspiration—we’re talking about Umbrella Academy. The third season of The Umbrella Academy is here! Fans of both the show and the comics have highly-anticipated this. Why? Well, not only do we return to the world of the Hargreeves but we learn a lot more about the mysterious Sparrow Academy. It’s something the comics have teased but never expanded on, so this is one of those magical moments where the comics and adaptations align to surprise and delight. 

If you need a refresher on The Umbrella Academy season two’s finale, we’ll start with that so beware of spoilers.

What Happened at the End of The Umbrella Academy Season Two?

After a predominantly ’60s-set second season, The Umbrella Academy ended back in the modern day. It seemed like the plan had worked and the crew had averted the apocalypse. Alas, as they headed back to Hargreeves’ mansion they realized something was amiss. Not only was Reginald Hargreeves alive in this timeline’s version of 2019, but he called their old home Sparrow Academy and then a series of shadowy figures appeared. It was a shocking reveal that suggested our dysfunctional heroes either changed time or ended up in a different version of their reality. But to Umbrella Academy fans it also hinted at the arrival of a series of new characters that were teased in the 2018 return to the comic, “Hotel Oblivion.” The Umbrella Academy‘s Sparrows have arrived.

Who Are the Sparrows in The Umbrella Academy Comics?

We first meet a Sparrow in the pages of issue #5 of Hotel Oblivion. The long-awaited third volume of The Umbrella Academy series came out in 2018, nine years after the end of volume two. As Mom and Vanya go on a tour of the latter’s childhood misadventures, a young woman in a red domino mask and jacket approaches them. It’s a very similar look to the Hargreeves children’s old uniform, but instead of an Umbrella logo on her collar, she wears a Sparrow. Her arrival allows Vanya to walk again, and they begin a journey across the world. In issue six of the Umbrella Academy comic we find the pair in Norway, where the Sparrow claims Vanya will find home and family. Eventually, they end up at a secret hideout where they find Mom, who introduces the woman as Clara.

Clara isn’t the only named member that we get as the final page sees the mysterious group head to help out the Umbrella Academy. On the final page, we see them arrive with Luther, a.k.a. Number One, asking who they are. In return, the red-suited leader—who shares more than a passing resemblance to him—states, “I’m Number One.” It’s a shocking moment that hints at another group of superpowered heroes that echo the Umbrella Academy. While in the comics we didn’t learn the rest of the Sparrow team’s names, we do get a glimpse of them. There’s a tall blonde woman, a member of the team who wears blue and shoots a black power beam out of their face, a black-haired woman in dark sunglasses who can levitate, someone who can turn into a murder of crows, a disfigured character who can psychically inflict pain, and a green cube.

Are the Sparrows in the New Umbrella Academy Series?

Yes! That’s why we’ve been diving deep into their comic book history. When Netflix announced the team’s arrival, the comic book fans were extremely excited. While co-creator Gerard Way had announced that “Sparrow Academy” would be the fourth volume of The Umbrella Academy series, readers had been left with an epic cliffhanger and no sign of the next volume. So it looks like The Umbrella Academy season three will continue where Hotel Oblivion left off and bring us the Sparrows. It takes the Sparrows and expands their story. And also plays with some other key plotlines from the third volume of the comics.

How Are the Sparrows Different? What Is Sparrow Academy?

In the comics Sparrow Academy is in a strange mountain hideaway in Norway. We quickly learn that in the world of the Netflix show they live as famous heroes in what seems to be New York. Their academy works more like when Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters moved to Central Park. Fans and New Yorkers know about the presence of the Sparrows. In fact, Sparrow fans often head to their fancy city base to watch them train. It’s miles away from the secretive adulthood of the failed superheroes of the Umbrella Academy. Another thing that we know about the organization from the comics is that Mom is involved and has known about the team for a while. That appears to be the case here too, though this Mom doesn’t recognize her children. 

Another interesting diversion—though it’s more of an extension of the story—is the Sparrows themselves. In the comics we never knew most of their names and definitely didn’t learn their strange backstory like we do here. As Klaus quickly finds out, after the Umbrella Academy went to him for help in the ’60s during season two, Reginald Hargreeves decided his children were failures. So on that fateful night when the superpowered children were born… he adopted different ones.

No. 1: Marcus

This is the character we meet in the final pages of Hotel Oblivion #7. As No. 1, he’s the de facto leader of the crew. In the first episode we see that he’s immensely strong and easily defeats Luther, his powers are super strength, speed, and also levitation. He’s also a peacemaker. We get to see that in play when he meets Viktor to try to solve things. Sadly for Marcus, his time on this Earth is not long and in one of the few really disappointing choices this season he doesn’t survive past the first episode. Hopefully he’ll get to live longer in the comics.

No. 2: Ben

In one of the most shocking reveals, Ben is also a member of the Sparrows. This is extremely unsettling as the Umbrella Academy’s Ben died before the show ever started. Though he has played a vital part in the series as a ghost, this is a nice way to bring him back into the fold. It’s a shame that this Ben is a jerk! With his higher number ranking, up four places from No. 6 to No. 2, it’s clear Reginald realized his past mistakes. But here Ben is an aggressive, forceful type, using his eldritch powers to subjugate others. It’s not the Ben we know and love. But the Umbrella Academy still seem really happy to see him anyway.

No. 3: Fei

The third member of the Sparrows is Fei. With her cool sunglasses and epic fighting skills, she appeared to be the member from the comics who can levitate. But as we soon learn she seems to be an amalgam of that Sparrow and the one who can turn into a murder of crows. Fei sees through her crows and can control them, using them to spy on her enemies. She also seems to be one of the leaders of the group despite her third place ranking. 

No. 4: Alphonso

The disfigured character from the comics comes to life here as Alphonso. His powers mean that his body mass is incredibly dense, causing massive pain when people attack or hit him. He’s close to Jayme and seems to be one of the more antagonistic of the Sparrows. His relationship with Reginald Hargreeves is near to non-existent and his No. 4 ranking seems appropriate to where he stands on the power rankings. Saying that, he’s definitely not happy with the arrival of the Umbrella Academy and wants them gone sooner rather than later.

No. 5: Sloane

One of the most interesting Sparrow powers belongs to Sloane, who can control gravity. Her powers allow her to manipulate gravity, enabling her to float, crush things, and lift things up easily. All of that absolutely undersells her powers, but she’s really mighty. Sloane also happens to be the most kind and open of the Sparrows, and would rather befriend the Umbrellas than battle.

No. 6: Jayme

Before the show came out, we had a theory that Jayme could be the character from the comics who we see shoot a large black beam out of their face. While that is not entirely the case, she does shoot some pretty nasty dark matter out of her mouth. Yep, Jayme’s powers are not unlike the Dilophosaurus from Jurassic Park. She spits a black acidic liquid, but rather than kill its victim, it makes them hallucinate. We got to see this in very fun fashion when Diego gets hit and imagines the two teams having a dance off to Footloose. Thanks for the musical number, Jayme.

No. 7: Existential Dread Inducing Psykronium Cube/Christopher

The one other character we definitely met in the comics aside from No. 1 is Christopher. And who doesn’t love an “Existential Dread Inducing Psykronium Cube”? While not much was known about him in the comics, the first two episodes set Christopher up as a beloved member of the Sparrows. He communicates with his family through a strange language and they obviously respect him. He’s also pretty useful in a fight as the Umbrella Academy quickly discovers. 

What Can We Expect From the Sparrows in the Rest of Season Three of The Umbrella Academy?

Lots of the show’s trademark family drama for one thing. The heart of The Umbrella Academy is the dysfunctional collection of siblings at its core. And season two set up a whole new group of kids fighting for Hargreeves’ love and attention. Speaking of which, we now have an alive Hargreeves in the present who apparently expected his other family to come and find him. So we can expect things to get messy, especially as Ben is a key member of both groups but only lives in the 2019 timeline, which will likely cause some serious heartbreak for the Umbrella Academy. So basically the Sparrows are going to probably end up as allies and antagonists in season three of The Umbrella Academy.

Originally published on April 13, 2022.

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Episode Three of The Umbrella Academy season three establishes two key things: 1) The Sparrows are disposable. It’s a disappointing—though not wholly unexpected—turn of events for the new Hargreaves family. Ever since Marcus’ death at the end of episode one, we’d been wondering if the rest of the team would meet the same fate; the deaths of Jayme and Alphonso begins to confirm that. 2) Harlan returns to The Umbrella Academy, he’s all grown up with very strong powers, and he’s come to find Viktor.

Speaking of those immense powers, they’re what help the Umbrella Academy survive their superpowered siblings’ attack. It’s a huge moment for both teams, but for Viktor it’s a paradigm shift, as he thought he’d lost Harlan and Sissy forever. So let’s dig into who Harlan is, why his return to The Umbrella Academy matters, and what it all means. 

Who Is Harlan?

If you’ve watched season two of The Umbrella Academy, you’ll remember Harlan as Sissy’s non-verbal autistic son. When Viktor was taken in by the family, the pair soon grew close. After Harlan drowned in a lake, a devastated Viktor brought him back to life using his powers. Soon afterwards, Harlan began to display his own special skills. But they were far too much for the child and eventually Viktor had to take them away. As Harlan’s last scenes in season two hinted, that didn’t stick. And in modern day, those powers are more dangerous and terrifying than ever.

What Does Harlan Want From Viktor?

In an upsetting turn of events, we learn that the plan to keep Harlan safe by removing Viktor from his life backfired. Instead, it left Sissy alone with her overpowered son. Through a series of flashbacks we see that as he grew up the pair had to move around constantly so he wouldn’t be discovered. In what’s only been a few days for Viktor, Harlan has lived an entire life and even lost Sissy. Sadly, the woman Viktor loves died of cancer in Oakland during the ’80s. Harlan moves on with his life and eventually starts to go by Lester Pocket. And, of course, Harlan is the old man that we see very early in the season who is listening to music.

Through his ever-growing powers, Harlan learned to sense other powered people. It’s how he located Viktor, and what leads to one of this season’s biggest and most shocking twists. Understandably, Harlan is there seeking Viktor’s help to get rid of his powers. But there’s another far darker truth that only comes out after Harlan stumbles on to Klaus’ newspaper clippings about the Academy’s murdered mothers. It turns out that Harlan losing him mom is what sparked the Umbrella Academy mom killings. 

How Does Harlan’s Return Affect Season Three of The Umbrella Academy? 

Well, that’s the biggest question and it’s answered in episode four. After the death of his mother, Harlan’s powers went into overdrive and he managed to psychically connect with and kill the mothers of the Umbrella Academy. It’s the inciting incident that sparked the Grandfather Paradox and the Kugelblitz. Basically, Viktor’s right when he says “you caused all of this.” 

So why did Harlan do what he did? And how did it cause the Kugelblitz? After years of waiting for Viktor to return, on the day his mother died, Harlan felt Viktor’s presence again. But what he was actually feeling was the mothers of the Academy kids and their quickly growing powered children. In that moment of connection, the women all died. It was, as Harlan explained to Viktor, an accident. Without Viktor alive in that timeline to give Harlan his powers, Harlan created the Grandfather Paradox.

But despite the whole end of the universe thing, the most damaging impact Harlan has is arguably the one his past—and Viktor’s choice to protect it—has on the Hargreeves siblings.

Does Harlan Die in The Umbrella Academy Season Three? 

The Umbrellas want to give Harlan over to the Sparrows in order to speed up their fight against the Kugelblitz. But Allison helps Viktor sneak him out of the Hotel Obsidian and to safety. Once there, Viktor and Harlan work together to transfer the latter’s power back where they belong, and they achieve their goal. But as Viktor recovers, Harlan reveals the truth of what he did to Allison, assuming she already knew. In her anger and pain Allison kills Harlan and then turns his body over to the Sparrows. Allison’s journey this season has been a tragic one and this act sends her on an even lonelier path. Harlan’s murder does help the Umbrellas and the Sparrows join forces to end the Kugelblitz. But Allison’s actions create a rift between her and her brother that seems insurmountable. 

Why Did Allison Kill Harlan and Give Him to the Sparrows?

After years of being the kind, caring, and forgiving sibling, Allison finally loses her patience. The loss of her daughter Claire in this timeline is too overwhelming. And while we cannot condone her use of powers against Luther—or you know, murder—Allison’s anger against Viktor isn’t unfounded. Throughout the three seasons we’ve seen Allison put her own sadness, emotion, and happiness aside time and time again for the sake of the universe and/or Viktor. And in this moment though she’s acting on hurt, she’s also doing what she believes is right for the family, allowing them to align with the Sparrows.

It feels like there’s a version of events here where if Viktor had told Allison the truth, Harlan could have survived and they could have worked together to end the Kugelblitz. But Viktor put his love for Sissy and Harlan’s safety above his relationship with Allison and the other Hargreeves’ kids.

Will Allison and Viktor Reconcile in The Umbrella Academy? 

While the ninth episode seemed to hint at a happy ending for the two, Allison had her own ulterior motivations that saw her making a deal with the devil. That terrible choice created a bodycount that Allison will likely not be able to outrun. Despite a last minute change of heart, this will surely make it harder than ever for Allison and Viktor to reconcile. But the team has been through worse, so we’re hopeful. 

The return (and death) of Harlan alongside the fallout between Allison and Viktor has been one of the most heartbreaking arcs we’ve seen yet in The Umbrella Academy. Now we’ll have to wait and hope that The Umbrella Academy gets a season four renewal to see what happens to the estranged Hargreaves siblings.  

Featured Image: Netflix

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The third season of The Umbrella Academy is here! We’ve been awaiting the return of our favorite dysfunctional family for what feels like forever. The new season brings all the drama, trauma, love, hate, and time-traveling action you could want. It also introduces a key new location that may or may not be an infamous and dangerous landmark from the comics. So we’re here to break it all down, talk about Hotel Obsidian and Hotel Oblivion, and what the pair mean for the sassy and sometimes world-saving siblings of The Umbrella Academy.

What Is Hotel Obsidian?

We enter the hallowed halls of the Hotel Obsidian in the first episode of the new Umbrella Academy season. After realizing their father has replaced them with more vicious and obviously superheroic children—meaning they can no longer call Hargreeves Manor their home—Klaus has an idea. Unsurprisingly, the most chaotic member of the family knows a place. Sure, it’s a divey timeless hotel that has weird electronic Xs covering its pillars, but hey it’s cheap! 

The hotel’s ominous vibes and recognizable name had many fans of The Umbrella Academy comics wondering if it could possibly be the strange cosmic trap from the comics known as the Hotel Oblivion… 

What Is Hotel Oblivion From The Umbrella Academy Comics?

Firstly, Hotel Oblivion is the title of the third volume of the Umbrella Academy comics by Gerald Way and Gabriel Ba. But, more importantly in this case, it’s also the name of an actual location. From the very first issue, its terrible purpose is clear. Hotel Oblivion is a cosmic prison that Reginald Hargreeves created in order to contain the villains defeated by his children. The hotel sits at the edge of space and time and seems like another terrible idea courtesy of Hargreeves Sr. And it was. He incarcerated hundreds of powerful villains without any semblance of due process and they’re understandably very, very angry. So when they all team up and inevitably escape, things begin to go wrong. Not least because Hotel Oblivion wasn’t just a prison. 

In fact, in a somehow even worse idea, Hargreeves had used the prisoners as bait for his cosmic trap known as an Abraxan. While it was home to the villains, they were just there to lure an immense tentacled monster. And when the bait left so did the creature. We never get to find out what happened to the hotel’s captive alien in the comics, seeing as the big twist at the end of the seven issue series is the arrival of the Sparrows. And just like the way it treats and expands on the new team, the show shifts some key facts about the Hotel Oblivion. 

Are Hotel Obsidian and Hotel Oblivion the Same Thing in The Umbrella Academy TV Show?

In a shocking twist… Yes, the sleuths out there were absolutely right. By the middle of the season, the true nature of Hotel Obsidian has been revealed: it is in fact Hotel Oblivion. But what does that mean for the UA? And how is it different from the comic book version? Well, as we mentioned, in the world of the TV series it becomes a homestead for the team. It’s something that never happened in the comics, giving it greater resonance and connection to the family. But the bigger differences are when we look at the origins and purpose of Hotel Oblivion in the show. 

The Umbrella Academy and Project Oblivion, Explained

As explained to Five by the alt-timeline version of Pogo, Project Oblivion was the pet project of the Sparrows’ Reginald Hargreeves. In this timeline he wasn’t training his children to be heros but instead to be test subjects. His plan was to send them on a kamikaze mission to “The Other Side.” While that never materialized, with his alt-universe children in his timeline he wants to put his plan back into action. So what is Hotel Oblivion in The Umbrella Academy TV show? Instead of a cosmic prison, Hargreeves created a portal to another universe. It’s guarded by a terrible creature that the children must defeat in order to get to “The Other Side.” Thanks to the power of democracy, the kids—rightfully—decide not to trust their father. But he’s not one to give up.

In one of the most horrific moments in The Umbrella Academy, Reginald kills his own son Luther—with a creepy alien arm—to manipulate his other children to do his bidding and go through to the Hotel Oblivion. Tricking them into thinking it was an attack from The Other Side, they go through. But Reginald only needs seven of them, so he kills Klaus too. Father of the year! And it only gets worse when the true purpose of Hotel Oblivion is revealed. The hotel was just a façade for a machine that would allow Hargreeves to change the universe. But to power it, he needed seven super powered children to sacrifice. He promised Allison that if she helped him he’d get her back to her daughter. Ultimately she got what she wanted, and while she saved her sibling’s lives—including Luther—they paid a price that absolutely no one expected. 

The Fallout From Hotel Oblivion

Yep, once the universes “reset” all of the Umbrella Academy lost their powers. There was another cost too as Sloane was nowhere to be seen, despite the fact Ben was with them. Just like his sometime siblings Ben is now powerless. And there’s something even worse afoot. It looks like Reginald Hargreeves did all of this so he could recreate the universe in his own image.

Everywhere we look there’s Hargreeves name. He’s in charge of financial institutions, skyscrapers, helipads, and he has a woman by his side. Could it be that the reason he wanted to change things was so that he could grow old with the real Grace? We leave the Umbrella Academy powerless, splitting up, and with Hargreeves wielding more power than ever before.

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If you can believe it, the first Scott Pilgrim book came out 18 years ago. Since then, the cult favorite comic by Bryan Lee O’Malley has been adapted into an even more cult classic movie. Over the years there have been many pieces of Scott Pilgrim merch. One of the most famed (and relevant to this news) is the long sold out Mondo Ramona figure. But today Nerdist is revealing something new. Bryan Lee O’Malley has teamed up with Justin Ishmael’s ISH in what he called “a really cool collaborative process” to release a new series of Scott Pilgrim figures. 

The official release reveals more about the exciting new figures:

Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers jump out of the pages of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel and onto your shelf with new 6″ collectible figures from ISH!

Designed by creator/artist Bryan Lee O’Malley himself, these figures feature points of articulation at the head, wrists, shoulders, elbows and waist and include iconic accessories like Scott’s Bass Guitar and Ramona’s Subspace Suitcase! Each figure comes in collectible packaging with ALL NEW ART by Bryan Lee O’Malley.

Bottleneck Gallery will also have site exclusive limited edition variants including 2 exclusive Ramona Flowers hair colors and Scott in his classic PLUMTREE t-shirt showing love for one of his favorite bands!

As well as exclusively announcing the release, Nerdist chatted with O’Malley about the figures, the fan favorite comics, and touched on the new Scott Pilgrim anime series at Netflix. 

O’Malley met Justin Ishmael around 2013 or 2014 during Ishmael’s time as Creative Director and CEO at Mondo. Later, they collaborated on that aforementioned Ramona Flowers figure. Their relationship continued as Ishmael went out on his own and founded ISH. There the pair made some fun Snotgirl merch, inspired by O’Malley and Leslie Hung’s Image comic of the same name. “He’s just he’s got a really good head for merch,” O’Malley said. 

In 2019, they began working on the figures we’re sharing today. “It’s just taken ages with, you know, the pandemic and the shipping crisis,” he explained. “They’re made in Hong Kong. It’s all very complicated. So it’s taken a few years to get to this point, but here we are!” 

One of the biggest selling points of the new figures—aside from just how darn cute they are—is that O’Malley was heavily involved in the designs. The cartoonist sees it as a bit of a course correct from the Scott Pilgrim merchandise of the past. “When the movie came out, there were some figures and things that were released without really my involvement,” he shared. “So I feel like I just kind of have been on this path to kind of correct some of these things that I didn’t know better back then. I didn’t have an agent and things went on without my participation. And I wish I had been able to participate in everything, because it’s all just so interesting and fun to create stuff and put it out in the world.” 

The figures themselves look uncannily like O’Malley’s art. But he sees them and his personal style as more evolved than when he first debuted Scott Pilgrim. “It’s been 18 years since the first book came out. So I do draw them a little differently than I used to. The figures kind of reflect an idealized snapshot of the characters somewhere in their artistic development. I think there’s something really friendly and inviting about them.” 

O’Malley’s original Scott Pilgrim series was black and white, but in recent years his good friend Nathan Fairbairn colored the comics for the very first time. Those re-releases and Fairbairn’s brilliant choices brought a whole new texture to the beloved series. So it makes sense that O’Malley recruited Fairbairn to pick the colors for the figures. And his choices are perfect!

His next big Scott Pilgrim project is the recently announced Netflix anime series. O’Malley told us that it felt like he’d never truly left the world. While he couldn’t get into details, he did have this to say: “It’s been really fun to revisit. It has been 18 years, so nothing will ever be exactly the same as it was 18 years ago, I’ll just put it like that.” 

The figures go on sale on Wednesday, June 22 at 12:00p.m. ET at www.bottleneckgallery.com. The regular figures will cost $35 and the variants will be $45.

You can check out more awesome images of the figures in our gallery below.

Click To View Gallery

The post Bryan Lee O’Malley Introduces New ISH SCOTT PILGRIM Figures appeared first on Nerdist.

Grant Morrison has always done the unexpected. From inserting themself into their own groundbreaking run on DC Comics’ Animal Man to making Scott and Emma the X-Men’s hottest couple. So when they joined the online newsletter service Substack along with a number of other comic creators, it made sense. Stepping into a new way of delivering their work goes along with everything we know about Morrison. But what they’ve begun to build on their newsletter Xanaduum is once again entirely unexpected. The so-called “living archive” is an expansive personal project recontextualizing moments, fragments, and experiences from Morrison’s life as a sci-fi story. It’s one of the most ambitious and exciting we’ve read in a while. 

We chatted with Morrison about the project over Zoom. They also shared an incredible never before published excerpt from their famed 2011 book Supergods, which you can read below our interview. 

Nerdist: Xanaduum is a really intriguing project. Could you tell me about how the idea of a living archive of all these moments from your life came about? 

Grant Morrison: I guess the idea was there was this immense pile of what seemed like debris and detritus. I’m terrible, I don’t have a nostalgic bone in my body and I tend to find the past really embarrassing. There was a lot of stuff there and it played on my mind. And I think that the older you get, you want to start organizing things. I always wanted to have a reason to put this stuff together. Then the Substack offer came along and suddenly there was the potential to actually do it like a job and get money to do something I’m kind of too lazy to do.

I’d kind of reached the end of doing the superhero stuff. And I just got into this whole idea of could I possibly make all that dead skin into something alive? Frankenstein it. Could I put it all together in a new way that kind of made that useful again and brought it back to life? So I came up with this story which is being told through the collage stuff which I’m doing myself. Going back to my roots was another big part of it. Going back to when I used to do punk fanzines and all that indie stuff. So that became the notion. Can I tell this big sci-fi story, a kind of Kubrick-y kind of thing in 24 pages of collage? But with all this other stuff attached too, so that you begin to realize what you’re looking at as the story begins to evolve. 

So I got very excited about it as the next stage of what I was doing! Well, here’s an interesting thing and you’re doing this work as collage and fragments. Making a linear narrative of life to create this cloud, these fragments, this explosive version of our life, and allow people to draw their own conclusions and make their own patterns and see their own constellations in those fragments. That was it, and once I got that idea and got the bit between my teeth then it just became all consuming. It did bring the archive material back to life. Suddenly I’ve got reasons to cut pictures of my mum and dad and me in my pram! It’s been fun and it’s honestly super absorbing. I forgot that art was like that, when you’re just so into it. It’s really quite therapeutic. 

How does it feel to be making art that’s so tangible and physical, but then sharing it on the internet in a way that makes it become ethereal and intangible? Does that play into the larger story you’re telling? 

You’re onto something there because a lot of what I’m thinking about now is about simulation and how we present ourselves through sequences of masks and personalities and how much of what we do is performance. So the idea that it becomes mediated through the screen is really just part of the process. And what I’ve tried to do is make it really obviously physical, thumb prints, torn pieces of paper by mistake. So allowing a lot of that noise into it and allowing for that distance because I want it to feel a bit like you’re prying into a diary or something. You’re looking at someone’s interior world, and it’s quite bizarre and baroque and demands a lot of bizarre connections from you. So I’m hoping that it almost transcends the screen.  

