NEWS

• Dan Slott’s Fantastic Four retcon generates considerable poor reactions, public comments
• Robert Kirkman releases original Walking Dead pitch and proposal
• Chris Claremont does Reddit AMA, tells Magik superfan that their tattoo is weird and that the character is fundamentally evil
• Marvel Solicits are in for Feb 2021
  • Marvel’s Voices: Legacy #1 coming in February
  • Avengers Mech coming too
  • Black Panther returns in February
• Marvel unlists W.E.B of Spider-Man
• Black Hammer: Visions coming Feb 2021
• Dark Horse launching Fear Case Feb 2021
• Marvel Entertainment launching podcasts exclusive to SiriusXM today through 2021
• Image Comics to launch new superhero series ‘Radiant Black’ February 2021

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Frank: At Home On The Farm #1 (W: Jordan Thomas, A: Clark Bint)

Forrest:

1. Venom: Planet of the Symbiotes (1995, David Micheline)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: The Other History Of The DC Universe #1 (W: John Ridley, A: Andrea Cucchi Giuseppe Camuncoli)
• Forrest: Department of Truth #3 (W: Tynion IV, A: Martin Simmonds)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Department of Truth #3 (Trevor Henderson)
• Forrest: The Witcher: Fading Memories #1 (Evan Cagle, Jeremy Wilson)

Segment: Interview: Steve Orlando talks his new series The Pull from TKO Studios.

It was a big week for AIPT, as we’ve started a Patreon to help support and our writers! We have grown quite a bit over the years, but we are still privately owned with no financial investors. Patreon allows us to not only let you, the AIPT fan get in on the action, but also help us generate bigger and better articles. 

Visit our Patreon page to see the various tiers you can sign up for today to get in on the ground floor of AIPT Patreon. We hope to see you chatting with us in our Discord soon!

NEWS

• DC Comics lays off more off staff (short)
• DC Comics announces Marie Javins promoted to Editor in Chief
• IDW looking for new managing editor
• Truth & Justice launching digital-first anthology series in January
• Savage Dragon #253 getting congratulations Joe Biden/Harris cover
• Geiger coming in April 2021
• X-Men Legends coming this February
• Welcome back Wolverine!
• New sonic and visual graphic novel experience called Superstate
• Hollow Heart on the way from Vault in Feb 2021
• Kickstarters have pulled in 22 million in 2020

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Detective Comics #1030, (W: Peter J. Tomasi, A: Bilquis Evely)
2. Excalibur #14 (W: Tini Howard, A: Phil Noto)

Forrest:

1. Warhammer 40k: Marneus Calgar #2 (W: Kieron Gillen, A: Jacen Burrows)
2. Power Rangers #1 (W: Ryan Parrott, A: Francesco Mortarino)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Barbalien: Red Planet #1 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Gabriel Hernández Walta)
• Forrest: Bang Volume 1 (W: Matt Kindt, A: Wilfredo Torres)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: X-Force #14 (Variant by Juan Ferreyra)
• Forrest: Marvel’s Voices 1 (Reprint) (Khary Randolph)

Segment: Interview - Frank Gogol talks  Dead End Kids: Suburban Job #1 which is out January 27, 2021 with artist Nenad Cvitcanin.

Off Topic Top Shelf: Gogol picks the new Miles Morales video game which he plays on PS4.

NEWS

1. Marvel Comics publisher John Nee reportedly let go
2. Scout Comics announces ‘Henchgirl’ set for live-action TV series
3. X-Men Senior Editor Jordan D. White hints 2004 comic ‘District X’ and Mr. M tie into ‘X of Swords’
4. Marvel announcing King in Black tie-in one-shots this week (Wiccan&Hulking, Cap)
5. Newsarama has a scoop on Future State
   1. And more
6. Art thief steals from John Buscema’s daughter Dianne Buscema-Gerogianis

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave: 

1. Marauders #14 (W: Gerry Duggan, A: Stefano Caselli)
2. The Dreaming: Waking Hours #4 (W: G. Willow Wilson, A: Nick Robles)

Forrest:

1. That Texas Blood #5 (W: Chris Condon, A: Jacob Phillips)
2. Wolverine: Black, White, Blood #1 (Various)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: American Vampire: 1976 #2 (W: Scott Snyder, A: Rafael Albuquerque)
• Forrest: Warhammer 40k: Marneus Calgar 2 (W: Gillen, A: Jacen Burrows)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: The Amazing Spider-Man #52 (Veregge Spider-Man Cover)
• Forrest: Warhammer 40k: Marneus Calgar #2 (James Stokoe)

Segment: Interview - Ryan Parrot who is writing Mighty Morphin (Out this week) and Power Rangers (out next week!)

