>I’ve been blessed to have a front row seat watching you navigate your life with beauty, grace, and poise. Even to this day, you make it all look so effortless while always being there for me. I love you, Auntie Janet. Happy Birthday. This one is a milestone. I would’ve given you a hug after this speech, but that damn table was blocking us lol. - Austin
>"I’m so grateful for the outpouring of love today. You have all made my 60th so special. Every single post, tribute, and wish touches my heart. I thank God for every additional day of life and for putting each of you in it. Wishing you all returned blessings & I look forward to seeing you soon. I love you. ♥️ J"
Donna Summer interview where she expresses her admiration for Janet and Whitney.
Janet speaks on RHYTHM NATION’s ongoing influence.
Janet looking good!
Hey Fam,
DC has put out quite a number of series in the last year or so that have flown under the radar and didn’t exactly set the sales charts on fire despite being quite good.
Is there a series you think more readers should have checked out but maybe missed because the series wasn’t properly promoted or recommended?
For me, it would be MR. TERRIFIC: YEAR ONE by Al Letson, Valentine De Landro, and Edwin Galmon. Excellent writing and art. I thought it would have done better because of Mr. Terrific’s popularity in the Superman film. Currently available in trade paperback. I highly recommend it. It was 10/10 for me. 🙌🏾
[PICTURED] The covers of:
THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #1 by Jeff Lemire and Rafael De Latorre
ZATANNA #1 by Jamal Campbell
Hey Fam,
Yesterday, I picked up my books for the month from my local comic shop and I wanted to try something different from the average Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman/Justice League/Absolute books that dominate DC's stable. I wanted to see what's going on with DC's B-level characters who often don't get to shine because either editorial or the comic-buying audience isn't interested enough.
I did the same last year and discovered that MR. TERRIFIC: YEAR ONE and THE NEW GODS were two of the best series DC put out in 2025, despite sales not being that great (y'all should really pick up those books if you haven't already).
Anyway, this time, I picked up the first issues of THE FURY OF FIRESTORM and ZATANNA.
THE FURY OF FIRESTORM is by Jeff Lemire and Rafael De Latorre. The angle of the book actually surprised me; think WATCHMEN meets ANNIHILATION. It's a creepy book, sci-fi/horror, taking a look at just how dangerous the Firestorm matrix is and how powerful Firestorm is. I had always thought that Firestorm's powers could only affect inorganic matter. I guess I was wrong. This is definitely a book for the A24 crowd. I dig it so far. I believe it is a six-issue limited series that will get upgraded to ongoing if the sales warrant it.
ZATANNA is by Jamal Campbell, who does everything except letter the book. Campbell has absolutely LEVELED UP! His work here is OUTSTANDING. And he writes a really trippy tale about DC's magical realms and how Zatanna, who is now the Prime Magus, oversees and protects them. The artwork is genius level. The concepts are brilliant. This is, in my opinion, one of the top 2 books DC is putting out right now (ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN is the other). Think CONSTANTINE on acid and you're close to the look and tone of this book. When DC named this era "Next Level," I don't think they were playing around!
So if you're looking for something outside of the incessant Batman money-grabs, you root for the little guy, and you would like to see a more diverse array of characters and stories represented in what DC offers, I highly recommend picking up these books.
The only way DC will know that we're interested in heroes outside of the trinity is if we support those characters' books--especially when they are as well produced as these.
Are there any other B or C-level characters that you wish DC would give a revitalizing shot? Myself, I'm thinking Vixen, Ted Kord/Blue Beetle, and many of the characters we saw in TITANS ACADEMY.
Thanks for reading!
Hey Fam,
Yesterday, I picked up my books for the month from my local comic shop and I wanted to try something different from the average Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman/Justice League/Absolute books that dominate DC's stable. I wanted to see what's going on with DC's B-level characters who often don't get to shine because either editorial or the comic-buying audience isn't interested enough.
I did the same last year and discovered that MR. TERRIFIC: YEAR ONE and THE NEW GODS were two of the best series DC put out in 2025, despite sales not being that great (y'all should really pick up those books if you haven't already).
Anyway, this time, I picked up the first issues of THE FURY OF FIRESTORM and ZATANNA.
THE FURY OF FIRESTORM is by Jeff Lemire and Rafael De Latorre. The angle of the book actually surprised me; think WATCHMEN meets ANNIHILATION. It's a creepy book, sci-fi/horror, taking a look at just how dangerous the Firestorm matrix is and how powerful Firestorm is. I had always thought that Firestorm's powers could only affect inorganic matter. I guess I was wrong. This is definitely a book for the A24 crowd. I dig it so far. I believe it is a six-issue limited series that will get upgraded to ongoing if the sales warrant it.
ZATANNA is by Jamal Campbell, who does everything except letter the book. Campbell has absolutely LEVELED UP! His work here is OUTSTANDING. And he writes a really trippy tale about DC's magical realms and how Zatanna, who is now the Prime Magus, oversees and protects them. The artwork is genius level. The concepts are brilliant. This is, in my opinion, one of the top 2 books DC is putting out right now (ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN is the other). Think CONSTANTINE on acid and you're close to the look and tone of this book. When DC named this era "Next Level," I don't think they were playing around!
