Slugfest | Soule + Alburquerque continue ‘The Shrouded College’ storyline in a new miniseries

Plus: News and announcements about Star Wars, Sea Serpent’s Heir, Richard Corben, Kingdom Come, Stranger Things and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Charles Soule and Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque will present the second of seven interconnected miniseries in “The Shrouded College” saga that started with Soule and Will Sliney’s Hell to Pay.

The Bloody Dozen will run for six issues and kicks off in December.

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Christine Larsen’s ‘Orcs!’ return in December

The appropriately titled miniseries ‘The Gift’ will arrive just in time for the holiday season.

Christine Larsen will return to the world of her Orcs! series this winter for Orcs! The Gift, which wraps up the trilogy of miniseries published through BOOM! Studios’ KaBOOM! imprint.

“I’m stoked to finally reach the culmination of this trilogy, where my characters are put to a true test, and I can test my own ability to balance the dramatic moments and the comedy of this series,” said Larsen. “I hope everyone enjoys this final arc as much as I’ve enjoyed crafting it.”

Larsen has been working on Orcs! for at least a decade now, if you go back to the art books she self-published and crowdfunded before BOOM! started publishing the series. You can read more about their pre-BOOM! history here.

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The Laphams + Hilary Jenkins create a ‘hellish new hardboiled heist’ series at BOOM! Studios

‘Underheist’ debuts in December.

Stray Bullets creators David and Maria Lapham, along with colorist Hilary Jenkins, will conjure up a supernatural crime story in Underheist, which is coming from BOOM! Studios on December.

“If you know our work then you know that we traditionally come at the crime genre from a very non-traditional angle with very non-traditional noir protagonists,” David Lapham said. “I often call them ‘domestic noirs.’ But with Underheist, we had this idea for a more straightforward story, centered around maybe the most traditional crime trope—the heist. Of course, we can’t do anything straightforward for more than five minutes, and very quickly all these twisted, nightmarish ideas started to flood in…”

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Slugfest | ‘Antarctica’ will continue as an ongoing

Plus: a new ‘Alien’ series, Marv Wolfman returns to ‘Tomb of Dracula,’ ‘The Walking Dead’ tribute covers and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Antarctica by Simon Birks and Willi Roberts, the Top Cow miniseries that debuted in July, will continue as an ongoing series after issue #5.

“If readers already love the first two issues of volume one, they’re going to love this new arc as we get the chance to delve deep into the previous events surrounding the Fracture and explore the Hannahs’ stories,” Birks said. “We’re thrilled to once again be working with the team at Top Cow. Not only have they been professional, but they’ve really taken the time to get to know us, and I’m delighted they love the book as much as we do. Antarctica takes no prisoners, and I’m excited to share our adventure with the readers. Willi and I have created something exceptional; an incredible experience full of unique twists and turns to keep everyone guessing right up until the end. As if one married The Fugitive with The Cabin in the Woods.”

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BOOM! Box will publish Dialynas’ foodie/monster mash-up ‘Zawa + The Belly of the Beast’

The new series begins in November.

BOOM! Box, BOOM! Studios’ original title imprint, will publish Zawa + The Belly of the Beast, a new series by Wynd co-creator Michael Dialynas, who will write and draw the series.

“I’ve done it! I’ve managed to swindle BOOM! into letting me write and draw my series! Zawa + The Belly of the Beast has all my art passions, from drawing tasty foods to weird creepy monsters in a cottage-core apocalyptic seaside city! This is a story about facing your own fears and standing up for what you believe…plus it has a cute guard cat and a chill chicken,” said Dialynas. “It’s gonna be awesome!”

The main character, Zawa, does look pretty awesome:

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Bechko + Luckert will launch ‘The Space Between’ at BOOM! this fall

The story will follow the crew of a giant spaceship across multiple generations.

The Expanse writer and fossil preparator Corinna Bechko will team with Ghostlore artist Danny Luckert for a new miniseries titled The Space Between from BOOM! Studios.

Set on a spaceship called the Dodona, the series will span across generations as the starbound ark continues across the years to its destination, with each issue featuring new protagonists.

“I feel incredibly fortunate to be telling this story of romance and revolution with Danny,” said Bechko. “Life might be what happens while you’re making other plans, but what if those plans were made long before you were even born? I can’t wait for folks to enter The Space Between and find out!”

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BOOM! prepares a ‘Slow Burn’ for October

Ollie Masters and Pierluigi Minotti present the story of a robbery gone bad and a getaway to a town on fire.

Snow Blind writer Ollie Masters moves from frozen Alaska to a town literally on fire in Slow Burn, a new miniseries with artist Pierluigi Minotti, who drew the Comixology originals title Lost Falls.

