It’s once again time to get all caught up on some of the biggest comics-related stories from the past few weeks!
News From DC and Marvel
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- CinemaCon happened early this month! The comics-related news include Mark Hamill receiving the Cinema Icon Award, new footage from James Gunn’s Superman, multiple Spider-related updates, and a new trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps.
- C2E2 happened, too! Popverse has the news round-up, including multiple Superman-related announcements and the absolute best Wonder Woman cosplay I have ever seen.
- Marvel finally acknowledged the identity of the villain in Thunderbolts*, although fans had already spilled the beans. Speaking of the latest entry in the MCU, current estimates suggest that its opening weekend (May 2) will bring in a comparatively modest $70 million.
- Director Ryan Coogler shared what it was like working with the late Chadwick Boseman on Black Panther.
- Ready to watch Captain America: Brave New World at home? Rent or buy it from Prime or Apple TV today, or wait until the DVD/Bluray release on May 13.
News From the Wider Comics World
- Terry Pratchett fans should be excited about these upcoming graphic novels based on the expansive Discworld series. The first ones are due for release next year!
- As if the bankruptcy of Diamond, formerly the biggest comics distributor in the U.S., wasn’t dramatic enough, there is now a dispute over who gets to buy their assets.
- Popverse discussed what Trump’s tariffs could mean for the comic industry (in brief: not much for now, but given the volatility of the current president/situation, this could change fast). Unfortunately, some small presses are already feeling the pinch.
- As Danika Ellis reported, two of the ten most challenged books in America were graphic novels: Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer and Mike Curato’s Flamer. Unsurprisingly, both are by and about queer people.
- Polygon discussed its best anime of the year so far…
- …and NPR recommended a new biography of legendary cartoonist Robert Crumb.
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a post that had our Managing Editor Vanessa Diaz feeling a type of way. Now, even five years after it was published, Vanessa is still salty about American Dirt. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
Picture it: The United States, January 2020. A book with a pretty blue and white cover is making the rounds on the bookish internet. The blue ink forms a beautiful hummingbird motif against a creamy background, a bird associated with the sun god Huitzilopochtli in Aztec mythology. Black barbed wire, at once delicate and menacing, cuts the pattern into a grid resembling an arrangement of Talavera tiles. The package is eye-catching, ostensibly Mexican in feel, and evocative of borders and the migrant experience.
The book tells the story of a bookstore owner in Acapulco, Mexico, who is forced to flee her home when a drug cartel murders everyone in her family except for her young son at a quinceañera. She and the boy are forced to become migrants and embark on a treacherous journey north to the U.S. border, evading the cartel and befriending fellow migrants along the way. The book is being lauded not just as the “it” book of the season but as the immigration story. It gets the Oprah treatment and is praised by everyone from Salma Hayek to the great Sandra Cisneros, who called it “the great novel of Las Américas.”
It’s been over five years, and this book is still the bane of my existence.
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