So if you're looking for something outside of the incessant Batman money-grabs, you root for the little guy, and you would like to see a more diverse array of characters and stories represented in what DC offers, I highly recommend picking up these books.
The only way DC will know that we're interested in heroes outside of the trinity is if we support those characters' books--especially when they are as well produced as these.
Are there any other B or C-level characters that you wish DC would give a revitalizing shot? Myself, I'm thinking Vixen, Ted Kord/Blue Beetle, and many of the characters we saw in TITANS ACADEMY.
Thanks for reading!
In honor of her 60th birthday, May 11 will start a week of Vintage Pop Stardom deep dive looks into five of the all-time pop star's greatest years.
>Few, if any, pop stars throughout history have had a more incredible run than Janet Jackson at her peak. From 1986 to 2001, she released five full-length albums — each of which topped the Billboard 200, each of which generated at least one No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, each of which helped to define their era in pop, R&B and culture in general, and each of which proved enormously impactful on pop stardom, both in real time and for generations to come. And perhaps most impressively: Each of those album eras felt completely separate from the ones before or after, reframing Jackson’s artistry and shaping her legacy in a totally new way.
>In honor of the pop icon, R&B legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s upcoming 60th birthday (May 16), we’re celebrating a first on the Greatest Pop Stars podcast: A full week of Vintage Pop Stardom flashbacks to each of these peak Janet Jackson album eras. We’ll start in 1986 on May 11 with her Control breakthrough, and go one a day through the rest of the week, hitting the heights of her bar-setting Rhythm Nation era in 1990, her game-changing Janet release in 1993, her boundary-pushing Velvet Rope rollout in 1998 and her legacy-confirming All for You drop in 2001.
>And of course, along the way, we’ll answer all the most pressing questions about Ms. Janet during this all-time run: How did she end up making such an astronomical creative leap from her pre-Control material? What did she understand about crafting a full album era that even some of her megastar peers had to catch up to? How did she set the template for modern pop star evolution — and who have been some of her most obvious disciples? What challenges did she have to face in her career that her male and/or white pop peers might not have had to go through the same way? Which album is she most likely to be remembered for in 50 years? Which song? Which video? And why, 40 years after her breakthrough, does it still feel like her work doesn’t quite get the recognition or visibility it deserves?
I know a lot of folks don't see it for her, but I love her spunk and refusal to just go along with the program. I love her fierceness and independence and skill and savvy. And she's funny as hell. She would be Dionne Warwick on Got 2B Real (if you know, you know). LOL!
The pages attached are from:
Olympus Rebirth #1
Writers: Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad
Art: Caitlin Yarsky
Trial of the Amazons #1
Writers: Becky Cloonan, Vita Ayala, Stephanie Williams, Joëlle Jones, Michael Conrad
Art: Laura Braga, Skylar Patridge, Elena Casagrande
The tiniest Amazon in the Esquecida tribe. It seemed that there was so much potential for her, and then her tribe, and the Bana-Mighdall tribe, got brushed aside--which is endemic in the Wonder Woman mythos.
In my head canon, she's the new Wonder Tot. LOL!
Mr. Conway wrote Wonder Woman #233-241, 259-285, and 329. He also wrote my absolute favorite Justice League run. And created one of my favorite superheroes, Vixen. He was a legend and an icon.
May he Rest In Peace.
By Heather Gann | hgann@al.com
Comic writer and former Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Gerry Conway has passed away. He was 73 years old.
“On behalf of his family, we are sad to share that Gerry Conway has passed away,” Marvel Comics wrote in a post to X Monday morning.
“Gerry was a tremendous icon in comics who shaped pop culture itself. He was a dear friend, partner, and mentor, and our hearts are with his family and the millions he touched through his work.”
Conway was born in Brooklyn on Sept. 10, 1952, and was a lifelong fan of comic books, writing a fan letter that was published in a 1961 edition of Fantastic Four, according to a news release posted to Marvel’s website.
By the age of 16, Conway started writing published comic book stories himself, making his debut with short stories for major publishers, such as Marvel’s Chamber of Darkness and Tower of Shadows in 1969.
At 19, Conway replaced Stan Lee as the series writer on the flagship Spider-Man superhero title for over three years, taking the book all the way up to 1963.
Conway’s tenure on the series featured pivotal moments that redefined Spider-Man and the wider Marvel Universe, according to the release.
“Gerry Conway was a gifted writer,” Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Comics and Franchise, wrote in the release.
“He was thoughtful, deeply attuned to the emotional and moral core of storytelling, and a wonderful and articulate advocate for comics and creators. His writing has inspired all of us at Marvel, and will continue to inspire generations of writers, readers and fans to come.”
During his time working on Spider-Man, Conway introduced anti-hero Frank Castle, otherwise known as The Punisher, in 1974.
“Gerry Conway brought real stakes to his writing, able to weave together sensational super heroics with the human and relatable, and in doing so created some of the most memorable stories and characters of all time,” Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige wrote in the release.
“His writing has been hugely impactful across our comics, but it has also inspired so much of what we’ve done on screen, from Werewolf by Night to Daredevil to Spider-Man and Punisher. Gerry was a wonderful collaborator and friend to so many and will be dearly missed.”
Conway is survived by his wife Laura.