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New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for October 2022

New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for October 2022

Posted on by Bob Harrison

This month there are a bunch of special release that are timed with the season. So many in fact that we decided that they needed a special post. A few publishers are putting out anthology one-shot issue or books to celebrate the Halloween season and some others have just timed the release of their books to coincide nicely.

There is an alphabetical list of these special books below, and don’t forget to check for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about these comics.

There are books on the list from: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Scout Comics, StormKing Productions, Archie Comics, and OffRegister Press.

Batman: One Bad Day – The Penguin #1
DC Comics
Written by John Ridley
Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, & Arif Prianto
Cover Art by Camuncoli

The Penguin’s criminal enterprise and the Iceberg Lounge have been stolen from underneath him by his former associate the Umbrella Man. The Umbrella Man has removed all of the rules for crime in Gotham City that the Penguin put in place, and the city is in chaos. The Penguin is a broken man, and he’ll have to travel through the burning streets of Gotham with a gun and a single bullet putting together a new crew to take back what he’s built. Will Batman help the devil he knows or face the devil he doesn’t in the form of the Umbrella Man? A crime epic from the team behind the critically acclaimed Other History of the DC Universe, John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli–don’t miss it!

Release Date: October 18, 2022

PCS NOTES: This is the next installment in the series of one-shots that focus on one Batman villain at a time. Definitely entertaining.

Crypt of Shadows #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Al Ewing, Christian Cooper, Danny Lore, Chris Condon, Rebecca Roanhorse, & Adam Warren
Art by Warren, Ibrahim Moustafa, Geoff Shaw, & Karen S. Darboe
Cover Art by Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho

The heroes of the Marvel Universe spend most of their time in the bright sun, flying high above it all…but every once in a while, they venture into the darkness that lurks in the hidden corners of the world. There lurk the creatures, the monsters, the vampires…the ones who prey on innocence and goodness. Join us, and some of your favorite heroes, for tales of fangs, claws and silent, stalking swamp creatures to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve!

Release Date: October 19, 2022

PCS NOTES: This is the kind of fun spooky season anthology that we get excited for each October. I am particularly interested in the Chris Cooper story in this book. 

DC’s Terrors Through Time #1
DC Comics
Written by Paul Levitz, Jeremy Haun, Tim Seeley, Zac Thompson, & Karla Pacheco
Art by Juan Doe, Kelly Jones, Peter Nguyen, & Andy MacDonald
Cover Art by John McCrea

October is here, and that means it’s time for fables of fear, time for stories of suspense, and time for tales of…time? Join us for a terrifying tour across the ages from some of comics’ top talent! Witness zombies menace the JSA in the 1940s. Experience the haunting of the Gotham City Sirens in the 1990s. Watch as Swamp Thing goes up against an irradiated monstrosity in the far future. These are just a taste of the time-hopping terrors we have in store for you in our fright-filled Halloween anthology!

Release Date: October 11, 2022

PCS NOTES: DC has its own anthology this month. I am pleasantly surprised by the lineup of creators. It marks the return to DC for Paul Levitz and a group of excellent creators that are not the ususal suspects in a DC anthology. Great to see.

Chilling Adventures of Salem #1
Archie Comics
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Dan Schoening & Matt Herms
Cover Art by Schoening

Salem the Cat has always been known as Sabrina’s familiar, but what happens when Sabrina’s not around to protect him (or, as is more the case, when he doesn’t have to protect her)? This special one-shot explores a different side of Salem’s life, one in which he acts as an anti-hero enacting vigilante justice on those who hurt others like him… animals, in a horror story that’s equal parts Pet Sematary and Hereditary.

Release Date: October 12, 2022

PCS NOTES: Cullen Bunn writing a Salem the Cat backstory stand alone comic? Yes. Please. Give me some of that!

