IDW's new releases for July 2

Due to the cargo shipment hold-up last week, this is a rather huge week for us… and especially for STAR TREK fans, who see four Trek issues released in the same week (one of which is the debut issue of the MIRROR IMAGES miniseries). So for all you IDW completists out there, I’d like to apologize to your wallet right now.

Angel: After the Fall #10
Doctor Who #5
Doctor Who Classic #8
Don Pendleton’s The Executioner #4
FX #5
Ghost Whisperer #4
Igor Movie Prequel #3
Lore Premiere Edition HC
Rogue Angel: Teller of Tales #5
Star Trek: Assignment Earth #3
Star Trek: The Enterprise Experiment #3
Star Trek: Mirror Images #1
Star trek: New Frontier #4
The Transformers: Space Pirates #5

Gone too soon

I've been co-writing a prose book about comics, COMIC BOOKS 101, with Scott Tipton. And within the book is a run-down of every comic publisher, past and present. There's something very wrong with having to go back in and update the Aspen Comics section to mention that Michael Turner passed away this week at only 37 years old. I never had a chance to meet or work with Michael but I appreciate everything he did for the industry and the positive way he met his illness head-on and didn't seem to let it get him down or slow him down. He'll be very missed. But the work he left will be around forever, so enjoy a little of it here.

Who made Who?

How about a couple new DOCTOR WHO images today. The first is from Robert Hack, and it's for... something... due this November. The second is the third cover for Tony Lee/Pia Guerra's DOCTOR WHO: THE FORGOTTEN series (which debuts in August), by cover artist Nick Roche.

"Kneel before MEG!"

THE TRANSFORMERS: ALL HAIL MEGATRON, launching the Transformers comics into an entirely new direction, launches in just a couple weeks. To further tide you over until then, here's the variant cover to issue 3, courtesy of Trevor Hutchison. It's not looking good if you're an Autobot fan...

Eff Exx

Since we don't have any new releases in stores this week due to wonky shipping, how about a full 5-page preview of next week's FX #5 by Wayne Osborne and John Byrne:

IDW's new releases... postponed for one week only

This week, IDW has no releases in stores. The freighter with our books coming over for release this week got held up in customs, which happens every once in a great while. So this week's titles are being held over for next week, which means a lot of books next Wednesday...

So let's press on with a new image instead of the usual Monday list of new releases. The cover below is from our upcoming TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED miniseries. This one's from issue 2, and the art was done by one of the show's designers, Irineo Maramba.

Also, I woke up this morning to news that the great George Carlin died yesterday, which was quite a shock and more than a little depressing. Who's going to be here to point out all our ridiculous foibles now?

I met and got to spend some time with George on the set of Kevin Smith's film, JERSEY GIRL a few years back. I detailed the whole experience in a few column's at Kevin's old site (a couple of which were wrecked by a hacker), but didn't really talk much about George at the time. For all his on-stage bluster, he seemed a pretty private person, but was very interesting to talk (mostly listen) to, and very sober-minded about the way he approached his work and the world. And he was just great in the movie, too. Then again, when wasn't he?

Angel and Spike never looked so Jazzy

Dynamic Forces, who often does exclusive variant editions of other publisher's big issues with new art, is doing the same for a couple of our books right now. They're doing exclusive editions of ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #11 and SPIKE: AFTER THE FALL #3. And what's really notable about these is that the covers for the two issues have been drawn by the inimitable John Romita. That's John Romita Senior, too, not his equally talented progeny. You know, the guy who first gave life to Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man #41, the guy who drew one of my all-time favorite covers ever (Spidey #39), the '60s Marvel Bullpen stalwart who Stan nicknamed "Jazzy." I'm a little excited about this, as you can see, and I love his take on both characters.




In other news, I did another segment on radio station WNJC 1360 AM in Philadelphia. The show's host Sohaib Anwan, was formerly one-half of a due who did a show called "To Be continued." That show's been discontnued, and Sohaib--who's a great, informed guy and a good conversationalist/interviewer, has launced a new show called
Fictional Frontiers. It airs Sundays on that station at 11 AM EST. The full site will be up with podcasts of all the shows very soon. I'm likely going to be a monthly pop-culture correspondent on the show--today, we debated whether PULP FICTION or THE LORD OF THE RINGS deserved the top spot on Entertainment Weekly's "100 New Classic Films" list, talked about the new HULK movie, ran down some new IDW projects and even had a caller talk Transformers with us, too.

The next episode I'll be on will be the July 19th show, talking about various things we'll be announcing at Comic-Con a week later.

Su-per

Artist E.J. Su was there at the start of our big "-tion" storyline that we kicked off in October 2005, so it's only right that he should handle the art chores on the final chapter in the Revelations saga, TF SPOTLIGHT: SIDESWIPE. The best part of this is the fact that he's doing full art and colors on the book, for the first time ever. Here's his first three pages, to give some indication of what the book will be.

Wesley: After the Fall

In case that subject makes you wnder if we're further franchising the "After the Fall" title, we're not... this is instead Nick Runge's cover for ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #13. About time poor Wes got a proper cover, too.

