aftershock comics

One of the biggest comics conventions is taking place this week, so you know Dave and Nathan will recap all the biggest news on the AIPT Comics podcast! After we get through all that, check out our interview with Charles Soule and Will Sliney to talk Hell to Pay.

Visit our Patreon page to see the various tiers you can sign up for today to get in on the ground floor of AIPT Patreon. We hope to see you chatting with us on our Discord soon!

NEWS

1. 2022 Harvey Awards winners revealed
2. Marvel and Pfizer team up for COVID-19 vaccine awareness comic featuring Ultron and the Avengers
3. Marvel and New York City Public Library team up for special-edition Spider-Man library card on October 11
4. Marvel NYCC 2022
   1. Marvel reveals designs from Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti’s secret 2023 project
   2. Dark Web event gets series checklist and new details for January titles revealed
   3. MARVEL’S VOICES: The World Outside Your Window (Saturday, 10/8, 11:15 – 12:15 PM EST)
   4. MARVEL COMICS: Next Big Thing (Saturday, 10/8, 4:00 – 5:00 PM EST)
5. DC Comics NYCC news
   1. DC’s 2023 event ‘Lazarus Planet’ springs from ‘Batman vs. Robin’
   2. NYCC 2022: DC’s Jim Lee & Friends panel reveals ‘Batman’ cover art by Joe Quesada
   3. Action Comics continues with Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Dan Jurgens to supply backup with Lee Weeks: Jurgens and Weeks will explore a tale of young Jon Kent on the farm with his parents, learning about his abilities, coming of age… and battling the Doombreaker. The final story in Action Comics will feature Power Girl returning in a three-part story by Leah Williams and Marguerite Sauvage. This story spins out of the Lazarus Planet event.
   4. Superman Son of Kal-El ends, gets Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent launch in early 2023 with Clayton Henry on art and Taylor writing.
   5. Josh Williamson and Jamal Campbell to launch new Superman series: Superman has returned to Metropolis and his greatest enemy Lex Luthor is finally behind bars. The future of the Superman family has never been brighter! As Clark Kent settles back into his life, iconic and new enemies erupt from the shadows to strike down the Man of Steel!
6. AfterShock signs former DC Comics Senior Story Editor Brian Cunningham as editor in chief, their editor moved to Mad Cave
7. Publisher Charlie Stickney exits as Scout Comics publisher
8. Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla's horror comics series 'Night of the Ghoul' gets film deal
9. Vault's 'West of Sundown' gets expanded to ongoing series
10. 'Breath of Shadows' reunites Rich Douek and Alex Cormack in February 2023

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Gotham City: Year One (2022) #1 (Tom King, Phil Hester)
2. Dark Ride (2022) #1 (Josh Williamson, Andrei Bressan)

Nathan:

1. Poison Ivy #5 (G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara)
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #1 (Erik Burnham, Tim Lattie)

Standout KAPOW moment of the week:

Nathan - Spider-Man #1 (Dan Slott, Mark Bagley)

Dave - Batman #128 (Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: Namor: The Sub-Mariner - Conquered Shores #1 (Chris Cantwell, Pasqual Ferry)
2. Nathan: Namor: The Sub-Mariner - Conquered Shores #1 (Chris Cantwell, Pasqual Ferry)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

1. Dave: DC's Terrors Through Time #1 (Steve Beach)
2. Nathan: 007 #3 (Rus Wooten B&W variant)

Interview: Charles Soule and Will Sliney: Hell to Pay interview: Out November 2, 2022!

1. What would be the Hell to Pay mission statement?
2. Since announced in December 2020, late-stage capitalism seems to have only gotten worse, what was the motivations to make that element so important in Hell to Pay?
3. The official summary dubs this series Hellboy meets Indiana Jones, what is the collaboration process like creating the creatures in this series?
4. There's some historical connections introduced in the first issue, for the history nerds out there should they expect more?
5. Hell to Pay was being created over Twitch which was quite exciting, how did that affect your process and did it end up making you look at the work in a different light?
6. This series has been years in the making, but when did the first bud of the idea start kicking around?
7. Will, your layouts are fantastic in the first issue, along with the buildings and structures, what was the collaboration process like creating the truly disturbing locations in this book?
8. When diving into a story that has Hell in its title, how much research do you do as far as Hell in fiction and historical texts?
9. Will, there seems to be a lot of symmetry with how you frame the page, are you going for a specific effect with page design?

Visit our Patreon page to see the various tiers you can sign up for today to get in on the ground floor of AIPT Patreon. We hope to see you chatting with us on our Discord soon!