Filth & Grammar: The Comic Book Editor’s Secret Handbook
OffRegister Press
Written by Shelly Bond
Art by Imogen Mangle, Laura Hole, & Sofie Dodgson
Cover Art by Phillip Bond

Award-winning DC/Vertigo editor Shelly Bond presents her step-by-step approach to making comics informed by a thirty-year career in mainstream and indie publishing. All-star creatives including Neil Gaiman, Jill Thompson, and Grant Morrison offer pro-tips. Originally funded on Kickstarter, this unprecedented, entertaining handbook is peppered with short comics illustrating Bond’s early days as a young editor in New York City. This mass market edition of FILTH & GRAMMAR: THE COMIC BOOK EDITOR’S (SECRET) HANDBOOK includes 8 new pages and an updated cover.

Release Date: October 25, 2022

PCS NOTES: This book was Kickstarted last year and has been delivered to backers. It is now being distributed to comic shops this month. This is an excellent book for anyone interested in how comics get made and what happens behind the scenes. It is highly recommended reading. We spoke to writer Shelly Bond when the Kickstarter was going on and you can check that out here.

Ghost Planet #1
Scout Comics
Written by Jeffrey Burandt
Art by Sean Von Gorman
Cover Art by Von Gorman

A family of deep space explorers rushes to solve the mystery of Ghost Planet before their recently dead loved ones return to kill them next! Murder birds, eye stalks and space pigs abound in this 40-page graphic novella. Ghost Planet is a classic sci-fi tale with a body horror twist

Release Date: October 19, 2022

PCS NOTES: We have been excited about this book for a while now. It is a fantastic little story that will capture your imagination. You can check out our review and interview with the creators, here.

Hack/Slash: Hot Shorts #1
Image Comics
Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Seeley, Daniel Leister, & Jim Terry
Cover Art by Seeley

Slasher hunters Cassie Hack and Vlad are back with a one-shot collecting the all-new short stories from the HACK/SLASH DELUXE EDITION HARDCOVERS. Our heroes battle bloodstains in “Slice of Life,” written and drawn by SEELEY, while a new kind of monster slayer stalks the backroads of America in “Highwayman to Heaven” and Cassie meets up with the baddest bad girl in the multiverse in “I Will Destroy You All.” Also contains all-new pin-ups! The perfect celebration of the slasher season!

Release Date: October 12, 2022

PCS NOTES: I am a big fan of Cassie Hack and love seeing this collection of shorts by Tim Seeley in the list of books coming this October.

John Carpenter’s Tales for a HalloweeNight Vol. 8
StormKing Productions
Creators: John Carpenter, Sandy King, Jaime Carrillo, Elena Carrillo, Luis Guaragna, Sian Mandrake, Alec Worley, Tom Foster, Frank Tieri, Cat Staggs, Kealan Patrick Burke, Tom Mandrake, Jack Mandrake, Sean Sobczak, Conor Boyle, Sara Richard, Neo Edmund, Jason Felix, Amanda Deibert, David J. Schow, Andres Esparza, Jennie Wood, Richard P. Clark, Michael Moreci, Scott Hampton, Duane Swierczynski, Heather Vaughan, Trevor Denham, Ryan Winn, Tim Bradstreet, Nick Percival and Andy Price.

From the mind of John Carpenter, the man who brought you the classic horror film Halloween and all of the scares beyond, and the heart of writer, editor, and producer Sandy King, comes a whopping 14 brand new twisted tales of terror, tricks, and treats. In volume 8 of the award-winning graphic novel series, Carpenter and King bring together the best storytellers from movies, novels, and comics for another spine-tingling collection of stories that will haunt you. Each story is a standalone surprise that captures the essence of the best night of the year. We dare you to read it all the way to the end. If you get too scared, remember, it’s only a comic. It’s only a comic… or is it? Happy Halloween!

Release Date: October 5, 2022

PCS NOTES: This book is a staple for every Autumn. StormKing assembles a fantastic lineup of amazing creators and lets them play in the horror genre. This is the book you grab and settle in to read on a dark and stormy night this fall. 

Killchella #1
Scout Comics
Written by Mario Candelaria
Art by Serg Acuna
Cover Art by Sean Von Gorman

A group of friends drive up from Los Angeles to attend an ultra-trendy music festival in the Coachella Valley desert. They soon face a bloody night of terror when a reclusive pop star making her big return after five years recruits her most fanatical devotees to assist in a massive human sacrifice ritual.

