Comic Books

Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld has cut ties with Marvel after expressing disappointment with his alleged treatment at the premiere of the latest film.

The artist and writer is the brains behind the foul-mouthed anti-hero, and has a working relationship with the comic book publishers lasting more than 30 years.

But he felt sidelined at the New York premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine, the first Deadpool film to be released since Disney acquired Fox, and has opened up about his perceived experience.

According to Liefeld, he felt ignored by Disney bosses, including Marvel Studios head Kevin Fiege, at the July 2024 event and was upset to discover he and his family had not been invited to the premiere afterparty.

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Liefeld, who receives large revenue streams for the character he created in 1991, revealed that, one month before the film’s release, he requested more involvement with the marketing and promotion.

He also wanted a special credit different to the standard one given to comic book creators at the end of the film – noting that his request stemmed from Marvel’s decision to give Roy Thomas a Wolverine co-creator status alongside Len Wein and John Romita, Sr.

He wrote in the email: “Marvel’s treatment of creators has never been their strength. Without the worlds, the characters and the concepts that we create – and in this specific case, the world of Deadpool – there are no films to shoot. No blockbusters to distribute. … I am not the easy button at Staples. I am the human imagination behind it all.”

Liefeld claimed that his response did not get received in the way he was after, tweeting: “My reps were screamed at today ‘We are NOT Fox!’ Tell me about it. Also hung up on.”

I've previously posted a comic here where I asked who signed it. I'd like to know where you guys buy or sell comics? The local shop who sold them to a fair price recently closed down.

I mean, yeah, just because it's Myanmar doesn't mean the person has to be Burmese... but sheesh.

(I'm biased, my daughter in law is Burmese.)

Google translate:

"--AND A SECONDARY ATTACK TEAM AIMING FOR GOTHAM AFTER TWO CONFIRMED SIGHTINGS OF THE CHOSEN ONE. SHE IS BACK WITH THE CANARY IN GOTHAM, WE'RE SURE. THIS IS OUR BEST CHANCE--KRRRRKKKTE"

What a fantastic read, and really wanted to share it with someone. It got on my radar via some 2024 recommendation lists. I went in fully blind, not knowing what to expect.

The book had me hooked since page 1. It is intruiging, well written, and full of twists and turns. The way that Ram V and Dan Watters have woven their story is amazing. Same for the art, really captivating, props to Campbell and Kumar.

If you like thrillers and mysteries, or just want a good read, then please give it a go!

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/23687492

A woman from New Zealand has filed a civil lawsuit against bestselling British author Neil Gaiman and his estranged wife, musician Amanda Palmer, accusing Gaiman of repeatedly sexually assaulting her while she was working as the couple’s babysitter and nanny.

Scarlett Pavlovich filed the lawsuit in federal court in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New York on Monday. Pavlovich previously publicly identified herself in an interview with New York magazine, which published an article in January detailing allegations of assault, abuse and coercion levelled at Gaiman by multiple women.

Pavlovich’s lawsuit also accuses Gaiman of rape, coercion and human trafficking, and Palmer of “procuring and presenting” her to Gaiman “for such abuse”.

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Pavlovich’s lawsuit states that she filed a police report in New Zealand, accusing Gaiman of sexual assault, but she alleges “the police took no action because Palmer refused to talk to them”.

Gaiman has worked with numerous publishers over the years. Two of them, HarperCollins and WW Norton, have said they have no plans to release his books in the future. Others, including Bloomsbury, have so far declined to comment.

Dark Horse Comics announced in January that it would no longer release its illustrated series based on Gaiman’s novel Anansi Boys. The seventh of eight editions was released earlier that month.

A production of Coraline has been cancelled, while Disney has paused a planned adaptation of Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. Netflix is still scheduled to release a second season based on The Sandman, but announced last week it would be the last, in a statement that did not acknowledge the allegations against Gaiman.

New list is up!

Frankenstein New World The Sea Of Forever #1 - Anything Mike Mignola I'm down for

Batman Off-World #6 - Wait this is still running? Ok I'm already down for it.

Sacrificers #14 - This series still rules

Cruel Kingdom #2 - Shit I still haven't read the last one.

