AIPT Comics

NEWS

• Dark Horse and Mignola cut ties with Scott Allie following sexual assault claims
• DC pulls Warren Ellis Dark Nights Death Metal short
• Vault cancels Hundred Wolves due to Myke Cole misconduct
• Charles Brownstein has resigned from the CBLDF
• DC's Event Leviathan: Checkmate by Bendis and Maleev postponed indefinitely
• Rick Remender reveals The Scumbag for October
• DC Solicitations for September
• Marvel's Tom Brevoort launches comics editor RPG - play as DC, Marvel, or Image
• Vault is kicking off a horror imprint with new series The Autumnal
• Skybound celebrates 10 years with virtual Skybound Xpo
• Kieron Gillen announces Marvel’s Warhammer 40,000 books

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave: 

1. Marvels Snapshot (2020): Captain America #1 (W: Mark Russell, A: Ramon K. Perez)
2. Suicide Squad (2019) #6 (W: Tom Taylor, A: Bruno Redondo)

Forrest: 

1. Marvels Snapshot: Captain America #1 (W: Mark Russell, A: Ramon K. Perez)
2. That Texas Blood #1 (W: Chris Condon, A: Jacob Phillips)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: The Goddamned: The Virgin Brides #1 (W: Jason Aaron, A: R. M. Guera)
• Forrest: Olympia #5 (W: Curt, Tony Pires, A: Alex Diotto, Dee Cunniffe)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Red Sonja #16 (Jae Lee)
• Forrest: Buffy The Vampire Slayer #15 (Becca Carey)

Segment: Interview: Ryan Stegman

Your podcast Steg-Man and His Amazing Friends has surpassed 100,000 downloads after 44 episodes, what inspired you to take to the internet-air-waves?

As a podcaster, has the show helped your comics career connecting with fans and creators? 

Recently a debate has sprung up on Twitter about the function of a comics writer and artist and their differences and similarities. How would you describe your collaborative process with different writers across the industry? 

How frequently do you and Donny Cates meetup or get on a call to discuss the development of Venom? Are your discussions more focused on issue-to-issue details or long term storytelling?

How has your view of Venom and by extension Eddie Brock as a character changed throughout working on this story? 
What contribution to the world of Venom are you most proud of making to-date?

Free comic book day questions…

Do you miss con season?

What books, movies, games or other media most inspires your work generally and more narrowly for Venom? 

Do you make moodboards or any other sort of diagram to help establish tonality or style?

Can you tell us about one panel or moment that was surprisingly difficult to nail?

 one that came to you surprisingly easy?

If you could develop a prestige graphic novel for any character, no holds barred, who would it be and why?

Many folks are struggling to keep their creative juices flowing right now, do you have any tricks or means of getting your creativity flowing?

What did you want to be when you were little?

What comics are you reading right now?
What one writer that you haven’t worked with would you like to work with most?

Off TOPIC TOP SHELF - Ryan Stegman - Video games, Studio Ghibli movies, and more

NEWS

• Several claims of misconduct and grooming were made against Cameron Stewart and other creators including Warren Ellis, with DC pulling a yet to be released book by Stewart and Martin Morazzo pulling a Stewart variant cover with that money going to Safe Horizon
• X of Swords is 24+ issues, X-Office releases reading guide
• Image and Marvel solicit books with “Back the Comeback” labels
• ECCC, Keystone Comic Con, PAX canceled + shifting to digital events 
• What is DC FanDome?
• HBO Max comics...
• Vault partners with Heavy Metal to sell merch and comics
• Norman Osborn is BACKKKKKK...after only 2 years
• Marvel’s The Pull List reveals September books to look forward to
• Ascender and Descender optioned for TV
• Dark Nights: Death Metal Marylin Manson video!
• Empyre: Aftermath Avengers #1 announced

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave: 

1. Ant-Man (2020) #5 (W: Zeb Wells, A: Dylan Burnett)
2. Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 (W: Scott Snyder, A: Greg Capullo)

Forrest: 

1. Wynd #1 (W: James Tynion IV, A: Michael Dialynas)
2. Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 (W: Scott Snyder, A: Greg Capullo)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100 Page Super Spectacular #1 (Lots and lots)
• Forrest: Captain America Marvels Snapshot #1 (W: Mark Russell, Kurt Busiek, A: Ramon K. Perez)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100 Page Super Spectacular #1 (Liam Sharp)
• Forrest: Batman The Smile Killer (Andrea Sorrentino)

Segment: Interview: Primer DC OGN - Thomas Krajewski and Jennifer Muro - SPOILERS!

