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With Further Ado #413: Three Wonderous Treasures to Share

With Further Ado #413: Three Wonderous Treasures to Share

Posted on by Ed Catto

Titan’s Andrew Sumner is a fascinating guy with so much to say. You might be enjoying his impressive publishing and collectible output from Titan, you might have seen him on so many SDCC or NYCC panels, and maybe you’ve even see his podcasts & YouTube interviews.

I must admit: I have the great privilege of hosting Andrew as a Guest Lecturer at Ithaca College. He’s always one the very favorites of the students.

Well, now the tables are turned. He’s the one being interviewed. Eoin McAuley provides an outstanding interview in the latest episode of Creator in Conversation..and it’s available here!

* * *

At San Diego Comic-Con in July, I always enjoy the small press area. Someone once gave me good advice: walk up and down the small press aisles with a little cash in your pocket and spend it with these talented creators.  And I always do.

Let me tell you about just two of the folks I chatted up there this year. Continue reading “With Further Ado #413: Three Wonderous Treasures to Share” →

Pop Culture SquadCast – Live: Episode #163 with Special Guest Phillip Kennedy Johnson

Pop Culture SquadCast – Live: Episode #163 with Special Guest Phillip Kennedy Johnson

Posted on by PCS Staff

Join Bob and Mike as they chat about current Pop Culture events. Superstar comic writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson will return to the SquadCast and talk about Midnight, Marvel Comics’ latest big initiative. It is sure to be a great conversation.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

If you don’t catch it live, you can watch later.

 

New Number Ones: New Comics Series and Specials Coming for the Week of 9/2/2026

New Number Ones: New Comics Series and Specials Coming for the Week of 9/2/2026

Posted on by Bob Harrison

It time that we bring you the list of new series and special editions coming on New Comic Book Day this Wednesday. We are highlighting what you need to put in your cart at the comic shop or digital marketplace.

Holy Moley Folks! What an amazing list of new series and special editions!? There are so many must reads this week that thank goodness there is a long weekend coming to help us catch up.

We have an alphabetical list with cover art and the official solicitation text from the publishers of some of the cool new comics that are coming out this week. Check below for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about the new comics in question.

We have books on this week’s list from:  DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom! Studios, Vault Comics, Bad Idea Comics, Oni Press, and Image Comics.

We will bring you reviews of these debut issues as they come out, and don’t forget to use the comments section to let us know what you think of this list.

New Series
New One-Shots and Special Editions

New Series This Week 

Archie #1
Oni Press
Written by Ben H. Winters
Art by Fábio Moon & Jason Wordie
Cover Art by Stuart Immonen

BEING YOUNG NEVER GETS OLD! THE MILESTONE COMICS PUBLISHING EVENT OF THE YEAR STARTS HERE AS ONI PRESS AND ARCHIE COMICS PROUDLY PRESENT A GROUNDBREAKING NEW ONGOING SERIES FOR THE MOST JOYOUS COMIC BOOK ICON OF ALL!

A new day is dawning in Riverdale as New York Times bestselling writer, Edgar Award and Philip K. Dick Award winner, and Eisner Award nominee Ben H. Winters (EC’s Cruel Universe, Benjamin) joins multiple Eisner Award–winning artist Fábio Moon (Daytripper, Casanova) to reintroduce America’s favorite teenager — and begin a star-studded countdown to Archie’s 85th anniversary — with a 21st-century testament to teenage idealism and the limitless joy of Archie Comics!

For his entire life, 17-year-old Archie Andrews has had it all: adoring friends, football glory, and a natural charm that always seems to make him the center of attention. Now, through his eyes, experience the warmth and wonder of Riverdale and its near-infinite roster of residents — the popular kids, the endearing oddballs, and everyone in between — as Archie embarks on a whirlwind, all-star adventure through his town’s past, present, and future… beginning with a local film festival that’s about to turn everything upside down!

And, at the center of it all, lies an enigmatic paradox that only Archie’s pal Jughead Jones can possibly unravel…

Plus: Puzzles! Pin-ups! Bountiful bonus stories! And a veritable sweet shop of surprises that all link to the same inextricable mystery… Finally, your antidote for postmodern malaise has arrived. Welcome to the all-new ARCHIE #1!