Short one for me but that's ok because I had to grab 3 weeks worth at once last week since my shop has had issues with Diamond (I think.) What're you pulling?

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/23650167

Marvel Comics recently told the New York Times that they have "no new books forthcoming" from Neil Gaiman. Gaiman had written a number of comic book series for Marvel over the years, including Eternals and 1602. But most recently, that was just the republication, recreation and continuance of the series he had written for Eclipse Comics back in the nineties, Miracleman, and which had been tied up in legal problems for thirty years. After first republishing Alan Moore's original run, Marvel Comics then published Miracleman The Golden Age by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham, as they had originally created it back then, followed by The Silver Age, which had been partially completed. Only for artist Mark Buckingham to radically redraw the entire arc from scratch, and take over more of the writing duties for its conclusion, to much acclaim. This was then to have been followed by the unpublished The Dark Age. Mark Buckingham would take the creative lead on the project, though based on discussions, deliberation and collaboration with Gaiman. But that seems no longer to be the case. I understand Buckingham ceased work on The Dark Age last summer and asked to be reassigned. He has recently been working on Amazing Spider-Man at Marvel Comics instead.

In his new Substack newsletter, Marvel's X-Men Group Editor, Executive Editor and Senior Vice President Tom Brevoort, when asked by Bleeding Cool regular Ray Cornwall, "What is the status of Miracleman: The Dark Age? Has the script been delivered? If so, is Mark currently working on it?" replied "At the moment, Ray, nothing is going on with THE DARK AGE. If something changes in that regard, I'm sure you'll hear about it." But that seems very unlikely right now.

The decision by the US government to make their tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China kick in this Tuesday means that comic books already printed in Canada and going through shipping processes are about to rocket in price. Not for this Wednesday; the comics have already left Canada for the USA, and plenty of them are already in store. But next week? Those comics, just in time for Valentine's Day, may be the first to get caught up in the new 25% tariffs being imposed by the USA. Remember, comic book stores are not obliged to charge the cover price for their comics, and if they have to pay 25% more, then you will pay 25% more. With Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, IDW, Dynamite, and Boom, most publishers printing their monthly comics in Canada expect a four-dollar comic to be a five-dollar comic overnight. And we can say goodbye to Todd McFarlane's $2.99 Spawn line. Expect that to be the case going forward unless a) savings can be made and b) US printers can be found. The latter are generally more expensive than those in Canada, don't have the comic book experience of Canadian printers, and demand for their services will be going up as well, so their prices will, too… Bad Idea Comics is already feeling the $200,000 pain.

There is now a follow-up: Valiant Comics says the $4.99 comic is over because of tariffs

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/23611563

Autistic comic book fans are being invited to participate in a Cambridge University study looking at how best to support neurodivergent people to enjoy cartoons.

The project, led by academics at Cambridge’s Faculty of Education, aims to develop guidance to help make comic communities as inclusive and accessible as possible for autistic people.

Autistic people who enjoy comics, who are aged 18 and over and in the UK, are being invited to complete an online survey as the first part of the study.

Research by the Comics Cultural Impact Collective (CCIC) indicates that hundreds of young people self-identifying as neurodivergent are involved in Britain’s comics community, either as fans or creators.

It suggests that neurodivergent comic enthusiasts often find spaces like fan conventions, comic book stores, online communities and the comics industry less than welcoming, and frequently feel “siloed”.

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“Comics seem to have massive appeal for a surprising number of autistic people, and many of them are not just fans but enormously talented cartoonists, artists and illustrators,” she said.

“This is something the comics community is increasingly aware of, and there is a lot of enthusiasm for becoming better allies for autistic people.

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The project, called The Collaboration For Comics And Autism, will work with partners including the CCIC and the Lakes International Comic Art Festival.

It will also work with specialist publisher Dekko Comics which supports neurodivergent learners, the Association of Illustrators, the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration and autistic cartoonists Bex Ollerton and Eliza Fricker.