1. How long has Primer been in the works from idea to creation? What sparked the original pitch?
2. This world is vibrant, colorful, and most notably more kind than most depictions of Gotham, can you tell us a little bit about the creation of Ashley's view of Gotham and how you pushed those ideas in the narrative and the art?
3. Primer tells a story that’s very accessible to younger readers but also relevant to older ones. Can you speak about the creation of a cross-generational story like this?
4. Primer’s powers are those that are so full of life and creativity I could see a kid come up with them, but dropping after the crayons run out, what other media or life events inspired this story?
5. About midway through the book we see an extensive list of all the colors and their associated powers, one notable reference is the color Scarlet allowing Ashley to make illusions, are there any other secret references or nods there?
6. When it comes to color Theory how would Ashley Rayburn do?
7. Themes around adoption, abuse, a parent who is incarcerated, and finding a new home can be heavy, what lead you to use these for your story?
8. Many folks are struggling to keep their creative juices flowing right now, do you have any tricks or means of getting your creativity flowing?
9. What did you want to be when you were little?
10. What comics are you reading right now?
11. We would be remiss to not mention Primer’s cliffhanger ending. Is there already a larger universe or story in the works? In an ideal world does Primer become a weekly comic or do you think it will always work best as a graphic novel?

Off Topic Top Shelf - Jennifer: Gardening Thomas: Fallout 4, Borderlands, What We Do in the Shadows

NEWS

• FCBD moves to July from Marvel
• Jupiter’s Legacy getting TPB reprints in prep for Netflix show this fall
• Geoff Johns teaching a course at the Kubert School
• Death Metal getting 3 one-shot stories in September and Snyder details the release
• DC is Anthology crazy:
  • SUMMER SIZZLE
  • Detective Comics 144-pager
  • Oh and JOKER WAR ZONE
• Marvel collection info details:
  • Reprinting X-Men: Evolution tie-in comics for 20th anniversary
  • Marvel's U.K. super-team The Union forges ahead with 2020 debut
• Bendis is wrapping up his Superman run...but what does this mean!?
  • Bendis introducing new Superman villain this September
• Hellblazer Rise and Fall - a 3-part series by Tom Taylor coming in September
• SDCC is set for July...virtually
• New Iron Man suit and series creative team
• DC and Diamond make a short term plan

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave: 

1. Batman Secret Files #3 (W: Dan Watters, Vita Ayala, James Tynion, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Mariko Tamaki, A: Sumit Kumar, Andie Tong, Riley Rossmo, John Paul Leon, Victor Ibanez)
2. Batman #92 (W: James Tynion IV, A: Guillem March)

Forrest: 

1. Undone By Blood Or the Shadow of A Wanted Man #3 (W: Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler, A: Sami Kivela)
2. No One’s Rose #2 (W: Zac Thompson, Emily Horn, A: Alberto Jimenez-Alburquerque)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 (W: Scott Snyder, A: Greg Capullo)
• Forrest: Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 (W: Scott Snyder, A: Greg Capullo)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Ludocrats #2 (Jeff Stokely)
• Forrest: Wonder Woman: Dead Earth #3 (Daniel Warren Johnson)

Segment: Interview:  Wynd limited series - James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas the-all-ee-nass - Out June 17

