Slugfest | ‘Masters of the Universe’ starts a ‘Revolution’

Plus: Check out news and announcements on Ghost Machine, Spider-Man, Archie Horror, Dr. Frederic Wertham and more.

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

Dark Horse has announced another miniseries tie-in to the Masters of the Universe Netflix show, which returns to the streaming platform on Jan. 25.

Masters of the Universe: Revolution is written by show producers Tim Sheridan, Rob David and Ted Biaselli, with illustrations by Daniel HDR, inking by Keith Champagne, coloring by Brad Simpson and lettering by AndWorld Design. The first issue features a variant cover by Tyler Boss:

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DC will publish YA takes on Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle this year

DC will collect ‘Young Diana’ by Jordie Bellaire and Paulina Ganucheau, and publish a Blue Beetle OGN by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo.

DC has announced two projects coming later this year aimed at the young adult market, which include a Wonder Woman collection and a new Blue Beetle graphic novel.

Up first is Wonder Woman: The Adventures of Young Diana, written by Jordie Bellaire and drawn by Paulina Ganucheau. These stories originally ran as a back-up in the regular Wonder Woman title starting 2021, and featured a look at Diana’s early life on Themyscira.

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Nominees announced for the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards

Nominees this year include ‘Poison Ivy,’ ‘Roaming,’ ‘Heartstopper’ and more.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, have announced the nominees for the 35th annual Media Awards, which recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ+ community and the issues that affect their lives.

The awards feature two categories dedicated to comics — one for comics books and one for graphic novels. Last year Poison Ivy and the anthology Young Men in Love won in those categories, with Poison Ivy receiving another nomination this year. Dark Horse Comics received five nominations this year across the two categories, followed by DC with four and Marvel with three.

Check out the nominations for both categories below, and visit the GLAAD site for the rest of the nominations across TV, film, and more.

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‘Verse’ returns to the web before the release of a third print collection

The conclusion to Sam Beck’s epic fantasy will arrive in print this summer.

Verse, the long-running webcomic by Sam Beck that went offline when Vault Comics began collecting it in print, has returned to the web as Beck and Vault prepare to release the third and final volume, Verse: The Song.

“I started Verse off as a webcomic, so you can’t imagine how thrilled I am that it’s finally returning to the web,” Beck said. “It’s always been important to me to bring it back to its original form, and I hope it gets everyone excited for the final book in the series.”

Verse is set on a world where magic is feared–only evil monsters known as Vell use it. But when the main character, Fife, discovers a girl named Neitya with mysterious powers, they team up on an adventure that will change everything.

Here’s a look at the cover for the third volume:

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Warren Pleece returns to Dark Horse for ‘a dystopian eco-noir thriller’

The creator of ‘Incognegro’ will write and draw a new graphic novel for the Berger Books imprint.

Incognegro creator Warren Pleece will return with a new graphic novel next year from Berger Books, the Dark Horse imprint run by former Vertigo chief Karen Berger.

The Sunny-Luna Travelling Oracle is described as “a dystopian eco-noir thriller about power, escape, creation, and the mark we leave on the world.”

“My love of the natural world and learning about the Wood Wide Web grafted to my other permanent obsession with the long dramatic shadows cast by classic film noir, finally led me to this rip-snorting eco-thriller story with more than a touch of magic,” Pleece said.

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Oni will publish a collection of Boulet’s observational cartoons

‘Boulet’s Notes: Back in Time’ will bring comics from the cartoonist’s popular blog to the United States.

Oni Press will collect several of famed French cartoonist Boulet’s comics in a hardcover volume next year. Boulet’s Notes: Back in Time will pull from Boulet’s blog, where he has regularly posted comic strips and observational comics for the last two decades.

“Boulet’s improvisational, imaginative, and insanely creative comic strips have been a key part of the world of webcomics since he started posting them online way back in the early 2000s,” said translator and editor François Vigneault. “This new collection, featuring a curated and newly translated selection of his work from the early years, is truly a ticket back in time to the start of the webcomics era!”

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Erman + Beck journey to ‘Loving, Ohio’ in a new graphic novel coming next year

Dark Horse Comics will publish the new graphic novel about surviving cults, murderers and high school.

Dark Horse Comics will publish Loving, Ohio next year, a graphic novel about four friends trying to survive high school in a town built around a cult.

Matthew Erman, writer of Good LuckWitchbloodTerminal Punks and Mariko Between Worlds, and Sam Beck, the wonderful artist of Verse and Renegade Rule, will introduce The Chorus, a cult that “has infiltrated every structure of Loving.”

 “Loving, Ohio is the best piece of fiction I’ve written so far in my life,” said Erman. “I grew up in a cult, as many people do and Loving, Ohio says everything I want to say on the matter. I am immensely proud of it and so grateful for Sam and the gorgeous book she created with me. I can’t wait for you to read this because I think you all are going to be wowed by what we’ve made. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

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Molly Ostertag reveals the cover to ‘The Deep Dark,’ coming next year from First Second

The print version of her Substack work will arrive in June.

