This week, Heavy Metal returns to comic shops with Heavy Metal #1! After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the magazine is back with the editorial team of Frank Forte, Dave Kelly and Chris Thompson.
Within this anticipated relaunch you’ll find Sergio Gerasi’s gorgeous revitalization of Guido Crepax’s seminal character, Valentina. This new vision of the femme fatale, which is fully authorized by the Crepax estate, was first published by Feltrinelli Editions in late 2024 and will be making its English language debut.
On the original comics front, Michael Conrad will be teaming up with Greek comics legend, Ilias Kyriazis, and letterer Simon Bowland, for an all-new series entitled Millstone. This dark and twisted fantasy tale fully embraces Heavy Metal’s bold, unrestricted style, and is sure to excite readers with its potent storytelling and immersive worldbuilding.
These new titles complement the previously announced line-up, starting with one of the magazine’s original legends, Enki Bilal, who returns for the English language adaptation of his acclaimed BUG series. He’s joined on the European front by previously unseen instalments ofBurton & Cyb by Antonio Segura and Jose Ortiz, as well as Vicente Segrelles’ The Mercenary. And, in the spirit of introducing American audiences to the freshest European talent, issue #1 will present the English-language debut of Janevsky’s cult sci-fi heroine, Sixella, in an original story, The Last Roots.
This special collector’s edition release of Heavy Metal #1 also comes with a variety of cover options, including the standard Greg Hildebrandt and Frank Frazetta covers – as well as a handy Blank Sketch edition to commission your favorite artist – plus three brand new covers created exclusively for the direct market. These covers shine a spotlight on some of the interior stories, including Taarna by Tula Lotay, Grimaldi by Keron Grant, and Sixella by hot French newcomer Janevsky!
For those who love the 1981 cult classic animated film, Heavy Metal will showcase some of their most famous faces in a series of new stories. There will be special one-shot tales of Cold Dead Warby Craig Wilson,Grimaldiby Keron Grant, and Legends of Taarna by Joseph Michael Linsner – as well as the debut of Taarna’s ongoing adventures, which will continue in each issue. Written by Leah Moore and John Reppion, with art by rising star Anna Morozova, colors by Ellie Wright, and letters by Tom Napolitano, this will be the definitive take on Taarna, which sets and establishes her character beyond the film and going forward. Forget what came before, here is your chance to get in on the ground floor.
Bridging the gap between European and American audiences is DC Comics superstar, Fernando Dagnino Guerra, who brings a new series of interconnected, yet stand-alone, cyberpunk shorts to the magazine – starting with Lester, That Old Feeling. Dagnino’s sci-fi splendor has most recently been seen within the pages of Blade Runner for Titan Comics, and these new stories represent a major leap forward in his futuristic storytelling abilities. Alongside these European classics and recognizable Heavy Metal characters, issue #1 will also feature the return of classic strips such as The Busby Paul Kirchner andJune 2050 by John Workman – plus a brand-new horror short, Transcendestiny, by acclaimed masters of horror, David Quinn and Tim Vigil; a tale of the Kecksburg UFO by Jim Rugg and a new story by Jonathan Wayshak.
All of that is in addition to a host of great editorial features, interviews, and coverage!
We have an exclusive six-page preview of Taarna that you can check out below. Then, head to your local comic shop so you don’t miss the return of Heavy Metal!
Renowned artist Greg Hildebrandt passed away yesterday, October 31 at the age of 85. An artist who is known for his fantasy and science fiction work, he’s produced iconic imagery for comics, movie posters, children’s books, posters, novels, calendars, advertisements, and trading cards, often working with his brother Tim Hildebrandt.
The Brothers Hildebrandt began painting professionally in 1959. Their work has appeared in comics for Marvel and DC, and for Magic: The Gathering and Harry Potter. There’s also their popular 1976 Tolkien Calendar.
But, what they might best be known for is their iconic poster for 1977’s Star Wars.
In 1981, the brothers began doing more solo work with Greg doing cover work for Omni and Heavy Metal as well as illustrating numerous books. From there it was cover art for albums, comics, books, and more.
Most recently he was part of the award-winning Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds comic anthology.
After months of hushed rumors and backroom whispers, Heavy Metal International has announced the official relaunch of its eponymously-titled flagship publication, Heavy Metal magazine, in the new year!
