Tag Archives: colleen doran

Underrated: Snow, Glass, Apples

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This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way.

This week: Snow, Glass Apples.

Snow Glass Apples

We all know the story of Snow White at this point. Whether that’s from the Disney version, the original Grimm Brothers story, or one of the other iterations released over the years, I would be surprised if you didn’t have some level of familiarity with the story, so I won’t bother to recap or copy and paste a synopsis here because it’s ultimately a moot point.

Neil Gaiman clearly assumes the same, as Snow, Glass, Apples builds upon that innate knowledge of the fairytale by telling the story from the perspective of the Evil Queen. Originally conceived as a short story in 1994, the book I read this morning was adapted from that story, and fleshed out with illustrations by the fantastically talented Colleen Doran.

I’m not entirely sure if I’d classify this as a graphic novel or an illustrated novel, and ultimately it’s a moot point because I enjoyed the shit out of how the words and art interplay across the page.

There’s more of a classic art style to the book, and while it wouldn’t be my cup of tea in, say, a Wolverine story, it’s perfectly suited to the reinterpretation of a classic fairytale.

I featured Snow, Glass, Apple this week not because I think Neil Gaiman or Colleen Doran are an underrated pair of creators, but because this is the kind of book that can easily be missed or skipped over by those who don’t feel the strike of curiosity as they see the cover, and that’s a shame. This is a solid book, and I’m glad my LCS added it to the list of things that they recommended to me.

Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.

Around the Tubes

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Batman: The Brave and The Bold #2

It’s new comic book day! What are you all excited for? What do you plan on getting? Sound off in the comments below. While you wait for shops to open, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web to start the day.

ICv2 – Will Hollywood’s Latest Issues Cause More Trouble for the Comics Business? – What do you all think?

The Beat – Colleen Doran’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s CHIVALRY wins 2023 Locus Award – Congrats!

Reviews

Comicbook – Batman: The Brave and the Bold #2
Atomic Junk Shop – Centralia
Atomic Junk Shop – Squire & Knight

Dark Horse reveals The Complete Norse Mythology

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Neil Gaiman’s 2017 bestselling book, Norse Mythology, has been adapted into an 18-issue comic series spanning three separate hardcover volumes. Now, Dark Horse Books will collect the entire series for the first time into one oversized, deluxe collection! The Complete Norse Mythology will include Volumes 1-3 of the comic series, adapted by P. Craig Russell, the Eisner award-winning writer, illustrator, and Hall of Fame Inductee who has adapted Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, Only the End of the World Again, Coraline, and others.

Each short story in the series features art by different artists, including: Mike Mignola, P. Craig Russell, Jerry Ordway, David Rubín, Piotr Kowalski, Jill Thompson, Matt Horak, Mark Buckingham, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Sandy Jarrell, Galen Showman, and Colleen Doran. Dave Stewart and Lovern Kindzierski provide colors, with Galen Showman lettering. This deluxe edition also features cover art by David Mack, a sketchbook section, and a cover gallery.

In Norse Mythology Volume 1, learn about the creation of the Nine Worlds to the epic origin and adventures of Thor, Odin, and Loki.

In Volume 2, explore the origins of poetry—good and bad—in this tale of malicious dwarfs, suspicious giants, and the wise god Kvasir, whose eventual fate leads to the creation of a powerful mead that many will fight and die for.

And in Volume 3, various Norse myths are brought to life, including a wild quest where Thor and Tyr face a multiheaded giantess, fire-breathing sea serpents, and more bizarre mythological creatures; the journey of Odin to the end of the world, and finally we reach the end of the world Ragnarok: the final destiny of the gods. 

The Compete Norse Mythology HC (448 pages, 8 x 12.1875”) arrives in bookstores November 21, 2023 and into comic shops November 22, 2023. It is now available to pre-order for $124.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local comic shop and indie bookstore.

