Shaft #1 is Only a Month Away! Preorder Now!

In exactly four weeks, the hotly anticipated Shaft #1 — written by our own David Walker — will finally be available at comic shops across the country. If you haven’t yet pre-ordered your copy of the book — first of all, what’s wrong with you? — the last day for pre-orders is this Wednesday, November 5.

If you still need convincing about ordering Shaft — again, what’s wrong with you? — David’s been making the rounds promoting the hell out of the book at fine outlets all over the internet. After the jump, we’ve rounded up some of these interviews. In the meantime, if you’re headed to your favorite comic shop tomorrow, just print out this handy form (complete with Diamond codes for each variant cover) and secure your copy of Shaft while you still can.

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Why So Serious? Of Course DC has a “No Jokes” Policy

Earlier in the week, Drew McWeeny at HitFix sent the internet into a tizzy when he reported that Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment had mandated a strict “no jokes” policy for their entire slate of upcoming superhero movies. As per usual, much handwringing ensued, followed by several reports debunking the original one.

Whether that no joking policy was true or not is irrelevant. The mere fact that so many people believed it in the first place shows just how different and far apart DC and Marvel are in their approaches to superheroes. For decades, DC has embraced grimdark — in both their comics and their movies — to their benefit as well as their detriment.

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The Nerds of Cosplay

With San Diego Comic-Con fast approaching — and shows like HeroesCon and Anime Expo in the rear view — we are definitely in the thick of con season. One of the pillars of con-going is dressing up as your favorite character and hitting the floor in costume. So Hard N.O.C. Life returns with an episode dedicated to the art of cosplay!

Joining Keith on the panel is newest NOC contributor — and host of Comics and Cosplay on YouTube — Ian (@ComixNCosplay), NYC-based comics collector and enthusiast Jay Justice (@MsJayJustice), cosplayer and costuming tutor on Saturday Morning Cosplay Nel (@NelsRandomLife), and ComicsAlliance’s superhero sartorialist Betty Felon (@BettyFelon).

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What Avengers NOW Means for Marvel and Diversity

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last few days, you’re probably aware that the folks at the House of Ideas have taken two huge steps in diversifying their roster of heroes. The publisher who famously put a black/Latino teen in the (Ultimate) Spider-Man tights and recast Ms. Marvel as a Pakistani American has taken to national TV to announce its latest foray in ensuring that superheroes actually look like the America they represent.

So faithful watchers of the daytime talker The View were treated to the announcement of a female Thor, and fans of the late night Colbert Report got tipped to Sam Wilson replacing Steve Rogers as Captain America. We might have our own thoughts on these developments later. In the meantime, our friend at ComicsAlliance Andrew Wheeler touches on a lot of things that came to mind for me.

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Asian American Iron Fist at Comics Alliance

I know you’re probably sick of all the Iron Fist talk lately. I know there are a bunch of folks on the internet — and in our comment threads — who definitely are. Pro tip: if you write something that pisses off the fanboys, and then gets spread across the ‘net, it’s best to stay away from the message boards and comments. Yeesh.

So I promise this is the last mention — at least for now. But I just wanted to share this interview I did with the awesome crew at the website that’s way cooler than this one: Comics Alliance!

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Waking Up From a Long Winter’s Nap

Since The Nerds of Color is not the only awesome thing on the internet, we spent the holiday break scouring the web for some of the most NOC-relevant links around. Here are six things that have gotten the most buzz around the N.O.C. offices.


The folks over at Comics Alliance have posted some New Year’s resolutions for the comic book industry that we can all get behind.

Among their 10 Diversity Resolutions for Superhero Comics in 2014, this one is probably the most important. Heck, they even say so themselves!

These resolutions aren’t ordered by importance, but if superhero publishers only make one pledge in 2014, this one matters most; we need more minority creators in the industry. More editors, more pencillers, inkers, colorists and cover artists, and, perhaps most importantly, more writers. If the people making comics are as diverse as their potential audience, the comics they make are more likely to reflect and appeal to that audience.

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