With a rich history dating back to 1977, Heavy Metal began by featuring work by greats such as Enki Bilal, Richard Corben, Guido Crepax, Philippe Druillet, Caza, Jean-Claude Forest, Jean “Moebius” Giraud, and Milo Manara.
Since that time, the magazine has passed through many hands, and faced many challenges, but is returning with a dedicated new team led by Chief Executive Officer Marshall Lees.
Returning to the helm, this time as Editor-in-Chief, is Frank Forte. With over 30 years of publishing experience running Asylum Press, as well as serving with Heavy Metal for parts of the last two decades, Frank brings a wealth of knowledge and connections to the role.
Joining Frank are two new faces to Heavy Metal, though definitely not strangers to the comics industry or brand, as they’ve been vocal proponents for many years.
Dave Kelly has previously enjoyed success with the Ringo-nominated Tales of the Night Watchman through his own So What? Press, but his love of Heavy Metal dates back over twenty years to his high school days, when he began buying back issues at used bookstores across his native Kansas. He joins the team now as Executive Editor.
And former Eisner Award-winning retailer, Chris Thompson—who helped to launch the Statix Press line and other initiatives with Titan Comics before doing the same with other publishers—rounds out the oversight team as Editorial Manager. He read his first issue of Heavy Metal at far too young an age in 1985, thanks to a wayward but influential friend, and immediately became a Philippe Druillet devotee, whom he eventually met and spent time with in his Paris studio.
The super-sized Issue 1 is already well underway, and the first round of pre-orders will be taken via Kickstarter early next month where fans will be able to grab some amazing limited-edition covers and collectibles. With a stellar line up of writers and artists contributing including mind-blowing new cover art from the incredible Greg Hildebrandt, this is set to be the best Heavy Metal magazine in many, many years!
Further details about the triumphant return of Heavy Metal will be shared over the coming weeks.
Don’t be a fool! Come to the Baltimore Comic-Con‘s 25th Anniversary on September 20-22, 2024 at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. The Baltimore Comic-Con has announced the addition of comics guests Howard Chaykin, Katie Cook, Greg Hildebrandt, Bob McLeod, Joe Staton, and Brian Stelfreeze for the 25th Anniversary event! Get your tickets online now!
Howard Victor Chaykin is a longtime veteran of the comic book business. As a cartoonist — both writing and drawing — he has been a major influence on the direction of comics, referred to frequently as one of the principal architects of the modern comic book. His signature creation, American Flagg!, introduced a new level of narrative complexity, depth of character, and point of view in its text, not to mention a previously unseen level of design and craft to the visual nature of an all-too-frequently staid and timid medium. Chaykin continues to produce work that pushes the envelope of concept, context, and content in comics…in The Divided States of Hysteria for example, a comic book which, thanks to social media, enraged an entire new generation of the willfully ignorant who might have had a better case if they’d actually read the damned book. Chaykin’s new series, Hey Kids! Comics!, is a fictionalized history of the comic book business, a love letter written with just a frisson of acid in the ink, to the field he’s loved and called home for over four decades.
Katie Cook is a cartoonist whose main focus is in comics and children’s books. She is the creator of the comic Nothing Special (online with Webtoon and in print from Ten Speed Graphix!) and Gronk: A Monster’s Story (probably still online? Books available from the stacks of boxes in the dark, scary part of my basement if you go down there yourself). Katie is the illustrator of the Star Wars books ABC-3PO, Search Your Feelings, The Galactic Storybook, and more. She has also written and drawn for My Little Pony, Marvel, Disney, Fraggle Rock, and so many other people. To all these companies, please don’t make me draw a horse again. We all know how that turned out.
The sons of a Chevrolet division chief, Greg Hildebrandt and his identical twin brother, Tim, were born in Detroit, Michigan in 1939. Both boys were avid artists and creative thinkers from a young age and carried their artistic passion with them throughout their childhoods.
After attending the Meinzinger Art School at age 18, Greg and Tim worked for the Jam Handy Organization and Industrial Film Production Corporation. They worked on animated training films for the auto industry, the military and major US corporations. In 1963, they moved from Detroit to New York City to work for Arch Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. He hired them to create art for his weekly TV show, Life is Worth Living, and to produce films on world hunger.
