Table of contents for Issue 30 in Comic Heroes

Happy new year! I hope you all had suitably festive break and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s glad to see the back of the year of despair that was 2016 (though at the time of writing I’m still living through it – please send help. Was Doctor Who any good?). We’re welcoming in the new year with a massive preview of some of the hottest new comics of 2017. From the most exciting superhero titles to the best creator-owned works, it should give you plenty of ideas for fresh new books to check out (incidentally, as a long time fan of Strangers in Paradise, I’m really digging Terry Moore’s Motor Girl. It’s not on the 2017 list, but is reviewed on page 120). It’s certainly going to…

GOOD GUYS A variant cover of Southern Bastards #16 will benefit charity. Proceeds from the “Don’t Be A Bastard” variant by co-creator Jason Latour will be split between the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU. It’s on sale 11 January. WAR STORIES If Marvel’s constant expansion of the Star Wars universe hasn’t left you satiated, you’ll be pleased to note that the 1979-1984 newspaper strips are being reprinted in complete form for the first time ever in April. IDW will be publishing three volumes of the strip, including each Sunday title header and bonus panels, all beautifully restored. GOLD MINING Another 50th anniversary – enjoy the very first Star Trek comics again in IDW’s Star Trek Gold Key 100-Page Spectacular in February. Rockets on full! VALIANT GAMING Remember the…

BEASTLY IDW’s new Animal Noir is described as “Chinatown meets Animal Farm”, with a giraffe detective, hippo gangsters and street-fighting elephants. STEAMPORN Following the first Chester 5000 graphic novel, the tale of a Victorian woman and her robot lover, Jess Fink returns with Isabelle & George, “another triumphant story of boundary-breaking love, sex and technology” about a lonely orphan and a brilliant inventor. Steamy stuff, coming February from First. WAR BREAKS OUT February also sees Forever War #1 from Titan, an adaptation by artist Marvano of the visionary Hugo and Nebula Award-winning SF tale by Joe Haldeman. CALAMITOUS LIFE Life in the Wild West could be tough. This 368-page graphic novel tells the true story of Martha Jane Cannary, alias Calamity Jane, a professional scout and a drunk, doing whatever…

Comic Heroes: First, what can you tell us about the plot of Peepland ? Gary Phillips: It’s Christmas 1986, Times Square, New York City. This is not the bland, touristy shopping plaza of today. Back then it was known as “The Deuce,” a raunchy, dangerous sleaze-pit lined with porno theaters, peep emporiums and video arcades. Its streets were populated by drug dealers and hustlers, punks and boy hookers and everyday blue-collar New Yorkers just trying to get home to their crummy apartments without being mugged. Roxy Bell, one of the girls who works the booths at Peepland, and her sometime boyfriend Nick Zero find themselves in possession of a video tape, an inadvertent filming of a murder. This crime references an infamous preppy murder case back then…

Comic Heroes: In September, your 2014 web comic Princess Princess was published in physical format by Oni Press. What was it like revisiting this story? Katie O’Neill: It’s been amazing! Since I originally made it two years ago, I had been self-publishing small quantities and taking them to conventions in Australia, America and Canada to sell, so in some ways the story really stayed with me all this time. Being able to talk to people about the comic and hear their reactions kept it close and important to me, so getting the chance to reach a wider audience and touch up some of the art and lettering was an absolute dream. CH: The managing editor at Oni Press said she’d have loved this book as a…

CH: Wicked + Divine is well established as a firm fan favourite now... Back at the beginning, did you think it would ever take off so well? And what can you tease about where the title goes in 2017? KG: This is always a tricky one to answer. Because obviously, we’re not deluded enough to think that it would have been as successful as it has been. We were thinking it’d settle quickly at around 13k sales, which would have been amazing. However, at the same time, we were aware that if any book we did was going to be a genuine hit, it’d be this one. WicDivis our Ziggy Stardust, and clearly aspires to be a huge cult. So that it happened... Well, we’d be disingenuous to claim that…

Comics is an industry where the title “icon” is bestowed all too readily, but the true test is this: you can simply utter their first name and everyone knows who you are talking about. So there’s Stan, Jack, Frank, Alan... and there’s Todd. There is no doubt that Todd McFarlane is a comic book icon. McFarlane’s story is well chronicled. A star athlete in college with a professional sports career ahead of him, the Canadian-born McFarlane abandoned baseball for his first major comics work in the early ’80s, pencilling Infinity, Inc and Detective Comics for DC. McFarlane soon moved to Marvel and The Incredible Hulk, adding his own stamp to iconic characters and turning heads in the process. Developing a trademark “super-exaggerated” art style that caught the mood of the…