NEWS

• Marvel to upgrade 'Marvel Masterworks' in 2023 with Spider-Man, X-Men, and more
• Marvel announces oversized gallery hardcover of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's 'Spider-Man Blue'
• Marvel announces ‘The Sins of Sinister’ X-Men crossover event
• New ‘Dark Web’ tie-in miniseries ‘Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond’ #1 announced
• ‘Monica Rambeau: Photon’ #1 coming December 2022
• Al Ewing continues tribute to classic heroes with ‘Wasp’ #1 in January 2023
• Marvel’s RPG ‘Marvel Multiverse’ gets core rulebook and ‘Cataclysm of Kang’ adventure in 2023
• One Bad Day Riddler gets second printing
• Vault and Ram V announce indefinite hiatus of 'Radio Apocalypse'
• ‘Quick Stops’ kicks off Kevin Smith’s Askewniverse Secret Stash Press
• Mystery-thriller 'Spy Superb' sneaks into comic shops in January 2023
• Dark Horse Comics to publish horror OGN ‘Skinner’ for May 2023
• TKO announces Espionage graphic novel ‘The Witches of World War II’ coming spring 2023 and Sacred Lamb too

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Tales of the Human Target #1 (Tom King, and…Rafael Albuquerque & Dave Stewart (Green Lantern), Kevin Maguire & Alex Sinclair (Booster Gold), Mikel Janin & Arif Prianto (Fire)
2. Minor Threats #1 (Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, Scott Hepburn, and Ian Herring)

Nathan:

1. Minor Threats #1 (Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, Scott Hepburn, and Ian Herring)
2. Rogues’ Gallery #2 (Hannah Rose May, Justin Mason)

Standout KAPOW moment of the week:

Nathan - Detective Comics #1063 (Ram V, Rafael Albuquerque)

Dave - Amazing Spider-Man #8 (John Romita Jr. Scott Hanna, Marcio Menyz)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Amazing Fantasy #1000 (various!)
• Nathan: Saved By the Belle Reve #1 (various)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: X-Force #31 (Joshua Cassara)
• Nathan: Superman: Warworld Apocalypse #1 (Steve Beach Distressed Card Stock variant)

Interview with writer Ed Brisson 

1. Thanks for being on the AIPT Comics podcast, to start, you’ve been very busy with Deathstroke, and Predator, and There’s something wrong with Patrick Todd! How long has this wealth of different kinds of stories been in the works?
2. How has the fan response been for Predator? How great is it to get this out after the delay?
3. The Predator’s cinematic adventures have so far taken place in the present and the past. Was it always the plan to take your series to the future?
4. One of the fun things about the Predators is that we still know so little about them. Was that ambiguity something you loved playing with from your main character’s POV?
5. Batman Inc. drops Ghost-Maker into a detective story! How does Ghost-Maker approach a mystery differently from Batman?
6. With Deathstroke Inc. was there any trepidation in going with the “Year One” moniker? 
7. Was there a challenge in pulling back some of Slade’s ability and giving us a greener Deathstroke?
8. I’ve enjoyed the pacing of There’s Something Wrong with Patrick todd, especially that opening page to issue one. What went into crafting this superhero tale that feels inverted, as if the powers are not at the surface of the story?
   1. I gotta ask, was this always the title for this book? Whenever I see a long title I think “The SEO!”
9. When working with so many different artists with different skills, do you find the writing process different?
10. You’re writing so many characters now, and have written so many characters like fan-favorite Glob, at this moment in time do you have a favorite?
11. Ed you’re a busy guy, do you have other projects you’d like to talk about today?

Superfight! Deathstroke vs Predator - Who would be better at Twitter?

In this week's episode, comics legend Cullen Bunn and Heath Amodio join the panel for an in-depth discussion about their new series from Aftershock Comics, The Heathens. Then, Bronwyn crashes the party to help us review Venom: Let There Be Carnage. We've also got Lightning Rounds, some fun film and television announcements, and Bob's adventure while marching for Women's Rights. Let the carnage commence!

Books: Wonder Woman: Black & Gold #4, Adventureman #5, Inferno #1, Rorschach #1-12, Icon and Rocket Season #1-3, Crossover #8, Justice League #68, The Autumnal (The Complete Series), Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven OGN, DIE #1-20

Interview with Cullen Bunn and Heath Amodio starts at the 1:11:00 mark. Enjoy!

Movies: Venom: Let There Be Carnage

The Comic Book Podcast is brought to you by Talking Comics (www.talkingcomicbooks.com) The podcast is hosted by Steve Seigh, Bob Reyer, Joey Braccino, Aaron Amos, and John Burkle, who weekly dissect everything comics-related, from breaking news to new releases. Our Twitter handle is @TalkingComics and you can email us at podcast@talkingcomicbooks.com.

Hey Folks, Welcome back to our latest interview edition of the Pop Culture Squadcast.  In this episode, we spoke with comic writer David Pepose.

 David is known for his creator-owned titles Spencer and Locke, Going to the Chapel, Scouts Honor, and The O.Z.

