Category: Graphic Novels

The Devil made them do it in ‘Let Me Out’

Emmett Nahil and George Williams revisit the late 1970s “satanic panic” in the new graphic novel from Oni Press.

Emmett Nahil and George Williams will revisit the “satanic panic” of the late 1970s in Let Me Out, a graphic novel coming from Oni Press in October.

The story is set in 1979 New Jersey, where a group of “queer and trans misfits” accused of murder decide that the devil might not be so bad.

“Let Me Out turns classic horror tropes on their head, while showcasing how marginalized people are sacrificed on the altars of power,” said Nahil, who makes his graphic novel debut with Let Me Out. “This is a story about what happens when a group of queer and trans friends are given the supernatural means to fight back. It is also about found family and the joy one finds in one’s friends, even amidst seemingly inescapable darkness.”

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Ed Brubaker + Sean Phillips will tell us ‘Where the Body Was’ in December

The award-winning team presents a stand-alone suburban mystery graphic novel that draws from Brubaker’s life.

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, creators of the critically acclaimed, award-winning Criminal and Reckless, have a graphic novel coming out from Image Comics at the end of this year — Where the Body Was, which will arrive in December.

Colorist Jacob Phillips, who has worked with the duo in the past as well as on his own projects like That Texas Blood, will join them on the project. Described as “a true crime podcast crossed with a long-lost diary,” Brubaker said he’s drawing from his own life for this one.

“This is a story I’ve been trying to find a way to tell for half my life,” said Brubaker. “Inspired by a bunch of wild things that happened when I was a teenager in Southern California—from small time crimes to a murder plot—this book is kind of a diorama of a crime scene, with all the action confined to one small neighborhood… And it even comes with a map. I can’t wait for our readers to get their hands on this one, just in time for the Holidays.”

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Nate Powell’s ‘Fall Through’ will land in 2024

‘Fall Through is emotional, critical, kinda sexy & funny & queer & idealistic & creepy— and it was the most fun I’ve ever had making a book.’

Nate Powell, the multiple award-winning artist of the March trilogy, as well as the creator of Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole and numerous other graphic novels, returns with a new graphic novel next year from Abrams ComicArts.

Fall Through sounds different than a lot of his recent projects, as it falls somewhere in the realm of science fiction and punk rock: “It’s an interdimensional 1990s punk soap opera starring Jody & Diana, whose band Diamond Mine is lost indefinitely on tour— always seeking connection and free space,” Powell said on Twitter.

“I love all these characters— Fall Through is emotional, critical, kinda sexy & funny & queer & idealistic & creepy— and it was the most fun I’ve ever had making a book. And there’s bootleg magic & curses involved! YOU KNOW I LOVE CURSES,” he added.

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Oni will publish ‘Quinnelope and the Cookie King Catastrophe’ in September

Find out who kidnapped the Cookie King in a story by HF Brownfield and Kayla Coombs.

The Cookie King is missing, and it’s up to Quinnelope to find him in Quinnelope and the Cookie King Catastrophe, the debut graphic novel by HF Brownfield and Kayla Coombs.

“Writing this book was an absolute blast,” Coombs said. “Brownfield and I have the same goofy sense of humor, so each page was a chance to crack each other up. There were moments when we laughed so hard, we could barely hold our pencils steady! We had a ball drawing Quinnelope to life, and we hope you’ll find her just as hilarious as we do.”

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Bunn + Luckert go ‘Beyond Mortal’ in a new graphic novel at Dark Horse

Superheroes battle the elder gods in the new project, which will arrive next January.

Cullen Bunn and Danny Luckert, who collaborated on the recent Shock Shop, will re-team for a new graphic novel from Dark Horse.

Beyond Mortal combines two things Bunn is famous for — super-heroes and horror, as a world protected by a pantheon of heroes must face it’s greatest challenge — an invasion by the elder gods.

“If you know me, you know I love superheroes,” said Bunn. “You also know I love-love-love horror. While I’ve frequently infused horror elements into my superhero comics, I’ve never done a full-on horror book in a superhero universe. Well, here you have it. Beyond Mortal is sort of a fever dream of heroics and terror. And I think fans of superheroes will love it. And so will horror fiends.”

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Oni will collect Derek M. Ballard’s ‘Cartoonshow’ in August

The online strips pull from Ballard’s own life as a single father.

Oni Press has announced plans to collect Cartoonshow, the online comic strips of animator Derek M. Ballard, in August.

Ballard, who has worked on the megahit Adventure Time for Cartoon Network and on Netflix’s The Midnight Gospel, created the strips based on his own life as a single father.

“This book of cartoons is a whole slew of dumb, funny, embarrassing and true things that happened to my kids and me. Stuff that befalls average families every single day,” Ballard said. “Oni Press made it possible to support my family while I brought my uncompromised scribbly vision to the page. That’s a big deal. Unbelievable really. Extra special thanks to my editor Zack Soto.”

