Spider-Gwen, a younger, female character with the fourth-wall-breaking appeal of Deadpool (since she knows she’s in a comic) version of Spider-Woman (her original name), is one of the characters in the new Marvel Rising franchise. Only there, she’s been renamed “Ghost-Spider”, because “Spider-Gwen” is a silly in-joke. (I’m guessing. I don’t know that Marvel has made a statement why the name change.) Which may be a problem. Marvel has history with the name, effectively reusing it. According to CBR, the […]

This is not new news, but I find it interesting that Marvel Comics is farming out comics for younger readers, using some of their most visible properties, to other publishers. Where DC is creating new imprints to reach this important, fast-growing market, Marvel seems to have decided to stick with the old and familiar, leaving the challenging but high-growth area to others. The latest example — available now for preorder with release in late November — is Spider-Man #1, coming […]

I haven’t talked much about Dead Reckoning, the graphic novel imprint of the Naval Institute Press, because their first four books were a little too military for me. (Usual disclaimer: there are so many things to read these days and so little time!) But Ben Towle (Oyster War, Midnight Sun) has just announced that his next book will come out through that imprint. It’s called Four Fisted Tales: Animals in Combat, and that subject is one I definitely want to […]

As TCJ.com reported, in August, Rape, Sexual Harassment Allegations Prompt Defamation Suit from Small-Press Comics Publisher Cody Pickrodt I’ve never heard of Pickrodt or his imprint Ray Ray Books, but he has picked a method certain to make him notorious. He sued eleven comic creators and a publisher — Whit Taylor, Laura Knetzger, Josh O’Neill, Tom Kaczynski, Hazel Newlevant, Emma Louthan, Ben Passmore, Emi Gennis, Jordan Shiveley, Morgan Pielli, Rob Clough, and Uncivilized Books — for $2.5 million for repeating […]

This weekend at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland, Amazon will be promoting its ComiXology Originals line. These publications are creator-owned comic books and graphic novels that are available to read for free if you belong to Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited, or comiXology Unlimited. The particular promotion involves giving away free print-on-demand copies of Hit Reblog: Comics That Caught Fire. This book, by Megan Kearney, presents the stories behind webcomics that went viral. (I made a small contribution to […]

Markosia, earlier this week, posted the notice that Terry Wiley has passed away. Many American comic readers won’t know of his work, but I loved all of his series I read: the connected Sleaze Castle, Petra Etcetera, and Surreal School Stories and the more recent digital graphic novels VerityFair. That last follows an older actress trying to get work in a world getting progressively weirder, which is the kind of material Wiley excelled at, stories of everyday but distinctive people […]

I am surprised this is coming up so quickly! The Small Press Expo is next weekend in Bethesda, Maryland. Here are key things you need to know: The show runs from 11-7 on Saturday, September 15, and noon-6 on Sunday, September 16, with additional events before and after. That includes the Ignatz Awards Saturday night; here is the list of outstanding nominees. During the day, there are two programming tracks featuring many of the special guests. I’m honored to be […]

The Defenders happens to be the only Marvel series I’ve read absolutely all of. I’m not sure why I picked that one, but it was unusual enough for me to keep going through all the back issues, all 150+ of the original series plus the various short runs since. The oddity of the character team-ups probably had a lot to do with that. Doctor Strange, the Hulk, Namor, the Silver Surfer, and Valkyrie are weird characters on their own; put […]