Pre-Comic-Con sketch teaser

Hmm--this looks suspiciously superhero-like. But I thought IDW has always maintained that we don't do superhero comics, so...?

Should be a fun con. Speaking of, here's early word on a couple of panels we're doing at the show next month:

<<Friday 4:00–5:00 PM All Hail the Transformers—TF Editor Denton Tipton hosts a panel of Transformers creators including writers Shane McCarthy (All Hail Megatron), Chris Mowry (The Reign of Starscream), Marty Isenberg (TF Animated), artists Alex Milne (The Reign of Starscream), Marcelo Matere (TF Animated) and more. Advance art, surprise announcements and pints of Energon all around! Room 2>>

<<Saturday 11:00–12:00 PM IDW Publishing: Ideas and Dreams 2008—IDW Publisher Chris Ryall presides over a superstar panel including writer/Con Guest of Honor Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke & Key), Ben Templesmith (Welcome to Hoxford), Darwyn Cooke (announcing a surprise new project and offering up an exclusive signature card available only at this panel), writers Brian Lynch (Angel: After the Fall), Steve Niles (Epilogue), Rick Remender (Legion of the Supernatural), IDW Special Projects editor Scott Dunbier, and more! And they all guarantee at least a few surprise announcements of things to come! Room 3>>

Looking in the MIRROR

We're still a couple weeks shy of the debut issue of STAR TREK: MIRROR IMAGES launching (in stores on July 2), but that shouldn't mean I can't post a cover image for issue 4 and a page of interior art from issue 2, just to show you a bit of the "After Dark" feel this Mirror Universe seems to have, courtesy of Joe Corroney and David Messina, respectively.

IDW's new releases for June 18, 2008

This week, the ANGEL story officially continues after the three-part "First Night" interlude. Also, the start of the TRANSFORMERS "Revelations" saga, a Wheelie people will actually like, the very-fixed TF BEAST WARS SOURCEBOOK collection, a couple of the TF movie prequel stories I wrote/co-wrote collected in one issue, and more.

Angel: After the Fall #9
Everybody’s Dead #4
Fallen Angel #27
The Mummy: the Rise & Fall of Xango’s Ax #3
Transformers Spotlight: Cyclonus
Transformers Spotlight: Wheelie
Transformers Animated, Vol. 3
Transformers Movie Prequel Special
Transformers Beast Wars Sourcebook TPB

When Vampy met Dragy...

In anticipation of the coming SPIKE: AFTER THE FALL series, here's a nice spread showing Spike and his dragon... although isn't this supposed to be Angel's dragon? First Buffy, now this, eh, Spike?

Er, sorry, I lost myself for a second, pondering some "Spagon" fan-fiction... anyway, enjoy the artistic stylings of Franco Urru and Art Lyon from issue 2.

Pre-Comic-Con teaser image, Bret Blevins-style

Pardon the delay in posts. I try to be at least daily, but the past few days in NYC have kept me away from the computer. Still, I've filled my time with some good meetings about future projects, drinks with some good comic folk I've long wanted to work with, a nice dinner with Larry Hama and new IDW editor Andy Schmidt, and been the recipient of e-mails containing images like this one, from an upcoming project we're doing...

IDW's new releases for June 11

This is a good week for firsts and lasts for us: it’s the final issue of our latest SILENT HILL miniseries, the final chapter of ANGEL’s “First Night” story (and issue 9 shipping just one week later!), the penultimate issue of LOCKE & KEY before the full 32-page finale, and at long last, the very first LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE hardcover collection, maybe the most attractive package we’ve ever produced here.

I’m off in NYC all week so the daily updates might be a bit harder to keep up with but I’ll do me humble best. Until, our new releases this week:

Angel: After the Fall #8
Little Orphan Annie, Vol. 1 HC
Locke & Key #5
Silent Hill: Sinner’s Reward #4

More Zombies, more Robots

Not new stories yet, although those are in the works, too. But here's the all-new painted cover from Ash Wood for the TPB collection that compiles all our current ZvR stuff (the three prequel tales from D'AIRAIN AVENTURE, the first miniseries and the ZvRvAmazons sequel, too).

More Visions of Booga and TG herself

In honor of issue 2 of TANK GIRL: VISIONS OF BOOGA being released today, here are two good promo images for the book by the best-named creative team in all of comics, artist Rufus Dayglo and colorist Christian Krank.

Gunn fight

Not exactly the "vampire vs human" fight fans would have expected to see at the start of this series... but one that has become inevitable as the series has gone on. Here's Alex Garner's cover for ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #11.

IDW's new releases for June 4

Out this Wednesday, June 4 (in addition to last week’s titles that didn’t make it to East Coast shops. In other words, track down the NEXT MEN collection while you can, it’s a beaut!):

Cory Doctorow's Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now Signed & Numbered HC
Duo Stars #1
Doctor Who Classic #7
Don Pendleton’s The Executioner #3
FX #4
Igor Movie Prequel #2
Star Trek: Assignment Earth #2
Star Trek: New Frontier #3
Tank Girl: Visions of Booga #2
Transformers: Best of UK: Space Pirates #4
Transformers Movie Sequel: The Reign of Starscream #2
Wormwood Gentleman Corpse: Calamari Rising TPB

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