He started his comic career interning at DC comics and was highly respected as the head of the comic book review team at Newsarama before diving full time into his freelance comic creating. His work has been nominated for multiple industry awards and his catalogue of work is continuing to grow into new publishing venues. 

His latest work, The O.Z., is a book that he is publishing through Kickstarter. The first double-sized issue was funded last year and currently the campaign for the second installment is underway. Backers have until September 15th to get behind this excellent comic.

David has grown as a writer and creator over the years that Pop Culture Squad has been around and he continues to be one of our favorite interviewees. 

We hope you enjoy the conversation

News:

Before we dive into the interview we recap the biggest news of the week. We start with DC Comics who is launching a new era with ‘Infinite Frontier’ in March 2021. They also revealed a ton of creative teams and new titles like Phillip Kennedy Johnson taking over Superman and Action Comics, Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo tapped for Nightwing March 2021, a new 64-page monthly anthology Batman: Urban Legends is on the way as well as the announcement of Superman: Red & Blue. 

In indie comic news, Archie Comics announced Mighty Crusaders by Rob Liefeld, a new limited horror series is on the way at BOOM! with Grant Morrison co-writing, and Vault Comics teased creative teams for 2021 all week long.

In Marvel Comics news, Mariko Tamaki and Gurihiru team up for ‘Thor & Loki: Double Trouble’ this March, Marvel is kicking off ‘Silk’ solo-series in March 2021, Marvel taps Daniel Warren Johnson for ‘Beta Ray Bill’ series in 2021, and Steve Orlando is set for Man-Thing.

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:                              

1. Black Cat (2020) #1 (W: Jed MacKay, A: C.F. Villa, Nina Vakueya)
2. New Mutants #14 (W: Vita Ayala, A: Rod Reis)

Forrest:

1. King in Black: Immortal Hulk (W: Al Ewing, A: Aaron Kuder)
2. Wolverine: Black, White, and Blood #2 (Various)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: King-Size Conan #1 (Various)
2. Forrest: King-Size Conan #1 (Various)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

1. Dave: The Department of Truth #4 (Tradd Moore)
2. Forrest: King In Black #2 (Ryan Stegman)

Segment: Interview Zac Thompson talks about I Breathed a Body
Release date: Wednesday, January 20, 2021.  FOC December 28, 2020
Artist: Andy MacDonald

Off Topic Top Shelf: Memories of a Murder, Zardoz, Ishtar

Welcome back to another spotlight interview. In this session, we spoke with award-winning comics creator and screenwriter Joe Harris.

Joe has a written a new comic comic, Disaster, Inc., debuting this week from AfterShock Comics. It is drawn and colored by Sebastián Piriz and lettered by Carlos Mangual.

He has written for Marvel, DC, Image, IDW, and Storm King Comics, among others. He is well known for shepherding the return of The X-Files to comics at IDW beginning in 2013. Some of his other titles include: Great Pacific, Snowfall, Rockstars, Slingers, and Surviving Nuclear Attack.

Harris also wrote the screenplay to Sony Pictures' Darkness Falls. His style is very character centered and his creator owned work tends to cling to the horror or speculative fiction genres.

We were excited to get a chance to talk to him about his writing process and also how he is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic while living in New York City.

You can find the audio recording of our discussion below, and we transcribed a big portion of it for you as well.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

The completed audio recording is here, but we transcribed some of the most important parts for you as well at popculturesquad.com

Welcome back to another spotlight interview.

During our practice of social distancing, we are still able to talk to comic pros and bring those conversations to you. The discussion we are bringing you this time is with comic writer Stephanie Phillips.

Stephanie has burst on the comics scene in the last few years. She wrote an original graphic novel that was backed on Kickstarter called Kicking Ice. From there she has written Devil Within at Black Mask Studios, Descendant and Artemis and the Assassin at Aftershock Comics, and The Butcher of Paris at Dark Horse Comics. She also had a story in the DC Comics anthology Crimes of Passion.

She has a few of new series that have been announced, including A Man Among Ye from Image Comics , Red Atlantis from Aftershock, and a new comic starring Taarna from Heavy Metal.

We had an entertaining conversation ranging from dealing with life in the world of coronavirus to her career and writing process.

The completed audio recording is here, but we transcribed some of the most important parts for you as well at popculturesquad.com

NEWS

• Diamond Comics Distributor to halt all comics and product shipments until further notice
  • AWA moving comics online during Diamond delay
  • DC writes letter to freelancers
    • DC will ship Gotham High to book stores
  • Marvel working on “Larger scale plan” 
  • Dark Horse reducing line, offering returnability, Vows Not to Release New Comic Books Digitally Until Print Distribution Resumes
  • Valiant engaging readers with Valiant Hero of the Week
  • TKO offering 50% profits to LCS’
• Manga publisher Viz still shipping via Simon and Schuster, others
  • Kodansha Comics & VERTICAL Debut on izneo Online Platform
• Abrams Spider-Man book delayed - 20 weeks overdue
• KUBERT SCHOOL Opens To Students Worldwide with New Online Program

SEGMENT: Anniversary Issues: While Nancy Drew celebrates the legendary character by killing her -- What is our ideal anniversary/milestone issue?

