Jesse Lonergan, the amazing artist of Man’s Best and Hedra, has a new graphic novel arriving later this year. Drome will be published by 23rd Street Books in August.
Lonergan announced his “320-page opus” on social media last month, then posted several preview pages on his website this week.
If you’re not familiar yet with 23rd Street Books, they’re the spinoff of long-running publisher First Second. While First Second will focus on kid’s graphic novels, 23rd Street Books will publish graphic novels for adults. Lonergan was one of the creators mentioned in their initial PR last July, along with Gene Luen Yang, Ben Hatke, Damon Wayans Jr. and more.
And if you’re not familiar with Lonergan, you should definitely check out Hedra, which Image Comics published back in 2020.
Here’s the description of Drome from 23rd Street Books:
First, there was nothing. Then, humanity was born, and an endless cycle of violence began. From the depths of the ocean, a mighty demigoddess is called forth to reign in humankind’s destructive impulses, and teach a language of peace and harmony. Civilization quickly takes root, a great city rising from the desert. But the balance between chaos and order is a fragile one, and there are higher powers at work in this strange new world.
And here’s a look at the interior pages Lonergan shared; I thought Hedra was remarkable, esp. in the use of its 35-panel grid on each page, and it looks like Lonergan is taking a similar creative approach to this one:
Drome will arrive in stores Aug. 19.