Hello comics fans one and all, and welcome to your mid-week edition of Comics Relief. We’ve got lots of news this week, including how the two biggest comics publishers in the business decided to show their support for the LGBT community in light of the tragedy in Florida. Read on for all the details…
DC and Marvel Show their Support for the LGBT Community in wake of Orlando tragedy
In the wake of last weekend’s horrible tragedy in Orlando at the gay nightclub Pulse, where 49 people were killed and 53 were seriously injured, there has been an outpouring of support from all over the globe. Both of the “Big Two” comics publishers, DC and Marvel, have tweeted out their support for the LGBT community by sharing pics of Superman and the Avengers alongside the rainbow colors which symbolize LGBT Pride.
Marvel’s parent company Disney also donated $1 million dollars to the families of the victims. While several of our politicians can’t even say the words LGBT in relation to this tragedy, at least those of us who are gay comic fans know Superman and Captain America will always have our backs. You can see both Marvel’s and DC’s tweets below:
#OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/TK5DVNvoFO
— DC (@DCComics) June 13, 2016
#OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/GF5SrSqHSI — Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) June 14, 2016
DC details plans for Wonder Woman’s 75th Anniversary
2016 marks the 75th anniversary of the world’s most famous female superhero, Wonder Woman, who made her debut in the December 1941 issue of All-Star Comics. To celebrate the Amazonian icon, DC has released their new logo celebrating 75 years of Wonder Woman, which you can see below, and revealed anniversary plans for the rest of the year. Among the festivities will be a Wonder Woman 75 panel at San Diego Comic-Con International in July, along with displays at DC’s booth of Lynda Carter’s original costume from the 1970s TV series, and the costume worn by star Gal Gadot in the upcoming film.
A commemorative box set of Wonder Woman’s greatest stories is set to be released by DC in July, as well as a hardcover special edition celebrating her 75th anniversary to be released in October and available through the holidays. Coolest of all, a life-size Wonder Woman invisible jet will be on display at San Diego Comic-Con and the rare plane will illuminate at night for fan photos. For more info, be sure to read the full story at the following link: [DC Comics]
Marvel and ABC News team up for Civil War II Livestream
Over at Marvel, Civil War II is in full swing, with issue #2 hitting stores this week, and the fight between the forces of Iron Man and Captain Marvel heating up. Now Marvel has teamed up with ABC News (both of which are owned by parent company Disney) to present a live stream in conjunction with the big event. The live stream will take place on Thursday, June 16th at 3 PM ET, and will stream live from ABC News Headquarters in New York City.
Each new issue of the series will be accompanied by a new Marvel Civil War II Livestream, which will feature a rotating group of guests, all involved with the event in some form or fashion.This week’s episode will include Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, and Marvel writers David Walker and Walter Hickey, and the ramifications of Civil War II #2 will be the main topic. [Comic Book]
Titan Comics Announces Dark Souls Anthology
UK Publisher Titan Comics are expanding their plans for their video game license, Dark Souls. In addition to their current — and often sold-out — ongoing series, they will begin a new Dark Souls anthology ongoing series, called Dark Souls: Legends of the Flame. Writers and artists for the series include regular series creators George Mann and Alan Quah as well as several others. There will be several variant covers for Dark Souls: Legend of the Flame #1, one of which you can see below. For more cover images, click on the following link: [Bleeding Cool]
New Adult Coloring Books coming from Dark Horse Comics
Publisher Dark Horse Comics is joining in on the whole adult coloring book craze, and has announced coloring books for fan favorite properties like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Serenity. Most interesting among these though, is the coloring book written by bestselling Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk and featuring art from an assortment of well known comic artists.
Called Bait: Off-Color Stories For You To Color, this is a collection of eight short stories all illustrated in black and white by the artists. Each one of the bizarre tales will also be paired with nearly 50 pieces of original art, designed for readers to color in. Among the stories in the collection are ones about the Titanic, an animal psychic, and one girl’s involvement with an extinction-level event. Bait comes out in hardcover on October 26th. [Nerdist and CBR]
Third Annual Batman Day Coming on September 17th
DC Entertainment has announced that the third annual Batman Day is scheduled for September 17th. Some of the retail activities this year include free comic book giveaways and talent signings, some of which feature notable talent like Frank Miller, Scott Snyder, Tom King, James Tynion IV, and Greg Capullo, with many more to be announced. The annual event was first introduced to honor the iconic character’s 75th anniversary. The official Batman Day event kit will include activity sheets, trivia, and games, and will be available for download on dccomics.com/batmandaykit. [Newsarama]
Archie Reveals Josie and the Pussycats variant covers
Last week, we told you all about Archie Comics‘ new Josie and the Pussycats series, coming from the creative team of writers Marguerite Bennett and Cameron Deordio, with art by Audrey Mok. Now we have previews for three different variant covers for the first issues, from artists Gisele Lagace, Marguerite Sauvage and Robert Hack. You can check out the variant covers in our gallery below. Josie and the Pussycats #1 hits on September 28. [Comics Alliance]
Images: DC Comics / Marvel Comics / Dark Horse Comics / Titan Comics
