AIPT Comics

NEWSBad Idea starts rolling out which stores will carry their books.Mariko Tamaki is the new Wonder Woman ongoing writerSteve Orlando is going to MarvelCoronavirus cancels Kansas City's PLANET COMICON, Wondercon, Boston ACE Comic Con, NYC MOCCA, Diamond Publisher conferenceComics direct market expected to take a COVID-19 hit, publishers encourage visiting your LCSPAJAMACON, Funko Virtual Con, others taking the place of ECCC - ECCC rescheduled for AugustSuperman Vs. the KKK podcast in the form of old radio shows incomingShang-Chi #1 coming this JuneFebruary sales are in!SEGMENT: What comics are on your self-quarantine catch-up list?Dave: Chrononauts Vol. 2, TKO books: Sara and The BanksNate: The Sandman Universe, MMPR/TMNTTOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEKDaveMarvels Snapshot: Sub-Mariner #1 (W: Alan Brennert, Kurt Busiek, A: Jerry Ordway)Thor #4 (W: Donny Cates, A: Nic Klein)NathanDecorum #1 (W: Jonathan Hickman, A: Mike Huddleston)Cable #1 (W: Gerry Duggan, A: Phil Noto)ComicBookRoundUpCritic: Hawkeye: Freefall #4Fan: The Dollhouse Family #5TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEKDave: Plunge #2 (W: Joe Hill, A: Stuart Immonen) (Alienated #2...too? Si Spurrier, Chris Wildgoose)Nathan: X-Ray Robot #1 (Mike Allred, Laura Allred)JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.Dave: Batman #91 (Jorge Jimenez)Nathan: Robin 80th Anniversary Spectacular (Yasmine Putri cover)SEGMENT: Elsa Charretier (char-tee-air) artist on November, The Unstoppable Wasp, writer AND artist on Infinite Loop, and MoreYou just had a successful Kickstarter get funded back in November (with your artbook shipping in February, congratz!) and also have an Etsy store where you sell comics. What has the journey been like to move away from traditional comic book publishing to a digital approach on platforms like Kickstarter and Etsy?What would you say are the essential things a creator must know or commit to before launching a Kickstarter?Would you say launching a Kickstarter changed the relationship you have with fans? How so?How do you approach working on creator-owned projects versus work for the big two?Do you generally find it easier to illustrate your own projects or projects in collaboration with another writer? How does your creative process shift for the difference between writing and art?Can you tell us a little about your Star Wars work for IDW? How did the project come about, and what’s your approach to working with characters that have such far reach and recognition?November Book Two Vol. 2 comes out this May, what can fans expect from this sequel series by you and Matt Fraction?What do you hope to see in the industry in the future?Infinite Loop got a sequel starting in 2017, might we see a trilogy some day?What comics are you reading right now?Off Topic Top Shelf: Elsa Charretier’s pick - Reading plays, Good Omens, and more

NEWSEMPYRE gets a column, by us! EMPYRE STATE OF MYNDMultiple publishers, creators drop out of ECCCC2E2 news!Jim Lee talks Didio!DC story details and notesVenom villain named Virus - NOT a symbioteSean Gordon Murphyverse?Iron Cat incoming!Neil Gaiman will narrate new Sandman Audible series for AmazonFormer DC Executive Creative Director, David Ewing named publisher of Heavy MetalSEGMENT: Polygon asks DC and Marvel creators about the past, and next decades in comics. TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEKDaveStrange Academy (2020) #1 (W: Skottie Young, A: Humberto Ramos)Aster and the Accidental Magic #1 (W: Thom Pico, A: Karensac)ForrestKing of Nowhere #1 (W: W. Maxwell Prince, A: Tyler Jenkins)Spider-Man Noir #1 (W: Margaret Stohl, A: Juan Ferreyra)TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEKDave: Decorum #1 (W: Jonathan Hickman, A: Mike Huddleston)Forrest: Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 (W: Ethan Sacks, A: Paolo Villanelli)JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.Dave: Decorum #1 (W: Jonathan Hickman, A: Mike Huddleston)Forrest: New Mutants # 9 Off Topic Top Shelf: Dave is getting into Devs

