Lee + Li lead an ‘Army of One’ at Oni Press

The graphic novel will land in stores next March.

Writer Tony Lee and artist Yishan Li will team up for Army of One, a new graphic novel coming from Oni Press next year that spotlights one hero’s journey through the multiverse.

Announced at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, the story’s origins go back as far as the 2016 SDCC, when Lee pitched the idea to Li of a story about a girl who finds out that she came from the shard of a sorceress whose body was shattered into the pieces that formed the multiverse.

“When we pitched this, multiverse stories in comics were rare, but now they’re ten-a-penny,” said Lee. “But over the years, the story changed and grew as we progressed deeper into it; it became less about the worlds, and more about the loneliness of a character while surrounded by others, and how even one person can create a revolution. Finishing the third book in the series during a global pandemic really brought that home, and after four years wait since it was first announced, I can’t wait for people to finally see the journeys of Carrie and her fellow Shards, as they try to fulfill a prophecy given by an unreliable narrator!” 

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Andolfo + Braga will release ‘Purr Evil’ on the world in July

The six-issue miniseries from Image Comics will feature ‘blood, sweat, tears and a tremendous lot of malevolent kittens.’

The cat’s out of the bag on Purr Evil, a new miniseries coming this summer from Image Comics. Sweet Paprika creator Mirka Andolfo will team with Harley Quinn artist Laura Braga to tell a story of mothers, daughters and evil kitties.

“I’m very excited to see this new comic come to life,” said Adolfo. “And, even more to have my friend Laura with me to work on such a great and fulfilling project, as well as Bryan Valenza, our colorist, Fabio Amelia, our letterer, and the whole team at Arancia Studio! I can’t wait to find out what the fans think of our new madness, and I’m enormously grateful to Image Comics and the other international partners for believing in our crazy project. We are sure fans will love it, too!”

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‘Home’ miniseries will follow an asylum seeker who develops superpowers

New miniseries from Julio Anta, Anna Wieszczyk and Bryan Valenza comes out in April.

Image Comics has announced the very topical Home, the first miniseries from creators Julio Anta and Anna Wieszczyk, who are joined by colorist Bryan Valenza. It’s about a boy taken from his family as they seek asylum in the U.S. — and then he develops superpowers.

“As the son and grandson of Cuban and Colombian immigrants, and now a parent myself, the news of the governments family separation policy both broke my heart, and filled me with anger,” Anta told The Hollywood Reporter. “Home is an attempt to channel those complicated feelings about what it means to be an American into a story about empowered Latinx characters dealing with the cruelty of our modern immigration laws.”

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Top Cow announces ‘Helm Greycastle’ by Barajas + Handoko + Valenza

New miniseries combines high fantasy with Aztec myths.

Henry Barajas, Rahmat M. Handoko and Bryan Valenza are teaming up on a new comic that combines high fantasy with Aztec mythology. Helm Greycastle — both the title of the miniseries coming from Top Cow and the name of the main character — is both an ode to J. R. R. Tolkien and Dungeons and Dragons, and an opportunity for the creative team to showcase Mesoamerican history.

“What if the Aztec Empire defeated the Spanish Conquistadors? As a Mexican-American who has had no formal education on my indigenous background, writing this book has been very empowering,” said Barajas. “I’m excited to share some Mesoamerican history while mixing it with swords and sorcery.”

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Kittredge, Ingranata help Top Cow unsheathe the ‘Witchblade’

One of Top Cow’s signature titles returns in December.

Top Cow has announced that they’ve recruited writer Caitlin Kittredge, artist Roberta Ingranata and colorist Bryan Valenza to create a new Witchblade series, featuring the sword-wielding character created by Marc Silvestri, Brian Haberlin, Michael Turner and David Wohl. The new series starts in December.

