Gerry Conway, Comics Writer and Co-Creator of Punisher, Ms. Marvel, Firestorm, and Vixen, Dies at 73

Worried you might have missed some big comics news recently? Scroll through the headlines below to make sure you’re all caught up!

News From DC and Marvel

• Legendary writer Gerry Conway passed away at age 73. It’s hard to overstate his impact on Silver and Bronze Age comics. Among many other things, he killed off Spider-Man’s first love, Gwen Stacy, and co-created enduring characters like Jason Todd and the Punisher. He was also very vocal about the right-wing misappropriation of the Punisher’s skull logo.
• The Clayface trailer dropped! I, a known coward, will not be partaking in this horror-movie take on the character, but I hope you all have fun.
• The Disney+ series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur won a Peabody Award for its “fresh and heartwarming take on the superhero origin story in a celebration of individuality and bravery.”
• Popverse published a piece on why DC’s books are still dominated by white characters and what DC can do to address the situation.
• Marvel has announced their plans for the Fantastic Four’s 65th anniversary this August, including a special issue of their current series and a collection of over 700 (!) covers from the team’s long and prestigious history as Marvel’s First Family.
• Ayelet Zurer, who plays Vanessa Fisk on Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again, talked about her role on the show and the thought process behind that episode.
• According to Ryan Reynolds, we will probably see Deadpool pop up again in the MCU, but it will only be in supporting roles, not as the star of his own movie.
• Some characters we will not be seeing on the big screen any time soon are Apollo and Midnighter, as the film adaptation of The Authority is officially dead in the water.
• Planning a visit to the Warner Bros. Studio? Then you might want to experience the Superman Experience, a 3D virtual adventure where you get to join the Man of Steel in battle and in the Fortress of Solitude for some downtime with Krypto.

News From the Wider Comics World

• The finale to Netflix’s Heartstopper series, the film Heartstopper Forever, will be available to stream starting July 17.
• Oni Press has created “a new, open-source certification” called 100% HUMAN-MADE that all comics creators can use to show that their work is AI-free.
• Publisher Mad Cave laid off several employees, and news site Newsarama laid off its last writer. These are further troubling signs for the job market generally and creative industries in particular.