Obviously this is coming, like you said, from a punk space, a fanzine space. But I also couldn’t help but think of Jack Kirby’s collages that he used to make for Fantastic Four…

That was one of the big, big inspirations to what it was, ‘cos it’s still to me a comic. In the end it’s very much a 24-page science fiction comic book that Kirby would do. Those Kirby collages were really in my mind a lot because I thought that avenue really hadn’t been pursued a lot. It’s a completely valid way to tell comic book stories, but only Kirby really seemed to develop that. A few people who have done things that are in that collage world like Dave McKean and Bill Sienkiewicz have done different things with the idea of collage, but for me it was specifically those Kirby ones. It really was just him cutting things out of magazines, that’s what I love. 

Could you tell me a little about the excerpt that you’re sharing with us from Supergods?

Well, here’s the thing about Supergods—it was double the length originally. The book is 100,000 words but I ended up writing 200,000 words. 

Have you ever thought about publishing a companion or a second edition?

Well, no, not so much because it covers the same history, unfortunately. An individual chapter might have been double the length and had more stuff about Captain America in the 1940s. It was more like that, so it would be hard to seperate it out. So this is just extracting stuff that I thought was kind of interesting. Bits that haven’t been seen. There’s lots of stuff about the Silver Age or cosmic comics and specific things that I particularly love that were much more expanded. The first excerpt is from very early on in the book.

Originally I had a more obvious kabalistic structure. It was all about the material world at the bottom and it worked its way up through this symbolic ladder of ideas until we got to the end with a non-dual God consciousness at the top where I’m trying to predict where the future might go. This comes from that, and it’s about the material world of comics. It kind of compares the comic making process to how the universe was created. So instead of the four elements it’s the four colors. It talks you through this metaphor of the universe being created as a comic book is being created and how the four elements combined to create this entire environment and time and space. So it’s a fun introduction to how comics are made, just pulling it from a slightly different perspective and giving it this weird cosmic dimension.

So I’m starting with that and then can probably work my way historically through stuff. There’s a lot of interesting Captain America and Wonder Woman stuff that didn’t make the book. So more of that, and every couple of weeks we’ll have a new chapter, a different piece of information, a different way of looking at things. I think what’s interesting is that people will get more of a sense of what the original structure of the book was, when it was a wee bit more magical or waving its freak flag a bit more. 

You can read the excerpt below, and subscribe to Xanaduum here for more comics magic.

Part 1

My history of superhero stories Supergods was published in 2011 but the original manuscript was double the requested length. Stringent cuts were requested by my editor and made for final publication.

As a result, there are entire chapters and sections of the book that have never been seen.

Here, from the original draft when the ‘Tree of Life’ structure of Supergods was more in evidence, we plant our feet in the physical sphere of Malkuth and dig into the nuts and bolts of constructing a superhero universe.

BUILDING A UNIVERSE

    Superhero stories are no longer confined to comic books, but comic books provided fertile soil in which the concept could take root and flourish in a thousand different directions. When the new and improved strain of superheroes appeared, they spread like kudzu choking out all other genres. Comic books since 1938 have tested the superhero idea to destruction and back through reconstruction to a triumphant renaissance of popularity in the early 21st century when superheroes began to migrate en masse from their pages to the new mass media environments like cinema and computer gaming. With respect to the best of the superhero movies, comic books are still where to go if you’re looking for challenging and sophisticated superhero stories, that still come out on a regular basis. Comic books are where I’ve always had the most fun and freedom as a writer, so it seems only fair to give something back. Let’s take a closer look at the strange environment that nurtured the superhero to maturity.

    Before we look at the universe of the comic book superhero, let’s step up a scale from the page to the physical universe where we live and remind ourselves how it got its start.

       Like the first touch of pencil point to blank page, our own universe popped into being out of nowhere and no-when some 13.7 billion years ago, according to current scientific consensus based on our most reliable data. It began when a random quantum fluctuation into an unknowable prior ‘emptiness’ – or, as it may turn out, a hyper-dimensional fluid medium – resulted in the rapid expansion of a superdense, superhot pinprick of absolute energy. Everything that ever was and still is was packed into a barely existing point, smaller than the period at the end of this sentence.

    A hundred billionth of a yoctosecond after the initial Fiat Lux! of being from nothingness, our super dense, superhot white bubble of universe, our only home, started to expand and continues to expand to this day, creating as it does so the space and time it’s expanding into.

    Judging by the red shift of stars and galaxies away from one another in all directions, like dots on a balloon that’s an inflating balloon, the Big Bang is far from over. We are all of us riding the shrapnel of a primordial elementary explosion, somehow clinging, breeding and killing one another on a speck of grit, an agglomeration of condensed minerals, liquids, gases, that’s spinning out towards a self-created infinite blast horizon from the heart of a pressurised hyper-detonation. It’s as if art and religion and morality had somehow come into being on a piece of spinning shrapnel. All our hopes, our history, our individual precious lives and loves have all taken place in a brief, immense instant, on a cooling grain of hurtling debris, on the edge of an aboriginal detonation whose echoes still recur. We have built our cathedrals, our politics, our relationships and fought our futile wars on a wet glob of debris hurtling on a cosmic bow wave towards some unknowable terminus. Think about that next time your life seems boring.

    As expansion continued, the four fundamental forces of the universe separated out of a primal singularity in which matter and energy were completely unified. Think of four tributaries branching from the same source. At 10-43 after the so-called Big Bang or ‘Creation’, gravity split from the Grand Unified Field, followed at 10-36 by the branching of the Unified Field into the Strong Nuclear Force and the combined electroweak force which finally split itself into the Weak Nuclear and Electromagnetic Forces. These four great archangels of physics hold the universe in their hands. Their vast, secret transactions and interactions at the most fundamental levels of existence allow us to live and love, watch telly and read books like this one. 

    These four forces appear again and again throughout the human story as I‘m sure you may have noticed. The Greeks saw a universe made of Earth, Air, Fire and Water in various measures. The cardinals were sometimes represented as a Bull, a Lion, an Eagle and a Man. They haunt the four quadrants of transactional theory, the points of the compass, the career of the Beatles, and the story of the Four Musketeers. The Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are representatives of the same energetic patterns, as are the fluid Mr. Fantastic, the airy Invisible Girl, the fiery Human Torch and the rock-like Thing, otherwise known as the Fantastic Four.

    The missing fifth force, or Fifth Element is of course, the elusive quality we sometimes call ‘spirit’, which seems to me another word for reflective awareness. The universe of aimless energy transactions comes to life and is given structure and meaning when it interacts with consciousness. Spirit sees spirit everywhere. Cosmologists in search of a Unified Field Theory can start inside their own heads, where the Forces are demonstrably bound together in hierarchies, diagrams and lattices of theory. In consciousness, the Forces meet and are given meaning.

    The comic book Universes of Marvel and DC began not with a Big Bang but at the moment when a thought condensed down into a single, almost silent, scratch of pencil point on white paper or struck a typewriter key. The first comic book universes grew by a process of accumulating stories, time, and meaningful connections between characters but like our own universe they too relied for their very existence on four fundamental forces, in this case four colours.

    The comics page is equivalent to the vacuum, the pregnant void, the unimaginably vast or empty prime medium into which our universe is said to have begun its inflation. In order to summon a world onto the flat white screen of the empty page, we must turn to the four cardinal forces of paper time, paper space, paper life. You may know them better as Black, Red, Yellow and Blue.

    These four colours combined to render characters in complex simulated environments. Time in a comic book universe is formed by the interaction of the static pictures with the dynamic empty gutter space between them – the gutter as mentioned before is where all the implied movement in a comic is stored – the gutter is the frame line of a movie reel – the gap between visual intervals. Unlike a movie where the gap between still pictures is 24 frames per second – the gap between one picture in a sequential comic may contain years, miles, parsecs of distance or aeons of time. The blank gutter is where much of the real magic lies. The gutter is where the reader’s consciousness plays a game with emptiness and fills in all the meaning, distance and passage of time that isn‘t shown in the pictures.

    The page then becomes something remarkable; a screen onto which inner worlds can be projected down the lighting rod of a carbon graphite pencil point.

Featured Image: Grant Morrison

The post Read an Exclusive, Unpublished Excerpt of Grant Morrison’s SUPERGODS appeared first on Nerdist.

A new series is placing the Marvel Comics pantheon alongside literary classics such as Pride and Prejudice and Oliver Twist. For the first time ever, Penguin Classics is taking on some of Marvel’s most famous characters. The gorgeous editions collect iconic storylines from the heroes and amazing writers introduce each book. Nnedi Okorafor writes the foreword for Black Panther, Gene Luen Yang introduces Captain America, and Jason Reynolds takes on the epic task of doing the same for Spider-Man. It’s an impressive collection of writers who have shaped these characters.

To celebrate the collections, we talked with Elda Rotor (series editor and Penguin Classics publisher) and Ben Saunders (series editor and comics historian). They spoke to us about the project, its origins, its aims, and making comics accessible for everyone.

Nerdist: How did the project come about? It seems overdue. What was the process of bringing Marvel comics to Penguin Classics?

Elda Rotor: Sven Larsen at Marvel reached out and we discussed the publishing program of Penguin Classics and explored the idea of placing early Marvel comics by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and others in the Penguin Classics canon, framed with the question we post to all our titles: what makes a classic? The idea of contextualizing Marvel comics as Penguin Classics was exciting and our intention was to treat these works as we would any other classic, with thoughtful curation of selections, a scholarly introduction, a foreword that explored the timeless and timely quality of the work, and suggestions for further reading.  

Ben Saunders: My understanding is that both publishers thought it made sense to acknowledge the cultural status of such foundational Marvel titles as Lee and Ditko’s Spider-Man, but were considering a variety of possibilities as to the mode of presentation. Sven Larsen of Marvel Publishing was familiar with my work as a comics scholar and suggested my name to Elda Rotor at Penguin as a possible series editor. Elda got in touch and we exchanged several letters and emails about the idea.

I wanted to break from the “completist” model of pre-existing reprint collections and to cherry pick some of the more influential stories from the first few years worth of several key series, and to provide a genuinely scholarly apparatus—just as you would find in a Penguin Classics edition of Jane Austen or Charles Dickens. I also thought we could find some interesting supplementary materials to include in the back of the books.  

The goal was to create collections that would appeal to fans, but would also be useful to teachers trying to figure out how to take a historical approach to the genre—and perhaps even to a younger generation of creators who might be more familiar with recent comics, but not this older “classic” material.

To my delight, Elda liked these ideas, and endorsed this new approach from the beginning—as did Sven at Marvel. It has been great to have such supportive editors and collaborators.

When it came to curating the first three editions how did you come to choose the selected characters and comics?

BS: From the beginning, the focus was to be on “classic” Marvel. That is, material dating from the 1960s and 1970s, which is when the foundations of the modern Marvel Universe were first laid down.  

But with certain characters, such as Captain America, I was able to reach back to the so-called Golden Age. It has always frustrated me as a teacher that I could not find a “one volume” collection that allowed students to read World War II Captain America comics by Simon and Kirby alongside the revived Cap tales of the 1960s by Lee and Kirby—and to compare and contrast the very different versions of this iconic hero. Now we have just such a book. And it even includes the [Jim] Steranko illustrated tales from the late 1960s, too!  

We actually chose six different foundational Marvel titles for this series of books, with a view to releasing them in two groups of three. So the characters in the current volumes are not the only ones represented in the series. There are three more volumes to come. But the goal, as I say, was to provide accessible single volume collections devoted to foundational series from the 1960s (and, in the case of the Panther, the 1970s).  

I can hardly wait for people to see all six volumes, and I hope we get a chance to do six more after that!

Panther’s Rage is such a foundational book. Previously, it had been hard to find reprinted until the last few years. Could you talk a little about its importance and the vital work of Billy Graham?

BS: The Black Panther volume will include not only “Panther’s Rage,” but the iconic origin of the character from the pages of the Fantastic Four by Lee and Kirby.  

Lee and Kirby set out to reverse the cliches of the Tarzan movies and jungle adventure pulps with which they grew up. So, for example, instead of imagining Africa as “primitive” they decided to make it the site of the most technologically advanced nation in the world, Wakanda.  As a result they kind of fell backwards into Afro-futurism! 

But having made this remarkable leap, they perhaps did not fully recognize the potential of their own creative discovery. It would be writer Don McGregor [and artists] Rich Buckler, and Billy Graham—the first Black creator to work on Panther—who began the process of unpacking that legacy by setting the first Black Panther series in Wakanda. In so doing, McGregor, Buckler, and Graham made T’Challa’s relationship to Wakandan history, society, and culture exert central to their narrative. And this is something that almost everyone who has worked on the Black Panther since those days has been similarly compelled to do. It’s there in Priest’s groundbreaking work, and is the main focus of the first year of Coates’s run. But that extensive creative speculation about life in Wakanda really begins with McGregor, Buckler, and Graham. 

You’ve got a really impressive selection of creators to introduce each of the books. Could you talk a little about them?

ER: When we commission contributors for Penguin Classics, we think about what it means to introduce a classic. These forewords are meant to be an invitation to something special and also an opportunity to share, from one reader to another, why the work they are about to read is particularly relevant. I decided to commission YA authors, because like the founding creators of Marvel comics, these authors are greatly influencing and impacting young people’s reading lives. They are introducing themes and characters that may very well be personally canonical in time, much like the superheroes that they celebrate in their forewords.

BS: I still cannot quite believe that my name is appearing along the names of Jason Reynolds, Nnedi Okorafor, and Gene Luen Yang. I admire all of them so much. I mean, American Born Chinese was among the first graphic novels I ever taught.  

What’s wonderful about reading their introductions, though, is realizing that they feel the same way I do about these iconic characters. They write well—and often movingly—about how the comics of their youth inspired them and set them on the path to becoming the creators they are today. And that was my experience too, in a slightly different way. I don’t have their creative talent, but my early encounters with these comics also shaped me, and influenced my life choices. These comics also inspired me to read, to become a professor of literature, and a teacher of the comics form.

It’s just amazing to consider how these comics have shaped the lives of so many different people, have touched us all in similar ways. By writing about those experiences, Jason, Nnedi, and Gene help to demonstrate—if further demonstration is needed—the value of these classic Marvel comics as shared cultural touchstones.

Something that really excites me about these collections is how accessible they make these landmark stories. A big part of that is the low price point. Could you talk about that aspect of creating the books and why it was so important to the collection?

ER: Channeling the founder of Penguin Books, Allen Lane, Penguin Classics is committed to providing readers with the most authoritative, accessible, high-quality editions of the world’s classics. Having the Penguin Classics Marvel Collection available not only in gorgeous gift-worthy hardcover editions, but also in our signature black spine Penguin Classics paperbacks hopefully provides editions that will be appealing and affordable especially to students, and we encourage educators and librarians to use these editions in classrooms, book clubs, and reading groups.

BS: I wasn’t really part of that choice but having seen advance copies I can say I am *stunned* at how good the books look. The low price point has not meant any loss of quality. Iin fact, I think the books look even better than the old Marvel Masterworks, because the paper stock we have used is more suitable for the coloring techniques of these reprints.  

What do you hope the Penguin Classics editions achieve?

BS: Well, the comics themselves have already achieved so much! But I hope that these Penguin Classics editions will introduce a younger generation of readers to the source material for the contemporary franchise that they enjoy. And hope that libraries, schools, and teachers will find them a useful resource here, too.  

These comics are both the templates or Ur-texts for a huge swathe of modern culture AND potential gateways to literacy. If these collections can help these comics to continue to do what they have always done—to inspire readers, to inspire story-tellers, to inspire positive emulation—then their existence is justified.

The Penguin Classics editions of Black Panther, Captain America, and The Amazing Spider-Man hit shelves on June 14. 

The post Marvel Comics Finally Come to Penguin Classics appeared first on Nerdist.

The crew here at Nerdist loves Marvel and DC Comics, obviously. But we also have a lot of love for the independent comic creators of the world. It is in that space where we find an endless range of stories with diverse protagonists and incredible worlds worth exploration. Such is the case with Scorpio, an urban fantasy comic series by John Robinson IV. The series combines the tenets of the zodiac in a thrilling story with high stakes, ancient relics, fantasy, and more. And fans who want to support Scorpio can lend their financial hand to its Kickstarter, currently live. 

But first, a bit more plot synopsis about Scorpio: 

Scorpio is a full color, urban fantasy action comic about an ambitious young CEO named Daniel Shim. who finds himself entangled with the mystic mysteries of his family legacy. Though intending to avoid the truth of his family past, it is discovered that he holds the ancient Scorpio relic known as the “Sword of Shadows,”  one of 12 that are affixed to the Celestial powers of the Zodiac. With this revelation, Danny now must face his past or lose everything that he holds dear.

In addition to Robinson’s writing, Scorpio is edited by Andrea Smith (Beautiful Soldiers). Marco Zuffranieri is the artist and coloring work comes from Viviana Spinelli of Titan Comics’ Doctor Who fame. 

The Kickstarter will give fans Scorpio Vol. 1, featuring issues 1-3, in a special edition with new art and behind-the-scenes commentary. And, as is the case with most Kickstarters, there will also be other awards including variant covers, art prints, and more. Everyone loves a goodie, right? If it sounds like your kind of jam, head over and toss a coin to an indie comic creator.

The post SCORPIO Comic Brings Special Collection to Kickstarter appeared first on Nerdist.

Welcome back to the Nerdist Reading List. Each month I’ll curate 10 book recommendations that delight, charm, and terrify me. Basically, this is the place to find the best fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and romance books and comics to add to your to-read pile. To make things easier, each month will include a selection of already released books you can grab instantly and other new books you’ll definitely want to pre-order or add to your library holds. This month we’re diving into our books to read recommendations with reimagined Korean folklore, charming romances, terrifying manga, and even a must read poetry collection.

Fantasy/Sci-fi Books to Read

The Girl Who Fell into the Ocean by Axie Oh – Available Now

In this dynamic and engaging fantasy Axie Oh reimagines the classic Korean folktale The Tale of Shim Cheong. Mina grew up in a land ravaged by storms. Her community believes that their once benevolent Sea God has turned on them. Each year, in an attempt to change their fates, they sacrifice a beautiful maiden. Mina is not and was never intended to be the chosen one but she sacrifices herself in order to save a loved one. Soon she’s fighting to save the Sea God, herself, the world, and people that she loves. This is sure to become a fantasy classic.

An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan – April 12

Melding Chinese mythology with Romeo and Juliet, Emily X.R. Pan is here to break and remake your heart. An Arrow to the Moon introduces readers to Hunter Yee and Luna Chang. The former wants nothing more than to escape from his family’s past mistakes, and the latter feels terrified of her own future. Their struggles intertwine when Hunter joins Luna’s class. Their final year of high school suddenly becomes far more exciting, fraught, and dangerous. As ominous, potentially supernatural occurrences begin to plague their small town, can love conquer all?

Spear by Nicola Griffith (April 19)

A magical fantasy yarn that recontextualizes famed and oft-retold folklore, Spear feels both entirely familiar and vibrantly new. Peretur is a young hero on a journey. It’s one that will see her slay monsters and discover strange magic, but also most importantly see her find her place and people. This is the sort of hard fantasy that’s accessible and exciting for all kinds of readers. It’s thrilling to be in an age where we get all kinds of folklore retellings—this month’s list includes four stunners—that allow new readers to redefine how they tell their own stories.

Romance Books to Read

Dating Doctor Dil by Nisha Sharma – Available Now

Enemies to lovers might be one of the most powerful tropes ever created. It’s definitely a Nerdist fave, and it’s the trope I personally can’t pass up. In Dating Doctor Dil, Nisha Sharma creates a sizzling setup. Kareena is a woman looking for love, and Prem is a man who doesn’t have time for it. They’re suddenly flung together and the only thing that’ll help ’em both is… to start dating. This inventive take on Taming of the Shrew is going to excite and delight romance fans everywhere.

Flirting with Fate by J.C. Cervantes – April 19

We love a good romance novel here at Nerdist. And if you add something a little magical? Well, then we’re hooked. Flirting with Fate delivers both with aplomb as Cervantes delights with her swoony YA debut. When an unexpected Santa Monica storm delays Ava Granados from making it to her beloved grandmother’s death bed, her life is turned upside down. Not only did she not get to say goodbye, but the blessing her grandma was meant to bestow on her went to another. Now Ava has to reconnect with a handsome (almost) stranger and fate has plans for them both.

Horror/Thriller Books to Read

The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra – Available Now

YA thrillers have brought me a lot of joy this year, and this is one of the most thoughtful and thought provoking I’ve read in a while. Set at the elite Foxworth Prep, The Rumor Game is a searing and inclusive tale about wealth, truth, friendship, and how one rumor can ruin a life. Bryn is already darkly familiar with that truth after a scandal set her perfect life on fire. Now, as she tries to rebuild her life, a new girl is the center of all the gossip, Georgie. While her newfound infamy seems to be a popularity blessing in disguise, soon both their lives are unraveling.

Comics/Manga/Graphic Novels to Read

Alice in Borderland by Haro Aso – Available Now

If you obsessed over the brilliant Netflix series Alice in Borderland and can’t wait for the next season, then Viz Media has you covered. The English language localization of the first volume is out now and follows a young man who finds himself in an empty alternative Tokyo. Once there, he and his friends find themselves trapped in a deadly game. This inventive take on trapped room puzzle box horror tale is a must read for fans of the show and genre story lovers. Plus it’ll keep your appetite whetted as we all wait for the next volume and next season.

Rave by Jessica Campbell – April 5

With Rave, Jessica Campbell brings us a unique, yet universal coming of age tale. Never shying away from the brutalities of growing up, this story set in the early ’00s centers on Lauren. She’s young, devout, and filled with shame. But when an argument over a textbook leads to Lauren staying over with a friend, she realizes life might have so much more to offer, including queerness and self-discovery. But it’s not an easy journey as Campbell depicts Lauren’s struggle to be herself in the face of a small town where the church is at the center of it all.

Spider-Punk #1 by Cody Ziglar, Justin Mason, Jim Charalampidis, Travis Lanham – April 6

Cody Ziglar is one of the most exciting comics creators around and Spider-Punk is likely his best work yet. Teamed with the brilliant artist Justin Mason, the pair create something truly special. Following Hobart Brown—the titular punk-loving spider—this is a love letter to superheroes and punk music, filled with Easter eggs and homages to both. Also this is collaborative comics at its best as Jim Charalampidis’ vibrant colors and Travis Lanham’s outstanding letters bring the whole thing to life in a way that makes you remember why you love comics so much.

Poetry to Read

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire – Available Now

There has likely never been a poetry collection as eagerly awaited as Shire’s debut full-length collection. The award-winning Somali British writer has long been enchanting readers and audiences as a startling poetry talent. But her work with Beyoncé on Lemonade and Black Is King propelled Shire into the stratosphere. Never one to rush a good thing, Shire took her time on her debut, birthing something truly beautiful here. An exploration of growing into womanhood without a nurturing guide, this is the vibrant, beautiful, and brilliant Shire at her best.

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In the annals of comic book history there are few characters as iconic as Catwoman. But there are also barely any who are so nebulous, who can change and transform at will. Unlike her comic counterparts, her origin constantly shifts and there’s no one defining version of her. And yet she’s one of the most beloved and famous figures to ever leap from the pages of comic books.

The Early Days of Catwoman

Starting at the beginning seems like the easiest way to get a handle on Catwoman. However, just like the enigmatic anti-heroine, the reality is far more complex. A character known as “The Cat” first debuted in 1940’s Batman #1. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the crafty jewel thief was a classical femme fatale in the mold of noir icons like Jean Harlow. But it wouldn’t be until 10 years of unnamed criminal escapades that she’d take on the name Selina Kyle. That monumental moment took place in 1950’s Batman #62. There we got our first version of a Catwoman origin story. After taking a hit to the head, Selina revealed not only her name but also the fact that she’s a long term amnesiac who took to a life of crime after losing her memory.

Making Catwoman—and introducing Selina—as a troubled dame with a murky memory fits with her noir inspirations. But the issue also established another key part of Selina Kyle lore. After regaining her memory, she teams up with Batman, Robin, and Commissioner Gordon. That’s important because one of the few through lines throughout her career was her duality between ally and antagonist. The issue ends with Selina claiming that Catwoman has retired, which was surprisingly prescient. After a few more years of playing with Bruce’s emotions and expectations, Catwoman made her last appearance for over a decade in 1954’s Detective Comics #211.