Release Date: October 19, 2022

PCS NOTES: This book has been a long time coming and we are excited to get our hands on it. It is another example of the publishing schedule and calendar synching up perfectly.

Leonide the Vampyr: Miracle at the Crow’s Head #1
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Rachel Aragno & Dave Stewart
Cover Art by Aragno

A small, coastal village is home to normal people living quiet and simple lives––until a shipwreck brings a small coffin and its smaller occupant into their midst. What begins as a miracle soon takes a turn toward the horrible in this ghostly tale from celebrated Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and artist extraordinaire Rachele Aragno (Mel the Chosen)!

The first issue of a new series of stories, Leonide the Vampyr is shiveringly spectacular.

Release Date: October 5, 2022

PCS NOTES: What Halloween season is complete with out a spooky story from Mike Mignola?

The Return of Chilling Adventures in Sorcery #1
Archie Comics
Written by Sina Grace, Eliot Rahal, & Casey Gilly
Art by Vincenzo Federici, Corin Howell, & Liana Kangas
Cover Art by Julius Ohta

Madam Satan escaped Hell a fugitive and hated woman by Satan and his thralls. She’s now principal of Baxter high and Hell has come to Earth. With each classroom acting as a portal to the different circles in Hell, Madam Satan must recruit similar tortured souls if she has any chance of survival… all leading up to a Madam Satan and her army vs. Satan and his in this highly-anticipated follow-up to last year’s hit Chilling Adventures in Sorcery!

Release Date: October 26, 2022

PCS NOTES: Archie Comics does not disappoint. This “Chilling” anthology has a great lineup of creators and we are excited to see what they have to share with us.

Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Shelly Bond about Fast Times in Comic Book Editing

Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Shelly Bond about Fast Times in Comic Book Editing

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Our latest spotlight SquadCast interview is with comic editor and publisher Shelly Bond. She is a returning guest and we were able to spend some time talking about her latest project Fast Times in Comic Book Editing.

Her latest effort from Offregister Press, the company that she runs with her husband Phillip Bond, is part memoir and part editorial handbook focusing on her time working on the Vertigo Imprint at DC Comics.

She had a hand in some of the most important comics of the 90s and that helped shape her into the superstar comic editor that she is today.

We talked about Shelly’s projects including the recently completed Filth and Grammar: The Comic Editor’s Secret Handbook, and Geezer. We also talked about comic books in general and why they became her passion.

The latest book, Fast Times, is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter and you can find out more about that project below the SquadCast recording.

We hope that you enjoy the conversation.

 

FAST TIMES IN COMIC BOOK EDITING

A Love Letter to New York City in the ’90s.

About the Campaign:

A collection of stories and comics that chart the rise and fall and rise of a career-driven editor working in New York City in the ’90s, who’s in over her head as she tries to secure a place in the male-dominated comic book industry.

FAST TIMES IN COMIC BOOK EDITING is told through a series of short comics, photo/visual montage timelines, prose, and experimental art including a satirical TTRPG “How to Climb The Corporate Ladder From Hell.” Guest writers and artists including Neil Gaiman, Jill Thompson, Paul Pope, Michael Allred, Steven T. Seagle, Mike Carey, and Peter Gross provide brief encounters along the way.

At its core, FAST TIMES celebrates the hustle of monthly comics and the rustle of feathers and heart chambers—the universal love for story and longing to connect through words and pictures. Continue reading “Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Shelly Bond about Fast Times in Comic Book Editing” →

With Further Ado #205: Summertime Highlights

With Further Ado #205: Summertime Highlights

Posted on by Ed Catto

Hey, I know you’re rushing off to the beach, or trying to get out of work a little early today. So, this week is just a highlight reel of some cool things:

I also just received the 2022 Steve Rude Sketchbook. WOW!  It was part of his most recent Kickstarter. I miss the days of seeing Steve and his wife at San Diego Comic-Con and buying a sketchbook during the annual pilgrimage. But you know what, getting anything from Steve Rude in the mail is always cause for rejoicing! He’s got all sorts of things on his website and his next Kickstarter starts on July 14th .