2000 ADeditor Matt Smith was determined that next month’s 40th Birthday issue, following barely four months after Prog 2000, would not repeat what had gone before. Showcasing a different line-up of classic characters – with the obvious exception of Judge Dredd – it instead focuses on one-off adventures of Sláine, Ro-Busters, Nikolai Dante, Zombo and Durham Red, all of which echo a specific theme. “Since 40 years is a ruby anniversary, I asked the creators to give their strips a red motif,” Smith explains. “John Wagner chose blood for his Dredd story with Carl Critchlow, while Pat Mills and Simon Davis have gone back to Slaine’s teenage years to show how he joined the Red Branch – the elite caste of warriors of his tribe. Zombo fitted in with the…

That Chris Riddell is Britain’s Children’s Laureate, that his work has captured the childhood imagination, is no surprise: his art is a world unto itself, a lavishly bright and beautiful place rich in magic and detail – a place that any child would want to live in forever. That he also uses the same style – fairytale animals and all – for a weekly political cartoon in The Observer newspaper is possibly a bit more unusual. “I wouldn’t say there’s a difference between them,” Riddell says. “If doing a simple book for under-threes you use bright primary colours and colourful animals doing amusing things. And when you’re working for The Observer, you will draw nice, colourful things and use animals for amusing effect. It’s about how you communicate visually. I…

It’s been a long, strange, crazy trip for Luke Cage, AKA Power Man, AKA Hero For Hire. The world knows Luke Cage now, thanks to the brooding performance of Mike Colter in the title role of the Netflix series, which follows the modern Marvel formula pioneered in the landmark Daredevil, of using the small screen to explore the darker and murkier corners of the Cinematic Universe, while the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy work on a more shiny, global and even cosmic level. But before Colter’s guest appearance in Jessica Jones – another Marvel TV street-level hit – Cage wasn’t ever really one of the Marvel Universe big-hitters, despite being pretty handy with his steel-hard fists. But where did Luke Cage come from? In comic terms, his origin…

Writer: Jim Zub Artists: Djibril Morissette-Phan, K. Michael Russell Publisher: Image Format: Ongoing Reviewed: Issues 1-4 Glitterbomb is a brutal take-down of the fame game, but with added monsters. Farrah is a faded actress and single mother who hasn’t had a good role in years. Following a near-death experience she is possessed by an all-devouring monster and sets out to get revenge on all those who wronged her. It’s a strange mix of cynical drama and creature feature, with expressive art which really comes to life when Farrah is in monster mode. Despite that, it seems less interested in the monster angle than in taking Hollywood to task for screwing over generations of young people who just want to matter in the world. Like Farrah herself, there’s something…

Writer: Rob Davis Artist: Rob Davis Publisher: SelfMadeHero Format: Graphic novel Growing up is hard, and most teens have trouble getting on with their parents. But imagine how Vera Pike feels... Her mother is the Weather Clock – the Prime Minister of Chance, and a spiny, mechanical terror. Her dad, meanwhile, is a fork. Yep, an actual fork. Rob Davis’s sequel to his relentlessly inventive 2014 graphic novel The Motherless Oven returns us to the surreal world of Grave Acre. In case this is your first visit, it’s a place where children construct their own parents, where knives rain from the sky and where everyone knows the date that they will die. And yet, the fascinating thing about Davis’s world is how eerily familiar it is. It’s a wonky mirror…

Writer: Terry Moore Artist: Terry Moore Publisher: Abstract Format: Ongoing Reviewed: Issues 1-2 Terry Moore’s latest has been bubbling away for nigh on a decade. Originally intended as Moore’s next project after Strangers In Paradise ended, he was instead lured onto other books, Echo and Rachel Rising, while Motor Girl ended up – temporarily – on the scrap heap. Which is where we find her. Samantha is a mechanic, working on fixing up broken down cars in a rundown lot in the desert with her pal Mike, who is a gorilla. And then a UFO crashes... The first two issues of this whimsical new series are strong. The SF elements are low key and, very likely, all in Samantha’s head, which adds a dash of melancholy to proceedings. Not…