Eventually their focus moved on to commercial illustration, and in 1975, Greg and Tim illustrated the first of a series of Lord of the Rings calendars for Ballantine Books. This series of paintings launched the two men into international fame, with over a million calendars sold, and the name The Brothers Hildebrandt(R) was born! In 1977, Lucas Films hired the Brothers Hildebrandt to create the movie poster for the first Star Wars film, Star Wars: A New Hope. They only had 36 hours to create and paint the art. The movie was about to break in the theaters. They completed it on time. Lucas was very happy and another worldwide fandom was created.
In 2015, Greg had the opportunity to return to Star Wars after 20 years for Marvel Comics. He painted three new pieces for them for Star Wars compendium covers. He also painted Deadpool, Old Man Logan, Secret Wars, Captain America vs. Hitler, Black Panther, Thor, Thanos, The Inhumans, Conan and Old Man Logan comic covers for them.
In 2015, Greg started a new series titled “The Dark Side”. In this series, he painted his favorite villains in extremely large paintings, focusing mostly on giant head shots. The first three in the series are The Joker, Harley Quinn, and Batman.
In 2018, Greg began a new series titled “What If”. What if he wasn’t a kid in the 40’s and 50’s? What if he was an artist hired to paint the movie posters for the films he has loved since his first movie at age 5? So, he started with Creature from the Black Lagoon. The second painting he completed in this series is a painting for King Kong, 86 inches tall! This one is a killer piece of art. Then, Greg decided to repaint the 1977 Star Wars poster. In 1977, he painted it in 36 hours with his brother Tim. This time, he painted it in 36 hours alone.
Recently, Greg was honored by the Air Force at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. They requested a license to put one of Greg’s pinup paintings titled, “Keep em Flying”, on the nose of a transport plane. Greg, of course, said yes. This is a dream come true for him.
Bob McLeod is best known for co-creating and illustrating The New Mutants for Marvel Comics. He began his career with Marvel’s Crazy magazine, penciling, and inking movie and TV satires and the Teen Hulk strip. He has pencilled or inked all the major characters for Marvel and DC, including Spider-Man (most notably Kraven’s Last Hunt), The X-Men, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, GI Joe,Star Wars, The Hulk, Conan, and many more. Bob also wrote and illustrated a children’s alphabet book, Superhero ABC, published by HarperCollins, which received starred reviews. He edited and wrote articles for Twomorrows’ Rough Stuff magazine and taught art at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design for many years. He’s currently doing occasional variant covers for Marvel and commissions for his fans, along with occasional freelance jobs and personal projects. His website is www.bobmcleod.com.
Joe Staton has been drawing comics since he started working for Charlton Comics in 1971, where he co-created E-Man and Michael Mauser. Though the bulk of his work has been for DC Comics, at last count, Staton has worked for at least 30 publishers and 100 different editors. Among his many comics credits are Action Comics, Green Lantern, The Legion, Classics Illustrated, and various incarnations of Batman. During his time on Green Lantern, he co-created several GLs, including Kilowog, Arisia, and Salakk. He also designed GL Guy Gardner’s “bad boy” look. More recently, with his writer-wife Hilarie, he produces medical comics such as Pete Learns All About Crohn’s and Colitis and Amy Goes Gluten-Free. In 1998, he received the Eisner Award for his work on World’s Finest: The Superman-Batman Adventures. He penciled over 100 issues of the Cartoon Network’s Scooby Doo comic. He illustrated a graphic novel adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Anthem for NAL and a graphic biography of Ronald Reagan. Since 2011, working with writer Mike Curtis, Joe was the regular artist for the long-running Dick Tracy newspaper strip (available online at www.gocomics.com/dicktracy). Dick Tracy received Harvey Awards in 2013, 2014, and 2015 for Best Syndicated Strip or Feature.
Brian Stelfreeze, one of the original Gaijin Studios members, is a multi-talented artist, with experience and credits penciling, inking, coloring, painting, and even writing. His comic book covers have gained him much attention and lauding, and his run painting covers on DC Comics’ Shadow of the Bat for over 50 issues is noteworthy by itself. Brian’s creative output can be found on BOOM! Studios’ Day Men, Marvel Comics’ Black Panther, and be sure to pick up BOOM! Studios’ The Signature Art of Brian Stelfreeze to get a definitive look at the works of his publishing career.
