THQ Nordic and AEW Announce Release Date for AEW: Fight Forever

AEW’s Highly Anticipated Console Video Game will Enter the Ring on June 29

Vienna, Austria, Jacksonville, FL and Tokyo, Japan, May 22nd, 2023: Arcade wrestling game fans rejoice – it’s almost time to climb the ladder and make yourself famous! THQ Nordic GmbH and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) today confirmed that they will bring developer YUKE’s highly anticipated arcade wrestling creation AEW: Fight Forever to PS4™, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo® Switch on Thursday, June 29, 2023.

“When I first signed with AEW, Tony Khan gave me the opportunity to assemble the best gaming team that understands and respects professional wrestling, to make the best wrestling games ever,” said Kenny Omega, Executive Vice President and former AEW World Champion and World Tag Team Champion at AEW. “Thanks to our incredible collaboration with Geta, YUKE’s and THQ Nordic, a new era of professional wrestling gaming is quickly approaching. AEW: Fight Forever has exceeded my highest expectations, and I’m confident that June 29 will be a momentous day for wrestling fans and gamers alike.

“Since our initial announcement, fans worldwide have shown unbridled passion around the launch of Fight Forever, and AEW has proven through our exciting storylines and hard-hitting wrestling action that good things come to those who wait,” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “With Fight Forever, Kenny and our world-class team have delivered an authentic, nostalgic feel of wrestling games past, along with the unmatched creativity that AEW brings to the table. It’s going to be cool to see our fans finally getting a fresh and much-needed alternative next-gen console wrestling game on June 29. AEW has the greatest fans on the planet, and I’m excited for them to experience this new way to engage with our stars.

Recognized for its retro approach to design including hand-crafted animations and nostalgic arcade feel, AEW: Fight Forever presents wrestling fans with their first chance to pull off wrestling moves only seen on the wildly popular AEW programming. Online co-op wrestling is going completely next level with Tag-Team matches that feature sequences of team maneuvers performed with simple commands. A long roster of the most popular AEW wrestlers, career mode, wrestler customization, signature AEW arenas, multiple match types and even some good ol’ fashioned unsanctioned fun await!

Developed by YUKE’s Co. Ltd, AEW: Fight Forever is the arcade wrestler that harkens back to the Golden Age of wrestling gamesPlayers can look forward to pulling off the most current wrestling moves seen on wildly popular AEW programming. This, in addition to innovative tandem offensive moves. Online co-op wrestling is going completely next level with Tag-Team matches that feature sequences of team maneuvers performed with simple commands. A long roster of the most popular AEW wrestlers, deep career mode, wrestler customization, signature AEW arenas, multiple match types and even some good ol’ fashioned, unsanctioned fun await!

AEW: Fight Forever is coming to PS4™, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo® Switch on June 29th, 2023 at an SRP of € 59.99 / $ 59.99 / £ 49.99. Follow @aewgames for news and updates!

For more info visit: https://aew.thqnordic.com/
Visit AEW on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/aewgames
Follow AEW on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AEWGames

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BOOM! Studios Celebrates POWER RANGERS with the MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS 30th ANNIVERSARY COMIC SPECIAL

An All-Star Studded Creative Team including the original Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger!

Los Angeles, CA (May 18, 2023) — To continue the 30-year legacy of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, BOOM! Studios, under license by global leader in play Hasbro, Inc., has put together the MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS 30TH ANNIVERSARY COMIC SPECIAL–a landmark celebratory anthology issue featuring five brand new stories paying homage to the legacy of the Rangers, written by Ryan Parrott (Rogue Sun), Mat Groom (Inferno Girl Red), the original Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger Amy Jo Johnson and Matt Hotson (Titans), and young adult author Maria Ingrande Mora (Fragile Remedy), along with current Mighty Morphin Power Rangers superstar scribe Melissa Flores! Joining the celebration are returning fan-favorite Power Rangers artists including Hendry Prasetya (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), Eleonora Carlini (Go Go Power Rangers), Marco Renna (Mighty Morphin), and Power Rangers newcomer Jo Mi-Gyeong (Eve).

