AIPT Comics

NEWS

1. Bad Idea, a new way to sell comics
2. Cullen Bunn authors lengthy Twitter thread about being accused of hiring Ghost-Writers
3. Strange Adventures is rebranded as DC Black Label.
4. Donny Cates hypes new Image “event” series.
5. Tom King Says That Alfred’s Death Will Set Up The Events Of 5G
6. Fantomex to appear in Giant Size X-Men issue (to clear up Xavier confusion?)
7. X-Men and Spider-Man FCBD covers revealed vs DC FCBD blunder
8. Juggernaut #1 announced.

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK

Dave

1.  X-Men + Fantastic Four #1 (W: Chip Zdarsky, A: Terry Dodson)
2.  After Realm Quarterly #1 (W/A: Michael Avon Oeming, C: Taki Soma)

Forrest

1.  X-Men + Fantastic Four #1 (W: Chip Zdarsky, A: Terry Dodson)
2.  The Immortal Hulk: Great Power (W: Tom Taylor, A: Jorge Molina)

ComicBookRoundUp

1. Critic: Martian Manhunter #12 (DC, 9.9)
2. Fan: Daphne Byrne #2 (DC, 9.8)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: Undone by Blood (W: Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler, A: Sami Kivela)
2. Forrest: Alienated #1 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Christian Wildgoose)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR. 

1. Dave: Dawn of X Vol. 1 (Tom Muller)
2. Forrest: Doctor Strange #3 (Kev Walker)

SEGMENT: Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler Undone by Blood

1. Can you tell us a little about the world of Undone by Blood and the stories or other media that inspired it? Zac, you often make mood boards for your projects - what did this one look like?
2. How did you land on the two-story structure for Undone By Blood? Do you have different notes, design documents, research for each half?  
3. How do you split up the work for a co-written title? 
4. Do you two bounce ideas off of either for your solo titles (Black Stars Above, The Replacer)? Where do you personally feel the “co-creator” line starts?
5. Top 3 westerns (book or movies)?
6. Is there a significance to one of the plots taking place in 1971?
7. Does the title or genre of a book often come before the plot of the story (i.e. you have an idea of where you want to tell a story but not necessarily what story) or vice versa?
8. Is it easier or harder to sell genre stories? What was the original pitch for Undone By Blood?
9. What do you like about revenge stories?
10. There’s some impressive layout work here, for instance, the gutters also serve as prison bars in issue #2...do you have a treasure chest of layout ideas you think up and save for later, or is this something that’s more organic working with the artist?
11.  Yondu exit interview...how do we feel about your 5 issue mini?!
12. Do you see thematic or narrative cross over between Undone By Blood and other works like Yondu, Black Stars Above, etc. or do you actively work to avoid similarities?
13. Last but not least, how do you think Yondu would fare in the world of Undone By Blood?

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF

Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler: Death Stranding and T.S. Eliott

NEWS

1. DC begins teasing Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s next event
2. ROBIN 80TH ANNIVERSARY 100-PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR Postponed a Week...does this reoccurring “spectacular” going to have legs?
3. AARON & GUERA's GODDAMNED to Return This May
4. Free MARVEL SAMPLER Coming to Stores 
5. KICKSTARTER Launches BLUESTOCKINGS COMICS FEST to Showcase Queer and Trans Creators
6. Marvel Introducing new villain, a “maligned” Steve Rogers Fan called The Natural
7. Madelyne Pryor returning to X-Men comics in Hellions 
8. Eddie Berganza and Eric Esquivel launch new publisher Alternate Empire to massive backlash (“latinx empowerment”)

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK

1. Dave
   1.  Thor #2 (W: Donny Cates, A: Nic Klein)
   2.  Justice League #39 (W: Scott Snyder, A: Jorge Jimenez)
2. Forrest
   1. Doctor Strange: The End (W: Leah Williams, A: Filipe Andrade)
   2. Protector #1 (W: Simon Roy, Daniel Bensen, A: Artyom Trakhanov)
3. ComicBookRoundUp
   1. Black Stars Above #3 (Vault, 9.2)
   2. Thor #2 (Marvel, 9.6)

SEGMENT - Breaking down the difference between comic cover and content

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: X-Men + Fantastic Four #1 (W: Chip Zdarsky, A: Terry Dodson)
2. Forrest: Dark Agnes #1 (W: Becky Cloonan, A: Luca Pizzari)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR. 

