Category: Comic Books

Kyle Starks + Patrick Piazzalunga bring ‘Those Not Afraid’ to Dark Horse

Two serial killers compete to break the record for the most murders in the miniseries, which debuts next year.

Kyle Starks, writer of Where Monsters Lie, Sexcastle and much more, will team with Monsters Are My Business artist Patrick Piazzalunga for Those Not Afraid, the story of a twisted competition between two serial killers.

Starks said the title for the project was inspired by Richard Ramirez, the serial killer known as The Night Stalker, and in particular when he said: “We’ve all got the power in our hands to kill, but most people are afraid to use it. The ones who aren’t afraid control life itself.” Probably known best for his horror and humor writing, Starks said he also wanted to do something that was more in the True Crime vein.

“I wanted to dip my foot narratively into that world – to step away from humor at all, to lean hard into the terrifying depths of that world and the terrifying creatures who inhabit it,” Starks said. “With Those Not Afraid, I ask the question, ‘What if two serial killers enter into a terrible competition to break the record for murders?’ If you are a fan of – or know a fan of – true crime and serial killers Those Not Afraid is going to be the book for you.”

Continue reading “Kyle Starks + Patrick Piazzalunga bring ‘Those Not Afraid’ to Dark Horse”

Michael W. Conrad + John J. Pearson cultivate ‘In Bloom’ at BOOM! Studios

The science fiction series about blooming organisms in the human body kicks off in December.

BOOM! Studios has announced the body invasion sci-fi comic In Bloom by Tremor Dose writer Michael W. Conrad and The Infernals artist John J. Pearson.

The comic is not, as I first assumed, about Nirvana or their 1991 hit song. It’s actually based in the science that “43% of the cells within a healthy human body belong to something other than the human host,” which is bit frightening to think about.

“Years ago I came across an article about the human microbiome and it has haunted me ever since,” Conrad said. “Like most people, I want to understand who I am, and the knowledge that much of who we are is not native to our body has been a real mindbender for me. In Bloom is an exploration of that fear, and imagines a world wherein we can no longer ignore that we are a host to a variety of organisms. The things within us awakened, The Bloom is upon us.”

Continue reading “Michael W. Conrad + John J. Pearson cultivate ‘In Bloom’ at BOOM! Studios”

Bryan Lee O’Malley + Leslie Hung’s ‘Snotgirl’ returns in December

The fashion blogger with a messy life is back, four years later.

Snotgirl, the story of fun-loving fashion blogger with allergy issues by Bryan Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung, will return in December with issue #16 — more than four years since issue #15 arrived.

Snotgirl features Lottie Person, who lives the perfect life on social media, but her real life isn’t quite — but she’d love for it to be.

“This comic has been cave-aged for four years until the crystalline structures are perfect,” said O’Malley. “It will have an incredible mouthfeel.” 

Continue reading “Bryan Lee O’Malley + Leslie Hung’s ‘Snotgirl’ returns in December”

Elektra gets the Red Band treatment in ‘Daredevil: Unleash Hell’

Erica Schultz and Valentina Pinti add a bloody new dimension to the Woman Without Fear’s adventures.

Writer Erica Schultz will continue to tell stories featuring Elektra Natchios in Daredevil: Unleash Hell – Red Band. The mature readers title will feature artwork by Blade and Immortal Thor artist Valentina Pinti.

This is Schultz’s third miniseries featuring the assassin-turned-superhero, but the first to fall into Marvel’s new mature readers line, which “allows Elektra to unleash unrestricted bloodshed against her targets,” according to Marvel. It comes polybagged to protect innocent eyes.

“It’s been such a pleasure to continue writing Elektra, especially donning the horns,” Schultz said. “In this new series, we have the opportunity to show that just because she doesn’t kill doesn’t mean she won’t make you wish she had. Elektra has been known for her brutality, and we’ll see that on display here. Also, with a Red Band rating, that means we can get real nasty with stuff. Don’t know what I mean? You will. Valentina Pinti and I are very excited to show you this new direction.”

Continue reading “Elektra gets the Red Band treatment in ‘Daredevil: Unleash Hell’”

Steve Foxe, Edgar Salazar + Peter Nguyen bring five-star terror to a luxury resort in ‘Alien: Paradiso’

Marvel + 20th Century Studios present a nightmare vacation scenario this December.

A group of hyper-wealthy criminals living it up on a luxury planet get some uninvited guests in Alien: Paradiso, a new miniseries coming from Marvel’s 20th Century Studios imprint this December.