Between a spotlight on Ernie in Angel Grove, Alpha 5’s struggle to find his true purpose, a mind-bending “What If?” story about Tommy’s powers which introduces an all-new alternate universe, an additional tale about his marriage to Kat, and a deeper look at the Ranger Academy, this anniversary issue is truly packed full of content worthy of the 30-year legacy.

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS 30TH ANNIVERSARY COMIC SPECIAL features a main cover by Dan Mora (Once & Future) and variants by Rian Gonzales (Batgirls), Jamal Campbell (Nightwing), Bon Bernardo (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), Miguel Mercado (Go Go Power Rangers), and Goñi Montes (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers). Along with 40 pages of brand new action-packed material, and an additional 24 pages of classic material that fans new and old will be delighted to experience!

“This is without a doubt an oversized celebration of Power Rangers for fans, writers and artists who are true fans themselves,” said editor Allyson Gronowitz. “It is an enormous cross-section of Power Rangers storytelling with amazing brand new stories, and a couple of fan-favorite older ones. If you grew up with any season of Power Rangers, this is our gift to you!”

Currently, Power Rangers is celebrating 30 continuous years on the air, making it one of the longest-running kids’ live-action series in television history, with over 900 episodes aired to date. Created by Haim Saban and launched in 1993 with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the series celebrates its 30th year with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, an anniversary special exclusively available on Netflix now. The 30th overall season of Power Rangers, “Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury,” will premiere this Fall 2023 also exclusively on Netflix.

“For three decades and over 900 episodes, fans have been immersed in the adventurous and thrilling world of Power Rangers. That kind of longevity is rare, and it’s all thanks to our loyal fans. This comic special is our way of celebrating them,” said Michael Kelly, Vice President of Global Publishing at Hasbro.

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS 30TH ANNIVERSARY COMIC SPECIAL is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney; Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera; Once & Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora; Wynd by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas; Grim by Stephanie Phillips and Flaviano; Briar by Christopher Cantwell and Germán García; Stuff of Nightmares by R.L. Stine and A.L. Kaplan; The Approach by Jeremy Haun, Jason A. Hurley, and Jesus Hervas; Damn Them All by Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard; BeholdBehemoth by Tate Brombal and Nick Robles; Once Upon a Time at the End of the World by Jason Aaron, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Leila del Duca, and Nick Dragotta; Know Your Station by Sarah Gailey and Liana Kangas; A Vicious Circle by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo; Mosely by Rob Guillory and Sam Lotfi; Harrower by Justin Jordan and Brahm Revel; The Neighbors by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Letizia Cadonici; The Seasons Have Teeth by Dan Watters and Sebastián Cabrol; and the upcoming Sirens of the City by Joanne Starer and Khary Randolph. The imprint also publishes popular licensed properties, including Dune: House Harkonnen from Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Michael Shelfer; Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Melissa Flores and Simona Di Gianfelice; Magic from Jed McKay, Rich Douek, and Ig Guara; and The Expanse: Dragon Tooth by Andy Diggle and Rubine.

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS 30TH ANNIVERSARY COMIC SPECIAL will be available in comic shops August 30, 2023. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Kindle.

For continuing news on MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS comic books and more from BOOM! Studios, stay tuned to boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.

For more on Power Rangers, please visit www.powerrangers.com and follow Power Rangers on YouTubeFacebookTwitter and Instagram.

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Nerd Notes (5/20/23)

BLUR reunite after 8 years for new musics.

My 1st cousin on my mother’s side via her brother (my Uncle) husband write this fascinating work over the last 30 years chronicling a trip around the world he took back in the early 90s.

Ron English has new gallery show tonight. For those of you who will miss there is a walkthrough available.

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New York Comic Con 2023 begins guest announcements

NYCC 23 Guests

Click over to NYCC’s official website for further information on guests (including current dates schedules and their level of participation) currently announced.