Release Date: September 2, 2026

PCS NOTES: A new chapter in the publishing life of Archie Andrews starts here, and it is a really good start.

Black Panther / Namor: Doomed #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Ethan S. Parker & Griffin Sheridan
Art by Stefano Nesi & Jesus Arbutov
Letters by Travis Lanham
Cover Art by Dave Johnson

BLACK PANTHER AND NAMOR TRAPPED IN HELL… WITH DOOM!!!

Black Panther and Namor must investigate Hell when Wakanda and Atlantis are attacked by demons! But once there, these rival kings discover they aren’t alone, as they cross paths with the wandering soul of Doctor Doom!

Release Date: September 2, 2026

PCS NOTES: An unlikely team up may make for interesting storytelling.

Crowbound #1
Image Comics
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Letters by Steve Wands
Cover Art by Nguyen

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale meets Cormac McCarthy’s The Road with echoes of Kill Bill and Pan’s Labyrinth when a noncompliant mother makes a dark pact with an ancient, violent Scarecrow Queen to stop a totalitarian government from taking her daughter.

Rose isn’t special. She works in the Factory just like everyone else — a dark, sprawling monolithic structure that runs along the coast and cuts the world in two. All that’s left now are desolate settlements that exist in its shadow, made up of submerged villages, derelict woods, and deadly swamps. No one knows what’s left of the world on the other side…

But when Rose’s young daughter Ava is violently taken from their shanty town home a year before she is meant to join the work force, Rose will come face-to-face with the surreal, harrowing forces outside the Factory’s walls — including a terrifying figure called the Scarecrow Queen, who has an offer: one last chance to save her daughter, in exchange for her soul.

Release Date: September 2, 2026

PCS NOTES: When this creative team works together, magic happens. Can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this time.  Continue reading “New Number Ones: New Comics Series and Specials Coming for the Week of 9/2/2026” →

Brainiac On Banjo: “And We Have — A Hulk”

Brainiac On Banjo: “And We Have — A Hulk”

Posted on by Mike Gold

“I want a world without gravity. It could be just what I need. I’d watch the stars move close. I’d watch the earth recede.” From Wicked Gravity, written by Jim Carroll.

Wikipedia defines Pet Peeve thusly: A pet peeve, pet aversion, or pet hate is a minor annoyance that an individual finds particularly irritating to a greater degree than the norm. Okay. Here’s my pet peeve.

From time to time, just about every person realizes they belong to at least one group that has been heavily discriminated against, and most of us belong to several. That is not my peeve. People who think that every comment about some act performed by a member of such a group is an insult or even an attack against all members of such group. That is my pet peeve. You can be a left-handed deaf German immigrant who wears moth-eaten lederhosen, and I may comment on your particular costuming, but that is not a comment upon on all left-handed, deaf German wearers of lederhosen.

Case in point: Mark Ruffalo, actor, activist, and Glamour magazine’s two-time sexiest actor alive. Nice guy, great actor (then again; some think Dean Cain can act), solid sense of humor, and, yup, he’s The Hulk. MAGAts do not like anyone to the left of Kevin Sorbo.

Like a majority of those who labor in our entertainment industries, Ruffalo is opposed to Paramount Skydance’s nearly finalized purchase of Warner Bros — the movie studios, the teevee studios, the cable holdings including CNN, and DC Comics. Paramount Skydance already owns Paramount, including CBS News. Already, they have crapped on their news operations by turning CBS into another redundant voice of fascism, ruining the reputation of the Tiffany Network, destroying the news division’s credibility along with the most honored American television news program, 60 Minutes. Where Paramount Skydance is concerned, you are no longer watching the CBS eye. The eye is watching you. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: “And We Have — A Hulk”” →

New Number Ones: New Comics Series and Specials Coming for the Week of 8/5/2026

New Number Ones: New Comics Series and Specials Coming for the Week of 8/5/2026

Posted on by Bob Harrison

It time that we bring you the list of new series and special editions coming on New Comic Book Day this Wednesday. We are highlighting what you need to put in your cart at the comic shop or digital marketplace.

This week’s list is chock full of superstar creators and super intriguing new concepts that have our wallets crying uncle.

