Two new issues are shipping today!
BACK ISSUE #122 celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Wolfman & Pérez’s NEW TEEN TITANS!
And JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #79 looks at Kirby’s place in “The Big Picture!“
Get ’em both today
Author Archives: Mr. Morrow
5 new mags shipping now (our first since March), and back issues are 40% off (final week)!
Our first new releases since the Pandemic are now shipping!
And back issues are 40% off through Labor Day (ends Sept. 8)!
Download our free digital catalog here!
Back Issue #121 is our Conan and the Barbarians issue, celebrating the 50th anniversary
of Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith’s Conan #1! The Bronze Age Barbarian Boom, Top 50 Marvel Conan stories, Marvel’s Not-Quite Conans (from Kull to Skull), Arak–Son of Thunder, Warlord action figures, Gray Morrow’s Edge of Chaos, and Conan the Barbarian at Dark Horse Comics. Joining Roy Thomas are Kurt Busiek, Ernie Colon, Chuck Dixon, Mike Grell, Ron Randall, Dann Thomas, Timothy Truman, Marv Wolfman, and many more. Featuring the never-before-published alternate cover for Marvel’s Conan #9, from 1971. Edited by Michael Eury.
Preview the issue, and order your copy here!
Alter Ego #165 showcases Martin Goodman, original publisher of Timely/Atlas/Marvel Comics, 1939-1971—with coverage by comics historian Will Murray. With art and artifacts by the likes of Lee, Kirby, Ditko, Romita, Maneely, Buscema, Everett, Burgos, Gustavson, Schomburg, Colan, Adams, Steranko, and many others! Plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America)—Michael T. Gilbert in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt with still more on Pete Morisi—John Broome—and plenty of other stuff! Cover painting by Drew Friedman! Edited by Roy Thomas.
Preview the issue, and order your copy here!
Comic Book Creator #23 showcases a remarkable and revealing interview with comics pioneer and the artist extraordinaire of ElfQuest, Wendy Pini, about her difficult early years and escape to a creative life through fantasy fiction, adventure cartoons, Marvel Comics, and dance. We also talk to Richard Pini, ElfQuest co-creator, about their nearly 48-year marriage and their even-older creative partnership! Delayed from last issue, we present the final segment of our interview with Craig Yoe, as we visit his New York abode to talk about his work on The Muppets and friendship with legendary Jim Henson, his career-changing book, The Art of Mickey Mouse, and current Yoe Books imprint. We also talk with Larry Koster, onetime Gil Kane boyhood friend and business partner, about publishing His Name Is… Savage and other adventures with the raconteur comic book artist. Plus Michael Aushenker chats with the great Pablo Marcos about his awesome Marvel horror work and so much more! And the wonderful Fred Hembeck rounds things up! Edited by Jon B. Cooke.
Preview the issue, and order your copy here!
RetroFan #10 (now bi-monthly!) celebrates fifty years of Shaft—can you dig it? Plus: interviews with Family Affair’s Kathy Garver and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour’s Geri “Fake Jan” Reischl, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, rare Godzillamerchandise, Spaghetti Westerns, Saturday morning cartoon preview specials, fake presidential candidates, Spider-Man/The Spider parallels, Stuckey’s, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by Ernest Farino, Andy Mangels, Will Murray, Scott Saavedra, and Scott Shaw! Edited by Michael Eury.
Preview the issue, and order your copy here!
BrickJournal #63, the magazine for Lego® enthusiasts, goes under the sea to visit Ryan Van Duzor’s Coral Reef, sails over to Hawaii to visit the many creations of Colin Hemmen’s Brickiverse, and then flies to Hollywood to take a look at John Klapheke’s scenes from the Indiana Jones movies! Plus: “AFOLs” by cartoonist Greg Hyland, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by Christopher Deck, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art with Tommy Williamson, Minifigure Customization with Jared K. Burks, and more! Edited by Joe Meno.
Preview the issue, and order your copy here!
Watch the Brave New World of TwoMorrows Panel now!
The Brave New World of TwoMorrows Panel at comic-con@home is now showing!
View it here:https://www.comic-con.org/cciathome/2020/video/jEnpjWUZ_oY
John Morrow (publisher, Jack Kirby Collector editor) moderates a discussion about how the pandemic is changing the way TwoMorrows Publishing produces its books and magazines, its current challenges, and updates on release schedules and new projects. Featured are Jon B. Cooke (Comic Book Creator magazine), Mike Manley (Draw! magazine), Keith Dallas (American Comic Book Chronicles series), and Eric Nolen-Weathington (Modern Masters series).
The amazing Joe Sinnott has left us
Joe Sinnott just passed away at age 93. An amazing man with amazing longevity, both in life, and in his comics career.
