Comic Books

Or give life to inanimate objects? Was rewatching doom patrol and I really love the concept of bringing imaginary characters like gods/monsters to life being a power or pulling inworld comic book characters off the page and bringing them to life like flex mentallo?

Where they unlock their powers over time or have to earn them, have multiple powers or powers that get signficantly stronger over time til they are op.

Just read new superman and it was fun seeing the progression fantasy theme of him unlocking/earning/learning the powers instead of having them all at once.

Rogue sun and Radiant Black were fun reads that fit what i'm looking for.

Invinicible would loosely this catgeory since he gets all his powers at once and gets stronger over time but its the same powers, but everything else about it is progression fantasy (getting stronger over time, stronger villains, higher stakes, etc.)

Looking for series or stroylines/runs related to world hopping, just whatever yall found interesting or your favorite ones, I know its fairly common. Looking for basically isekai western comics, doesn't have to be superhero, really like the idea of superheroes in a fantasy world/realm (the inverse with them being heroes is fairly common)

Timed to Shakespeare Day, Joe Quesada is announcing ‘Undiscover’d’, a new line of comic books from Amazing Comics based on the timeless works of the Bard.

List is up! Sorry I'm late again, between the kitten and being busy at work plus all the normal stuff I've been swamped! I'm so far behind on my reading lol, and I haven't even picked up in a few weeks! Well let's see, what's for me?

Minor Arcana #6 - Loving this series from Jeff Lemire, also loved Fireflies. Psychic family and small town drama, pretty good so far!

Black Hammer Spiral City #5

From The World Of Minor Threats Welcome To Twilight #2 - Think I missed #1 but I'll have to grab it!

Assorted Crisis Events #2

Moonshine Bigfoot #1 - Didn't see the cover or synopsys but the name intrigues me.

Welp that's about it! What are y'all pulling this week?

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/27660145

Rob Liefeld: It’s a love letter to the team books that I grew up with, like The Avengers, The Titans, The Justice League, and The Fantastic Four that I grew up. Those books don't exist anymore, and let me tell you something, I miss them. There's a different dynamic. They don't approach these books in the same way. So, this is my love letter, and I think it's kind of a How To Do Team Books manual.

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Youngblood #1 starts a storyline, but it is actually is 92nd issue of Youngblood. In eight issues, it will be the hundredth issue. And at that point, I'm flipping to legacy numbering, so you'll soon be picking up Youngblood #100, #101, #102... I originally didn't want to come back with issue #92, but my publisher, Eric Stevenson, helped me and said, "Rob, you're at this many issues. You should consider that going into it."

It's a brand new storyline. There is a new menace that they're encountering, but some of the things that he's doing tie back into events of extreme comics in the past. As issue #2 will reveal, there are some big consequences coming. If you've ever read a Youngblood comic, you know who they are on page 3; they're each identified. Then each character has a "get to know me" moment.

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The other comic that I'm going to finish here in the next few weeks, because of the 50th anniversary of Giant-Size X-Men #1, is Giant-Size Youngblood #1. That's the standalone story that I think people are going to totally dig. I was drawing it as an homage to the X-Men one, which I believe is the most influential comic of the last 50 years and changed the game. It will be out in the Summer.

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ScreenRant: You're also releasing Youngblood Deluxe #1 this April. What makes that the ultimate way to experience the series?

Rob Liefeld: That's taking you all the way back to the original. I did that on a whim in 2007 and 2008, and we collected it together in a hardcover, and the hardcover sold out. I remastered along with Joe Casey; we reshuffled pages, we made them new, but we never released them as singles. I went to get a hardcover because we were running low - and my wife lets me know when I break the cardinal rule of not having enough family copies - but they're like $150 bucks. These hardcovers are really hard to obtain.

It was supposed to be out this week, but tariffs delayed it by a week. Thank you, tariffs. But I think the buzz about Youngblood will be there, so you can jump on board. We're releasing one issue a month of the original series, remastered and recolored, as an all-new presentation of this original material. You get to see directors do it in film all the time, right? It's like a director's cut of Youngblood. I think it's a perfect storm of having something new with the classic material. Trust me, there are more exciting Youngblood merchandise and licensed products to come.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/27615437

I developed a love for graphic novels around ten years ago. Back then, I lined a bookshelf with volumes. Now my comics are digital, and I'm enjoying them even more.