Off Topic Top Shelf: Dead by Daylight - Slow cooker meals

NEWS

• Two Black former DC Comics editors describe the career obstacles they faced. AIPT had a feature on this subject
• ‘Magic Tree House’ series to be adapted into graphic novels starting May 2021
• Marvel unveils new Chris Claremont bundle
• Marvel drops King in Black trailer
• Mercy getting a graphic novel spin-off
• Snow Angels for 2021
• Wynd returning in May 2021
• Shadowman for April 2021
• Image Comics reveals ‘The Strange Talent of Luther Strode’ getting feature film
• New Sales Data Reveals How COVID-19 Impacted The Comics Industry

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave: 

1. Colonel Weird: Cosmagog #1 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tyler Crook)
2. The Department of Truth #2 (W: James Tynion IV, A: Martin Simmonds)

Forrest:

1. The Department of Truth #2 (W: James Tynion IV, A: Martin Simmonds)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Origins (W: Clay McLeod Chapman, A: Jakub Rebelka)
• Forrest: Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken Vol 1 (Sumito Oowara)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Crossover #1 (Dave Stewart & Geoff Shaw)
• Forrest: Wolverine: Black, White, Blood #1 (Adam Kubert)

Segment: Interview - Tim Seeley on Bloodshot, the Nov 18th release of BLOODSHOT BOOK THREE TPB, Hack/Slash, and more.

Off Topic Top Shelf: Sergio Leon Westerns

NEWS

• Marvel Solicitations!
  • Immortal Hulk: Flatline is here
  • Alien variants
  • Star Wars High Republic
  • Non-Stop Spidey and W.E.B expand the line
  • Ms. Marvel ending in January
• Brett Booth returns to X-Men comics with some controversy 
• Razorblades #2 drops, gets subscription options
• Marvel Unlimited titles now available 3 months after print
• DC ships solely through Lunar, requires $500 monthly minimum order
  • DC and shipping news
• Seven to Eternity ending with last arc
• Invisible Kingdom’s final arc coming in May
• Surprise! Runaways returns next week
• Adobe’s ComicBlast promises to “disrupt” how comics are created, seems generally evil

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave: 

1. X-Men #13 (W: Jonathan Hickman, A: Mahmud A. Asrar)
2. Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy #5 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic)

Forrest:

1. X-Men #13 (W: Hickman, A: Asrar)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Giga #1 (W: Alex Paknadel, A: John Lê)
• Forrest: The Department of Truth #2 (W: Tynion, A: Simmonds)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Amazing Spider-Man #51 (Patrick Gleason Colors: Delgado)
• Forrest: Spider-Man Noir #5 (Dave Rapoza)

Segment: Our top 3 Horror comics for Halloween of all time?

Forrest: Retro Alien comics, Harrow County, Saga of the Swamp Thing

Dave: The Dark & Bloody, PTSD Radio, Plunge

Off Topic Top Shelf: Forrest - Minecraft

NEWS

• DC Future State revealed
• King in Black reveals:
  • Spurrier joins King in Back!
  • Planet of the Symbiotes revealed
  • Gwenom vs. Carnage coming
  • Thunderbolts by Rosenberg and MORE!
• Kodansha Comics releasing chapters same day as in Japan to American audiences
• W. Maxwell Prince coming at us with Haha in January 2021
• Dark Horse announces ‘Crimson Flower’ #1 for January 20, 2021
• Crossover Is The Biggest Image Comics Launch Since Danger Girl
• Stormbreakers variants on the way
• You can preorder TKO’s 3rd wave...now!

