Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment has announced plans for Skybound Comet, a new graphic novel imprint targeting Young Adult (ages 12+) and Middle Age (ages 8-12) readers. The line will launch next year with three original graphic novels by Tillie Walden, Irma Kniivila, Tri Vuong, Mairghread Scott, and Pablo Tunica.
Characters will first appear in next month’s 10-year anniversary anthology Skybound X.
First up will be Clementine Book One by Tillie Walden in July 2022. The first in a Clementine trilogy, this is the previously announced continuation of the character’s story from The Walking Dead video game. Walden is known for her award-winning graphic novels Spinning and On A Sunbeam. Here, Clementine will meet an Amish teenager named Amos, and the pair will try to make a safe settlement for teenagers in Vermont if the biters or cold winter doesn’t get them first.
“Starting out with a character like Clementine is both a huge responsibility and joy,” said Walden. “Clementine is a person who brings adventure with her everywhere she goes, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to take her beyond the world of the games, to somewhere new and thrilling (like the top of a mountain! She is a force and drawing and writing her story has been one of the best experiences in my cartooning life.”
Clementine makes her first comic book appearance in Skybound X #1, available July 7, 2021.
Everyday Hero Machine Boy by Irma Kniivila and Tri Vuong was also previously announced but we now know its final form will be as an original graphic novel released September 2022. Machine Boy wants to be the best hero possible, but his pure intentions are twisted when debris from space interferes with his mechanical heart.
“Machine Boy was initially inspired by ’80s anime, 16-bit video games, and kung fu movies but as Irma and I delved deeper into his world, we found ourselves telling a story about the pain and joys of growing up,” said Vuong. “Hopefully it touches on those collective childhood memories and experiences that we all seem to share.”
“The world of Everyday Hero Machine Boy kept getting more ludicrous as we worked on the story, but somehow more real. I wanted to live in Mega416 and could relate to the characters, even though that character might be a chicken jock,” said Kniivila. “We had a lot of big feelings while working on this story, and hope that it inspires big feelings too!”
Before the release of his graphic novel, Machine Boy will first debut in Skybound X #2, on-sale July 14, 2021.
Last up is Sea Serpent’s Heir Book 1: Pirate’s Daughter by Mairghread Scott and Pablo Tunica, scheduled for October 2022. Scott is known for writing Star Wars: Resistance and Guardians of the Galaxy, while Tunica contributed art to TMNT Universe. Their graphic novel tells the story of teenager Aella, who discovers she’s the reincarnation of a serpent who almost destroyed the world.
“Adolescence is about finding yourself. Like finding out you’re destined to destroy the world, or that your whole village is made up of blood-thirsty pirates, or that… Okay, adolescence isn’t usually like this,” said Scott. “There are a lot of books about young women discovering they’re destined to save the world. This book is about a young woman who learns she’s destined to destroy it, and what exactly she does next.”
“In this strange world, with its stormy nights, tropical islands and ruthless magical pirates, I see echoes of the darkest Jim Henson or Arthur Rackham but I also see the mystery of the first kisses and the tenderness of mythological beasts,” said Tunica. “And if I mention the horror of the dark and the curiosity about magic, it is because that is precisely the feeling of growing up.”
Aella’s first appearance will be in Skybound X #4, released July 28, 2021.
All three graphic novels are scheduled for wide release, arriving in comic book stores and bookstores, and digitally on comiXology, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Books and Google Play.
Skybound has also registered skyboundcomet.com as a dedicated website for the imprint, but right now it just redirects to the press release on Skybound’s main site.
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