Smash Pages Q&A | Chris Schweizer on ‘Outlaw’s Apprentice’

With his Kickstarter in full swing, Schweizer talks about the journey from idea to Webtoon to graphic novel, his approach to crowdfunding, and bringing the language, syntax and trappings of Appalachia into his stories.


Chris Schweizer has spent years building a reputation as one of comics’ most engaging cartoonists, whether tackling historical adventures like his Crogan Adventures series, licensed comics like Mars Attacks! or creator-owned projects like 6 Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton. Now the former Savannah College of Art & Design professor is bringing Outlaw’s Apprentice, a series he launched on Webtoon earlier this year, to print through Kickstarter, giving readers a chance to experience the tale of a young outlaw-in-training in a handsome collected edition.

The campaign is already off to a strong start, but our conversation goes beyond the Kickstarter. Schweizer discusses the journey this idea has taken to get to this point, his approach to his craft when he’s both writing and drawing a project, how reaching the $40,000 mark in the campaign will benefit everyone in his home state of Kentucky and more.

Whether you’re backing Outlaw’s Apprentice, making comics yourself or simply curious about how great comics come together, Schweizer’s answers should be of interest. My thanks for his time.

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Oni Press spotlights Charlie Adlard, David Lapham + more in new ‘EC Artists From the Abyss’ one-shots

The series of one-shots spotlights Charlie Adlard, David Lapham, Sami Kivelä and Leomacs with collections of their EC Comics work alongside brand-new stories.

Oni Press is putting the spotlight on the artists behind their EC Comics revival with Artists From the Abyss, a new series of one-shots launching in November.

Each ad-free issue will feature one of the artists who has contributed to EC’s new era, collecting their previous EC Comics stories alongside a brand-new tale created for the anthology.

The series begins Nov. 11 with EC Artists From the Abyss: Charlie Adlard #1, showcasing The Walking Dead artist’s work for EC Comics, along with a new story written by Chris Condon and Tim Seeley.

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Philip Gelatt, David Yarovesky, Adam Pollina + Dean White team for horror series ‘It Demands Sacrifice’

The new series about a goat battling his kidnappers debuts from Bad Idea in October.

Philip Gelatt, the Emmy Award-winning writer behind the animated Love, Death & Robots, and Brightburn director David Yarovesky are teaming with artist Adam Pollina and colorist Dean White for It Demands Sacrifice, a new prestige-format limited series arriving from Bad Idea in October.

The series follows Bronson, the runt of a family of goats whose quiet farm life is shattered when a drug-fueled satanic cult slaughters his owners and kidnaps the herd as part of a demonic ritual. Now the smallest goat in the family is the only one who can stop the sacrifice.

“We wanted to approach the genre from a new angle, something that could make it feel fresh, dangerous, and genuinely shocking again. And somehow that led us to a story with murder cults, ritual sex magick, adorable goats and an enormous amount of heart,” said Gelatt. “It all started with a simple question: what if a goat decided to fight back against the satanists trying to sacrifice it? Which probably tells you everything you need to know about the kinds of things Dave thinks about in his spare time.”

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Kim-Joy + Alti re-team for ‘Quiet’ from Comixology + Mad Cave

The new graphic novel from the team behind ‘Turtle Bread’ will arrive digitally this fall and in print next year.

Bestselling cookbook author Kim-Joy is re-teaming with artist Alti Firmansyah on another graphic novel for Comixology titled Quiet. The pair are joined by letterer Sara Linsley and editor Allison O’Toole.

Quiet is about a girl, Mary, with selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that causes a person to not be able to speak in certain social settings like school or work. After enduring bullying from her classmates, she’s assigned a mental health support robot that she then uses to get revenge on her bullies.

“So much of my work has mental health themes,” Kim-Joy said. “It’s something I care about deeply and return to again and again, because I think stories are one of the best ways we have of making people feel less alone – and I hope that anyone who reads it feels that. And maybe wants their very own robot!”

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Super Mondo Mega Mutts unite!

Plus: Dark Knights of Steel returns, Punisher takes on Spider-Man, Badrock goes solo and Godzilla meets Sonic in this week’s new comics.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what’s coming to your local comic shop this week. Wednesday brings several big debuts, including a gonzo action comic from Curt Pires and Juan Gedeon, returns to the Last Ronin and Dark Knights of Steel universes, two new comics from Simon Spurrier and a Space Ghost annual that previews an upcoming Hanna-Barbara crossover that makes the nine-year-old in me squeal with glee.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights for this week below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So check with your retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.

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SDCC Slugfest | Oni Press brings a can to the con

As Comic-Con International approaches, here’s more news on the show from Marvel, Skybound, IDW and more. Plus: Rascal Randy roams the streets of San Diego!

With the San Diego Comic-Con coming up on July 23-26, we have news and announcements dropping left and right, so here’s an attempt to keep up with it all. Hit the links for more info.

Matt Kindt’s Flux House imprint is known for doing things a little differently, so it’s not surprising that they’ve come up with something unique and fun for San Diego this year as they’re relaunching at Oni Press. So here’s one of the show’s more unusual exclusives: the Fort Psycho “Comic in a Can.” Limited to just 250 copies and priced at $25, the resealable can includes an exclusive 16-page mini-comic by Matt Kindt and Brian Hurtt, a bumper sticker, toy army men and even a brand-new prose story printed directly on the can’s label.

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Clover Press launches a creator-owned graphic novel line, The Fourth Leaf

The publisher will launch the imprint with projects by Doug Wagner, Daniel Hillyard, Steve Niles, Sean Lewis and Jonathan Marks Barravecchia.

Clover Press has become well known for everything from their Marvel and DC art books to their comic strip reprints. Now the boutique publisher is launching a line of creator-owned graphic novels, calling the imprint The Fourth Leaf. (Clever name, right?)