1. Dave: Star Wars: Darth Vader #1 (Mike del Mundo)
2. Forrest: Butcher of Paris #3 (A: Dave Johnson)

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF

1. Dave: The Gentlemen by Guy Ritchie

NEWS

1. Buffy comics to add “most important new character in 20 years”
2. Newsarama releases a list of the 10 best Marvel stories as voted by fans
3. Only two comics sold over 100k units in December
4. Dan Didio vows to fix Black Label delays
5. Oni's RENDER Postponed Indefinitely After Artist Suffers Health Issues
6. WATTERSON, BECHDEL, HECK, SIMONSON, More Nominated for EISNER HALL OF FAME only 4 can win! 
7. JEN BARTEL and PUMA Join Forces for BIRDS OF PREY Sneakers

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK

Dave

1. The Runaway Princess (Johan Troianowski)
2. Guardians of the Galaxy (2020) #1 (W: Al Ewing, A: Juann Cabal)

Forrest

1. John Constantine: Hellblazer #3 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Aaron Campbell)
2. Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (W: Al Ewing, A: Juann Cabal)

ComicBookRoundUp

• Critic: The Kill Lock #2 (IDW, 9.4)
• Fan: Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (Marvel, 9.1)
   

SEGMENT - Trending Now: How much is too much for new X-Men books

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Justice League #39 (W: Scott Snyder, A: Jorge Jimenez, Daniel Sempere, and Juan Albarran)
• Forrest: Shadow of the Batgirl (W: Sarah Kuhn, A: Nicole Goux)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Thor #2 (Olivier Coipel)
• Forrest: The Weatherman #6 (A: Nathan Fox)

Segment: April 2020 Solicitation Roundup

• Marvel April 2020 Solicitations
• IMAGE COMICS April 2020 Solicitations
• DARK HORSE COMICS April 2020 Solicitations
• DC Comics Solicitations
• Valiant Solicitations

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF

Forrest: Gunpla

News:

1. Empyre teasers drop all week.
   1. New blue costumes?!
2. Top-selling graphic novels of the decade are...
3. Catwoman 80th anniversary!
4. 5,395 comic books were released in 2019 Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson talks about the industry with Newsarama
5. Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson returning for new story in GOD LOVES MAN KILLS special edition
6. Dark Horse will publish a comic adaptation of the original Alien script
7. Lemire and Del Mundo releasing their own take on Immortal Hulk in The Threshing Place
8. THE PUNISHER VS BARRACUDA #1 - Ed Brisson & Declan Shalvey

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

1. Dave
   1. Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #2 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic)
   2. Batman's Grave #4 (W: Warren Ellis, A: Bryan Hitch)
2. Forrest
   1. Venom: The End (W: Adam Warren, Chamba Cruz)
   2. Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #2 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic)
       
3. ComicBookRoundUp
   1. Critic: Rai # 3 (9.0)
   2. Fan: Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #7 (9.5)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

1. Dave: The Runaway Princess (Johan Troianowski)
2. Forrest: Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (W: Al Ewing, A: Juann Cabal)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

1. Dave: Once and Future #6 (Dan Mora)
2. Forrest: Batman Beyond #40 Variant (Francis Manapul)
    

INTERVIEW: Johnnie Christmas and Jack T. Cole talk about new series Tartarus (out February 12, 2020)

SUPERFIGHT: Christmas and Cole determine who would be the worst president, Tetsuo or Zorg (from the Fifth Element).