Writers: Babs Tarr, Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart Artists: Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart Publisher: Image Format: Ongoing Reviewed: Issue 1 In the near(ish) future, the World Grand Prix is the biggest sport in the world. The best racers in history put their lives on the line on two wheels as the world watches. Domino Swift, daughter of a former champion, is an up-and-coming contender. But she has secrets... Team Batgirl are back, this time on a creator-owned project. All the visual wit, exuberance and intelligence that made that run essential is present and correct. If anything, it’s better... The oversized debut issue shows us around Domino’s world at the same speed she races around a track. Unlike her, though, it’s always in control. The characters are expressive, the world’s complex and…

“EVEN IN THE FACE OF THE EVIDENCE, SHE MAKES THE DELIBERATE DECISION THAT SHE CAN AND WILL CHANGE THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER” Move over, Riri Williams, Ironheart isn’t the only new teenage superhero now flying solo in the Marvel universe. After debuting in last year’s Free Comic Book Day issue, new Wasp Nadia Pym is branching off into her own monthly title, and with her intuitive aptitude for technology and troubled background, The Unstoppable Wasp shares much in common with the latest Invincible Iron Man . “Nadia’s strengths both as a hero and a person are her intelligence and optimism, as so often our modern perspective associates science and intelligence,” says writer Jeremy Whitley, who is probably best known for his independent…

“SHE FINDS HERSELF IN THE WASTELANDS, DRIVING TO SURVIVE” Remember the Fighting Fantasy gamebook series of the ’80s and ’90s? Well, one of their most popular entries has been adapted into comics form and will be racing to publication in May. Post-apocalyptic adventure Freeway Fighter is the tale of Bella De La Rosa. “She’s a former racing driver who finds herself in the wastelands, driving to survive,” says writer Andi Ewington (Just Cause 3), who is collaborating on the series with artist Simon Coleby (2000 AD) and original author and Fighting Fantasy co-creator Ian Livingstone. Based on the 13th entry in the series, originally published in 1985, there’s more than a hint of a certain Australian action movie in the story’s DNA... “Mad Max proved there’s an appetite for post-apocalyptic…

Comic Heroes: With your Letter 44 concluding at Oni, was it important for Curse Words to be creator-owned? Charles Soule: Creator-owned and work-for-hire are very different challenges for me. I love them both, as they scratch different itches and use different muscles. I think it would feel pretty weird not to have stories with my own characters and ideas getting out there, and as Letter 44 will come to its planned conclusion in early 2017, I wanted to make sure I had some new creator-owned coming out. And so… Curse Words. CH: Considering its popularity in novels, TV and film, is fantasy an under-rated genre in comics? CS: It’s under-represented in Marvel and DC comics, for sure, but from Saga to…

From monsters laying waste to the Marvel Universe to the Justice League of America taking centre-stage once more; from Judge Dredd and Co. hitting the big 4-0 to the return of Dan Dare; from Paper Girls to Palookaville, by way of Warren Ellis’s return to WildStorm – we’ve put together the essential guide to the year’s biggest, best and most exciting new comics. So sit back and take notes – your pull-list is about to get a lot longer... MARVEL The House of Ideas hits the ground running – or rather stomping – in January with Monsters Unleashed. Classic early-Marvel monsters Fin Fang Foom, Rommbu, and Googam, son of Goom, along with slightly later Kirby creation Devil Dinosaur are among the beasties waging war on the Marvel U. Find out…

CH: You’re writing a KISS series for Dynamite Entertainment... How did that come about? AC: First off, Gene Simmons is a huge comics reader – and that’s really why we have 40 years of KISS comics. He vets everything, which is kind of mindblowing. With so many KISS stories dating back to the ’70s, I had to work really hard to come up with something new. I’m trying to do a story that’s enjoyable for both KISS and non-KISS fans, but ultimately I’m really writing to impress Gene. And no, there is no blood in this comic [KISS famously provided blood samples which were mixed with the ink for the first Marvel Super Special KISS comic]. Everyone keeps asking. They did that in 1977. I’m sure that would never be…

1. Spawn Spider-Man launched Todd McFarlane’s artistic career, but it’s Spawn, the character he created while still in high school, who built his empire. The best selling independent comic book of all time, the title also ranks among the longest running, unbroken, comic book series of all time and remains at the centre of the McFarlane identity and brand. 2. Todd McFarlane’s Spawn: The Animated Series McFarlane teamed up with HBO, the studio behind Game of Thrones, to bring audiences a gritty, adult and hard-edged interpretation of Spawn in animated form. Drawing upon the comic series for inspiration, the series ran to 18 episodes over three seasons and won several awards, including two Emmys. 3. Pearl Jam – Do The Evolution Video Success in animation made Todd McFarlane the go-to…