Slow Burn is about a crew of thieves who botch a robbery in New York, then head to a mining ghost town in Pennsylvania to hide out — a town where a coal-seam fire as been burning since the 1960s.

“This is a comic about a fire that’s been burning underneath a town for decades and will continue burning for centuries. It’s about desperate people with violent pasts living on the edge, looking for a way out” said Masters. “About how our parents shape who we are, for better and for worse.”

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BOOM!’s ‘Ranger Academy’ will launch in October

Maria Ingrande Mora, Jo Mi-Gyeong and Fabiana Mascolo present the story of a very special school.

Following a preview on this year’s Free Comic Book Day, BOOM! Studios has announced that Ranger Academy, a new Power Rangers title set at a school that trains them, will launch in October.

Novelist Maria Ingrande Mora, who wrote Fragile Remedy and The Immeasurable Depth of You, will team with artist Jo Mi-Gyeong (EVE, Beastlands) and colorist Fabiana Mascolo on the series. I’m not even a big Power Rangers fan, but you put “Academy” next to a word, and I’m in.

“It’s such an honor to introduce Sage and her friends to a new generation of Power Rangers fans,” Mora said. “Jo is a dream to collaborate with, and her love for these characters is clear in every panel and expression. Welcome to Ranger Academy!”

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‘Abbott: 1979’ wraps up the trilogy by Ahmed + Kivelä

Elena Abbott’s battle against the forces of darkness in 1970s Detroit will continue in October.

Writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Sami Kivelä will wrap up their Abbott trilogy this fall with Abbott: 1979, which will arrive in stores from BOOM! Studios in October.

The story started back in 2018 with Abbott, which was followed in 2021 with Abbott: 1973, which jumped ahead a year. This new series will jump six years into the future, as reporter Elena Abbott continues to defend Detroit against the forces of darkness, both real and supernatural.

“I couldn’t be more excited to bring you the next (and final!) chapter in the saga of hard-nosed reporter Elena Abbott, sorcerous savior of the city of Detroit,” said Ahmed. “Abbott: 1973 left Elena in a grim place, and things have only gotten worse since — for her and her beloved city. Now Detroit itself is being consumed — eaten alive by the Umbra. And it will take all Elena’s got to keep her own spark from being snuffed out. From the beginning I’ve imagined Abbott as a three-act story, and I’m positively thrilled to team with the awe-inspiring Sami to bring this story to its epic conclusion.” 

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Kickstarter’s comics projects have increased by 14% this year

The crowdfunding platform shares some of their data for the first half of 2023, as comics projects continue to flourish on the site.

Crowdfunding continues to serve as a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors, as comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter. Even with the rough economic environment we’ve seen over the last six months, with rate hikes, inflation and layoffs, comics-related projects on Kickstarter have remained resilient — and have even grown compared to last year.

With Comic-Con on the horizon and the first half of the year complete, Kickstarter shared some of their recent data with us.

In the first half of the year:

  • Comic projects on the platform grew by 14% when compared to the first half of 2022. Comic projects in the first half of 2022 numbered 1,457 and increased to 1,666 in the first half of 2023.
  • Dollars pledged to comics campaigns also increased, from $14.4 million in 2022 to $17.6 million in 2023.
  • While the number of overall projects increased, so did the number of successful projects. 1,171 comics projects, or 78.1%, successfully met their funding goal this year. This is a 13.5% increase compared to the same time last year. 
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Slugfest | Mary Jane officially becomes a superhero in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #31

Plus: News on the Witcher’s next comic series, White Widow, ‘Coda’ returns, Ram V and Filipe Andrade reunite, ‘Killer Queens’ is back, and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel has been teasing Mary Jane Watson’s new power set, most notably in the recent Mary Jane & Black Cat miniseries, but the longtime supporting character will put on a costume and go full superhero in Amazing Spider-Man #31.

The oversized issue will not only feature a story by the regular creative team of Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr., but also will include a story by Celeste Bronfman and Alba Glez that features Mary Jane suiting up to become Jackpot.

Here’s a look at her costume, designed by Humberto Ramos:

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BOOM! announces ‘Firefly: The Fall Guys’

Sam Humphries, Jordi Perez and Francesco Segala pit the Serenity crew against ‘assassins, jobs gone wrong, and organized crime.’

The crew of the Serenity will fly once again this fall in a new miniseries by Sam Humphries, Jordi Perez and Francesco Segala.

Firefly: The Fall Guys will find Mal and the crew dealing with organized crime and local politics (is that redundant?) as they attempt to make some bank to keep the Serenity in the sky.

“So thrilled to be welcomed into the Firefly ‘verse. I love Westerns, so bringing the best bandits in the galaxy back to their buckaroo roots with a fantastic artist like Jordi has been a dream,” said Humphries. “Don’t worry, there’s still a giant gorram spaceship in the first issue. Yee haw!”

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