Shelly Bond (did you know she’s a proud Ithaca College graduate?) has a fabulous new book out called Filth and Grammar: The Comic Book Editor’s Secret Handbook.

It’s kind of a how-to-edit comics, but I think it’s a “new must” for every creator looking to break in. The Kickstarter was looking to raise $20,000 and it overdelivered with over $85,000. Pretty impressive, right?  You can still purchase this one on her site here.

I rescued a few paperbacks from my friends at Wonderland Comics in Rochester. It’s a great little comic shop that always seems to have some lost treasures out for sale.  This loot was just great:

I found four Flash Gordon paperbacks. These tell the prose version from Alex Raymond’s wonderful strip. You might think that Flash Gordon without the art is kind of pointless, but ever since I read the Avon paperback version of The Lion Men of Mongo (when I was a sixth grader), I’ve been hooked. Most of the adaptations were written by Ron Goulart and with wonderful George Wilson covers. Continue reading “With Further Ado #205: Summertime Highlights” →

Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Comics Editor Shelly Bond

Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Comics Editor Shelly Bond

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to another Interview Edition of the Pop Culture Squadcast. In this episode, we spoke with comics editor extraordinaire Shelly Bond.

Anyone who has been paying attention to comics over the past thirty years knows that Shelly has shepherded some of the most fantastic comic stories to ever come along. Her decades long tenure at Vertigo brought us books like Fables, Lucifer, American Virgin, Clean Room, Euthanauts, and so many more.

Over the past few years Shelly has been curating and publishing comics through Kickstarter. Her anthologies include Femme Magnifique, Insider Art, Heavy Rotation, and Hey Amateur!

Her latest offering which is still available to back is called Filth and Grammar, The Comic Book Editor’s Secret Handbook. It is written by Shelly as part memoire and part instruction manual.

We had the fantastic opportunity to sit down (virtually) with Shelly and talk about what has gone into the creation of this book and her stellar career in general.

This has been one of the most entertaining and productive interviews that I have ever conducted.

We hope that you enjoy the conversation.

Pop Culture Squad: Let’s talk about the newest project. Filth and Grammar. This is a departure from what we are used to getting from Shelly Bond. It seems very personal. What made you decide on this project?

Shelly Bond: Thirty-three years of blood sweat and red ink on my fingers. This is my magnum opus. You do this once in a lifetime and I have been chipping away at it for many many years. I started writing it officially in 2016, and I just wasn’t sure which way I was going to go with it but I was always sure that the title was going to be Filth and Grammar.

“Superstar Artist Trio” for Filth and Grammar.

I didn’t know if was going to err on the side of more grammar and some filth or ninety percent filth and ten percent grammar. But I think I finally struck a good balance when I found my superstar artist trio. When you find the right team, most things fall into place.

I cannot wait to continue working on this book and bringing it to life. Really, for anyone who wants to make comics, anyone who wants to make comics better than they’ve ever made them before, and actually for people who want to become more discerning readers, it’s the kind of book for everybody.

What is in the SquadCast?

There is plenty more in podcast, but some of the topics that we covered include:

These are some of the pros who offer “Pro Tips” in Filth and Grammar, and I bet a few of them came up in the SquadCast conversation with Shelly Bond.

What she enjoys about and some of the challenges of running a self publishing business through Kickstarter.

Her history as young comic editor at Comico to being Senior Editor at Vertigo, to running her own imprint at IDW, to the present. It is enlightening, and she has so much to offer in terms of her experience.

We spent some time talking about the process of making comics, and lettering nerds will find some fun points in the podcast.

Her work on Fables is a great topic of the conversation.

If you are into comics and want to know more about how they get made, this is a great conversation for you.

Also the Kickstarter campaign for  Filth and Grammar, The Comic Book Editor’s Secret Handbook ends this week. You still have a few days to back it.

As a reminder, this was one of the campaigns that we highlighted earlier this month as a Kickstarter You Should Be Backing.

Where Do You Find Shelly Bond?

You can follow Shelly and get all the latest on her projects on Twitter and Instagram.

You can also find her projects at offregister.press.