First started by now regular 2000 AD scribe Arthur Wyatt in 2003 as a vehicle for publishing his Future Shock proposals, FutureQuake has since grown to encompass horror annual Something Wicked, the Strontium Dog centred Dogbreath, and Zarjaz, which draws on all of 2000 AD’s rich, 40-year history. With the likes of Al Ewing, Charlie Adlard, Michael Carroll, Cullen Bunn and Will Sliney having contributed to past issues, it has been an ideal springboard for creators who later go on to work for 2000 AD itself, as well as providing opportunities for already-established writers and artists. “I’m very proud that almost all issues of Zarjaz have had covers by real, working droids such as Colin MacNeil, who did a VCs cover for Zarjaz #5 through to Neil Roberts’ stunning Dredd…

“A WORLD-SPANNING STORY, INTRODUCING MAJOR NEW HEROES AND VILLAINS” Growing up, Cullen Bunn was a dedicated fan of giant monsters. Now the St. Louis based scribe is taking charge of what is perhaps Marvel’s biggest crossover yet, at least in terms of the sheer size of the antagonists... Beginning this month, Monsters Unleashed will see all of Marvel’s heavy hitters, from the Avengers and the X-Men to the Inhumans, Deadpool and beyond, coming together to battle a whole host of the House of Ideas’ most bombastic behemoths. And while the five-issue mini-series promises nothing but “one hundred per cent chaotic fun” for readers, for its author it’s a childhood dream come true. MONSTER MAKER “For anyone who knows me, the appeal of this project is easy to see,” says Bunn.…

Commando for Action and Adventure – to give the line its full title – is arguably British comics’ greatest survivor. Yes, 2000 AD triumphantly published its 2,000th Prog back in September 2016, but this small “digest” comic line – with its distinctive 18x14cm (7x5.5 inch) format, black-and-white interior artwork, single story per issue and overt lack of “free gifts” – will soon see its 5,000th edition on the nation’s newsstands, in an uninterrupted run going back to July 1961. “Commando has a huge wealth of history to draw upon for inspiration, from the Cold War to the Roman Empire, which means there is plenty of opportunity for fresh and exciting stories to be told,” says Kirsten Murray, current editor of Heritage Brands at D.C. Thomson and the first woman to…

Why did you launch Millarworld? I was interviewing Stan Lee for SFXmagazine, and I was being cocky. I said, “Yeah, Stan, I do a lot of the big Marvel books”. He replied, “Yeah, that’s great, kid – but why don’t you write your own stuff?” I hadn’t even considered that; it was a light bulb moment. In the case of Alf Potter, he returned to the comics market in 2013 via e-books. Is that the best way to do it? I think he’s doing the right thing. Get it out digitally, but with a view to doing it in print later, because the digital market has been massively over-played. It’s not as big as people think, but I’m glad it exists. I know a lot of guys like Alf who…

Writer/Artist: Dave McKean Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Format: Graphic novel World War, Dave McKean’s Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash explores the psyche of the war artist through 15 chapters, styled as dreams. Note that “styled as” – because this isn’t a sequence of weightless fantasies. It presents snapshots of Nash’s life, from childhood to his stationing on the front line at Ypres Salient, and then his decline following the war. But it also allows McKean to wend in a disturbing, off-kilter element of surrealism (a Zeppelin over London is rendered as a giant fish) which, while not a pastiche of Nash’s work, is redolent of it. The approach also allows scope for McKean’s diverse illustrative styles, with photographic frontispieces, some sections painted, others in…

Writer: Chris Roberson Artist: Georges Jeanty Colourist: Wes Dzioba Publisher: Dark Horse Format: 6-issue series Reviewed: Issues 1-2 The Serenityverse is an obvious one to explore in comics, and yet Dark Horse have taken their time. While the Buffy and Angel comics have marched ahead with numerous official “seasons”, Serenity has been limited to the odd one-shot and a handful of miniseries. “No Power in the Verse” follows on from 2014’s “Leaves on the Wind” – the first arc to explore the consequences of the Serenity movie. But where that run moved the overall plot on, this is a rather flat continuation. Its biggest problem is a sense of same old, same old. The crew of the Serenity are surviving via their usual means (petty crime) when they cross paths…