An Unexpected Disappearance and a Transition to TV

Her unexpected disappearance was likely to do with the recently introduced Comics Code of America. The rules had conservative ideas about both women and glorifying crimes. So with that issue of Detective Comics, the original era of Catwoman ended. But ever the shapeshifter, the writers and artists would reinvent her again and again and again. It’s a far cry from her superheroic colleagues. No matter the story, Superman was (almost) always born on the alien planet Krypton, sent to Earth, and found by a loving couple of rural adoptive parents. Batman’s life was always set on a new path after the murder of his mother and father, usually in crime alley. And no matter the changing face of who killed them, it sparks his life as a vigilante. In the case of Selina Kyle,  just like her feline namesake, she’s often hard to pin down.

Before Catwoman returned to the pages of DC Comics, she got new life on-screen. In 1966, ABC began airing a live-action Batman series. Adam West and Burt Ward took on the roles of Batman and Robin as they faced down a series of comic book rogues. One of these villains was Catwoman, who Julie Newmar played in the first and second season of the hit show. But, in a perfectly fitting fashion, she would be one of three women to play Catwoman throughout the show’s three seasons and a movie. In between those two seasons, Lee Meriwether took on the role in the tie-in movie. Finally, and arguably most iconically, Eartha Kitt took on the role in the third season, once again redefining the role and place of Catwoman in the DC Universe.

Selina’s Origins Begin to Shift

Catwoman is by no means alone in having multiple actors play her on screen. But her ever-shifting origin means that these reinventions feel even more fitting, like each one could reshape the way we see the character forever. While no author will likely try to decide that Batman had a happy childhood with parents, creators have used Selina as more of a blank slate. That’s led to her many origins, most of which are both tragic and cathartic.

Catwoman’s origin wasn’t upended again until 1983 when The Brave and the Bold #197’s creative team Alan Brennert and Joe Staton decided to revisit the amnesia storyline. But instead of the main Catwoman, the pair follow a different universe version of the hero: Selina Kyle from Earth-Two. The issue—narratively framed as Bruce’s autobiography from 1955—is probably best known for the questionable “pedophile” shoebox joke on the title page. But it’s also key to Selina’s history as it reveals she actually lied to Batman about her amnesia in order to escape judgment and justice. Her true origin was a life of crime as an escape from an abusive man. That’s a thread we’d see again and again in the many rebirths of Selina Kyle.

As that story ends, we learn that Bruce accepts Selina and they get married—not for the first time in the pair’s comics history—living happily for 20 years. Alas, when we catch up with Bruce in the present, he reveals Selina died a pointless and tragic death… killing her off-page. Luckily for Selina, the entirety of DC Comics was about to be rewritten only a year later in Crisis on Infinite Earths. With DC’s multiverse now streamlined into a universe following the outcome of the seminal crossover event, DC creators were free to redefine Selina Kyle for the Modern Age of Comics.

A More Serious Side to Catwoman

Two years after the conclusion of Crisis—and a year after his seminal Batman story The Dark Knight—Frank Miller teamed up with David Mazzucchelli for Batman: Year One. The grim and gritty tale imagines the early days of Batman through the lens of a young Jim Gordon as well as introducing a new origin for Selina. She’s a badass, street-hardened sex worker. We first meet her jumping to the defense of a friend whose client is harassing her. It’s heroic and edgy, and with Mazzucchelli’s art and character design, she’s also achingly cool. While she’s more of a side character in this tale, it’s a grounded, gritty story that thanks to Mazzucchelli feels radical rather than exploitative. Miller would later revisit the idea of Selina as a sex worker in The Dark Knight Strikes Again in a far less effective and more misogynistic arc for Catwoman.

Selina as a sex worker is one of the most controversial and oft-changed parts of Catwoman history. It’s also something we’ve yet to see brought to live action. After Year One introduced the idea, some creators explored it further. Mindy Newell and J.J. Birch’s 1989 Catwoman miniseries built on Year One as we learned about Selina’s time on the streets and once again added to her origin. This time we find Selina in an alley covered in cats prior to becoming Catwoman. It’s very evocative of Batman Returns, which came out just three years later and also took inspiration from the miniseries’ Catwoman costume. Soon, though, her story saw retconning again as writer Doug Moench reimagined Selina as a street thief. But her time as a sex worker has returned since. It stands as one of the most talked about and contested aspects of Selina Kyle.

Catwoman Creeps into the ’90s

Two of the most instantly recognizable and influential on-screen versions of Catwoman emerged in the ’90s. 1992 saw Michelle Pfeiffer take on the role in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. Her stitched together latex suit and supernatural-tinged origins were a world away from her grounded comic book life as a master thief. One thing that stayed the same, though, was the way male violence was key to her origin. In the movie, Max Schreck (Christopher Walken) pushes her out of a window, a fall that should have killed her. But she’s seemingly resurrected by cats. It’s her own tale of vengeance, which is a clever reflection of Batman’s own origin.

While Pfeiffer’s performance was stellar and laid out a new path for Selina, mere months years later in 1992, Batman: The Animated Series once again reimagined the early days and motivations of the heroine. Fittingly for their noir influenced cartoon, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm went back to Selina’s femme fatale origins. But here she wasn’t a beaten wife; instead, she was a wealthy socialite. In that way she became a female analogue for Bruce Wayne. Selina’s blonde hair, her chemistry with Bruce, and the pair’s matching double lives seem to have taken inspiration from Batman Returns, but otherwise this is a wholly new Selina. BTAS saw Selina back on top as a roving cat burglar, often romantically entangled with Batman as her alter-ego tried to woo Bruce Wayne.

Catwoman Returns to the Screen and Her Cuban Heritage Revealed

In the ’00s, two major Catwoman origin events occurred, one on-screen and one on the page. The first was in the ongoing Catwoman series. Issue #81 established that Selina had a Cuban mother and white father. This made her one of the few Latine superheroes in Big Two comics. It’s also something that’s stuck with the character through other iterations. Most recently, Cliff Chiang highlighted Catwoman as a 50-something Hispanic hero in his limited series Lonely City. Alas, 22 years ago in the year 2000, we didn’t get a Chiang level exploration of Selina. Instead, the issue is mostly dated trauma porn and some incredibly rotund breasts floating in baths of blood. Despite all of that, though, her Cuban heritage is an aspect that means a lot to Selina’s fans. Four years later, another version of Catwoman with a new origin jumped to the screen…

Halle Berry’s Catwoman was a new take on the hero. Shortly after winning an Oscar, the actress took on the iconic mantle without taking on the name of Selina Kyle. This was a Hollywood origin that did away with the canon and introduced an ancient supernatural element. Berry played Patience Philips; she shares a shyness and lack of self-belief with Pfeiffer’s Selina, but that also changes when she’s killed by her evil boss… also like Selina in Batman Returns. In that way, a lot of what’s in Catwoman 2004 feels like a remix of Pfeiffer’s role. But here Patience is far more catlike and, as is later revealed, she’s connected to an ancient cat god. In this version of Catwoman, it’s more of a legacy title throughout the ages rather than something created by Patience (or Selina) as a way to get vengeance.

It was an interesting diversion and a great return to having a Black actress as Catwoman. But it didn’t fare well with fans and critics, and ended up having little impact on the lore of the hero, though Berry is just as important as the other women who have brought her to life. There was another fan favorite comic in these years too: the Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke Catwoman series. Those pulpy crime tales are currently out of print, but worth seeking out. While they harked back to Selina’s noir-inspired debut, they didn’t radically alter her origin. Though visually it’s clear they’ve had an influence on multiple later iterations of Selina, taking the slick pixie cut look from Year One and modernizing it something we’ll see again and again, including in the popular comic arc Hush, and the upcoming The Batman movie.

The New 52 and The Dark Knight Rises

Like every character in the DC Universe, 2011 saw Selina taken back to the drawing board with the company’s New 52 initiative. The company cancelled their entire line and started 52 series at issue #1, resetting the DC timeline once again. Selina came from an Oliver Twist-inspired group home where she trained to be a thief. It’s an interesting way to explain her propensity for crime. This era also introduced a mystery around Selina’s true parents, which would follow her into DC’s Rebirth era. But before that she would once again come to life on-screen in Christopher Nolan’s final Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.

Anne Hathaway’s Selina takes grounded notes from the New 52 era. Here she’s a streetwise thief who lives with another young con woman. There are echoes of Year One, as the pair live and work together, but Selina is never anything but a thief. We quickly learn she’s an honorable one, trying to escape a life of crime by wiping out her past. This new tech savvy take on Selina fits into the Nolan world. Though she never wore a true catsuit, she did have Hush-inspired goggles which sat on her head in a way that was reminiscent of ears. Something that’s most interesting about this Catwoman is she’s the rare Selina who gets a happy ending. In fact, as The Dark Knight Rises ends, Nolan seems to pull more from Earth-Two Selina and Bruce, a happily married couple who’ve escaped the hardships of crime fighting.

Rebirth and the Modern Age of Catwoman

After the aforementioned Rebirth reboot, Selina—in what is now her current continuity—went back to an origin based in male violence. In this continuity she’s the battered daughter of an abusive father. She and her young sister have to fight to survive, which is how Selina learns her street savvy chops. In an intriguing choice that has massive ramifications—and echoes the journey of her sometime daughter, Huntress—the story revealed Selina to be the biological daughter of a crime boss named Rex Calbrese. It’s another aspect of Selina that leans into her being defined or shaped by the men around her. But like her struggles before, this one only makes her stronger. Since Rebirth, Selina has come to life in numerous guises and stories.

The flexibility of Selina Kyle has never been clearer than in DC’s current publishing line. Standalone prestige series like Chiang’s Lost City imagines a future for Selina where she’s out of prison and trying to crack the secrets of the Batcave. The YA novel Gotham High imagined Selina as a trendy Latina teen in a love triangle with Jack Napier (Joker) and Bruce Wayne. Another teen focused title, Under the Moon, delved deep into Selina‘s toxic childhood and explored her life as a homeless teen. And in the mainline comics she’s still as present as ever, playing key roles in events like Fear State, Joker War, and starring in her own ongoing title.

What’s Next for the Catwoman? The Batman and Beyond

Next up for Selina Kyle is another big screen origin. The Batman is Matt Reeves’ take on the early days of the Dark Knight. We know it’ll be heavily influenced by Year One, as well as multiple other comics. But will it introduce a new origin for Selina? And what from that origin will stick around for future iterations? We’ll have to wait until March 4 to see. But until then why not get yourself acquainted with one of the most beloved and transformative heroes in comics.

Featured Image: DC Comics, Warner Bros.

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One of the most important parts of any Batman performance is the Bat-voice. Keaton set the stage with a slightly lower tenor that established much of what we know today. Kevin Conroy voiced most of our childhood with his gruff take in Batman: The Animated Series. Christian Bale went for the aggressively throaty take in Nolan’s trilogy. At a special The Batman Q&A on the Warner Bros. lot, Robert Pattinson revealed that getting Batman’s voice right was his in to the mindset of the iconic hero.

In response to a question by our own Dan Casey, Pattinson shared his vocal process. “It was a lot of trial and error,” Pattinson revealed.

“I had a lot of time to think about it, I think I was cast about seven or eight months before we started shooting. So I was experimenting with a lot of different things. The first two or three weeks, we were kind of doing a variety of different voices because there’s only a couple of lines in the first few scenes we shot. I think me and Matt just sort of settled on something, it just started to sit in a very particular place. It kind of felt like a little bit of progression from other Bat-voices.”

He continued. “It also felt somewhat comfortable to do as well. It’s weird, it just suddenly starts to feel right. It seems to be that the more you embody the suit and the more you embody the kind of character, it just started to come out quite organically. I think that’s kind of what I was trying to do with the character as well. I was trying to think, ‘He’s not putting on a voice, he puts on the suit and then the voice just starts happening for him.'”

For his onscreen partner in crime, Zoë Kravitz, it was all about understanding Selina first. “I was really excited to explore her backstory and where she comes from, the process that she goes through in terms of kind of becoming closer to what will be Catwoman,” Kravitz explained. “But it was really lovely to be able to play Selina and not have to jump straight to Catwoman. I think with these iconic characters that we all love so much, it can be overwhelming in terms of, ‘Okay, now here’s Catwoman!’ And I have this wonderful opportunity to kind of slowly develop her and the audience gets to come on that journey with me.”

Kravitz was also quick to share how jumping into the more physical aspects of the role was another highlight. “Obviously learning all the combat and the way she moves and finding ways to kind of hint at who she will become was a really fun process,” Kravitz said.

It’s clear how passionate both Kravitz and Pattinson are about bringing these heroes to life. We’ll get to see exactly how they embody the famed DC characters when The Batman hits screens on March 4.

Featured Image: Warner Bros.

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As we get ever closer to the release of Matt Reeves’ The Batman in 2022, fans are eager to learn more about the enigmatic new take on the Dark Knight. While there are only a few trailers and clips out there, we have a wealth of brilliant comic stories to look at when considering where The Batman‘s plot might go. So after much reading, digging, and detective work, here are the Batman comics we think will influence Matt Reeves’ film. Though 2022’s The Batman may not be 100% based on any one of these comics, several of them almost certainly offered inspiration.

The Batman‘s Comic Book Basis

During DC FanDome 2020, Reeves teased some comics that came into play when creating the new Batman movie. You’ve probably already read some of the most obvious suspects, like Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, so we’ve picked a few lesser-known reads. We’re also highlighting some of the comics that Reeves himself has pointed to as having shaped the murder-filled movie.

Batman: The Golden Age Vol. 1 (1939) – Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Gardner Fox, and Jerry Robinson

Seeing as this The Batman‘s plot will focus on Bruce Wayne’s early years, it makes sense to go back to the beginning. Though you may think of Golden Age comics as wacky and often weird—which they were—Batman’s early appearances came across as plenty dark. He was very much the hard-boiled detective that Reeves’ new Batman movie will focus on. He even killed people, which Robert Pattinson’s new Dark Knight iteration might also, at least, think about doing. It’s a far cry from the no-killing mythos DC Comics creators later created, and even further from the militarized Bruce of Christopher Nolan’s film series.

These stories often center on a theme we’ll hit again and again in this piece: Batman as an actual detective. It’s Batman as a ground-level hero who uses violence and wits to get what he wants. That was lost in later, more wacky iterations. And the detective aspect from the comics has often been what fans most want to see translated to the screen. If Reeves pulls from these classic tales then we could finally get the live-action “world’s greatest detective” that we’ve all been waiting for. Basing 2022’s The Batman on these early detective tales from the comics would be a smart way to go.

Batman: Year Two (1987) – Mike W. Barr, Alan Davis, Paul Neary, Todd McFarlane, Alfredo Alcala, Adrienne Roy, Todd Klein, Richard Starkings, Augustin Mas, and John Costanza

Reeves confirmed that his Batman movie will take place in the so-called “Year Two” era of Batman. That means we had to suggest this sequel to the lauded Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. Year Two opens with Jim Gordon getting the Commissioner promotion, something we’ll likely see in The Batman. There’s also the factor of Leslie Thompkins, a key part of Bruce’s backstory. Tonally, this dark tale centers on Batman taking down a murderous vigilante. Fans of the theory that the Bat-symbol on his chest might be made of the gun that killed his parents might also want to note that Joe Chill’s weapon plays a key part in the finale of this tale…

While Leslie Thompkins doesn’t seem to be a part of The Batman, the Reeves film is proudly a detective story. It also follows the chaos and crimes of a Zodiac Killer-inspired Riddler. Plus, as always, this film will reckon with the truth about the Waynes and likely who was behind their death. But whether we’ll finally see a real live-action Joe Chill is another question entirely. Either way, the Year Two Batman comic may offer some basis for the 2022 movie.

Batman: The Long Halloween (1996) – Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale, Gregory Wright, and Richard Starkings

This ’90s classic comic will likely be one of the key influences on Reeves’ The Batman. Even though Year Two is obviously the official sequel to Year One, The Long Halloween also continues the narrative of Year One. Loeb and Sale focus on a burgeoning Batman hunting down a brutal and theatrical serial killer. After seeing trailers for The Batman, this feels familiar. This is a rare contemporary Batman story that leans into the World’s Greatest Detective of it all. It’s also interesting as a comic that shapes the origins of some of Batman’s best-known rogues, which Reeves stated was key to 2022’s The Batman and its approach to the Penguin, Catwoman, and of course, the Riddler.

Another obvious influence is this serial killer detective story. Could The Batman take directly from the Halloween and date-inspired murderer here? Probably not as it seems that the Riddler is the culprit in Reeves’ film. But the Riddler does play a key part in The Long Halloween alongside the film’s other rogues. So what could we see translated to the screen from this comic? In the story, Carmine Falcone hires Riddler to solve the mystery of who the so-called Holiday Killer is. John Turturro will be playing Falcone, so we could see him team up with Paul Dano’s Riddler. Reeves could also take inspiration from the Catwoman and Batman relationship in this comic. The Long Halloween‘s Catwoman is a detective in her own right. She saves Batman during the story. That seems a likely route for the film to follow here with its focus on the two young vigilantes.

Batman: Scottish Connection (1998) – Alan Grant, Frank Quitely, Matt Hollingsworth, and Bill Oakley

I wrote extensively about this ’90s oddity when The Batman set photos revealed Bruce Wayne in a graveyard in Glasgow. Though it’s unlikely that the movie will be even partially set in Scotland, Reeves did reveal his take on Gotham was inspired by Liverpool. So, the British Isles are at least coming into play. This is an exceedingly fun book that follows Bruce as he heads to Europe on Wayne family business only to discover a strange mystery. Scottish Connection centers Alfred Pennyworth—whom we hear speaking to Bruce over the graveyard scene in The Batman trailer—and a historical mystery connected to the Waynes. If you were paying attention at Fandome, then you’ll know that could be key.

Batman: Ego and Other Tails (2000) – Darwyn Cooke and JonathAn Babcock

Another comic Reeves mentioned by name as an inspiration for The Batman is this one-shot by the late, great Darwyn Cooke. If you’ve read the story it’s clear why. An introverted and conflicted Bruce Wayne fights against the fear living inside him after he was complicit in a horrific murder. Working as both a reimagining of his classic origin and a metatext on the nature of Batman and his role in the crimewave of Gotham city, this makes a lot of sense for Reeves’ more humanist and complex look at the Dark Knight. Ego also positions Batman and Bruce as two almost completely separate entities.

Much can be made of the fact that we barely seem to see Bruce Wayne in the trailers for Matt Reeves’ The Batman. That could be a representation of Ego’s influence on the film. In that case, we’d essentially see Bruce and Batman living separate lives. It would be a brave and likely controversial choice. The most obvious inspiration from this comic, though, will be the exploration of the Bruce/Batman relationship. What drives Bruce to be Batman? How does his violence impact those around him? Does it really make the city a better place? Those are all key questions in Ego and could come into play when The Batman hits the screen on March 4, 2022.

Batman: Heart of Hush (2009) – Dustin Nguyen, Paul Dini, Derek Fridolfs, and John Kalisz

Though Hush might have come to mind when we first got a glimpse of the masked killer, I’m not including that smash hit series here. Instead, you get Nguyen and Dini’s sterling slow-burn sequel. As for what Reeves could take from the comic book, Selina and Bruce fight side by side here. Dano’s Riddler could potentially take notes too, as the mastermind uses Selina against Bruce to devastating effect. Plus, there’s also the gorgeous noir aesthetic that Nguyen imbues with a beautiful darkness and just enough light to let the shadows in. It’s clear Reeves is going for a contemporary noir, so that’s another potential visual inspiration for The Batman. 

Batman: The Court of Owls Saga (2011) – Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and More

The Batman wasn’t the only big Dark Knight announcement that came out of FanDome. DC also revealed a new Bat-Family video game featuring the Court of Owls. But that’s not why we’ve recommended this one. Reeves described how The Batman would center on dark secrets, corruption that goes to the center of Gotham, and the battles between the high-powered families who have built it. If you’ve read The Court of Owls Saga, it surely came to mind. There are also echoes of Ego here as Bruce grapples with a new threat that forces him to look at himself, his family, and his role as Gotham’s most famous protector.

While it seems unlikely that the Court of Owls will appear in what seems to be a more intimate and small-scale Batman story, tonal things could be taken from here. Much of the Court of Owls focuses on Bruce struggling to find the truth about the Wayne Foundation. And him being targeted by a shadowy group that doesn’t want him to better Gotham. Those comic themes seem very easy to translate to 2022’s The Batman, especially in Matt Reeves’ more grounded take on the hero.

Batman (2014) – by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, with Jared K. Fletcher

If you read our piece about Colin Farrell’s interesting Batman purchase, then you’ll be aware of this particular collection. This late New 52 era series boasts Manapul and Buccellato’s stunning visual storytelling alongside another exploration of Gotham’s corruption. We know those themes are at the core of Reeves’ The Batman. This immersive and experimental book could serve as a great framework for trying to look under the hood of both Batman and Gotham.

If we were to guess what Reeves might directly take from this comic story we’d say it’s likely the close working relationship between Batman and Harvey Bullock. But with Gordon (Jeffery Wright) playing a big part in The Batman, it’s more likely that we’ll see that relationship reimagined with Batman and Gordon working together. In the comics Batman and Harvey Bullock take down a drug ring and a dangerous street drug; we definitely could see that come to life in The Batman. Reeves has also talked a lot about corruption at every level of Gotham, which this Detective Comics run really leans into. So if there’s one Batman comic to check out, this is probably it.

Whether or not Reeves will pull directly from any of these comic stories is still to be seen. But as a huge fan of Batman and a storyteller invested in exploring the rich history of the character, it seems likely he and The Batman will draw from the incredible well of yarns comics creators have shared over the eight-plus decades since the Dark Knight first debuted.

Originally published August 25, 2020.

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The 34-page booklet, which we first saw at Design Taxi, features 31 pages of delightful cartoon illustrations. The properties covered include some of the most famous comic strips to come out of Belgium, like The Smurfs, The Adventures of Tintin, and Willy and Wanda. Others featured include the detectives Blake & Mortimer, Suske & Wiske, and Lucky Luke.

Foreign Affairs Minister Sophie Wilmès announced the new passports on January 27. Per the Brussels Times, the new passports will formally debut on February 7. In a statement, Wilmès, spoke of the new passport look and its ties to Belgium’s artistic culture:

 The Belgian passport is one of the best in the world, it is a source of pride for us, but also an object of desire for counterfeiters. This is why we are constantly working to improve its security. The introduction of this new passport is also an opportunity for us to highlight the 9th art, the comic strip, which is a central element of our culture and our influence abroad.

Frankly an excellent idea for all countries to embrace. The UK passport with Paddington on every page? I’d apply for citizenship immediately! Give me France with Madeline, Japan with some thrilling Manga characters adorning its pages. The opportunities are endless.

But baller designs aren’t all Belgium was shooting for when designing the sweet new passports. As the video demonstrates, it seems a little bit trickier to copy. Scanned images of each page shows some very tricky new security measures. However, despite the new look and reinforced security measures, Wilmès specifically noted that the passports will not increase in price. 

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As another year comes to a close it’s time to celebrate some of our favorite things from 2021! In case you haven’t noticed, we’re big comic book fans here at Nerdist and it’s been another banner year for the medium of sequential storytelling. Our 2021 roundup includes comics for everyone from the most super of heroes to the best of small publishing. Basically, if you’re looking for something new to read or you just want to celebrate a great year in comics, we’ve got you covered!!

Brilliant Big  Two Comics

Nubia: Real One (DC Comics)

By L.L. McKinney, Robyn Smith, Brie Henderson, Bex Glendining, and Ariana Maher

In what might be the best of the DC YA line yet, L.L. McKinney joins forces with Robyn Smith to reintroduce readers to Wonder Woman’s sister, Nubia. This is a truly vibrant and original book that looks and feels like no other superhero comic out there. If you love truly exciting cartooning and want a Black-led cape book with bite, then make sure you pick this one up.

Static: Season One (DC Comics)

By Vita Ayala, ChrisCross, Nikolas Draper-Ivey, and AndWorld Design

Speaking of reintroductions, Static Shock got a much needed new solo series this year. The stunning anime-influenced series has been delighting Milestone fans and the wider comics audience. Superstar Vita Ayala takes writing duties alongside artists Nik Draper-Ivey and ChrisCross. Whether you already love Virgil or want to get to know him, this is the book!

Nubia & the Amazons (DC Comics)

By Stephanie Williams, Vita Ayala, Alitha Martinez, Mark Morales, Emilio Lopez, and Becca Carey

Look, sometimes one hero just shines brighter than the rest. This year that star was Nubia. After Smith and McKinney reintroduced her, Nubia’s now got her own solo title and it’s a smash. Vita Ayala, Stephanie Williams, and Alitha Martinez have created an accessible, exciting, and vital reconsideration of Nubia and Themyscira that’s the must read of 2021.