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Matt Groening’s ‘Disenchantment’ comes to comics

An ‘Untold Tales” volume will collect previously created by as-yet-unreleased material based on the Netflix show.

Disenchantment, the animated Netflix series from Matt Groening that’s run for four seasons (with a fifth on the way), will come to comics later this year courtesy of Titan Comics.

Disenchantment: Untold Tales Volume 1 will collect two limited-release comics as well as bunch of previously unreleased material featuring Bean, Elfo, Luci and more. Titan plans two additional volumes as well.

According to the publisher, only the first two issues of these comics were ever released as a convention exclusive in 2019. Meanwhile, 500 pages and 17 issues of original strips with new stories were left unpublished. The first graphic novel will also feature exclusive content from the show’s creators.

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‘Richard Stark’s Parker: The Complete Collection’ by Darwyn Cooke coming in October

IDW will collect all of Cooke’s work on the hard-hitting detective in one volume.

The Almost Darwyn Cooke blog has revealed that IDW will collect all of Cooke’s Parker graphic novels into one volume in October.

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Complete Collection will include The Hunter, The Outfit, The Score and Slayground, as well as the short stories “The Man with the Getaway Face” and “The Seventh.” This encompasses all the adaptations that Cooke did of the stories of Richard Stark, the alias of writer Donald Westlake.

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Dark Horse will publish ‘Transplants’ this fall

Dave Collard, Domenico Carbone and team combine organ donation and superheroes in a new graphic novel.

Dark Horse Comics has announced Transplants, a graphic novel by TV writer Dave Collard (Family Guy, Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness), with art by Domenico Carbone, colorist Josh Rodriguez and letterer Frank Cvetkovic.

“The idea for this graphic novel came, like all great ideas, while I was standing in line at the DMV,” said Collard. “When I checked the box on my license renewal, consenting to be an organ donor, I thought, ‘I feel bad for the poor sap who gets my very near-sighted eyes.’ And that led (naturally) to the questions, ‘Hey, what if Superman was an organ donor? And what if this square-jawed white dude had his powers transferred to a group of people who traditionally haven’t had power?’ All of a sudden, I finally had my way into telling a superhero story. With Transplants, I’m trying to deconstruct the superhero genre a little while placing it in the ongoing national debate about power and privilege. I hope you like it. But if you don’t, blame the Department of Motor Vehicles.”

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Marvel + Abrams team up for team-ups

Cartoonist Mike Maihack has two ‘Mighty Marvel Team-Up’ graphic novels in the works.

Marvel and Abrams’ partnership will continue in June and next January with the release of two Mighty Marvel Team-Up graphic novels, both written and drawn by cartoonist Mike Maihack.

Spider-Man: Animals Assemble! will arrive in stores on June 13, and features Spider-Man helping out the Avengers by pet-sitting for them. It’ll feature appearances by Redwing, Lucky the Pizza Dog, Captain Marvel’s cat Chewie, Throg and more.

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‘Gender Queer’ once again tops the ALA’s list of most challenged books for 2022

For the second year in a row, a record number of books were challenged in libraries and schools.

Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe’s touching graphic novel memoir about gender identity, topped the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books for 2022. It’s the second year in a row that Gender Queer has landed in the No. 1 spot.

The ALA’s annual top 10 list of the most challenged books expanded to 13 for 2022, which saw a record number of 1,269 book challenges for 2,571 unique titles (many challenges include more than one book). Most of the targeted books in the top 13 were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color.

“By releasing the list of Top 10 Most Challenged Books each year, ALA recognizes all of the brave authors whose work challenges readers with stories that disrupt the status quo and offer fresh perspectives on tough issues,” said ALA President Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada. “The list also illustrates how frequently stories by or about LGBTQ+ persons, people of color, and lived experiences are being targeted by censors. Closing our eyes to the reality portrayed in these stories will not make life’s challenges disappear. Books give us courage and help us understand each other.”

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Top Shelf announces ‘Lisa Cheese and Ghost Guitar: Attack of the Snack’ by Kevin Alvir

The graphic novel tells the story of a ‘sweet unicorn girl’ trying to make a name for herself as a folk singer.

Top Shelf will publish Lisa Cheese and Ghost Guitar: Attack of the Snack, the debut graphic novel by Kevin Alvir, this fall.

Alvir is a cartoonist, musician and educator whose work has been featured in Funny or Die, Blackbook, Brooklyn Mag, Edible, The Neu Jorker, Paul Ryan Magazine; on records for acts such as Gabe Liedman, Nicole Yun, Essex Green, Holy Tunics and Pains of Being Pure at Heart; and on TV screens for Will Ferrell and for High Maintenance on HBO.

“I started drawing Lisa Cheese comics in my lined notebook at one of my jobs, as an outlet for my feelings about starting out in the workplace,” Alvir said. “In recent years, I returned to this character with a new understanding of the world, and she grew into this bombastic Jack Kirby level superhero, in my own ridiculous way. I hope readers can see themselves in Lisa and be inspired to interact with a heavy world with a light heart.”

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