Magma Comix has big plans for 2024

The former comics publishing arm of Heavy Metal magazine has spun off into its own company, with several new titles planned for this spring.

Magma Comix launched back in 2020 as the comics publishing arm of Heavy Metal, the legendary science fiction and fantasy comics magazine that came to an end last year. Instead of letting the endeavor die off, the Magma team decided to spin the operation off and become an independent comics publisher.

“We are fortunate to have secured funding that will ensure Magma will maintain its creative freedom and independence, while providing capital and support necessary to establish long-term stability in an unpredictable industry,” said Magma Comix Founder and CEO Denton J. Tipton back in July. “Magma will lower the barriers to entry by making our line easy to navigate and by reducing risk for our retail partners. But above all, our team’s unique combination of creator relationships, industry knowledge, and passion for storytelling will unleash a creative eruption that we hope sets a new standard for comics.”

Earlier this week Magma began announcing plans for their comics line, starting with an impressive list of creators they’re working with that includes Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Eamon Winkle, Jason Starr, Dalibor Talajić, Steve Orlando and Megan Huang. They’ve also started announcing their first titles, which will arrive in April.

“Surely one of the most potent drugs in the world is the thrill of creation and I can confidently say our creators must be off their heads at this point,” said Magma Comix Editor-in-Chief Bobby Curnow. “All of our teams are pouring everything they have into their books, creating some of the best comics I’ve read in my fifteen years of editing. It’s been a real pleasure to help bring these stories into the world.”

Here’s a look at the two that have been announced thus far:

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Marvel will release ‘unexpurgated’ Red Band editions of ‘Blood Hunt’

The polybagged version will come with a parental advisory label and extra pages featuring graphic art.

Marvel has announced plans to release two versions of each issue of its upcoming Blood Hunt series — the standard version, and a “Red Band” edition that will deliver more blood and guts.

The crossover series by Avengers writer Jed MacKay and X-Men artists Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia will feature the Avengers, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and more going head-to-head with the vampire nation under a sunless sky.

“Labeled with a Parental Advisory and polybagged to keep those weak of heart from experiencing its intensity, the Red Band Editions will contain additional pages and more graphic art too explicit for the regular edition,” Marvel.com reads. “Blood Hunt will mark the first time that a different edition of the same Marvel comic book is produced for more mature readers, fitting for this blood-soaked saga where vampires will viciously sink their teeth into your favorite heroes!”

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Oni’s NacelleVerse comics will launch in March

‘NacelleVerse’ #0 will kick things off, followed by ‘Roboforce,’ ‘Biker Mice from Mars’ and more.

One of the more interesting and perhaps surprising announcements at New York Comic Con came from Oni Press and the Nacelle Company, who own the rights to various toy lines from years past, including Biker Mice from Mars and Sectaurs. Now all those different characters will come together to form a shared universe.

Oni will publish a line of comics based on this new shared universe, starting in March with NacelleVerse #0 by writer Melissa Flores and artists Diogenes Neves and Francis Portela. That’ll be followed by three-issue miniseries for Roboforce, coming in April, and Biker Mice from Mars, coming in July. Sectaurs and Power Lords will follow sometime after that.

“I’m very excited that we’ll be launching the NacelleVerse with comic books that will set up all the characters, worlds and plot lines that will be unfolding over the next five years as our series come to life,” said Nacelle Founder and CEO Brian Volk-Weiss.

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‘Dawn of DC’ continues into 2024 with ‘Suicide Squad: Dream Team,’ ‘House of Brainiac’ + more

Amanda Waller has big plans for the DCU next year.

If you were wondering if the Dawn of DC — and its snappy graphics — would continue into 2024, you are in luck. Today DC revealed a teaser for the “trinity of evil” that will hit after the big Beast World crossover that kicks off later this month.

Without further ado, here’s the new teaser image, promising something “evil” for next year:

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Uncivilized Books will publish Ozge Samanci’s ‘Evil Eyes Sea’ + more next year

The publisher’s spring line also includes ‘Maple Terrace’ by Noah Van Sciver and Jenna Cha and Lonnie Nadler’s ‘The Sickness.’

Uncivilized Books has announced plans to publish a new graphic novel and two collections of their single-issue series next spring.

“Uncivilized has championed innovative comics, graphic novels, and criticism for over a decade, and our spring publications embody all our obsessions,” Uncivilized Books Publisher and CEO Tom Kaczynski said, “from Ozge Samanci’s treasure hunt and political thriller to Noah Van Sciver’s nostalgic memories of the comic book collectors craze to Jenna Cha and Lonnie Nadler’s unsettling historical horror epic.” 

Evil Eyes Sea by Ozge Samanci is a “feminist political mystery” set in Turkey in 1995.

“The autobiographically-inspired story I tell in Evil Eyes Sea emerged from my college years in Istanbul, my quirky friends, and my struggles with being a young woman in Turkey’s male-centric culture,” Samanci said. “In this book, I share a window into a country where narrow political views limit personal power — a place that can be beautiful, but also cruel.”

You can read more about Evil Eyes Sea, as well as the collections of Maple Terrace and The Sickness, below.

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DC announces a ‘Compact Comics’ graphic novel line

The new format will begin arriving in stores next summer.

DC has announced a new line of “compact” graphic novels, as they plan to re-release several titles from their backlist in a smaller format and at a lower price point.

The format, 5.5″ x 8.5″, is closer in size to the ever-popular manga format and what you might find overseas, than the current standard 6.5″ x 10″ format.

