Thursday, May 7, 2020

#IReadsYou Review: THE WATER DRAGON'S BRIDE Volume 11

THE WATER DRAGON'S BRIDE, VOL. 11
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Rei Toma
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Abby Lehrke
LETTERS: Monaliza de Asis
EDITOR: Amy Yu
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0958-8; paperback (November 2019); Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

The Water Dragon's Bride is a shojo fantasy romance manga from writer-artist Rei Toma (creator of Dawn of the Arcana).  It was serialized in the Japanese shojo manga magazine, Cheese!, from 2015 to 2019.  VIZ Media published an English-language edition of the manga as an 11-volume graphic novel series from 2017 to 2019.

The Water Dragon's Bride focuses on Asahi.  A modern-day girl, she is pulled into a pond and is whisked away to a strange and mysterious new land.  She meets a boy, Subaru, the son of a prominent family from a nearby village, but his mother immediately dislikes Asahi and plots to sacrifice her to the god of the Great LakeThe Water Dragon God wants Asahi to be his wife, and though she refuses, some locals still see her as a priestess.

As The Water Dragon's Bride, Vol. 11 (Chapters 41 to 43 to Last Chapter) opens, the Water Dragon God continues to weaken because he previously transferred his powers to Asahi.  Now, he wants to return Asahi to her world before his powers disappear, but when he sends her home, this god will die.  Although she struggles to stay with him, Asahi knows that the day when they must part is coming – sooner than either realize.  Is it truly the end for these two star-crossed lovers?

[This volume includes the four-panels comics, “The Water Dragon God's Chill Zone #1-3” and bonus manga.]

The Water Dragon's Bride manga sometimes suffered from a sense of the sameness.  As the series approached its conclusion, however, it recovered some of the edginess it showed in its earliest chapters.

The Water Dragon's Bride Graphic Novel Volume 11 is the final volume of the series.  Creator Rei Toma has more surprises in store for her readers.  Vol. 11 depicts the love between Asahi and the Water Dragon God at its most passionate.  I found myself racing through this volume, hoping for a happy ending, and Toma does not disappoint.  The resolution is off-beat and edgy, and she makes us work for our happy ending; real love is bittersweet, and it doesn't come easy.  Toma offers the perfect ending because she leaves us wanting more.

To that end, Abby Lehrke makes the most of this volume's sparse dialogue, as she captures the wanting, the desperation, and the yearning.  Monaliza de Asis splashes her lettering like glittering water droplets throughout the art, helping to give this timeless tale of love an ethereal quality.  So, dear readers, The Water Dragon's Bride gives me the substantive ending for which I had hoped.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

#IReadsYou Review: BATMAN: Last Knight on Earth #1

BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH No. 1 (OF 3)
DC COMICS/DC Black Label – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Scott Snyder
PENCILS: Greg Capullo
INKS: Jonathan Glapion
COLORS: FCO Plascencia
LETTERS: Tom Napolitano
EDITOR: Mark Doyle
COVER: Greg Capullo with FCO Plascencia
VARIANT COVER: Jock
56pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (July 2019)

Mature Readers

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Parts (One) “The Cave,” (Two) “The Right Hand,” (Three) “The Asylum,” (Four) “Echolocation”

Batman: Last Knight on Earth is a new three-issue comic book miniseries written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Greg Capullo (pencils) and Jonathan Glapion (inks).  Colorist FCO Plascencia and letterer Tom Napolitano complete the creative team.

Batman: Last Knight on Earth is the second release in DC Comics' new prestige and event publication imprint, “DC Black Label.”  The series follows Batman as he travels a ruined Earth, trying to find the mysterious power that devastated the world.

Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1 opens with Batman facing a strange crime wave in Gotham City.  There are no victims.  For the past 363 days, someone has drawn a chalk line across a different, random five-foot stretch of Gotham – every morning.  The next day, it is gone and replaced by a new chalk line somewhere else.  Batman has discovered the chalk lines have something to do with him, and the answer to this mystery seems surprisingly to be at “Crime Alley,” the place where Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered.

After he wakes up in Arkham Asylum, however, as a young man, a sane young man, Bruce Wayne realizes that he has never been Batman.  And the world, destroyed by an unspeakable force, really needs Batman.