Preview: Shazam: Fury of the Gods Special – Shazamily Matters #1

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Shazam: Fury of the Gods Special – Shazamily Matters #1

(W) Zachary Levi, D.J. Cotrona, Colleen Doran, Faithe Herman, Amanda Deibert, Tim Seeley, David F. Sanderberg, Scott Kolins, Ross Butler, Josh Trujilio, Grace Caroline Currey, Adam Brody, Kenny Porter, Henry Gayden (A) Freddie Williams II, Erica Henderson, Jorge Corona, Scott Kolins, Andrew Drilon, Damian Fulton, Mike Norton, Scott Godlewski (CA) Jim Lee, Scott Williams
In Shops: Feb 28, 2023
SRP: $9.99

This 96-page giant features stories starring all of your favorite Shazam! characters as written by the actors who play them! Actor Zachary Levi takes the reins on writing Shazam, and Adam Brody, Ross Butler, D.J. Cotrona, Grace Caroline Currey, and Faithe Herman wield the mighty pen for their Shazamily superheroes! Battle zombies, befriend dinosaurs, try to get a phone signal in a world of barbarians, explore glitter land, and more just in time for the release of the brand-new feature film Shazam! Fury of the Gods! Made with all the love and fun of a superhuman family cookout!

Shazam: Fury of the Gods Special - Shazamily Matters #1

Saladin Ahmed and Megan Levens team up for Starsigns

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Writer Saladin Ahmed, artist Megan Levens, and colorist Kelly Fitzpatrick team for the forthcoming Starsigns. This exciting new series about astrology, superpowers, and diverse found family—in the tradition of X-Men and Heroes—is set to launch in May from Image Comics.

In Starsigns, the constellations of the zodiac fall to earth, granting twelve ordinary people from very different walks of life the superhuman powers of the Starsigns. But each of them is about to learn that power always comes with a price…

Starsigns #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, May 3:

  • Cover A by Levens & Fitzpatrick – Diamond Code MAR230029
  • Cover B by Colleen Doran – Diamond Code MAR230030
Starsigns #1

Interpop announces the Emergents TCG global release in February 2023

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InterPop is celebrating the first year of the ever-expanding fan-driven Emergents Universe with a trading card game, moving from Public Beta to global release on February 6, 2023! Among the team behind this new initiative are pro-players, and game designers Corey Burkhart, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Brian David-Marshall, Zvi Mowshowitz, and Drew Nolosco. This team counts two in the Magic: the Gathering Hall of Fame, the 2020-2021 Magic the Gathering World Champion, with multiple pro-tournament wins, and a resume of over 50 games and expansions released. Cards in the game feature art from legendary talent like Scott Kolins, Colleen Doran, Adrián Gutiérrez, and more.

The Emergents Trading Card Game taps into this already expansive universe and its rich storylines to create an unmatched player experience, while leveraging the power of the Tezos blockchain to turn cards into digital collectibles, with the ability to own your cards, cosmetics, and other game assets, via the almost any wallet in the Tezos ecosystem. The game combines the deep strategy of traditional TCGs, the convenience and fast pace of digital TCGs, and the digital ownership of Web3. 

Players can learn more about this rich universe and its characters Interpop Comics series The Nine, Emergents Presents, #ZoeMG, The Abyss, and The Rejects, which established this brand new superhero universe, with all comics available digitally via their InterPop Comics readership platform.

The Emergents Trading Card has been in Public Beta since August of this year, where players can download the game and start building their decks with regularly-updated batches of Free Set cards. As in the comics, the powers behind characters in The Emergents TCG are divided into 5 factions: Tinkerers, Acolytes, Sculptors, Strongarms, and Non-Stops. Each faction has its own advantages and disadvantages, and players are already finding exciting ways to creatively configure their decks.

To get players started with their own cards at launch, InterPop ran the Super Booster Flash Sale, which offered three tiers of “Super Booster Promo Packs” containing cards with exclusive artwork from artists like Scott Kollins, Colleen Doran, and Bill Sienkiewicz, player avatars, and Emergents Universe comics.