Demon Days (Marvel)

By Peach Momoko, Zack Davisson, and Ariana Maher

Peach Momoko might be the hottest Big Two artist on Earth right now and for good reason! Momoko’s cover art has been delighting readers and collectors all year, but her solo series Demon Days—which reimagines the origins of classic Marvel heroes through the lens of Japanese folklore—is her best work yet. Charming, funny, scary, and enticing, it’s a delight!

Poison Ivy: Thorns (DC Comics)

By Kody Keplinger, Sara Kipin, Jeremy Lawson, and Steve Wands

Putting a gothic twist on one of our favorite anti-heroines, Kody Keplinger and Sara Kipin deliver something truly special with Poison Ivy: Thorns. This queer romance leans into the haunting horror of gothic literature, introducing a new beginning for Pamela. This is the sort of story you can lose yourself in, whether you’ve never read a comic or you’re a lifelong fan.

Incredible Indie Comics

Heaven No Hell (Drawn & Quarterly)

By Michael DeForge

You might’ve seen Michael DeForge’s very good “One of My Students Is a Murderer… But Which?” on the internet. It’s one of the many stories collected in this impressive tome that shows just why DeForge is such a force to be reckoned with. Experimental, transgressive and above all radical, Heaven No Hell is a singular work that must be read to be believed.

Night Bus (Drawn & Quarterly)

By Zuo Ma, Orion Martin, and Sophie Yanow

Surreal and heartbreaking, Night Bus is one of the most original comics of the year. Turning our expectations of autobio stories on its head, this release from one of the leading alternative cartoonists in China centers on a young woman on a nighttime bus drive. What begins as a magical mystery tour soon reveals itself as a tragic and bountiful story of love.

The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town (Black Josei Press)

By Robyn Smith

Black Josei Press is one of the most exciting and powerful indie publishers out there, and The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town is proof. Beautifully presented, this autobiographical comic by Robyn Smith is an evocative and moving read as Smyth chronicles her experience as one of the only Black people in a rural Vermont town. Buy a copy for everyone you know.

Ode to Keisha (Black Josei Press)

By Jamila Rowser and Trinidad Escobar

The second entry from the brilliant new publisher is an equally as powerful autobio release. Ode to Keisha was written by publisher Jamila Rowser and is gorgeously illustrated by Trinidad Escobar. The titular Keisha was Rowser’s kindergarten friend and here the latter recalls how their friendship as two young Black girls in the Netherlands fundamentally shaped her.

Bun’s Comfort Food Corner (Shortbox)

By Chu Nap

Ever wanted a comic that’s both ridiculously cute and also very informative? In this perfect release from Shortbox, Chu Nap delivers just that. Stories about food, cooking, mishaps, and successes are delivered with joy alongside easy to make recipes. This is the sort of book that you and yours can treasure for years to come. And it really is very cute!!

A Queer Prisoners Comic Anthology: Edition IV (A.B.O. COMIX)

By various artists

We are huge fans of the work that A.B.O. Comix does here at Nerdist. The abolitionist publisher supports queer people in prison by publishing their comics and giving them the profits. The fourth volume of the ongoing series is another certified banger. Beautiful, moving, vital, and cool as all heck, this is 374 pages of real radical underground comics.

Cool Comics for All Ages

Our Little Kitchen (Abrams)

Jillian Tamaki

This delightful kids book also happens to be one of the loveliest comics of the year. Tamaki turns her expressive style to a story of a busy community kitchen. You can almost smell the creations and you can definitely feel the love as the chefs come together to help make food for their neighbors. Bright, exhilarating, and ultimately inspiring, this is a truly surprising read.

Tidesong (Quill Tree Books)

By Wendy Xu

Beautifully illustrated and utterly immersive, Tidesong follows a young witch called Sophie who’s sent to prepare for magic academy with relatives. But her struggles to live up to her magical legacy entangle her with an amnesiac dragon called Lir. This unexpected friendship changes Sophie’s life in this luscious coming of age tale you’ll want to read again and again.

Artie and the Wolf Moon (Lerner Books)

By Olivia Stephens

Artemis ‘Artie’ Irvin’s mother is a park ranger. They live together in Oregon, but her mother has a secret. She’s a werewolf. In this wonderful coming of age story Artie discovers her lineage and teams up with her mom to understand her wolfy ways. Stephens is a sterling cartoonist and every page of this book perfectly showcases her dynamic and brilliant narrative art.

Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots: A Graphix Chapters Book (Scholastic)

By Pearl Low, Marcia Thornton Jones, and Debbie Dadey

Feeling nostalgic? Then you need to pick up this wonderful reimagining of the classic Bailey School Kids stories from Oscar-winning cartoonist Pearl Low. Taking on the iconic Scholastic series is no mean feat, but Low brings their cute cartoon stylings to this tale of a naughty elementary school class who come up against a strange new teacher in Ms. Jeepers.

Marvelous Manga

Mashle: Magic and Muscles (Viz)

By Hajime Komoto, Nova Skipper, and Eve Grandt

Maybe the funniest comic this year, Mashle: Magic and Muscles is perfect for fans of a certain boy wizard who want something new. Set in a world where magic is real, Mashle lives in a small village next to a famed wizardry school. He has a dark secret, though: he can’t do magic! So when he’s enrolled in the school he has to use his muscles to survive.

Tono Monogatari (Drawn & Quarterly)

By Shigeru Mizuki and Zack Davisson

This impressive tome is another masterwork from yokai king Mizuki. His take on the classic Japanese supernatural text by folklorists Kunio Yanagita and Kizen Sasaki is part adaptation, part self-exploration as he attempts to follow their footsteps. Utilizing delicate linework and haunting illustrations, Mizuki creates something entirely unique and memorable.

Fist of the North Star (Viz)

By Buronson, Tetsuo Hara, Joe Yamazaki, and John Hunt

Continuing the current Viz trend of beautiful reprints, this year saw the release of a stunning hardcover edition of Buronson and Tetsuo Hara’s Fist of the North Star. If you’ve never read this absolutely essential action manga, then there’s never been a better time. Following the deadly martial artist Kenshiro through a dystopian wasteland has never looked so good.

Featured Image: Viz, Quill Tree Books, DC Comics

The post The Very Best Comics of 2021 appeared first on Nerdist.

Garth Ennis has probably written one of your favorite comics. He’s the writer behind The Boys, Preacher, one of the most lauded Punisher runs in Marvel history, and many more. His impact on contemporary comics and their prevalence in pop culture can’t be understated. That’s why Nerdist is stoked to reveal that Ennis has a new project at the legendary 2000 AD. And it resurrects a true cult classic: British fantasy favorite Hawk the Slayer.

The 1980 swords and sorcery flick centered on two brothers, Hawk and Voltan, who engage in a possibly world-ending battle over a magical sword. It’s long been a beloved if lesser-known addition to the canon. Now Ennis, artist Henry Flint, and letterer Rob Steen are resurrecting Hawk. A direct sequel to the film, the five-issue monthly miniseries continues their adventures, beginning in a 32-page special issue. Each month readers will also get gorgeous painted covers from Greg Staples (Magic the Gathering). Basically, it’s all any fantasy lover could want. To celebrate, we chatted with Ennis over email about his take on Hawk, what the character means to him, and what he can’t wait for readers to discover.

Adapting a Cult Classic 

Like many kids across the pond, Ennis has a personal connection to Hawk. And he shared his first memory of the movie with Nerdist. “My aunt took a friend and I to see it in Letterkenny, Donegal in 1981. I spent my summers near there when I was a kid, my grandparents had a farm just over the border from Derry. We’d seen the trailer on TV and were desperate to see the movie, and against her better judgement my aunt gave in. I remember there was a trailer for The Road Warrior before Hawk the Slayer, and I asked if we could see that next. The reply was an emphatic NO. Fair enough, I was only 11.”

The pressure of adapting something beloved is something Ennis doesn’t normally worry about. “I just tell the story as it occurs to me in the manner that seems most appropriate,” the writer shared. “But in this instance I should say that I genuinely love Hawk the Slayer, for what I hope are all the right reasons, and I wrote this story in the same spirit that I enjoy the film. It’s larger than life, it’s got the sometimes (beyond) hyperbolic language and characterization typical of its genre, it requires massive suspension of disbelief—but it’s got a lot of heart, the story goes in a straight line and never falls apart, the heroes are likable, and the villains are extremely memorable. And it feels different enough to others like it (Conan, The Beastmaster, The Sword & The Sorcerer, etc.) that it sticks in the memory in a way they don’t.”

Taking on Hawk the Slayer

When it comes to creating a new chapter of an already established story, there’s one thing that Ennis considers key: “I think it was really a question of trust,” he explained. “Once I spoke to Jason, Ben, and Keith at Rebellion, they realized I liked the movie for the same reasons they did and my ideas all made sense within that context. They could see I wasn’t going to take the piss out of Hawk, but that I wasn’t going to produce something unrecognizable either—that what I wanted to do was take the story where it was logically and emotionally supposed to go next. It’s nice when you encounter that level of enthusiasm for any story, really, when you find yourself in a conversation with people who feel the same way you do. It spurs you on to do your best.”

Together, Ennis and Flint have delivered on that promise. They’ve created an engaging, exciting fantasy adventure that even has the approval of one of the character’s original co-creators. Terry Marcel, co-writer and director of Hawk the Slayer, told Nerdist that “for me, this is a great homage to the movie and really delivers on my expectations. Garth and Henry have really done justice to the film and it’s wonderful to see Hawk and his friends back in action. It’s such an interesting concept—rather than going from comic book to film, it’s the other way around—and this series captures everything I thought about with Hawk and the potential for his further adventures. I can’t wait to see where it takes him next!’

Bringing Sword and Sorcery Back to 2000 AD

Ennis chose not to look back at other sword and sorcery titles, instead following what made him so attracted to Hawk in the first place: its unique take on fantasy. “I tend to think of Hawk the Slayer as being its own peculiar beast. I mentioned that I like the movie because it’s unlike others of its kind; the same will hopefully be true of the comic. It’s also worth mentioning that I’m not really all that familiar with other comics in this genre—I’ve never had much interest in Conan, for instance, which I find pretty humourless and po-faced whether as book, movie, or comic. The exception would be the old black & white Sláine in 2000 AD, which I’m still a big fan of, but it’s very different to Hawk the Slayer in the first place.”

There was one fantasy title that has stayed with Ennis through the years, though. “I read The Hobbit as a kid and loved it—still do—so I’m familiar with magic swords and evil warlords, but beyond that one not a lot has stuck in my memory.”

Flint’s art feels both entirely in line with the sword and sorcery comics that we know and love, while feeling contemporary and fresh. For Ennis, it’s clear that he’s just as much of a fan of his collaborator’s art as we are. “Oh, what a treat,” Ennis shared. “Henry really pulled out all the stops on this one. It’s just so nice to see Hawk, Gort, and Crow walking around after so long, not to mention the triumphant return of perennial nervous wreck Roy the innkeeper. His take on Voltan is a sight to behold as well, but for that you’ll have to wait for part two.”

What Can Fans Expect From Hawk the Slayer?

If Hawk fans want to know where the story is headed, Ennis set it up nicely. “There’s a nasty sense of old evil on the rise as the story continues, and Hawk & company find themselves in some sinister places, from the Forest of Weir to the caverns beneath the Holy Fortress at Dainsford (which, if you look at the movie, really doesn’t seem all that holy).”

He continued. “The woman Hawk rescued from being burned as a witch—by Warren Clark, of all people—will have a big role to play; her magic will call some old ghosts back into the world of the living. Crow the Elf will discover the real reason he’s the last of his kind, which will come as a nasty shock. And, of course, the appallingly evil Voltan is going to make an appearance sooner or later—along with his backers, the Black Wizards. They like to think they’re his masters, but Voltan might just have some ideas of his own.”

He also hinted at an ominous end for at least one of our heroes… “I should say that, just like in the movie, tragedy lies in wait for at least one of the Table of Five. Not everyone is going to make it through this in one piece.” Ennis also shared the moment that he can’t wait for Hawk the Slayer fans to read when they pick up the issue. “Towards the end, around the point Hawk advises everyone to stay absolutely still,” Ennis teased. “If you came looking for Hawk the Slayer, that bit should be worth the price of admission.”

Hawk the Slayer #1 debuts on April 13, 2022 in comic book stores.

Featured Image: 2000 AD

The post Garth Ennis Takes on 2000 AD’s HAWK THE SLAYER (Exclusive) appeared first on Nerdist.

Happy Nerdoween!!! This spooky season is the perfect time to celebrate some of our fave horror icons. But while our minds often go to scary movies and TV shows during this hallowed time, this year we are thinking outside the box. We’re looking to comics, manga, and books to fully explore some of those scary antagonists who get into our brains and refuse to let go. Here are a few print horror villains you need to know.

Tomie (Tomie)

Viz Media

We could have written an entire piece about Junji Ito’s terrifying creations. But to keep things simple, we chose one of his most nightmarish and iconic monsters. Murdered by her classmates, Tomie returns the next day to her high school intent on revenge. A twisted reinvention of the femme fatale, Tomie soon became a recurring figure in Ito’s short stories. The beautiful young woman often targets egotistical men, who she drives mad with her beauty. Both terrifying and awe-inspiring, Tomie works as both a mythical nightmare muse and warning tale to the kind of men who will drop everything for a pretty face.

Ayoola (My Sister, the Serial Killer)

Doubleday

One of fiction’s most frightening serial killers, Oyinkan Braithwaite introduced readers to Ayoola, the titular murderer of her stunning debut novel. A young, beautiful woman, Ayoola has killed three of her boyfriends by the time we meet her. While she claims self-defense, her lack of emotion, near sociopathic ability to continue on with her life, and the fact that she always calls her sister to clean up her mess hint at something darker.

What makes Ayoola so terrifying is the absolute normality that she represents. She’s the popular girl next door. The girl you might have a crush on, and one who absolutely wouldn’t blink at killing you. Plus, she has an enabler who will stop at nothing to protect her and hide her secret.

Carnage (Marvel Comics)

Marvel Comics

Another vital serial killer inclusion is Cletus Kasady. But you probably know him better as Carnage. Though you might not think about a nefarious murderer being a key part of the usually kid friendly Spider-Man lore, that’s exactly the case with Kasady. He was a cannibalistic murderer who ended up in a cell next to Eddie Brock. It was here he came into contact with the symbiote that transformed him into Carnage. Combining a sociopathic cannibal with an all-powerful alien is truly a terrifying prospect. While Carnage and Venom are seen as a little campy these days, at his core Carnage is a horror villain for the ages.

Violator (Spawn / Image Comics)

Todd McFarlane

Another descendant of Venom but in a wholly different way, Violator was born when Todd McFarlane left Spider-Man at the height of the book’s success and created Spawn. Violator is best known for his strikingly disgusting appearance as a horrifyingly horned agent of Hell. But that’s not his only form. This murderous beast also assumes the unsettling human body of a slovenly clown. That’s two ghastly guises to haunt your dreams! And if you need something to really keep you up at night, make sure to watch John Leguizamo in the 1996 Spawn movie.

Dio Brando (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Viz Media

Nothing is simple in the world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Especially not the origin, motives, and power set of one of its most famous bad guys: Dio Brando. Though his outlandish looks and strong jaw might make you think he’s an odd pick for this list, don’t be fooled. As part of his never ending quest to terrorize his adopted brother Jonathan Joestar, Dio ended up turning himself into a vampire. Talk about commitment. But he’s not only a bloodsucker, he later becomes a Stand user, making him near all-powerful in the magical arts. Spooky!!!

Mephisto (Marvel Comics)

Marvel Comics

How could we not include Nerdist‘s favorite demonic presence? While Mephisto has yet to make himself known in the MCU, he’s been causing horrific havoc in the Marvel Universe since 1953’s Bible Tales for Young Folk #1 where he starred as the Serpent… no, really. Though the over-the-top devilish imagery might make him less obviously horrifying than some on our list, Mephisto is a truly powerful being who can literally make your life a nightmare. He also takes his name from Mephistopheles, one of literature’s most infamous villains. The Faustian pacts he loves to trick heroes into are also a reference to that very influence.

The Batman Who Laughs (DC Comics)

DC Comics

DC Comics has long been the home of some great rogues who’d hold their own against some of the genre’s most fearsome villains. But over the last few years, they’ve introduced maybe their most appalling creation yet. The Batman Who Laughs is an alt-universe version of Bruce Wayne. His pale visage and deathly cackle are a result of the Joker toxin. Yep, this is a combo of Gotham’s two most unstable men, and he’s as scary as that sounds. Did we mention that he also keeps jokerfied Robins on chains like pet dogs? *shudders*

Featured Image: Viz, DC Comics, Todd McFarlane

The post Comics, Novels, and Manga Have Brilliant Horror Villains, Too appeared first on Nerdist.

Beasts Made of Night writer Tochi Onyebuchi will write the comic. And Bunheads illustrator Setor Fiadzigbey will illustrate. The comic series will explore “the moments that made T’Challa who he is, using both familiar elements of the character’s origin and exploring never-before-seen corners of the story and the character.”

Marvel Comics

“Black Panther Legends is a deeply personal book, and I was given the opportunity to situate T’Challa and his family in a specific political and social context,” said Onyebuchi when speaking to SYFY Wire.

Onyebuchi continued, “There’s some really cool stuff in here, but it’s also a book about a family at a very particular time on the African continent. And I’m super grateful to Marvel for giving me the freedom to explore that and to ask, through his character, some very knotty questions about responsibility.”

Further details reveal that the series will feature not one Wakandan prince, but two! Black Panther Legends will look at T’Challa’s childhood and the life of his adoptive older brother, Hunter. The story will definitely contend with sibling rivalry. Young T’Challa is already destined to lead Wakanda, while his older brother must figure out his own place in the world. 

And for those Storm fans out there, fear not. The comics promise to tell the story of the future Wakandan King’s first encounter with Ororo Munroe. And yes, you’ll even see a little Fantastic Four in there as well! 

The publisher has yet to reveal which other heroes it has lined up for their new kids series. But with Black Panther, they are off to a fantastic start.

The post T’Challa’s Origin Story Unfolds in BLACK PANTHER LEGENDS appeared first on Nerdist.

In the wake of the 2020 Black Live Matter protests, many people are learning for the very first time about the concept of prison abolition and advocacy for incarcerated people. But many communities and activists have been doing the work for decades. This work has involved connecting with incarcerated people, giving them a voice, and striving to end the systems that keep our fellow citizens in such inhumane conditions. Casper Cendre, one of the founders of A.B.O. Comix, has dedicated years of his life to advocacy. His incredible work highlights the voices of incarcerated LGBTQ+ people through artistic expression.

A.B.O. Comix

Founded in 2017, A.B.O. Comix is a queer-organized collective that supports queer incarcerated people. The group creates gorgeous anthologies of work from people living in prison. They compile and publishing these submissions, with all the funds going back to the contributors and their families. What began as a conversation between three friends—Cendre, Io, and Woof—has turned into a full-time publisher, with multiple releases and a huge network of queer creators and incarcerated people working together to imagine a fairer and more radical world. “We were talking about prisoner advocacy and comics,” Cendre told Nerdist. “I brought up some of my artist friends in prison, and we just thought it’d be kind of a cool idea to see if they would want to contribute to a comic anthology.”

After putting an advert in the Black and Pink newspaper, the crew was inundated with responses from people in prison. “The response was incredibly overwhelming. We got hundreds of letters in response and so many comics submissions in a really short timeline. So we put together that first anthology that year and just thought we’d see where the project went from there, and here we are four years later!” Cendre laughed. In that time, A.B.O. Comix has grown exponentially. And, as the co-founder shared, it hasn’t always been an easy ride. Cendre said, “It’s been kind of a rollercoaster, honestly.”

A.B.O. Comix

In the early days as the founders moved, worked, and lived their own lives while running the ever-growing organization, Cendre spent a lot of time just trying to stay in touch with the prison community. “I was just keeping in contact with everybody on the inside the best I could. It was kind of me floundering not really knowing what I was doing. But the letters I would receive from everybody on the inside were so beautiful, uplifting, and motivating. They were like, ‘Don’t give up on this. It’s something special and you have our support 100 percent. Anything we can do, we’ll do.’ It just grew into a family and a community of people who have just been the best part of my life the last four years. And something that I look forward to doing. I’m so excited that it’s my full time job now.”

It’s not just Cendre who has found a calling in A.B.O Comix. The group’s impact and aspirations are much bigger. “People are getting out of prison and wanting to come be a part of it, to grow this into something huge,” Cendre said. “So when people get out of prison, they can come be a part of the community, they can hopefully have a job. We’re working on getting national grant funding. It’s really exciting to see it grow. I can’t believe it went from like one little comic that we were like, ‘Okay, well this will be a fun project for us to work on for a couple months,’ to now being mine and a lot of people’s whole life. This is their gig now that they’re putting their all into.”

A.B.O. Comix

Looking forward, there’s a lot to be excited about. “Everything is kind of evolving right now,” Cendre explained. “The last four-and-a-half years…were really kind of our stumbling blocks. We managed to put out a ton of publications and do a bunch of events. Now it’s sort of like feeling out what we have the capacity to maintain longterm.” Part of that planning includes a switch to a new newsletter format. This will enable Casper and co. to stay in touch with those on the inside and publish their work without the long wait that comes from individually responding to the hundreds of letters that they get each month.

As well as the newsletter and numerous new books, A.B.O. Comix is starting a podcast, which Cendre is clearly excited about. “We’ll be doing individual interviews with our contributors. They’ll be long-format, so we’ll just get people on the phone and hit record and just start talking. People can share whatever they want to about their life or their story or anything they might need. And then we’ll be publishing those podcast interviews. So we’re starting that up right now, and that’s probably the most exciting thing on the horizon.”

A.B.O. Comix

If people want to get involved in advocacy for incarcerated queer folks, Cendre has some solid advice. “The best introduction into prison stuff is really talking to the people who are impacted by it. There are so many people on the inside who have no one else, they’ve been abandoned by their family and friends. And they have almost zero contact with the outside world, with the exception of organizations who are so overwhelmed already because there’s hundreds of thousands more people in prison than there are people who are doing any sort of prisoner advocacy stuff. So getting in contact with people on the inside and just writing a letter and getting to know people and hearing their stories firsthand, I think it’s the best possible way you could do it.”

Cendre has some great recommendations for organizations that help people in prison connect with the outside world. Just some of the many orgs doing this work include Abolition Apostles, Friends Beyond the Wall, and Black and Pink.

A.B.O. Comix

Cendre continued, “So much of what the general public knows about prison life is very secondhand. It’s TV shows or movies or media; it’s not their stories from them. And I see this overwhelming movement towards abolition, towards learning, and all of that stuff and people not really knowing where to start. I really think the best place to start is actually forming relationships and friendships with the people on the inside. So much of advocacy is trying to do stuff on other people’s behalf, what you think is going to be best for somebody else’s well being. And I think the best thing that I’ve learned is never try to do something on the behalf of somebody else without asking them first.”

Featured Image: A.B.O. Comix

The post How a Small Comics Publisher Is Working Toward Prison Abolition appeared first on Nerdist.

Female scientists are incredibly rare in media, but a new comic is here to change that. The Curie Society shines a light on women in STEM in an exciting kid-focused story. Imagining a world where Marie Curie established a secret society for women in science, the graphic novel centers on the newest recruits. Simone, Maya, and Taj are students at Edmonds University, but after solving a series of complex puzzles they’re inducted into the titular group. It’s an action-packed sci-fi adventure that puts women at the forefront. To celebrate the release, we dug into the process behind the story with its developers, Adam Staffaroni and Heather Einhorn.

MIT Press, art by Sonia Liao

Nerdist: How did the Curie Society come about?

Staffaroni and Einhorn: A few years back we attended a Comic-Con panel focused on women STEM characters and how they were represented—or not represented—across media. Television, comics, movies, etc. The thing that struck us was the end of the panel: one of the questions was about what the panelists would love to see in media to improve depictions of female scientists. They wondered if there could be a show that had two women scientist characters in a lab instead of just one, or if the woman could actually be the head of a lab. We left that panel wanting to dream bigger. Surely there could be more than just two women in a lab. Three? Four? What about ALL? The most we could do would be a lab with all women. So we set out to see if we could pull it off.

Could you talk about building the right creative team for the book?

The first person we contacted to work on the book was Joan Hilty (and her partner at PageTurner, Pete Friedrich). We had overlapped with Joan when we were both working at DC Comics, and had the utmost respect for her as an editor. She was super excited about the project and introduced us to Pia Guerra, who was also really excited about what we were trying to put together and helped us with early concept art for the Curie Society. Their excitement told us everything we needed to know about where this book could go.

We also knew it was important that the characters and the world that we were building were authentic to the experiences of real working female scientists. So often with ensembles of female characters, there’s just one “smart one,” and that’s as deep as the character goes. We were starting with an ensemble of all smart women, so we knew we had to dig deeper into each character to make sure they were all three-dimensional. So we then brought on Nadja Oertelt and her team at Massive Science who, along with MIT Press, the book’s publisher, assembled an incredible group of working female and non-binary scientists and science communicators like Kasia Chmielinski and Britt Wray to advise on the book. Our interviews with them helped bring into focus not only the characters, but the science elements and themes that were woven throughout the book.

