Hello comics fans one and all, and welcome to your weekend edition of Comics Relief! Lots of news to chew on today, starting with the announced going away for awhile death of a DC Comics icon. Read on for all the details.

DC Comics Announces The Death of Hawkman 

A few months back, DC Comics announced an Adam Strange/Hawkman crossover mini-series with the subtitle Out of Time. Now DC has re-titled the already announced six-issue miniseries as Death of Hawkman. The name change was announced via Diamond Comics Distributors, and although no reason has been given by DC for the change, it seems that writer Marc Andreyko and artist Aaron Lopresti will remain on the title.

Of course, in the comics Hawkman has died multiple times and always come back, so there’s no reason to think this won’t be another one of those time. Death of Hawkman #1 is scheduled to hit shelves October 5. You can see a new promo image for the series above.

Insight Editions Launches Comics Label

Indie publisher Insight Editions has just announced the launch of Insight Comics, a new imprint dedicated to publishing original and licensed graphic novels.The first books of the new imprint will release in March 2017, and the first offerings from the publisher will contain new original stories, as well as licensed comics based on popular film, television, and gaming properties. Insight plans to produce stories in all genres, for both children as well as adults.

Insight Publisher and CEO Raoul Goff said of the new imprint “Insight Editions is thrilled to launch this new imprint,” he said. “Insight Comics aims to bring our high-quality standards to the graphic novel universe, tell original stories, and invite readers to immerse themselves in powerful new worlds.” For more info on which comics are coming from the publisher next year, be sure to click on the following link: [Comic Book]

Warren Ellis and Colleen Doran re-team for webcomic Finality 

Acclaimed writer Warren Ellis and artist Colleen Doran, who ten years ago produced the original graphic novel Orbiter, have announced that they are reuniting for a brand new 26-episode weekly webcomic called Finality. Their new collaboration will debut next year on LINE Webtoon, a digital comic service for smartphones, tablets and browsers.

The new series will be a crime drama centered around “the world’s greatest criminal investigator” Felicity Rockall, and a young agent who’s brought in to control the middle-aged eccentric genius as they tackle a “frightening murder mystery that may prove to be Felicity’s final case.” In a statement, Doran said “It’s been great to be working with Warren again. Drawing digital comics on the vertical format is a new challenge for me that I am excited to be undertaking with him and LINE Webtoon. I think fans are going to be really excited about what we have created with Finality.” The new series debuts in 2017. [Newsarama]

Is this how Cyclops died??

After the end of Marvel’s epic Secret Wars event, the publisher did an eight month time-jump in all their titles. During that time, we were told that the X-Men’s leader Cyclops did something really awful, and then became hated by everyone on Earth, and then died. But how did this all go down, and how did Cyclops kick the bucket?  Looks like readers will finally find out in the upcoming Death of X series. Marvel has released the first few pages from the book, that seem to have Cyclops…dying from an aneurysm??

The page shows Scott Summers getting light headed and then passing out on the floor. I’m going to assume he doesn’t go out like that. But it would be kind of funny of Cyke didn’t die in battle, he just keeled over and dropped dead one day, because reasons. Well, it’s funny if you’re me. The first issue of the four part The Death of X by Charles Soule and Aaron Kuder hits in October. [CBR]

Erik Larsen to depart Spawn with issue #266

Two of the founders of Image Comics from way back in 1992 who are still involved with their original characters are Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn, and Erik Larsen, best known for The Savage Dragon. Last year, Larsen actually took over the co-writing and art chores on his buddy McFarlane’s Spawn title, but has announced via Facebook that he is leaving the book with issue #266. He posted the following:

“Okay–finished my script for Spawn #266. Hope at least some of that sees print. I am officially done with Spawn. Now, onward to Savage Dragon #217 and the epic conclusion to this cataclysmic crossover.”

Some other comments made about the collaboration suggested it wasn’t that smooth of a process, and it’s unlikey to be happening again any time soon. In the meantime, Larsen shared some art from the book, which you can see above. [Bleeding Cool]

Alan Moore announces retirement from comics, throws shade at Marvel and DC again

Although he’s been hinting at it for what seems like forever, British comics legend Alan Moore has basically confirmed that he is retiring from writing comics, and the next few hundred pages he produces will be his last comics work, saying that he’s going to venture forth into writing prose novels. He said  he only has “about 250 pages of comics left in me.” For more on his retirement, check out our full story on the subject here.

In the same interview with The Guardian where he announced his retirement from comics however, Moore once again took the opportunity to throw shade at Marvel and DC, saying “I am sure there is probably a very good reason for the hundreds of thousands of adults who are flocking to see the latest adventures of Batman, but I for one am a little in the dark for what that reason is.”

He continued “The superhero movies – characters that were invented by Jack Kirby in the 1960s or earlier – I have great love for those characters as they were to me when I was a 13-year-old boy. They were brilliantly designed and created characters. But they were for 50 years ago. I think this century needs, deserves, its own culture. It deserves artists that are actually going to attempt to say things that are relevant to the times we are actually living in. That’s a longwinded way of me saying I am really, really sick of Batman.” Someone should remind Moore that all the characters from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are well over a century old. [The Guardian]

Images: DC Comics / Marvel Comics / Image Comics / Insight Editions / LINEWebtoon / Fimb/Flickr