Back then, there was a larger gap between a digital comic and a physical one due primarily to the LCD screens that most of us had. Our phones didn't have the pixel density that they do now, and our tablets had even less. It was perfectly fine and enjoyable, but I'm not sure I would call the experience better than print.

Display technology has come a long way since then. This is apparent when comparing the original Nintendo Switch released in 2017 with the Nintendo Switch 2 launching later this year. Even though they both use LCD panels, the difference is night and day. The Switch 2's LCD is even a big upgrade over the Switch OLED.

I now read comics on a pixel-dense 7.6-inch OLED screen. The colors pop more than they do on the physical page. The contrast ratio is striking. There's no counting pixels.

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I only purchase DRM-free comics, buying from publishers that release their works without digital restrictions such as Image Comics, Iron Circus Comics, and Vault Comics.

Most of my collection has come though Humble Bundle. The site is usually offering at least one comic book bundle at any given moment in time. I purchase several bundles throughout the year, which each typically containing the entire run of multiple series.

This is an option that simply isn't viable with physical books. Quite frankly, it would cost me hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars to acquire physical copies of the comics I get for under $20 from Humble Bundle, if physical editions can still be found at all.

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In the US, if you have a library card, you can read many comics for even less—as in, for free—through Hoopla. I find that, at least for western comics, Hoopa tends to have what I'm looking for. I still buy comics anyway because I prefer to read them in a separate app, but I can only imagine how many comics I might have read if Hoopla were around back when I was a teenager.

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Besides, there's no reason you can't mix and match. Put physical copies of your favorites up on a shelf and carry all the rest with you when you leave the house.

New list is up! Sorry I'm late, I've been busy with work and the new kitty. Works out for me here that I have a short list this week:

Nothing! Looks like all my books took the week off, and that's just fine with me, damn vet bills!

What're y'all pulling this week?

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/27442885

We now live in darker and more morally ambiguous times. Anti-immigrant and right-wing parties have gained ground in the US and across Europe. Democracy appears to be losing its appeal for a generation. More than half of young people in the UK between the ages of 13 and 27 believe the country would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who “did not have to bother with parliament and elections,” a poll showed in February.

This complex universe is reflected in the recently released You Must Take Part In Revolution (Street Noise Books), a dystopian graphic novel by Badiucao, a dissident Chinese artist living in Australia, and Melissa Chan, a Hong Kong-born American journalist who in 2012 was the first foreign correspondent in more than a decade to be expelled from China after reporting on subjects such as the country’s “black jails.” The novel takes Hong Kong’s 2019 protests as its starting point, telling an alternate history in which China and a proto-fascist US government (led by a woman) are at war, and Taiwan has been divided in two, Korea-like, by a demilitarized zone.

The plot concerns three idealistic young friends who develop different beliefs about the protests and are separated. It culminates when two of them reunite to take part in an assault on the Hong Kong prison where the third is being held, with a bloody outcome.

Video-game review site IGN named You Must Take Part In Revolution one of the most anticipated comics of 2025 and described it as “perfect” — a valuable endorsement for a book that’s trying to catch the interest of a younger demographic.

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Graphic novels, at least in their more simplistic and escapist strands, have also reflected the world’s gathering democratic dystopia. Moore’s Watchmen set out in the 1980s to subvert the superhero genre, showing a group of flawed crimefighters grappling with their failings in retirement. The book frequently tops rankings of the greatest graphic novels. But the myth of the strongman (or woman) who will solve all the problems of an increasingly complex and confusing world clearly retains its allure.

The darkening trend of geopolitics offers a moment of opportunity for the graphic novel. Dystopian classics such as 1984, Brave New World, The Handmaid’s Tale, Slaughterhouse-Five, Lord of the Flies and Fahrenheit 451 have already been adapted into graphic form. A version of The Road appeared last year that was approved by author Cormac McCarthy before his death in 2023 (the illustrator is French cartoonist Manu Larcenet). In nonfiction, a graphic edition of On Tyranny, Timothy Snyder’s bestseller on how to survive and resist the arc toward authoritarianism, appeared in 2021.