MIT Press, art by Sonia Liao

After we had a solid foundation rooted in the authentic experiences of real scientists, it was time to assemble the creative team! We were really impressed by Janet Harvey’s work on Angel City and loved the technology element she brought to the table as a writer for multimedia and video games. And Joan also introduced us to Sonia Liao, whose work was brimming with personality and energy and turned out to be just the perfect artist for the project. Rounding out the team were Johanna Taylor, Morgan Martinez and Annette Fan-Zhu, who all did amazing work and were wonderful to work with.

What was the most surprising thing you learned while prepping for the book?

MIT Press, art by Sonia Liao

We were astonished by how many women scientists had been historically overlooked! Even with amazing films like Hidden Figures bringing more of these women into the light of day, there are dozens more out there who haven’t been recognized. That’s why we put a lot of care into developing the historical fiction elements of the Society itself, to send the message that women getting into science isn’t a new thing; regardless of notoriety they’ve been there, doing important work and making incredible advancements. It also surprised us how many challenges women scientists still face today.

A majority of the women we interviewed had someone along the way—a teacher, a guidance counselor, etc.—tell them not to pursue STEM fields because of their gender. We heard a lot of stories of them being discouraged, overlooked, or dismissed, and having to fight through that, sometimes repeatedly, to get to where they are today. Those are challenges that the next generation of women in STEM will still face, and hopefully this book is something that can encourage them when they need the support.

What do you want readers to come away with when they read this story?

MIT Press, art by Sonia Liao

No matter who you are or where you come from, if you’re interested in STEM, you can do it! The great thing about showing this diverse group of characters succeeding is that the message is anyone can do it if they’re determined enough. We’re also happy we got to showcase the advisors in the back of the book. These are all real scientists with their own unique stories, succeeding in an array of different STEM-related fields. Some as scientists, mathematicians and engineers, some as teachers and researchers, and some as communicators writing and talking about science.

We’re learning that keeping people educated about science and technology isn’t a linear thing, it’s something that needs to be reinforced constantly. These women and these characters are doing that, and we want to show young people everywhere that no matter what their talents are, if STEM is what they love, there’s a place for them.

The Curie Society is out now!

Featured Image: MIT

The post Shining a Light on Women in STEM with THE CURIE SOCIETY appeared first on Nerdist.

Here at Nerdist we love tabletop gaming, comics, and inclusive storytelling. Which is why we’re incredibly excited to reveal the cover to Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie‘s gorgeous new middle-grade graphic novel Just Roll with It.

Random House Graphic

The lovely comic follows Maggie. She’s an anxious middle schooler who has an unconventional way of getting through the day. The full description follows:

“When Maggie gets into middle school, she already knows she won’t make the same kind of splash her older siblings did. She isn’t as smart or outgoing as they are—but as long as she rolls the right numbers on her twenty-sided die, she can make it through.

Maggie knows relying on her dice to help her make decisions throughout the day isn’t the most normal thing for a kid. But if she makes her own choices, what if bad things happen? She just wants to make friends and be like everybody else—but for some reason, her mind works differently.

Lee Durfey-Lavoie and Veronica Agarwal bring to life this middle-grade graphic novel that explores the complexity of anxiety, OCD and learning to trust yourself and the world around you.”

Random House Graphic

Just Roll with It’s creative team also shared some thoughts on the book with Nerdist.

The title is Agarwal’s second graphic novel and Durfey-Lavoie’s debut as a writer. And it represents something huge for both. “This is a culmination of something we’ve both wanted to do our whole lives,” Agarwal told us. “This story is also so close to my heart. Some of Maggie’s struggles are taken directly from my own experiences with anxiety and OCD. To be able to publish a story where Maggie learns to move forward during a similar time in my own personal healing is really wonderful.”

It’s a powerful sentiment shared by Durfey-Lavoie. “This story is a love letter to myself as a kid, stumbling along through school with depression and anxiety and unsure of everything. This story is my affirmation that everything is going to be okay, even if things get scary.”

Random House Graphic

The team also want readers to find solace in the story. “I hope that this story will be eye opening for some and comforting for others,” Agarwal said. “For kids who struggle with anxiety already, I want them to feel seen. If this is the first time they’ve heard someone talk about anxiety, I want them to feel like it’s ok for them to talk about it with someone they trust. I want this book to give them the vocabulary to do that. For kids who don’t experience anxiety, I hope this can give them a look into what it might be like so they can empathize with their friends and peers who get anxious.”

Durfey-Lavoie agreed. “I hope they find comfort. That’s what I want, at its core, this book to be. I hope even just one person reading it finds that they’re not alone, that life isn’t totally overwhelming, and that things are going to work out.”

Random House Graphic

And finally Agarwal wants readers to have fun when they pick up the title. “I’m also perfectly happy knowing that we created an enjoyable story with fun characters. If kids like reading Just Roll with It, that’s more than enough for me.”

Featured Image: Random House Graphic

The post JUST ROLL WITH IT Explores Anxiety and OCD Through D&D appeared first on Nerdist.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is huge, a Hollywood powerhouse that’s shaping the film industry. But it wouldn’t exist without the flimsy yellowed pages of our favorite comics. And those wouldn’t exist without the imaginations of the amazing creators who made them. While WandaVision might seem like a series most concerned with TV, it’s also arguably the most comic book focused MCU project yet. Each episode is filled with nods, references, and scenes taken directly from the books that inspired it. Digging through the issues is one of the most fun things about watching the show.

To share the joy, we thought we’d curate a list of comics that have been directly referenced in the series so far. Some of these are concrete influences and others are possible easter eggs which seem to be very, very relevant to the series.

Avengers #57

Marvel Comics

All hail the first appearance of Vision! Yep, the number on that little helicopter (turned S.W.O.R.D. drone) references this iconic issue: 57. The story from Roy Thomas and John Buscema introduces Vision as he appears at Avengers Mansion. His origin has echoes of what we saw in Age of Ultron, but differs when it comes to how he was created. This is a great example of peak Silver Age comics and is definitely worth a closer look now that the new status quo of Vision’s existence has been revealed in WandaVision.

Avengers #101

Marvel Comics

One of the many issue numbers that seems to pop up in episode four, this one shares a timely theme of mind control. With so much of WandaVision centering on lack of agency and someone controlling others, this seems too much of a coincidence to dismiss. Plus, there’s the fact that it features both Wanda and Pietro. It’s a super fun and silly issue about a poisoned chess genius, a super computer, and a mind control helmet. While it might not be super pertinent in regards to narrative, these old issues are full of possible bits and bobs that could be included in the future. Thor also appears, nodding to the return of Darcy in this episode!

Avengers #104

Marvel Comics

Lots of Avengers action here, mostly because of Wanda and Vision being team members at the time. This reference pops up when we hear Monica Rambeau mention her mother is in Room 104. This comic features the disappearance of Pietro Maximoff. It’s also an X-Men-heavy issue as the Avengers battle the mutant-killing robots known as the Sentinels. Pietro’s disappearance at the end of this issue reflects his absence in the MCU. Most interestingly, though, is the fact that in this issue Wanda is used as a power source for a weapon to destroy the world. Sounds like something that might be important going forward…

Avengers #105

Marvel Comics

In the S.W.O.R.D. base, we see a massive computer screen featuring the letter and number combo “A105,” which of course led us here. Continuing the arc of missing Pietro is this intriguing little story. While it’s mostly concerned with some shenanigans in the Savage Land, there are some very interesting Wanda and Vision moments here. A grieving Wanda is desperate to find her brother, but gets waylaid by her duty to the Avengers. Most intriguing is the fact that Vision considers transplanting his consciousness into the dead body of Simon Williams, Wonder Man. Creepy!

Avengers #203

Marvel Comics

In this truly wacky issue, we get some more great Simon Williams action. While this doesn’t seem like it’s going to tell us much, it seems like a thematic nod. Why? Well, it’s a story about Wonder Man and Hank McCoy battling underground monsters who pop out of manholes in a strange and unassuming neighborhood… sound familiar? Plus, those very monsters are the result of secretive scientists below ground. Basically, it sounds like whoever wrote WandaVision might have picked this one out of a dollar bin as a kid.

Avengers #262

Marvel Comics

This riotous Avengers issue features some very interesting potential antagonists (or allies) for Wanda. During the technicolor tale, the team fights a nefarious crew called the Enclave. Interestingly they first appeared in a Fantastic Four issue named “What Lurks Behind the Beehive.” With all the beehive-centric teases in WandaVision so far, this seems pertinent to say the least. So keep an eye out for the Enclave and enjoy this totally wild superhero story as you prepare for the next episode.

Avengers #348

Marvel Comics

We met a certain terrifying version of Vision in episode four, and he’s right on the cover of this issue, smooching someone who isn’t Wanda. Another number from the S.W.O.R.D. base monitors (348) hints at this wild comic, another Vision-centric story. Here, though, Vision meets the wife of the (non-Wonder) man who he based his brain patterns on after being wiped and becoming White Vision. Any story about White Vision seems extra important right now. Plus, as we move towards the show’s midpoint, Vision seems to be waking up to what his wife’s doing. While he can’t stop her as a shambling corpse, he could potentially seek out a new form of artificial intelligence, restoring himself and becoming a different synthezoid.

Strange Tales #143

Marvel Comics

Here we have another mind control-themed issue seemingly referenced in episode four. We see the number 143 on the back of the cop car along with the number 1966. That’s not a coincidence as this issue was released that year! While Wanda isn’t featured here, we do get HYDRA and Nick Fury. The famed military man is being mind controlled, just like the inhabitants of Westview. Other than that, this is just a solid and strange issue.

(The) Vision and the Scarlet Witch

Marvel Comics

These miniseries—1982 and 1985, respectively—established the suburban status quo of WandaVision. Not only that but the gorgeous and surreal stories center characters like Agatha Harkness, Norm, and even introduce the pair’s children, Billy and Tommy. Aside from all of that, during the episode two opening we see the helmet of Grim Reaper, who’s a major villain in the Vision and Scarlet Witch comics. If you’re looking for classic comics that shaped WandaVision, then you couldn’t do better than both of these great limited series.

Even if most of these comics end up as just little fun easter eggs and have no wider implications, this is a super stack of classic comics for you to enjoy until the next episode of WandaVision!

The post A Comics Reading List Based on WANDAVISION’s Easter Eggs appeared first on Nerdist.

The end of the world is on hold (for now)

The finale of CAOS Part 3 was jam-packed. It began with Sabrina trapped for years in her rocky prison. Caliban imprisons her, reigning as King of Hell. Later, the underworld attempted a takeover of Earth, only to be defeated by the Pagans. Luckily, thanks to some magic, Sabrina from the future took the place of Sabrina in the past, freeing past Sabrina to stop Caliban and the Pagans.

The freed Sabrina united the hellish tchotchkes known as The Unholy Regalia; this give her the power to go back in time in the first place. Yay, time travel! Utilizing the magical objects—and some other creepy artifacts—she teleported around saving the day with the help of the expanded coven and the Fright Club.This endeavor stopped the Pagans from killing everyone and turning Greendale into a set piece from Annihilation.

But there are two important pieces of this adventure that’ll shape the future of the final season…

There’s a new deity in town

Netflix

One of the biggest problems with CAOS from the outset was the concept of a show about women witches worshipping Lucifer and his male emissary in Lord Blackwell. But CAOS Part 3 rectifies this in a big way. After dying, coming back to life, and going on a spiritual journey with the ghost of her brother, Zelda Spellman comes to a realization. The only way to protect Greendale and her coven of witches—which now includes the once banished Hedge Witches—is to worship and channel Hecate. This Grecian goddess connects to witchcraft, the moon, and creatures of the night.

Hecate proves a far more fitting deity for the witches to follow. The coven’s power and the turn to Hecate leads to Blackwood and his twins, Judas and Judith, driven out and into the forest. Though that will come into play a little later here. After all, there’s nothing more dangerous than a sociopathic patriarch scorned. For now, the female church worships a female goddess, and has never been more powerful.

Long live Sabrina Spellman and Sabrina Morningstar

Netflix

Remember those two Sabrinas we mentioned? Well, at the end of the final episode, future Sabrina (Spellman) who had lost all of her loved ones, came up with a plan. She wanted nothing more than to stay with her (now alive) friends in Greendale and grow up. But her father Lucifer waits in Hell for her to take her throne. So the pair of teen witches decide that past Sabrina (Morningstar) will rule over the underworld and future Sabrina (Spellman) will head back to Greendale. As lovely Ambrose points out: this choice is a paradoxical ticking time bomb. So expect this questionable teen girl planning to blow up in someone’s face as we head into CAOS Part 4.

Who’s dating who?

Netflix

Don’t give us that look. Sure, we love the nefarious demonic adventures. But we also care about the soapy teen love affairs! If that is part of the reason you tune in, there’s a lot of catching up to do. After a whole season of Ambrose and Prudence magic, the latter leaves the hot warlock. Because Ambrose stopped her killing Lord Blackwood who then killed her sister, Prudence turned to Nick Scratch. Yep, trapped in hell sexy demon boy Scratch who was with Sabrina up until his new dalliance with the most stylish witch in Greendale.

It’s gonna be a tough season for Spellman as her other big-ex is still with her best friend. Roz and Harvey are going strong, and they even sealed the deal by sleeping together for the first time. Sure, it was part of a plan to secure their lives in case the Pagans were sacrificing virgins. But it was a huge step for them both that only strengthened their bond. Part 4 will also see Sabrina as the only single Fright Club member; Theo found love with the one-time Pagan and full-time Hobgoblin, Robin, who has decided to stick around in Greendale for good. How sweet.

The new coven has also introduced a new Greendale power couple in Zelda Spellman and Mambo Marie. The pair saved the day and found each other in the process. We love a powerful lesbian witch couple. And if Mambo Marie is right, there’s a greater darkness headed to Greendale that will test the witches and put existence as we know it at risk.

The Eldritch Terrors are coming

Netflix

In the final moments of Part 3, the newly dethroned and very bitter Lord Blackwood did the unthinkable. Hecalled on the Eldritch Terrors. We know from the trailer that the Lovecraftian monsters will be the major antagonist this coming season. But the big question is whether or not the Greendalians will be able to defeat them. It is the final season, after all. Could the campy teen horror show go out on a bleak world-ending note? We’ll have to tune in to see.

The post Everything to Remember Before CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA Part 4 appeared first on Nerdist.

Superheroes are everywhere. Since the mid ’00s, they’ve graduated to a billion dollar business, shifting the way Hollywood makes films. A new (anti-) hero is headed our way in Archenemy, Adam Egypt Mortimer’s psychedelic gonzo take on the genre. Max Fist (Joe Manganiello) is a force of nature. He also might be the last son of a planet named Chromium. When he gets entangled in the lives of two teenagers, Hamster (Skylan Brooks) and Indigo (Zolee Griggs), the homeless drifter has to reconcile his apparently tall tales with the danger his new friends find themselves in. Archenemy is a smart, timely, and inventive take on the stories saturating Hollywood. We chatted with Mortimer and Manganiello about the comics that made them, creating a multiverse, and changing the superhero film for the better.

Not Your Average Origin Story

RLJE Films

Archenemy is a project Mortimer had been planning for years. “I started really thinking about it around 2015,” Mortimer told Nerdist. “That’s how long it’s been. I’ve always loved comics and superhero stories. And I’ve always felt like comics deal with superheroes in these ways that are so much more interesting and cosmic. They have all these different aesthetics…that we’ve yet to see in superhero movies.”

Mortimer expanded on the birth of his film. “So I had this sort of dual integration for this one. I want to do something that’s really gritty and real like The Wrestler, but with a superhero,” the director said. “But on the other hand, I want to do something that explores the multiverse and the kind of origin story that you’ve seen so many times but in a way that really takes it into a different world.”

The Comics That Shaped Archenemy

Epic Comics, Dark Horse Comics

Despite not being based on an existing comic book, Archenemy is very much a comic book movie. From the visual language of the film to Max’s obvious super influences, it wears its love for the medium on its sleeve. So what titles influenced them? “Marshal Law!” Manganiello exclaimed, referring to Pat Mills and Kevin O’Neill’s comic, which debuted in 1987. “It’s the best, darkest satirical representation of the United States and our culture by any writer I’ve ever witnessed. I love that book so much. Pat Mills, if you’re out there, I want the rights so much! Let me have the rights, please!”

Manganiello named some other impressive deep cuts when asked which comics shaped the film. “[Kevin] Eastman and [Peter] Laird, their original run of the black and white Ninja Turtles before it went, you know, skateboards and pizza,” the actor said. “It was so existential and questioning and challenging. Like, ‘We were raised for revenge. And once we get revenge, then you’re just empty?’ And then you’ve got the rest of your life to live and you’re this abomination who doesn’t belong. So it was just the loneliness of the X-Men times ten.” As unexpected as it may seem, those themes are key to Archenemy, which deals with what happens when great power doesn’t come with great responsibility. Not to mention how those who lose their way are often left on the outskirts of society.

Grant Morrison’s Influence

RLJE Films

For Mortimer, one name came to mind immediately. “Grant Morrison,” the director said. “He’s a good friend of mine. And he’s also not just my favorite comic book writer, but he’s one of my all time favorite writers in any medium. I love the way that he approaches superheroes and approaches the comic book page as this endless opportunity. He can squeeze brand new ideas out of every panel.”

But Morrison wasn’t Mortimer’s only influence. “Another book that I love, that I brought up and showed my photographer, was the collected works of Jim Steranko’s Nick Fury. Where he took what [Jack] Kirby was doing and suddenly it was just this most amazing pop art, op art, optical effects… and it blew her mind. So she was immediately like ‘How do we adapt this?’ And that comic is from a long ass time ago and you’re still not seeing that influence on superhero movies. Steranko helped [Francis Ford] Coppola make Dracula, but you’re still not seeing that in superhero movies. As a lifelong fan of the best and coolest comic books, I wanted to put that into the movie.”

Creating the Otherwordly Planet of Chromium

RLJE Films

One of Archenemy‘s greatest strengths: incredibly immersive animation. The swirling purple and pink oil-slick-inspired pieces are used to illustrate the world of Chromium and Max’s past. It’s an effective device that strays from the often unambitious animation we expect. Getting this part of the world right was key for Mortimer. “I didn’t want it to look like a motion comic,” he explained. “That was my number one fear. It couldn’t be this really beautifully drawn picture that has no life or movement. It needed to be completely alive and expressive. So how do we make it emotional and expressionistic?”

Manganiello was clearly impressed by the inventive representation and had some deep readings of it. “That was great. That was really interesting, not just as a way to tell the story but also as an interesting way to represent another dimension,” the actor shared. “Who’s to say that the perception or the way that things are perceived in another dimension wouldn’t be exactly that way? That it wouldn’t be seen in two dimensions? That the color palette wouldn’t be completely different? Then, coming to our Earth and being made of flesh and blood and molecules, that our eyes would focus and see pictures in a totally different way. So I really liked that the animation was there. Not as a gimmick but to create an alternate dimension.”

Subverting Superhero Expectations

RLJE Films

Made on a low budget for a small production company, Archenemy doesn’t feel like your average superhero movie. And making it didn’t feel like one either. “It’s all about heart,” Manganiello shared. “But there’s also a level of freedom in the subject material because we’re not confined by someone else’s IP. My partners in SpectreVision, you couldn’t ask for better partners. They just care about telling the best story. So we got to take this archetypal character like Superman and tell our own story with him. What if he landed on the wrong planet? What if he was a drug addicted homeless man? These are all the sandboxes that we got to play in that are very hard to play in if you’re making a big studio film for a corporation and conglomerate that’s running the show. We got to tell the story we wanted to tell.”

Could We See the World of Archenemy Expand?

RLJE Films

As for whether there’s more stories to tell, both Mortimer and Manganiello would love to keep exploring the world of Archenemy. “Absolutely,” Mortimer exclaimed. “I wrote the outline for a graphic novel which not only kicks off at the end of this movie but also goes back in time, with a lot of focus on Indigo. I think there’s a whole lot of things to do! It’s a tiny little movie but I always wanted to create a multiverse, to have that sense of possible mythology. It could be a series, it could be a series of books, it could be all of that stuff!”

Manganiello agreed. “We’ve talked about it. We didn’t want to put the cart before the horse. But you’re talking about a movie that deals with dimensional travel, eleventh dimensional space, string theory, parallel universes. There’s so much to be explored. You never know if this is a hallucination or if it’s three different timelines existing at once. And he’s kind of getting pieces in his brain of all of them and it’s driving him mad. So I think there’s a lot of cool stories to tell. Hell, I want to see Max back on Chromium. What happened there?”

Archenemy hits theaters, On Digital, and On Demand on December 11.

The post ARCHENEMY Director and Joe Manganiello Talk Their Gonzo Superhero Film appeared first on Nerdist.

Not to sound too much like a pandemic-themed commercial, but the holidays do look different this year. Many of us are foregoing our usual traditions and travel plans to keep our loved ones and strangers safe. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get something special for the pop culture aficionado in your life! (Or, you know — add it to your wishlist, hint hint.)

And so, we’ve gathered a wide selection of gifts at different price points, for different types of nerds, that might bring a little cheer to your winter. Whether you’re shopping for a cinefile, binge-watcher, gamer, tabletop master, comics lover, or just yourself, we’ve got something for everyone.

Check out our annual holiday gift guide below.

FOR THE CINEFILE

Star Wars: The Jedi Mind: Secrets from the Force for Balance and Peace

“Trust your feelings.” That’s easier said than done this year, which is why Nerdist Managing Editor Amy Ratcliffe’s new book is perfect for these stressful times. Follow the teachings of the Jedi — peace, knowledge, serenity, and balance — and find your own inner calm with this magical mindfulness guide. Buy it for $14.95 here.

Dune Action Figures

A beginning is a delicate time, and though we have to wait until next year to see Denis Villeneuve’s Dune in theaters, it’s the smart and safe choice. Until then, you can reenact your own version of the groundbreaking science fiction story with these action figures. If you purchase all of the figures (Paul Atreides, Stilgar, Lady Jessica, Baron Harkonnen, and Duncan Idaho) you can also build your own Beast as well. Buy one for $29.99 here.

Tarot del Toro: Inspired by the World of Guillermo del Toro

Dive into your future and the macabre world of Guillermo del Toro with this gorgeous tarot deck! Designed and illustrated by Tomás Hijo, the deck “features original artwork inspired by the themes, imagery, and characters of some of del Toro’s most popular films, including Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water.” Buy it for $29.99 here.

Wonder Woman 1984 Deluxe Golden Armor Doll 

Thank the Gods, we’re getting one of our most anticipated movies of 2020 IN 2020. With Wonder Woman 1984 releasing in theaters and on HBO Max, it’s the perfect time to celebrate Diana Prince with this intricate golden armor action figure. Buy it for $29.99 here.

Star Wars Ceramic Tiki Mugs

You don’t have to go to the Mos Eisley Cantina or Trader Sam’s to get your tiki on — just pick up one of these cute little ceramic mugs from a galaxy far, far away. If you don’t imbibe alcoholic drinks like the Port in a Storm, you can always get one of these for the youngling in your life and fill it with blue milk. Buy them for $14.99 – $45.99 here. 

Cinefile: A Card Game

“With multiple ways to play based on difficulty level ranging from casual movie-goer to bonafide film nerd, Cinephile will have you and your friends racking your brains for Sean Connery’s lesser-known films, Cate Blanchett’s filmography, and Steve Buscemi’s most memorable cameos.” Perfect for a game night at home or on a video call. Buy it for $20 here.

A24 Screenplay Book

For the self-proclaimed cinefile, only the best will do. And much like their movies, A24 is here to deliver. These book are for the aspiring screenwriter, the film nerd who can’t stop talking about Ex Machina and The Witch, or anyone who (understandably) just really loved Moonlight. Buy one for $60.00 here. 

Star Wars Instant Pot

If you haven’t yet experienced the power of the Instant Pot, now is the time. This easy-to-use kitchen appliance does it all, fast. Make perfect rice, hard-boiled eggs, baby-back ribs, soups, and more. Cozy up by a fire or under a blanket with the winter comfort food of your choice (as long as it’s not the Frog Lady’s last line of eggs). Buy it for $99.99 here.

Friday the 13th Blu-ray Collection

*ch ch ch ah ah ah* In this truly massive Blu-ray collection, “Jason slashes his way from Crystal Lake to outer space and back to fight Freddy! This Deluxe Collection includes all of the previously released extras plus all-new bonus materials, including new audio commentaries with cast and crew.” Yes, that includes the Alice Cooper music video for “Behind the Mask.” Buy it for $129.99 here.

