Powered by RedCircle
Bill Willingham claims to have fired DC Comics over the release schedule of Fables. French graphic novel series Medea is getting a new collection. Heartstopper dominates graphic novel sales.
SUBSCRIBE ON RSS, APPLE, ANDROID, SPOTIFY, OR THE APP OF YOUR CHOICE. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, AND FACEBOOK. SUPPORT OUR SHOWS ON PATREON.
Episode Transcript:
Bill Willingham fires DC Comics?
Medea is back and ready for revenge.
Heartstopper dominates graphic novel sales.
This is Comic Book Club News for September 14, 2023.
Bill Willingham Fires DC Over Fables Delays:
Has writer Bill Willingham fired DC Comics? Can you even fire a publisher? Is that a thing? At the very least, that’s what Willingham claims happened, in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Said Willingham: “In answer to far too many requests, I’m tempted to explain the delays in issues of Fables: The Black Forest, since DC refuses to do so. Short version: I handed in every script more than two years ago, and, for multiple reasons, haven’t worked with/for DC since. I fired them.”
Fables was the creation of Willingham and artist Mark Buckingham. It ran for 150 issues from 2002 to 2015. It recently returned with the subtitle The Black Forest, though the release schedule has been spotty, at best. Only nine issues of the comic have hit stands since it returned in 2022. Issue #160 of the planned 12-issue extension has repeatedly been pushed back. It is currently scheduled to be released in October. However, Willingham promises a press release on the subject will be released soon. So we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
Here’s hoping this fable has a happy ending.
Medea Gets A New Collection:
Tyler Perry’s classic character Medea is heading to comics, in a new… Oh, I’m sorry, I’m being told this is the original Greek character Medea, not the one from the hilarious movies. Anyway, Dark Horse Comics will be releasing a new, collected edition of the French series Médée, now in English for the first time.
Said editor Jenny Bingham-Blenk via press release: “Medea is a visual delight as well as a timely retelling. Blandine Le Callet and Nancy Peña’s rethinking of an ancient myth speaks to societal and political issues that we still face today.”
The retelling of the Greek myth was originally released in four volumes in 2021, and is told from Medea’s perspective. The story repaints the arguably misogynistic tale as if not a feminist fable, more of a humanistic one. The book will hit stores next year on May 7.
Heartstopper Dominates Graphic Novel Sales:
Continuing our journey through the comics sales of August, Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper was the big winner on the kids graphic novel charts. According to ICv2, while the eleventh volume of Dog Man was number one, all four volumes of Heartstopper sat right behind it in descending order; only broken up by Baby-Sitters Little Sister Vol. 7 at number four.
While not surprising, it is nice to see Heartstopper stopping the charts in the midst of multiple calls for bans on the LGBTQ+-friendly books throughout the country, courtesy of some real dum-dums. It’s almost like bans don’t actually harm sales, but in fact drive up interest in the books those homophobes are banning.
It also can’t hurt that Heartstopper Season 2, which was released at the beginning of August, surely spurred increased interest in the already insanely popular series.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And DC can’t fire me, because I quit.
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
For more comic book news, reviews, and interviews, check out comicbookclublive.com.
Listen early and ad-free on Patreon.com/comicbookclub.