Baby Blue, a thriller by Swedish comics artist Bim Eriksson published in March, is set in a society that polices emotions; it plays on the (very realistic) fears of an oppressive techno-surveillance state. R.U.R., released in December, is a graphic adaptation of a 1921 Czech play that gave us the word “robot.” “Dystopias are nothing new,” said Bill Campbell, head of the book’s US publisher Rosarium. One person’s dystopia is another’s reality, and for many, especially oppressed minorities, “reality isn’t particularly changing,” he said.

Still, publishers of more literary graphic novels are seeing dystopian themes as a breakthrough topic to attract general readers, according to Meg Lemke, graphic novels reviews editor at Publishers Weekly in New York. “There’s another surge of interest in dystopian and apocalyptic tales from across publishers,” Lemke said. The global graphic novel market will grow to almost $37 billion by 2032 from about $16 billion last year, Business Research Insights forecasts.

Archive

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/27434035

One of Image's latest releases, writer Deniz Camp's Assorted Crisis Events, is one of the boldest, most exciting uses of the comic book medium in decades. With only one issue released so far, Assorted Crisis Events has already surpassed many of the mainstream titles being released today. It's complete and utter proof that the comic book industry is as creatively free as ever, and that the medium has so much to offer that audiences can't experience anywhere else.

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One of the most impressive things about Assorted Crisis Events is the way in which it utilizes the comic book medium. While the story certainly could be told in live-action or animation, it is absolutely most suited to the comic book format. Taking advantage of bold panel design, engaging layouts, and mixing of art styles and character designs, the book is drop-dead gorgeous, and it evokes such an emotional response from its reader.

List is up, come and get it!

Robot Tod #2 - I was able to score the first one and picked it up after Jordan reccomended it. I actually haven't gotten around to it just yet (which is the theme this week, actually...I've been busy as hell.) Like the art though so I'll grab this too if my shop gets it.

Geiger #13 - Good ol Geiger, still my 2nd favorite of the Ghost Machine stuff. Hyde St takes the top.

Moon Is Following Us #8 - Behind but I'll get to em!

Jumpscare #2 - I like the art, I think I missed #1 I'll have to grab both.

That's it for me this week, maybe I'll even read some lol. What're you pulling?

What’s a modern day V for Vendetta? Looking for modern or current running anti-authoritarian comics. Just in that mood lately, you know?

I sometimes write stuff off because of cover art being too horny, and with comic books unlike manga and stuff that seems to be a mistake. I really like how they do the mad god dad concept (like trigon) and I always enjoy hybrid babies for whatever reason. It has transformation, isekai, mythology, etc. The mc is powerful because of their sense of self and thats why their evil god dad respects them, I liked that, it felt earned. think it was cool that they chose not to kill their dad so the annoying time onlmnicisent powers don't pass to them and instead try to get someone else to kill him/ get the final blow and take their place.

I feel like it somehow does a lot of typically overpowered concepts in an entertaining way and has a ton of variety. Bout to dive into the chaos universe and hope the rest is as entertaining as nyx.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/26735575

As I noted a few months back, 1950 was a major turning point in the history of EC Comics. Max Gaines had been one of the premier figures in the history of comic books in the United States, along with the development of the modern comic book format at nearly every step of the way, from the first hit comic books (which were collections of newspaper comic strips) to the launch of Superman in Action Comics #1 (HOW much Gaines was involved in that monumental point in comic book history has long been up for debate, but what isn't is that he was at least SOMEwhat involved in it), then to the launch of All-American Publications, a partner company to DC Comics, where Gaines' company introduced some of the most famous superheroes of all-time, like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Ma Hunkel. Okay, maybe not all of the heroes are world-famous...I guess not everyone knows Green Lantern the way they do Wonder Woman and Ma Hunkel.

Gaines then sold All-American to DC, and launched EC Comics, primarily focusing on Bible stories and other "educational" comics (hence the E in EC), but then he tragically died in a boating accident (he saved the life of a young boy by throwing him out of the way of the boat, but he was struck in the process. It's eerily similar to how the iconic singer, Kirsty McCall, died. In her case, she was saving her own son). With Gaines dead, his son took over the company, which was struggling at the time. Gaines wasn't exactly a comic book lover at the time, but he was a very open guy, and he became a bit of a sponge for the enthusiasm of the guys working for him. Al Feldstein got him to launch the first EC horror comic book, as I noted a few months ago, and then, in March 1950, they launched their first science fiction comic book, turning A Moon, A Girl... Romance into Weird Fantasy with its 13th issue!