LEGO Batman 1989 Batmobile

This one’s got a hefty price tag, but how else can you pay tribute to the best movie Batman? This fancy LEGO set features a slide-open cockpit, two hidden machine guns with a pop-up function, and a trio of minifigures: Batman, The Joker, and Vicki Vale. Buy it for $249.95 here.

FOR THE BINGE-WATCHER

The Great British Bake Off Coloring Book

If you and your quarantine loved ones have already marathoned the most soothing show in the world and need your sugar fix, this is the gift for you. Designed like the intricate illustrations depicting the bakers’ planned bakes, this Great British Bake Off coloring book will also calm you down after your fave gets cut from the show way too early. Buy it for $13.99 here.

The Haunting of Bly Manor Moonflower Shirt

We’ve all got that friend, who loves gothic horror and tragic romance, the moody and the macabre. (Hint: it’s us.) And so the follow up to Mike Flangan’s brilliant The Haunting of Hill House, Bly Manor, tucked us away to relive our favorite moments over and over again. If you haven’t seen the show, trust us when we say that your friend needs this shirt. Buy it for $16.00 here.

Mad Men Carousel: The Complete Critical Companion

If you know someone who still can’t stop extolling the brilliance of AMC’s Mad Men, they’ll love this gift more than Don Draper loves self sabotage. This episode-by-episode guide from renowned TV and movie Critic Matt Zoller Seitz digs deep into digs deep into the show’s themes, performances, and filmmaking, as well as historical references from the time. Buy it for $15.00 here.

Avatar: The Last Airbender T-Shirt

They already have an Appa plush, Uncle Iroh’s tea set, and all of the comics. But luckily for you, there are about a bajillion great Avatar: The Last Airbender t-shirts out there to gift your friend with excellent taste. Seriously, it was hard to only pick a few to feature. Buy one here for $22.

The Dark Crystal Bestiary: The Definitive Guide to the Creatures of Thra

No, we are not over Netflix canceling Age of Resistance, and no, we’re not ready to talk about it. But we are ready to dive back into Jim Henson’s imaginative world of Thra, and all of the creatures who inhabit it. This gorgeous book features all-new illustrations inspired by the original concept artist, Brian Froud, and expands the lore of the Dark Crystal universe from the film and series to canon books and novels. Buy it for $29.99 here.

The Mandalorian: The Child – Animatronic Edition

Remember last Christmas? When there was absolutely no Baby Yoda merch available, because Lucasfilm wanted to keep The Mandalorian‘s adorable sidekick under wraps? Those days are long gone. “The Child” is everywhere, and we’re not complaining. But if you really love that lil green baby, you might want to pick up this animatronic toy that moves, blinks, uses the Force, and makes adorable noises. Buy it here for $47.99.

Supernatural Mystery Gift Subscription Box

You may not know what “Destiel” means, why they’re sob-singing “Carry on My Wayward Son,” or really anything about Supernatural. But you do know that the beloved long-running show just ended, and your friend is NOT OK. You can’t bring Supernatural back, but you can gift them this quarterly subscription box, filled with themed goodies to remind them of the good ol’ days. Buy it for $56.99 here.

FOR THE VIDEO GAMER

Steam Gift Card

Have a PC gamer in your life? No idea what kind of game to get them? Get them a steam gift card, so they can choose their own. They (and their game library) will thank you for it. Buy one here.

VR Headset Compatible with Nintendo Switch

Yes, Nintendo has its own option, but if you really want to experience your favorite Switch games in virtual reality, try this baby on for size. Unlike some of the other VR options out there, this oddly affordable headset is not made of cardboard. It’s adjustable for all users, including those who wear glasses. Buy it for $22.99 here.

PAC-MAN Ghost Light Table Lamp

Perfect for the Gen Xer in your life, this PAC-MAN Ghost table lamp can turn any room into an 8-bit haunted house. The 8” lamp has 9 color options, plus a “party” mode where it flashes all the colors to the beat of your music. Buy it for $29.99 here.

Razer BlackShark V2 Gaming Headset

For the friend who trips over their gaming headset wire every time they get up, here’s a wireless one that won’t break the bank. Buy it for $59.99 here. 

Sega Genesis Mini – Genesis

Loaded with 42 games, the SEGA Genesis Mini could work for almost anyone on your list. Nostalgic for the good ol’ days of Sonic and Street Fighter? Get ‘em one of these. Want to introduce a new generation to this system? Prepare to be laughed at, but like, in a fun way. Buy it for $79.99 here.

Nintendo Switch Lite

Want to get the person you’re sharing lockdown with into games? Try the Nintendo Switch Lite. Unlike its big sister the regular Switch, the Lite is handheld only and has built-in controllers instead of detachable. But otherwise, it’s pretty much the same console. Buy it for $199.00 here.

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

Then you can play Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit with them! “Place gates and customize courses in the real world, then see them come to life with different in-game environments, like jungles and snowscapes, and obstacles like Piranha Plants. Use objects from around the house to customize your courses, then watch the game transform your home into the world of Mario Kart.” Buy it for $99.99 here.

FOR THE TABLETOP GAMER

The Dune Board Game

Fans of the Frank Herbert Dune novels will be thrilled to unwrap this asymmetrical strategy game. Best of all, the stylish tabletop game is designed for 2 to 6 players, so chances are high you’ll get to play alongside them. Choose your faction, strategize carefully, and make all the right moves to win it all. Buy it for $49.99 here.

Delicious in Dungeon

What do you get when you combine cooking and dungeon crawling? The tantalizing fun of Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi)! Monsters aren’t hunted for treasure in this whimsical story, but to make a tasty meal for hungry adventurers. Eight volumes of the hilarious manga are available now. Buy the first one for $13.99 here.

Young Adventurer’s Guide Gift Set

Ready to add new members to your D&D adventuring party? The Young Adventurer’s Guides make things surprisingly simple for anyone interested in getting into the world’s greatest role-playing game. The first four books covering characters, magic, and monsters are collected into one gorgeous box set. Buy it for $32.99 here.

Healing Potions Mug 

Paola’s Pixels is a one-stop shop for stylish and colorful tabletop accessories. If you know someone who treats their morning coffee like a healing elixir (which it is), we’ve found the perfect mug for them. Buy it for $18.00 here.

Dungeon Master’s Screen: Wilderness Kit

Not only is the new Wilderness Kit gorgeously green and lush, this official D&D Dungeon Masters screen comes complete with handy info for Dungeon Masters of all levels of experience. Buy it for $24.99 here.

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

What does the D&D player who has everything need? A Cauldron of Everything! The latest companion book from Wizards of the Coast includes new rules options for players and a plethora of puzzles for plotting Dungeon Masters. It’s also packed with stunning art. Buy the book for $49.95 here.

Beadle and Grimm’s Gold Dragon Coins

Stuff your special someone’s stocking with gold this year! Well, it’s the next best thing. Beadle and Grimm’s, makers of high-quality Dungeons & Dragons props and handouts, also sell small items separately to add flair to your game. The gold coins, called dragons in the Forgotten Realms, are one of our favorite stocking stuffers. Buy them for $15.00 here.

Dungeons & Dragons Socks Set

Everyone knows that socks make some of the best holiday gifts. And as an added bonus, this Dungeons & Dragons sock set comes in a box shaped like a d20! Buy it for $17.99 here.

Level Up Wooden Dice Set

Even if the tabletop player on your gift list seems to have every set of dice out there, we bet they don’t have a set like this. Gently carved wood and warm tones make these dice instant standouts in any role-player’s collection. Buy them for $160.00 here.

D&D Beyond Digital Gift Card

D&D has gone digital, and you can help a friend add books to their virtual bookshelf. D&D Beyond now offers digital gift cards so your future party member can buy and download the Player’s Handbook, latest adventure book, and more. Buy one here.

FOR THE COMICS LOVER

Far Sector

The award-winning author of The Broken Earth trilogy, N.K. Jemisin, makes her comic book debut with artist Jamal Campbell: A Green Lantern murder mystery. Buy it for $3.99 here.

Séance Tea Party

“Reimena Yee’s gorgeous graphic novel might be aimed at young readers but will speak to anyone who’s ever felt afraid of growing up. Séance Tea Party tells the moving story of a girl who befriends the ghost that haunts her house, but has to come to terms with learning to let go.” Buy it for $12.99 here.

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches

“From creators Maggie Stiefvater and Morgan Beem, this new YA title looks at the origin of Alec Holland through a new lens. Here he’s a quiet teen with a popular twin brother and, of course, a love for botany. That love will put him and everything he cares about at risk as he loses himself in a new experiment which, as fans of Swamp Thing, we can assume might end badly.” Buy it for $13.00 here.

Cosmoknights 

“For this ragtag band of space gays, liberation means beating the patriarchy at its own game.” Yes, Hannah Templer’s Cosmoknights has it all: Space knights! Gorgeous artwork! Inclusive characters and story! Buy it for $14.99 here.

Dracula, Motherf**ker 

“What do you get when you mix grindhouse horror and ’70s noir with the oldest vampire story ever told? Dracula Motherf**ker, from Eisner Award winners Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson. The timeless Dracula story, at its core, has always been about one man turning many women into his mindless ‘puppets.’ In Dracula Motherf**ker, however, his Brides are reclaiming their power…” Buy it for $16.99 here. 

Trick ‘r Treat Omnibus

Finally, Trick ‘r Treat fans are getting their due. For the 10th anniversary of Mike Dougherty’s creepy cult classic, Legendary Comics has released “the definitive Trick ‘r Treat comic book collection.” This special omnibus features 8 twisted tales told by Sam, our favorite lil Halloween demon. Buy it for $29.99 here.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Nearly a century later, when most of us think of Dracula we still think of actor Bela Lugosi. But the 1931 Universal version of the infamous vampire was very different from Bram Stoker’s original novel. Legendary Comics’ Robert Napton reimagines the iconic story with Bela Lugosi, in this sumptuous adaptation of two classics. Buy it for $29.99 here.

Solutions and Other Problems

Author and artist Allie Brosh is back with a brilliant follow up to the bestselling Hyperbole and a Half. Solutions and Other Problems is a new collection of illustrated essays, finding the dark humor in depression, grief, and just existing. Buy it for $30.00 here.

X-Men: The Art and Making of The Animated Series

Did you hear the theme song in your head? We did, too. Pull back the curtain on this classic 90s cartoon with interviews from the writers, artists, producers, and executives, plus a ton of never-bef0re-seen concept art, animation cels, sketches, and more. Buy it for $50.00 here.

The post Holiday Gift Guide 2020 appeared first on Nerdist.

Welcome to the return of Nerdist News Talks Back! Each week join Nerdist’s Dan Casey and guests during our discussion show on all things pop culture! We’re discussing all the most important pop culture events of the week. In this episode we’re tackling, Tenet’s time inversion, weird news in science, Animorphs getting the film treatment, and if we’re looking at the death of the local comic shop. Plus there will be trivia and you will be graded.

The post The Return of Nerdist News Talks Back! Tenet, Animorphs, Robots, Comics, and more! appeared first on Nerdist.

DC Comics

You don’t need any knowledge of the Green Lantern Corps‘ considerable history to get started. Far Sector introduces a new Lantern from Earth named Sojourner  “Jo” Mullein, who has been recruited to keep the peace on a planet in the farthest reaches of known space. The story begins as the first murder victim in 500 years is discovered in the City Enduring, and Jo is called in to help with the investigation.

Far Sector is a unique book: completely standalone but still very much part of the DC Universe. Jo, the newest Green Lantern, doesn’t have a grand origin story that was covered in the pages of some huge crossover event. Instead, her history and charismatic personality are revealed slowly in each issue. And while Jo’s background is fictional, it’s a story for this very real moment in time. It’s a story about protestors, police, and making suppressed voices heard.

DC Comics

Jemisin has crafted a society that feels both alien and familiar—technologically advanced but still divided by race and oppression. Campbell’s art, both the line work and coloring, is nothing short of stunning. The world of Far Sector feels strange and almost fantastical thanks the vibrant designs of both the alien races and the metropolis they inhabit.

Jo is immediately likable, confident, and capable. But she is not without fears of her own. Her Green Lantern powers don’t come from her will. They come instead from her drive to see justice done. There are hints that her tenure as a Lantern is temporary, but here’s hoping that she becomes as much of a vital part of the Corps as her cohorts Hal Jordan and John Stewart.

The DC Universe needs her.

Far Sector is now available at your local comic shop and on ComiXology.

Featured Image: DC Comics

Kelly Knox is a freelance writer in Seattle, WA who writes for Star Wars, DC Comics, and more. Follow her on Twitter.

The post FAR SECTOR Is the Best Comic Book You Haven’t Heard Of appeared first on Nerdist.

The COVID-19 health crisis is a difficult time for many independent comic creatives. The existing challenges of their demanding and competitive industry coupled with the uncertainty of a pandemic is leading to stalled projects, nebulous timelines, creative blocks, and a lot of justifiable anxiety about the future. There’s a constant balancing act between wanting to inspire and entertain dedicated readers and making sure their own lives are stable.

How are they handling the coronavirus crisis? Nerdist spoke to four independent comic creatives to dive into their pre-pandemic lives, current work challenges, and how a global crisis affects their creativity and brand.

The Prologue

“My journey began with me loving and reading comics like my life depended on it,” said freelance writer and Parenthood Activate! webcomic comic creator Stephanie Williams. As a kid, she picked up an X-Men issue, fell in love with the unique storytelling style of comics, and never looked back. “From there, Archie Comics like Josie and the Pussycats became my thing. I really loved the sitcom style of the Archie Digest that I would get at the grocery story. So, that is probably why I tweet about comics the way I do on Twitter. I do it so that I’m trying to make these characters relatable the way I found them relatable.”

Stephanie Williams/Sarah Macklin

Stephanie built a sizable Twitter following with her funny anecdotes and commentary about comic panels. She also created But What If Though?, a webcomic remix of Marvel’s “What If?” series with characters from DC Comics and her favorite entertainment mediums. Her witty takes led to a successful Kickstarter for Living Heroes, a Marvel fancomic following Misty Knight, Ororo Munroe, Monica Rambeau, and She-Hulk. Like in the Living Single comic series, the heroines navigate life and friendship together with a lot of humor along the way.

Illustrator and writer Reimena Yee’s original plan was for a “practical science career,” but her love for drawing and telling stories took her life in a new direction. “As I grew up through exams and university, I gradually lost faith in my aspirations of a future in academia or science and fell into a quarter-life crisis around the same time I was making my webcomic The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya (TCM).”

Yee’s 15-plus-year journey is likely #careergoals for many aspiring independent creators. She has Eisner-nominated work, book deals, and a steadily growing career with clients like BOOM! and Image Comics. But she has tweeted extensively about the amount of research, time, and effort it takes to produce works like Alexander, The Servant & The Water of Life, a historical fiction comic. The Malaysian creator also co-founded Unnamed, a collective for Southeast Asian comics.

Reimena Yee

“I started drawing weekly webcomics about my male-to-female (MtF) transition in 2014 under the name TransGirlNextDoor on Tumblr,” said writer and artist Kylie Wu. “I always loved drawing and doodling as a kid—very cliché and common origin story. My sense of humor is very poop emoji, vulgar, dark and twisted, shock jock, and of course sexual.” Her comic series NoFap deeply reflects her personal path as a person working through sex/porn addiction and towards sobriety.

Kylie Summer Wu

John Robinson IV, also known as Sceritz, made his official debut with 2018’s Scorpio. The mystical urban fantasy comic follows wielders of zodiac mystical relics. An avid Star Wars fan, reader, and entertainment critic, he dived into the field in 2016 to test his comic creating luck.

“I just wanted to try this medium out because I was already a huge comic head,” Robinson said. “I’m like, ‘I’m a writer and I’m a comic fan so there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be trying to write comics.” He also hosts Beyond the IVWall of Writing Podcast and co-founded  Comics Horizon!, an inclusive community for comic lovers.

The Turning Point

This year started off with a bang for Reimena with two graphic novels in the works. However, she found herself in a difficult creative space when the coronavirus pandemic hit. “I’ve been feeling more fatigued and unproductive since the last couple months,” she said. “Every time I think, ‘I should start work,’ I immediately space out on the interwebs or nod off to sleep. I was meant to finalize the script for the aforementioned second graphic novel in early March, but the pandemic stress has severely affected my ability and motivation to create.”

She had to quickly adjust her normal creative process to accommodate writer’s (and artist’s) block while still striving towards her final deadline. Thankfully, Reimena is still working from home as a webcomics editor and has savings to help her get through—something that many struggling creatives don’t have right now. Low wages, layoffs, and furloughs were a glaring reality for many writers and artists before the pandemic, and it’s definitely not any better right now.

Stephanie Williams

Stephanie was experiencing the emotional high of her successful Living Heroes Kickstarter and was actively working on the script when COVID-19 caused her life to shift. She began working from home and homeschooling her preschool aged son—the inspiration behind her Parenthood Activated! adventures.

“I actually put some stuff on hold. I didn’t want to force anything or try to write anything. I didn’t want to write anything that has to do with the coronavirus because we’re going to get enough of that when the time comes. So what I ended up doing is reverting back to what I did when I was going through postpartum depression—just watch stuff, revisit shows I love to find [Living Heroes] inspiration for later.

I wanted to give myself the space to not doing anything and not feel like I had to create. It wasn’t fair to call it “writers block” because it’s not writer’s block—we are in a pandemic…The overall goal was to pause everything and, when I felt like I could, get back to writing.”

Stephanie admits that there was pressure to keep providing content for her followers. But she reminds herself that she’s not content machine, but a person going through a global crisis like everyone else.

Social media has been both a blessing and a curse during COVID -19. It’s a way for isolated people to stay connected with family and friends and to get a few laughs and joy in the midst of anxious times. But, there’s also unreasonable expectations (and a sense of entitlement by consumers) that push creatives to be “productive” with all their  “extra free time”—a sentiment that is simply insensitive and unrealistic for many people.

John Robinson IV

Robinson addressed this mindset by acknowledging how it affects him personally as well as the world at large:

“For myself personally I’m like ‘Man I need to be doing whatever and knocking things out. But, at the same time, when I do look at the news and what’s going on and people trying to open up the government and the economy versus safety, that’s stressful in itself. Sometimes, I don’t feel like [creating] and then I want to beat myself up for not feeling it when I am at the house with time.

But, at the same time, it’s like no—humans don’t work like a computer. There’s no “Oh, I’m going to work on this project from one to five everyday period. It just doesn’t work like that. You’re going to be sleepy, stressed, the kids are going to be doing whatever, there’s a lot going on. To expect people to function like a robot because they “have time now” is just asinine.”

Viviana Spinelli/Sean Hill

There may be people who have more free time for goals, but many people are working harder than ever as they try to find some emotional, mental, and financial peace. Kylie knows this challenge all too well. Producing NoFap daily issues brings stability and routine into her life, but trying to maintain her sobriety is an arduous affair.

“This crisis hasn’t affected the technical side of my comic-making process, but definitely the content. Isolation was very hard for me in the beginning, [because] I’d only been 5 months sober at that point. And isolation is the number-one danger zone for porn addiction. I didn’t have enough sober days in my bag to face such a sudden change, so I started edging a lot to deal with the stress, including financial.”

Kylie’s Patreon page helps to ease the financial strife by allowing fans or anyone who wants to support an LGBTQIA+ artist to enjoy her work in exchange for a donation.

The Next Chapter

Like many creatives, Kylie doesn’t know what her creative future will hold. It’s all about focusing on the present, maintaining sobriety, and continuing to produce comics to keep herself encouraged. John is pushing forward with his next issue of Scorpio as well as his upcoming venture Kamikaze, a comic about a post apocalyptic world. He’s in a space where he can make time to write but also set boundaries while keeping his momentum steady.

Stephanie’s experience during the coronavirus has reminded her to continue to be flexible and to have patience with herself.

“If anything, this time has shown me that there are other ways to get things done. The creative process doesn’t have to be this big, beautiful thing. For me, it never was – it was really just random ideas and ‘let me go and try to figure this out.’ So during the pandemic its been about utilizing the technology you have, jotting things down, and saving them for later.

If you don’t get to it today, that’s okay… it’s reminded me that I’m at my best when I just kind of let things flow. I’m giving myself more space to let things be and flow. The pandemic has reiterated that sense of patience and patience with yourself.”

Reimena Yee

Reimena isn’t concerned about the coronavirus impacting her artistic brand. Her pursuits outside of art are uncertain, however she’s hopeful about the future.

“.I mourn the loss of opportunities to develop my career outside of creating art. I am not sure if I’ll still be able to revive or get back those same opportunities in the next two years. But I have to believe so. Or at least, I have to trust that my future projects will lead me to maybe similar, maybe different, maybe better opportunities. We will see.”

The coronavirus pandemic continues to cause a shift in the lives of creatives across the world. Some are fortunate to still have the capacity to create while others are putting projects on hold. Making comics is a pursuit of passion, grace, and, most of all, an avenue of hope in the midst of dark times.

Featured Image: Scarlet Leigh

The post How Indie Comic Creators Are Coping with the Coronavirus appeared first on Nerdist.

After the epic Crisis on Infinite Earths event earlier in the year, DC fans have been eager to see what crossovers the Arrowverse has in store for the future, and it looks like they finally have their answer! Dan breaks down all the details on the newly revealed event coming to the CW on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

What crossover would you like to see the Arrowverse tackle? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Next DC Arrowverse Crossover Has Been Revealed! (Nerdist News w/ Dan Casey) appeared first on Nerdist.

DC Comics

The massive selection of cool comics includes Scooby-Doo (1997-2010) Issues 33-84, Scooby-Doo Team-Up (2013-2019) Issues 1-99 & Vol. 1-6, and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (2010-present) Issues 40-103! Basically, it’s enough mystery solving adventures to get you through your self-isolation blues. The issues will be available for free on DC Universe and digital retailers like ReadDC.com, comiXology, Amazon Kindle, and Apple Books. You’ll be able to read them for free until September 7.

Scooby-Doo has long been known among animation fans as a perfect smorgasbord of silliness. These comics continue that grand and hilarious tradition with a whole bunch of outrageous adventures. We’re all looking for a little bit of light in these tough times, so this is a terrific selection to distract and delight. Plus with Scoob! hitting screens this week it’s the perfect time to get familiar with these canine capers.

DC Comics

These comics feature some of your favorite DC heroes like Superman and Batman, as well as Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and of course Scooby Dooby Do himself. It’s pretty fitting that a lot of these stories are superhero crossovers as Scoob! features Hanna-Barbera’s own roster of rogues and caped crusaders. Some of your fave characters like Dick Dastardly, the Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, Deedee Dawkins, and more appear alongside the crew in the animated adventure movie. There’s never been a better moment to pick up some of these free comics and do a deep dive into the ever so silly world of Scooby-Doo. Get more details on how to watch Scoob! here.

Featured Image: DC Comics

The post You Can Now Read Over 250 SCOOBY-DOO Comics for Free appeared first on Nerdist.

We were huge fans of Jacob Phillips and Chris Condon’s That Texas Blood. The stunning, bleak, and beautiful comic had initially planned to launch this month. It was, however, delayed. Although the COVID-19 crisis has delayed that incredible book Phillips and Condon have been busy. Whilst most of us have struggled to dress ourselves in the morning, these two have created a whole new comic. And it’s stunning.

Jacob Phillips and Chris Condon

Condon gave us a great tease for the series. “In 1941, Private Investigator Ezra Cain unravels a deadly conspiracy to tear apart the heart of America – his city!” He told us that rather than being a straight crime comic the series, Brutal Dark sits somewhere between The Maltese Falcon and Indiana Jones. It’s a noir-adventure that is not only a brilliant distraction from the current crisis. But is also another astonishing showcase of the pair’s talents. Condon crafts a tight, atmospheric, script. And Phillips once again stuns with his broad breadth of talent.

Jacob Phillips and Chris Condon

If you’re a fan of noir comics like Criminal, Fatale, 100 Bullets, and Sin City then you’ll likely fall in love with Brutal Dark. Dark, beautiful, and immersive; we read the issue and it’s great. Ezra is a great reinvention of the classic P.I. archetype. We’re excited to see where the series goes, especially as Ezra has the potential to stand alongside other great gumshoes.

One of the best things to come out of the madness of 2020 is the creativeness it’s inspired. Sharing art is a powerful thing. And Brutal Dark is a great representation of that. Two creators who made something special, had their plans scuppered by a global pandemic… so they just made something new. Inspirational stuff.

Like This Texas Blood, Brutal Dark is written by Condon and drawn, lettered, and colored by Jacob Phillips. You can read the first issue of Brutal DarD via the pair’s patreon account.

Header Image: Jacob Phillips 

The post BRUTAL DARK Is The Noir Adventure Comic You Need appeared first on Nerdist.