This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), John Beatty (Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars), Brett Breeding (Superman), Tom Brevoort (coursey of Hero Initiative, FCBD 2023: Avengers/X-Men), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), John Cassaday (X-Force), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Michael Cho (Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories–Qui-Gon Jinn), Amy Chu (KISS: The End), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Katie Cook (Nothing Special), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Chris Eliopoulos (Ordinary People Change the World), Steve Epting (New Avengers), Trish Forstner (Feral), Franco (Teen Titans Go to the Library), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Ron Garney (BZRKR), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Greg Hildebrandt (Star Wars), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Jamal Igle (Superman), Klaus Janson (courtesy of Hero Initiative, Daredevil), Barry Kitson (Amazing Spider-Man), Jim Lee (Superman), Sam Maggs (Marvel Action: Captain Marvel), Shawn Martinbrough (Red Hood: The Hill), Mike McKone (Red Goblin), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Adriana Melo (Action Comics), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Fabian Nicieza (courtesy of Hero Initiative, Deadpool), Jerome Opena (Uncanny X-Force), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Andrew Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), Khoi Pham (Star Wars: Darth Vader), Andy Price (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Tom Raney (Green Lantern), Afua Richardson (Omni), Don Rosa (Uncle $crooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Alex Saviuk (Web of Spider-Man), Liam Sharp (X-O Manowar Unconquered), Don Simpson (Megaton Man), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Matt Slay (Equilibrium), Matt Slay (Equalibrium), John K. Snyder III (Suicide Squad), Mark Sparacio (Omega Paradox), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Babs Tarr (Batgirl of Burnside), Jeremy Whitley (Navigating With You, courtesy of Mad Cave Studios), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Marv Wolfman (What If…? Dark: Tomb of Dracula), Rich Woodall (Electric Black), and Leinil Francis Yu (Wolverine).
In 1994, Marvel Comics’ greatest characters were brought to life by two of science fiction and fantasy’s most renowned illustrators in Greg and Tim Hildebrandt’s unforgettable Marvel Masterpieces III trading card set. To celebrate the 30th anniversary next year, Marvel Comics will proudly showcase the Brothers Hildebrandt’s gorgeous Marvel Masterpieces III artwork in a new collection of variant covers.
Also available as virgin variant covers, the new covers will begin in January and continue all year long. Fans have already seen previews of the January pieces and now can see what’s coming in February, including spotlights on Cable and Night Thrasher for their upcoming new solo series.
Across more than 150 beautifully painted illustrations, comic fans saw the Brothers Hildebrandt’s masterful approach to the Marvel Universe with these timeless depictions of heroes and villains that have stayed with in the hearts and minds of fans ever since. Now, be captivated once more when they adorn the covers of select Marvel titles next year!
FANTASTIC FOUR #17 INVISIBLE WOMAN MARVEL MASTERPIECES III VARIANT COVER BY GREG AND TIM HILDEBRANDT – 75960620289801751
FANTASTIC FOUR #17 INVISIBLE WOMAN MARVEL MASTERPIECES III VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY GREG AND TIM HILDEBRANDT – 75960620289801717
SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK #5 SHE-HULK MARVEL MASTERPIECES III VARIANT COVER BY GREG AND TIM HILDEBRANDT – 75960620782400541
SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK #5 SHE-HULK MARVEL MASTERPIECES III VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY GREG AND TIM HILDEBRANDT – 75960620782400517
NIGHT THRASHER #1 NIGHT THRASHER MARVEL MASTERPIECES III VARIANT COVER BY GREG AND TIM HILDEBRANDT – 75960620831900161
NIGHT THRASHER #1 NIGHT THRASHER MARVEL MASTERPIECES III VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY GREG AND TIM HILDEBRANDT – 75960620831900117
SPIDER-WOMAN #4 SPIDER-WOMAN MARVEL MASTERPIECES III VARIANT COVER BY GREG AND TIM HILDEBRANDT – 75960620783100431
SPIDER-WOMAN #4 SPIDER-WOMAN MARVEL MASTERPIECES III VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY GREG AND TIM HILDEBRANDT – 75960620783100417
CABLE #2 CABLE MARVEL MASTERPIECES III VARIANT COVER BY GREG AND TIM HILDEBRANDT – 75960620814200231
CABLE #2 CABLE MARVEL MASTERPIECES III VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY GREG AND TIM HILDEBRANDT – 75960620814200217
Baltimore Comic-Con will return to the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on September 8-10, 2023. The convention has started to reveal its 2023 guests, starting with comic creators Jon and Judy Bogdanove, Steve Conley, Greg Hildebrandt, Pop Mhan, John K. Snyder III, and John Workman. Tickets for the show are now on sale.
