Mad Cave reveals their ‘Gatchaman’ plans

Ken, Jun and the rest of the team will soar in new comics this year by Cullen Bunn, Christ Batista, Tommy Lee Edwards, Mindy Lee and more.

At the ComicsPRO meeting this week, Mad Cave Studios shared more details on their publishing plans for Gatchaman, which they licensed from Tatsunoko Production last year.

Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, or just Gatchaman, or “G-Force” to those who grew up on the Americanized cartoon, is a popular Japanese anime created by Tatsuo Yoshida. It features five “super ninjas” who work for the International Science Organization and protect Earth’s natural resources from a terrorist group called Galactor. Each member of the team wears a winged suit that aligns to a different bird, and has a different vehicle that goes along with their theme.

Mad Cave announced the acquisition of the property in San Diego last July, and have already revealed it’ll debut on Free Comic Book Day. But they have plans that go beyond just a single series, as they’ve also announced a series of one-shots spotlighting the members of the team and a Galactor miniseries focused on their enemies.

Gatchaman FCBD 2024 cover by Chris Samnee

“We’re playing in the world of the original Science Ninja Team Gatchaman series that ran from 1972-1974,” said Chas! Pangburn, senior editor at Mad Cave Studios. “With 105 episodes worth of content, the series is ripe with world-building and storytelling possibilities. Our goal through an ongoing series, one-shots and spin-offs is to further flesh out this legacy with new characters, mechas and villains—all while paying respects to the existing continuity the series is known for. Tatsunoko graciously invited us to play with their toys, so we’re pushing them to the limit. Fans, new and old, are definitely in for a treat!”

Here’s the rundown on what to expect:

GATCHAMAN ONGOING SERIES (May)

by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Chris Batista

A mechanical terror has descended upon numerous cities and the world’s greatest scientists are disappearing. Our only hope: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman! As they battle these machinations from the international terrorist organization known as Galactor, their strength, willpower, and even vehicles are pushed to the absolute limit. If they fail…who’s waiting in the wings to take their place?

This all-new series begins with Gatchaman #0, available as a free promotional item at participating retailers worldwide on Free Comic Book Day 2024 (Saturday, May 4) and featuring cover artist Chris Samnee.

The ongoing story continues in Gatchaman #1 in June, with Cover A by Inaki Miranda, Cover B by Sanford Greene (which connects with the B covers for issues #2-5 to form a panoramic image), Cover C by Chris Batista, the Cover D Blank Sketch Cover edition, and Cover E retailer incentive by Francine Delgado. Trade paperback available in December, collecting the complete storyline from issues #0-5.

GATCHAMAN ONE-SHOT SPECIALS (June)
(W) Tommy Lee Edwards (A) Mindy Lee

 Debuts with Gatchaman—Ken: Deathmatch, focusing on Ken the Eagle. 

Ken goes undercover to infiltrate an underground gambling ring where martial artists from around the globe fight to the death. There, the winners are captured and brought to a secret Galactor recruiting base. If they refuse to join, the captives are dropped in the jungle and hunted as prey for Galactor’s training program. Can anyone make it out alive?

The second one-shot will be Gatchaman—Jun, focusing on Jun the Swan, which will be released in November.


GATCHAMAN: GALACTOR MINISERIES
(W) Steve Orlando (A) Kath Lobo

Four-issue miniseries exploring the seedy underbelly of the Gatchaman universe.

Galactor is under siege by a threat from within! After a secret attempt on his life, Berg Katse sets about to uncover a conspiracy within Galactor, born of their earliest days. Galactor’s leader goes undercover to hunt, identify, and ruthlessly dispense with a revolution growing within Galactor’s ranks. The masked villain Berg Katse must root out a conspiracy within Galactor, the sinister organization that plagues Science Ninja Team Gatchaman.

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