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. The Magic Fish (Trung Le Nguyen)
2. Swamp Thing: Twin Branches (W: Maggie Stiefvater, A: Morgan Beem)

Forrest:

1. Hellions #5 (W: Zeb Wells, A: Carmen Carnero)
2. Warhammer 40k: Marneus Calgar #1 (W: Gillen, A: Jacen Burrows)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Catwoman #26 (W: Ram V, A: Fernando Blanco)
• Forrest: Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy #5 (W: Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Spider-Woman #5 (Skottie Young)
• Forrest: Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy #5 (Zonjic)

Off Topic Top Shelf: Forrest - Danhausen

NEWS

• The Department of Truth #1 sells out past 100K
  • James Tynion IV writing Batman into 2021 with 22-page story bible approved
• Marvel Comics launches Marvel’s Stormbreakers artist program
• CNN anchor Jake Tapper urges followers to vote via comic book art
• Harvey Award winners announced early
• Neverlanders with Tom Taylor and Jon Sommariva coming from Random House
• Ottley departs Amazing Spider-Man for “other projects”, Bagley joins
• Eternals postponed to 2021
• Hulu will create commercials for Marvel Comics to air with MODOK

1. HBO Max is giving us Green Lantern!

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. American Vampire 1976 #1 (W: Scott Snyder, A: Rafael Albuquerque)
2. Marauders #13 (W: Vita Ayala, A: Matteo Lolli)

Forrest:

1. Cyberpunk 2077: Trauma Team #2 (W: Bunn, A: Miguel Valderrama)
2. The Rise of Ultraman  #2 (W: Kyle Higgins, Matt Groom, A: Francesco Manna)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Commanders in Crisis #1 (W: Steve Orlando, A: David Tinto)
• Forrest: Warhammer 40k: Marneus Calgar #1 (W: Gillen, A: Jacen Burrows)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Captain America #24 (Alex Ross)
• Forrest: Hellions #5 (Pichelli)

Segment: X-O Manowar interview: Dennis Hopeless - issue #2 drops X arrives on November 25, 2020. Issue #1 was out on March 25th.

1. First and foremost, how are you holding up during the pandemic?
2. Can you tell us a little bit about your history with X-O Manowar? What previous arc or creator’s run is your favorite? Have you had a pitch in mind for the property for a while or did it all fall together when you got in touch with Valiant?
3. Manowar has a storied history with various origins, backgrounds, reboots, etc. but it’s also been going long that it seems like reverence for the book and character’s history is important. How do you approach reconciling the two?
4. How does working with Valiant differ from working with other publishers like Marvel? Do you notice your creative process change much?
5. We’re going to leave this one a little open to interpretation, but what do you think is the one thing every X-O Manowar run must do? 
6. The pandemic was unprecedented for a variety of reasons we won’t get into, but it also delayed your book. Did the delay affect X-O Manowar in any way or the process of development? Is it a little weird to have such a large gap between issue releases?
7. You’ve done a great job with the banter between Aric and the suit, can you talk a little bit about how you make it so natural and alive?
8. Having a look at issue #2, it appears we’re going a bit off the normal path for superheroes and how they resolve issues. Can you talk a little bit about how your approach to X-0 Manowar is different than the usual solo-superhero?
9. Going off the X-O Manowar Wikipedia page, can we go through checklist style to see what powers we might see in your first arc?
10. Assuming Bloodshot, one of the only movies this year eligible for an Academy Award, spins into a cinematic universe, who would you cast to play Manowar?
11. Since you’re appearing on the @NY_Comic_Con's Metaverse Valiant Voice panel on Sunday, and this show goes up Sunday...is there anything you want to talk about that may be revealed as this show goes live?

Off Topic Top Shelf - British Bakeoff, Breaking Bad rewatch

NEWS

• Kickstarter The Trap on the way
• Bad Idea resets for 2021 with five new series
• Humanoids’ ‘Space Bastards’ arrives this January from ‘The Boys’ artist
• Batman Unburied coming 2021
• Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum sequel is permanently delayed
• Marvel’s 616 gets a trailer
• X of Swords: Stasis trailer
• Marvel adds to the Boseman tribute
  • Todd McFarlane joins in
• Marvel has not solicited Coates’ final Black Panther issues
• Diamond releases sales chart - Comicchron merges the data
• King in Black...temporary tattoos!