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are not only the most popular Batman writer-artist pairing of this still young twenty-first century; they are also among the most prolific of the last 50 years.  Snyder has portrayed Bruce Wayne as young and sleek with a humanitarian bent and Batman as being closer to Iron Man than to Frank Miller's Batman the Dark Knight.  In fact, I would say that Snyder's Batman/Bruce Wayne is really a continuation of the superhero/alter-ego pair Miller and artist David Mazzuchelli introduced to readers in the Batman: Year One story arc (originally published in the comic book, Batman, issues #404-407).

Greg Capullo's illustrations during his run with Batman presents a Gotham City where the Justice League fit as well as the Joker does.  Science fiction and technology sit side by side with dark conspiracy and horror.  Even Capullo's clean-line style makes Batman and his world seem fresh, thanks to the contributions of inker Jonathan Glapion.

FCO Plascencia colors this book as if he were coloring Moebius' art, with colors that shimmer, shine, and glow.  Tom Napolitano, who apparently does not contribute enough to have his name on the cover of this comic book, is one of the most distinctive and talented letters in comic books.  Neapolitan makes the shifting settings and surreal-like turns in plot coalesce into a single narrative.

That is the championship creative team that Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1 has.  I am reluctant to spoil anything in this first issue.  The sudden changes in plot and setting are bracing and promise a Batman story that may indeed by memorable... and worthy of the ambitions of DC Comics' “DC Black Label” imprint.

If Batman: Last Knight on Earth is going to be a “last Batman story” it should be better than most “last particular superhero” stories.  Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1 alone is quite a humdinger.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

#IReadsYou Review: SP BABY Volume 1

SP BABY, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Maki Enjoji
TRANSLATION: JN Productions
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9540-5; paperback (November 2017); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

SP x Baby is a manga written and drawn by Maki Enjoji (who also created Happy Marriage?!).  It was serialized in the Japanese shojo manga magazine, Petit Comic, from 2014 to 2015.  VIZ Media published an English-language edition of the manga as a two-volume graphic novel series, entitled SP Baby, from 2017 to 2018 under its “Shojo Beat” imprint.

SP Baby, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) introduces a young woman named Tamaki Hasegawa.  One day, she is on the way to a much-needed job interview when she stops to help a young man whom she believes is being assaulted.  That young man turns out to be Kagetora Sugou, the nephew of the prime minister of Japan.

Kagetora starts to pursue Tamaki to be his bodyguard because he was impressed with the way she handled the assault.  At first, Tamaki is put off by Kagetora's playful, teasing demeanor.  She is determined, however, to get a job so that she can earn money to prove herself as a good worker and to help her younger brother, Taishi, pay for college.  Although she does accept the job, Tamaki does not realize that she and Kagetora have met before...

The SP Baby manga is from one of the reigning queens of shojo romance manga, Maki Enjoji.  She specializes in chronicling the evolution of a romance between people whose personalities clash, as seen in VIZ Media's current Enjoji project, An Incurable Case of Love.

SP Baby Graphic Novel Volume 1 isn't so much a love story as it is a “Me Too” era violation.  Kagetora is a bore and does not respect Tamaki's space.  He acts like a privileged brat, and his actions sometime border on being criminal.  Tamaki is plucky and determined, but if she really had any good sense, she would quit her job as Kagetora's bodyguard.  In fact, if she had trusted her feelings, she would not have taken the job in the first place.

Vol. 2 is going to have to come up with a really good reason for Kagetora's behavior and personality.  It will likely have something to do with the characters' shared pasts.  I do give credit to JN Productions' translation, which really conveys Tamaki's struggles to succeed and her stubborn determination to get what she wants.  And, as usual, I thoroughly enjoyed Enjoji's art and graphic design.

4 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseauxa a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.


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Monday, May 4, 2020

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for May 5, 2020

DC Comics New Comic Books – Tuesday, May 5, 2020:

Batman and the Outsiders #12

DC Super Stars Facsimile Edition #17

The Flash #753

Green Lantern Season 2 #3

Hawkman #23

House of Whispers #20

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #4 (of 9)

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Friday, May 1, 2020

#IReadsYou Review: STAR WARS: Obi-Wan and Anakin #1

OBI-WAN AND ANAKIN No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon. And visit the "Star Wars Central" review page here.]