NEWS

• Comic book artists support Black Lives Matter with commissions
  • Gail Simone launches #ComicWritersChallenge to help raise funds for Black Lives Matters
• Marvel and DC/Warner Bros. express support for black community, is it enough?
  • Marvel donates 5 million
  • Marvel comments on use of Punisher logo
• #BlackOutTuesday - The Comics Beat reposted content that spotlights black voices and issues
• Man-Bat is the latest DC title to fall to COVID-19
• Eisner Awards 2020 nominations are in
• DC cuts ties with Diamond - Going with Lunar Distribution and UCS Comics Distributors
  • Comic shop owners react

Our Favorite BOOKS by Black Creators

1. Dave: The Wrong Earth by Jamal Igle and Tom Peyer, Naomi by Jamal Campbell and Brian Michael Bendis - Far Sector Jamal Campbell & N.K. Jemisin - ‘Black Panther & the Crew: We Are the Streets Ta-Nehisi Coates and Butch Guice 
2. Nick: Postal (and Postal Deliverance) by Bryan Edward Hill (writer) - Farmhand is written and drawn by Rob Guillory

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: Decorum #2 (W: Jonathan Hickman, A: Mike Huddleston)
2. Nick: Daredevil #20 (W: Chip Zdarsky, A: Marco Checchetto)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

1. Dave: Bitter Root #8 (Chris Visions)
2. Nick: Pandemica Vol. 1 (Esteban Salinas)

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF: Nick - NOS4A2 season 2

You can back Chip's Kickstarter here.

NEWS

• Vault Bound initiative continues/expands
• MARVEL Cancels 53 Variants, Three Themed Programs
• DC and Diamond...not a good first start
• Steve Geppi makes the case for the Diamond monopoly 
• New Marvel “Digital first” titles announced
• Marvel celebrates new comic book day with videos from creators
• DC announces Instagram-exclusive Batman comics
• Marvel bringing back ‘Marvel Mini-books’, smallest comics of their time

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK

Dave

1. Avengers #33 (W: Jason Aaron, A: Javi Garron)
2. Alienated #3 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Chris Wildgoose)

Forrest

1. Alienated #3 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Chris Wildgoose)
2. Doctor Aphra #1 (W: Alyssa Wong, A: Marika Cresta)

ComicBookRoundUp

1. Critic: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #6 (9.8)
2. Fan: Suicide Squad #5 (8.9)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Far Sector #6
• Forrest: Swamp Thing Giant #4

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100 Page Super Spectacular #1 (1940s Adam Hughes Cover) *
• Forrest: Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider #5 (Scott Hepburn)

Segment: Interview: Chip Mosher - Blacking Out (with Peter Krause), working at Comixology as Head of Content

1. Blacking Out is already funded, congratulations! Your Kickstarter states this work is 3 years in the making, but when did the bud of the idea start?
2. What specific goals did you have when establishing the Blacking Out Kickstarter? What made Kickstarter feel like the right platform for this project?
3. What one piece of advice would you give to comics creators conceptualizing or launching their own crowd funded projects?
4. To say your background in comics is robust is an understatement. Working at Oni Press between 1999 to 2005, Marketing at sales at BOOM! in 2007 to 2011 and now 8 years at Comixology as Head of Content, from your perspective what is something surprising to see emerge in comics over the years, what is something not so surprising?
5. What is it about gumshoe detectives and muscle cars that will never go out of style?
6. What is your approach to creating a mystery, how do you come up with twists, turns, and seeding the story with details that will matter later?
7. Blacking Out has a sleek visual style marrying the 70s and modern aesthetics, can you tell us how yourself, Peter Krause, and Tom Muller developed the look of the book?
8. What other media (Books, movies, television) informed the development of Blacking Out?
9. Many folks are struggling to keep their creative juices flowing right now, do you have any tricks or means of getting your creativity flowing?
10. What did you want to be when you were little?
11. What comics are you reading right now?