Doom Patrol  Writer: Gerard Way Artist: Nick Derington Colourist: Tamra Bonvillain Publisher: DC Shade The Changing Girl  Writer: Cecil Castellucci Artist: Marley Zarcone Colourist: Kelly Fitzpatrick Publisher: DC When Young Animal – DC’s new label, headed up by Gerard Way – was first announced, it met with a certain amount of scepticism. DC had a good 2016, but their adult readers imprint, Vertigo, struggled despite some creatively strong titles. Launching with a new Doom Patrol – a series often associated with ’90s Vertigo’s – made Young Animal look like a confused halfway house between the DCU and its younger sister. Shows what we know, because here are the first two YA books (the other two, Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye and Mother Panic will be…

Writer: Alec Worley Artist: Pye Parr Publisher: Werewolf Press Format: Graphic novel What would happen if film and literature’s most iconic monsters had won a secret war and were now masters of humanity? According to Realm of the Damned we’d end up with an ocean of claret, a fondness for the c-word and copious amounts of male nudity. Oh, and enough black metal references to make even the most hardcore goth break a grim smile. First serialised in The Judge Dredd Megazine, Realm of the Damned is an ultraviolent take on vampires, werewolves and mummies that revels in carnage. And while it’s far from the most original thing you’ll read this year – the plot is essentially Mark Millar’s Wanted, while all those monochromatic panels owe a clear debt to…

Writer: Kwanza Osajyefo Designs: Tim Smith 3 Illustrator: Jamal Igle Publisher: Black Mask Studios Format: Ongoing Reviewed: Issues 1-2 What if the X-Men dropped all pretence and doubled down on their racial allegory? In the world of Black, unarmed black teens are gunned down without remorse by the police. So far, so (grimly) familiar. But where Black splinters off from our world, and indeed the world of many a superhero, is that here, only black people are capable of having superpowers. A comic that imbues black people with super speed, strength and devilish abilities is a ballsy move. And ballsy is something that Black very much wants to be. Throughout the opening two chapters, the creators revel in the knowledge their subject matter is timely. The comics’ front covers…

Writers: Walter Hill, Matz Artist: Jef Publisher: Titan Comics Format: 5-issue series Reviewed: Issues 1-3 Set in the Prohibition Era, Triggerman sees venerable Hollywood screenwriter and director Walter Hill return to the noir-ish territory of his 1996 movie Last Man Standing . In fact, for this comic Hill supplies just the story, with Matz (the nom de plume of writer Alexis Nolent) doing the heavy lifting on the script. It’s a standard-issue tale of professional killers, warring gangsters and alluring femmes fatales. Roy is a triggerman – assassin – who is sprung from jail and sent after three crooks who made off with the proceeds of a heist which they were supposed to split with a mob boss. Their trail leads Roy and…

Writer: Max Millgate Artist: Max Millgate Publisher: IDW Format: 4-issue series Reviewed: Issues 1-4 Eddie Neale had a future as a professional footballer. But, when World War 2 broke out, he gave it all up and joined the RAF. Shot down over Germany, he was taken to Lungotz Luftzig, a POW camp inside an ancient castle. But as Eddie starts to make plans to escape, he realizes that the Nazis are not the only threat... There’s a certain kind of classic pulp action/ horror that demands spooky castles and deserted war-torn countryside. Classic ’80s horror movie The Keep and several aspects of Hellboy touch on this, and it’s difficult ground to reach but great fun if you can get there. This is that kind of story and from the first…

COMIC HEROES: So, how did Comichaus came about? Pete Genepool: I set up a database and marketplace website for print comic books (Comichaus.com) and invited all indie creators to sell their book wares for free to get it up and running. I was introduced to so many talented indie creators and thought it would be a great idea to do the anthology – promoting both the creators and the site at the same time. I met James at MCM London when I bought his City of Lost Souls title. I put the idea to him that we join forces and co-edit an anthology, and everything just snowballed from there. James McCulloch: When Pete approached me about it I had a massive list of people we needed…

Relaunching in February with a special low-price first issue, Vampirella is receiving a radical makeover thanks to the former Knight and Squire team of Paul Cornell and Jimmy Broxton. However, according to Cornell, the latest version of the alien vampire – created by Forrest J. Ackerman and Trina Robbins, first published by Warren in 1969 and licensed by Dynamite Entertainment since 2010 – is not a reimagining. “We’re saying that everything that has happened before is still true,” says Cornell. “Vampirella is one of those characters who has been reinvented too many times, so it’s about time somebody just dug in and put some growth into where she is right now. I actually think reinventing is sometimes rude to the previous creators, so I didn’t want…