With 22 films, countless characters, and dozens of intersecting plot lines, the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be a daunting place. But between the multiple series, retcons, and years of stories, Marvel’s comic book world is arguably even more daunting. For MCU fans newly hoping to to get into the books, the 80-plus-year comic history can be overwhelming. Especially when it comes to iconic mainstays like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Fortunately, Nerdist is here to help with recommendations for which comics you should check out for each avenging superhero.

Marvel Comics

Black Widow

Mark Waid and Chris Samnee bring the assassin back to her roots with their Black Widow series, which is quintessentially a spy drama. But between the spy missions and dark shadows of her past, the story is filled with quiet moments where we get to see Natasha as a person and not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. It’s a story where the plot is largely driven by Samnee’s beautiful art, and one of the best balances of action versus character when it comes to an Avenger who isn’t always as relatable as other superheroes because of her hard past.

Marvel Comics

Hawkeye

It’s cliché to say that Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye series changed superhero comics, but there’s no mistaking why this series is as acclaimed as it is. In addition to superhero shenanigans, Fraction and Aja take Clint Barton down to the streets of grungy Brooklyn, focusing on the arching Avenger’s everyday life and bringing some very real stories and emotions to a character who hadn’t had a huge amount of solo spotlight before appearing in the MCU. Mark our words: Kate Bishop will become your new favorite character and Lucky the Dog will become your new best friend.

Marvel Comics

Iron Man

As you might expect, there are a bunch of defining Iron Man stories that helped shape the character into a relatable human—someone we could identify with as opposed to an egocentric billionaire—but Warren Ellis and Adi Granov’s Extremis is one of the best. (And you might recognize Extremis from Iron Man 3, which took its cue from sections of Ellis’ and Granov’s run.) This creative team not only gets into Tony’s head; they humanize him in a way that makes you realize just how important the character is to the entire Marvel Universe. Plus, that Granov art!

Marvel Comics

Captain America

We gotta go with Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting’s Captain America: Winter Soldier—what many consider to be the “definitive” Cap run. There are good reasons for that: Brubaker brought back Bucky Barnes, added some political drama, and defined the character in a way that no comic had been able to do previously. If you like Steve Rogers in the MCU, this comic set up Cap in a way that would go on to influence his on-screen story and allow us to identify with and love the “kid from Brooklyn.”

Marvel Comics

Thor

In our opinion, there’s no run that compares to Jason Aaron’s long-running Thor series. (It’s so good, it’s even the potential inspiration for 2021’s Thor: Love and Thunder.) Aaron humanizes the God of Thunder by crafting a tale filled with empathy, faith, and grandeur. Tag-teaming with talented artists and colorists such as Russell Dauterman, Matt Wilson, Esad Ribic, and Ron Garney, Aaron’s tale springs to life: a visually dazzling Thor that is complemented by Aaron’s epic storytelling. Yes, with six years worth of stories, this run is definitely an undertaking. But we guarantee you’ll be hooked as soon as you start reading.

Marvel Comics

Hulk

We love an intriguing, unique story about an intriguing, unique character. And that’s exactly what Incredible Hulk: The End is. Peter David and Dale Keown spin a tale of a Hulk who exists in the future, where everyone except himself is dead. It’s a story unlike most Hulk comic runs, one with a slight horror slant and a psychological deep dive into a character whose identities are always at odds. And that’s exactly why it’s brilliant. Alas, the comic is a one-shot, which means that you unfortunately won’t find more stories about Banner’s solo life on Earth. But it’s absolutely worth reading.

Marvel Comics

Bucky Barnes

Okay, we’re cheating here a little. We chose Brubaker and Eptings’ Captain America: Winter Soldier as our Cap recommendation, but we couldn’t not choose Brubaker’s Winter Soldier arc for Bucky Barnes. It’s our opinion that no one knows Bucky better, and that’s apparent in the beloved run that teams the former soviet spy with another spy: Black Widow. Although their rapport has never really materialized in the films, the two characters had a long relationship in the comics. And this is the perfect “Mr. and Mrs. Smith of the Marvel Universe” story.

Marvel Comics

Spider-Man

Gwen’s death is as personal and significant to Peter as Uncle Ben’s is, in that the event pretty much defines his life both as Spider-Man and a regular teen. Which is why The Night Gwen Stacy Died resonates. Hurting and overcome with rage, it’s Peter at his best and worst: he almost kills Norman Osborn out of pure anger but eventually realizes that revenge isn’t the answer. The lesson is an important one and a reminder that we can learn and grow from our mistakes and grief. Gerry Conway and Gil Kane’s story maybe an obvious pick as it’s at the top of most “best of” Spidey lists, but it’s there for a reason.

Marvel Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy

You know that feeling that you experienced when you watched Guardians of the Galaxy? That fun, adventure-in-space, found family feeling? That’s what you get when you read Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Paul Pelletier’s Legacy. The story is a classic romp through the cosmos, and it doesn’t hurt that it features instances from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that fans might be familiar with, such as the Universal Church of Truth. More importantly, the strong writing gives the ragtag group a sense of connection that other comics have found hard to wrangle. The Guardians are crazy in the best way—why not read a comic that reflects that?

Marvel Comics

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver

House of M is one of Marvel’s more emotional miniseries, but it’s a beautiful story for Wanda and a great deep dive into Wanda’s relationship with her powers. Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel create an alternate reality where mutants run the world. After all, doesn’t everyone in the superhero world just want to be happy? The comic itself is a gateway to numerous other events and arcs for X-Men and Avengers, but don’t worry about all that. Just check out House of M and prepare to have a new appreciation for Wanda Maximoff after you read it.

Marvel Comics

Doctor Strange

Is there any other way to define Doctor Strange than by mentioning Stan Lee and Steve Ditko? We’re reaching back to the classic era with Strange Tales, because there’s no better comic that shows off Strange’s trippy, magical elements and dramatics. The comic shows the superhero’s beginnings as a surgeon, introduces his greatest foe, and sets the stage for everything that we know of Doctor Strange today. It’s Doctor Strange at his best—written and drawn by comic icons responsible for turning him into one of the most mystical beings of the Marvel Universe.

Marvel Comics

Captain Marvel

We can’t recommend Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Captain Marvel run enough. Not only was it the inspiration for Carol’s big screen adventure (with DeConnick consulting on the character for the film), the series perfectly captures Carol. This is the most well-rounded, fully realized version of the character that arguably set the tone for Captain Marvel-centric comics going forward. Unlike previous iterations, this Carol isn’t here to be your sex symbol in a super suit. She’s feisty, a bit temperamental, emotional, driven, and sarcastic. And with all of that, she’s going to save the world.

Featured Image: Marvel

The post Our Favorite Comics About Each Avenger appeared first on Nerdist.

After helming hit after hit, including the epic conclusion to the Infinity Saga, the Russo Brothers have become box office gold for the MCU. However, since Endgame, many fans have eagerly been asking the same question– what hero will the dynamic duo tackle next? Dan breaks down all the possibilities in today’s episode of Nerdist News!

What characters would you like to see the Russo Brothers direct a movie for? Let us know in the comments!

The post What will the Russo Bros’ next MCU film be? (Nerdist News w/ Dan Casey) appeared first on Nerdist.

There’s never been a better time to delve into some of the classic superhero books that you’ve missed. No judgment here, there’s so much to read and so little time. But many of us have just found ourselves with a whole bunch of time on our hands, so what better way to fill it than to catch up on some famed arcs of Big Two comics that you’ve not had the chance to read yet!

DC Comics

A Death in the Family

Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo, Mike DeCarlo, John Costanza, and Adrienne Roy

Surely you’ve heard about the DC Comics call-in poll where fans were allowed to decide whether Batman’s sidekick Robin would live or die. The true story became comic book legend when readers voted for Jason Todd to perish at the hands of the Joker.

That shocking moment takes place during the arc known as A Death in the Family, which also explores the actions that led to this horrific moment, and its ramifications for the man behind the cowl. Starlin and Aparo brought a brutality to Batman that had rarely been seen in the pages of mainstream Big Two superhero comics, and the series’ impact is still felt today.

Marvel Comics

The (Dark) Phoenix Saga

Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, Terry Austin, Tom Orzechowski, and Glynis Oliver

You may have seen this story told (badly) in two X-Men movies, or in the classic 1992 cartoon. But if you haven’t read the comics that started it all, then you haven’t truly experienced The (Dark) Phoenix Saga.

It all begins when the X-Men venture into space and Jean Grey comes into contact with a powerful and dangerous solar flare. Jean soon becomes all-powerful, taking on the name Phoenix. But as we all know, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Heartbreaking, powerful, and one of the most referenced and homaged comic stories of all time, The (Dark) Phoenix Saga is a must read for fans of comics, pop culture, and superheroes as a whole.

Marvel Comics

The Coming of Galactus/The Galactus Trilogy

Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Joe Sinnott, Art Simek, and Sam Rosen

Want to get an idea of where the MCU might be headed next whilst also reading one of the greatest three-issue arcs of all time? Then make sure you pick up this astonishing Silver Age story that introduced the world and the Fantastic Four to Galactus and the Silver Surfer. The series was pitched as “Marvel’s first family fights God,” and this is what the marvelous mind of Jack Kirby came up with from there.

The Fantastic Four face off with the monstrous planet-eater and his tortured herald when they come to wreak havoc on the Earth. It’s a cosmic catalyst for a whole new era of the Marvel Universe. Plus, it features some of Kirby’s trademark stunning and experimental collage work.

Marvel Comics, cover by Esad Ribic

House of M

Brian Michael Bendis, Olivier Coipel, Tim Townsend, Frank D’Armata, and Chris Eliopoulos

This gorgeous, controversial, and ultimately satisfying event could come into play in the future of Marvel on screen as it centers around none other than Scarlet Witch. After the events of Avengers: Disassembled, compounding factors in the tragic life of Wanda Maximoff have led to an abuse of her massive hex powers.

It’s hard to talk about the meat of this story without spoiling its secrets, but it’s a heartbreaking reimagining of the Marvel Universe that features all of your favorite characters in ways that you’ve likely never seen them. It’s also a great primer on the relationship between Magneto and his children, Wanda and Pietro; now that Disney owns Fox, this could likely be an easy entry point for the major X-Men character.

Marvel Comics

Daredevil: Typhoid Mary

Annie Nocenti, John Romita Jr., Al Williamson, Joe Rosen, and Max Scheele

One of the most underrated yet groundbreaking Daredevil runs of all time, Typhoid Mary is a dark, grim, and spectacular story that pits Matt Murdock against one of comics’ most interesting antiheroes. This ’80s arc centers on Daredevil once again falling in love with a dangerous woman who turns out to be far more powerful than he is.

Mary is a sex worker with multiple personalities, each of which manifests with different powers. She’s a radical representation of a totally different kind of womanhood, and in this original introduction she’s written in a nuanced, thoughtful way by Nocenti. Romita Jr. is at his wild and reckless best here with art that jumps off the page with energy and, often, brutality.

DC Comics, Cover by Alex Ross

Crisis on Infinite Earths

Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo, and Anthony Tollin

Arguably the defining comics event of the ’80s, Crisis on Infinite Earths started a trend for streamlining the sprawling universes that they created via huge cross company arcs. Pérez and Wolfman are the architects here as they showcase the creative collaboration that launched a thousand comics.

The 12-issue series saw a terrifying new foe appear in the shape of the Anti-Monitor who wanted nothing more than to erase all of existence. It was an inventive way to editorially eradicate seemingly unnecessarily alt-universes, worlds, and characters, whilst pushing forward the stories of their most famous heroes.

Dark Horse Comics

Hellboy: Seed of Destruction

Mike Mignola, John Byrne, Mark Chiarello, and Matt Hollingsworth

He might not be a superhero in the classical sense, but he’s certainly one of our favorite Nazi-bashing good guys. Hellboy’s reign as one of comics’ biggest stars began in this 1994 series, which introduced readers to the unleashed creative mind of Mike Mignola and his most famous monster. You’ll get to meet all of the most recognizable Hellboy faces here as you learn all about Big Red’s birth and his first foray into being a hero under the banner of the BPRD.

Marvel Comics

The Infinity Gauntlet

Jim Starlin, George Pérez, Ron Lim, Josef Rubinstein, Jack Morelli, Christie Scheele, and Ian Laughlin

Thanos takes center stage in this legendary six-issue miniseries at the core of this sprawling line-wide Marvel Comics crossover from 1991. It begins with the Mad Titan achieving his objective to kill half of the universe—doesn’t that sound familiar?—only to find himself opposed by the Avengers, X-Men, and more of Earth’s mightiest heroes.

What might surprise fans is the outcome of this cosmic comic, which strays from the story you think you know. Renowned Avengers artist George Pérez begins this terrific tale before handing the reins over to the radical Ron Lim for the second half.

Feature Image: DC Comics/Marvel Comics/Dark Horse Comics

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Normally at this time of the year we’d be deep into con season. The Covid-19 crisis means that all of the conventions where we’d usually be hanging with friends, supporting our local artists, and gushing about the things we love on panels have been cancelled. Despite our sadness, something that’s been uplifting to see is the way people have organized online equivalents. And now two powerhouse publishers, Penguin Random House and First Second, have announced that they’re holding virtual conventions for fans this month!

First Second

First up is graphic novel publisher extraordinaire First Second. The publisher behind some of your favorite award-winning comics like Check Please!, On a Sunbeam, The Adventure Zone, and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me will be running Comics Relief: A First Second Festival on April 18th. As the tweet below demonstrates, the all-day event will feature artists like Gene Luen Yang, Ngozi Ukazu, Lucy Knisley, and many more who will showcase how to create comics. There will be sessions on multiple different skills as well as some chats between creators and First Second Editorial & Creative Director Mark Siegel.

Penguin Random House

Book lovers everywhere can rejoice as Penguin Random House has announced that on April 24th, they’ll be hosting Virtual Con! Their addition to the digital con landscape will feature “exclusive content, giveaways, online author appearances, an interactive Geek Geek Revolution game show, and much more!” And if readers want to know more they can join the Unbound Readers Community on Facebook or follow the publisher on Twitter and Instagram. Something we can’t wait for is the Random House Graphic comic drawing contest which will run throughout the day of the convention. It encourages fans to create their own graphic novel cover in order to potentially win a rad swag bag full of gorgeous graphic novels.

We’re excited to take part in both of these awesome virtual conventions and hopefully learn something new to get us through these strange days whilst we’re sheltering in place!

Header Image: Flickr via user 蔡小璇

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Production for the upcoming Batman reboot may be on hold, but director Matt Reeves is still providing fans with updates on his adaptation of the Dark Knight. Dan breaks down the latest on this episode of Nerdist News!

What’s your favorite Batman film? Let us know in the comments!

The post THE BATMAN: Director Reveals New Details on His Dark Knight! appeared first on Nerdist.

Fan art is a great way of discovering new artists and new ways to enjoy your favorite characters. The internet has long been a treasure trove of wonderful fan art, but a brilliant new hashtag is encouraging artists to do not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but six iconic characters in their own unique style! Designed by Melissa Capriglione, #SixFanArts has been taking the internet by storm. The coolest thing about the challenge is that the artists who are taking part are soliciting suggestions from their fans on Twitter of just who they should draw.

We’ve collected some of the coolest entries into the hashtag right here for your enjoyment!

Isadora Zeferino turned her eye and unique style to some of our absolute favorite characters including Prince Suko, San, and Usagi!

Awesome award-winning cartoonist and comics editor extraordinaire Steenz has filled us with joy with her takes on Gonzo, Sailor Jupiter, Jill Valentine, and our personal fave… six zubats!

He’s the artist behind awesome runs on Detective Comics, Nightwing, Captain Marvel, All-New Wolverine, and many more! Now Marcio Takara has blessed us with these rad takes on some pop culture icons.

Fantastic freelance artist Kisu-no-hi put together this incredible line up of fan faves including Legosi from the recent Netflix furry anime Beastars!

If you’ve checked out Clean Break, Dodo, or Klaus you’re likely already following the amazing Felipe Nunes. During this hashtag they blessed us with these stunning designs. We particularly love Coraline, Ace, and Aku!

One of the fan artists we love following the most is Mikk, whose work is nothing short of stunning! If you haven’t discovered them already this technicolor offering is a great teaser!

Caspar Wijngaard has been making beautiful, beautiful waves in the comics industry for a while now on books like Angelic, Limbo, and Doctor Aphra. But here he focused on some non-comics characters with wonderful visions for Nadia from Russian Doll and Lister from Red Dwarf.

We’re obsessed with these gorgeously cute takes on some of our faves like Steven Universe, Beast Boy, and Phineas from Phineas and Ferb!

Birds of Prey‘s Harley Quinn and Doc from Animal Crossing drawn by one of the most talented illustrators going? Yes please!!

Can we please get a Lupin series in the style of the brilliant Stel Lizard now ????

You might know Ro Stein and Ted Brandt’s work from Eisner-Nominated comic Crowded, but if not, fall in love with these astonishingly great cartoonish takes on six wicked characters.

We’ve all been missing Brienne of Tarth, so thank the goddess for Laís Leite’s lovely romantic take on one of our fave Game of Thrones characters alongside some other sterling choices.

Make sure you follow along at the tag #SixFanArts and share your favorites with us!

Header Image: Viz Media

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This week’s new comics day was a strange one as creators, fans, and retailers came to terms with the strange status quo of no newly-released comics. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t new comics to discover. A rad service called izneo is answering the call from comics fans with a free monthly subscription their premium service—which includes over 1,800 comics!

Dynamite Comics, art by Darrick Robertson and Tony Avina

The expansive service and digital bookstore has an impressive collection of comics from some of your favorite publishers and calls itself the worlds first truly “global comics service” due to its selection of North American and European comics as well as a bunch of manga! The premium service, which allows readers to enjoy nearly 2000 comics and graphic novels for free, is usually $7.99 a month but it’s currently free so that we can all #StayHome and #ReadComics.

So what sort of things can you access? Well, the free comics you can read include Locke & Key, The Boys, Back to the Future, Star Trek, The X-Files, Transformers, Archie, Judge Dredd, Godzilla in Hell, My Friend Dahmer, Darwyn Cooke’s Parker, Jem and the Holograms, Mars Attacks, Kindred, Red Sonja & Conan, The Boys, Vampirella, and many many more!

IDW Comics, Jason Copland and Daniel Irizarri

Though you probably already hold all of those titles, a really great feature of izneo is the huge catalog of free European comics and manga, plenty of which you can access with an izneo premium account! We hope that this app helps all the comics fans staying at home find something great to keep them occupied during these strange times. One of the coolest things about izneo is the range of platforms that you can use it on, the service is available on your computer, smartphone, tablet, Nintendo Switch and Nvidia Shield!

Header Image: IDW, Gabriel Rodriguez

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Now that the first Wednesday has hit comic shops without any new comics being distributed the industry and community are quickly coming to terms with what seems like it will be the new status quo. In these trying times the writer behind Superman Giant, Justice League, and Hawkman has come up with a generous and surprising suggestion of how to support comic shops.

To fully understand what Vendetti is suggesting it’s important to know what a “Pull Box” is. Comic shops run what are essentially non-pre-paid subscription services where customers can pre-order single issues, variant covers, or series and have them collected at the shop. For some customers its just a few books a month and for others it can be closer to 100. With the current climate the way that it is many shops will be relying on customers picking up the contents of their pull boxes (also known as pull lists and standing orders) but many fans and customers are finding themselves in the same dire straights as their local comic shops.

DC Comics, Cover art by Bryan Hitch

This is where Vendetti’s plan comes in. Rather than seeking out new comics for yourself, #PullBoxPayItForward encourages fans and creators who are in a financially stable space to support local shops by calling them up and offering to pay off other customer’s pull lists. Not only will it help the shop recoup the money they spent ordering the books but it also means that customers who might not have the money to pick them up will be able to get their books!

In his tweet the Justice League writer stated “The comics industry is a family. These are unsettling times, but we’re all in this together. For the first Wednesday in my career, there aren’t any new comics on New Comic Book Day. Here’s how I’ve decided to help. If you can join #PullBoxPayItForward, please do.” Some of his fellow comic book creators have already jumped on this radical little idea, paying off some pull boxes at their local shops!

Humpries was joined by best-selling Teen Titans: Raven author Kami Garcia!

Hopefully this trend will take off as it is a great way to support your local shops and community!

Header Image: Michael Sauers via Flikr 

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We’re all doing our best to find innovative and enjoyable ways to spend our time at the moment. Here at Nerdist we’ve been blown away by all the cool creations, content, and art that has been made available during this exceedingly strange period. The massively popular manga publisher Kodansha Comics are the latest company to answer the quarantine call as they’ve just put over 250 of their digital manga collections on sale for just 99c each!

Kodansha Comics

In case you’re not already a fan,  Kodansha Comics has published an extensive and impressive catalog of English language manga collections from smash series like Attack on Titan to critically lauded cult hits like Princess Jellyfish and now the first volume of almost every single series is available for under a dollar! Some of our other favorite manga series that are being offered at this incredible price are A Silent Voice, Witch Hat Atelier, Parasyte, Battle Angel Alita, Fairy Tale, Forest of Piano, To Your Eternity, The Seven Deadly Sins, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Flying Witch, Space Brothers, Lets Dance a Waltz, and Drifting Dragons. 

Kodansha Comics

We can’t think of more perfect way to spend your self-isolation than exploring all the incredible manga that Kodansha has to offer. You never know; you might just find your next favorite series, or even find inspiration to make some comics yourself! We’ll definitely start digging into this rad offer and grab some of both classic and lesser known first volumes to keep us entertained.

You can purchase the 270 Kodansha collections on services including BookWalker, comiXology, Google Play, Kindle, and Nook. And if you’re not sure which of the collections you want to take home you can try out the first chapter of all of the selected manga collections free on Kodandsha’s website!

Header Image: Kodansha Comics

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With everything going on at the moment many of us are finding comfort in the smaller things. To help you discover new ways to relax and find solace, we asked 18 comics creators to tell us about the cozy and comforting comics and books that they turn to when times get tough! From manga monsters to spooky cult hits, sprawling sci-fi to golden age comedy, comic strip classics all the way through Big Two stalwarts this curated collection has it all!

Jen Bartel

Jen Bartel

It was only released just last year, but Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau is one of my top recommendations for a lovely comfort read. It’s a young love story about protagonists Ari and Hector, set against the backdrop of Ari’s family-owned bakery in a small coastal town. I’ve also really been enjoying reading Demon Slayer on the Shounen Jump app—the main character, Tanjiro, is extremely empathetic and shows a great deal of care for everyone around him—which is an example that I think all of us can try to follow right now.

Vita Ayala

Dark Horse

This is going to sound strange, but my comfort book is Hellboy. Part of it is that I love a good supernatural story or fairy tale, but mostly it’s because of Hellboy himself. He’s a man that should, by all accounts, be despicable and destructive, but he wants nothing more than to do good and be good, and dedicates his life to helping people (and saving the world). Something about his steadfast refusal to give into the darkness like everyone expects of him is really uplifting. Also, he punches Nazis. Gives me the warm fuzzies.

Danny Lore

DC Comics

Planetary: This love letter to a million different genres of pulp and comics is a must re-read for me in dark times. It is a story about all the wonder and weirdness that humanity is capable of, while never ignoring the horrors we’ve inflicted. I come back to this book to remember that we’re responsible for our own stories, for our own paths, both fictionally and in the real world. It inspires me.

Mariko Tamaki

DC Comics

Mine is Dear Justice League by Micheal Northrop and Gustavo Duarte. Because it’s really sweet and funny and you can read it with your kids.

Nicola Scott

DC Comics

One of my favorite series of the last…long while…is Madam Xanadu by Matt Wagner and Amy Reeder. The centuries spanning story is a delightful coming of age, and magical awareness, adventure with the most sublime art and colors. Thoroughly charming.

Sina Grace

First Second Comics

My pick for a fave cozy comic is Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau! The story follows Ari, whose family owns a small-but-beloved bakery in a town that is too quiet for his lofty ambitions. Just as Ari begins to feel the walls closing in around him, we meet Hector- a guy in town looking to take on a job at the bakery. What happens is a truly lovely story about self-discovery, budding romance and baked goods!

Readers of all ages should grab a box of pastries (or some bread n butter), sit back with some tea or coffee, and revel in the visual poetry that is Bloom. The artwork in this book is just so sweeping and gorgeous that you can’t help but get caught up in this coming-of-age story about two lost boys who find a lot when they spend some time baking together in the kitchen. Seriously, I keep this one around as a reminder of why I love comic books.”

Sam Humphries

Viz Media

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is:
1. The only long-form manga work of beloved anime legend Hayao Miyazaki available in English.
2. One of the greatest comics I’ve ever read.
3. A portal to escape somewhere new — a beautiful, sweeping, imaginative fantasy realm.
4. About a young girl making a difference in a world where humanity struggles to survive.
5. A story about hope in uncertain times.