Off Topic Top Shelf: Johnnie Christmas and Jack T. Cole let us know what they're into right now that's not comics related.

News:

1. Wraith getting his own book in April, one-shot
2. IDW and Smithsonian launch a joint publication program
3. GLAAD announces comics awards
4. Comics sales and orders were up 2.0% in 2019, approaching $500 million

Interview: Lonnie Nadler talks Black Stars Above, Yondu at Marvel Comics, and more!

Segment: Our Best Comics of 2019!

• ‘Gone too soon’ Best canceled series
  • David: Loki
  • Forrest: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
• Best Writer
  • David: Jason Aaron
  • Forrest: Si Spurrier
• Best Artist
  • David: Bilquis Evely
  • Forrest: Tradd Moore
• Best Cover Artist
  • David: Alex Ross
  • Forrest: Julian Tedesco
• Best Colorist
  • David: Matthew Wilson
  • Forrest: Ian Herring (Ghost-Spider)
• Best Letterer
  • David: Joe Sabino
  • Forrest: Hassan Ostmane-Elahou
• Best Newcomer
  • David: NK Jemisin
  • Forrest: Darcy Van Poelgeest
• Best Single Issue (structured as a one-shot)
  • David: Doctor Strange #18
  • Forrest: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6
• Best Non-2019 comic we read for the first time this year
  • David: Hit-Monkey by Daniel Way
  • Forrest: Dorohedoro
• Best Graphic Novel
  • David: Swimming in Darkness
  • Forrest: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me
• Comic we wish we spent more time with/were caught up on
  • David: Action Comics
  • Forrest: Conan (+ tie ins)
• Best Single Panel
  • David: Avengers: No Road Home double-page splash of all the heroes by Sean Izaakse
  • Forrest: Absolute Carnage #1 page 2: history of Venom spread
• Best Comic for Younger Readers
  • David: Dear Justice League
  • Forrest: Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass
• Best Manga
  • David: Vinland Saga Vol 11
  • Forrest: Gou Tanabe’s At the Mountains of Madness
• Best Genre Comic
  • David: Powers of X
  • Forrest: Gideon Falls
• Best Miniseries (1-6 issues)
  • David: Spider-Man: Life Story
  • Forrest: Batman: Universe
• Best Maxiseries (6-12 issues)
  • David: Peter Cannon Thunderbolt
  • Forrest: Coda

Top 3 Favorite comics

David:

1. The Dreaming
2. Justice League
3. House of X

Forrest:

1. Martian Manhunter
2. Coda
3. Silver Surfer: Black

This is an extra-long episode with categories predetermined and agreed upon. Here are the nominees...

Best comic to show a lapsed fan

• House of X / Powers of X
• Black Hammer
• Hellblazer
• Green Lantern
• The Immortal Hulk
• Middlewest

Biggest Disappointment

• Fallen Angels
• Batman: Damned
• 2099
• Spider-Man by Abrams
• Return of Wolverine
• Last Knight On Earth
• Invisible Kingdom

Best Comics Trend

• Team listed as Co-Creators
• Sexploitation characters are now written by fabulous writers (Red Sonja, Deja Thoris)taken seriously
• Major publishers embrace horror/genre
• Grand Design
• ALPHA / OMEGA issues
• Kitschy properties are being given fun and clever books (Six Million Dollar Man, Barbarella)

Worst Comics Trend

• Solicitations Too Far Out
• Too Many Event Tie-Ins
• Constant Re-Scheduling
• Creator’s rights in jeopardy (Watchmen)
• Political Avoidance
• An overabundance of Elseworld Batman stories (Last Knight on Earth, Bat-dad in King’s run, Curse of the White Knight)

Biggest Surprise:

• DC Restructures into age bracket model
• Vertigo shuttered
• Young Animal returns
• DC Zoom and Ink a success!
• X-line complete relaunch
• Marvels are annotated and BACK
• Conan under Marvel and in every book