To complete the survey, see: https://cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6F5yYUIr3AQzBky

it appears that Penguin Random House intends to pass on any unpaid debt they have from Diamond to IDW and, possibly, the other publishers as well. Penguin Random House is the biggest creditor for Diamond, to the tune of nine million dollars. And it seems that they may want IDW and the other publishers to make up these losses out of future earnings. Which may explain Marvel's interest. In the audit section of the report, prepared by an independent auditor, it is noted that there is "Substantial Doubt About the Entity's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern," the entity being IDW, and stating;

"the accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 19 to the financial statements, the collectability of certain receivables sold by the Company's distributor are in question and the dollar amount of the receivable in question cannot be estimated at this time and has stated that substantial doubt exists about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern."

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/23567563

The Good Omens Kickstarter was set up to fund the creation of a graphic novel adaptation by Colleen Doran of the Good Omens novel by Sir Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. A remarkably successful crowdfunding scheme, it raised £2,419,973 from 36,867 backers. The Terry Pratchett Estate, which runs the Good Omens Kickstarter, had offered refunds to donors after the original Tortoise Media allegations until last November. However, the estate now says that it "will no longer maintain this freeze in light of new articles and allegations. While we cannot speak further on the subject at present, we have chosen to reopen a short refund window for those who would no longer like to support the graphic novel until Friday, 7th February 2025."

They also state that "It has also been agreed that Neil Gaiman will not receive any proceeds from the graphic novel Kickstarter. Given the project management, production and all communication has always been under the jurisdiction of the Estate on behalf of Good Omens at large, this will not fundamentally change the project itself, however we can confirm the Kickstarter and PledgeManager will now fully be an entity run by, and financially connected to, the Terry Pratchett Estate only."

And for those who still want the book but might want to change the donor rewards, they say, "a number of tiers also come with author merchandise and books; we have been working on a system in the back end to remove or swap out particular rewards from tiers, should you wish to continue with the project, but not receive these specific items" and donors are encouraged to contact the Estate with their wishes. However, they state that those who received cameo appearances in the project cannot have them removed at this stage of the production process.

Writer & Monster Forge founder Shannon Eric Denton (Spider-Man, League of Legends), and artist David Hartman (Phantasm: Ravager, Transformers Prime) team up for an electrifying new adventure in Kraken, a brand-new original graphic novel which publishes in September 2025, from Titan Comics…

Set in alternate 1930s filled with dark magic, ancient horrors, and occult powers, Kraken will captivate fans of historical and supernatural thrillers. The graphic novel has been praised by high-profile talents including Rob Zombie (Halloween, The Devil’s Rejects) who calls Kraken “an insane ripping yarn”, and acclaimed creator Phil Hester (Green Arrow) who says Kraken “packs action, romance, high adventure, horror, and just straight up weirdness into every moment.”.

After disappearing for three years, esteemed adventurer Kraken returns to reality in search of allies to stop an evil sorceress from unleashing a horde of eldritch monsters on the world. Armed with a pistol and supernatural tentacles, the Kraken is loose!

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Artist David Hartman expressed his excitement working on the project, “When Shannon showed me the script for Kraken, I was hooked immediately! It’s a wild blend of pulp adventure, cosmic horror, and action-packed characters—everything I love to draw. This is just the beginning of an epic series we’re creating together, and I can’t wait for you to dive into the first book and everything else we have in store!”

DC started running in-house ads for a re-launch of the Elseworlds line with Greg Smallwood's Barbarian Batman back in August... and... well... Nothin'. Pulled a month before release.

The Elseworlds re-launched with a new Gotham By Gaslight six issue mini instead, a pre-lude to a Gaslight Justice League this year.

But not all is lost, best anyone can say is that Barbarian Batman starts its six issue run this May.

The series featuring Batman beating up aliens in spaaaaaace got off to a good start, but it's been a long time since #5 came out and the final issue hasn't been seen.

It's currently slated for Feb. 5th, but given the delays, it could be pushed out as far as April.

With two new Lex books out this week, it made me stop and go... Wait, what about that other one? When was it? 2023????!

Well... it turns out DC was maybe a little premature getting #1 out the door as #2 and #3 hadn't even entered production yet.

Good news though! Bryan Hitch and Mark Waid have wrapped it up, a 2nd printing of #1 is due for February to refresh everyones memory, hopefully followed by #2 and #3 in March and April!