Writer Steve Foxe is working with Edgar Salazar on the five-issue miniseries, which will also feature “special Xenomorph point of view pages” drawn by Peter Nguyen. (Why is this not a Red Band book?)

For his part, Foxe says he was looking to do something different with his contribution to the franchise, which recently got a back-to-basics reboot in this summer’s Alien: Romulus.

“With Romulus taking the franchise back to its roots in many respects, I wanted to make sure we were offering readers a story they couldn’t find anywhere else,” Foxe said. “Setting our tale on the sun-kissed shores of a high-end beach resort populated by underhanded criminals, undercover marshals, and underpaid employees immediately spun us in a new direction.”

Continue reading “Steve Foxe, Edgar Salazar + Peter Nguyen bring five-star terror to a luxury resort in ‘Alien: Paradiso’”

Melissa F. Olson + Sally Cantirino bring ‘Archaic’ to Ahoy Comics

The series features a woman on the run who ends up on an island populated by gods and monsters.

Urban fantasy novelist Melissa F. Olson will make her full-length comic debut with Archaic, a new miniseries coming from Ahoy Comics that will feature artwork by Sally Cantirino (I Walk With Monsters, Human Remains) and colorist Gab Contreras (Witchblood, Mezo).

Archaic is about a woman looking for a place to hide from her husband’s misdeeds who inherits an island from the biological father she never met — an island filled with “retired” gods and legendary creatures.

“This is my first full-length comic book, but, weirdly, it’s also the most personal story I’ve ever written,” Olson said. “When the world came to a standstill during COVID lockdown, a lot of people had to re-think their place in the world, myself included. What does it really mean for me to be employed, to parent, to have purpose? What do I do with the instinct to protect my children from really big things I can’t control? Those are tough questions, and the more I considered them, the more I wanted to write about a character who was doing the same thing in a truly fantastical place. I’m so grateful I was able to connect with Sally, the best monster artist in the business, and honored that AHOY wanted to tell this story with us.” 

Continue reading “Melissa F. Olson + Sally Cantirino bring ‘Archaic’ to Ahoy Comics”

Marvel’s newest teen heroes assemble in ‘New Champions’

Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli helm a new series featuring the heroes who appeared in recent issues of ‘Spider-Woman.’

Last year Marvel released a series of “New Champions” variant covers where they asked different artists to design new sidekicks for Marvel characters, following the debut of Spider-Boy. At the time I remarked that it seemed odd for Marvel to create all these characters just for a set of variant covers, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some of them again.

And we have — in the pages of Spider-Woman (as The Assembly), Ultimate X-Men and the upcoming Ghost Rider: Robbie Reyes Special. And now we will see many of them again, as they assemble for a New Champions series by Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli.

“As soon as I saw the New Champions variants, my mind started racing dreaming up possible origins and powers and codenames for these imagined sidekicks,” Foxe said. “Reverse-engineering the cast from the covers was unlike any other creative process I’ve ever been involved in, and I’m beyond stoked to debut a whole new class of Marvel heroes (and a few villains!) in New Champions alongside Ivan Fiorelli, who makes each and every one of these new additions feel like they’ve been part of the fabric of the universe all along.”

Continue reading “Marvel’s newest teen heroes assemble in ‘New Champions’”

Skybound unwraps some holiday horror in the ‘Creepshow Holiday Special’ this December

Tini Howard, Blake Howard, Stevan Subic, Rob Williams, Pye Parr and more will contribute tales of mirth and terror.

Skybound’s Creepshow Holiday Special will return this December with two tales of holiday horror, courtesy of Tini Howard, Blake Howard, Stevan Subic, Rob Williams, Pye Parr and more.

“The holidays wouldn’t be the same without a cheerful dose of horror, mayhem and cannibalism,” said Creepshow editor Ben Abernathy. “Our annual Creepshow Holiday Special is a treat to be enjoyed with your loved ones.” 

Continue reading “Skybound unwraps some holiday horror in the ‘Creepshow Holiday Special’ this December”

Two X-Men teams come to blows in ‘Raid on Graymalkin’

The four-issue crossover begins in December.

Two of the three flagship X-Men titles will cross over this winter in a story called “Raid on Graymalkin.” The crossover will run through X-Men #8-9 by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman, and Uncanny X-Men #7-8 by Gail Simone, David Marquez and Javier Garron.

“It’s been an exciting time being part of the launch of the line of X-titles, but now we’re really getting into it- our first crossover!” MacKay said. “’Raid on Graymalkin’ is going to push the X-Men of both Alaska and Louisiana to their breaking points and set the tone for the future, and it’s been great to work with a legend like Gail in bringing it to life!”