Biggest Surprise

• X-Men Immortality
• Hot claws NO MORE
• Walking Dead ends abruptly
• Black Hammer & Justice League
• Doomsday Clock finally completed

Best Publisher

• Marvel
• DC
• Image
• Vault
• Dark Horse

Best #1

• John Constantine: Hellblazer
• Silver Surfer: Black
• Captain Marvel #1
• ACTS OF EVIL: PUNISHER ANNUAL #1

Best Ongoing

• Immortal Hulk
• Justice League
• Venom
• The Dreaming
• Thor
• Black Hammer (+ various tie-ins)
• Gideon Falls

Best Event

• War of the Realms
• HoX & PoX
• Absolute Carnage
• Leviathan
• Year of the Villain

Best Reboot

• The X-Men Line
• Young Justice
• Daredevil
• Fantastic Four
• Batman/Superman
• Buffy
• Hellblazer

Most Memorable Retcon (bad or good)

• Moira X
• Wolverine and the Infinity Stones
• Xavier and Magneto working together
• Doomsday Clock
• Venom creates children on purpose

Best Romance

• Gambit and Rogue
• Krakoa Polyamory
• Batman and Catwoman
• Spider-Man and MJ
• Harley and Poison Ivy
• Betsy and Blob (X-Tremists)

Best Hero

• Venom
• Xavier
• Miles Morales
• Dora (The Dreaming)
• Doctor Strange
• Hum (Coda)
• Martian Manhunter

Best in-comic Team

• Excalibur
• Marauders
• The Marvelous X-Men
• Young Justice
• Doom Patrol

Best Villain

• Mister Sinister
• Knull
• Morbius
• Leviathan
• Lex Luthor
• Batman Who Laughs

Best Costume

• Captain Britain (Betsy Braddock)
• Batman Who Laughs
• Captain Kitty Pryde
• Green Lantern Sojourner “Jo” Mullein
• Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy
• Dark Captain Marvel

Best Series Debut

• Little Bird
• Silver Surfer: Black
• Spider-Man: Life Story
• The Batman’s Grave
• Far Sector
• Peter Cannon
• Die
• Sandman Presents: Hellblazer

THE NEWS:

1. FCBD 2020 titles get teased
2. Wonder Woman #750 launching with over 20 covers
3. Spider-Woman gets a new costume
4. Marvel Comics March 2020 solicitations
5. TRANSFORMERS vs. TERMINATOR in 2020 Event
6. Jonathan Hickman & Mike Huddleston's DECORUM #1 out in March
7. Batman and Doomsday Clock End

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

Dave

1. Joker: Killer Smile #2 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Andrea Sorrentino)
2. The Low, Low Woods #1 (W: Carmen Maria Machado A: Dani, Tamra Bonvillain)

Forrest

1. Wonder Woman: Dead Earth #1 (Daniel Warren Johnson)
2. Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy #1 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic)
3. ComicBookRoundUp
   1. Critic: King Thor #4 (9.8)
   2. Fan: Basketful of Heads #3 (9.5)
       

SEGMENT: 2020 Predictions - one good thing and one bad thing that will happen in comics or the comics industry next year and why

1. Dave: X-Men will get an event and it’ll bleed into Marvel Studios hype / At least one major writer from DC will jump to Marvel
2. Forrest: Neil Gaiman will make a full-scale return to comics / More celebrity editorial lines

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

1. Dave: Spider-Ham (W: Zeb Wells, A: Will Robson)
2. Forrest: Incoming! #1

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

1. Dave: Doctor Strange #1 (Phil Noto)
2. Forrest: Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham (Wendell Dalit)
    

INTERVIEW: The Low, Low Woods writer Carmen Maria Machado and artist Dani join us for an interview to talk horror, the new series, and Hill House Comics.  

