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Comics Relief: Rare, Original SUPERGIRL Comic Surfaces, Plus a WALKING DEAD Cover

It’s Wednesday, which means new comics are coming to your local comic shop, as well as your first installment of Comics Relief for the week! In today’s edition, we’ve got news on comics from all sides of the entertainment spectrum—from flesh eating zombies to lovable Muppets meant to teach you your ABC’s. First off though, some news regarding everyone’s favorite superhero of the week, and television’s newsest star. Read on for more details…

Incredibly Rare Supergirl “Ashcan” Comic Turns Up Thanks To Collector

It’s been a big week for the Maid of Might, as Supergirl‘s new CBS series debuted to big numbers. (You’d think DC would have an ongoing Supergirl comic on the stands to go with it, ya know?) With all the attention that Kara Zor-El is getting these days, a copy of her original comic book appearance recently turned up, but it’s probably not the one you think.

Probably because it’s the one where Supergirl doesn’t even appear in the comic (but her logo does). The Supergirl we know and love was introduced in the pages of Action Comics in 1959, however a very limited “Ashcan” edition comic—simply titled Supergirl—was produced in 1944 as a way for DC Comics to secure the license on the name and trademark. As with most ashcan editions, it was never intended for sale. Collector and vintage comics expert Gary Colabuono in Illinois, though, has revealed that he has a very rare copy of the ashcan edition of Supergirl in his possession.

It doesn’t feature the character, or even a prototype version of her, on its cover, instead it focuses on a bunch of soldiers (remember, this was made at the height of World War II). Colabuono has turned down offers of up to $50,000 for the comic, and that’s probably wise. With the success of the TV show, the value of this comic is no doubt going to go way up. [CBS Chicago]

Dynamite Entertainment and Humble Bundle team up for special Army of Darkness Bundle

Supergirl isn’t the only beloved genre character getting her own TV series this week. Bruce Campbell’s Deadite-killing character Ash, famous for his starring turn in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy, is arriving in his TV own series on the Starz network this weekend, with Ash Vs. Evil Dead.

In honor of the new show, Dynamite Entertainment is celebrating along with Humble Bundle, and releasing an Army of Darkness bundle filled with rare goodies. Included are Ash’s team-ups with the likes of Dracula, Re-Animator and more—with top-notch creators like Cullen Bunn (Magneto), Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), Nick Bradshaw (Wolverine), Sanford Greene (Uncanny Avengers), and even The Walking Dead co-creator Robert Kirkman involved. You can find out more about the Humble Bundle by clicking right here.  [Comics Vine]

The Crow creator Jame O’Barr illustrates Walking Dead cover

Back in the ’90s, one of the biggest indie black and white comics sensations was Jame O’ Barr’s gothic revenge tale The Crow, which was then famously made into a breakout hit film with Brandon Lee. In the 2000s, the big indie black and white hit was The Walking Dead, which went on to yield even more success as a hugely popular TV series.

Now those two worlds are meeting—well, sort of. The Crow creator James O’Barr is illustrating the cover for a limted edition reprint of Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore’s The Walking Dead #1 for Wizard World Louisville, which is taking place from November 6th to 8th in Kentucky. VIP attendees will receive an additional black and white sketch version of the comic. You can check out the new cover below. [Bleeding Cool]

Ape Entertainment to bring Sesame Street to comics

So at what age does one start getting their kids into comics: 3? 4? 5? How’s about Sesame Street? I mean, if preschoolers love anything, it’s Sesame Street. With that in mind, Ape Entertainment partnered with Sesame Workshop to produce three Sesame Street comics featuring Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie, and the other residents of Sesame Street.

The comics announced so far are Another Sunny Day (October 28), Blast from the Past (November 23), and Many Friendly Neighbors (January 1) and are specifically aimed at the preschool age crowd. The issues will be available digitally in December from the iBooks Store, Amazon Kindle Store, Google Play, and NOOK Books. A bundle of all four Sesame Street comic books will be available in print and digital formats in January 2016. [Comics Beat]

Are Cloak and Dagger coming to All-New Marvel?

One of Marvel’s more successful team-up books of the eighties was the superheroic duo of Cloak and Dagger. Now it seems the pair are being set up for a return to the All-New, All-Different Marvel after a long absence. The hint was dropped in the solicit for January’s Amazing Spider-Man #6, which goes a little something like this:

One of Spider-Man’s most terrifying villains, Mister Negative, has followed him to Shanghai. In Mister Negative’s service are two beloved Marvel heroes. Wait, TWO HEROES?! What is Mister Negative’s plan and how did he convince two fan-favorite heroes to join him?

Hmmm…with Luke Cage and Iron Fist accounted for, the “beloved duo” sure sounds like Cloak and Dagger to me. And with almost every Marvel property getting a retooling for All-New Marvel, the return of Cloak and Dagger was really only a matter of time. Marvel’s Nick Lowe hinted at New York Comic Con the duo would be making a comeback, and I’d bet real money these mysterious “two heroes” are Cloak and Dagger. [Bleeding Cool]

Archie Comics Celebrates Sabrina, The Teenage Witch

The world of Archie Comics has had a lot of successful spin-offs over the years, but maybe the biggest Riverdale breakthrough has been Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Originally created in 1962, Sabrina would go on star in a hit animated show in the ’70s and a very successful live action TV show in the ’90s. One could even argue that her fame is bigger than that of Archie himself. Now to celebrate all things Sabrina, Archie Comics has put together a digital collection of some of Sabrina’s best comics in the latest edition of their “Archie 75” Series. Here’s the official solicitation:

Archie 75 Series: Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Digital Exclusive)

Celebrate the 75th anniversary of Archie Comics with this special retrospective presentation! Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a breakout success dating back to the 1960s, with a live-action TV show and several animated cartoons to her name. In this installment, we share some of the best and most pivotal stories from the history of her series, from her very first issue to the critically acclaimed manga era!

For more on the special digital package of Sabrina, click on the link. [Comics Alliance]

BOOM! Studios Scaling Back On New titles in 2016

BOOM! Studios—home of such popular titles such as Lumberjanes—has announced that it will be scaling back on the number of titles it’ll be releasing next year. The move was announced by BOOM’s Filip Sablik, who was quoted as saying, “All of the major mainstream comic publishers are pushing out more titles. Since February’s ComicsPro meeting, it’s something we’ve consistently heard from the front lines of the industry. So we decided to swim upstream a bit by trimming back our line and really focus, doubling down on our marketing and our positioning for each title, believing that a sniper-like approach would yield better profitability.” The cutbacks are said to not affect their current slate, but rather the amount of new series the publisher will develop going forward. [ICV2 via Newsarama]

Images: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, BOOM! Studios, Image Comics, APE Entertainment, Archie Comics, Dynamite Entertainment

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