Links | Boom Box Launches ‘The Backstagers’

George Gene Gustines looks at BOOM! Studios’ Boom Box imprint, which focuses on stories of tweens and teens with an emphasis on “personal stories with a sprinkle of glee,” such as Lumberjanes and Giant Days. Their newest series, The Backstagers, is about the theater crew at an all-boys school. “I was a stage crew kid growing up myself,” said writer James Tynion IV. “It’s a very strange place that always held a special part of my heart.”

Titan Comics is launching a new Doctor Who series featuring the Third Doctor, who was portrayed by Jon Pertwee in the early 1970s.

There’s a Pirates of the Caribbean comic in the works from Joe Books, and it has a first-rate creative team: Chris Schweizer (The Crogan Adventures) and Joe Flood (Science Comics: Dinosaurs).

Scholastic has been reissuing Raina Telgemeier’s graphic adaptations of the Baby-Sitters Club books, and now we get news that the series will continue—with a new creator. The new artist is Gale Gilligan, who was a production assistant on Telgemeier’s Drama; if you want to get a sense of her work check out her webcomic, Patbird and Galesaur.

Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, is working on a comic The Adventures of John Blake: The Mystery of the Ghost Ship. In this interview with The Guardian, he talks about his love of comics as a child:

In Britain, little Philip read morally edifying comics, such as the Eagle. “My parents tolerated me reading comics because they knew I was also reading ‘proper’ books, too.” So, did they frown on comics? “Not all of them. Nobody frowned on the Eagle. It was edited by the Reverend Marcus Morris and was absolutely full of stuff about being a good chap and helping others. Boys of my age loved it because of Dan Dare [the stirringly British sci-fi space pilot]. Adults liked it because of the moral tone.”

Pullman’s life changed when, in 1954, his father, Alfred, an RAF pilot who had been part of Britain’s crushing of the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, was killed there in a plane crash. Later, Philip’s widowed mother, Audrey, took the family to Australia for nearly two years. “I was lucky because I was able to read the American comics I couldn’t get in this country. I used to tremble with excitement every week when the paperboy threw them on to the lawn.”

Archie writer and artist Dan Parent talks about his plans for his new digital series, Life with Kevin, which stars Kevin Keller in the lead role.

Wonder Woman is 75 years old this year, but if you’re just getting acquainted with her, Tom Bondurant has written a nice Wonder Woman 101 article to help you get some background and pick some starting points.

And in other Wonder Woman news, cartoonist Renae de Liz announced on Twitter that DC has given the go-ahead for Legend of Wonder Woman – Volume 2.

Matthew Funk rounds up a helpful list of 15 books about comics, from The Ten-Cent Plague to Was Superman a Spy?

The Lockport, New York, comic shop Pulp 716 offers a reading club that pairs students with a literacy tutor who uses comics to help build their skills—and now the students are working on a comic of their own.

Previews

The Mighty Zodiac #2
Ms. Marvel #7
Princeless Book 5: Make Yourself #2
Princeless: Raven, the Pirate Princess #8
Strawberry Shortcake #2

Reviews

Josh Begley on Archie #8 (The Fandom Post)
Henry Chamberlain on Farlaine the Goblin (Comics Grinder)
Mark Dickson on vol. 1 of Figment (Panel Patter)
Greg McElhatton on Future Quest #1 (Comic Book Resources)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Girl in Dior (Comics Worth Reading)
Matt Santori-Griffith on Gotham Academy #18 (Comicosity)
Stergios Botzakis on Hippopotamister (Graphic Novel Resources)
Doug Zawisza on Hippopotamister (Comicosity)
Chris Beveridge on Mae #1 (The Fandom Post)
N. Emmett on Ms. Marvel #6 (Girls Like Comics)
Stergios Botzakis on Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Alamo All-Stars (Graphic Novel Resources)
Mark Dickson on Princeless (Panel Patter)
Mark Dickson on Wander (Panel Patter)

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