• Can you tell us a little bit about how the creative team came together on the title?
• Did you learn anything when creating this series and its first issue?
• Why is the comic book medium right for this story?
• Dani, you're so good at making the somewhat ordinary interesting and scary (I'm thinking of the trash outside the house early in the book as the girls ride their bikes, or the girls trying to remember what happened and their heads are made up of hands, parrots, and other things), how do you approach something static and give it life?
• When it comes to character creation where do you start, Vee and Eldora feel so real!
• So Rob Reiner directed Sea Dogs (we see his name on the marquee outside the theater), which also happens to be the backup story in this first wave of Hill House Comics. Why Reiner?
• Carmen, I had to write this down, "babies were born with placentas black as soot...their mothers were birthing coal itself" god that is horrifying! When working in a visual medium do you need to strike a balance between prose style horror like this and visual horror?
• The use of color by Tamra Bonvillain is fabulous, what goes into creating a color palette for a series?
• I'm always curious, was there a working list of titles for Low, Low Woods?
• Who is on your mount rushmore of creators you'd like to work with?
• Joe Hill was on the podcast 7 or so weeks ago and I asked him to describe Low, Low Woods, and he said it's the perfect mix of david's, 50% david cronenberg and 50% david lynch. Would you agree, or maybe you'd have other directors in mind?
• Do you have any personal heroes in the creative arts?
• Favorite moment or issue in the series so far?

Off Topic Top Shelf: Carmen and Dani give us their picks!

THE NEWS:

1. Marvel hosting midnight launch parties for new books
   1. ‘The Pull List’ reveals March solicits early and Savage Avengers
2. DC comments on removal of Batman: Golden Child ad from Twitter
   1. Grampa and Miller comment on Batman art use in Hong Kong
   2. DC advertises Dark Knight with Joker/Trump image
3. John Ridley rumored to take over Batman at issue #100
4. Christopher Priest says Damian Wayne was originally Deathstroke’s kid
5. X-men 5-7 postponed, Abrams Spider-Man finale pushed back 11 weeks
6. Heavy Metal names new CEO
7. Bernie Wrightson Frankenstein cover sells for 1.2 million, highest ever

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

1. Dave
   1. Annihilation: Scourge - Beta Ray Bill #1 (W: Michael Moreci, A: Alberto Alburquerque)
   2. Batman: Curse of the White Knight #5 (W: Sean Murphy, Color: Matt Hollingsworth)
2. Forrest
   1. The Red Mother #1 (W: Jeremy Huan, A: Danny Luckert)
   2. Morbius #2 (W: Vita Ayala, A: Marcelo Ferreira)
3. ComicBookRoundUp
   1. Critic: Rai #2 (9.6)
   2. Fan: Punisher: Soviet #2 (9.5)

Segment: TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

• Dave: Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #1 (W: Charles Soule, A: Will Sliney)
• Forrest: Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider #1 (W: Hallum, Cates A: Shaw)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

• Dave: Suicide Squad #1 (Francesco Mattina)
• Forrest: Wonder Woman #83 (Jenny Frison)

INTERVIEW: The Red Mother writer Jeremy Haun (The Beauty, The Realm) talks writing horror, his future projects in 2020, comics creator self-care, and more!

Segment: Superfight: Jeremy and Dave determine who would win a staring contest: Samara from Ring vs. Candyman, vs. The Red Mother.

Off topic top shelf: Jeremy Haun talks whiskey and his Patreon Comics and Cocktails.

THE NEWS:

1. New dysfunctional X-Team announced
2. Strange Academy in the works for some time
3. Vault introduces pay-what-you-want holiday sale this season
4. Diamond Distributors dig into November sales figures

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

1. Dave
   1. Excalibur #3 (W: Tini Howard, A: Marcus To)
   2. Justice League (2018) #37 (W: Scott Snyder, A: Jorge Jimenez)
2. Chris
   1. X-Men #3 (W. Jonathan Hickman, A: Leinil Francis Yu)
   2. Doctor Doom #3 (W: Christopher Cantwell, A: Salvador Larroca)
3. ComicBookRoundUp
   1. Critic: Die #10 (W: Kieron Gillen, A: Stephanie Hans)
   2. Fan: The Dreaming #16 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Marguerite Sauvage)

Segment: Piracy NOW!