WRITER: Charles Soule
ART: Marco Checchetto
COLORS: Andres Mossa
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Marco Checchetto
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2016)

Rated “T”

“Part I”

At the end of the the 1999 film, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, newly minted Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi took on, as his student (Padawan), Anakin Skywalker.  The two were together for the ten years between The Phantom Menace and the 2002 film, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

Marvel Comics' latest Star Wars comic book miniseries takes place during that decade.  It is entitled Obi-Wan and Anakin.  It is written by Charles Soule; drawn by Marco Checchetto; colored by Andres Mossa; and lettered by Joe Caramagna.

Obi-Wan and Anakin #1 (“Part 1”) finds Obi-Wan and Anakin on the planet Carnelion IV, located in the farthest reaches of the galaxy.  This world was not part of the Republic, so there was nothing to stop the denizens of that far-reaching planet from destroying themselves.  However, a distress call was broadcast, using “archaic phrasing,” so Obi-Wan and Anakin have been sent to help.  To the extent that it may be needed, however, is Jedi help wanted?  Meanwhile, Anakin's behavior has drawn the interest of a powerful figure, even as that behavior concerns the Jedi Council.

I liked Charles Soule's work on the five-issue miniseries, Lando, and I liked Marco Checchetto art on the four-issue miniseries, Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Shattered Empire.  I am intrigued by Obi-Wan and Anakin, although this first issue is mostly introduction, but the creative team makes me look forward to it.  What gives me hope that this will be an exceptional comic book is the flashback that takes place on Coruscant.  This leads me to believe that Obi-Wan and Anakin will be an important chapter concerning the development of Anakin Skywalker, leading up to Attack of the Clones.

There is not much else to say.  Still, I think that Star Wars fans that read Star Wars novels and comic books should consider Obi-Wan and Anakin a publishing event not to be missed.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.



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Thursday, April 30, 2020

#IReadsYou Review: HELL'S PARADISE: Jigokuraku Volume 1

HELL'S PARADISE: JIGOKURAKU, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Juji Kaku
TRANSLATION: Caleb Cook
LETTERS: Mark McMurray
EDITOR: David Brothers
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1320-2; paperback (March 2020); Rated “M” for “Mature”
216pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 U.K.

Jigokuraku is a manga series written and illustrated by Yuji Kaku.  It has been serialized weekly for free on the Shōnen Jump+ application (app) and website since January 22, 2018.  As of December 2019, Japanese publisher, Shueisha, has collected the series in eight tankobon (graphic novel) volumes.  VIZ Media is publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a graphic novel series, entitled Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, under its “VIZ Signature” imprint.

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 6) opens in Japan during the “Edo period” (1603 to 1868, specifically between 1773 and 1841 for this story).  The ninja, “Gabimaru the Hollow,” is one of the most vicious assassins to come out of the ninja village of Iwagakure.  However, an act of betrayal results in Gabimaru being captured during a mission and handed a death sentence, but no method of execution can kill him due to his superhuman body.

Besides, Gabimaru claims that he does not care if he is facing death because he no longer cares to live.  The executioner, Yamada Asaemon Sagiri, believes that she has discovered that Gabimaru actually feels otherwise.  Lord Tokugawa Nariyoshi, the 11th Shogun, offers Gabimaru and other monstrous killers sentenced to death a chance at a pardon.  They must travel to a strange island, known as “Shinsenkyo,” where they must find “the elixir of life,” which will make the shogun immortal.  Sagiri and others of her clan will accompany these criminals, but on this island, “Heaven” and “Hell” are said to be practically the same thing!

[This volume includes bonus art and “Translation Notes.”]

The Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku manga is an Edo-period, samurai horror-drama.  It's English title, “Hell's Paradise,” aptly fits the series' horror elements.

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku Graphic Novel Volume 1 is one of the best first volumes of a manga tankobon/graphic novel that I have ever read.  The ethereal, illustrative manner in which Yuji Kaku depicts Gabimaru and Sagiri's internal struggles with the relentless killing in which they engage is a series of gruesome, nightmarish tapestries.  It is like taking some of the most shocking art from the legendary EC Comics' horror titles and multiplying it by the power of 10.  Kaku also enthralls the readers with the mysteries of the island of Shinsenkyo, of which he does give us a nasty taste in Vol. 1.

