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NEWS

1. BOOM! Studios acquired by Penguin Random House
2. Ghost Machine reveals covers for 'Hyde Street' #1
3. DC Comics sheds light on ‘Absolute Power’ #4
4. Marvel’s Red Band ‘Blood Hunt’ titles all get 2nd printings
5. Beetlejuice invades DC Comics’ titles in September 2024
6. Oni Press launches 'Sectaurs' #1 in October 2024
7. New comic book company teased
8. Skybound reveals SDCC 2024 exclusives and panels
9. DC Comics reveals SDCC 2024 exclusives and panels
10. IDW reveals SDCC 2024 panel schedule
11. Image Comics reveals SDCC 2024 exclusives and panels
12. TOP 50 COMICS - JUNE 2024

AIPT Comics Podcast Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. X-Men #1 (Ryan Stegman, Jed MacKay)
2. Ultimates #2 (Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri)

Nathan:

1. From the World of Minor Threats: Barfly #1 (Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, Kyle Starks, Ryan Browne)
2. Ultimates #2 (Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri)

Standout KAPOW moment of the week:

Nathan - Spider-Boy #9 (Dan Slott, Paco Medina, Nathan Stockman)

Dave - Batman and Robin #11 (Williamson, Juan Ferreyra)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: The Powerpuff Girls #1 (Kelly Thompson, Paulina Ganucheau)
2. Nathan: The Powerpuff Girls #1 (Kelly Thompson, Paulina Ganucheau)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

1. Dave: Ultimate X-Men #5 (Pepe Larraz Cover)
2. Nathan: Blow Away #4 (Jacob Phillips)

Interview: Kyle Higgens - C.O.W.L. 1964 (Issue #1 out August 7) FOC July 15

1. Kyle Higgens, thanks you for joining us on the AIPT Comics podcast! C.O.W.L. was your firs creator-owned at Image, but since that launched you’ve got the Massive-verse roaring, how have you changed working on projects since C.O.W.L. was first launched?
2. Its been 9 years since you’ve explored the world of COWL with Alec Siegel and Rod Reis, why was now the right time to launch COWL 1964?
3. I feel like COWL is a compelling look at the politics of superheroes, under the guise of the 60s, have the current politics of today influenced this upcoming series?
4. Back when COWL vol. 1 came out Entertainment Weekly said it was “"Mad Men meets Heroes in '60s Chicago." With those references dated and COWL 1964 a different project, how might you describe the upcoming series using TV references?
5. For a reader who may think the 60s isn’t their bag, how might you pitch COWL 1964 to them?
6. You’ve collaborated with a lot of great writers and artists, including Mat Groom, Joe Clark and now Bear McCreary & Kid Cudi. Any tips for working with a co-writer?
7. I know you love to play around with different media formats for the Massiveverse, and that's continuing with the audiobook version of Radiant Black. What made an audiobook the best format?

Visit our Patreon page to see the various tiers you sign up for today to get in on the ground floor of AIPT Patreon. We hope to see you chatting with us on our Discord soon!

NEWS

1. Rodney Barnes makes his DC series with Stevan Subic on 'Batman: Full Moon'
2. 'I Heart Skull-Crusher' gets ongoing run starting October 2024
3. Marvel teases ‘The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man’ for this fall
4. Marvel Comics teases Storm vs. Hyperion in ‘Avengers’ #18
5. It’s Moon Knight vs. Moon Knight in ‘Vengeance of the Moon Knight’ #8
6. Marvel reveals details on ‘Conquest 2099’
7. Image/Skybound and Hasbro announce ‘Choose Your Side’ initiative for G.I. Joe #1

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Absolute Power #1 (Mark Waid, Dan Mora)
2. Batman (2016) #150 (Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, Denis Cowyan, Mike Hawthorne)

Nathan:

1. Batman (2016) #150 (Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, Denis Cowyan)
2. Doctor Who: The Fifteenth Doctor #1 (Dan Watters, Kelsey Ramsay)

Standout KAPOW moment of the week:

Nathan - Poison Ivy #24 (G. Willow Wilson, Haining)

Dave - The Boy Wonder #3 (Juni Ba)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: Barfly (Kyle Starks, Ryan Browne)
2. Nathan: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 40th Anniversary Comics Celebration #1 (Various)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

1. Dave: From The DC Vault: Death In The Family - Robin Lives! #1 (1:25 Mike Mignola Virgin Card Stock Cover)

Nathan: X-Men #1 (Scott Koblish Wraparound Connecting Variant)

Interview: Gillen Caspar - The Power Fantasy

1. There’s a lot of moving parts to The Power Fantasy, when did the bud of the story come to you and what was that bud?
2. You’re both no slouches in creating worlds and characters whole cloth, do you find there’s a good method to the madness, or is it truly chaotic in creating a world, characters, plot etc?
3. I understand The first extranormal individuals appeared in 1945, was this a choice so the new world history was post WW2, or does WW2 have some significance on the story?
4. Caspar your work is incredible on this first issue. Is there a character that was your favorite to design?
5. The idea of ethics is a strong theme after reading the first issue, did you find yourselves poking in old books on ethics and philosophy when delving into the points of view of these characters?
6. If you could have a superpower of one of the characters in this book, what would it be and why?
7. If The Power Fantasy was a song what would it be and why?
   1. Prince 1999;
8. I understand Rian Hughes is involved with art as well, making each issue a more complex beast. Would you call his inclusion part of a “data pages” approach?
9. Peter Cannon was a masterwork in my opinion, and also a great meta narrative on comics. Are you continuing that trend or other themes with the power fantasy?

We have a growing library of creator spotlight episodes on the AIPT Comics podcast. Check out the episodes below to get to know these creators in a new way!