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

• Dave: Red Mother #1 (W: Jeremy Haun, A: Danny Luckert)
• Chris: X-Force #3 (W: Benjamin Percy, A: Joshua Cassara)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

• Dave: Undiscovered Country #2 (Francis Manapul)
• Chris: X-Force #3 (Dustin Weaver)

Segment: Behind X-Men Monday

Off topic top shelf: Chris - Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

THE NEWS:

1. DC Social Media Ad Accused of Endorsing Political Change in China - Report
2. Former MARVEL CCO Joe Quesada's New Title Confirmed
3. Dark Horse Feb 2020 solicits, Bang #1, Hidden Society #1, Tomorrow #1
4. New Mutants name drops upcoming X-men book 
5. Three Jokers artist says ending is the “gutsiest” thing DC has done with Batman in 80 years
6. Tom King makes a “controversial” statement about Batman on Twitter.
7. Black Mask Returns in Feb 2020 solicits

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

1. Dave
   1. X-Force #2 (W: Benjamin Percy, A: Joshua Cassara)
   2. Venom #20 (W: Donny Cates, A: Iban Coello, Jose Carlos Silva)
2. Forrest
   1. John Constantine: Hellblazer #1 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Aaron Campbell)
   2. New Mutants #2 (W: Hickman, Brisson A: Rod Reis)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

1. Dave: Batman #84 (W: Tom King, A: Jorge Fornes) 
2. Forrest: Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble #2 (W: Mariko Tamaki, A: Gurihiru)
   
    

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

1. Dave: Annihilation: Scourge - Fantastic Four #1 (Josemaria Casanovas) 
2. Forrest: Buffy #10 (Rebelka)
   
    

Segment: Interview Dan Slott, writer of Tony Stark Iron Man, Fantastic Four, and coming soon Iron Man 2020 

• I recently got the chance to read the Spider-Man Magazine (Spider-Man Radioactive) collection and you have two stories in there, one featuring Mirage and another featuring Mesmero, were those characters you wanted to write or did they ask you to use them?
• How do you go about generating new ideas or angles for storied characters like Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four? 
• Do you have a strong memory of any particular story that made you think “I can’t believe nobody else has touched this?” 
• Dawn of X has taken the world by storm and I have to ask, if you had a choice in a title/team would you take the job and what would it be?
• Is the current story “Point of Origin” a story you’ve had in your cap for years?
• At Fan EXPO Boston you showed me a few of the superhero designs for characters that defend Spyre, and now they’re out there. What’s it like creating a character that may (or may not depending on your story) last for decades in the Marvel universe?
• You’re working with Christos Gage again on Iron Man 2020, I’m always curious how two writers collaborate whether they split up pages, or one does dialogue and another plot, what is your working relationship like?
• Spider-Geddon, last year’s sequel to Spider-Verse, was drafted by Christos Gage from an unfinished script of yours and his. How much of that event’s DNA would you say is your original vision and how much is new?
• As the writer of FF, do series like FF: Grimm Noir need to be approved by you?
• If you had the opportunity to do the inverse of a Superior Spider-Man style story where a hero becomes a villain, which would it be?
• What is your workspace like? What time of day do you typically do your writing? Is there something on your desk that inspires your writing?
• Has social media changed the way you write or think about comics?
  • Do you ever shift a story or idea after gauging feedback you might read on the internet
  • Last but not least, is there anything you can tell us about Iron Man 2020? 

Off topic top shelf: Dan Slott talks Mandalorian, The Crown, Ducktales and streaming services.