“We’re living in an unparalleled time of creativity and opportunity in the comic book industry,” said Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz. “We may not have flying cars (yet) and we may not be living on space stations (yet), but we are absolutely living in the future of near endless creative possibilities. It’s our distinct pleasure at Clover Press to spotlight some of the stories that resonate deeply with us, and connect them directly to readers looking for something new and different. These are bold, bloody and pulpy stories by fearless creators, and we’re proud to provide them a place to create without limits. These are stories to invigorate and ignite the future.”

Their first three projects under the new imprint are:

  • I Love Apocalyptic Zombie Misfits! by longtime collaborators Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard, the team behind Narco, Plastic, Vinyl and many more.
  • Bear Pirate Viking Queen by Sean Lewis and Jonathan Marks Barravecchia, a hardcover collection of the Image Comics series.
  • Cal McDonald: Plague of Evil and Other Stories, a return to his supernatural detective character by writer Steve Niles, who will team up with a “superstar line-up of international artists” for this short story collection

Like most projects from Clover Press, all three will be funded through Kickstarter. See below for more information on these first three projects.

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Crowdpuncher | ‘Sink Your Teeth In,’ ‘The Monuments’ + more comics crowdfunding campaigns

Check out comics and graphic novels you can support by Juni Ba, Shelly Bond, Zoe Tunnell. Lauren Knight, Jordan Thomas, Chris Matthews and more.

Welcome to Crowdpuncher, where we round up cool comics crowdfunding campaigns. If you’re looking to buy from or support a creator directly, you’ve come to the right place.

Zoe Tunnell and Lauren Knight are back with another issue of Sink Your Teeth In, their mature sapphic vampire noir set in a Chicago divided by four rival factions of powerful undead. The comic is coming from the DEATHline imprint of Lifeline Comics, the publisher headed up by Kat Calamia and Phil Falco.

The series follows Corsica Smith, a vampire P.I. who has fallen far from her once-elite status, and Florence Carmichael, the woman who turned her decades ago and now needs Corsica’s help.

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SDCC Slugfest | News from DC, 2000 AD, Fantagraphics + more

As San Diego Comic-Con looms, we round up news on the show, recent comic announcements and more. Plus: comics at the G1 Climax opener!

With the San Diego Comic-Con coming up on July 23-26, we have news and announcements dropping left and right, so here’s an attempt to keep up with it all. Hit the links for more info.

DC has unveiled its plans for San Diego Comic-Con, which includes a continuation of their decade-long plan to spotlight a different era of the company in their booth, building toward their 100th anniversary in 2035. Last year the spotlight fell on the 1940s, so, given how numbers work, this year will focus on the 1950s — the decade that brought us Supergirl, Legion of Super- Heroes, Barry Allen, Hal Jordan and MAD Magazine.

Their booth will feature a 1950s-style Daily Planet newsstand, and they plan to give away free copies of MAD Magazine #1 facsimile edition, based on the original that debuted in 1952.

Here’s a video DC released spotlighting the comics and characters of that decade:

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Mike Mignola’s ‘Circus of Bones’ art book showcases more than 145 original works

The hardcover companion to Mignola’s upcoming gallery exhibition arrives in November.

Mike Mignola’s latest artwork is heading from the gallery wall to bookstore shelves this fall.

Act 4 Publishing, in partnership with Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics, has announced Circus of Bones: The Art of Mike Mignola, a 144-page hardcover collecting more than 145 pieces of original artwork created by the Hellboy creator. The book serves as the official catalog for Mignola’s upcoming exhibition at New York City’s Philippe Labaune Gallery, dates for which have not been announced yet.

The collection includes 53 new watercolor paintings created specifically for the exhibition, more than 60 published covers and interior pages, and more than 30 previously unpublished pencil and ink drawings. Every piece was scanned directly from the original artwork.

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‘Cult of the Lamb: Pilgrim’ gets wide release from Oni Press in December

The previously sold-out graphic novel tied to the hit video game arrives in comic shops and bookstores for the first time.

Fans who missed out on Cult of the Lamb: Pilgrim will soon have another chance to add the graphic novel to their collection. As part of their build-up to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Oni Press announced it will publish a new hardcover edition of the previously sold-out book this December, bringing the story to comic shops for the first time.

Originally released as part of the limited physical edition of Cult of the Lamb’s Pilgrim DLC — that’s downloadable content, for the non-video game players out there — the 112-page graphic novel is written by Cult of the Lamb‘s head of narrative, JoJo Zhou and illustrated by the game’s concept artist, Carles Dalmau. The story takes place within the continuity of the hit video game from Massive Monster and Devolver Digital.

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Comixology Originals announces ‘Zero Instance’ by Frank Barbiere, Stephen Rhodes + Vic Malhotra

The five-issue series blends video game development, artificial intelligence and sci-fi suspense, and arrives on Amazon July 14.

Writers Frank Barbiere and Stephen Rhodes are teaming up on Zero Instance, a new five-issue sci-fi thriller debuting July 14 from Comixology Originals. The series features artwork by Vic Malhotra on the first two issues and Eoin Marron on issues #3-5, with colors by Lauren Affe, letters by Taylor Esposito and design by Dylan Todd.

Zero Instance follows Rhys, a recent college grad whose routine raid in his favorite MMO takes an unexpected turn when the game’s final boss appears to break free from the digital world. As an experimental artificial intelligence called Braxir begins manipulating connected technology and human behavior in the real world, Rhys and his friends must confront a threat that no longer ends when the game’s over.

“Zero Instance was born out of a shared love of tense thrillers, MMOs and game development, and I’m so excited to be telling this story with fantastic collaborators,” Barbiere said.

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