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Comics: David Walker starts Solid Comix; Ahoy pits jocks against nerds; Diversity award announces nominees
A fan-favorite comic book writer starts his own self-publishing label, Ahoy Comics gets nostalgic, and diversity in comics gets recognized, all in today's comic book news roundup.
First up, in an exciting move, David F. Walker — writer of comics like Power Man and Iron Fist, Bitter Root, Naomi, and The Life of Frederick Douglass — is going back to his self-published roots and launching his own comic book company called Solid Comix. In addition to the numerous projects he is doing for a variety of publishers, Walker wanted to produce some comics projects all on his own.
In 1996, Walker began writing in his own magazine, BadAzz MoFo, which explored the commentary of film and popular culture in his own unique voice. Also in that 'zine were his first comics, the inspiration of this line.
Solid Comix's first release will be a five-issue mini-series called One Fall, with artist Brett Weldele and some help from writer Ted Pirro, which will launch this spring. Afterward, the next release will be an original graphic novel by Walker and artist Sean Damien Hill called The Hated.
Next, Ahoy Comics — publisher of titles including Captain Ginger and Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Terror — has announced the launch of a series called Planet of the Nerds, which aims to capture the nostalgic feel of movies such as Weird Science and Revenge of the Nerds, mixed with a little Hot Tub Time Machine. The premise: Three meathead jocks from 1988 are accidentally cryogenically frozen, then wake up in present-day 2019, where superheroes rule media, everyone is carrying a computer in their pocket, and nerds rule the world.
Planet of the Nerds features a story written by Paul Constant and art by Alan Robinson and Randy Elliott; David Nakayam is handling the covers. The jocks find themselves no longer on the top of the food chain, and hilarity is sure to ensue.
Finally, we have found out the nominees for the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics. Named after McDuffie, one of the founders of Milestone Comics and a writer for DC Animated series like Justice League and Static Shock, the award recognizes creators whose work broadens the spectrum of diversity within the comics medium.
The five finalists are:
• The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya by Reimena Yee (Unbound)
• Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles by Mark Russell and Mike Feehan (DC)
• Papa Cherry by Saxton Moore and by Phillip Johnson (Pixel Pirate Studio)
• Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir and by Christina Stewart (Oni Press)
• Victor Lavalle's Destroyer by Victor LaValle and Dietrich Smith (Boom! Studios)
Have you read any of the nominees? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