Annie Nocenti

Fantagraphics

Well, perhaps in the British sense of a “cozy” I’m comforted by comics with an edge of unease. And I love humane monsters, so I would say that reading Emil Ferris’s My Favorite Thing is Monsters is my idea of solace, in that if you feel like an outsider in any way, her graphic novel can flip the switch on that, embrace and transport you into feeling good about yourself…

Kelly Sue DeConnick

DC Comics, art by JH Williams III

Half of us are gonna recommend Sandman. The other half are wrong.

Steve Orlando

DC Comics

For me, this book has to be Flex Mentallo, one of my favorite books ever, and rejuvenating to me both creatively and emotionally. This is a book about the wonder of youth overcoming the fatalism of adolescence and the rationalism of adulthood. Flex, to me, is the ultimate hero to combat the letdown of hard times—he’s absurd, he’s aggressively positive, and he believes in us all. When all the superheroes go home, or give up, Flex is there. And sometimes you need a big, dumb, kind man in a tiger speedo to help you back on your feet.

Kaare Andrews

DC Comics

Sugar And Spike: Written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer in the 50’s—and lasted 15 years! I picked up the Archive Editions hardcover on Ebay and my kids immediately stole it from me and, not only devoured it, they loved it. Two babies who can’t understand grown-up talk and grown-ups who can’t understand baby talk. A little Dennis The Menace… a little Calvin and Hobbes. And a reminder that a book can survive 60 years of wars, political unrest, pretty much whatever humanity can throw at ourselves and still be fun and relevant today. A little giggle for the days ahead.

Marc Andreyko

HarperCollins

In this scary and isolating time, one way to feel cozy and amongst friends is reading one of my very favorite comics: Scott McCloud’s ZOT! Exciting, clever, smart, and overflowing with love and friendship, ZOT! is a near-perfect read. And it’s collected in a great TPB (w/ commentary)! Hopeful, inspiring, and never what you expect, ZOT! is a classic waiting to be rediscovered. You’ll thank me, I promise:) stay safe and be kind to one another!

Amanda Deibert

Flying Eye Books

I’m going to answer this as a mom and suggest Hilda—the children’s graphic novel series written and illustrated by Luke Pearson. I find the art and imagery soothing as does my daughter and it’s all about a young girl who grapples with a world that is partly based in reality and part Scandinavian folklore and folk tales. Dealing with the unknown, the fantastic and the sometimes scary in beautiful, whimsical ways really feels appropriate right now. It’s comforting for me and for my 5-year-old and as we’re together 24/7 right now. That’s a win.

Liam Sharp

Humanoids

My comfort reads—and I have to pick three—are mostly nostalgic. The first would be Don Lawrence’s visionary ‘The Trigan Empire‘, just recently collected again in a beautiful edition from Fleetway. It blew my mind when I was 8 or 9, and still does to this day. The second is Moebius’s ‘Arzach‘. Wonderful dreamscapes, enigmatic and beautiful freeform art, and a couple of bad jokes. Seminal, and just right to read by the fireside before bed. Lastly John Byrne, Terry Austin and Chris Claremont’s ‘Starlord‘. A perfect one-shot from the late 70’s that gave us a glimpse of the future greatness of these industry titans. Enjoy!

Jon Davis-Hunt

Scholastic, Jeff Smith

Bone – The complete Edition. The perfect mix of comedy, drama and epic fantasy, wrapped up in some of the most inventive black & white artwork out there. Incredible world building too. And actually laugh out loud funny. Black Sad. Dark Horse reprinted this incredible French comic series in English, with Vol 1 providing the first 3 albums. A gripping film noir detective story, set in a world of talking animals that is one part Sin City, two parts classic-era Disney. Features the type of stunning artwork that just makes you stop and study every panel. Amazing. All Star Superman. Probably the comic I have read the most, apart from Akira. Brilliantly inventive, fun, poignant. An absolute tour-de-force of storytelling from Frank Quietly. A book you can return to again and again.”

Dan Parent

Fantagraphics

My fave cozy comics vary, but start with old Harvey comics from my childhood. I still have a large collection I like to go through. And then I will sit and reread the best comic of my adulthood, the collection of New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke! I also want to reread my Love and Rockets collection by the amazing Hernandez Bros. And the best way to escape for me is to get lost in old MAD magazines, which are the best pop culture time capsules out there!

Stephen Mooney

Bill Waterson

Since I was a kid, the book I turn to for comfort reading has always been Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes. There’s so much warmth and knowing, wry humor in those strips, which, combined with the truly outstanding, lush artwork, transport me back to sunny afternoons in my back garden as a little boy. Nothing but happy memories and unadulterated joy in those pages, for me. Highest possible recommendation!

And if you want a classic novel to pick up, Mike Carey suggested this iconic series:

Scholastic

I’d recommend the Borrowers novels by Mary Norton. There are four (ignore the fifth, written two decades later). They follow the adventures of the Clock family, Pod, Homily and their daughter Arrietty. The Clocks are tiny humanoids living in the skirting boards of a country house like mice. They’re evicted from their home after Arrietty lets herself be seen by a human boy, and travel across a beautifully evoked rural England in search of a new place to live. Trust me. These bite-sized, addictive books will make you homesick for a world you never knew.

Kieron Gillen

Andrews McMeel Publishing

One of my standard riffs as a creator is the utilitarian application of art. It’s what behind a lot of my stuff, but most obviously like Phonogram – if music effects us, and we can predict those effects then we can choose to deliberately use specific art to create an effect we wish. As in, we can use them like a magic spell. Or a drug. So – let’s try to write a prescription to comfort. I immediately thought of Philippa Rice Soppy with its incredible intimacy and charm of these portraits. It’s a book which makes me glow. Still – as much as I love it, it’s a small, momentary release. I think what’s actually needed is something long, to lose oneself in, to live with you a while. This makes me realise that I’ve never actually read Bone, and I’ve got the whole thing sitting on my side. I’ll get on it, and get back to you.

Header Image: First Second, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics

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Here at Nerdist, we love celebrating great art and bringing it to you so that you can enjoy it with us. Though the current coronavirus situation might not immediately seem like it’s the best time to discover something new, artistic communities from around the world have been coming together online to share their work for people who are currently self-isolating or who are under quarantine.

The comic book community has been at the center of the digital response to the coronavirus, and over the past week, creators and publishers have been generously sharing their comics for free. So I’ve curated some of the best, brightest, and most exciting offerings for you right here in a collection that includes over 100 free stories you can read right now!

Newly added amazing free comics!

The comics community has continued to share their beautiful work with the internet over the last week so we’ve updated this piece with some of the new and brilliant free comics you can read right now.

Zainab Akhtar’s Short Box is one of the most exciting comics publishers in the industry. Not only do they send curated boxes of comics right to your door, they constantly put out stunning, surprising, and utterly unique work. They’re currently sharing some of that work for free beginning with Emily Carroll’s haunting comic Beneath the Dead Oak Tree.

Humanoids is also sharing free comics each week, and they have a solid selection. “From the streets of Phoenix to ancient depths, Carthago creators Christophe Bec and Eric Henninot unleash a sprawling ensemble about a mysterious corporation excavating ocean trenches…and releasing the prehistoric monsters trapped within. And for young readers, Gregory and the Gargoyles (Denis-Pierre Filippi, J Etienne, and Silvio Camboni) follows a young boy’s adventures as he time travels back to the 17th century, where a lush world of wonder and magic awaits.”

If you’ve ever wanted to get into the sprawling world of 2000AD then you’re in luck as the groundbreaking British publisher currently has 400 pages of classic Judge Dredd comics available to download right now! The searing political satire is the perfect read right now and also works as a brilliant introduction to the wider world of 2000AD’s satirical sci-fi!

Lucie Bryon is a talented cartoonist and illustrator. You’ve probably seen her gorgeous and super cute work online. If you’ve always wanted to know more about the creator behind the cute, check out Hot Milk. A collection of diary comics from the artist Hot Milk is available for free on Bryon’s Gumroad and is a total and utter joy!

This is the perfect time to discover new comics and cartoonist and illustrator Juni Ba is offering you the chance to do just that by making all of their work free on Gumroad. Perfect for reading on your tablet or phone, these awesome and experimental comics will delight and intrigue in equal measure!

Greg Pak is the man behind many of your favorite Marvel comics. From Planet Hulk to X-Treme X-Men, Pak has been one of the most innovative and interesting writers in comics, and now he’s sharing a ton of his creator owned comics for readers to enjoy!

Super Cool Publisher Collections

Image Comics, Todd McFarlane

Vault Comics is highlighting their free first issues collection, which includes great number ones from series like Submerged, Friendo, and Fearscape. The publisher has also promised that they’ll be adding more comics to this collection, so keep your eyes peeled!

Image Comics has long been at the forefront of groundbreaking change in the comics industry; this week, they’ve opened up their first issue vault and have put them all online for free. You can read more comics than you can shake a cat at here, including massive hits like Descender, Bitch Planet, Monstress, and The Walking Dead. It’s also the perfect time to try out some lesser known gems like Angelic, Olympia, and Crowded.

Brian Michael Bendis’ publishing imprint Jinx World currently lives at DC Comics. If you’re excited to try out his non-superhero stories, then make sure to check out this 81-page Jinxworld sampler, which showcases some of the rad work that Bendis and co are doing.

The sprawling superhero publisher Valiant Comics has so much more to offer than just Bloodshot. In solidarity with those stuck at home at the moment, the publisher is sharing a new free comic or trade collection each day starting with issue one of The Valiant. From Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, Paulo and Joe Rivera, the series is great for fans who want to learn more about heroes like Bloodshot, Eternal Warrior, Geomancer, and the wider Valiant universe.

Top Cow Comics is the home of heroes like Witchblade and The Darkness, as well as amazing series like Sunstone and Blood Stain. Luckily, for comic fans everywhere the publisher has not only made some of their first issues free but also some of their trade collections too!

Spectacular Sci-fi and Horror Comics

Josh Eckert

Contact High is the Eisner-nominated sci-fi love story that you never knew you needed. In a world where human contact is illegal, two people come together against incredible odds. James F. Wright and Josh Eckert’s beautiful creation will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

On a Sunbeam is a sequential storytelling masterpiece. Award-winning cartoonist Tillie Walden brings her unique and beautiful talents to the wilds of space in this epic story of love, loss, and finding the future.

Old City Blues is the creative baby of Giannis Milonogiannis and the neo-noir story takes place in a desperate but not so distant future where mech-smugglers and drug dealers run rampant. When a high-powered cybernetically enhanced CEO is found dead, the New Athens Special Police will have to unravel the strange and horrifying mystery at the heart of their city.

Come into Me takes the horror comic to the next level with a body-horror-drenched take on fear. Full disclosure: I donated a super cool essay to be part of the back matter of Come into Me issue three, but that was just because I was such a big fan of what Zack Thompson, Lonnie Nadler, and Piotr Kowalski were doing. Check this rad series out now!

The Dregs sees Nadler and Thompson turn their eye to noir as a homeless mystery enthusiast dons a detective cap to solve a series of crimes in a six-block area known as the Dregs. This meta mystery is as dark as it comes and is quite unlike anything else you’ve read.

Awesome Creator-Owned Comic Collections

One of my all-time favorite cartoonists, Michael Sweater, has put over a thousand pages of his brilliant work online for free this month. Sweater’s “Comics Quarantine Megapack” includes Please Destroy the Internet alongside a bunch of his other best work, and he also added the hilarious Please Keep Warm to his Gumroad!

Jenn Woodall is one of the most exhilarating creators working in comics today and her Gumroad page includes a few of her rad comics for you to read completely free. Marie + Worrywart is a particularly timely read, as the 32-page collection works as a thoughtful meditation on the pervasiveness of anxiety.

Jim Zub has written comics including Conan the Barbarian, Dungeons & Dragons, and Samurai Jack. During this trying time, he’s sharing two full volumes of his comics, Wayward and Skull Kicker. The former is an awesome female-led supernatural romp and the latter centers on two monster-killing mercenaries! Basically a whole bunch of free fun to be had!

Matthew Rosenberg might be better known for his work on X-Men, but he made his name at Black Mask with comics like We Can Never Go Home and 4 Kids Go into a Bank. You can now read the first issue of both of those series thanks to Rosenberg sharing them this week!

Bun and Tea takes on the classic magazine format that we grew up on and turns it on its head. Crafting something exciting and unique, collecting comics from a number of creators including Priya Huq, Nola Pfau, Lindsey Richter, and more. (Plus it includes a cool quiz by me!)

Cute Comics for Younger Readers

Oni Press, Lionforge

Nutmeg is basically Breaking Bad but with baking (in other words, Baking Bad). When a crew of middle school kids discover a super addictive new ingredient, they begin a school-wide baking racket that will change all of their lives forever. Nutmeg is perfect for readers of all ages and is a cute, cheerful, and utterly unique crime comic from James F. Wright and Jackie Crofts.

Wrapped Up is the perfect pick-up if you or your little ones need a magical distraction this month. Milo is just a normal 12-year-old boy… except for the fact that his parents are mummies, his best friend is a gnarly old wizard, and his babysitters are witches! Dave Schiedt, Scott SCOOT McMahon, and Sean K. Dove deliver this super cute and spooky kids comic.

We hope these rad reads keep you inspired, entertained, and engaged whilst you’re staying safe! Plus remember if you have a library card you can access services like Hoopla which include hundreds more comics and graphic novels for you to enjoy. And if you get the digital comics bug then make sure to check out the amazing webcomics community and check out sites like Webtoon where creators make brilliant free comics all year round!

Feature Image: Image Comics, Black Mask, Avery Hill

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Ever since its mysterious reappearance in The Force Awakens, fans have been wondering how exactly Luke’s old lightsaber made its way from his hand to Rey’s, considering where we last saw it at the end of Empire Strikes Back. While the sequel trilogy never gave us the answer we were looking for, despite the tease by Maz Kanata, it appears fans may finally find it in the pages of Marvel’s new Star Wars comic series. Amy breaks down all the details in today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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The post Did Star Wars Finally REVEAL What Happened to Luke’s Lightsaber After Empire? (Nerdist News) appeared first on Nerdist.

Move aside Venom, there’s a new anti-hero joining Sony’s Marvel Universe: Morbius the Living Vampire! But just who is he and what exactly is a living vampire? Join Dan Casey on a brand new Explainiac where he explores the weird comic book history of Morbius and how a six-armed Spider-Man fits into all of this.

For more on Morbius, check out this episode of Nerdist News: https://youtu.be/QBgy4ccc2Dg

The post Everything You Need to Know About Morbius the Living Vampire (Explainiac w/ Dan Casey) appeared first on Nerdist.

What do you get when you cross the psychedelic ’60s comic vibe of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee with ’80s cinema in the vein of Steven Spielberg and Shane Black? Olympia, a new five-issue miniseries from Image Comics written by Curt Pires with art by Alex Diotto, colors by Dee Cunniffe, and letters by Micah Myers. Olympia is the creative team’s Image Comic debut, an epic adventure full of heart, hope, and intimacy—and Nerdist has an exclusive look at pages from the first issue.

Among it’s cosmic vibes and grand scope, the comic is at its core a love letter to Pires’ late father Tony Pires, whom he co-wrote the story with before Tony passed away from cancer. The real life circumstances lend themselves intimately to the fabric of the story—the main character, a latchey boy named Elon, is a fatherless kid who spends most of his time reading comics. When Olympia, a character from his favorite series, crash lands on Earth, Elon takes up a mission to help the Kirby-esque hero find his way home. As with most stories, however, it’s not quite that easy… because Olympia’s arrival has been followed by a villain hellbent on bringing chaos to Elon’s planet.

“The idea was his. He came up with it when he was in the hospital. I was visiting him, and he pitched me the core concept of a warrior being sent back in time, and being looked after and mentored/mentoring this little kid,” Pires told Nerdist of conceiving the story with his father. “We tweaked it walking laps around the hospital. He’d never sit still. Even in the days before his death, he walked laps around the hospital. He was the toughest person I’ve ever met. Anyways, after he got out of the hospital and was receiving treatment, we’d talk through all the story beats, and I’d go outline and write the scripts, and then show him the issues as they came together. This went on until the very end. He gave me the last scene of the book a couple months before he died.”

Image Comics

The cosmic aspect of the story, as well as the throwback to a ’60s-inspired aesthetic, was very much an intentional inclusion on the creative team’s part. “I love Kirby comics. I was trying to read as much of his work as I could I think in the year or so before we came up with this,” Pires admitted. “Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers, Eternals, and his Fourth World stuff was pretty inspirational/influential when it comes to this book. I don’t claim to be an expert or anything, though. I just love the energy and futurism of those books. I wanted to find a way to channel it in a way that felt contemporary. Jack was making comics that felt like they were from the future. I’m trying to do the same. I want the books to still feel cutting edge in 50 years.” Naturally, part of that challenge extended to Diotto’s art as well.

“I tried to differentiate them as much as possible,” Diotto explained of balancing the more “mundane” avenues of the story with its cosmic tilt. “This is more evident between the ‘real’ scenes and the comic book sequences that Elon reads. The latter are heavily influenced by the work of the King Jack Kirby. The Olympian is inspired by the Norse mythology. His armor in the early designs was way more like a tech-suit, but as I worked on the book, the armor became more of a suit, simpler in the design.”  

Comedic and emotional, Olympia‘s main message—hope and vulnerability—extends beyond the flashy colors and epic art. “Creating for me has always been the ultimate form of therapy. And it’s given me a place to put these feelings,” said Pires. “But mining them, turning these emotions into a narrative is heavy. It takes a lot out of me. Doing press is hard too—I have had to put myself out there and talk about the hardest and most painful thing that has ever happened to me a lot in the last few months, in promoting this book. But the alternative is cowardice and turning away from giving my father the credit and legacy he deserved, and I’m not about that. I just hope this book can help people— make them feel less alone, and if they’re going through some similar crucible, recognize that there is hope and beauty on the other side of the darkness.”

The post OLYMPIA Takes You On A Cosmic and Emotional Ride appeared first on Nerdist.

Small woodland critters are bloody adorable. Scurrying and scampering around the underbrush to avoid us while hiding their acorns in tiny houses elicits endless squeals. In the end, rodents and small mammals have evolved to live around our civilization—feeding off our trash and hiding under our feet. Squarriors explores the vicious world of woodland creatures after we’ve kicked the bucket.

Drawn by Ashley Witter (Marvel, DC, Scorch) and written by Ash Maczko (Cigarettes & Carrot Juice, Cold War), Squarriors is set in a post-apocalyptic future. For as-of-yet unknown reasons, animals have gained human intelligence. The story is neither futuristic enough to warrant full TMNT treatment or fall into the style of radiation punk. Rather, it’s closer to the sixth mass extinction where humans are one of the species die off. Nature does a pretty fantastic job of recovering quickly and Ashley prominently features art that highlights our ruined civilizations. The meek may have inherited the earth, but that doesn’t mean it’s a gift.

Ashley Witter

Survival is a luxury for the wicked.

The Comics!

Ashley Witter

Whether its climate change or warfare, the animals have evolved into various tribes for their own survival. The Tin-Kin clan is a group of squirrels, foxes, and other creatures that have banded together to survive the winter. The first graphic novel (Squarriors #1: Spring) is violent, bloody, and sets up the woodland world that is more akin to Game of Thrones as they battle the Maw, a rival tribe.

The Summer story-arc comprises five issues and the fourth issue was just released in October. So far the second arc only enhances the political nature of the tribes with both internal and external conflict while dropping subtle hints of world-building. Each comic offers more hints about the history of humans by hiding details in the background (where they should be). Front-and-center is the journey to explore this new world together, a feature which is the cornerstone of science fiction worldbuilding. It goes without saying that artistic quality is jaw-dropping, but the world is also filled with endless story possibilities. Which is where Cold War Entertainment comes in…

The Card Game

Ashley Witter

Taking the open-world possibilities of the Squarriors setting, Cold War (Lady Death: Last Stand) designed their very own card game that funded within two days on Kickstarter. Turns out rabid fans of the comics wanted a chance to play in the world. With multiple characters, personalities, endless possibilities (and there was even a backer-tier to put your own cat in!) the appeal is obvious. The card game is a competitive CCG where you win by building the story of your own tribe. The story side of the gameplay focuses on exploring the world and recruiting warriors.

Defeating your opponents requires dominance over territory. Several paths to win (like causing your opponents’ predators to betray them) are based on the deck you build. Mechanically, the games’ main tactical focus comes from using your own discard pile to chain card reactions. This main mechanic shifts the focus on this game away from random draws and into cunning and tactical choices.

Ashley Witter

What is really needed now, is for Team Ash (the creators), to sign off on the creation of a Suikoden style JRPG. You can find more information about Squarriors on their website, your local comic shop, or behind the scenes art-tutorials at Ashley’s Patreon.

Have you read Squarriors? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!

Header Image: Ashley Witter

Rick Heinz is a storyteller with a focus on D&D For Kids, and an overdose of LARPs. You can follow RPG or urban fantasy related thingies on Twitter or reach out for writing at RickHeinzWrites@gmail.com

The post Check Out The Brutal World Of SQUARRIORS! appeared first on Nerdist.

Netflix’s post-apocalyptic teen hit Daybreak has been delighting audiences since it debuted earlier this month. Very loosely adapted from Brian Ralph’s intriguing POV zombie comic of the same name, the bombastic Deadpool-esque, pop-culture-reference-heavy horror-comedy is worlds away from the six-panel grid survival comic that Ralph created. So when we sat down with Aron Eli Coleite, we were very interested in that transition from the page to the screen. It turns out it was a long road that began years before with his Daybreak co-creator Brad Payton.

Payton was the one who discovered the comic from indie publisher Drawn & Quarterly, secured the rights, and wrote a screenplay for what he then envisioned as a feature film. “That version was far closer in line to the book and had much more in common with it. I would say it didn’t have all the humor that we put in, though it was much more in line with Shaun of the Dead or Warm Bodies than 28 Days Later,” Coleite explained. “What it did have was a character breaking the fourth wall at its core, in a Ferris Bueller-type fashion.”

Drawn & Quarterly, Brian Ralph

That would become a defining part of Daybreak. Josh Wheeler is the snarky, fourth-wall-breaking hero whom we spend most of the ten-episode series with. He’s on a seemingly conventional mission to “save the girl” in the unconventional landscape of Glendale, an apocalyptic high school. Though Josh’s journey is strange, the way that Coleite and Payton ended up working together on Daybreak is actually stranger.

“I was set up on a meeting with Brad and we were actually supposed to talk about adapting a different comic book altogether. What happened was, my agent at the time sent me Daybreak just to give me a writing sample. So I got to the meeting and said, ‘Look, I have to be honest, I don’t want to talk about this comic book that we were supposed to talk about and I know that’s not kosher, but I really I don’t want to. I don’t think that there’s anything there⁠—not to be rude about that comic book⁠—but I read your movie and I want to talk about that.”

The rest, as they say, is history. The pair teamed up to reimagine the film in the face of a spate of—at the time—recent zom-coms, which studios were reluctant to bet on. “They actually got a large round of notes on the original script, mainly because it had so much in common with other zombie films, like Warm Bodies, which had just come out and didn’t do that well; Zombieland you know, which did well enough; Shaun of the Dead,” Coleite told us. “Horror-comedy is a niche I adore but it’s a sub-genre within a sub-genre and we’d had all these people giving us these examples of similar stuff that they had felt hadn’t done very well.”

Netflix

Despite that, there was something about the main character that really spoke to Coleite. “I think it’s cool as a concept but it says something more about the character Josh. This is a kid who is actually quite optimistic about the apocalypse and the end of the world. There’s something in that that I found kind of really refreshing. Because you know, we’ve all seen The Walking Dead, which is amazing and bleak and depressing. And Hunger Games, which is brilliant but is understandably bleak.”

He continued, “But I remember feeling when I was in high school and junior high, that if the world ended, I think I’d be okay. It could even be a good thing because I could have the opportunity to totally reinvent myself. I could be anything I wanted to be. I wouldn’t have all the constraints that peg me down as the nerd and outsider that I am.”

Coleite cut his teeth as a producer on Lost, has written and produced episodes of Star Trek: Discovery, and even wrote some issues of Marvel’s Ultimate X-Men. It was an experience that gave him huge respect for the comic creators he looks up to. “I would say writing comic books is some of the hardest writing you can do. I mean, that’s why I have so much love for the comic book writers that I adore. It is in my opinion, far harder than writing a screenplay, because if you’re doing your job well then the writer in collaboration with the artist is working as director and cinematographer all at the same time. In television, we need to have one cliffhanger an episode. In comics, it’s one a page, and 22 cliffhangers each issue is a lot!”

You can get the original Daybreak comic from your local bookshop and you can watch the series on Netflix right now!

Feature Image: Netflix

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