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF: Chip Mosher - Genealogy

NEWS

• BOOM! Surprise Announces Wynd as limited series
• New details emerge around Tom Taylor’s Seven Secrets
• DCeased gets a digital-first series starting this week running 14 chapters
• Marvel Comics releases full July schedule with a return to weekly single issues
• Duncan Jones’ Moon trilogy to close out as graphic novel on Kickstarter
• Mega Man comic announced for August
• Jackpot...MOVIE?!
• Furloughs turn to layoffs at IDW
• August Solicitations at Marvel
• DC Announces DC Connect - Solicitations for August

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK

Dave

1. Plunge #3 (W: Joe Hill, A: Stuart Immonen)
2. Star #4 (W: Kelly Thompson, A: Filipe Andrade, Javier Pina)

Nathan

1. Hawkeye: Freefall #5 (W: Matthew Rosenberg, A: Otto Schmidt)
2. Red Sonja #15 (W: Mark Russell, A: Bob Q)

ComicBookRoundUp

1. Critic: 9.2 Lost on Planet Earth #2 (W: Magdalene Visaggio, Claudia Aguirre)
2. Fan: 9.2 Hawkeye: Freefall #5 (W: Matthew Rosenberg, A: Otto Schmidt)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: Venom #25 (W: Donny Cates, A: Mark Bagley)
2. Nathan: Doctor Aphra #1 (W: Alyssa Wong, A: Marika Cresta)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Batman Beyond #43 (Francis Manapul)
• Nathan: Rogue Planet #1 (Andy MacDonald)

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF: Nathan Simmons - Blood Machines (film and album)

June 8 - Silver Linings Playlist

Upcoming episodes of The Stage Moms and Two Drinks & A Haunting

NEWS

• Diamond announces “comeback” plans for May 20
• DC eliminating preview days for LCS
• DC's GENERATION Event Absent from JULY Schedule
• DC releases July schedule
  • Batman: Three Jokers set for August
  • Dark Nights gets 2 tie-in issues, additional 7th issue, and a September break
  • Supergirl #42 is going digital-only
• Rose City Comic Con Cancelled 
• James McAvoy, a dozen other stars join Sandman audio drama
• Jeff Lemire bringing Sweet Tooth back to DC, RDJ bringing it to Netflix
• Marvel starts revealing August/September schedule
  • Maestro is getting an origin story
  • X of Swords is coming...in September
  • Mark Waid + Neal Adams collaborating on FF

AIPT BOOKCLUB: Upgrade Soul by Ezra Claytan Daniels

• The Story So Far: Molly and Hank Nonnar, a lovingly close elderly couple, undergo a cloning/physical perfection process called Upgrade Cell under the care of a legally shaky and potentially unethical group of scientists eventually coming face-to-face with a different, seemingly perfected version of themselves. Philosophically, dramatically and narratively dense Upgrade Soul touches on what it means to be human, beauty, family, intelligence, science, transhumanism, and ultimately love in a deft equally horrifying and beautiful story that eschews the common “what if you could be your best self” question of Superman comics and instead asks “what if you met your best self”
• What Works: Body language and set dressing, hidden intentions, lettering, balance of horror and beauty
• What Doesn’t: Frequent flashbacks confuse narrative structure, don’t see much of Molly/Hank’s younger life 
• Favorite Artistic Moment: Molly visiting Manuela, 4 grid comparing the two
• Favorite Narrative Moment: Henry at grave, 
• Where We Think This is Going: Optioned for a movie, Daniels now working on BTM FDRS

Segment: Interview: Chris Arrant - Newsarama Editor

1. Walk us through a day in the life of a Newsarama editor.
2. Can you think of a time in comics that have been as tumultuous today and with news changings so quickly? How do you keep all the different things straight?
3. The 5,000 dollar question...where do you see comics for the second half of 2020? How about 2021?
4. What do you think the comics industry can learn from overcoming this hurdle? How would you like to see publishers, distributors, and retailers react and change? 
5. What did you want to be when you were little?
6. If you could interview one comic creator living or dead for as long as you wanted, who would it be? 
7. If you could choose one comic to come out regularly during quarantine times, which would it be?
8. What comics are you reading right now?
9. You’re super active on Twitter and I’m curious, is that part of being editor at Newsarama, or is that a private endeavor?