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[UDON] Action! Comedy! Giant Pompadours!🤯 RandomVeus is coming!

ACTION, JOKES,
A GIANT POMPADOUR

Get ready for RandomVeus: One Dimensional Couriers
An All-New Original Graphic Novel!

May 10, 2023: Today UDON Entertainment is proud to announce the Fall 2023 publication of RandomVeus: One Dimensional Couriers, an all-new original graphic novel and original IP by Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz! This self-contained, new-reader-friendly graphic novel is a sequel to 2011’s RandomVeus, and, like that book, it will be released as a gorgeous, oversized, full color hardcover graphic novel! 

Jeffrey Cruz, aka “Chamba”, is best known to comic fans for his lasting contribution to UDON’s Street Fighter comics and graphic novels, most recently contributing to the smash-hit Street Fighter 6 series, and for his work on Marvel’s Avengers: Tech-On! But he’s also a prolific illustrator and commission artist, splashing his incredible and stylish art across the internet! In RandomVeus: One Dimensional Couriers Chamba marries his style and his storytelling with an all-new original world, populates it with cool characters, and runs them through the wringer of hilarious situations. Fans of great anime take note: This is the graphic novel for you!

“RandomVeus reminds me a lot of anime like Gurren Lagann and Red Line,” said UDON Chief Erik Ko. “It’s totally its own thing though. Chamba’s art is really bold, with really gorgeous colors and detailed character designs, and it’s very funny. I think if you like anime that mix sci-fi and sort of goofy/funny characters, you will really like RandomVeus.”

RandomVeus: One Dimensional Couriers is a 184-page original hardcover graphic novel, printed in full colour, arriving in book and comic stores everywhere in November 2023. It is now available for pre-order from select retailers.

KEEP READING FOR A 12 PAGE PREVIEW!

RANDOMVEUS: ONE DIMENSIONAL COURIERS
By Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz, with Leonard Bermingham
$39.99, 184 Pages, 8.25” x 11.25”, FC, HC
ISBN: 978-1-77294-223-1
COMING NOVEMBER 2023

The Veuniverse is a strange location full of daft and dangerous denizens. This place isn’t always the friendliest, so it takes a particular type of brave buffoon to be a courier, especially when there are equally rash rival couriers competing for the same jobs! Join the pompadour-styled Raimundo and his witty cohorts Bloob & Melody (the One Dimensional Couriers) in a race against time to deliver what could be the biggest package of their careers– all in service of a quizzically questionable client! If you’re a fan of dynamic, action-based anime and random humor from down under, you can’t go wrong with RANDOMVEUS.

Available for pre-order at
Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Rightstuf
or A Comic Shop Near You

CHECK OUT THIS 12 PAGE PREVIEW!

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Nerd Notes (5/15/23)

Great collection of photos by the team at ICV2 of GAMA Expo.

Press Release for Ron English’s Latest show at Allouche (May 20th, 2023)

Boom Chicago Presents the 30 Most Important Years in Dutch History

Friday night was the Book Release event for Not Right Now by Imanii Labels. Here is official footage.

Finally for now, Sara Bareilles covering the Disney classic theme.

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CARTOONSHOW, The Debut Graphic Novel from ADVENTURE TIME Artist Derek M. Ballard

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Single Dad-ing, Money Troubles, and Political Humor Take Centerstage in Oni Press’ New Graphic Novel Cartoonshow from Derek M. Ballard

Satirical Reflection Of Contemporary American Life Releases August 2

“I laughed and cried, y’all. These are the real $#!^ journal comics. Drawings that could slay a dragon. Every punchline a funny knife in your eye.” – Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time)

“Ballard has been producing a singular body of work for over two decades, congealing his keyed-up characters with idiosyncratic angular anatomy into an often-unforgiving neon science fiction setting. Oh yeah, these comics are also funny.” – RJ Casey, The Comics Journal

PORTLAND, OR (May 15 2023) – Oni Press, the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comic book and graphic novel publisher are thrilled to announce the release of debut graphic novel, Cartoonshow, from single parent and creator, Derek M. Ballard (Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time and Netflix’s The Midnight Gospel). Originally published online, Cartoonshow follows the real-life challenges of being a single dad with insightful humor and satirical reflection of contemporary American life.