As one of the chief architects of the record-breaking epic The Death of Superman, Jon Bogdanove is best known for his long run as penciler and occasional writer on DC’s Superman: The Man of Steel (most issues between #1-#85) where his dynamic work brought to life many landmark Superman stories, including some of the best-selling comics of all time. He also co-created Steel with Louise Simonson.
At Marvel, Bogdanove penciled — and later wrote — Simonson’s Power Pack and drew Fantastic Four vs. The X-Men by Chris Claremont. In a career spanning nearly 40 years, a few of Jon’s other comics projects include X-Factor, X-Terminators, Superman vs. Savage Dragon 2, Superman vs. Aliens 2, and issues of Batman, The Hulk, Alpha Flight, Solomon Kane, and an upcoming science fiction series from Storm King, Terraformed.
In 2021, Jon drew animation keys and cycles for a special sequence in the episode of Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go, “Creative Geniuses”. In 2022, he reunited with Louise Simonson to draw a brand new Steel origin prequel story for DC’s The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special.
Judy Bogdanove aka Judith Kurzer, has worn many hats (she’s a Sagittarius) – singer, actor, composer, lyricist, teacher, editor, writer…wife to Jon and mom to Kal-El. In the world of comic books, she wrote for DC (Steel Annual #1) and for Marvel, stories in The New Mutants Annuals #5 and #7, and Power Pack #54, and was also editor of the Letters Column of Power Pack, during which time she had the pleasant task of awarding the coveted “No Prize.” She also wrote content for 8 DuckTales stories in Disney’s Weborama Audio.
As Judith Kurzer, she performed with the New School Opera Workshop, the St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral Choir, and with companies that presented opera excerpts for children in the New York City School System. She sang the roles of Katisha in The Mikado and Meg in Damn Yankees for Maine Community Theatre productions.
Her music includes composing the score for Petunia’s Perils, an off-off Broadway show, new lyrics for the World Premiere of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha: the Concert Version, and scores and lyrics for three shows with the Moving Target Theatre Company: I Suppose You’re All Wondering, Till Death Does Her Part, and So: A Guy Walks Into a Bar.
Long-time friend of the show, Ringo, Harvey, and Eisner Award nominee, and guest since our inception in 2000 (!), artist and writer Steve Conley has contributed to numerous comic titles, both printed and on-line. His Astounding Space Thrills was self-published, published by Image Comics, and collected as a trade paperback by IDW. He has been featured in titles such as JLA-Z from DC Comics, Star Trek: Year Four from IDW, and Michael Chabon’s Amazing Adventures of the Escapist from Dark Horse Comics. His self-published Bloop is available through his online store in print or soft copy editions, and you can find his Ringo and Eisner Award-nominated webcomic The Middle Age on his website, tapas.io, Line Webtoon, and GoComics, and hard copies and digital collections can be purchased from his online store.
The sons of a Chevrolet division chief, Greg Hildebrandt and his identical twin brother, Tim, were born in Detroit, Michigan in 1939. Both boys were avid artists and creative thinkers from a young age and carried their artistic passion with them throughout their childhoods.
After attending the Meinzinger Art School at age 18, Greg and Tim worked for the Jam Handy Organization and Industrial Film Production Corporation. They worked on animated training films for the auto industry, the military and major US corporations. In 1963, they moved from Detroit to New York City to work for Arch Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. He hired them to create art for his weekly TV show, Life is Worth Living, and to produce films on world hunger.
Eventually their focus moved on to commercial illustration, and in 1975, Greg and Tim illustrated the first of a series of Lord of the Rings calendars for Ballantine Books. This series of paintings launched the two men into international fame, with over a million calendars sold, and the name The Brothers Hildebrandt(R) was born! In 1977, Lucas Films hired the Brothers Hildebrandt to create the movie poster for the first Star Wars film, Star Wars: A New Hope. They only had 36 hours to create and paint the art. The movie was about to break in the theaters. They completed it on time. Lucas was very happy and another worldwide fandom was created.
In 2015, Greg had the opportunity to return to Star Wars after 20 years for Marvel Comics. He painted three new pieces for them for Star Wars compendium covers. He also painted Deadpool, Old Man Logan, Secret Wars, Captain America vs. Hitler, Black Panther, Thor, Thanos, The Inhumans, Conan and Old Man Logan comic covers for them.