NEWSMore details on Dan Didio’s departureDC Cancels C2E2 'Meet The Publishers' Panel Following DIDIO ExitBad Idea expanding launch in comic shops from 20 to 50Coronavirus concerns hit con seasonC2E2 latest news: Silk is back!'X of Swords' announced at C2E2 X-Men panelUltraman cover revealThor vs. Galactus (Thor goes blind?) and moreFCBD revealed: Venom gets attacked by “War Machine” yellow symbol and Vulture fights Black Cat and Spider-ManMike Del Mundo dazzles with Threshing Place interior artEmpyre - Marvel universe goes to war plus gladiator fights?Ari Bard covering the con for AIPT, yahoo!TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEKDaveGrimm Noir #1 (W: Gerry Duggan, A: Ron Garney)Far Sector #4 (W: N.K. Jemisin, A: Jamal Campbell)ForrestGrimm Noir #1 (W: Gerry Duggan, A: Ron Garney)X-Men #7 (W: Johnathan Hickman, A: Leinil Francis Yu)ComicBookRoundUpCritic: Invisible Kingdom #10 (Dark Horse, 9.4)Fan: John Constantine: Hellblazer #4 (DC, 9.7)TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEKDave: Strange Adventures (W: Tom King, A: Mitch Gerads, Doc Shaner)Forrest: Strange Academy #1 (W: Skottie Young, A: Humberto Ramos)JUDGING BY THE COVER JR. Dave: Daredevil #19 (Del Mundo Spider-Woman Cover)Forrest: Harley Quinn #71 (Guillem March)SEGMENT: Co-writers Zac Thompson & Emily Horn on their new Vault series No One’s Rose “every rose has a thorn!” March 25 Vault ComicsOff Topic Top Shelf: No One’s Rose team: Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener + Crash by JG Ballard

NewsDan Didio out as DC publisherDC will reveal ‘hidden history’ with Generation(s) comicsDark Horse Comics producing “original” Predator comicHumanoids announce Mark Waid as publisher and new push for classic titlesSandman universe expands with The Dreaming: Waking HoursLocke and Key joins the Sandman universeDC Cancels Supergirl at issue 42Joker’s new sidekick, Punchline, is a hitMarvel Comics May 2020 solicitation surprises?TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEKDaveSkulldigger and Skeleton Boy #3 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic)Plunge #1 (W: Joe Hill, A: Stuart Immonen)ForrestBANG! #1 (W: Matt Kindt, A: Wilfredo Torres)Skulldigger and Skeleton boy #3 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic)ComicBookRoundUpCritic: Superman Smashes the Klan #3 (DC, 9.7)Fan: Daredevil #18 (Marvel, 9.2)SEGMENT: January 2020 Sales - how are pubs starting off the new year?TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEKDave: Tomorrow #1 (W: Peter Milligan, A: Jesus Hervas)Forrest: Fantastic Four: Grimm Noir #1 (W: Gerry Duggan, A: Ron Garney)JUDGING BY THE COVER JR. Dave: Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey & Emma Frost #1 (Russell Dauterman)Forrest: Avengers #31 (Gerardo Zaffino)SEGMENT: Chris Hassan on Jean + Emma week SEGMENT: Superfight - Jean vs. Emma - The Quiet GameOff Topic Top Shelf: Forrest - Professional Wrestling

NEWSMARK WAID Relaunches SQUADRON SUPREME Out of EMPYRE, plus Celestial MessiahMarvel’s Pull List reveals new details on a few upcoming May 2020 books.The Marvels #1 gets a full solicitBleeding Cool has new deets on Death Metal.Tom King shares details from canceled New 52 Superboy Abrams' Final Two SPIDER-MAN Issues Postponed Four MonthsTOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEKDaveAlienated #1 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Chris Wildgoose)Batman’s Grave #5 (W: Warren Ellis, A: Bryan Hitch)ForrestAlienated #1 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Christian Wildgoose)Undone By Blood #1 (W: Lonnie Nadler, Zac Thompson, A: Sami Kivela)ComicBookRoundUpCritic: Green Lantern Season Two #1 (W: Grant Morrison, A: Liam Sharp)Fan: Hawkeye: Freefall #3 (W: Matthew Rosenberg, A: Otto Schmidt)TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEKDave: Joker: Killer Smile #3 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Andrea Sorrentino)Forrest: Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #3 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic)JUDGING BY THE COVER JR. Dave: Ghost Spider #7 (Paul Pope)Forrest: The Red Mother #3 (Jeremy Huan)SEGMENT: Si Spurrier Alienated from BOOM! Studios Chris Wildgoose Superfight: E.T. vs. Alien vs. Alienated “superpredator”: Mud wrestlingOFF TOPIC TOP SHELF - Si Spurrier and Chris Wildgoose: Fortean Times, PUBG, and Jamie Oliver