“This book of cartoons is a whole slew of dumb, funny, embarrassing, and true things that happened to my kids and me. Stuff that befalls average families every single day,” says creator Derek M. Ballard. “Oni Press made it possible to support my family while I brought my uncompromised scribbly vision to the page. That’s a big deal. Unbelievable really. Extra special thanks to my editor Zack Soto.”

“I think Derek’s comics are truly Great—like capital GC Great Cartooning, and the issues he’s talking about are important, under-discussed stuff. It’s like Hi & Lois but with a social/political consciousness,” says Editor Zack Soto. “Working with Derek and designer Carey Soucey to bring Cartoonshow to life in its current form was one of the more rewarding collaborative experiences in my editorial career to date, and I can’t wait for everyone to pick up a copy!”

Derek is a solo parent raising three kids in the American South while trying to make art. Told in a series of free-flowing and often hilarious comic essays, Cartoonshow gets to the heart of the struggle to be a creative person in a society that doesn’t value anything other than how much it can grind out of you. Covid, poverty, the failing social safety net, predatory lenders, and literal acts of God can’t stop our hero!

Cartoonshow will be available in hardcover for a list price of $21.99 (ISBN: 978-1-63715-218-8) at retailers everywhere on August 2, 2023.

About the Creator

Derek M Ballard makes modern American family comics. It’s not his fault that being a single parent in America is kind of a nightmare.

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ABOLITION of MAN – An AI constructed comic coming soon!

LIVING THE LINE BOOKS AND DIAMOND ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE ABOLITION OF MAN

Living the Line Books and Diamond Comics are proud to announce that the pioneering book, The Abolition of Man, the first comic series entirely illustrated by a computer, will be receiving a deluxe, hardcover collection in June of 2023.

Conceived and executed by fine-artist/educator/philosopher turned Eisner Award-nominated cartoonist, Carson Grubaugh, The Abolition of Man Deluxe Edition collects all five issues of the groundbreaking series of the same name, and it is the first comic series in history to be entirely illustrated by an Artificial Intelligence (AI). Alternately hilarious and terrifying, The Abolition of Man gives a chilling peek into the world of the future, where humans and their most treasured passions have lost all purpose.

“The Abolition of Man is a thorough test drive of AI image making, and the results are extraordinary, appalling, compelling, cold, hot, beautiful, repellant, and should be abolished.” — Dave McKean, Prompt, Sandman, Cages

“Chilling. Exciting. Bizarre.” — Jim Rugg, Cartoonist Kayfabe, Street Angel, Hulk: Grand Design

“The Abolition Of Man is a curiously uneasy experiment. One that almost seems as if the construction of it is trying to discover why it should exist. That alone is worth the time to explore it.” — J H Williams III (Echolands, The Sandman Overture, Batwoman, Promethea)

Starting on June 3rd, 2022, Grubaugh used the now-controversial Midjourney AI to conduct a series of interwoven experiments designed to test the “intelligence” and full visual capabilities of the technology. This first experiment, “illustrated” solely by feeding the AI a portion of C.S. Lewis’ eerily prescient essay, “The Abolition of Man”, posits that our desire to control nature will lead to a purposeless and diminished form of humanity. The second experiment, “HodTech,” projects these technological innovations into a satirical dystopia where all human work has been made redundant by machines, leaving the species with nothing to do but remix old content. HodTech culminates in the third experiment, written and illustrated entirely by AI, using only the prompt, “The Abolition of Man.” The final experiment, illuminated by AI-designed infographics, is written by Philosophy of Information founder Luciano Floridi, who begins the work of bringing a moral framework to this new field of ethics by showing how human dignity can help us design a future worth building.

