Independent comic artists and writers are proud to introduce the inaugural Indie Comics Creator Con (IC3), a groundbreaking annual comic book convention dedicated to promoting independent artistry and innovative concepts. This event, scheduled for March 9, 2024, at Southern Connecticut State University, aims to amplify diverse voices, fresh visions, and passionate creativity within the comic book medium.
IC3 seeks to provide a dynamic gathering place for creators and enthusiasts alike, acting as a forum, marketplace, hub, and summit. Distinguishing itself from traditional conventions that center on corporate-owned properties, IC3 shines a spotlight on creator-driven comics.
Leading the charge is Matthew Sardo, a seasoned professional boasting more than 15 years of industry experience, who will serve as the Convention Director. Beyond its conventional role as a gathering, Sardo envisions IC3 as a local block party, fostering camaraderie among attendees.
“This is a celebration of the golden age of self-published comics,” Matthew Sardo shared. “The Indie Comics Creator Con is a unique platform to bring together a diverse group of people celebrating independent comics and creators. It will exude an atmosphere like no other.”
The launch of IC3 is bolstered by a Kickstarter campaign, aimed at materializing this ambitious venture. Backers will enjoy exclusive benefits, including discounted tickets, and limited edition convention posters by acclaimed artists like Tony McMillen, Pat Rooks, Jamie Jones, Ben Granoff, Sam J Royale, and Mahdi Khene. Additionally, the event introduces the inaugural Indie Comics Creator Con pin, signifying charter membership. For those unable to attend physically, a Stay-At-Home ticket option ensures remote participation.
IC3’s commitment to the independent comics community extends to a limited number of lifetime passes, providing lifetime access to the convention. Backers can also opt to add a digital or physical copy of the 2024 Indie Comics Yearbook, a comprehensive volume celebrating independent comic book creators worldwide.
The chosen venue for IC3 is the Adanti Student Center at Southern Connecticut State University, located just north of downtown New Haven. The spacious ballroom will house the showroom floor, where creators, vendors, and publishers will showcase their work. The adjacent 200-seat movie theater will host engaging panel discussions and informative sessions.
IC3 calls on comic book enthusiasts, creators, readers, and fans to rally behind this initiative, creating a haven for independent artistry and inventive ideas. For more information about IC3 and to support this endeavor, visit the Kickstarter campaign page. Regular updates can be found on IC3’s Instagram, Threads, and Facebook accounts.
THE DEVIL’S CUT #1 hits your local comic book shop on August 30 from the new publishing DSTLRY. The comic is an 88-page, premium-format one-shot with 11 stories. Eight of the stories will spin off into its own series. Check out my review and a 12-page preview below.
About the series: The Devil’s Cut is your introduction to DSTLRY, a new publisher redefining creator-owned comics. In the aging process, the whiskey that evaporates is called the Angel’s Share. But the most potent spirits are captured in the wood-the Devil’s Cut.
This is The Devil’s Cut-unfiltered stories from the most fearless creators, offering a distinct taste of the quality to come. 88 oversized pages printed on premium paper, featuring a flight of high-proof work from our Founding Creators including Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Tula Lotay, Mirka Andolfo, Jock, Becky Cloonan, Brian Azzarello, Marc Bernardin, Elsa Charretier, Lee Garbett, Joelle Jones, Stephanie Phillips, Ram V, Jamie McKelvie, Junko Mizuno and friends including Francesco Francavilla, Ariela Kristantina, Eduardo Risso, Christian Ward, and more. Edited by the legendary Will Dennis.
This kick-off issue will never be reprinted in this format again.
THE DEVIL’S CUT #1 preview:
Creators on the first issue: Scott Snyder, Brian Azzarello, Marc Bernardin, James Tynion IV, Ram V., Stephanie Phillips, Becky Cloonan, Jamie McKelvie, Mirka Andolfo, Tula Lotay, Elsa Charretier, Eduardo Risso, Francesco Francavilla, Lee Garbett, Jock, Christian Ward, Joëlle Jones, Junko Mizuno, Ariela Kristantina, and more.
Roughly a year after the first volume released, Tokyo Interstellar Immigration is back. Mado Guchimoto’s love-letter to Hollywood, sci-fi, and deep-sea marine life continues mere moments after the first volume ended, with the cast reeling from an appearance by the mysterious “Faceman.” But that doesn’t mean there’s time to rest. The agents have to try and return to their everyday not-so-routine life while the mystery continues to brew in the background.