NEWSBad Idea, a new way to sell comicsCullen Bunn authors lengthy Twitter thread about being accused of hiring Ghost-WritersStrange Adventures is rebranded as DC Black Label.Donny Cates hypes new Image “event” series.Tom King Says That Alfred’s Death Will Set Up The Events Of 5GFantomex to appear in Giant Size X-Men issue (to clear up Xavier confusion?)X-Men and Spider-Man FCBD covers revealed vs DC FCBD blunderJuggernaut #1 announced.TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEKDave X-Men + Fantastic Four #1 (W: Chip Zdarsky, A: Terry Dodson) After Realm Quarterly #1 (W/A: Michael Avon Oeming, C: Taki Soma)Forrest X-Men + Fantastic Four #1 (W: Chip Zdarsky, A: Terry Dodson) The Immortal Hulk: Great Power (W: Tom Taylor, A: Jorge Molina)ComicBookRoundUpCritic: Martian Manhunter #12 (DC, 9.9)Fan: Daphne Byrne #2 (DC, 9.8)TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEKDave: Undone by Blood (W: Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler, A: Sami Kivela)Forrest: Alienated #1 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Christian Wildgoose)JUDGING BY THE COVER JR. Dave: Dawn of X Vol. 1 (Tom Muller)Forrest: Doctor Strange #3 (Kev Walker)SEGMENT: Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler Undone by BloodCan 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?How did you land on the two-story structure for Undone By Blood? Do you have different notes, design documents, research for each half?  How do you split up the work for a co-written title? 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?Top 3 westerns (book or movies)?Is there a significance to one of the plots taking place in 1971?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?Is it easier or harder to sell genre stories? What was the original pitch for Undone By Blood?What do you like about revenge stories?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? Yondu exit interview...how do we feel about your 5 issue mini?!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?Last but not least, how do you think Yondu would fare in the world of Undone By Blood?OFF TOPIC TOP SHELFZac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler: Death Stranding and T.S. Eliott

NEWSDC begins teasing Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s next eventROBIN 80TH ANNIVERSARY 100-PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR Postponed a Week...does this reoccurring “spectacular” going to have legs?AARON & GUERA's GODDAMNED to Return This MayFree MARVEL SAMPLER Coming to Stores KICKSTARTER Launches BLUESTOCKINGS COMICS FEST to Showcase Queer and Trans CreatorsMarvel Introducing new villain, a “maligned” Steve Rogers Fan called The NaturalMadelyne Pryor returning to X-Men comics in Hellions Eddie Berganza and Eric Esquivel launch new publisher Alternate Empire to massive backlash (“latinx empowerment”)TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEKDave Thor #2 (W: Donny Cates, A: Nic Klein) Justice League #39 (W: Scott Snyder, A: Jorge Jimenez)ForrestDoctor Strange: The End (W: Leah Williams, A: Filipe Andrade)Protector #1 (W: Simon Roy, Daniel Bensen, A: Artyom Trakhanov)ComicBookRoundUpBlack Stars Above #3 (Vault, 9.2)Thor #2 (Marvel, 9.6)SEGMENT - Breaking down the difference between comic cover and contentTOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEKDave: X-Men + Fantastic Four #1 (W: Chip Zdarsky, A: Terry Dodson)Forrest: Dark Agnes #1 (W: Becky Cloonan, A: Luca Pizzari)JUDGING BY THE COVER JR. Dave: Star Wars: Darth Vader #1 (Mike del Mundo)Forrest: Butcher of Paris #3 (A: Dave Johnson)OFF TOPIC TOP SHELFDave: The Gentlemen by Guy Ritchie