Caleb Cook's translation captures the demented nature of many of the characters that this volume introduces.  At the same time, Cook feeds us tendrils of story to capture our imagination and to draw us ever deeper into the world of Jigokuraku.  Meanwhile, rather than do the tendril-thing, letterer Mark McMurray slashes and smashes us with the glory of bloodletting that Hell's Paradise offers its unwary visitors... And that is a very good thing.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.


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I Reads You Juniors April 2020 - Update #84

Support Leroy on Patreon.

Leroy's Amazon Comics and Graphic Novels Page:

DIAMOND - From Newsarama:  This link reveals a list of comic books titles that publishers (including DC Comics) are going to release through Diamond Comic Distributors for May 20, 2020.

DC COMICS - From Newsarama:  DC Comics shipping for May 19 and May 26, 2020.

COVID-19 AND COMICS:

From BleedingCool:  "Flaming Carrot" creator, Bob Burden, had been hospitalized with COVID-19, but is better now.

From Newsarama:  DC Comics explains why it began distributing its comic books through distributors other than Diamond Comic Distributors during the Diamond-COVID-19 shutdown.

From Newsarama: (4/25) - Diamond Comic Distributors will reportedly resume shipping comic books for the week of Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

From Newsarama: (4/17) -  In the wake of the COVID-19 comic book industry shutdown, DC Comics plans to resume releasing a limited number of print comic books, Tuesday, April 28, 2020, with those comic books also being available in digital editions.

From Newsarama: (4/17) -  Newsarama's Chris Arrant takes a look inside DC Comics' new print distribution plan, which involves two new distributors, "Lunar" and "UCS."

From BleedingCool: (4/17) - Here is a list of comic books that DC Comics will be distributing for the weeks of Tues., April 28th, Tues., May 5th, and Tues., May 12th via Lunar Distribution and USC Comic Distributors.

From Newsarama: (4/17) - Retailer reaction to DC Comics' new distribution model is... mixed.

From BleedingCool: (4/21) - New DC Comics distributor, UCS Comic Distributors, will waive credit card fees and reorder fees for 2 months for comic book retailers ordering from them.

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From Newsarama:  African-American comic book writer-editor and New Yorker, Joseph Illidge ("Heavy Metal"), talks about surviving COVID-19.

From CNN:  Concerns over COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of San Diego Comic-Con International 2020.  This is the first cancellation in the 50-year history of the event.

From Newsarama:  So it is official:  Diamond Comic Distributors has targeted mid to late May 2020 to resume distribution of comic books and other products.

From BleedingCool:  The 2020 installments of BookExpo and BookCon have been cancelled.  Both will return in 2021... hopefully.

From ICv2:  Comic book sales may be cold because of COVID-19, but the graphic novel trade continues via a mix retailers.

From BleedingCoolDiamond Comic Distributors could start distributing comic books to comic book shops sometime around Sunday, May 17th, 2020... unless things change with current lock down orders.

From Newsarama:  Director James Gunn says that COVID-19 issues will not delay his upcoming comic book films.  "The Suicide Squad" is still due August 2021, and he still plans to start filming "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3" later this year.

From BleedingCool:  Post-COVID-19, a group of comic book retailers have come up with a plan to change the way things work in "Direct Market" comic books.

From ComicBook:  Todd McFarlane has said that he is open to a Spawn/Spider-Man/Venom comic book crossover.  Fans have long requested a Spawn/Spider-Man crossover, but McFarlane has long resisted.  He says he would do it now to help the comics industry, in crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Newsarama:  Humanoids publisher Mark Waid announces the company's revised publishing schedule in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Newsarama:  TOKYOPOP announces its adjusted print and digital comics publishing schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Newsarama:  Diamond Comic Distributors announces that it will resume making payments - partial payments - to its vendors which includes comic book publishers.  Last week, Diamond announced that it was withholding payments due to the industry chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From TheDailyBeast:  The site says "The Coronavirus Outbreak Has Plunged the Comics World into Existential Chaos"

From TheObserver:  Big name Marvel and DC Comics artists are auctioning drawings to help comic book retailers hurt by COVID-19.