As noted, Gaines was a very open-minded guy, and so Harry Harrison, who was working in an art partnership with Wallace Wood (Harrison would pencil the comics, and Wood would ink them, although sometimes the lines blurred between who was penciling and who was inking. The two had first met while both were studying with artist Burne Hogarth, but they didn't start working together until Wood had already started working at EC on his own), approached Gaines about EC doing science fiction comics. He gave Gaines some science fiction books to read, and Gaines was quickly hooked, and so he approved the new series.

The series was edited by Al Feldstein, though, who was becoming Gaines' top editor/creative partner at the company. Harrison had no control over the idea he inspired, so he and Wood would actually split up their partnership by the end of 1950, and Harrison would go off to become a popular science fiction author.

New list is up! Let's see here..

Let This One Be A Devil #2 - Still sleeping on #1 but I'm sold, it's James Tinyon (or however he spells it) and it's about the Jersey Devil.

Hyde Street #5 - Missing #4, need that one too.

Lucky Devils #3 - I've been loving this so far, two punk devils upending their corporate hellstructure.

Cruel Kingdom #4 - missing #3... I love my shop but they've been having some issues getting things..

Well that's it for me, what're you guys pulling this week?

Garth Ennis spins a zombie tale, only instead of zombies, it's every infant in the world under the age of 1 suddenly turned into raging non-verbal adults.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/26632018

Al Ewing‘s script for Absolute Green Lantern #1 evokes the spirit of H.P. Lovecraft. There is more horror than awe to the weird power that seems to have chosen Hal Jordan. The general tone is far closer to a Junji Ito manga than E. E. “Doc” Smith’s space opera.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59833152

The sixth standalone comic for Avatar: The Last Airbender takes place after the show, and is best read after the The Search and Smoke & Shadow graphic novel trilogies.

Focussing on the Fire Nation Royal Family, the synopsis reads:

Fire Lord Zuko's half-sister Kiyi enrolls at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. Known for its strict curriculum and even stricter instructors, Zuko worries for Kiyi. When things take a turn for the worse, Zuko takes action by installing one of the people he trusts most as an academy teacher. Can she keep Kiyi on the right path, or will the academy’s cruel culture shape her footsteps into those of her sister Azula?

EU sellers: Genialokal (german independent bookstores) - Lehmanns (german) - Bol.com (Benelux) - Bookshop.org (UK)

US sellers: AbeBooks (owned by Amazon) - Amazon – Barnes and Noble

Preview page:

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/26439499

If there were ever a time to “wage war on billionaires”, as the promo blurb for Patrick Horvath’s Free For All puts it, it is right here and now. This one-shot from the Eisner-nominated cartoonist, and publisher Oni Press. provides “a brutal new vision of capitalism by combat”. The premise is one that most readers will no doubt relish. Somewhere in the near-ish future the World Finance League – an organisation with a remit to benefit all of humanity – randomly selects billionaires and gives them an ultimatum. Either give away half their wealth or defend everything they possess in a battle to the death in a future sports-style gladiatorial arena.

In this self-contained story the main narrative thrust is the combat between the reigning champion Ted Brooks and his ex-wife Luella Dominguez. There is no love lost between the pair after Ted betrayed Luella years ago through his manipulative business scheming. She, in turn, has been training for this moment. But when the two meet what hope can she have against the 22-times-winning crowd-pleasing champ?

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Horvath’s art has a gritty, grainy quality here that blends a sense of realism with grotesquerie. The battle sequences are flowing in their choreography as unlikely weapons and wanton violence alternate with dexterous combat and sometimes graceful movement. And that sense of gruesome pageantry is enhanced by his colour choices. A comic for our current world of obscene wealth-hoarding if ever there was one.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/26351305

Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation has announced that it has been selected as the winning bidder to acquire substantially all of the assets of Diamond Comic Distributors after Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Alliance Entertainment is a global distributor and wholesaler specializing in music, movies, video games, electronics, arcades, and collectables. The proposed acquisition, which is subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, includes Diamond Comic Distributors (U.S.), Alliance Game Distributors (no relation), Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, and Collectible Grading Authority. No mention of Diamond UK, Diamond Select Toys, FandomWorld, Gentle Giant or Free Comic Book Day. I am hearing that there were multiple competitive bids and that the price Alliance paid was significantly more than anyone anticipated, which should be good news for publishers.