About Tokyo Interstellar Immigration Vol 2:
Volume 2 of the series finds agents Lein and Ann continuing their tireless work for the Interstellar Immigration Bureau, an organization that stands as the underpaid, overworked last line of defense against all sorts of alien smuggling and kidnapping rings. Not that it was even Lein’s choice to work there; she’s entered a deal to stay the execution of her criminal mentor, Hein, in exchange for her service. Hein, whose severe sentence comes in part from being framed for the destruction of an entire city-block — the true perpetrator of which just showed himself. So the daily missions of the bureau mix with the ever-widening mystery of the alien criminal who goes by the title “Faceman.”
Writing
After the first volume’s relentless pacing and constant attempts to one-up itself with flash and spectacle, this installment settles down a bit to experiment more with what kinds of stories the setting can tell. But that doesn’t mean there’s less Hollywood influence. Stories rely on genre staples that range from a secret livestream snuff channel to a hitman dragged back into in the mob after his attempts to become a family man. There’s even confirmation that one of the characters used to work as a kind of in-universe superhero, and an offhand reference to a character named “Rorschach.” Guchimoto wasn’t kidding about being influenced by Watchmen.
But even while the comic keeps riffing on all sorts of classic sci-fi and crime plots, there’s a definite shift to the more small-scale, and often, sadder stories. The villains of the first volume were running massive operations that bred monsters, unraveled countless innocent civilians into dimensional thread, or compacted an entire apartment complex into “human stew.” Meanwhile, this volume focuses more on single people who get wrapped up in the universe’s seedy underbelly, i.e. a Shrimp Girl getting stuck as a smuggling truck driver, or a young woman finding out about her dad’s past as an assassin.
It’s these characters that get narration boxes or deeper looks into their personal lives (for which translator Andrew Hodgson continues to do an excellent job differentiating character voices), while Lein is often portrayed from an outsider’s perspective. But she still manages to remain the main focus of the series. Tokyo Interstellar Immigration isn’t in a rush to build an exact diagram of how its universe works, or to give each agent a dedicated chapter out of the gate. And don’t expect much motion from the central plotline. It instead tells a few self-contained little stories that each end on a nice character moment for Lein. She may not directly tell the reader her thoughts, but her interactions with different clients slowly build a picture of the person under her stoic façade.
Art
Even a toned-down Tokyo Interstellar Immigration is going to be an ode to excess. Highlights include an alien hivemind of worms, a mantis-man whose head unzips into giant pinschers, and a livestream creating a holographic diagram of a man’s face. The book also gets to play with framing as well, like for a sequence that focuses on jumping from wall to wall as characters chase one another up an endless stairwell. Panels snap between looking up and down the towering structure for maximum dynamic effect, characters blurred to lines of pure motion. The style on display remains one of the series’ strongest aspects, and Guchimoto has certainly not lost his step.
Lettering
But all that stylization and kinetic action means letterer Kalvin Travis has tons of sound-effects to redraw on just about every single page. Most take the form of stylish bubble lettering, bent and broken to match the action on the page. “Vrooooom” will tilt to follow a car across a panel, as “Thud” distorts like it was thrown against a wall alongside the character.
VERDICT
Tokyo Interstellar Immigration Volume 2 lets the series stretch its legs after an intense thrill-ride of a debut. It’s a more crime-noir-tinged outing that keeps Guchimoto’s strong sense of spectacle and enthusiasm. Hopefully it won’t be another year until the next volume. But if the series stays at this level, it’ll be more than worth the wait. Tokyo Interstellar Immigration Volume 2 is available now, so make sure to pick it up at a retailer near you.
MOON KNIGHT ANNUAL #1 hits your local comic book store on August 30th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you!
About the issue: MOON KNIGHT VS. TAEGUKGI!
The forces of chaos compel Earth’s heroes to go head-to-head with each other! When the champion of a god battles a godlike champion, who will win? The Fist of Khonshu faces off against Tiger Division’s fearless leader: It’s MOON KNIGHT vs. TAEGUKGI in a power-packed showdown!