We have an alphabetical list with cover art and the official solicitation text from the publishers of some of the cool new comics that are coming out this week. Check below for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about the new comics in question.

We have books on this week’s list from:  DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Mad Cave Studios, Boom! Studios, Vault Comics, Scholastic Books, Penguin Random House, Archie Comics, Oni Press, and Image Comics.

We will bring you reviews of these debut issues as they come out, and don’t forget to use the comments section to let us know what you think of this list.

New Series
New One-Shots and Special Editions

New Series This Week 

Chachu #1
Image Comics
Written by Iman Velani
Art by Marianna Ignazzi & Jordie Bellaire
Letters by Lucas Gattoni
Cover Art by Ignazzi

1979. Leila, a 19-year-old Pakistani-Canadian girl, stands on the cusp of adulthood, eager to experience the “real world” for the first time. With a head full of Hollywood dreams and a penchant for pulp novels, she ventures to California to connect with her estranged uncle — her “Chachu” — a middle-aged, semi-retired private eye who gained brief fame after marrying the starlet he was initially hired to find. But when Chachu’s wife goes missing once again, the two are forced on an impromptu road trip to track her down — with Leila navigating young adulthood and Chachu confronting his own mortality and regrets.

Inspired by her own coming-of-age experiences in the entertainment industry, CHACHU is the solo writing debut of superstar IMAN VELLANI (Ms. Marvel), a reinterpretation of the classic neo-noir private investigator story brilliantly illustrated by MARIANNA IGNAZZI (EXQUISITE CORPSES) and colored by JORDIE BELLAIRE (Absolute Wonder Woman).

Release Date: August 5, 2026

PCS NOTES: 

Death Vigil #1
Image Comics / Top Cow
Written by Stjepan Šejić
Art by Šejić
Cover Art by Šejić

The smash hit series is back! Bad news: You’re dead. Good news: You can join a band of Death Knights and help protect the world from necromancers and cosmic horror. The pay’s not great, but you’ll love your co-workers. So grab your spirit weapon and prepare for battle against the Primordial Enemy — join Death Vigil today!

From critically acclaimed creator STJEPAN ŠEJIC (STJEPAN ŠEJIC, RAVINE, APHRODITE lX, WITCHBLADE, Harleen) comes the exciting return of his creator-owned series DEATH VIGIL! The story of modern-age Death Knights locked in an ongoing war against the ever-growing power of the ravenous primordial Elder Gods. The only catch is you have to die first. Become a corporeal immortal Death Knight, and obtain reality-altering weaponry in the never-ending battle between Good and Evil.

Release Date: August 5, 2026

PCS NOTES: Fans of Death Vigil and Šejić will definitely be excited for this new release.

Fort Psycho #1
Oni Press / Flux House
Written by Matt Kindt
Art by Brian Hurtt & Bill Crabtree
Letters by Becca Carey
Cover Art by Hurtt

WELCOME TO FORT PSYCHO — THE EXTREME ACTION COMIC THAT ONLY STOPS TO RELOAD! From New York Times bestselling writer Matt Kindt (BRZRKR, Mind MGMT) and adrenaline-racing artist Brian Hurtt (The Sixth Gun, Manor Black), enter the 40-page first chapter of a powerful new maxi-series stocked with trained killers, secret betrayals, and the long-buried truth about the mission that led them to an off-the-grid island prison with no hope of escape…

Ten years ago, the nation of Singapore sank into the Pacific Ocean. The underground terrorist network known as the Seven Seals took credit for the largest act of terror in human history. In the aftermath, the United Nations created a strike team of highly trained covert operatives with one mission: locate, identify, and eliminate the Seven Seals’ secretive leader. The team’s clandestine affairs were to always remain in the shadows — until their final, explosive confrontation resulted in a large-scale tragedy too bloody to cover up and too tragic to ignore.

Disgraced and disavowed by the governments that trained them, the world’s most dangerous secret agents have been convicted for their crimes and sentenced to serve time side by side in the one place capable of holding them: their old island headquarters, Fort Cyclone — now known in the media by the derogatory nickname “Fort Psycho.”