From Newsarama:  Marvel Comics has announced that it is pausing work and release on one-third of its planned publications for May and June 2020.

From Newsarama:  So ComicHub isn't happening...

From CBR:  New details have emerged regarding ComicHub's role in distributing new comics during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

From TheConversation:  COVID-19 has shutdown the comic book industry.

From Newsarama:  Voice actor Phil LeMarr reprises his role as "Green Lantern/John Stewart" ("Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited") to recite Green Lantern's oath as a gift to fans who will not set him at conventions this summer because of COVID-19.

From Newsarama:  Diamond Comic Distributors warns the comic book industry that it is having cash flow problems.

PENCILS DOWN - Comic book creators use the term "pencils down" to refer to an order from a comics publisher to cease work on a title.  The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the comic book industry practically to a standstill with "pencils down" orders flying fast and furious:

From BleedingCoolMarvel Comics has informed more freelance creators to pause their work on Marvel assignments.

From Newsarama:  Writer-artist Sophie Campbell says that IDW has instructed her to stop producing work on its "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" comic book series "for now," with work stop with issue #105.  TMNT #105 to 107 have been solicited

From Newsarama:  Writer Larry Hama says that IDW has told him to suspend any current writing he is doing on the long-running "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" comic book, which IDW currently publishes.

COVID-19 COMICS IN MEMORIAM:

From Newsarama:  Legendary Argentine comic book writer and artist, Juan Gimenez, died at the age of 76, Wednesday, April 2, 2020.  He is best known for drawing "The Metabarons," for writer Alejandro Jodorowsky.  His other series include "The Fourth Power" and "Leo Roa."  He designed the "Harry Canyon" segment for the animated feature film, "Heavy Metal" (1981).  He had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

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OTHER NEWS:

EUROCOMICS - From BleedingCool:  There is one more "Asterix" graphic novel coming from the original creative team, the late writer Rene Goscinny and the recently deceased artist Albert Uderzo.  "Asterix and the Golden Menhir" arrives on October 21st by Albert René Editions in France and Belgium and by Panini in other territories.

COMICS - From Newsarama:  Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird are returning to their creations, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin."  It is an adaptation of an unpublished story from 1987.

NEWSPAPER COMICS - From TulsaWorldRussell Myers reflects on the 50-year history of his newspaper comic strip, "Broom-Hilda," and its Tulsa Oklahoma roots.

MANGA - From BleedingCool:  Yen Press announces a new manga title, "I'm a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl's Pet."

DC COMICS - From Newsarama:  DC Comics announces new "digital first" comics for Monday, April, 27th.

MARVEL - From Newsarama:  Marvel Comics confirms that it will not publish any new print or digital comic books the week of April 27th, although its rival, DC Comics, will resume publishing new print comic books that week.

BRITISH COMICS - From Newsarama:  The U.K. comics franchise, "Tank Girl," is moving from Titan Publishing to American publisher, Albatross Funnybooks.

NEWSPAPER COMICS - From WashPostSteenz and Bianca Xunise become rare examples of African-American women drawing newspaper comic strips.

COMICS - From NewsaramaTodd McFarlane talks bout the development of his art style.

DC COMICS - From Newsarama:  Does DC Comics' "expansion" of its "digital first" line of comics foreshadow bigger changes.

MANGA TO FILM - From Variety:  Sony is developing a live-action film based on the superhero-monster manga, "One-Punch Man."

SONY MARVEL U - From THR:  The "Venom" sequel has an official title, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," and a new release date, June 25, 2021 (from October 2, 2020).

DC CINEMA - From Variety:  Matt Reeves' film, "The Batman," is among the films that Warner Bros. are giving a release date change.

DC CINEMA - From YahooEntertainmentAlicia Silverstone portrayed "Batgirl" in the much maligned 1997 Batman film, "Batman & Robin."  In an interview, Silverstone says that some of the criticism for the film that was leveled at her involved "body-shaming," including some critics calling her "Fatgirl."

WEBCOMICS - From BleedingCool:  TV actor ("In the Heat of the Night") and writer ("Law and Order: Criminal Intent") and comic book writer ("Solo" and "Mosaic" for Marvel Comics), Geoffrey Thorne, talks to "Bleeding Cool" about his upcoming webcomics.