Colleen Doran, Greg Hildebrandt and Joe Jusko Join Comics for Ukraine

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Last week, more than three dozen comic-book writers, artists, colorists, letterers, designers, and editors announced a collection of all-new comic-book stories to raise money to aid refugees in Ukraine. Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, the benefit anthology edited by Scott Dunbier, with all proceeds going to Operation USA, surpassed an initial $35,000 funding goal just twelve hours after the campaign launched, with over $113,000 from over 900 contributors raised to date. The book will be full-color, 96 pages, 8 x 12 inches, and available in both hardcover and softcover editions, with hundreds of supporters on day one. As the campaign enters a second week of funding, it is announced that Eisner Award-winner Colleen Doran, legendary illustrator Greg Hildebrandt, and celebrated cover artist Joe Jusko have joined the project.

These three creators join the incredible roster of comics talent assembled for Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds; united under the mission of providing relief to a war-torn Ukraine, which has suffered attacks from neighboring Russia since late February. There will be multiple versions available: a hardcover with a painted cover by Alex Ross, and softcover versions by Arthur Adams, Dave Johnson, and Bill Sienkiewicz. At press time, stories will be created by a virtual who’s who of writers and artists, including Brent Anderson, Sergio Aragones, June Brigman, Kurt Busiek, Howard Chaykin, Joshua Dysart, Mark Evanier, Emil Ferris, Dave Gibbons, Rob Guillory, John Layman, Gabriel Rodriguez, Stan Sakai, Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, Chris Sprouse, Jill Thompson, Matt Wagner, Mark Waid, and more.

Apart from hard costs (printing, credit-card fees, marketing, etc.) all of the funds raised by Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds will benefit the relief efforts in Ukraine in partnership with Operation USA, so while the initial funding goal has been met, continued support will maximize the impact on the lives of those deeply affected by the ongoing war—improving conditions for Ukrainian refugees in neighboring countries via the provision of emergency grants and in-kind material aid. 

Operation USA supports health and education programs to help children and families at home and abroad recover and thrive in the wake of disasters, disease, violence and endemic poverty.  Every day, they strive to meet the needs of under-served and overlooked populations so that future generations may have the tools they need to create meaningful change in their own communities and lives. Working with partners around the world, they empower communities to recover, build resiliency and thrive in the face of pervasive obstacles during a time of unprecedented global need. Since 1979, OpUSA has delivered $450 million in aid to 101 countries.

Comics for Ukraine

Disclosure: The site founder is a part of this project handling some of the marketing for Zoop

DC is Celebrating George Perez’s Birthday for All of June

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During June, DC will celebrate the 68th birthday of George Pérez, one of the titans of the comic industry, with a two-page spread featuring some of his most beloved characters. Working from a layout designed by Dan Jurgens, some of the industry’s biggest names including Jim Lee, Walter Simonson, Alex Ross, Dave Gibbons, Todd McFarlane, Daniel Sampere, Jerry Ordway, Nicola Scott and many more, collaborated on the colorful spread.

In December, Pérez took to Facebook to announce that he has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Pancreatic Cancer. His doctors estimated he has six months to a year left, and rather than undergoing time-consuming treatment, Pérez decided to spend the time with his friends and family.

The tribute features the following DC characters that Pérez is most known for, as well as the man himself, drawn by a number of the top artists in the industry and colored by Hi-Fi:

DC George Perez Celebration
  • The Monitor & Anti-Monitor – Jim Lee & Scott Williams
  • Trigon – Todd McFarlane
  • The Spectre – Alex Ross
  • Darkseid – Walter Simonson
  • Firestorm & The Justice League Satellite – Scott Kolins
  • Ares & Hippolyta – Phil Jimenez
  • Cheetah & The Amazons – Colleen Doran
  • Lady H.I.V.E. & H.I.V.E. Agents – Scott Koblish
  • Vigilante – Dave Gibbons
  • Cheshire – Joëlle Jones
  • Brother Blood – Darryl Banks
  • Blackfire – Mike McKone
  • Gizmo & Mammoth – Klaus Janson
  • Shimmer – Bruno Redondo
  • Psimon – Mikel Janín
  • Neutron & Jinx – Dan Mora
  • The Legion of Super-Heroes – Francis Manapul
  • The Justice Society of America – Jerry Ordway
  • Power Girl & Huntress – Kevin Maguire
  • The Justice League of America (and the background) – Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund
  • Superboy-Prime & Alexander Luthor – Ivan Reis
  • Supergirl – Gary Frank
  • Harbinger – Adam Hughes
  • Pariah – Daniel Sampere
  • Jericho & Kole – Nicola Scott
  • The New Teen Titans, Deathstroke & George Pérez – José Luis García-López

Accompanying the spread on a separate page will be a key highlighting the characters and artists that participated.

In addition to being included in all of DC’s June issues, the tribute will also be featured as a variant cover for Dark Crisis #7. Each issue of the event series will feature a cover highlighting a previous crisis event from DC’s history, starting with the genre defining Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez for issue #1. Artwork and additional details on each of the covers will be announced at a later date.

A special version of the Dark Crisis #7 variant cover will be available for sale by The Hero Initiative to raise funds for one of Pérez’s favorite charities. Pérez is a founding member of Hero Initiative’s board of directors and has served as chair of its Disbursement Committee.

DC George Perez birthday Celebration

The Conclusion to Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology Begins in February 2022

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Award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman and Eisner Award–winning comics legend P. Craig Russell finish their comics adaptation of the Neil Gaiman novel, Norse Mythology, with a stunning third and final series! This final arc will see artists Colleen Doran, the artist and co-creator behind the Eisner Award and Bram Stoker Award-winning graphic novel adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Snow, Glass, Apples, P. Craig Russell, and Galen Showman tackle some of the most iconic stories in Norse Mythology.     

First up is a story illustrated by the incomparable David Rubín, the first issue in this third series sees the sea giant Aegir as he avoids having to throw a banquet for the gods by setting Thor and Tyr off on a wild quest to find a cauldron and pitting our heroes against a multiheaded giantess, fire-breathing sea serpents, and more bizarre mythological creatures.

Norse Mythology III #1 will be in comic shops February 9, 2022.

Z2 Comics & Balmain Partner for Balmain Dreams: 10 Or, a Graphic Novel Celebrating the Historic Fashion House

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Z2 Comics has partnered with legendary Parisian fashion house Balmain for a new graphic novel, Balmain Dreams: 10 Or. Containing more than a dozen illustrated short stories, with each tale focused on one signature Balmain runway design, Balmain Dreams: 10 Or is a graphic novel that builds a series of dreamscapes and fantasies directly upon the key inspirations behind iconic Balmain pieces. Z2 Comic timed the release of this new work to coincide with Balmain’s celebrations marking Olivier Rousteing’s ten years as the house’s Creative Director.

The resulting tome features stories by such artistic and comic industry luminaries as David Mack, Colleen Doran, Alitha E. Martinez, Dani, and Bengal.   

A percentage of Balmain Dreams: 10 Or’s proceeds is dedicated to Balmain’s longtime partner, (RED). The house has collaborated with (RED) on multiple projects and products over the years, in order to help raise needed monies for the Global Fund in the fight against HIV/AIDS. With new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths on the decline, and more people accessing life-saving treatment than ever before, the efforts of (RED) and The Global Fund have been critical to the incredible progress that has been made over the past two decades.

However, the recent emergence of COVID-19 puts much of that hard-won progress in jeopardy. It is feared that the impact of COVID-19 on health programs could result in an increase in AIDS-related deaths and new HIV infections, as health and community systems are overwhelmed, treatment and prevention programs are disrupted and resources are diverted. (RED) and The Global Fund are working to ensure that urgent funding and resources are sent to the countries that need it most, helping to protect the years of gains made in the AIDS fight.

Balmain Dreams: 10 Or is available directly from Z2 Comics and participating retailers.

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