And that’s where the official story is about to go terribly, terribly wrong…

Release Date: August 5, 2026

PCS NOTES: What a fantastically intriguing solicitation from some excellent comic creators. Continue reading “New Number Ones: New Comics Series and Specials Coming for the Week of 8/5/2026” →

Brainiac On Banjo: Thumbs In Your Hot Dog

Brainiac On Banjo: Thumbs In Your Hot Dog

Posted on by Mike Gold

“Would you have mansions of gold in the sky… and live in a shack, way in the back? Would you have wings up in heaven to fly… and starve here with rags on your back?” From There is Power in a Union, written by Joe Hill.

“We are the workers that make Dark Horse a home to the unique comics, creators, and creative principles known around the world.” From the statement issued last week by the Dark Horse Workers United (DHWU).

Forty years ago comics store owner Mike Richardson decided to take some of the loot that passed through his cash registers and start up a comic book company (Dark Horse Comics). It was the thing to do in the Eighties, but Richardson became the guy who actually pulled it off.

By 1986, most of the so-called independent publishers were coughing up blood and the distribution system looked like it was designed by M.C. Escher after he took LSD. They say timing is everything, but there might not have been a worse time to enter the racket since the paper shortages of World War II.

But Mike did it right, and of the American publishers alive at that time Mike was the only new guy to make it. He did so at a time when Marvel Comics and, particularly, DC Comics were booming. They controlled about three-quarters of the market at the time. Archie Comics was still on the stands, but that was the year Charlton went blooie. Harvey Comics was still around, kind of, flickering in and out of business while changing hands a couple times. They finally gave up the ghosts in 2003. Fun fact: what’s left of Harvey is now owned by NBC/Universal.

Screenshot

So much for ancient history. Richardson slowly expanded the company into film and television production, bringing Dark Horse published properties such as Hellboy and The Mask to screens large and small — as well as a really solid documentary about Don Rickles. Don briefly was also a comic book character.

In March of 2022, Mike decided he had enough of tending to the tubes and wires of industry and he sold the operation to video game holding company Embracer Group, retaining (as is common) his positions as publisher and CEO. He was fired four years later — for the math-challenged, that’s nearly three months ago. Jay Komas became the interim CEO. I believe Mike was the longest-serving publisher in American comics history.

So it goes. As Jack Kirby said, “Comics will break your heart.” Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Thumbs In Your Hot Dog” →

Brainiac On Banjo: Damn! The Source IS With Us!

Brainiac On Banjo: Damn! The Source IS With Us!

Posted on by Mike Gold

 

artwork: Tom Raney & Marco Santucci

“I like to do just like the rest; you know, I like my sugar sweet. But jumping queues and making haste, you know, it ain’t my cup of meat. Everybody’s out there feeding pigeons on a limb, but when Quinn the Eskimo gets here the pigeons gonna run to him.” From The Mighty Quinn, written by Bob Dylan.

Artwork: Jim Starlin

Three days before Christmas 1970, Jack Kirby introduced the Source to a bevy of anxiously awaiting fans in The New Gods #1, a gaggle of fans that, at the time, included me. The Source was the “wall” surrounding the Promethean Galaxy where the gods of the DC Universe both old and new power up their cosmic gifts. The Promethean Galaxy is guarded by the Source Wall which traps all those who attempt to get through it by turning them into stone and trapping them in the Source to be seen as a warning to those who might wish to escape our intergalactic confines.

And, really, who doesn’t?

Like just about everything worthy in the DC Comics universe, the Source has played a continuing and important role in their stories over the subsequent fifty-five years… and impacted (Fun Fact: that’s not really a verb) plenty of DC stories, even those few without the words “crisis” and/or “absolute” in the title. When Tom Raney and Marco Santucci needed a corporeal visualization for the Source they chose the visage of Jack Kirby, which was both fitting and appropriate for their story.

The New Gods started six years before George Lucas told us about the Force and explained how said Force always was with us. Lucas was, and remains, a fan of comics and comics art and, shortly after the time of New Gods, had been co-owner of a comic book art gallery in Manhattan’s upper east side.

The comics art form long has been seen as a predictive force in storytelling. For example, Buck Rogers’ interstellar gizmos influenced generations of NASA scientists, and Milton Caniff predicted both the atom bomb in Terry and the Pirates and, later, the kidnapping of heiress Patty Hearst in his Steve Canyon strip. Of course, Flash Gordon predicted the election of our current president way back in 1934. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Damn! The Source IS With Us!” →

Brainiac On Banjo: “What Fools These Mortals Be!”