“PARENTS THINK IT’S A KIDS’ FILM, BUT IT’S TERRIFYING” The sequel to fantasy classic The Dark Crystal has been a long time coming and when it does finally arrive, in February, it’s not going to be on cinema screens. Instead, The Power Of The Dark Crystal will be a 12-issue series, adapted from the screenplay of the aborted film and published by Boom! Studios. “I first saw The Dark Crystal when I was about 12 years old, and like a lot of people, all I remember is this sensation of horror,” says Cry Havoc creator Si Spurrier, who is scripting the series. “My parents bought it for me because they thought it was a kids’ film but actually it’s rather terrifying. So…

“I believe politics is something that comics does better than any other medium” ABOUT LEAH Leah Moore is a writer of comics, prose and journalism, as well as the co-founder of the revolutionary Electricomics. She has written for Albion, Wild Girls, Tom Strong and more. Follow her on Twitter at @leahmoore. On Monday 28th of November, Marty Baron, Executive Editor of the Washington Post, was awarded the Hitchens Prize “for commitment to free expression, a depth of intellect, and an unwavering pursuit of the truth”. In acceptance, he said that Donald Trump barred newspapers from his press conferences, issued personal threats on journalists and demonised The Press. He stated that in the face of that hatred, journalists should keep doing their job, because “Holding the most powerful to account is…

Comic Heroes: You recently wrapped up your run with artist Joe Quinones on Howard the Duck , so was taking on Star-Lord next an easy decision? Chip Zdarsky: It was pretty straightforward! The editor at the time, Jake Thomas, floated the idea by me, and I thought it made so much sense, especially after dealing with “an outcast on Earth” with Howard the Duck while also incorporating cosmic stuff. Star-Lord felt like the next logical step with the aftermath of Civil War 2 having him trapped on Earth for a bit. He’s like a handsome Howard! CH: What do you like most about Peter Quill as a character? CZ: He’s got the air of a normal guy caught up in this crazy life, but he’s…

Comic Heroes: What attracted you to the story of Brian Epstein? Vivek Tiwary: I was in business school, the year was 1991 and I was dreaming about a life in the arts and entertainments industries, that was my passion... And being a big Beatles fan I believed that the Beatles and their management team wrote and then re-wrote the rules of the pop music business. So I thought I should study the life of Brian Epstein... However, what I also uncovered as I was doing this research was the human side of his story. He was gay at a time when it was a felony, Jewish at a time of great anti-Semitism, and from Liverpool at a time where Liverpool was considered a dirty port town in the north... so…

CH: So, Black Bolt... How does it feel to be taking on one of the veteran characters of the Marvel Universe? SA: It’s thrilling, because Black Bolt is of an age with the most celebrated Marvel heroes – born in the same era as Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, etc. He comes directly from Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. But the Inhumans have never been as famous. They’ve always been in this sort of weird cult corner of the Marvel Universe. So Black Bolt has a long history but little of the baggage of fame, as it were. Makes for a great sandbox. CH: Are you a big comics fan? SA: I only follow a few titles these days, but yes. Comics – and Marvel comics in particular – were my…

Ever since the introduction of the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man in the early 1960s, Marvel Comics has always tried to reflect the society we live in. Now, following Jane Foster’s Thor and Amadeus Cho’s Totally Awesome Hulk, there’s a new Armoured Avenger. After first appearing in May 2016 in the previous run of Invincible Iron Man, African-American teenager Riri Williams has taken on the mantle of Iron Man. “One of my goals with Iron Man was to give him more of a supporting cast,” says Brian Michael Bendis, who has written for the character since October 2015. “For his stature in comics, Tony has a surprisingly tight-knit group of characters around him, especially if you compare him or Batman or Spider-Man. I wanted to add some new flavours and ideas…

The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic turns 40 this year. Stephen Jewell and Will Salmon celebrate 40 moments, characters and series we’ve loved from over 2,000 Progs... SLÁINE: THE HORNED GOD 2000 AD’s longest-running fantasy saga was created in 1983 by the original Tharg, Pat Mills. It reached its apotheosis, however, in 1989 and this story. After his pen-and-ink work on ABC Warriors’ “The Black Hole,” Simon Bisley’s fully-painted art on “The Horned God” represented a massive sea change on 2000 AD. With the collected edition becoming one of 2000 AD’s best selling graphic novels ever, Sláine even challenged Judge Dredd’s popularity. And with Bisley inspiring a whole new generation of artists to pick up their brushes, “The Horned God” was instrumental in the comic going full colour throughout. THE ABC WARRIORS…