“The DC Compact Comics price and sizing is perfect for readers of prose and manga looking to pick up a new-reader-friendly storyline in a self-contained full color graphic novel,” said Anne DePies, SVP & General Manager, DC. “This 5.5″ x 8.5″ paper cut is the most widely circulated softcover book size in the U.S. and is popular among graphic novel aficionados in international markets. At $9.99, it’s a great price point for retailers to stock these classic titles. For readers, DC Compact Comics deliver a new graphic novel reading experience that fits in the palm of their hands, with no loss of readability.”

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Oni Press announces four new titles for 2024

“Oni 2024” will bring new comics from Olivia Cuartero-Briggs, Zac Thompson, Roberta Ingranata, Chris Condon and more.

Following their partnership announcement with the Nacelle Company, Oni Press heads into New York Comic Con by announcing several new miniseries that will land the first months of 2024, dubbed “Oni 2024.”

Including Invasive by Cullen Bunn and Jesús Hervás, which was announced in San Diego this summer, the initiative begins with five new titles “that will fully embrace the potential of the comics medium to invert, collide and reinvent the foundational genres of horror, science fiction, crime, fantasy and beyond throughout the new year.” More titles are planned for subsequent months.

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Oni Press + the Nacelle Company team for a new line of comics

The Sectaurs, Power Lords, Robo Force and more will return as part of a connected universe next year.

Oni Press and the Nacelle Company have announced a line of comics based on old toy and animation properties, including the Sectaurs, Biker Mice from Mars, Robo Force and more.

The Nacelle Company has been gathering up these properties since they were formed in 2017, with the idea to turn them into new cartoons, toys, films, podcasts and, now, comic books and graphic novels. Some of them appeared in comics decades ago as tie-ins to the original toy line or cartoon, back in the 1980s and 1990s when deregulation led to a huge influx in toy lines supported by animated shows that were as much ads for the toys as they were stories abut the characters. And in some cases, maybe more so. (Box Brown’s excellent The He-Man Effect tells the story of that particular era really well). Nacelle revealed several of the toy revivals at this year’s Toy Fair.

“Toys and comics have a long and storied history of mutual admiration and cross-collaboration. From Transformers and Micronauts to G.I. Joe and ROM, some of the most impactful comics stories ever told have drawn inspiration from the world of toys. Alongside our partners at Nacelle and our amazing cast of creators, we’re working to craft the next chapter in that time-tested legacy,” said Oni Press President and Publisher Hunter Gorinson. “Having seen firsthand Nacelle’s exciting and ambitious plans for the future, I know toy fans and comic readers alike are going to have a lot to look forward to in the Nacelleverse.”

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Archie Horror’s ‘Month of Mayhem’ returns for a second year

Madam Satan, the Toybox of Terror and more will return in new one-shots from the publisher.

After slowing down during the pandemic, the Archie Horror line found new life last year when the publisher unleashed a wave of one-shots for the Halloween horror season. This year the publisher has planned another “Month of Mayhem” for the fall, with new chills and returning characters.

“We’re so excited to return to our Month of Mayhem event this year, celebrating all things horror and Halloween throughout October,” said Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante. “From a psychological thriller in Welcome to Riverdale and a collection of middle-grade horror tales in Toybox of Terror, not to mention all the Halloween fun in our classic-style comics and digests, there’s truly something for every Halloween lover from Archie!”

Here’s a look at what to prepare for.

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Flash Gordon will soar again at Mad Cave

The publisher plans both new and reprint titles, which will kick off next year.

Mad Cave Studios and King Features have announced plans for Mad Cave to publish new Flash Gordon comics, along with reprints of older material and graphic novels.

In addition Papercutz, the middle-grade imprint owned by Mad Cave, will publish new Flash Gordon comics aimed at that younger audience.

“As one of the first action heroes Flash Gordon has always been powerhouse in the comics universe,’ said Christina Nix Lynch, King Features’ licensing director. “We’re delighted to have a partner like Mad Cave Studios on board who are true Flash fans as well as publishing experts. This program will bring a long-awaited, regular stream of new and legacy content to generations of readers.”

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Valiant, Alien Books announce a publishing partnership

Alien Books will take over publishing comics for Valiant, with plans to increase the overall number of titles featuring Valiant characters.

Valiant Entertainment has announced a publishing partnership with Alien Books, where Valiant is essentially outsourcing their publishing to the fledgling publisher. According to Popverse, the deal will see Alien Books “take over all publishing of Valiant properties.”

This is not completely unexpected; the surprising part — and good news for fans of the characters — is that Valiant’s comic line isn’t just fading away. For the past couple years Valiant’s output has declined considerably, with the publishing line seemingly on life support as they published somewhere between 0-2 titles per month. The press release said Alien would “expand Valiant’s publishing capabilities,” with clarifications from Popverse and the Beat both saying this is pretty much the end of Valiant publishing their own comics (and graphic novels and the like). The Beat adds that “some remaining Valiant staffers will stay on to work on the transition.”

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Image Comics signs exclusively with Lunar for direct market distribution

The publisher will still work with Diamond for bookstore distribution.

Image Comics will join DC Comics and other publishers at Lunar Distribution for their direct market distribution. Beginning with their September titles, which will be solicited in June, Image will shift away from Diamond Comics Distributors to a new distributor for the first time since the company was founded three decades ago.

“We have enjoyed our relationship with Diamond over the decades and we have made some wonderful friends there, so this decision has been a difficult one,” said Erik Larsen, a founder and current CFO at Image Comics. “It was not a move that we made lightly, though, and ultimately, the change was made because of the benefits to readers and retailers who are our real customers. There are services Lunar will provide that will make it easier for stores to buy our titles, and for fans to find our books. This is a big win for them, and we hope this new partnership is as strong and long-lasting as the previous one. We wish Diamond nothing but the best as we look toward the future.”

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