“Everywhere you look in the real world, you’ll see a hero. Not the kind that wears a cape and flies around a comic page or across the big screen but the kind you see walking around being kind of unremarkable. Basically people. People that, when given the choice, will simply do the right thing. Because that’s what a hero does,” said Silvestri. “Doing the right thing isn’t always easy, as it often means being selfless. Without hesitation. But again, that’s what a hero does. Our most enduring superheroes come from this simple idea: people choosing to do the right thing. People like the wielders of the Witchblade.”

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Smash Pages Q&A: Marguerite Bennett on AfterShock’s ‘InSeXts’

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To say Marguerite Bennett is an up and coming writer would be somewhat of an understatement. Not many people at this early stage of their career could convince someone to let her take the reins of a creator owned-project much less a project that DC and Marvel would not touch with a ten foot pole–due to subject matter. InSeXts is an erotic horror story about a pair of Victorian era lovers who go on a vengeful killing spree.  Luckily for Bennett Mike Marts, the Aftershock editor-in-chief, like what he saw in greenlit the project.

Then another fortunate development, Bennett agreed to talk to me about the new series.

Tim O’Shea: InSeXts is an erotic horror story about a pair of Victorian era lovers who go on a vengeful killing spree. Was that the initial pitch you gave AfterShock Editor-in-Chief Mike Marts, or did it evolve to that over time?

Marguerite Bennett: This was the original pitch, yes! I was astonished and delighted and maybe a little bit horrified that of the stories I submitted, this was the one that was approved, because now the whole world would know the awful things I like to read and write about in my downtime, haha.

The story actually began as a 12-page one-shot in the IN THE DARK: A HORROR ANTHOLOGY edited by the magnificent Rachel Deering (drawn and colored, at the time, by Jonathan Brandon Sawyer and Doug Garbark), but I had always had great plans for my lethal ladies. I’ve been thrilled that I’m finally able to continue their story and give them the space to breathe and evolve and commit a LOT of murder.

Am I correct in thinking this is not a creator owned project that Marvel or DC could or would touch with a 10 foot pole. Why do think AfterShock is willing to take the risk?

Hahaha, no, I can’t say many companies would’ve touched it–the brutality and sexuality and time period and relative absence of traditional heroes certainly set a ghastly tone. AfterShock has been wonderful to work with, though, and have given me such freedom. Mike Marts is kind of my comics dad (sorry, Mike) and brought me in to DC and then to Marvel a year later, and I work very hard to make sure the scripts I send him are up to scratch. He can tell you, I actually took a script back because I decided there weren’t enough “Holy #$%&” moments and gutted the whole thing and rebuilt it until I felt it was worthy. I work very hard to make sure that there is nothing like this story and it can be a suitable feather in AfterShock’s hat for all the support they’ve given me in its creation. For everything I’ve seen in my relationship with them, they’re committed to making sure there is nothing like their books on the market. I’ve been very happy.

What can you tell readers about the lead characters as well as some of the supporting cast?

The main protagonists are Lady and Mariah, our titular lovers. Lady is high-strung and anxious, Mariah younger but more mature. Lady, having been caged by her life for so long, takes deadly risks, while Mariah is more calculated, more inclined to wait for her revenge. Both of them are devoted to one another, and long for a family of their own above all else. Beyond that, they are aided by Dr. William Taylor, their beloved friend, and hunted by a variety of foes, from human abusers to Old World horrors to surprising villainesses. One villainess has been shockingly fun to write–Sylvia, Lady’s sister-in-law, a female misogynist who despises everything Lady is and will do anything to see her put in her place.

What creative risks are you able to take with an ambitious artist like Ariela Kristantina especially when teamed with a colorist like Bryan Valenza?

Oh my goodness God, I love Ariela and Bryan to pieces. Ariela takes these horrifying things and adds such loveliness and elegance to them–sincere tenderness that, in the hands of another artist, would be lacking, would turn the entire story into some low pornography. Bryan’s textures are rich and subtle, with soft warmth that suddenly gets slashed through by some hypersaturated neons in moments of outrage and violence. Together, the beauty of their artwork highlights the ghastliness of our story–I couldn’t be happier with any other team.