Vault announces a ‘Deathstalker’ comic series

Slash, Steven Kostanski, Tim Seeley, Jim Terry and Kurt Michael Russell will bring the cult classic sword-and-sorcery movie franchise to comics.

Following their successful Kickstarter campaign, Vault Comics has announced a Deathstalker comic series for next year.

Presented by Guns’N’Roses guitarist Slash and based on a story by Steven Kostanski, Deathstalker will feature the work of writer Tim Seeley (Hack/SlashMoney Shot), artist Jim Terry (Come Home, Indio), and colorist Kurt Michael Russell (Money Shot).

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Slash + Vault Comics announce a ‘Deathstalker’ comic

Tim Seeley, Jim Terry and Steven Kostanski join the GNR guitarist on the project that resurrects the 1980s film franchise.

Guns’N’Roses Guitarist Slash and Vault Comics, through their rock’n’roll Headshell imprint, are teaming up to bring the 1980s fantasy film Deathstalker to comics.

“I’m excited to be kicking off a new era of Deathstalker,” Said Slash. “From Tim Seeley, artist Jim Terry, writer-director-creature FX-wizard Steven Kostanski, and myself, our Deathstalker is a re-imagining of that fine specimen of ’80s sword and sorcery. With fantasy, you get a little of everything: horror, magic, sex, thrills, blood, guts, swords and weirdness. You know—all those things you can’t look away from. And that’s what we’re bringing. So—please—if you share my love of all things wicked, check it out!”

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‘Hack/Slash’ returns in October in a new miniseries by Zoe Thorogood

Cassie Hack is back in a new miniseries written by the Eisner Award-nominated creator.

Zoe Thorogood, who is not only a nominee for this year’s Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award but also a multiple Eisner Award nominee, will next turn her pencil to Cassie Hack, the monster hunter created by Tim Seeley and Stefano Caselli.

Hack/Slash will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, so it’s a good time to bring in one of comic’s most promising newcomers to offer a fresh take. Image Comics will kick off the four-issue miniseries Hack/Slash: Back to School in October.

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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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‘Minor Threats’ gets a spinoff miniseries starring ‘The Alternates’

Tim Seeley, Christopher Mitten and Tess Fowler join Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum on the September-debuting series.

Minor Threats, the genre-bending superhero mystery by Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum and Scott Hepburn, will get a spinoff miniseries in September. Oswalt and Blum will be joined by co-writer Tim Seeley, with Christopher Mitten and Tess Fowler on art.

“I love the first Minor Threats series so much that I couldn’t help but imagine another team of lovable losers in their world–this time, a squad of forgotten superheroes who got rebooted, and now crave their old lives so bad it borders on addiction,” Seeley said. “Jordan and Patton not only liked the idea, they added their creativity to make something that fits their universe perfectly!”

While Minor Threats paid tribute to the Bronze Age of comics and the “grim and gritty” titles of the 1980s, From the World of Minor Threats: The Alternates has a different era in its heart.

“If the first Minor Threats series was a love letter to the c-list working class supervillains, then The Alternates is one for the early Vertigo comics of the 90s like Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing and Animal Man,” said Blum. “Forgotten goofy heroes pulled into a suddenly ‘mature’ existence that both humanizes and alienates them. Tim is such a master and historian of comics, we were so thrilled with the new sandbox he built for us all to play in — once again offering a fresh and unique point of view we hadn’t yet seen explored in superhero comics. This story of existence, addiction, recovery and monster smashing was beautifully rendered thanks to the art of Christopher Mitten and paintings by Tess Fowler. “

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Cyberforce, Street Angel + more guest star in Seeley + Fleecs’ ‘Local Man: Gold’

Crossjack will confront his past in the new one-shot this August.

I’m a big fan of Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs’ work on Local Man, the story of a washed-up 1990s-era Image superhero dealing with a bad rep and murders in his home town. Now the main character, Crossjack, will have to literally confront his past and team up with some of Image’s finest (finest?) in a new one-shot titled Local Man: Gold.

“Tony and I are really happy with the critical success of Local Man, and we want to make sure we give readers who’ve heard the buzz a chance to sample our story,” said Seeley. “Gold is steeped in the ’90s-comics-by-way-of-crime-noir vibe people are loving, and is easily accessible to newcomers!’

The title and cover pay tribute to the Deathmate crossover, which brought together the Image and Valiant universes in the early 1990s (and is considered one of many straws that broke the comic industry’s back at the time):

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‘Black’s Myth’ returns with a new miniseries this summer

Eric Palicki and Wendell Cavalcanti head back into L.A.’s seedy supernatural underground in ‘Black’s Myth: The Key to his Heart.’

Black’s Myth, the story of a werewolf PI named Strummer who lives in Los Angeles and tries unsuccessfully to avoid the supernatural world, will return with a new miniseries from Ahoy Comics this summer.