New list is up! Good one this week.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Last Ronin II Re-Evolution #4 - Need more Turtles For Adults!

Ice Cream Man #43 - This issue is a series of one page horror vignettes by guest authors (all drawn/colored by Morazzo/O'Hallorhan iirc) of course with at least one being by W. Maxwell Prince (I think..), and including one by another favorite of mine, Patton Oswalt! Still one of my favorite comics out right now.

Seasons #1 - A horror story involving anthropomorphic seasons (winter, spring, summer, and autumn)? Ok sure I'll try it. Remender can go both ways for me, couldn't get into Low but love Sacrificers, so I'll at least look at a few issues.

Also add to that everything from last week, since my shop had none of it in stock. Idk what the hell is going on. Well, that's it for me, assuming my shop has any of it in stock.. What're you pulling?

Comic book writer and producer Marc Bernardin has posted on Blue Sky about the future of the comic book adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys. Bernadin adapted the series from Neil Gaiman's original novel, drawn by Shaun Martinborough, and published by Dark Horse Comics. It is one of a number of such titles from the publisher that have adapted some of Neil Gaiman's adult fantasy works, including American Gods and Norse Mythology.

The last page of Anansi Boys #7 advertised a new issue #8 for February, but this will no longer be published. In recent months, Tortoise Media, NY Magazine, and Vulture have reported detailed allegations of abuse by a number of women against Gaiman. Gaiman has denied anything non-consensual.

Bernadin wrote with the accompanying visual from above, "Last week, Anansi Boys 7 hit stands. It will be the last issue. Dark Horse will not release a trade. I am incredibly proud of the work we did on the book. @smartinbrough.bsky.social 's lines were fantastic, @sotocolor.bsky.social 's hues were extraordinary, @david-mack.bsky.social slayed the covers. But all of that pales. Anansi Boys is about two brothers, twins. One is meek, timid, like a flopsy, set-upon puppy. The other brother is narcissistic, hedonistic, governed by nothing other than his own pursuit of sensation and pleasure. They seem so different, but they are very much flip sides of the same coin. Literally. I never gave too much thought about that. Until now. My heart breaks for the survivors and any pain seeing these books on the shelves might have caused."

I wish the Valiant universe rights weren't all over the place, the reboot would make an amazing cinematic universe.

Always wanted to see a black mirror like anthology for Dial H for Hero, and after reading Astro City, it could definitely also be an amazing anthology series. (if it had the budget)

I asked live action specifically, since I genuinely believe any comic could be great animated. (if it had the time and budget lol)

Mike Mignola redefined how comics can be made, what they should look like and what they can be with Hellboy. Now, 30 years on the artist's new shared universe, Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, is set to shake things up all over again.

"It is entirely made of the stuff I love about old stories—myths and folklore," says Mike about the new folklore-inspired fantasy anthology, written by Ben Stenbeck and illustrated with Mike Mignola's trademark bold, minimalist and atmospheric art style.

Published by Dark Horse, Bowling With Corpses will be the first book from Mike Mignola's new Curious Objects imprint, and launches the new Lands Unknown universe. This first book, Bowling With Corpses, features a boy who wins a prize from a corpse king, a pirate girl who strikes a deal with the devil and a vampire girl who, well… you get the idea.

This week's list is up! Sorry I'm a day late lol, I had the day off yesterday so my brain still thinks this is Monday lol. Looks like some good stuff this week!

Toxic Avenger #4 - I really shouldn't like this as much as I do lol.

Black Hammer Spiral City #3 - I like this Black Hammer universe, I need to catch up on the older stuff.

Creepshow Volume 3 #5 - End of the line for the third run, it's been great! Already eagerly anticipating the 4th! Looks like my copy might be coming in next week though, my shop has been having delay issues with Diamond, and it looks like Lunar ships it this week and Diamond the next, so who the hell knows.

Drawing Blood #7 - Behind on this series.