If you’ve been following both titles, you know there’s some tension brewing between Cyclops and his crew of soldiers, who live in Alaska, and Rogue and her family of mutants, who reside in Louisiana. That tension will come to a head as both teams decide it’s time to do something about Graymalkin Prison, the former site of Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in New York, where mutants are being held by Dr. Corina Ellis, including Professor X.

“Writing in the X-World has been one of the most fun and rewarding experiences of my career,” Simone said. “Best characters, best art team, best editors and best fellow creators, particularly Jed Mackay, who is just an idea machine. We’ve been throwing ideas back and forth nearly every day since we all started putting together the bones of what the X-Verse would be like, and I think it helps tremendously that we like and respect each other’s work.”

Continue reading “Two X-Men teams come to blows in ‘Raid on Graymalkin’”

The Funtastic Four: Marvel x Disney recast Mickey + friends as the Fantastic Four

Writers Steve Behling and Riccardo Secchi, and artist Lorenzo Pastrovicchio revisit the early days of Marvel’s first family, with a Disney twist.

Marvel will continue their series of one-shots that feature Disney characters as Marvel heroes in What If Mickey and Friends Became the Fantastic Four?, which will come out early next year.

Yes, the Fab Five — or at least four of them — will become the Fantastic Four, with Mickey as Mister Fantastic, Minnie as Invisible Woman, Donald Duck as the Thing and Goofy as the Human Torch. Oh, and Pete as the Mole Man! Co-writers Steve Behling and Riccardo Secchi, along with artist Lorenzo Pastrovicchio, will pay tribute to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s creations, who look to have a pretty big year next year with their new film arriving next summer.

This is the fourth Marvel/Disney mash-up Marvel has announced in recent months, following one-shots featuring Donald Duck as Wolverine and Thor, and Minnie Mouse as Captain Marvel.

Continue reading “The Funtastic Four: Marvel x Disney recast Mickey + friends as the Fantastic Four”

Phillip Kennedy Johnson + Adam Gorham unleash ‘Hellhunters’ this winter

The five-issue miniseries spinning out of ‘Incredible Hulk’ begins in December.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s run on Incredible Hulk has introduced all sorts of new monstrous characters into the Marvel universe, with one of them being a World War II era Ghost Rider — Sergeant Sal Romero, who fought the Nazis alongside several other Marvel characters you might recognize. Now Sergeant Ghost Rider is getting an origin story, courtesy of Johnson and artist Adam Gorham.

“Ghost Rider ’44 is definitely my favorite guest star that’s appeared in our Incredible Hulk series so far,” Kennedy Johnson said. “I had a fully-realized origin story for Sergeant Sal Romero in my head before my partner Nic Klein brought him to life with his art, and the character turned out so unbelievably cool and fun, we knew the ‘War Devil’ arc wouldn’t be his last appearance.”

The five-issue miniseries, Hellhunters, will feature appearances by Wolverine, Nick Fury, Peggy Carter, Bucky Barnes, and, from the pages of Jason Aaron’s Avengers, Soldier Supreme.

Continue reading “Phillip Kennedy Johnson + Adam Gorham unleash ‘Hellhunters’ this winter”

Chris Roberson + Michael Avon Oeming sit in ‘The Shadow of the Golden Crane’ this January

The adventures of B.P.R.D. agent Sue Xiang continue in a four-issue miniseries.

Chris Roberson and Michael Avon Oeming will continue the story of B.P.R.D. agent Sue Xiang and her family’s connect to the clandestine Golden Crane Society in The Shadow of the Golden Crane, which will debut in January.

Xiang’s connection to this mysterious group first surfaced about 10 years ago, in one of the first stories Roberson wrote that was set within Mike Mignola’s Hellboy universe.

“As far back as Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953 we have teased the idea that there is some connection between Susan Xiang, an agent of the B.P.R.D. with psychic abilities, and an organization called the Golden Crane Society, a secret society that protected the people of China from otherworldly threats for centuries,” Roberson said. “Susan was raised on stories of the Golden Crane, and when she was seven there was an incident involving her uncle and some jiangshi (Chinese ‘hopping vampires’) that we have so far only caught glimpses of. In The Shadow of the Golden Crane, we follow Susan and her fellow B.P.R.D. agents Hellboy and Victor Koestler as she uses her abilities to unlock the secrets of the Golden Crane Society.

Continue reading “Chris Roberson + Michael Avon Oeming sit in ‘The Shadow of the Golden Crane’ this January”