For a super-powered survivor of the planet Krypton, Supergirl sure has been badly treated in the nearly six decades since she was introduced. Killed off twice, revamped and rebooted within an inch of her meta-human life as editorial policy decided she wasn’t Kryptonian after all, then oh yes she was, then no she wasn’t again... It feels like nobody’s really ever known what to do with her. Thank Rao, then, for Steve Orlando. The New York based writer is in the midst of Rebirthing the entire Justice League line for DC, but he has a special place in his heart for Kara Zor-El, who debuted in her own Rebirth title in the second half of 2016. Finally we’re getting the Supergirl we deserve. But before we hear from Steve, just…

FIN FANG FOOM Possibly the most ubiquitous of Monsters Unleashed’s gruesome baddies, Fin Fang Foom was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Strange Tales #89. Boasting dragon-like appearance and abilities, the extraterrestrial villain initially locked horns with It, The Living Colossus. He was integrated into Marvel continuity in the 1970s and has since regularly come up against the likes of Thor, Iron Man and Next Wave, and after rehabilitation even headed up his own team, the Fin Fang Four. GOOM AND GOOGAM Dubbed “The Thing from Planet X,” literally bigheaded alien Goom actually predates Fin Fang Foom, having made his bow in March 1961’s Tales of Suspense #15. Also the handiwork of Lee and Kirby, with inker Dick Ayers, Goom – and his son Googam…

Hermann Huppen is one of Belgium’s greatest contemporary creators of realistic adventure comics across a wide range of genres. In the ’60s, his gutsy illustration helped to re-energise the weekly Tintin magazine, where he drew Michel Greg’s serials about the seafaring action-man Bernard Prince and the feisty heiress to Ranch 666, known only as Comanche. Hermann then went solo and has not looked back, writing his own stories, most famously the post-apocalyptic epic Jeremiah. Now 78, with a career of over 50 years, Hermann shows no signs of slowing down. As well as continuing to write and draw Jeremiah, he has taken to working in dazzling watercolours and creating a string of hugely diverse one-shot albums and short series, many written by Yves H., pen-name of his son. Hermann never…

“DC REBIRTH HAS PUT DICK GRAYSON BACK WHERE HE BELONGS” DC’s Rebirth project is so good, even the second-tier characters’ titles are must-buys. They might not lead current movie franchises, but it’s surely only a matter of time. One supporting hero currently scheduled for a movie will need to do better than last time. Let’s face it, Green Lantern is hardly anyone’s favourite DC star. Don’t get us wrong, the GL titles contain an extraordinarily complex universe – which, ironically, might be the reason no-one’s created an iconic cinematic adaptation of the character yet: it’s ridiculously tricky to get right. But any future screenwriters would be wise to pick up and study Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, which suggests the character may be best served on TV. One…

Writer/Artist: Box Brown Publisher: First Second Format: Graphic novel If you grew up with videogames, there’s a chance you’ve been addicted to Tetris . And “addicted” isn’t intended as cute hyperbole. This is frustration, longing, challenge and success all wrapped up in a little game about lining up multicoloured blocks. But while Tetris is weirdly thrilling to play, is it really that interesting to read about? The answer is yes, because despite its titular blocky characters, this is a very human story. Tetris wasn’t created by a gluttonous, profit-hungry conglomerate but by a young Russian scientist, Alexey Pajitnov, as part of a messy, halfhearted bedroom project. It’s fascinating to watch the game slowly take over the world city by city, and hilarious to see so many companies…

Writer: Ian Edginton Artist: D’Israeli Publisher: Rebellion Format: Trade paperback The War Of The Worlds continues to exert a fascination and maintain relevance well over a century after its first publication. The 2005 Spielberg/ Cruise movie was a surprisingly faithful updated retelling of the tale, right down to its exquisitely bathetic dénouement, while esteemed SF author Stephen Baxter has just produced The Massacre Of Mankind, a sequel to the original book. Then, of course, there’s the cheesily perennial Jeff Wayne album and stage musical. For our money, though, this comics version of the material is hard to beat. Collected here in a single volume are the first two instalments of the series, beginning with an adaptation of Wells’s novel. It’s a masterclass in how to do this sort…

