Comics

Superman is getting a new logo for his 75th anniversary. Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment today unveiled a new commemorative logo featuring the last son of Krypton in a striking blue silhouette to celebrate the character reaching his landmark pop culture milestone. The logo will appear on the upcoming “Superman Unchained” comic book by Jim Lee and Scott Snyder due out June 12, just two days before Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” flies into theaters with actor Henry Cavill in the title role. As part of the unveiling, the companies also announced that Zack Snyder will produce a new “Superman” animated short, designed to pay homage to Superman’s history and legacy. The short will be promoted in San Diego at Comic-Con International in July before its late summer release. QUIZ: How well do you know the Man of Steel? Anticipation is […]

A little more than 10 years into his comics career, writer-artist Matt Kindt has developed into one of the most exciting and original talents in the business, and has suddenly become in-demand to boot, releasing his work through multiple publishers. Kindt’s Dark Horse series “Mind MGMT” is a fan-favorite that’s also won the praise of Kindt’s peers, who’ve raved about the book’s fast-paced, twisty story of covert government psychics. For DC, Kindt has worked on the offbeat superhero titles “My Greatest Adventure” and “Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.”; and he’s collaborated with his friend Jeff Lemire on Lemire’s recently completed Vertigo series “Sweet Tooth.” Now Kindt has a standalone graphic novel for First Second called “Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes,” about an obsessive, Dick Tracy-like detective who tries to find the pattern in a series of thefts of […]

Here’s something that might make you wish you had X-ray vision. A Minnesota man found a rare copy of “Action Comics” No. 1 in the walls of an abandoned home. Turns out, the Superman comic is worth more than $100,000. David Gonzalez, 34, paid $10,100 for the dilapidated house with a torn-up roof in Elbow Lake, Minn., aiming to put his decade of construction and remodeling experience to use. While he was gutting the house for renovation, he found a comic book amid old newspapers that had been used to insulate the walls. The comic was from June 1938, and the cover featured Superman lifting a car over his head. It was “Action Comics” No. 1, which marked Superman’s first comic book appearance 75 years ago. “I knew it was worth money,” the father of four told the Minneapolis Star […]

Video gamers will soon have the opportunity to create their own superheroes for the DC Comics universe. Or turn Batman into a zombie. Or suggest Superman wear a pink cape and ride a unicorn. But don’t try to give Batman a gun. Some things will never change. This fall 5th Cell and Warner Bros. Interactive will release “Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure” for the Wii U, 3DS and PC. The latest in the Scribblenauts franchise looks to be an expansive, puzzle-based adventure that makes use of the heroes, villains and locations made famous by the worlds featured in the 75-plus years of DC Comics. And some of the not so famous, too. “For the first time in any game we have all the DC Comics characters,” said Caleb Arseneaux, a 5th Cell producer. “The entire roster — characters who appeared in […]

The new game “Injustice: Gods Among Us” begins with Superman killing the Joker after one of the madman’s plots results in the death of Lois Lane, who was pregnant with the Kryptonian’s child. And things grow more intense from there. Released last month, the game stages grand battles between an impressive number of familiar faces from the DC universe — a number that’s growing with the release of new downloadable characters. First was the interstellar bounty hunter Lobo. Next up, Commissioner Jim Gordon’s daughter Barbara, otherwise known as Batgirl, will join the fray. Batgirl will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 Microsoft Points and PlayStation®Network for $4.99. Wii U players will have to wait until summer. NetherRealm Studios and DC spent two years developing “Injustice: Gods Among Us,” which was accompanied by a comic book prequel written by […]

“American Vampire” continues to show signs of life – or, well, undead-ness – during its hiatus. Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque’s Eisner Award-winning Vertigo series about a new breed of bloodsucker has been on a planned break since January, but Hero Complex has the exclusive announcement that “American Vampire Anthology” No. 1, an 80-page special, will be released Aug. 7, and offers readers a first look at the cover by Albuquerque, right, showing a more-dapper-than-usual Skinner Sweet. “Anthology” comprises eight “lost tales” of familiar favorites and new characters by a star-studded roster of writers and artists including multiple Eisner winner Greg Rucka (“Whiteout,” “Stumptown”), Jeff Lemire (“Animal Man,” “Sweet Tooth”), Gail Simone (“Batgirl,” “Secret Six”), Ray Fawkes (“Constantine”), Becky Cloonan (“American Virgin”), Francesco Francavilla (“The Black Beetle”) and the Brazilian brothers behind the Eisner-winning limited series “Daytripper,” Fabio Moon and Gabriel […]

“Odd Duck,” by Cecil Castellucci and Sara Varon, chronicles the quirky friendship between two ducks — Theodora, who swims with a teacup balanced on her head, and her scruffy neighbor Chad, who loves astronomy and snow angels. The tale is a celebration of strangeness, says Castellucci, who admits to being a bit of an odd duck herself. Castellucci has made a name for herself across media as former indie rocker (then known as Nerdy Girl and Cecil Seaskull), filmmaker, opera libretto writer and award-winning author of books and graphic novels, including “The Plain Janes,” “The Year of the Beasts” and “First Day on Earth.” For “Odd Duck,” the Canadian writer teamed up with artist Sara Varon (“Robot Dreams”) to create the story’s whimsical format — a sort of hybrid between comic and picture book (take a peek in the gallery […]

“Fringe” star John Noble left his eccentric character Walter Bishop behind at the show’s finale, but he’s returning to the mad-scientist realm for DC’s latest animated feature film, “Superman: Unbound.” Noble lends his voice to Brainiac, a brilliant alien-machine hybrid with sinister intentions and one of the Man of Steel’s most powerful arch-villains. The film, which is being released for home video Tuesday, is based on the “Superman: Brainiac” story in the 2008 comic by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. In addition to Noble, the film features the voice talents of “White Collar” star Matt Bomer as Superman and “Castle” actresses Stana Katic and Molly Quinn as Lois Lane and Supergirl, respectively. Watch an exclusive clip from the movie in the video below. Though he’s most recently known for his role on J.J. Abrams’ long-running sci-fi series “Fringe,” the Australian-born Noble […]

For a man about to start a war, Geoff Johns seems calm. Upbeat, even. Upstairs from Golden Apple Comics in Hollywood in an office lunchroom ahead of a signing for Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, DC Comics’ chief creative officer, sporting just-tearing-at-the-knee jeans, a red plaid shirt and a weathered Aquaman baseball cap, occasionally pets his bulldog while discussing the summer event he and collaborator Jeff Lemire are scripting in their respective “Justice League” and “Justice League Dark” titles, and together in “Justice League of America.” (You can see a larger version of Ivan Reis and Joe Prado’s triptych cover for the first issues here.) “Trinity War,” which unfolds in six parts across those three series’ July and August releases, with tie-ins including “Trinity of Sin: Pandora” No. 1 (written by Ray Fawkes), is DC Comics’ biggest event since launching […]

For Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, Image Comics is focusing on the past and the present — the publisher will revisit one of its classic titles, “Aphrodite IX,” with an eye toward rebooting its green-haired assassin, and will release a new issue of “The Walking Dead” that contains a new Tyrese-focused short story and reprints short stories featuring Michonne, the Governor and Morgan. Robert Kirkman’s zombie comic book might be top of mind in the pop cultural consciousness thanks to the wild popularity of the AMC television series it spawned, but “Aphrodite IX” might benefit from an additional promotional push. Originally created by David Wohl and David Finch, the title debuted in 1996, but only generated six issues and one trade paperback. Now Matt Hawkins, president of Image’s Top Cow imprint, and artist Stjepan Sejic are teaming to bring […]