Over the course of about two years, Molly Knox Ostertag serialized a comic called Darkest Night on her Substack. Now the award-winning creator of The Girl from the Sea and Witch Boy has revealed the cover to the print version of the story, which will be titled The Deep Dark.

First Second will publish the graphic novel next June, as Ostertag undergoes the process of converting the original art, which was made for scrolling on a device, to print pages.

“I’ve spent the past few months turning those long scrolling updates into graphic novel spreads and cursing my past self for being so chaotic about how I layer my photoshop files,” she said in her latest newsletter. “I also hand lettered everything, which looks so good that I’m furious because now I HAVE to hand letter all future projects.”

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Chu + Lee revisit the first vampire in ‘Carmilla: The Last Vampire Hunter’

Dark Horse will publish the sequel graphic novel next July.

Dark Horse Comics has announced a sequel to Carmilla: The First Vampire, the graphic novel by Amy Chu and Soo Lee published earlier this year. Carmilla: The Last Vampire Hunter will feature lettering by Sal Cipriano and will arrive in stores next July.

Based on a 19th century queer feminist murder mystery, Carmilla: The First Vampire was a contemporary retelling set in 1990s New York Chinatown. The new OGN follows social worker-turned-vampire hunter Athena Lo to San Francisco as she investigates her family’s dark history.

“Excited to continue the story of Athena and Carmilla, this time on the West Coast, and to introduce a whole new world of pan-Asian supernatural characters to the readers,” said Chu. “I hope with the Last Vampire, Soo Lee and I help define Asian American horror as a genre.”

The trip to SF will bring new challenges and introduce a new vampire threat — with the shadow of Carmilla still hanging over Athena. The book falsl under the Berger Books banner, the imprint overseen by former Vertigo chief Karen Berger.

“I’ve fallen in love with these characters as I bring them to life on paper, and Athena has a very special place in my heart,” said Lee. “Introducing a new cast of Asian Vampires creates a twist to the genre that I hope will become a new trend for many years to come. This story has become a part of me and this sequel is one I hope resonates with many people, especially if family is an important part of you. 

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Preview | ‘The Boy from Clearwater’ explores the history of Taiwan and the White Terror era

Levine Querido shares a preview of the upcoming graphic novel written by Yu Pei-Yun and illustrated by Zhou Jian-Xin.

Courtesy of publisher Levine Querido, we’re pleased to present a preview of The Boy from Clearwater, a graphic novel written by Yu Pei-Yun, illustrated by Zhou Jian-Xin and translated by Lin King.

The Boy from Clearwater tells the story of Tsai Kun-lin, who lives on the island of Taiwan in the 1930s and experienced its occupation by Japan, followed by the rule of the Chinese National Party post-World War II. After attending a book club in high school, he’s arrested for taking part in an “illegal” assembly and spends a decade in prison as part of the White Terror era.

The Boy from Clearwater arrives in stores on Nov. 21. Check out the publisher information and the preview below.

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Dark Horse announces ‘Goblin: The Wolf and the Well’ for next July

Eric Grissom and Will Perkins send Rikt the goblin to school.

Eric Grissom and Will Perkins’ Goblin graphic novel was pretty great, so I’m happy to see that Dark Horse has announced a sequel, The Wolf and the Well, for next year.

The second volume in the story of the goblin named Rikt will find him facing his greatest challenge — school.

“After Rikt’s first adventure in Goblin, I knew I wanted to throw him up against something even bigger and scarier than a blood-thirsty warrior with a tattooed face,” said Grissom, “and what’s more frightening for a kid than a new school? But there’s so much more going on at Underwood than homework. Rikt and his best-wolf, Fish-breath, are in for a rough ride, but at least they’ll make some friends along the way…and, unfortunately, some enemies, too. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell the difference. I can’t wait for readers to discover the mysteries behind Underwood’s iron gates.”

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‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: The Hidden Codex’ arrives from Dark Horse next year

Writer Mathieu Gabella and artist Paolo Traisci tell another tale set in the video game world.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was released almost three years ago, bringing vikings into the popular video game world. The game proved to have a long shelf life, as developer Ubisoft continued to release new content for it over the course of two years, finally releasing a new game for the franchise this year — Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which is actually a prequel to Valhalla.

Dark Horse helped expend the world of Valhalla since its release, putting out several miniseries and now, as announced earlier this week, they plan to release a hardcover graphic novel by writer Mathieu Gabella and artist Paolo Traisci.

“We were very lucky to work with Mathieu Gabella and Paolo Traisci, two long-standing fans of the franchise who infused their love and deep knowledge of our lore in this book. Fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this mysterious tale which expands Assassin’s Creed Valhalla across uncharted territories,” said Etienne Bouvier, Senior Transmedia Content Manager.

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