Happy Monday morning from your Friendly Neighbourhood Previously Editor! There’s been a lot happening this week, what with the tragedy of the migrant boat disaster, the discourse about the sub that had no business being in the water, and the Russian coup. On the comics side of things, though, there are a few opportunities coming along for the enterprising creator. First, though, the news:
Things are looking pretty bleak in the pop culture space, as well. There have been some revelations about horrid working conditions for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The third entry of the franchise, Beyond the Spider-Verse, is slated for 2024, but in all honesty, if the animators working on the film can have safe and equitable conditions, people would happily wait as long as needed. Can film studios please understand one thing—the desire for entertainment is not worth people’s health and safety!
Talking about artists, Marvel’s Secret Invasion is out on Disney+ and the opening credits were… unusual? Turns out, they were made by AI, and the reasons behind it are not great. Artists have been vocal about companies using AI, which is built on scraping existing art by primarily non-consenting artists. And now a big production house like Marvel is going ahead with AI ‘art’? This is exhausting.
Alrighty, enough of the unhappy stuff. There’s some good news in the world and I’m glad I get to share some with you.
Former WWAC contributor Zoe Tunnell recently announced on Twitter that her and co-creator Valentine Smith’s queer fantasy series, Blade Maidens, will be getting a print collection from Dark Horse Comics. Congratulations, Zoe!
We are very happy to announce:
Blade Maidens will be getting a print collection from @DarkHorseComics!!
We are thrilled to partner with Dark Horse for the collection, containing our first 6 issues and a selection of shorts, packaging together the first arc of our series. pic.twitter.com/9owTamQkBI
— BLADE MAIDENS – STORY 3 ONGOING NOW (@blademaidens) June 21, 2023
Are you going to be in Atlanta from August 4-6 this year? Stop by the Black Writers Weekend Festival, featuring authors, screenwriters, as well as stars from film & TV. You can book tickets here.
There are a host of calls for comics projects and new writers, so get writing and drawing!
Graphic Medicine has opened its second round for Frontline Comics. This project is for frontline workers and comics artists to create stories with a specific focus on the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cartoon Museum and publisher SelfMadeHero announced the 2023 First Graphic Novel Award for authors who have not previously been published.
And Silver Sprocket has opened submissions for original mini-comics for the first time. Submissions will be open twice a year, with the first period open from August 1, 2023 to August 31, 2023. Check out the requirements on Silver Sprocket’s submissions site.
Let me sign off by reminding you to take a break from doomscrolling. Read your favourite comics; get cozy with a comfort watch. Cook something fun. The world’s going to keep turning, work is still going to be demanding, but you deserve to rest your mind! Until next time, folks.