IMAGE COMICS TV - From DeadlineRodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander's killer of a comic book series, "Killadelphia," is being developed for television.

DC TV - From Variety:  One of the TV series that J.J. Abrams will be producing for HBO Max will be based on DC Comics' "Justice League Dark" franchise.

WEBCOMICS - From Newsarama:  Writer Ed Brubaker and artist Marcos Martin have launched a new digital comic, "Friday," at the site, "Panel Syndicate."

COMICS HISTORY - From ScreenRant:  The site offers a history of the American comic book "Direct Market."

COMIC SHOP - From CoolHunting: A Brooklyn, NY comic shop, Loot, turns children's drawings of superheroes into action figures.

MANGA - From ComicBook:  Junji Ito, the master of horror manga and horror comics, has a new manga and it has an appropriate title - "Disturbing Zone."

MARVEL TV - From Newsarama:  ABC says the "Agents of SHIELD" will return for the beginning of its final season May 27th.

COMICS - From Newsarama:  Jim Starlin has come out of retirement to produce a new entry in his classic creator-owned comic, "Dreadstar," the first in over 30 years.

COMICS - From Newsarama:  Penn State University (Pennsylvania State University) is launching its own comics imprint, "Graphic Mundi"

COMICS TO FILM - From Newsarama:  Comic book publisher BOOM! Studios signs a first-look deal with Netflix.

MARVEL COMICS -  From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics executive president and creative director Joe Quesada is showing artwork that he is drawing for an unannounced Marvel Comics project.

IMAGE COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Image Comics publisher, Eric Stephenson, has registered a trademark for "Pacific Comics PC," based on the old comic book store chain, publisher, and distributor.

ALAN MOORE - From BleedingCool:  Read Alan Moore's original proposal for the "America's Best Comics" line at Wildstorm.

COMICS TO FILM - From Newsarama:  Todd McFarlane says his "Spawn" movies, which he will write and direct, is still on track, despite rumors that the production has lost steam.

IN MEMORIAM - From Deadline:  The cartoonist, caricaturist, and comic book artist, Mort Drucker, has died at the age of 91, Wednesday, March 8, 2020.  Drucker is best known for drawing "Mad Magazine" for over five decades, where he specialized in satirizing films, television series, and their stars, actors, and filmmakers.

DC TV:  From Deadline:  Actor Erik Valdez (formerly of "General Hospital") has been cast as "Kyle Cushing," the husband of classic Superman character, "Lana Lang," in The CW's "Superman & Lois."

COMICS AWARDS - From Newsarama:  The nominees for the 2020 Hugo Awards, the most prestigious awards in science fiction, have been announced.  They have a comics category ("Best Graphic Story or Comic").

COMICS AWARDS - From Newsarama:  The nominees for the 2020 / 16th Annual Doug Wright Awards have been announced.  The Doug Wright Awards recognize English-language Canadian comics, although Canada is a bilingual nation (French and English).  The winners will be announced Sat., May 9, 2020.

FOX MARVEL U - From GamesRadar:  The runtime of "The New Mutants" is reportedly 94 minutes, which if true, would make it the shortest "X-Men" movie.

COMICS TO FILM - From Newsarama:  Netflix has debuted a trailer for "Extraction," a new film by Joe and Anthony Russo, the brothers behind the final two Avengers film.  Starring Chris Hemsworth ("Thor"), "Extraction" is based on the Russos' graphic novel, "Ciudad," which was published by Oni Press.

DC ANIMATION - From Newsarama:  Shazam joins the DC Comics' Lego animation line with "Shazam!: Magic and Monsters."  The film will get an April 28th digital release before a June 16th Blu-ray and DVD release.

DC TV - Deadline:  Actress Emmanuelle Chriqui has been cast "Lana Lang" in The CW's "Superman & Lois" series.

COMICS - From Brattleboro:  Longtime comic book writer, artist, creator, and publisher, Rick Veitch, has been named the state of Vermon's fourth "cartoonist laureate."

MANGA TO ANIME - From ComicBook:  The "Black Clover" anime will produce its first original story line outside of what is being produced for the "Black Clover" manga.

