Ignition Press has announced East Side Saints, a new series co-created by writers AJ Mendez, Aimee Garcia and Ildy Modrovich with artist Amilcar Pinna and colorist Amanda Grazini.
The series follows 15-year-old Alex Gomez, who inherits her family’s demon-hunting business along with a bruja grandmother and a closely guarded family secret. Ignition describes it as a “coming-of-rage story” set on the streets of East L.A.
“East Side Saints is a story about becoming your own hero,” Mendez said. “When the system fails, power is corrupted and demons roam the streets, the East Side Saints will get their hands dirty in order to save Los Angeles. They might not be the heroes you asked for, they might make things worse, they might even charge you for saving your life, but damnit they’re all you’ve got, and I hear they take Venmo. This story is a love letter to the misfits, the troublemakers, and the rule-breakers, whose rough edges are the weapons that will save the world.”
Mendez, aka WWE’s AJ Lee, and Lucifer actress Garcia previously co-founded Scrappy Heart Productions and have collaborated on comics like Day of the Dead Girl, GLOW and Dungeons & Dragons. East Side Saints marks Modrovich’s first comic book series, but her television career includes showrunning Lucifer. Pinna and Grazini are currently working together on another Ignition title, Sicko, with writer Tini Howard.
“Angels, demons and the chupacabra were a Tuesday in my family,” Garcia said. “Growing up in a multigenerational, superstitious Latino household, my cousins and I were taught by our grandparents that if we ever saw a demon at the bus stop, we should take off our shoe and beat the bastard with it. East Side Saints introduces a modern, Latina heroine and her janky, ragtag crew. This story is for the underdogs, the scrappy fighters … for anyone battling their own inner demons. But, East Side Saints is really about hope, because if these trainwrecks can survive, anyone can.”
East Side Saints is set to debut in mid-2027. Fans can sign up at EastSideSaints.com for updates.
Mendez, Garcia and Modrovich will hold a signing at Comic-Con International: San Diego on Saturday, July 25, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in room 33C. The free, ticketed event will offer 120 tickets through SDCC’s signing lottery, and includes an exclusive print signed by Pinna.