The issue is by writer (and Taegukgi co-creator) Jed MacKay and artist Creees Lee, with colors by Arif Prianto, and letters by Cory Petit. The main cover is by Leinil Francis Yu and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Marvel’s CONTEST OF CHAOS is an event spearheaded by writer Stephanie Phillips, currently being told across eight annuals, and featuring Agatha Harkness using chaos magic to pit some of the publisher’s biggest heroes against one another. It all culminates in September’s AVENGERS ANNUAL #1.
Check out our MOON KNIGHT ANNUAL #1 preview below:
Are you following Marvel’s CONTEST OF CHAOS? Sound off in the comments!
From illustrator and concept artist Richard Blake comes a stunning science fiction debut in Hexagon Bridge #1. This opening chapter pulls readers in with its beautiful visuals and stays compelling with its building mystery. Featuring a unique story and incredible artistic direction, Hexagon Bridge #1 is a must-read for lovers of speculative sci-fi.
“Explorers Jacob and Elena Armlen find themselves trapped in a strange parallel dimension of elusive landscapes and shifting architecture inhabited by mischievous entities. Now it’s up to their clairvoyant daughter Adley and sentient robot Staden to rescue them!”
Writing & Plot
Richard Blake throws readers into the deep end in Hexagon Bridge #1. Right from page one, Blake places us in the interdimensional rift – the titular “bridge” – and introduces the events that serve as catalyst to the rest of the plot. He makes a clever and bold decision to not divulge that info until the last third of the comic, where Adley and the rest of the cast is introduced. This is where we find out that Adley’s parents have been captured at different points on the bridge, and what the bridge itself actually is, as well as other rules for this science fiction world Blake has created. While we’re only with the cast for a short time here, everyone feels real and well-rounded. This is thanks to the dialogue being a mix of simplified techno-babble and naturalistic speech. Blake does a wonderful job of dropping readers into this established universe, and I can’t wait to see where the next issue takes us.
Art Direction
Richard Blake is an artist first and foremost, and that fact shines through here in Hexagon Bridge #1. His representations of dissolving, interdimensional settings are stunning and visually fascinating. Blake uses structural geometry in a way that is seldom seen in a full comic book. His work as a concept artist shines with how he draws architecture and robotic characters. Blake’s fine pencils coalesce into smoky, almost dreamlike panels during the opening sequences as dimensions fall apart. These artistic effects make Hexagon Bridge feel like something that could have been published in Heavy Metal magazine when it was still worth reading. For someone with no prior comics work (as far as I’ve been able to research), Blake nails the creation of this sci-fi mystery using visual storytelling. His sequential direction is cleverly divided between two types of panels: wide shots showing scenery, and smaller boxes when he focuses on characters. This naturally guides readers’ attention and creates both scale (for the big sci-fi stuff) and a sense of intimacy when it comes to the human characters. Blake’s use of color is nearly as fascinating as his penciling. He uses a loosely watercolor-style effect that adds to the strange, dreamlike aesthetic of the interdimensional sequences in the beginning. Cold blues and grays create a foreboding tone at one point, and in the next fiery oranges highlight the sort of ordered chaos going on as structures break apart. Blakes actual coloring approach doesn’t change in the latter pages, but the use of said color art aligns more naturally back in the “normal” world. He shifts to using realistic light and shadow in the last sequence of the issue, demonstrating how dynamic his color work is. Overall, Hexagon Bridge is a tour de force of stunning visual storytelling.
Verdict
Hexagon Bridge #1 is a unique and beautiful start to not only this series, but to Richard Blake’s comic career as a whole. His storytelling here holds back on info to build mystery and intrigue while giving readers just enough to get to know how this world works and who the main cast is. His visuals are stunning and sophisticated, with a stellar mix of geometric sci-fi design and moody, gorgeous color art. This is a fantastic debut, so be sure to grab it when it hits shelves on September 13th!
IMMORTAL THOR #1 hits your local comic shop on August 23 from Marvel Comics. This new series is written by Al Ewing, with art by Martín Cóccolo, Matt Wilson drops the colors, and you will read Joe Sabino’s letter work. Check out my full review below.
About the series: In Norse myths, they called him Thunderer. Vuer has he been called, and Hloriddi. The Gods know him as Asgard’s King, keeper of Mjolnir, hero of the tales. When injustice grips the Earth and ancient powers bring down the sky, he fights for those who cannot—and when the tale is done, we will know what that cost him. This is the story of THE IMMORTAL THOR. PLUS: A bonus page written by Jonathan Hickman—WHO ARE THE G.O.D.S.?