MANGA TO ANIME - From ScreenRant:  The "Bleach" anime enters its final season and will adapt the "Bleach" manga's "Thousand-Year Blood War" story arc.

COMICS TO FILM - From IndieWire:  Quentin Tarantino apparently once wanted to make a move featuring Marvel's "Luke Cage" with Laurence Fishburne in the lead role, but friends talked him out of it...

X-MEN - From BleedingCool:  It seems that once upon a time, almost five decades ago, X-Men artist John Byrne envisioned a different man behind Wolverine's mask.

DC TV - From Deadline:  The actor Dylan Walsh has been cast as "General Lane," the father of "Lois Lane" in The CW's upcoming TV series, "Superman & Lois."

MANGA - From Newsarama:  Kodansha USA Publishing announced that it will maintain release dates on some of its titles, release some in digital format, and change dates for others.  This involves its "Kodansha Comics" and "Vertical" imprints.

COMICS - From ScreenRant:  The auction house, Sotheby's, is selling Ian Levin's collection of every DC Comics published from 1934 to 2014.

DIGITAL COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Action Lab launches "Lucifer's Knight" on comiXology.

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APRIL 2020 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:
From BleedingCool:  Ablaze Media for April 2020
From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for April 2020
From BleedingCool:  Amigo Comics for April 2020
From Newsarama:  Antarctic Press for April 2020
From Newsarama:  Archie Comics for April 2020
From Newsarama:  Dark Horse Comics for April 2020
From Newsarama:  DC Comics for April 2020
From BleedingCool:  Devil's Due for April 2020
From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for April 2020
From Newsarama:  Image Comics for April 2020
From BleedingCool:  Keenspot for April 2020
From Newsarama:  Marvel Comics for April 2020
From Newsarama:  Scout Comics for April 2020
From Newsarama:  Valiant Entertainment for April 2020

MAY 2020 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:
From Newsarama:  A full-list of titles available for "Free Comic Book Day 2020" on May 2, 2020.
From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for May 2020
From Newsarama:  Antarctic Press for May 2020
From Newsarama:  Archie Comics for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Artists, Writers & Artisans for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Aspen for May 2020
From Newsarama:  Behemoth Comics for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Black Mask Studios for May 2020
From Newsarama:  BOOM! Studios for May 2020
From Newsarama:  BOOM! Studios for May 2020 [REVISED]
From Newsarama:  Dark Horse Comics for May 2020
From Newsarama:  DC Comics for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Hero Complex for May 2020
From Newsarama:  Hero Tomorrow for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  IDW Publihsing for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for May 2020
From Newsarama:  Mad Cave Studios for May 2020
From Newsarama:  Marvel Comics for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Red 5 Comics for May 2020
From Newsarama:  Scout Comics for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Source Point Press for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Storm King Productions for May 2020
From Newsarama:  Titan Comics for May 2020
From Newsarama:  Valiant Entertainment for May 2020
From Newsarama:  Vault Comics for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  VIZ Media for May 2020
From BleedingCool:  Yen Press for May 2020

JUNE 2020 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:
From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for June 2020
From Newsarama:  Antarctic Press for June 2020
From Newsarama:  Archie Comics for June 2020
From Newsarama:  BOOM! Studios for June 2020
From Newsarama:  BOOM! Studios for June 2020 [REVISED]
From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for June 2020
From Newsarama:  DC Comics for June 2020
From Newsarama:  Dynamite Entertainment for June 2020
From BleedingCool:  Hero Collector for June 2020
From Newsarama:  IDW Publishing for June 2020
From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for June 2020
From BleedingCool:  Mad Cave for June 2020
From Newsarama:  Marvel Comics for June 2020
From Newsarama:  Oni Press for June 2020
From Newsarama:  Scout Comics for June 2020
From Newsarama:  Source Point Press for June 2020
From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for June 2020
From Newsarama:  Vault Comics for June 2020
From Newsarama:  Valiant Entertainment for June 2020
From BleedingCool:  VIZ Media for June 2020

JULY 2020 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:
From Newsarama:  Behemoth Comics for July 2020
From BleedingCool:  Hero Collector for July 2020
From Newsarama:  Scout Comics for July 2020


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