Category: Graphic Novels

Dark Horse announces a third and final ‘Carmilla’ volume

Amy Chu and Soo Lee continue the story of the first vampire in a new graphic novel this October.

Dark Horse Books and Berger Books have announced the third and final volume of the Carmilla trilogy, the award-winning graphic novel series by Amy Chu and Soo Lee.

Carmilla: The Eternal will arrive in October and will feature lettering by Sal Cipriano, as the previous volume did.

“It feels surreal to think, when I pitched the original concept as a trilogy to Karen Berger five years ago that here we are, actually at the end of this fantastic journey, said Chu. “I’m amazed and grateful that our take on this classic has resonated with so many folks.”

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‘Aquamanatee’ joins DC’s 2025 all-ages graphic novel line-up

Ben Clanton and Cassandra Federman introduce a new undersea hero who craves adventure and toots a lot.

Narwhal and Jelly creator Ben Clanton is teaming with This Is a Sea Cow illustrator Cassandra Federman for a fun, all-ages graphic novel from DC, titled Aquamanatee.

The story will introduce Marlow the manatee, who has visions of adventure and super-heroics that come true when he gains super powers and teams up with his idol, Aquaman.

Here’s the full description:

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ALA announces its annual ‘best graphic novels’ reading lists

‘The Deviant,’ ‘Barnstormers,’ ‘Plain Jane and the Mermaids’ and more appear on the American Library Association’s lists for 2024.

The American Library Association has announced its annual lists of the best graphic novels for adults and for kids — spotlighting 100 really great graphic novels published in 2024.

The ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table annually assembles the list, each made up of 50 titles. They also release a “top 10” for each category, with an aim to “increase awareness of the graphic novel medium, raise voices of diverse comics creators and aid library staff in the development of graphic novel collections.”

“I want to congratulate the committee on selecting this exceptional list of comics and graphic novels for young people.,” GNCRT President Shira Pilarski said. “These titles don’t just foster development of literacy skills, and they don’t just provide countless hours of entertainment for fans of graphic nonfiction, memoir, poetry and fiction. They are also beautifully illustrated works of art.”

If you’re looking for a gift for a child in your life, or even for something to read yourself, you can’t go wrong with these lists. You can find the “top ten” for adults and then for children below.

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Jesse Lonergan’s ‘Drome’ will arrive from 23rd Street Books this summer

The new sister publisher to First Second will bring Lonergan’s ‘320-page opus’ to stores in August.

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.

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My favorite comics of 2024

And some favorite graphic novels as well.

It’s been a number of years since I’ve put together a list of my favorite comics of the year, something I used to do on a regular basis back in the Blog@ or Robot 6 days. Not from a lack of desire, but I spend a lot of time agonizing over my choices and, especially, the write-ups for each of my selections.

So this year I thought, “Screw it; just list your top 10 and be done with it.” So, here are my 10 — no, wait; I narrowed it down to 11, not 10 — 11 favorite comics, as well as five graphic novel favorites. I did not read as many graphic novels this year as I typically would for various reasons, but these are five I really liked.

So without further ado, here they are, in no particular order …

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Oni announces ‘The Goddamn Tragedy’ by Chris Condon + Shawn Kuruneru

The vicious Western draws from the real-life story of the Donner Party.

That Texas Blood writer Chris Condon is teaming up with Fishflies artist Shawn Kuruneru for the Western thriller The Goddamn Tragedy, a new graphic novel that Oni Press will publish next year.

While the story is fiction, it does draw from the real-life tale of the Donner Party in the mid-1800s, whose ill-fated journey from Illinois to California became infamous when members of the party resorted to murder and cannibalism during a harsh winter spent in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

“I had been reading about the tragic Donner Party of 1846 and an idea struck me: there’s a story here to tell, one that could capture the psychological tumult a family endures as they are faced with an impossible decision: kill…or be killed,” Condon said. “We all know how the Donner Party played out, but we don’t know how things work out for the Janson family and that’s a story that the masterful Shawn Kuruneru and I are all too excited to tell. Thankfully, we’ve found a great home for this one-shot of survivalist terror at Oni Press who excels at telling gut-wrenching tales from beyond the pale.”

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Chip Kidd + Michael Cho team for a graphic novel featuring the original Avengers

Abrams will release the high-end hardcover next year.

Writer and designer Chip Kidd will team with artist Michael Cho for The Avengers in the Veracity Trap, a graphic novel coming next year from Abrams Books’ MarvelArts line. The 64-page hardcover will retail for $25.99.