I first met Joe in person in 1996, not long after starting the Jack Kirby Collector. I was exhibiting at the Ramapo Comic Convention in New York, held in a school gymnasium, and the staff there sat me next to Joe. I was dumbfounded to be next to this creator I’d admired so much for most of my life, and didn’t know what to say. Joe, in his usual easygoing manner, immediately put me at ease, and drew me into conversation. He and his lovely wife Betty were delightful that entire show, and I believe she took the photo here (or else my wife Pam did).
We corresponded by phone and mail quite a bit over the years, and it was always a joy to open one of his letters, and see his beautiful handwriting—every bit as meticulous as his inking. We published a biography of Joe titled Brush Strokes With Greatness, and he was always appreciative of that, and of the times I featured his art or interviews in the Jack Kirby Collector (which, of course, should’ve been—and was—the other way around; I was blessed to have the association with HIM!).
We got to see each other a few more times in person at the New York Comic-Con and San Diego. But one of the nicest moments I had involving Joe, was in late 2017, when out of the blue, a card arrived in my mailbox, containing a hand-drawn image of Thor and the Thing, congratulating me on the Inkpot Award I’d received that year at Comic-Con. That’s the kind of person Joe Sinnott was: Deep in his faith in God, overflowing with kindness for others, and just one of the nicest people you would ever meet. He was a genuinely great human being, and I will really, really miss him.
Jack Kirby’s Dingbat Love nominated for a 2020 Eisner Award!
I’m excited to announce that my book Jack Kirby’s Dingbat Love was nominated for a 2020 Eisner Award for “Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books.”
The full list of nominees can be found at this link: https://www.comic-con.org/awards/2020-eisner-awards-nominations
If you’re an industry professional, you’re eligible to vote at www.eisnervote.com. But the deadline is this Thursday, June 18, so get to voting!
And if you haven’t read Dingbat Love, you’re missing out on a slew of complete, unpublished (till now) 1970s Jack Kirby stories, and the history behind them. Get a copy here: https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=95_97&products_id=1434
John Morrow, publisher
Pre-order these PREVIEWS items now from TwoMorrows or your LCS
Most comics shops are still closed, but you can pre-order these upcoming items directly from TwoMorrows Publishing! And in case your local comics shop is taking pre-orders, we’re including the Previews codes for the last two editions. To see FULL listings of all items, CLICK HERE!
April-May PREVIEWS pages 369-370:
APR202113 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #24 NEW!
APR202120 DC DUO BUNDLE (Flash and Hawkman Companions bundled together!) NEW!
APR202114 ALTER EGO #163
APR202115 BACK ISSUE #118
APR202116 JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #78 (Standard Edition)
APR202117 JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #78 (Deluxe Edition)
APR202118 RETROFAN MAGAZINE #8
APR202119 AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: The 1980s (Hardcover)
APR202121 MODERN MASTERS: PAOLO RIVERA (Softcover)
March PREVIEWS pages 376-377:
MAR202166 RETROFAN MAGAZINE #10 NEW!
MAR202167 ALTER EGO #165 NEW!
MAR202168 BACK ISSUE #121 NEW!
MAR202169 BRICKJOURNAL #63 NEW!
MAR202170 MARIE SEVERIN: THE MIRTHFUL MISTRESS OF COMICS (Softcover)
MAR202171 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #21
MAR202172 AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: 1965-1969 (Hardcover)
MAR202173 HERO-A-GO-GO (Softcover)
MAR202175 MONSTER MASH (Hardcover)
See you next month!
Get our anniversary book, and keep the World of TwoMorrows spinning!
You’ve probably heard that Diamond Comic Distributors is temporarily closed, leaving small publishers with no way to get our publications to comics shops. But for TwoMorrows, it’s much more complicated than that.
Comic Book Creator #22 and Jack Kirby Collector #78 had just arrived in stores, and four more magazines and our Anniversary book were on the way to Diamond, when they closed unexpectedly. Diamond is not paying us for any of those titles, at least for the near future.
Then, our distributor for Barnes & Noble also closed without warning, just before our next issues were about to go on sale. So we have taken a huge loss having to pay for printing and shipping tens of thousands of copies that:
• Diamond didn’t send to stores
• Diamond did send to stores, but isn’t paying us for
• We’re having to dispose of, since Barnes & Noble won’t sell out-of-date magazines when they reopen.
Until our distributors reopen, mail order and digital sales are TwoMorrows’ lifeline, to ensure we stay in business. We have bills to pay on all those existing publications, and to keep funding upcoming ones, so we can go to press as soon as Diamond reopens.
So if you’re able to help, please:
1) Purchase our World of TwoMorrows anniversary book, which is available now in Softcover, Ultra-Limited Hardcover, and Digital Editions. If you’ve loved the material we’ve produced for the last quarter-century, learn how we managed it all those years!
2) Download our new 2020 Digital Catalog at this link, and order some books and mags online. We’re continuing our 40% Off Magazine Sale, and we’re fully operational (my wife Pam and I are packing and shipping all the orders due to North Carolina’s stay-at-home mandate). If you have trouble ordering online, we’re happy to take your order by phone.
