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Writer Jason Aaron is moving from Marvel to DC to write a new Batman miniseries. Plus, the best-selling graphic novel series Dog Man is getting a new volume, and Calvin & Hobbes gets reprinted, again. All this on today’s Comic Book Club News.
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Episode Transcript:
Jason Aaron is writing Batman.
Dog Man returns!
Calvin & Hobbes gets another collection.
This is Comic Book Club News for August 15, 2023.
Jason Aaron Is Writing Batman
Our top story today: after 15 years with Marvel, Jason Aaron is moving over to DC. Not full-time, not yet, but the one-time Avengers writer will take on his first big gig for the Distinguished competition, writing a five-issue miniseries titled Batman: Off-World.
The series features art by Doug Mahnke, and focuses on a younger Batman getting brought off planet to fight aliens, and presumably mope about his parents. As first revealed by IGN, Aaron told the site that, quote: “I fell in love with comics because of DC… So it is with great honor and excitement that at long last I get to make my proper debut as a DC writer, with a Batman story that takes a young Dark Knight on his own first journey into the far, wondrous reaches of the DC cosmos.”
Aaron previously wrote Joker’s Asylum: Penguin #1 back in 2008, shortly before he became exclusive with Marvel. Before that, Aaron published both The Other Side and Scalped for Vertigo, the beloved former DC imprint.
As of this recording, no further titles have been announced from Aaron and DC. But chances are there’s more to come. As is, the first issue of Batman: Off-World will hit stores on November 21, 2023.
Dog Man Returns For A New Graphic Novel:
What is the best-selling graphic novel of 2023 so far? If you said anything from DC or Marvel, sorry, wrong answer. It’s actually the latest book in Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man series, Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea. Following the adventures of a cop with a dog’s head and the various animals and humans who go on adventures with him, Dog Man is a hit. It has spawned 11 books so far, spinoff series, a musical, and more.
And now, Scholastic has announced a twelfth book in the series. Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder is scheduled to be released in stores everywhere on March 19, 2024.
Said Pilkey via a statement, quote: “Dog Man started out as a character I created when I was in second grade, but the series has evolved into a love letter to my parents. Looking back as a kid growing up with dyslexia and ADHD, my parents, who were my best advocates, let me choose whatever books I wanted to read—with no judgment. Their support and love were life-changing and helped me to become the reader, author, and illustrator that I am today.”
In related news, I recently took my family to go see a spinoff musical of the series titled Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical and had a very nice time!
Calvin & Hobbes Getting A New Collection:
And our final story of the day, for the two of you listening to this who don’t own the complete Calvin & Hobbes collection, good news: a new Calvin & Hobbes collection is coming. As first reported by ICv2, the reissue of Bill Watterson’s classic newspaper strip will feature two volumes per release. The slipcover will be formatted like a book, while the two volumes will be horizontal a la the original newspaper release.
The Calvin and Hobbes Compendium will stretch over seven releases of two volumes each, with a new compendium released every Fall and Spring through 2026. The first release, priced at $19.99, will hit stores later this month on August 29, 2023.
Though there’s no new material in this collection, Watterson’s first original work in over 25 years will be hitting stores on October 10. Illustrated by John Kascht, The Mysteries is a dark fairy tale for adults; versus Calvin & Hobbes, which was ostensibly for kids but we all know better.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. It’s a magical world out there, let’s get exploring.
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