• Creator Spotlight: Kevin Smith ‘All of this is act two’
• Creator Spotlight: Christian Ward on Batman: City of Madness and more
• Creator Spotlight: Chip Zdarsky on his career, Substack, & more
• Creator Spotlight: Ram V ‘Knowing everything is overrated’

You can stream the AIPT Comics podcast below or find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview: Kelly Thompson - Powerpuff Girls art by Paulina Ganucheau (out July 2024), Scarlett with art by Marco Ferrari (out June 5th)

1. Kelly it’s such a pleasure to have you on the AIPT comics podcast for the second time! Congratulations on the Eisner nominations, what a year you’ve had. We’ve loved your work on Cull, Birds of Prey, and It’s Jeff, and now you’ve set your sites on Powerpuff Girls! Can you tell us how long you’ve been working on the project, and how it came to be?
2. Based on Paulina’s work, I have to say she’s an inspired pick for a series like this. Have you had a chance to check out any art yet?
3. Powerpuff Girls has such an eclectic rogues gallery, any favorite villains in the bunch?
4. Any favorite villains you thought were underutilized? Maskara?
5. Last time you were on the podcast you mentioned you keep a notebook to jot down dialogue for characters, have you been adding to a Powerpuff Girl section and is there a specific character that you’ve grown to love writing the most?
6. If your first story arc of Powerpuff Girls was a song, what would it be and why?
   1. Best Coast - I love it Icona Pop, Call me Maybe, Cruel Summer
7. By the time this airs, Scarlet is out, but we haven’t had the pleasure of digging in yet, can you talk a little bit about how it fits within the Energon universe?
8. If the Powerpuff Girls are made of “sugar, spice, and everything nice,” what is Scarlet made of?
9. In press materials, you’ve mentioned Scarlett and Powerpuff as important to you when you were younger, what’s left for you to tackle in the comics realm?
10. Birds of Prey #12 reunites you with Sophie Campbell! What can we expect from this issue and how’d it feel getting the band back together?
11. 34
12. I’m a huge Marvel Snap fanatic and I know you play…Kelly what deck are you running these days?
13. What else do you have to plug today? The Cull and Black Cloak are both coming back, yes?

Rapid Fire Question Round (Stolen from Stephen Colbert so that a guest is “known”):

• Best sandwich?
• What's one thing you own that you really should throw out?
• Apples or oranges?
• What is the scariest animal?
• Have you ever asked someone for their autograph?
• What do you think happens when we die?
• Favorite action movie?
• Favorite smell?
• Least favorite smell?
• Flat or sparkling?
• Most used app on your phone?
• If you could have dinner with any three characters you’ve written before, who would they be and why?
• You get one song to listen to for the rest of your life: what is it?
• What number am I thinking of?
• Describe the rest of your life in 5 words?

Visit our Patreon page to see the various tiers you sign up for today to get in on the ground floor of AIPT Patreon. We hope to see you chatting with us on our Discord soon!

NEWS

1. ‘Avengers Assemble’ spinoff series coming September 2024
2. Marvel adds even more ’Marvel Must-Haves’ free comics in July 2024
3. 'X-Men: From the Ashes' Infinity Comic is a 'fresh start' for fans
4. ‘1982 DC Comics Style Guide’ gets full print run for August 2024
5. 'Petrol Head' lands film option deal at MR. B FILMS
6. EXCLUSIVE: ‘Epitaphs from the Abyss’ #3 and ‘Cruel Universe’ #2 scares up impressive creatives
7. Politics and horror combine in 'The Exorcism at 1600 Penn'
8. ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ #1 hits 140,000 preorders ahead of FOC
9. Creator-owned company Ghost Machine and the Joe Kubert School announced the launch of the Ghost Machine Future Superstar Scholarship, which will fund tuition and supplies for one third-year student during the 2024-25 semesters
10. TOP 50 COMICS - MAY 2024

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Ultimates #1 (Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri)
2. X-Men #35 (Various)

Chris:

1. Precious Metal #1 (Darcy Van Poelgeest, Ian Bertram)
2. Falling In Love On The Path To Hell #1 (Gerry Duggan, Garry Brown)

Standout KAPOW moment of the week:

Chris - Birds of Prey #10 (Kelly Thompson, Robbi Rodriguez, Gavin Guidry0 [Page 19 on Box]

Dave - Get Fury #2 (Garth Ennis, Jacen Burrows)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: G.O.D.S. #8 (Jonathan Hickman, Valerio Schiti)
2. Chris: Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #1

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

1. Dave: Fantastic Four #21 (Alex Ross)
2. Chris: Transformers #9

Interview: Soo Lee - Cheetara coming out in July

1. Soo, thank you so much for being on the AIPT Comics podcast! To start, Cheetara is very near and dear to so many, were you a fan of the original series at a young age, or did you gain interest later?
2. You’ve mentioned there’s some cool things overlooked in the original cartoon concerning Cheetara, could you expand on that?
3. This is a story about the past and future within the universe, how deep does Warner Bros let you go? Has there been any push back on ideas?
4. Why do you think Cheetara is one of the most important supporting characters?
5. Is there any synergy between Cheetara and Thundercats?
6. Domenico Carbone draws the series, has there been a specific panel or page that went beyond your expectations?
7. Cheetara isn’t your first exploration of a licensed character as you’re coming off writing and drawing Maleficent, would you say there are any similarities to your approach to crafting these series?
8. Let’s say Cheetara gets a movie deal, and the studio wants your input on who to cast. Any actors come to mind?
9. If Cheetarah was a song what would it be and why?
   1. Abba song
10. Superfight: Maleficent vs. Cheetara!