This deluxe hardcover edition also collects 40 pages of exclusive content, including sample pages of the extremely rare (only ten copies exist) Dall-E 2 variant edition of The Abolition of Man #1, in which the entire interior of issue #1 was re-illustrated using Dall-E 2, a second AI image generator. The collection also includes two pieces of philosophical writing produced by Grubaugh between 2007 and 2018 that were the source of inspiration for this project. These essays include predictions about the banal, Content Apocalypse that AI is now making a reality.

Also accompanying The Abolition of Man project are a series of long-form discussions about the ethics and impact of AI art with superstar guests Dave McKean (illustrator), NFN Kalyan (fine artist), John Mahoney (concept designer, filmmaker) and Luciano Floridi (Philosopher of Information, Data and AI Ethics policy maker). These are posted on Living The Line’s YouTube channel and linked in the book.


Living the Line Publisher Sean Michael Robinson says, “From the first moments that Carson and I had access to Midjourney and other diffusion models, we both knew we were on the cusp of a whole new world, one in which image making and indeed art activities may become entirely irrelevant and redundant. It seemed important to both of us that the first statements with this new technology grapple with the ethical and practical implications of computer aided image diffusion.”

Grubaugh reflects, “For the last sixteen years I have been producing art and philosophical essays about the Esthetics and Ethics of Information, frequently predicting the situation we now find ourselves in, and worse. To finally have people listening to these concerns, now, during most important moment in the history of art since some wasteful cave-person blew juice at their hand on a wall instead of drinking it, is a true blessing.”

Grubaugh concludes, “In a world where there is nothing new under the Sun we must choose to change the Sun.”


The Abolition of Man #3 was released in comic stores worldwide on Wednesday December 21st, and will be followed by issues #4 and #5 in January and February. The collected graphic novel will be available in deluxe hardback form in late June 2022.

 

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Nerd Notes (5/12/23)

P-Cs will attending the Publisher Weekly’s U.S. Book Show in person, as well the 2023 Five Points Festival over the coming weeks and are planning for those events.  Keeping on top of research for those shows, coming soon video games, as well book essays and popculture essays  has meant less attention to the regular type of Nerd Notes things, but here’s a few.

This new Tenacious D music video is a tour de force.

One of the greatest and finest films of all time (in this site’s opinion) despite its creepy nature is returning to theaters latest this year in a remaster courtesy of NEON.

Arnold Schwartznegger is the subject and interviewee of a 3 part docuseries coming to Netflix soon.

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JAMES TYNION IV, TILLIE WALDEN & ALEX DE CAMPI TO APPEAR AT PUBLISHERS WEEKLY’S U.S. BOOK SHOW 2023 THIS MONTH

PORTLAND, Ore. 05/11/2023 — Image Comics is pleased to announce that James Tynion IV (W0RLDTR33, Vol. 1), Tillie Walden (Clementine Book Two), and Alex De Campi (Parasocial) will appear at Publishers Weekly’s U.S. Book Show this month at the NYU Kimmel Center in New York City.

Now in its third year, the U.S. Book Show is a hybrid event—in-person and livestreaming to a virtual audience—hosted by the NYU School of Professional Studies Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts at NYU’s Kimmel Center.

TUESDAY, MAY 23—

“Adult Big Books of Next Season” from 2:20–3:15 PM
Panelists: Mattie Lubchansky (Boys Weekend), Edel Rodriguez (Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey), Jillian Tamaki (Roaming) & James Tynion IV (W0RLDTR33, Vol. 1).
Moderator: Tahneer Oksman, author and Associate Professor at Marymount Manhattan College

“Alex De Campi in conversation with Joan Hilty” from 3:50–4:10 PM
Panelist: Alex De Campi (Parasocial, Dracula, Motherf**ker)
Moderator: Joan Hilty, Executive Editor, Avatar Studios/Nickelodeon Animation

“Closing Keynote” from 4:30–5:00 PM
Panelists: Jeff Smith (Bone) & Tillie Walden (Clementine Book Two)
Moderator: Heidi MacDonald, Editor-in-Chief of The Comics Beat

For more programming details, visit: https://usbookshow.com.

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