KILL MORE #1 from IDW Publishing hits your local comic book shop on September 13. The 10-issue thriller is written by Scott Bryan Wilson, with art by Max Alan Fuchs, and Valentina Briški drops the colors. Check out my full review below.
About the series:
The city of Colonia is suffering from total economic collapse, but worse than the unemployment and urban decay is the skyrocketing homicide rate. Most of the few cops left on the force think it’s just another symptom of the city’s decline, but one detective has a darker theory… that the most depraved killers in the country have all moved here to take advantage of the chaos. As he and his new partner dig deeper into their rapidly growing list of open cases, they’ll find themselves in the crosshairs of a growing group of maniacs who realize that the best way to stay ahead of the cops in a city full of killers… is to kill more. Nothing can prepare you for Lady Facesmasher, The Sufferer, The Obituary Machine-and worse. Lock your doors and journey into the mouth of madness!
CRUSADER #1 hits your local comic shop on September 6 from Mad Cave Studios. The book is written and illustrated by Matt Emmons, with letter work by Andriy Lukin. Check out my full review below.
About the series: A Templar Knight finds himself transported to a dangerous realm known as the Beastlands. With sinister entities known as The Masters hunting him down, all he has is his sword and a weird, goblin-like creature named Grimbel to guide him through this strange new world.
THE SCHLUB #1 hits your local comic book store on August 23 from Image Comics. The ongoing series is written by Ryan Stegman and Kenny Porter, with art by Tyrell Cannon, Mike Spicer drops the colors, and you will read John J. Hill’s letter work. Check out my full review below.
About the series: The Schlub follows failing dentist Roger Dalton who blames the world for his problems… up until he is body-swapped with the world’s greatest superhero. Can Roger save Earth and finally prove to his family he’s not a loser? Or are we all doomed?
The premise is simple: read one comic every day for the entire year. It seems like a simple task but there is no way that I read 365 comics last year, even if you count the individual issues in collections. So, this year, I am committing myself to this reading challenge, in the hope that I can broaden my reading habits and fully engage with my favorite hobby again.
“Mulder…It’s a flying saucer! I don’t believe it!” – Dana Scully in Not to be opened until X-Mas, from issue 1 of The X-Files
Looking back, it’s amazing how much Dana Scully sees early on, and yet writers play her as a skeptic for so long. The X-Files comic series is worse than the television show in that respect. At least in the show, Scully was always just around the corner or unconscious when the craziness happened so she could write it off as Mulder’s flight of fancy or overactive imagination. In the comic, they chuck flying saucers and cannibal priests at her all day long.
After reading Tank Girl last week, I had my box of older British comics out, and sitting on top was The X-Files, also published over here by Manga Publishing Ltd. The comic strips are reprints of the Topps Comics Production comics published in North America. Just like the television show there was a delay between the America publication and the UK release. The comics had a 6 month delay, the television show about 12 months (depending how you watched it).
The X-Files was a revolutionary show, or at least it felt like it at the time. It was a series that drew a massive audience, and in the UK it became one of the top-watched shows, even beating The Simpsons in the ratings (the first video releases had some shops doing midnight openings and they sold 250,000 in the first week of release). The first and second seasons were amazing with some fascinating ideas and brilliant character work, especially for the quest characters who only popped up now and then. Actors Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny were superb individually, but even better together. Re-watching it now with my son (10 episodes in) and I forgot how kick-ass Scully was.
But what about the comics?
The X-Files #1 (UK Edition) Credit: Manga Publishing Ltd
The majority of the comics I own were written by Stefan Petrucha. I am not familiar with any of his other work, so I can’t tell you how The X-Files fits his style. The artist, on the other hand, is a lot more familiar: Charlie Adlard, who we all know best from his impressive run on Warheads from Marvel, right?
In 1995, X-Files #1 came out, and — if you watched the show — how could you resist it? The front cover for the debut issue, produced by Miran Kim, captures everything that the show represented. It’s dark and moody, mysterious and alluring, and tempts the reader with everything a specialist magazine should have. Plus a badge.
