explode their head: thedeadairchannel026

This is a big release week: the Spider-Woman 50th Anniversary Special, M.A.S.K. #4, and the "Start Here" reprint of Batman: Dark Patterns #1 are all in stores.

Spider-Woman contains a 13 page story that sets up the status quo for the new Spider-Woman ongoing we're launching in November. Preview pages:

Half a dozen corpses swaddled in spider silk by page three does rather set the tone for what this book is going to be. The story is titled "The Mysterious Spider-Woman" because that was Jessica Drew's original adjective. Whereas Spider-Man was "Amazing", "Spectacular", and "Astonishing", Jess's early stories were a little more shadow-soaked.

There were incredible villains there too, who have never quite gotten their due. Hangman, a vigilante who makes the Punisher look restrained and self-aware. The Needle, dressed up in halloween and sewing people's mouths shut. And the Brothers Grimm who... get very convoluted very fast to be honest, but incredible character designs.

We're embracing this spirit for Spider-Woman going forward. I'm three scripts into the main book, and really looking forward to writing the next one, which always feels like a good sign.

M.A.S.K. #4 features guest artist Marco Ferrari, who steps in to let Pye Parr get ahead with the big two issue closer of the first arc, coming in issues 5 and 6.

Marco will be familiar to Energon fans as the artist of the Scarlett miniseries with Kelly Thompson, which ran alongside Destro by me and Andrea Bressan. He's done excellent work on this issue and helped keep the energy of the book at full throttle. The conceit of this issue is one of the first I had for M.A.S.K.: someone trapped in a malfunctioning helmet that's primed to explode their head and wipe out a few city blocks in the process. What you gonna do about this one, Trakker?

Preview pages:

The new Batman: Dark Patterns issue 1 reprint should be available from your comic store for a dollar. A way to try out the book without having to invest in the whole tpb. Really nice to see this book going back into stores for a new audience.

Here are some things you should check out that I did not write.

The first issue of the new That Texas Blood book is on FOC today, meaning you should tell your store today that you want a copy so they can up their orders.

TTB is Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips' signature series, a setting and set of characters they return to tell stories of in different decades, all in the crime/western genre. The books function like a novel series, which each volume being a whole story, and between them we get to jump around these characters' lives and see how the 20th and early 21st centuries all shake out for them.
This is anthropology performed through pulp. Love and Bullets via Cormac McCarthy.

When I read the first volume of That Texas Blood, I told Chris that his first comic book had no right to be so damn well made and whole and accomplished. Chris and Jacob have only honed their skills evermore razor sharp since then. I think the first issue of Hell Comes to Alison Ranch is the best opening salvo of the series' titles so far. You don't need to read the other books in the series to start here, but you should read 'em anyway.

My Mad Science Division conspirator Brian Level is currently kickstarting The Unsleeping Eye with artist Kurt Belcher, and I need you all to go back it so I can get my copies. From the Kickstarter:

I can't wait to have this in hand. If you enjoy my stuff, I bet you'll enjoy this too.

I finished reading friend Alex Segura's Marvel novel Daredevil: Enemy of my Enemy. I'm a sucker for ol' hornhead, and this book is full of the things I'm a sucker for. Set nebulously somewhere after the Bendis and Brubacker runs, this is very much in their spirit. The Punisher is accused of murdering the Kingpin, and Matt Murdock finds himself having to defend Frank Castle in court. Cue grey area morality, anguished soul searching, and Matt being Very Bad at relationships. Also runs a really impressive gauntlet of managing to showcase all of the major characters in Daredevil's world without becoming overstuffed.

I would never normally have the audacity to buy a shirt from a show I did not attend, but my friend and frequent conspirator DaNi made an official t-shirt for The Cure, who I'm fairly convinced are the greatest band on planet Earth, so I indulged and ordered one. This brings me joy.

Nightwing 146 is written and with editorial for notes.

Spent last week tackling the script for Project Spark, a 30 page oneshot special for early next year. The subject was first broached on August 12th, and the script was in by August 28th, which is about as fast as a project can move in comics. It requires a story to pop into one's head all but fully formed, to then be approved almost immediately by whatever editorial and license holders are involved with the project, and then for a gap in one's schedule to appear to actually write the bloody thing. This time, all those things happened.

I'm finalizing Shredder issue 16, which should be done today, as well as the more indepth outline for Project Expel, which I believe will start scripting in October. We're still nailing down an artist for that project, but looking from a shortlist that's an absolute murderer's row, so the book should be something a bit special.

This should give me time to move onto M.A.S.K. #8 tomorrow, and get that in by Friday.

I better hop to it.

This has been thedeadairchannel. An explosion from the head of Dan Watters. Please do subscribe.