Comic Journalist Detained By ICE, Transformers Compendium Collects US And UK Runs, Absolute Martian Manhunter Gets 120,000 Orders | Comic Book Club News For March 11, 2025

R.E. Burke, a cartoonist and comic book journalist, has been detained by ICE. Transformers Compendium collects US and UK runs. Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 racks up 120,000 orders.

SUBSCRIBE ON RSS, APPLE, ANDROID, SPOTIFY, OR THE APP OF YOUR CHOICE. FOLLOW US ON BLUESKY, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, AND FACEBOOK. SUPPORT OUR SHOWS ON PATREON.

Powered by RedCircle

Episode Transcript:

Comic journalist detained by ICE.

Transformers Compendium collects US and UK runs.

Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 gets 120,000 orders

This is Comic Book Club News for March 11, 2025.

R.E. Burke, Cartoonist And Comic Book Journalist, Detained By ICE:

R.E. Burke, a British cartoonist and comic book journalist, has been detained by ICE during a back-packing trip to North America.

Per The Beat, Burke was on a four month backpacking tour when she tried to cross from the US to Canada on February 26. Due to an issue with her visa, she was sent back to the US, then arrested as an “illegal alien,” handcuffed, and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma, where she has been held since then.

Making matters more harrowing, Burke’s father described the conditions she’s being held in, in a Facebook post, writing that she is, “sharing a cell, surviving on a diet of cold rice, potatoes, and beans (she is vegan), and has limited access to phone calls. Visitors are restricted to speaking through a glass screen via telephone. All her possessions have been confiscated, and she feels isolated and desperate to come home.”

Burke has no criminal record, no clear reason for the arrest, and also no timeline for her release. If you can help, contact Paul Burke on his Facebook page.

Transformers Compendium Collects US And UK Runs:

Skybound and Hasbro are launching a Kickstarter for The Transformers Compendium Set, a complete collection of the US and UK runs of the comics, starting on April 8.

The multi-hardcover compendium set runs 950 to 1,200 pages per volume over eight books, including the US and UK compendiums. And they’ll all come in THE TRANSFORMERS: Til All Are One Definitive Edition Box Set, which, per a press release, “intercuts the U.S. and U.K. runs into the most seamless and comprehensive reading experience yet.” This box set will also come with new art from Daniel Warren Johnson.

The campaign will open at 6am PT on April 8, and close at 12pm PT on May 7.

Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 Sells 120,000 Copies:

Scott Snyder has revealed that Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 has racked up 120,000 orders, in advance of its Final Order Cutoff date.

The news was revealed to the Comic Watch YouTube channel during a recent chat with the writer, where he discussed the success of DC Comics’s Absolute Universe line. While he noted that Martian Manhunter had snagged 120,000 orders from comic book shops, Absolute Flash #1 got “even more,” though he didn’t note how much more.

Previously, Absolute Batman #1 was called the best-selling comic book of 2024 by DC, with just under 400,000 copies ordered. And since then, Snyder has revealed that every subsequent issue of the Absolute titles have gotten 100,000 copies ordered, or over, making the line a consistent winner. And it looks like even with the number of titles in the line doubling over the next few months, including Absolute Green Lantern, that may not stop any time soon.

For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And yes, I realize there was a tonal dissonance between the first story and the next two.

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.