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Alliance Entertainment CEO Jeff Walker started out in the entertainment industry as the owner and operator of CD Listening Bar, a venue for music fans to gather together and connect over their mutual passions. Jeff founded music wholesaler Super D in 1995 and, with business partner Bruce Ogilvie merged AENT and Super D in 2013 to be the market leader in physical media distribution for music, movies, toys, collectables, and consumer electronics.

Alliance Entertainment states that they will gain deeper access to a highly engaged community of retailers and fans who form the backbone of the direct market.

Alliance Entertainment states that they have "substantial account overlaps already identified", introducing Diamond's distribution into Alliance's mass retail and e-commerce channels while bringing Alliance's catalogue of physical media and licensed merchandise into comic book and game stores.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/26350666

According to the announcement, Alien Books will receive distribution, marketing, sales analysis, and logistical support from IDW, while retaining creative control of editorial. Other than mentioning that IDW will essentially be the distributor for Alien via its existing relationships – PRH for both the DM and bookstores – details are scant. However it does make sense for Alien, which publishes a wide-ranging line of European and South American imports, manga, and perhaps most important to the US market, the relaunch of the Valiant Comics superhero universe. One recent release – the classic SF tale Black Star by Barriero and Giménes – is an example of the high quality material Alien produces that will benefit from being in PRH’s catalog. And of course the Valiant Beyond will play well there as well.

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Of all the new and unusual partnerships that are being announced in the wake of the Diamond Comics break-up, this is one of the more intriguing – and suggests the direction that more small but notable publishers might go in, if they can find a larger partner. Massive Indies was the quickest out of the gate, but more are sure to come.

Sorry I'm late lol, was sick as hell yesterday! New list is up, some good shit this week!

From The World Of Minor Threats The Brood #4 - Minor Threats always rules, I think I missed the other new one, I can't remember the name though.

Into The Unbeing Part Two #2 - definitely missed #1, part one was pretty weird, I'll continue it if In can without going online.

Falling In Love On The Path To Hell #7 - YES

Lucky Devils #3 - Just read the first two, I'm in. Two Devils (not the devil) upending their corporate underworld's structure. This shit is right up my alley.

Signings by Phil Hester, Andy Parks, Joe Quesada, Jerome Opeña, and Scottie Young.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/26233393

Not long after New Years, I started to see an intriguing image all over comics Bsky. It’s the one just a bit higher up in this post. Drawn by artist Dennis Fujitake, a dog-man stands in a space suit, holding a two-handed laser rifle, looking stoically into the distance as a sci-fi armada floats behind him. The image, as I say, was intriguing, but moreover, it was being shared by a number of trusted comics curators, singing the praises of the book for which it was the cover — The Dalgoda Omnibus.

I had never heard of Dalgoda nor seen this character before. So, I decided to look into it, and I learned that Dalgoda was a well-regarded comic that had gotten somewhat lost over the years. Written by Jan Strnad with artwork by Fujitake, the first of an eventual eight total issues was published in August 1986 by Fantagraphics Books. The reason I’d started to see that cover image on my Bsky feed, however, was that for the first time ever, Dalgoda was getting collected into a new format — The Dalgoda Omnibus, which arrived this year via About Comics. I saw more and more trusted voices excited about the book, and so when it came out, I snagged a copy. And I’m glad I did.

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What makes this a fun read is the characterization of Dalgoda. The cover I started this review discussing is sort of misleading. One could be forgiven for looking at it and expecting Dalgoda to be some kind of pack-leading badass, fighting the good fight throughout the galaxy. He is not. Dalgoda is a relatable and normal guy. He’s on a mission of great galactic import that he’s not excited about or, quite frankly, suited for. He doesn’t win big shootouts through feats of great bravery. He runs from threats, doesn’t make a ton of friends, and largely botches most of the very difficult things he’s tasked with.

And the brilliant humor and readability of these comics rise in large part from that contrast. We’re in a thoughtful, detailed sci-fi world where the fate of Dalgoda’s people, as well as the human race, is very much at stake as a terrifying and violent alien force bears down on both of them. And we’re following a guy who has too much in common with us — everyday normal readers — for comfort. It’s not like the hero’s questing, sci-fi power fantasies of its day. It’s something so much more fun and relatable and at times even poignant.