In 2015, Greg started a new series titled “The Dark Side”. In this series, he painted his favorite villains in extremely large paintings, focusing mostly on giant head shots. The first three in the series are The Joker, Harley Quinn, and Batman.
In 2018, Greg began a new series titled “What If”. What if he wasn’t a kid in the 40’s and 50’s? What if he was an artist hired to paint the movie posters for the films he has loved since his first movie at age 5? So, he started with Creature from the Black Lagoon. The second painting he completed in this series is a painting for King Kong, 86 inches tall! This one is a killer piece of art. Then, Greg decided to repaint the 1977 Star Wars poster. In 1977, he painted it in 36 hours with his brother Tim. This time, he painted it in 36 hours alone.
Recently, Greg was honored by the Air Force at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. They requested a license to put one of Greg’s pinup paintings titled, “Keep em Flying”, on the nose of a transport plane. Greg, of course, said yes. This is a dream come true for him.
Pop Mhan was lucky enough to get his jump into the comics industry under the tutelage of Jim Lee at Wildstorm Productions. Since those early days, his art has graced the pages of comics from Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Top Cow, Dark Horse Comics, and Tokyopop. His recent work can be seen at DC Comics, where he has been penciling licensed properties like Gears of War 3 and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and Marvel Comics on All-New X-Factor and variant covers for Amazing Spider-Man.
John K. Snyder III is an Eisner-nominated illustrator and writer of comic books and graphic novels. Creator of the independent comic series Fashion In Action, and adapter/illustrator of the graphic novel adaptation of Grand Master mystery writer Lawrence Block’s classic novel Eight Million Ways to Die published by IDW, he has worked for nearly every major publisher including DC, Dark Horse, Marvel, IDW, and many others. Snyder worked on Suicide Squad during its classic 1980’s run with writers John Ostrander and Kim Yale, and provided covers for the 2007 Suicide Squad mini-series. Along with Matt Wagner, Snyder co-created the Pieter Cross version of Doctor Mid-Nite for DC and Lady Zorro for Dynamite. Snyder also worked with Wagner on the epic Grendel: God and the Devil storyline. John’s recent work includes work for The Doors’ graphic novel anthology, Morrison Hotel written by Leah Moore and published by Z2 Comics, and a return to Suicide Squad with new covers for DC Comics to coincide with the release of the Warner Brothers movie. John’s future work includes all-new Fashion In Action adventures to be published by Clover Press. John encourages all artists and writers, young and old, to actively pursue their own creator-owned aspirations.
John Workman managed to turn a love for the comics form into a career. During the past five decades, he has held the position of editor, writer, art director, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, production director, and book designer for various companies. He created (with some help from Bhob Stewart and Bob Smith) the offbeat stories in Wild Things (with much of that material having first appeared in Star*Reach and Heavy Metal) and both wrote and drew the comics series Sindy, Fallen Angels, and Roma. In 1991, he reflected on model Bettie Page in Betty Being Bad (Eros), and later produced the hardbounds Heavy Metal: 25 Years of Classic Covers and Innocent Images: The Sexy Fantasy Females of Viper and Kiss, as well as The Adventures of Roma, a reformatted graphic novel version of his earlier series. He continues to write and draw and to do a whole lot of lettering for a number of comics companies on an international level.
This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Sarah Andersen (Sarah’s Scribbles), Brian Michael Bendis (Action Comics), Jon Bogdanove (The Death of Superman), Judy Bogdanove (Steel Annual), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Richard Case (Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Amy Chu (KISS: The End), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Abby Denson (Uniquely Japan), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Barbara Friedlander (Swing with Scooter), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Gene Ha (Mae), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Greg Hildebrandt (Star Wars), Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer), Matthew Loux (Prunella and the Cursed Skull Ring), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons), Adriana Melo (Action Comics), Pop Mhan (Gears of War 3), Ed Piskor (Red Room: Trigger Warnings), Joe Prado (Superman), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Jim Rugg (Hulk Grand Design), Andy Runton (Owly), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), John K. Snyder III (Suicide Squad), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), and John Workman (Wild Things).
(W) Jeff Parker (A) Dean Kotz (CA) Greg Hildebrandt In Shops: Nov 09, 2022 SRP: $19.99
JEFF PARKER (Aquaman, Future Quest) and DEAN KOTZ (Dungeons & Dragons) invite you to behold the battle between the dashingly heroic John Carter Of Mars and the neverendingly power-hungry little green men of Mars Attacks!