NEWSBuffy comics to add “most important new character in 20 years”Newsarama releases a list of the 10 best Marvel stories as voted by fansOnly two comics sold over 100k units in DecemberDan Didio vows to fix Black Label delaysOni's RENDER Postponed Indefinitely After Artist Suffers Health IssuesWATTERSON, BECHDEL, HECK, SIMONSON, More Nominated for EISNER HALL OF FAME only 4 can win! JEN BARTEL and PUMA Join Forces for BIRDS OF PREY SneakersTOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEKDaveThe Runaway Princess (Johan Troianowski)Guardians of the Galaxy (2020) #1 (W: Al Ewing, A: Juann Cabal)ForrestJohn Constantine: Hellblazer #3 (W: Si Spurrier, A: Aaron Campbell)Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (W: Al Ewing, A: Juann Cabal)ComicBookRoundUpCritic: 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 booksTOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEKDave: 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 RoundupMarvel April 2020 SolicitationsIMAGE COMICS April 2020 SolicitationsDARK HORSE COMICS April 2020 SolicitationsDC Comics SolicitationsValiant SolicitationsOFF TOPIC TOP SHELFForrest: Gunpla

News:Empyre teasers drop all week.New blue costumes?!Top-selling graphic novels of the decade are...Catwoman 80th anniversary!5,395 comic books were released in 2019 Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson talks about the industry with NewsaramaChris Claremont and Brent Anderson returning for new story in GOD LOVES MAN KILLS special editionDark Horse will publish a comic adaptation of the original Alien scriptLemire and Del Mundo releasing their own take on Immortal Hulk in The Threshing PlaceTHE PUNISHER VS BARRACUDA #1 - Ed Brisson & Declan ShalveyTOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:DaveSkulldigger + Skeleton Boy #2 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic)Batman's Grave #4 (W: Warren Ellis, A: Bryan Hitch)ForrestVenom: The End (W: Adam Warren, Chamba Cruz)Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #2 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjic) ComicBookRoundUpCritic: Rai # 3 (9.0)Fan: Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #7 (9.5)TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:Dave: The Runaway Princess (Johan Troianowski)Forrest: Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (W: Al Ewing, A: Juann Cabal)JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:Dave: Once and Future #6 (Dan Mora)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:Wraith getting his own book in April, one-shotIDW and Smithsonian launch a joint publication programGLAAD announces comics awardsComics sales and orders were up 2.0% in 2019, approaching $500 millionInterview: Lonnie Nadler talks Black Stars Above, Yondu at Marvel Comics, and more!Segment: Our Best Comics of 2019!‘Gone too soon’ Best canceled seriesDavid: LokiForrest: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-ManBest WriterDavid: Jason AaronForrest: Si SpurrierBest ArtistDavid: Bilquis EvelyForrest: Tradd MooreBest Cover ArtistDavid: Alex RossForrest: Julian TedescoBest ColoristDavid: Matthew WilsonForrest: Ian Herring (Ghost-Spider)Best LettererDavid: Joe SabinoForrest: Hassan Ostmane-ElahouBest NewcomerDavid: NK JemisinForrest: Darcy Van PoelgeestBest Single Issue (structured as a one-shot)David: Doctor Strange #18Forrest: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6Best Non-2019 comic we read for the first time this yearDavid: Hit-Monkey by Daniel WayForrest: DorohedoroBest Graphic NovelDavid: Swimming in DarknessForrest: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With MeComic we wish we spent more time with/were caught up onDavid: Action ComicsForrest: Conan (+ tie ins)Best Single PanelDavid: Avengers: No Road Home double-page splash of all the heroes by Sean IzaakseForrest: Absolute Carnage #1 page 2: history of Venom spreadBest Comic for Younger ReadersDavid: Dear Justice LeagueForrest: Harley Quinn: Breaking GlassBest MangaDavid: Vinland Saga Vol 11Forrest: Gou Tanabe’s At the Mountains of MadnessBest Genre ComicDavid: Powers of XForrest: Gideon FallsBest Miniseries (1-6 issues)David: Spider-Man: Life StoryForrest: Batman: UniverseBest Maxiseries (6-12 issues)David: Peter Cannon ThunderboltForrest: CodaTop 3 Favorite comicsDavid:The DreamingJustice LeagueHouse of XForrest:Martian ManhunterCodaSilver Surfer: Black