4001 A.D. is coming from Valiant Comics this summer, and with it, an all-new character set to make major waves in the Valiant Universe. Before we get to her though, in this weekend’s edition of Comics Relief, we have some news on one veteran comic artist’s tribute to another’s classic Batman cover, just in time for the big DC Rebirth. Read on for all the details…

Barry Kitson pays homage to Todd McFarlane with Batman cover

Before his work on Spawn, before Spider-Man even, artist Todd McFarlane made his name at DC Comics, drawing titles like Infinity, Inc, and eventually, Batman. One of the most memorable covers of eighties Batman comics is McFarlane’s 1988 cover to Batman #423, which is now being paid tribute to by veteran artist Barry Kitson. It will be the variant cover to the DC Rebirth Batman #1 by Tom King, David Finch and Matt Banning. This version of the issue will come as part of the Wizard World Comic Con Box in September. You can see Kitson’s homage to McFarlane above. [Bleeding Cool]

Valiant Comics reveals plans for 4001 A.D. War Mother

Recently on Comics Relief, we’ve been talking a lot about Valiant Comics‘ upcoming event series 4001 A.D. Now the publisher is spinning off 4001 A.D.: War Mother #1; a previously classified, self-contained one-shot launching a major new character into the future of the Valiant Universe this summer. The new one-shot comes from best-selling writer Fred Van Lente and artist Tomás Giorello.

In a statement about War Mother, Valiant Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons said “much like Divinity or Generation Zero before her, War Mother represents a phenomenal new addition to Valiant’s formidable roster of comics icons. Against the backdrop of the 4001 A.D. event, Fred Van Lente and Tom Giorello are zooming out to reveal a personal, yet incredibly action-packed story of what life looks like on the fringes of Earth two thousand years from today – and, via War Mother’s staggering debut, opening up a entirely new frontier for storytelling in the Valiant Universe. War Mother isn’t just a new character, she’s Valiant’s next great heavy hitter.” The one-shot hits comic shops on August 3rd. [Newsarama]

Jim Lee reveals the new Suicide Squad line-up

One of the most talked about relaunches coming out of DC Rebirth is The Suicide Squad, with superstar artist (and DC co-publisher) Jim Lee drawing several of the issues. New series writer Rob Williams has revealed Lee’s cover for Suicide Squad #1 on Twitter, and lo and behold…the current Squad looks a whole lot like the movie version. We’ve got Harley Quinn, front and center, along with Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Croc, Enchantress, Katana, and of course, Amanda Waller. Corporate synergy at work folks. You can see the Lee drawn cover for Suicide Squad #1 down above. [Comic Book Resources]

Tokyopop is back, and with lots of Disney titles

After five years, U.S. manga publisher Tokyopop is back, and their first three books are all Disney tie-ins. First up is Alice in Wonderland: Special Collector’s Manga, a hardcover collection of Jun Abe’s manga adaptation of the 2010 Tim Burton movie, set to come out right before Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass.

Next up, Ryuichi Hoshino’s adaptation of Finding Nemo: Special Collector’s Manga will be released a week before Finding Dory hits theaters. Finally, the five-volume series Kilala Princess — a shoujo manga series featuring Disney princesses. Tokyopop published the first two volumes of Kilala Princess during its earlier incarnation. Kilala Princess is slated for early July in time for Anime Expo. [ICV2 via CBR]

Ethan Van Sciver excited to bring back “friendly” heroes to the DC Universe in Rebirth

One of the goals of the upcoming DC Rebirth is to bring back the DC heroes to their more iconic, original versions. And those versions did a whole lot more smiling than back in the day than they do now, since the whole New 52 era started. One of the artists for is Ethan Van Sciver, who shared a work-in-progress drawing of Flash on social media, along with the caption “I miss when #DCComics heroes looked friendly like this. Hell, I’m bringing it BACK.” He also mentioned artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, the famous illustrator who drew the DC style guide in the 1980s, and whose art you still see on most DC products, from t-shirts to candy bars. You can see Van Sciver’s tweet below: [Newsarama]

I draw #Flash smiling & suggest that we need more optimism in superheroes, & I get a retweet from @DCComics & this! https://t.co/QVCHJeZuWN

— Ethan Van Sciver (@EthanVanSciver) May 5, 2016

Miles Morales’ Spider-Man title may go bi-monthly

Could Miles Morales’ Spider-Man ongoing series be going bi-monthly? Writer Brian Michael Bendis went on Twitter to explain why the series has been so late, saying that Miles Morales’ co-creator Sara Pichelli needs more time than a month to draw an issue. Bendis said “I think one of the reasons you like it is because of the time it takes to make it. So to get something as special as Sara’s artwork she needs the month. and that’s okay with me,” said Bendis. “The new issue will be coming up very soon I think it’s rather subtly the best issue we have done together.” Could a bi-monthly shipping date keep the book on schedule? [Comics Beat]

Groupees latest digital bundle is all indie publishers

Step aside, DC and Marvel — for the latest Groupees digital comic bundle offer, four independent comic publishers have teamed up to offer fans a metric ton of comics. Dynamite Entertainment, IDW Publishing, Image Comics and Oni Press are putting up $300-worth of books from well known creators like Garth Ennis, Greg Rucka, Howard Chaykin, Peter Milligan, Jim Starlin, Jae Lee and a whole lot more. As with all Groupees bundles, this comes in several tiers. You can check out the Independents Groupees Bundle at the following link: http://groupees.com/independents [Bleeding Cool]

Images: DC Comics / Marvel Comics / Valiant Comics / Groupees / Disney / Tokyopop