HOW has John never encountered these Martians before!? WHY do these cackling monsters want to conquer Mars? And WHAT happens when the war spills over to Earth!? Find out in the stunning volume!
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.
Disclosure: The site founder is a part of this project handling some of the marketing for Zoop
Come to Baltimore Comic-Con at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center this October 28-30, 2022. Baltimore Comic-Con has announced Howard Chaykin, Bob Hall, Greg Hildebrandt, Louise Simonson, and Walter Simonson as guests of our 2022 event. Get your tickets now!
Howard Victor Chaykin is a longtime veteran of the comic book business. As a cartoonist — both writing and drawing — he has been a major influence on the direction of comics, referred to frequently as one of the principal architects of the modern comic book. His signature creation, American Flagg!, introduced a new level of narrative complexity, depth of character, and point of view in its text, not to mention a previously unseen level of design and craft to the visual nature of an all-too-frequently staid and timid medium. Chaykin continues to produce work that pushes the envelope of concept, context, and content in comics…in The Divided States of Hysteria for example, a comic book which, thanks to social media, enraged an entire new generation of the willfully ignorant who might have had a better case if they’d actually read the damned book. Chaykin’s newest series, Hey Kids! Comics!, is a fictionalized history of the comic book business, a love letter written with just a frisson of acid in the ink, to the field he’s loved and called home for over four decades.
Bob Hall had a long association with Marvel Comics, where at one time or another he drew most of the major books and characters such as The Champions, Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, Conan, Thor, The Fantastic Four, The Submariner, Captain America, PSI Force, The Avengers, and The New Mutants. He was the artist for the West Coast Avengers mini-series and was the primary artist on the original Squadron Supreme. He drew movie adaptations of Willow, Dark Man, and the notorious first Captain America movie, as well as pencils and inks for the graphic novel, Emperor Doom. Bob was an editor at Marvel in 1979. For Valiant, he wrote and penciled the monthly series Shadowman, wrote Timewalker, and then created Armed and Dangerous, a black and white “comicbook-noir” series. For DC, he wrote and drew the Batman graphic novel projects Batman DOA, I Joker, and It’s Jokertime. Recently, he has been creating educational comics that have tackled measles, mosquitoes, COVID-19, and vaccine hesitancy. Bob is a member of the National Cartoonists Society, Actors Equity Association, and the Society for Directors and Choreographers. His work can be seen at www.bobhall.com. Commissions and original art are available through www.catskillcomics.com. He can be messaged on Facebook.
The sons of a Chevrolet division chief, Greg Hildebrandt and his identical twin brother, Tim, were born in Detroit, Michigan in 1939. Both boys were avid artists and creative thinkers from a young age and carried their artistic passion with them throughout their childhoods.
After attending the Meinzinger Art School at age 18, Greg and Tim worked for the Jam Handy Organization and Industrial Film Production Corporation. They worked on animated training films for the auto industry, the military and major US corporations. In 1963, they moved from Detroit to New York City to work for Arch Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. He hired them to create art for his weekly TV show, Life is Worth Living, and to produce films on world hunger.
Eventually their focus moved on to commercial illustration, and in 1975, Greg and Tim illustrated the first of a series of Lord of the Rings calendars for Ballantine Books. This series of paintings launched the two men into international fame, with over a million calendars sold, and the name The Brothers Hildebrandt(R) was born! In 1977, Lucas Films hired the Brothers Hildebrandt to create the movie poster for the first Star Wars film, Star Wars: A New Hope. They only had 36 hours to create and paint the art. The movie was about to break in the theaters. They completed it on time. Lucas was very happy and another worldwide fandom was created.
In 2015, Greg had the opportunity to return to Star Wars after 20 years for Marvel Comics. He painted three new pieces for them for Star Wars compendium covers. He also painted Deadpool, Old Man Logan, Secret Wars, Captain America vs. Hitler, Black Panther, Thor, Thanos, The Inhumans, Conan and Old Man Logan comic covers for them. In 2015, Greg started a new series titled “The Dark Side”. In this series, he painted his favorite villains in extremely large paintings, focusing mostly on giant head shots. The first three in the series are The Joker, Harley Quinn, and Batman.