Brainiac On Banjo: “What Fools These Mortals Be!”

Posted on by Mike Gold

“They hurt you at home and they hit you at school. They hate you if you’re clever and they despise a fool ’til you’re so fucking crazy you can’t follow their rules.” From Working Class Hero, written by John Lennon.

I am not a fan of corporate bureaucracy. It is always counter-productive. It is the enemy of creativity and productivity. Sadly, it also is as predictable as a coal miner’s cough.

There are few folks operating in the comics racket more deserving of praise and acknowledgement than Mike Richardson, co-founder and publisher, until last week, of Dark Horse Comics. He was publisher for FORTY years, which might very well be the American record. Marvel/Timely/Atlas founder Martin Goodman held his gig for only a third of a century, and whereas Bill Gaines was the publisher at EC Comics and Mad Magazine for forty-five years. I’ll leave it to those with an attention span longer than mine to determine if that makes him the longest-lived comic book publisher or just a magazine publisher with a bottomless sense of humor and a terrific appreciation of line art.

A whole slew of us started making and distributing new comic books back in the early 1980s — a time when there was Marvel and DC and Archie and Paragon… and damn little else. Great old stalwarts such as Gold Key (Whitman), Harvey and Charlton already had gone blooie at least once or, if extant, were coughing up blood. But back then the comic book store had become a real thing and publishers, old and new, could sell their wares directly to those outlets without having to take returns on unsold copies. DC Comics’ honcho Paul Levitz once stated that you’d have to be a fool to screw that up. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: “What Fools These Mortals Be!”” →

With Further Ado #385: A Is for Aparo

With Further Ado #385: A Is for Aparo

Posted on by Ed Catto

When Jim Aparo burst onto the DC Comics scene in the 1970s, he was the artist we all had been waiting for.  His slick and dynamic layouts, real-world figures, and expressive acting created scenes that were like an NBC detective show brought to life through the magic of bold, black ink.

At that time, I hadn’t been exposed to his Charlton stuff, so when he started illustrating DC’s The Brave and the Bold (starring Batman) and Adventure Comics (starring The Spectre), I was seeing an All-Star emerge who was more than ready to be drafted up from the minor leagues.

I’m delighted to kick off this year with three glorious Aparo books. Each is brilliant on its own, but together they help readers understand and unlock the brilliance of Jim Aparo.

Jim Aparo’s DC Classics Artist’s Edition
Scott Dunbier
Act 4/Skybound/Image

Scott Dunbier was the guy who “invented” the Artist’s Edition format – essentially reproducing the original art pages in an oversize book format. He recently made that entrepreneurial jump and is now taking his efforts to the next level with his own publishing imprint, Act 4 Publishing.  Through an arrangement with Image/Skybound the first Act 4 books are just coming out. Continue reading “With Further Ado #385: A Is for Aparo” →

Brainiac On Banjo: Take Netflix For The Win

Brainiac On Banjo: Take Netflix For The Win

Posted on by Mike Gold

“I can’t breathe. My throat is just a mess. My chest is burning up, and now my lungs are in distress. Should we blame the imbeciles ignoring climate change? Oh, who to blame for making the skies so strange?” From Blame Canada, written by Marc Shaiman – revised 2023 version. 

This could turn into a rant about the gutless pearl-clutchers who pseudonymously blather about how the world is going to hell just because their favorite cause-of-the-moment got sidetracked… and it still might. I can’t believe there are still word-spewers out there who want Zack Snyder to finish doing what Doctor Frederic Wertham could not.

But they aren’t the only ones losing their shit about Warner Bros, the company that has owned DC Comics since August 1967, being bought by Netflix. The bidding came down to three companies. The far-right wing Skydance, having just swallowed Paramount, submitted at least three bids for the doomed Warner Bros Discovery enchilada so they could take CNN over and prove to the world that they, too, could out-NewsNation the liars at Fox News. Each of their bids was rejected for being too low; evidently there are financial limits to the Ellison family’s political beliefs. The other two bidders, Comcast and Netflix, only wanted the Warner Bros part of the company. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Take Netflix For The Win” →