Hyde Street #3 - Really been digging the Hyde St universe (which is distinct from the other THREE Ghost Machine universes.) It's my favorite out of the lot actually, I need to know the details about everything they've been teasing!

w0rldtr33 #12 - Oh shit it's back! Looks like they're going into PH34R's backstory! Let's fucking go.

That's it for me, what're you pulling this week?

Found this at my local comic shop today, Billi 99 was originally a 4 issue book published by Dark Horse Comics in 1991, back when Y2K and 9/11 and the Patriot Act seemed oh, man, so far away!

"Set in 1999, Billi 99 embodies a cautionary tale in which corporate greed and corrupt government affected an America very much like our own today. With that, they posed the question, what is power when everything has been taken away?"

Nominated for 3 Eisner awards, the book is written by Sarah Byam and illustrated by Tim Sale...

Yes, THAT Tim Sale. Spider-Man: Blue, Batman: The Long Halloween, Superman: For All Seasons, Daredevil Yellow Tim Sale.

At that time though, he was relatively unknown, having done a very good graphic novel adaptation of the Thieves World books.

Now with brand new color artwork by José Villarrubia.

Diamond Comics Distributors, one of the biggest companies involved in getting graphic novels into physical retailers for purchase, is filing for bankruptcy and scaling its business back as the industry braces itself for a new wave of economic challenges.

In a letter sent to comics retailers and publishers today, Diamond president Chuck Parker announced that the company has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and plans to sell off its Alliance Game Distributors arm to Universal in order to “protect the most vital aspects of our business.”

“This decision was not made lightly, and I understand that this news may be as difficult to hear as it is for me to share,” Parker explained. “The Diamond leadership team and I have worked tirelessly to avoid this outcome but the financial challenges we face have left us with no other viable option.”

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In recent years, many of Diamond’s bigger name publishing partners have dropped them as the company failed to meet expected delivery deadlines to retailers, which left stores struggling to meet customer demand. Given the tough time Diamond has been having as of late, the announcement that it’s filing for bankruptcy isn’t entirely surprising. It sounds like the company’s leadership very much wants to stay in the comics game as long as possible, but as it stands now, it seems like all Diamond can really do is to staunch the bleeding as much as it can.

New list is up! Some good stuff this week.

Minor Arcana #5 - A woman moves back to her hometown when her mother gets sick, and she has to run the family psychic busines she thinks is bullshit. Only, she discovers there may be much more to it than meets the third eye (pun intended) when she has visions of her own. Written and drawn by Jeff Lemire who did Fishflies, also great.

From The World Of Minor Threats The Brood #2 - Minor Threats seems to be delivering again as usual, these books are good.

Shadow Of The Golden Crane #1 - I don't know anything about it but it looks neat.

Space Ghost #9 - Still following SG but I'm behind on it.

I Hate Fairyland #19 - Gert fucking shit up as usual, plays on my Happy Tree Friends nostalgia and has a better story, what's not to love?

Moon Is Following Us #5 - The fight to get their daughter back seems to grow tougher by the issue, but then if it didn't it wouldn't be much of a comic I guess now would it?

Well looks like that's it for me, what's on your pull lists this week?

2025 is here, and for comic book fans, that means a whole new year of major releases from publishers of all types. And it’s shaping up to be a huge one for the industry. Marvel will soon be launching the One World Under Doom crossover and expanding its massively popular Ultimate Universe line. Not to be outdone, DC will be adding several books to its Absolute Universe line and kicking off the sequel to the iconic Batman: Hush storyline. And there’s plenty to look forward to from smaller publishers as well, including Image Comics’ Bug Wars, Dark Horse’s Bowling With Corpses, and IDW’s Star Trek: Lore War crossover.

They are:

• One World Under Doom
• Batman: Hush 2
• Mike Mignola’s Bowling with Corpses
• The Ultimate Universe Expands
• The Return of Vertigo
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Deadpool/Wolverine
• The Absolute Universe: Wave 2
• Bug Wars
• Star Wars: Legacy of Vader
• New Gods
• You Must Take Part in Revolution
• The Future of Venom and Carnage
• Zatanna
• Star Trek: Lore War
• The Amazing Spider-Man Relaunch
• Invincible: Battle Beast
• More DC Compact Comics
• Death of Copra