House of Brainiac Special #1, by Joshua Williamson and Mark Russell, with artists Edwin Galmon and Steve Pugh. Cover by Jamal Campbell.

The special will reveal how Brainiac created a bottled city of Czarnia in the first place, and also feature stories about Lois Lane, Perry White, Bippo, Amanda Waller and more.

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Out this week: Acid Chimp vs. Business Dog (Ahoy Comics, $3.99): Mark Russell, Bryce Ingman, Peter Krause and Steve Pugh bring together two characters from the Russell-written Billionaire Island and My Bad in this one-shot that helps celebrate the fifth anniversary of Ahoy Comics.

See what else is arriving at your local comic shop this week.

Out this week: Peacemaker Tries Hard! #1 (DC Black Label, $4.99):

Kyle Starks, Steve Pugh and Jordie Bellaire present a Black Label take on Peacemaker, whose dog is kidnapped in a blackmail scheme by “an infamously unstable super-powered criminal” that wants Peacemaker to steal something for him. 

See what else is arriving in comic book shops this week.

Out this week: Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs #1 (Ahoy Comics, $4.99):

 Mark Russell and Steve Pugh return to the world of Billionaire Island, or at least what’s left of it, in this new miniseries. Who can save the world after the 1% take down the economy? Hint: he’s on the cover, and he’s a really good boy.  

See what other comics and graphic novels arrive in comic shops and on digital this week.

Superman: Son of Kal-El Annual #1 (DC, $5.99)

The adventures of Superman’s son continue in this extra-sized annual, which features Jon Kent’s first confrontation with his dad’s old pal Lex Luthor. It’s by Tom Taylor, Clayton Henry and Steve Pugh.

See what else you can find this week at your local comic shop and on digital.

This is Steve Pugh’s variant cover for One-Star Squadron #1 (December 2021).

If you thought Future State was over, think again — this week brings a third issue of Superman vs. Imperious Lex, the wonderful title by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh, which reveals the final fate of the planet Lexor.

See what else is arriving in comic shops this week.

Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex, by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh is a three-issue series coming in January-March 2021 as part of the DC Future State event.

cover by Yanick Paquette

As a tie-in to the upcoming film of the same name, DC Comics and Walmart will release Wonder Woman 1984 #1 in September, featuring two different stories starring the Amazon. The first is by the film’s associate producer, Anna Obropta, and legendary editor/writer Louise Simonson. It’ll feature art by Bret Blevins (who collaborated with Simonson on New Mutants back in the day). The second story is by Steve Pugh and Marguerite Sauvage. Nicola Scott drew the cover. It arrives at Walmart around Sept. 20, and then will be in comic shops Sept. 29.

Billionaire Island #2 from AHOY Comics arrives in July.

Smash Pages Q&A: Mark Russell on ‘Billionaire Island’

Mark Russell has made a name for himself as one of the leading satirists in comics and a deeply subversive writer. I think it’s fair to say that no one envisioned The Flintstones or Snagglepuss the way that Russell wrote them, as these complex, thoughtful and tragic stories that addressed social issues in such pointed ways.

In addition to those books, there’s the two books where, with Shannon Wheeler, he reinterpreted The Bible (God is Disappointed in You, Apocrypha Now). He also wrote The Wonder Twins series for DC, which recently wrapped up, and Second Coming, which was originally going to be published by Vertigo, but the company dropped the series about Jesus becoming roommates with the world’s mightiest superhero. 

Russell is back with a new series from Ahoy Comics, Billionaire Island. Taking place in 2044, it concerns an artificial island where the wealthiest can take their money and avoid the problems that come from dealing with humanity – and all the problems that the wealthy created. It is funny and outrageous – and someone is probably working on how to build such an island as we speak. I spoke with Russell about the book, being outrageous and taking guidance from Winston Churchill.

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Russell + Pugh reteam for new AHOY title

Find out what the filthy rich are up to in international waters, here on ‘Billionaire Island.’