3) Pre-order copies of Alter Ego #164, Back Issue #120, BrickJournal #62, and RetroFan #9, all of which will be shipping by mail in the next 3-4 weeks. And since BrickJournal #62 (and #63) and RetroFan #9 (and #10) will not be sold at Barnes & Noble, now is the perfect time to…
4) Subscribe or renew your current subscriptions! The next issues of all six of our magazines are ready to go to press as soon as our distributors reopen, so we’ll be back on a regular release schedule after that.
In 1994, I founded TwoMorrows Publishing with the publication of The Jack Kirby Collector #1. I didn’t start out by selling through comics shops or bookstores—only by mail order and subscriptions. And I’m prepared to keep working that way indefinitely, regardless of when stores and distributors reopen. So stay safe, and together, we’ll keep the World of TwoMorrows spinning for another 25 years!
Best regards,
John Morrow, publisher
TwoMorrows Publishing
919-449-0344
www.twomorrows.com
TwoMorrows Publishing needs your help
Things are topsy-turvy at TwoMorrows right now in light of Diamond Comic Distributors temporarily shutting down, but here’s where things stand for us.
Basically, for the short term at least, our survival will rely on mail order and digital sales. That’s why I’ve just launched a 40% Off Magazine Sale, to boost mail orders and get us through the difficult next few weeks. We’re fully operational, and any in-stock items listed on our website will be shipped immediately. So if you’re able, please place an order online to help us weather the crazy days ahead. For easier ordering, download our new 2020 Digital Catalog at this link: http://www.twomorrows.com/media/2020InterativeCatalog.pdf
Copies of our World of TwoMorrows 25th Anniversary book are scheduled to arrive here within a week, at which point we’ll immediately start shipping them to everyone who directly ordered from us and through Kickstarter. The Limited Hardcover Edition of WOT is only available from us, not through comics shops, but we’ll also have plenty of softcover copies available.
Like other publishers, we rely on Diamond and comics shops for the majority of sales of our new releases, so the shutdown is really going to hurt us (as it will comic shops). Diamond’s copies of World of TwoMorrows, Alter Ego #164, Back Issue #120, BrickJournal #62, and RetroFan #9, won’t get to stores until the shutdown is over. But just like the WOT book, our mail order customers won’t miss out on those—we will fill webstore orders as soon as our copies arrive in the next three weeks, and subscribers will also get their copies on schedule, as long as the post office stays open.
A word of warning: For anyone planning to buy BrickJournal #62 or RetroFan #9 at Barnes & Noble, it now appears none of the copies we are sending them will make it to B&N store shelves, and will be destroyed. So the only way to get those issues is through your local comics shop once they reopen, or directly from TwoMorrows. Because of this, we expect these two issues will sell out quickly after release, so don’t delay pre-ordering them.
Lastly, we have several publications ready to go to press as soon as Diamond is ready to receive new shipments. We will adjust our upcoming release dates then, but know that work continues here on all your favorite books and magazines, thanks to our dedicated editors and contributors.
For 25 years, we’ve had the most loyal, supportive fans in the industry, and when this storm passes (and it will soon), with your help, we’ll still be here producing the industry’s best publications about comics, Lego, and pop culture.
Best regards,
John Morrow, publisher
TwoMorrows Publishing
919-449-0344
www.twomorrows.com
One Day at a Time Sale: Get 40% OFF print magazines at TwoMorrows
All orders must now be approved before downloads are released
I’m sad to report there has been a continued string of abuse of our offer of a free Digital Edition (ie. $4.99 off any order), by people using the Redemption Code “stayhome” at our webstore multiple times through fake accounts and other means. So until further notice, all orders placed online (free or paid) will be temporarily held for approval, before the links for any digital editions are released to customers. I will do my best to review orders several times a day, so your delay getting downloads shouldn’t be more than a few hours in most cases. You’ll get an email when your order has been updated, so you can log into your account to access your download. But you must use a valid email address to take advantage of this offer, and I will delete any accounts that appear to be trying to cheat the system.
Considering all that’s going on in the world, and the spirit of generosity I extended with this offer, I’m very disappointed so many people would go to such lengths to skirt the “one free item per customer” rule. We as a society are only going to get through the current Coronavirus situation by working together and helping each other. That was the spirit of my offer, which is already going to cost my family, and the families of our authors, loss of income in this challenging time. To have someone taking advantage of it makes it that much more difficult for us to continue to make such gestures, which hurts everyone, as I now may have to end the offer entirely.
The vast majority of our readers are honest (like the characters they read about in the comics we all love), and I’m sorry for the inconvenience this will cause them. If you’re one of the few trying to cheat the system, I hope you’ll give some thought to why you felt the need to engage in dishonesty for such a small dollar amount, and for items that aren’t necessities in these difficult times.