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. The Department of Truth #1 (W: James Tynion IV, A: Martin Simmonds)
2. Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Mike del Mundo)

Forrest:

1. That Texas Blood #4 (W: Chris Condon, A: Jacob Phillips)
2. The Department of Truth #1 (W: James Tynion IV, A: Martin Simmonds)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Legend of the Swamp Thing Halloween Spectacular #1 (Various)
• Forrest: Spider-Man: Road to Venom (Various)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Amazing Spider-Man #49 (Mark Brooks Variant)
• Forrest: Spider-Man Marvels Snapshot #1 (Alex Ross)

Segment: Alienated exit-interview: Si Spurrier and Chris Wildgoose talk about the finish of the series

1. Congratulations on Alienated wrapping up! Way back on February 16th we ran an interview with you guys to talk the series as it launched. Now that it’s wrapped up, how do you feel about the final product? Was there any themes or takeaways you were hoping for readers to grasp onto?
2. Do you keep up on comics reviews and reader feedback on social media? Were you generally happy with the way Alienated was received?
3. Does the version of Alienated that readers got deviate much from the original pitch and scripts? If so, in what ways?
4. The pandemic was unprecedented for a variety of reasons we won’t get into, but it also delayed your book. Did the delay affect Alienated in any way or the process of development? 
5. Were there any elements of Alienated you developed kind of subconsciously, things you can look back on and say “I’m glad we did that even if we didn’t plan it” or “Wow I didn’t realize I was writing that at the time”?
6. Even though Chip went through horrible experiences, and he’s probably better off now, I already miss the character. If there was a second season for Alienated, where might you take Chip?
7. What elements of this book do you think will carry into your future work?
8. For me, there was dark horror to this work in part because I could see how people on social media and in real life act a certain way as characters do in this work. Do you see this work as a horror story?
9. How do you approach making tragedy a central element of a story without making it overwhelming or unbearable for the reader?
10. With Alienated over, can we expect another collaboration between you to soon? What’s next for you both in the comics realm?

NEWS

• Raised by Wolves...the comic, does this mean more HBO Max/DC crossovers?
• S.W.O.R.D. #1 announced!
• Dan Didio teaching a course at The Kubert School
• Archie Comics now available on ComiXology Unlimited day of release
• Marvel to host 4 panels at NYCC
• Mad Cave Studios launching Maverick a YA graphic novel imprint
• TKO Studios wave 3 coming November
• Savage Dragon for Biden/Harris

Segment - X of Swords Recap and Analysis!

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. X Of Swords: Creation #1 (W: Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, A: Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia)
2. Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy #4 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic)

Forrest:

1. X Of Swords: Creation #1 (W: Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, A: Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: The Department of Truth #1 (W: James Tynion IV, A: Martin Simmonds)
• Forrest: That Texas Blood #4 (W: Chris Condon, A: Jacob Phillips)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Wonder Woman 1984 #1 (Robin Eisenberg)
• Forrest: X-Ray Robot #2 (David Rubin)

Off Topic Top Shelf - David: The Boys - Amazon

NEWS

• Babs Tarr and Mariko Tamaki team up for Overwatch comic at Dark Horse
• Marvel Comics Solicitations December 2020 
  • New Mutants #14 gets new creative team: Vita Ayala and Rod Reis
  • Wolverine turns 350!
  • Phoenix Force baby!
• Mark Waid returns to DC in December
• Chadwick Boseman to be honored with cover tribute
• Undone By Blood going to TV
• Penn State Press to launch Graphic Mundi imprint in Spring 2021
• Thor #7 features Tony Stark’s phone number for real...let’s call it on air!
• Wildstorm will be back, sorta
• Scott Snyder reveals Chain
• ‘Dawn of X’ rebrand wins Bronze at 2020 Brand Impact Awards

Segment - X of Swords Primer!

• It’s relatively easy to jump in
• We recommend you read Excalibur and X-Men
• If you really want to dig in, read all of Excalibur
• Who are the Externals?
• Who are the Swordbearers of Arrako?
• Seriously why does Wolverine need a sword?

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Slaughterhouse Five HC (W: Ryan North, A: Albert Monteys)
2. Detective Comics (2016) #1027 (Various)

Forrest:

1. X-Men: Marvels Snapshot #1 (W: Jay Edidin, A: Tom Reilly)
2. Hellions #4 (W: Zeb Wells, A: Stephen Segovia)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: X Of Swords Creation #1 (W: Jonathan Hickman, A: Pepe Larraz)
• Forrest: X of Swords Creation #1 (W: Jonathan Hickman, A: Pepe Larraz)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy #4 (Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer)
• Forrest: MEGA MAN FULLY CHARGED #2 (Toni Infante) 

Off Topic Top Shelf - Forrest: DOOM