The first miniseries by writer Eric Palicki and artist Wendell Cavalcanti came out in 2022, introducing the world to Janie Jones “Strummer” Mercado and her djinn assistant Ben Si’lat. The new story, titled Black’s Myth: The Key to his Heart, will involve Strummer trying to save a young girl from becoming a monster, as well as reveal a more sympathetic side to the character whose name appears in the title.

“I’ve made a terrible mistake, and I don’t just mean pursuing a career in comics!” Palicki said. “How can we continue calling our book Black’s Myth unless Strummer once again finds herself in the orbit of her enigmatic client-turned-nemesis Rainsford Black? Hopefully, Volume Two reveals Mister Black to be a little less mysterious and perhaps a tad more sympathetic, as Wendell and I build on the unanswered questions of the first volume while also delivering a new mystery for Strums and Ben to unravel.”

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Archie Horror slashes its way through summer camp in ‘Camp Pickens’

The one-shot will feature stories by Tim Seeley, Mike Norton, Jordan Morris, Diana Camero and more.

Summer camps always bring out the best in the horror genre, and Archie Horror will visit Camp Pickens in June, a “ridiculously haunted” camp named for Colonel Pickens, an ancestor of Jughead Jones.

The one-shot will feature multiple stories set at the camp, with a framing sequence by Jordan Morris and Diana Camero, as well as a ghost story by Blake Howard and artist Carola Borelli and a slasher tale by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton. Matt Herms and Jack Morelli provides colors and letters, respectively.

“Stories set at summer camp are synonymous with Archie,” said Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante. “Many fans will agree that some of their fondest memories were reading Archie digests while at camp. So, naturally, we had to do a camp-based horror one-shot.” 

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Larry Welz’s Cherry will guest star in Vault’s ‘Money Shot Comes Again’

Tim Seeley and Gisele Lagace welcome an underground legend to the returning series.

When Money Shot, the erotic science fiction title from Vault Comics, returns in April, the XXX-plorers will welcome a special guest to the show — underground comics legend Cherry.

Cherry, also known as Cherry Popstar and, before a threat of litigation, Cherry Poptart, debuted in her own series back in 1982. Created by Larry Welz and published by Last Gasp, Cherry Poptart had a title change to just Cherry with its third issue thanks to legal threats from Kellogg’s, owner of the Pop-Tarts brand. The underground comic has had 23 issues since it debuted, as well as spinoff series and collections, and Welz is still actively producing new content for the Cherry website (which is very much NSFW).

Cherry comix were a formative force for me,” Money Shot writer Tim Seeley said. “They were the forbidden fruit on the top shelf of the comic store, the little piece of subversive history to be found while thumbing long boxes. Larry Welz’s eternal balance of sexy and satirical helped me realize what an adult comic could be. It’s with great reverence that we welcome Cherry Popstar to the pages of Money Shot for our tale of billionaire greed and tech’s obsession with stealing art from humanity.”

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What Are You Reading? | ‘Porcelain,’ ‘Godfell,’ ‘Local Man’ and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately. Today’s reviews include first issues of Godfell and Local Man, as well as Porcelain and some classic DC Comics Presents.

Let us know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments below or by tagging us on social media.

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Dark Horse announces a ‘Masters of the Universe’ anthology

Tim Seeley, Eddie Nuñez, Sergio Aragonés, Kelley Jones and more will tell stories featuring He-Man from across the multiverse.

Writer Tim Seeley and a host of great artists will team up for Masters of the Universe: Masterverse, an anthology miniseries coming from Dark Horse next year.

As The Sorceress tries to show Zodac the value of He-Man, she takes him on a tour of the multiverse, where they see various versions and stories of the hero, drawn by different artists.

The first issue will include artwork by Eddie Nuñez, Sergio Aragonés, Kelley Jones, Rico Renzi and Brennan Wagner, while subsequent issues will feature E.J. Su, Victor Santos, David Rubín, Claudia Balboni, Daniel Lopez and Fico Ossio.

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‘Local Man’ brings together small town crime and early 1990s superheroes

“Part Extreme Studios, part Vertigo Comics. It’s a story about love and loss, and ego, and murder most foul.”

Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs have teamed up for a new comic that’s “part Extreme Studios, part Vertigo Comics” as the duo share their love for those early Image superheroes in Local Man.

Local Man is Tony and I teaming up to make a comic book that combines what we love about ’90s superheroes, with our shared affections for crime and horror stories,” Seeley told CBR. “Part Extreme Studios, part Vertigo Comics. It’s a story about love and loss, and ego, and murder most foul. But it’s also about nostalgia, and promises not fulfilled—with lots of gritted teeth, and epic head punches.”

Seeley and Fleecs have both had their own success at Image, with titles like Revival and Stray Dogs. Each issue of the series will come in a “flip book” format, with a lead story drawn by Fleecs and a superhero flashback drawn by Seeley. Both are accomplished writers and artists, so it’s good to see them flexing both those muscles here.

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