Writers: Warren Ellis Artists: Phil Hester Colourist: Mark Englert Publisher: AfterShock Comics Format: 6-issue miniseries Warren Ellis and Phil Hester reunite for this new six-issue mystery series from AfterShock. It’s the first time they’ve worked together since 2002’s short “The Operation” for Oni Press and they make a formidable duo, Ellis’s high-concept ideas and Hester’s stylised artwork working together perfectly. After surviving a shipwreck (an event that’s rendered in a series of surreal, dialogue-free pages), Dr. Jonathan Shipwright finds himself on a seemingly endless road in pursuit of a saboteur. As Shipwright travels through this puzzling world, he meets a string of characters who gradually reveal a little more about the path he’s found himself trapped on. They introduce him to grisly ritualistic customs and engage him in cryptic conversations,…

Writer: Frank J. Barbiere Artist: Victor Santos Publisher: Image Format: Ongoing Reviewed: Issues 1-2 Love, in its sweetest guise, has inspired the most romantic works of art, but the best artists understand that it’s often neither sweet nor gentle. Instead, it can hit with hurricane force, leaving its victims bruised and bloodied. This series taps into that dichotomy. Dubbed a criminal romance, it follows two bank robbers in the American southwest during the 1970s, who, as the narrator says, “shared a violent love that damn near consumed everything in its wake”. It’s cinematic in scope, and movie buffs will immediately frame it against films such as Bonnie and Clyde and Badlands. Like these films, Violent Love conjures a stylised vision of America as a land of diners, motels and mechanics’…

Writer: Si Spurrier Artist: Conor Boyle Colourist: Giulia Brusco Publisher: Titan Format: Ongoing Reviewed: Issue 1 The notoriously violent shark attack comic returns in style, thanks to Spurrier and Boyle. A team of scientists are studying the behaviour of some Great Whites in Somalian waters when they’re boarded by pirates. Just as the situation appears to be resolving peacefully, a squad of Navy SEALs show up and complicate matters. But their problems are only just beginning. There’s another shark in the water –and it’s very, very hungry... The first issue crams a lot in, but has an impressive sense of rising tension, as well as some good gags. Shout out, meanwhile, to Giulia Brusco, whose nautical colours elevate Boyle’s already excellent art, making a truly handsome book.…

Writer: Kieron Gillen Artist: Kev Walker Publisher: Marvel Format: Ongoing Reviewed: Issue 1 Robot expert and archaeologist Aphra was one of the stars of Gillen’s Darth Vader series. Now, with a certain degree of inevitability, here comes her solo book. Gillen sets out Aphra’s stall from the off – she’s after a priceless artefact, and is willing to off anyone who gets in her way, like a murderous Indiana Jones. Meanwhile, she’s also in debt to a lot of very bad people, and if Vader finds out that she’s still alive... This is a fast-paced, funny first issue, less reverent than the Vader and Star Wars books. Aphra can, occasionally, come across as a glib cypher, but the sort-of-cliffhanger looks set to open up some of…

THE RADICALLY ORDINARY ADVENTURES OF MR. TEACHER AND PANDA Story by Michael Saver and Andrew Bratica Art by Various mrteacherandpanda.com The everyday shenanigans of a pair of unexplained (and inexplicable) friends, Mr. Teacher and Panda pairs a volatile human on the constant verge of exasperation with a black-eyed bamboo-muncher to legitimately hilarious effect. Struggling through life with the bemused, detached air of Gen X slackers, the hapless characters approach the mundane minutiae of existence in a state of permanent bewilderment. Whether they’re skydiving, visiting the doctor’s surgery or simply shopping for groceries, there’s always a calamitous climax or wry chuckle to be gleaned from their antics. In addition, simply seeing how each different artist tackles the titular odd couple adds another layer of joy to the book. A collection of…

COMIC HEROES: Tell us about how London Horror Comic began. John-Paul Kamath: In 2003-2006 I was writing for a US horror comic. It was my first professional gig and you learn quickest when you see your work in print. I decided to self-publish when a story I submitted was rejected. I thought the story had merit and so got an artist friend to draw it. I stuck it up as a free PDF on the website and sent the link to a few people, including Hellblazer scribe Jamie Delano, who said some nice things about it. This kind of direct validation from readers and people I admired convinced me writing in my own way could provoke the right responses. In 2006, I began publishing London Horror Comic as a monthly…

THE FIRST COMIC I EVER READ I’m from a small town – actually, I’m not even from a small town, I’m from a tiny farm in the boonies, and it was a long bus ride even to get to school every day. So books were my thing, they were my road out. But I loved comics from the first moment I encountered them. My very first love and first exposure to comics was the Sunday comics page in the Eugene Register Guard newspaper. I would read and reread those for hours. The first actual comic I read that hit me like lightning was an issue of JLA picked up at a garage sale. It was a continued story and I went a little mad trying to find out what happened…