In 2018, Greg began a new series titled “What If”. What if he wasn’t a kid in the 40’s and 50’s? What if he was an artist hired to paint the movie posters for the films he has loved since his first movie at age 5? So, he started with Creature from the Black Lagoon. The second painting he completed in this series is a painting for King Kong, 86 inches tall! This one is a killer piece of art. Then, Greg decided to repaint the 1977 Star Wars poster. In 1977, he painted it in 36 hours with his brother Tim. This time, he painted it in 36 hours alone.
Recently, Greg was honored by the Air Force at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. They requested a license to put one of Greg’s pinup paintings titled, “Keep em Flying”, on the nose of a transport plane. Greg, of course, said yes. This is a dream come true for him.
Louise Simonson has, like her husband Walter, contributed significantly to the comic book industry. “Weezie”, as she is known, began her comics career as an editor at Warren Publishing before leaving for Marvel to edit titles including X-Men, New Mutants, and Star Wars. Departing the editorial role in favor of writing, Weezie has contributed to storylines in Marvel’s Marvel Team-Up, Web of Spider-Man, and Red Sonja, and was responsible for the introduction of Apocalypse in X-Factor as well as the launch of Power Pack. At DC Comics, she worked on Superman: The Man of Steel and The Adventures of Superman.
Walter Simonson has made vast contributions to comics publishing, as a writer, an artist, and even in founding publishing imprints. He was recognized in 2012 at the Harvey Awards in Special Award for Excellence in Production/Presentation and Best Domestic Reprint Project for Walt Simonson’s The Mighty Thor, Artist’s Edition from IDW, and in 2013 for Alien: The Illustrated Story from Titan Books for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work. He also received the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 at the Harvey Awards. Walt’s career began in the 1970s at DC Comics, where he worked on titles such as Weird War Tales, Manhunter, Metal Men, Orion, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Vigilante, and Hercules Unbound. Over at Marvel Comics, Simonson has had numerous noteworthy runs, including The Rampaging Hulk magazine, X-Factor, Fantastic Four, and Thor, on which he was responsible for the introduction of Beta Ray Bill and Thor as a frog. His most recent epic is the Ragnarok series at IDW Publishing.
2022 GUESTS
Confirmed guests for this year’s show include: John Beatty (Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars), Brian Michael Bendis (Action Comics), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Richard Case (Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Katie Cook (Nothing Special), Kristina Deak-Linsner (Roses for the Dead), Gene Ha (Mae, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Mike Hawthorne (Happiness Will Follow), Greg Hildebrandt (Star Wars), Klaus Janson (Daredevil, Friday and Saturday only), Chris Kemple (Artist Alley Comics), Barry Kitson (Amazing Spider-Man), Joseph Michael Linsner (Red Sonja), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Shawn McManus (Sandman, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Frank Miller (Sin City, Friday and Saturday only), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), Trevor Mueller (Albert the Alien), Richard Pace (Second Coming, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Andrew Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), Khoi Pham (Teen Titans), Afua Richardson (Omni), Jon Romita, Jr. (Amazing Spider-Man), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Louise Simonson (X-Men Legends), Walter Simonson (Ragnarok), Mark Waid (Superman: Red and Blue), Emily S. Whitten (The Underfoot), Keith Williams (Thor the Worthy), and Thom Zahler (Love and Capes).
(W) Greg Hildebrandt, Tim Hildebrandt (A/CA) Greg Hildebrandt, Tim Hildebrandt In Shops: Feb 24, 2021 SRP: $59.99
Fans of classic fantasy illustration, and Marvel’s most iconic characters, are in for a one-of-a-kind treat with this book!
Greg and Tim Hildebrandt, collectively known as the Brothers Hildebrandt, have been at the forefront of fantasy illustrations for six decades. In the 1970s, their wildly popular and universally acclaimed J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings calendars helped to reintroduce new generations to this seminal fantasy work.
In 1994, Greg and Tim began an amazing relationship with Marvel Comics, producing the incredible Marvel Masterpieces trading card set, featuring all of the House of Ideas’ most incredible characters: Spider-Man, Captain America, Black Panther, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and so many others! That entire set is reproduced here, as well as showcasing model photos and preliminary drawings of the paintings.
Also included is the X-Men 2099 painted graphic novel by the Brothers (written by John Francis Moore), as well as a treasure trove of their entire output for Marvel, all illustrations from 1994 to today-more trading cards, posters, and others, and with insightful commentary, amusing anecdotes, and candid reminisces by the one and only Greg Hildebrandt.
