‘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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Hell hath no fury like ‘The Heathens’

Cullen Bunn, Heath Amodio and Sami Kivelä team up for a new series from AfterShock Comics.

AfterShock Comics has announced a new project featuring souls escaping from Hell, and the powers that be sending the worst of the worst after them — The Heathens, led by pirate queen Ching Shih.

Co-writers Cullen Bunn and Heath Amodio, who together founded Hustle & Heart Films, are working with artist Sami Kivelä, colorist Jason Wordie and letterer Simon Bowland on the series. Shih’s team will include several other notorious historical figures helping her on her mission, including Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid, gangster Lucky Luciano and Russian con artist Sofia the Golden Hand.

“Anyone who is familiar with me as a creator knows I love historical figures and time periods,” Bunn said in his email newsletter. “They also know I love infusing stories featuring those characters and time periods with a healthy dose of the supernatural. Heath brought the seed of this idea to me, and I loved it from the jump. It has history, villains, even worse villains, supernatural worlds and redemption — everything that I could hope for in a book!”

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Mail Call | New ‘Avatar,’ ‘Abbott’ and a ‘Batgirl’ debut

Check out recent news and announcements from DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.

Following the end of the Joker War storyline, DC’s current Batgirl series will wrap up with its extra-sized 50th issue this Tuesday. DC has revealed that this issue will also see the debut of Ryan Wilder, the character taking over the Batwoman mantle on The CW’s Batwoman TV show.

Will this new character also take over as Batwoman in the comics? I guess we’ll find out. You can see a preview of that issue here.

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Ward + Kivelä bewitch bullets in ‘Tommy Gun Wizards’

Christian Ward writes a new comic featuring Al Capone and magic.

Eisner-award winning artist Christian Ward will take a rare turn as writer in Tommy Gun Wizards, a new miniseries coming from Dark Horse Comics this summer.

Ward, who co-created ODY-C and has worked on Marvel titles like Thor and Black Bolt, is joined by artist Sami Kivelä, who worked with Saladin Ahmed on Abbott and on Zenescope’s Realm War, among other comics. Ward will provide covers as well as colors on the interior art. He’ll also draw back-up stories for each issue.

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