The Manga Publishing Ltd X-Files title was a proper fan magazine with creator/cast interviews, episode guides, and news about shows or films related to the series. The majority of the pages were taken up with the comic strip which, as one reader points out in the letters page of issue 3, “seems to be well handled both in art and script.” High praise indeed. But Peter from Cheshire is not wrong: Petrucha’s scripts are perfect X-File adventures for the comics. He brings the lore building and the myth making of the series to his stories which are more over the top than those seen in the early couple of seasons of the show (and that is saying something). And yet, they don’t reach a ridiculous level that would put fans off.
The aliens and visions are more elaborate in the comics than in the show, because the nature of the format allows the fantastical to be bigger and easier to interact with. Special effects, especially CGI, have a problem with the interaction of live-action characters and created environments, creatures, or even other characters. Comics do not have that problem. Hence the Cthulhu-esq creature in the three-part story “Firebird”. All those tentacles and the brightly burning single eye disintegrating everything it looks at would be difficult to do realistically on television but Adlard brings it to life with a believable flair.
Is that a Cthulhu I see before me?
It seems that a lot of the stuff I read brings me back to adaptation; maybe that’s the nature of comics in general because it is such a trans-media format. Almost from the beginning, comic strips have been branching out into other media and adapting stories from every source possible. It’s not really surprising that many of the great comics have links to other media productions. Obviously, with The X-Files, the television show came first, but there wasn’t much of a gap between the airing of season one and the release of issue one. Dave Hughes, writer for The X-Files magazine, doesn’t see the title as a “mere comic book adaptation.” Instead, he highlights that they “are all original stories reflecting the more intelligent and uncharacteristic devices used in the show that inspires them” (from The Uncanny X-Men article in issue 13). But I feel that is the purpose of all adaptation. With this statement, Hughes is dismissing direct adaptations, which is a disservice to some great comics, such as the 1985 adaptation of Dune published by Marvel. It also undermines a project by Topps to publish direct adaptations of the television episode. Starting with an issue zero taster in 1996, Topps published a run of nine issues before fizzling out.
Episode Guides as featured in The X-Files magazine
As Hughes pointed out, however, the writers focused on elements of the show beyond the story and characters. The visual tone and manipulative storytelling of the television series are strong features of the comic. Adlard has a gritty style that perfectly suited the tales Petrucha was telling and, despite some fan grumbles, the inconsistency in the character likenesses do not hamper any of the narratives. In the Hughes article from issue 13, Petrucha is quoted as saying “If people can’t get over the likeness problem, they aren’t really comic readers – they’d rather have a virtual photostory. [..] I’ve seen plenty of great licensed stuff where the likenesses are pretty inaccurate – the Cam Kennedy Star Wars stuff, for instance – but where the artwork is just stunning.” Hear, hear, I say.
There is an obsession with accuracy and fidelity in comic book adaptations, and character likenesses is a part of that. It’s interesting to see that this is not a new conversation, and that it was being discussed 30 years ago in relation to this comic series. But, as Petrucha alludes to, the ability to perfectly render an actor’s face does not make for great comic book storytelling. Adlard’s artwork, however, does make for perfect storytelling. He manages to breathe life into the heavy worded scripts, packed with exposition and journal/report style narration, and brings a dynamism to the page that isn’t easy to do with this type of script.
Interior art by Charlie Adlard from Issue 12 of The X-Files
This week I’ve read issues #1 to 12, and I still have a further eight to read from my collection (the series ran for over 40 issues originally). However, these first 12 make a wonderful collection, because the final story, “Feelings of Unreality”, is a three-parter that brings the previous nine issues to a conclusion, sort of. The 12 issues work like a television series with a beginning, middle, and end, featuring standalone stories, but also elements of the wider picture. They showcase the talents of the writer and the artists, and add a worthwhile entry into the X-Files saga.
I guess the question is, are The X-Files comics worth reading today? If you are a fan of the series, or a fan of the alien/government conspiracy genre, then they are definitely worth getting your hands on. There is a specific mood throughout the stories that might not appeal to some, but Scully and Mulder are as engaging on the page as they are on the screen. It’s just harder to hide the unknown when it’s so big and bombastic, but I guess Scully suffered some kind of amnesia around this point in time…
…the truth is out there!
Collection of covers by Miran Kim
That’s comics #223 to 229 covered, with a bunch to spare. I seem to have forgotten the format I was following for these posts but I’ll try harder next week.