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF: Chris Arrant - Gardening, magazine reading

NEWS

• New Marvel Comics coming NEXT WEEK
  • Digital comics shop shutting down
  • Rosenberg comments on Hawkeye being one of the books
  • Advance copies of Black Widow out with no release date
• DC Comics going big in June
• Over $950,000 going to comic stores via BINC May 12th
• Diamond says May 20 orders “Better than we thought”
• Tom Taylor teases:
  • Superman?
  • DCeased: Dead Planet
  • Seven Secrets
• Humanoids working with Hero Initiative
• Mad Cave showcasing virtual convention
• Marvel extending free access to some stories in Marvel Unlimited through June 2
• Image Comics June solicit update

AIPT BOOKCLUB: Nextwave by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen

The Story So Far: 
What Works: 
What Doesn’t: 
Favorite Artistic Moment: 
Favorite Narrative Moment: 
Where We Think This is Going:

Segment: Interview with Gene Luen Yang - Superman Smashes the Klan debuts May 12.

1. Superman Smashes the Klan is inspired by the 1940 radio drama “Clan of the Fiery Cross”. Did DC provide you with recordings of those shows or transcripts? What was the research like for dipping into this specific period of Superman stories.
2. Obviously and unfortunately, the fight against racism is timeless and that made this story a good candidate for adaptation, but was there anything in the original content you intentionally excluded? 
3. What do you think is the quintessential Superman story? Is that also your favorite?
4. I love your concept of the boy scout in Superman and he wears these bright colors due to his immigrant status and make everyone around him know he’s a good guy. It makes sense even if it was subconscious. I’m curious, why the black within the logo?
5. Speaking of Super-Man...might you know when might we see Kong Kenan back in a DC Comics book?
6. I’m incredibly excited for your Shang-Chi series set for a June release. It’s your Marvel debut, congratulations! Can you tell us a bit about your love of the character, what era of the character you’re a fan of, and how excited you are for the movie?
7. How does your process differ writing for different publishers and established properties versus creator owned projects? Do you prefer one over the other? 
8. What did you want to be when you were little?
9. What comics are you reading right now?
10. What one artist that you haven’t worked before do you most want to work with?
11. Pie in the sky, what one character would you like to work on you haven’t yet written?

Off Topic Top Shelf: Gene Luen Yang - Holo Man

NEWS

• DC Explains Why It Began Distributing Through Others During DIAMOND Shutdown
• Diamond CEO Steve Geppi talks and talks
  • Says DC made things awkward
  • Mentions Fox News...
• Diamond lists titles to be released May 20 from most publishers, DC releases May 19 and 26 release list
  • Marvel clarifies new comics coming the 27th
  • Explains rationale behind delayed releases, full line coming July 15
• BOOM! Revises May and June solicits 
• March 2020 comic book sales figures are in
• AWA signs exclusive distribution deal with Diamond
• Comics displays going into 3,000 Walmart stores
• Dan Slott ending Iron Man run

AIPT BOOKCLUB: East of West vol 1 by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta (issues #1-5)
The Story So Far: 
What Works: 
What Doesn’t: 
Favorite Artistic Moment: 
Favorite Narrative Moment: 
Where We Think This is Going:

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF: David Brooke -  The Last Dance

NEWS

• DC Comics announces new slate of digitally available comics 7 days a week
  • First week of titles
  • DC Comics releases Daphne Byrne #4, Batman Giant #4, The Dreaming #20
• Diamond refutes DC’s claim about canceled orders
• Jim Lee debuts 20th sketch on AIPT in his 60 days of 60 sketches to benefit comic shops.
• No new marvel comics next week
• Kodansha signs on with InkyPen app, adding Attack on Titan, Parasyte, others to Nintendo Switch Reading
• Bill Sienkiewicz shares risque reference photo, artists take it and run with #billsbuttchallenge

AIPT BOOKCLUB: Swamp Thing by Writer: Alan Moore Artist: John Totleben 1982 (SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING BOOK ONE collects issues #20-27)

The Story So Far: 
What Works: 
What Doesn’t: 
Favorite Artistic Moment:
Favorite Narrative Moment:
Where We Think This is Going:

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF: Forrest -  Nvidia Shield TV