Oni Press has announced four creator-owned graphic novels arriving this fall, spanning middle-grade adventure, young adult fantasy, literary horror and science fiction.
“This fall we have creator-driven graphic novels for readers of every age,” said Oni Press Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn. “A murder mystery in an uncanny world not entirely dissimilar from our own. A space adventure with heart and heartache. A ghost that inadvertently brings two outcasts closer together. And a young woman facing an impossible task amidst a yearning for self-discovery.”
Leading the slate is A Ghost Arm Made of Angry Ghosts, a hardcover arriving Sept. 2 from writer Oliver Mertz and artist Alex Diotto that was originally crowdfunded a couple years ago. Set in 1990s Washington, D.C., the story follows 16-year-old Ari Ackerman, who may or may not have witnessed a murder while navigating the local punk scene and his father’s ongoing battle with cancer. Mertz and Diotto frame the book as a weird tale of conspiracy and suburban angst, with reference points including What’s the Furthest Place from Here?, Daniel Clowes, David Lynch and Fugazi.
Arriving Sept. 22 is Moon Deer, a 208-page mostly wordless hardcover from French cartoonist Yoann Kavege, making its English-language debut. The book follows a small deer fleeing across the galaxy to protect a precious egg from a mysterious hunter, with the fate of a universe ravaged by something called the True Silence hanging in the balance.
October brings Haunted Comic Club, a middle-grade softcover from Eisner-nominated writer Josh Tierney and artist Caitlin Soliman, the team behind Iris Complex. The story follows Will and Anita, two lonely tweens who bond over comics-making at an after-school club and decide to create a story about a local urban legend: a teen counselor who haunts the building after a tragic death. The book arrives Oct. 6.
Closing out the fall slate on Nov. 10 is Canticle of Lost Souls, a 144-page young adult fantasy hardcover from Italian writer Michele Monteleone and artist Freddie Tanto. The story follows Leah, a teenage orphan chosen to carry a contained demon through a deadly swamp to a black pit at its center, a perilous journey that raises questions about identity, sacrifice and why she would risk her life for a village that sent her on an impossible task.