Abrams published the award-winning Fantastic Four: Full Circle by Alex Ross, as well as the expanded edition that was recently released and features a lot of extras.

“Writing this book was really just an excuse to see Michael Cho depict glorious, epic, jaw-dropping sequential storytelling with these iconic characters that we love so much. He more than delivered,” Kidd said. “Oh, and it was also my ultimate comics ego trip, which Abrams and Marvel actually allowed me to take. I still don’t know why but I am beyond grateful.”

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Oni Press will publish Patrick Horvath’s ‘Free For All’ next March

Billionaires defend their riches in ritual combat in the graphic novel.

Oni Press has announced plans to publish Free For All, a graphic novel written and drawn by acclaimed creator Patrick Horvath, next year. Horvath is the creator of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, the excellent “cozy horror” miniseries published by IDW, and previously funded Free For All on Zoop.

Free For All seems to have dropped the “cozy” and replaced it with “brutal greed.” It’s set in a world where the world’s richest people are forced to either donate money to charity or face off in ritual combat to defend their millions.

“I’m thrilled that Free For All has found a home with Oni Press,” said Horvath. “The idea for it came from an immense frustration with the state of society almost a decade ago, and with the issues of the world as they stand now, it’s only become more relevant. I’m so glad this book has a chance now to reach a wide audience.”

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Oni Press will publish Meredith McClaren’s ‘Meat Eaters’ next year

The horror graphic novel is about a woman who dies and wakes up to a new reality.

Black Cloak artist Meredith McClaren is back with a new graphic novel landing next year from Oni Press. Meat Eaters, a horror story about a woman whose life changes when she dies and wakes up as something else, will arrive in stores next July.

“Meat Eaters is an ode to all the teen horror television I lovingly consumed over the years,” McClaren said. “Where there are bad things in the world, sometimes they hurt you, and sometimes that makes you change in ways you do not like.”

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‘Hulk Teach!’ by Jeffrey Brown will arrive next school year

Marvel and Scholastic team up to present a lesson in patience and anger management in the worst environment possible.

Marvel has announced a smash-worthy new graphic novel by Jeffrey Brown, creator of Batman and Robin and Howard and Clumsy, among many other projects. Hulk Teach! shows what happens when you give Dr. Bruce Banner a job as a middle school teacher.

The middle-grade graphic novel, which comes as part of the publishing partnership between Scholastic and Marvel, arrives next August.

“Marvel Comics were a big part of my childhood, so when Scholastic asked if I’d be interested in doing a middle grade series with Marvel super heroes, I immediately knew I wanted to—I just didn’t know which characters I wanted to write about,” Brown said. “Doing talks at schools gave me the inspiration I needed. I was watching teachers navigate their days with more patience than I have and realized it would be really funny to see Bruce Banner try to teach middle school without getting frustrated and turning into the Hulk. I was also excited for the chance to write a version of Hulk I had in mind, somewhere between smart Hulk and dumb Hulk – and of course he’s fun to draw, so it all fit together nicely!”

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Dark Horse will publish Richard Corben’s final graphic novel

A special edition hardcover of ‘Dimwood’ will arrive next April.

As part of their publishing partnership with Fantagor Press, Dark Horse Comics has announced plans to release the final work of legendary underground artist Richard Corben, who passed away in 2020.

Dimwood is about a woman who returns to her childhood home to try to recover missing pieces in her memory. Written and illustrated by Corben and lettered by Nate Piekos, the hardcover includes a dust jacket, an introduction by author Joe Lansdale, an epilogue by project art director José Villarrubia and other bonus material.

“I’m excited to share his new story that he poured all of his imagination and artistic vision into,” his widow, Dona Corben, said in 2022 when the partnership was announced. “I’m incredibly proud of him as an artist and a person, and touched that his work means so much to so many.”

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Image Comics will release Emma Ríos’ ‘Anzuelo’ in November

The original graphic novel tells a dystopian story about how the rising Sea impacts three kids.

Emma Ríos, the Eisner-winning artist whose work includes Pretty Deadly, Doctor Strange, Osborn and more, returns in November with Anzuelo, an original graphic novel she’s written and drawn.

Image Comics describes the project as “gorgeous and brutal,” as it features a world where the capital-S Sea has risen up to absorb the world.

“No matter how carefully you plan a project like this, the work and the creator always transform and adapt due to learning and experimentation. I wanted to write the Sea under my skin, and I’m fortunate to have become someone else in the process,” Ríos said.

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