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK

Dave

1. Hellions: (W: Zeb Wells, A: Stephen Segovia)
2. Justice League Dark #21 (W: Ram V, James Tynion IV, A: Alvaro Martinez)

Forrest

1. No One’s Rose #1 (W: Zac Thompson, Emily Horn A: Alberto Jimenez-Alburquerque)
2. Hellions #1 (W: Zeb Wells, A: Stephen Segovia)

ComicBookRoundUp

1. Critic: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW, 9.5)
2. Fan: Immortal Hulk #33 (Marvel, 9.7)

INTERVIEW: STEVE ORLANDO (Wonder Woman, Darkhold, Martian Manhunter, Kill a Man from AfterShock)

• Can you give us a brief introduction to Kill a Man (on sale June 3) and why AfterShock felt like the right publisher for this specific story?
• How does your writing process differ working for the big 2 versus indie publishers? Do you prefer one over the other?
• You were the main writer on Wonder Woman when her big #750 anniversary issue hit, can you tell us a bit about spearheading that project and what you hoped to accomplish for the character?
• When you introduce the “Invisible Starfighter” in Wonder Woman #754 as you called it in a recent tweet, do you need to dig into the long boxes to see if it has been done before?
• Kill A Man focuses on the careers and relationships of two boxers, but according to your Twitter you’re also a pretty big professional wrestling fan. Which wrestler would you most want to write a comic for?
• There seems to be a reoccurring theme in your work, recently you mentioned in an interview with screenrant, “villains also work when they are dark reflections of a hero” and Darkhold’s solicit reads, “To save them all, the Scarlet Witch must gather the world’s greatest heroes...and unleash their inner darkness.” What is it about inner darkness that appeals to you?
• Darkhold is your first book at Marvel, what are some of your favorite Dr. Doom stories?
• Your Martian Manhunter series with Riley Rossmo was a deep dive on one of the most overlooked quote unquote main characters at DC. What Marvel character would you like to do the same for?
• When you were little, what did you think you’d be when you grew up?
• Coming off Wonder Woman #754 this week and only a week ago announced you'll be writing at Marvel Comics series I can only imagine your point of view on comics right at this moment is unique. There's a lot to capture all at once! How are you coping and what is your thoughts on the current state of affairs?

Segment: Off Topic Top Shelf: Ni No Kuni, Castlevania, Carb Smart Tortillas

NEWS

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

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK

Dave

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

Forrest

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

ComicBookRoundUp

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

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

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

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR. 

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

SEGMENT: Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler Undone by Blood

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

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF

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

THE NEWS:

• Marvel Comics has struck a partnership with Japanese media company Tsuburaya Productions to create new Ultraman comic books for American markets.
• Batman #85 - it will now include a two-page "prelude" of incoming writer James Tynion IV's run
• AfterShock Comics offers new commitment to comic shops
• HARLEEN Finale Postponed 3 Weeks, LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #2 Pushed Back 2 Weeks, DC Cancels Third DAMAGE Collection, BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT #5 Coming a Week Early
• Marvel produces first Braille Comic Inspired by Football Player with Blindness,
• DC Rush-Solicits New BIRDS OF PREY GIANT Title
• Marvel Quietly Cancels Loki series
• Marvel solicitations!

TOP BOOKS OF LAST WEEK:

Dave

1. Excalibur (W: Tini Howard, A: Marcus To)
2. Gwenpool Strikes Back! #4 (W: Leah Williams, A: David Baldeon)

Forrest

1. Olympia #1 (W: Curt Pires, A: Alex Diotto)
2. He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse #1 (W: Tim Seely, A: Dan Fraga, Richard Friend)

Trending now - 2099 Debuts. What brought the series back and do we need it? 

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK:

1. Dave: Basketful of Heads #2 (W: Joe Hill, A: Leomacs) 
2. Forrest: New Mutants #2

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.:

1. Dave: X-Force #2 (Gerardo Zaffino)
2. Forrest: Supergirl Annual #2 (A: Jonathan Glapion Viktor Bogdanovic)

Segment: Interview Tim Seeley and Dan Fraga (pencils) about HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE MULTIVERSE #1

Superfight: Beast Man vs. Orko, beauty pageant

Off topic top shelf: Watchmen and Social Media Algorithims - Tim Seeley, Dan Fraga