Category: Graphic Novels

This is … Spinal Cord!

Dark Horse will release a new heavy metal-themed graphic novel by David Braña and Pahito this fall.

The Midnight: Shadows isn’t the only music-themed graphic novel coming from Dark Horse this year. This week the publisher also announced Spinal Cord, a heavy metal horror graphic novel written by David Braña and illustrated by Pahito.

It’s a tale as old as time — a heavy metal band wants to make it big, so they enter a competition that ends up being more than they bargained for.

“The idea of Spinal Cord had been in my head for a long time,” said Braña. “I wanted to write about a music band trying to make its way in today’s complicated industry. Pahito and I both love metal music, so after talking, the creative sparks flew for Spinal Cord. It has been a pleasure to travel Route 666 in his company. We have paid a well-deserved tribute to the music and we have let ourselves be carried away on an adventure with different styles of horror, with characters who feel and suffer and who try to achieve their dreams, like most of us. Now I just hope readers enjoy this journey too!

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Dark Horse teams with synthwave band The Midnight for a new graphic novel

Zack Kaplan, Stephen Thompson and Jahnoy Lindsay will bring the band’s music to the comics page.

Music and comics will collide in a new graphic novel this fall, as the synthwave band The Midnight teams with Dark Horse for The Midnight: Shadows.

Written by Zack Kaplan with art by Stephen Thompson and artist Jahnoy Lindsay, the graphic novel is about a soon-to-be father who gets literally sucked into a cyberpunk video game from his youth called The Midnight. Colorist Thiago Rocha and letterer DC Hopkins round out the team.

“Before I got the privilege to write this graphic novel, I was a fan,” Kaplan said. “Intoxicated by the immersive beats and heartfelt lyrics since their very first demo. It was no surprise to me to see them become one of today’s best synthwave bands. Their presence is so narrative that it was dying to be shared in this form. And it’s been a joy to bring it all to comic life, to partner with Dark Horse for such a vivid and mind-bending series, and to create this electrifying world with a powerhouse creative team, Stephen, Jahnoy, Thiago and DC, that will blow your mind with one visually stunning page after the next. Whether you are a listener of the music or you just love a good sci-fi adventure, we cannot wait to take you to that place half in dark and half in light, where arcade dreams are a reality, where heroes battle monsters. Get ready for a truly epic, synth wave adventure.”

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DC will publish YA takes on Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle this year

DC will collect ‘Young Diana’ by Jordie Bellaire and Paulina Ganucheau, and publish a Blue Beetle OGN by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo.

DC has announced two projects coming later this year aimed at the young adult market, which include a Wonder Woman collection and a new Blue Beetle graphic novel.

Up first is Wonder Woman: The Adventures of Young Diana, written by Jordie Bellaire and drawn by Paulina Ganucheau. These stories originally ran as a back-up in the regular Wonder Woman title starting 2021, and featured a look at Diana’s early life on Themyscira.

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Warren Pleece returns to Dark Horse for ‘a dystopian eco-noir thriller’

The creator of ‘Incognegro’ will write and draw a new graphic novel for the Berger Books imprint.

Incognegro creator Warren Pleece will return with a new graphic novel next year from Berger Books, the Dark Horse imprint run by former Vertigo chief Karen Berger.

The Sunny-Luna Travelling Oracle is described as “a dystopian eco-noir thriller about power, escape, creation, and the mark we leave on the world.”

“My love of the natural world and learning about the Wood Wide Web grafted to my other permanent obsession with the long dramatic shadows cast by classic film noir, finally led me to this rip-snorting eco-thriller story with more than a touch of magic,” Pleece said.

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Erman + Beck journey to ‘Loving, Ohio’ in a new graphic novel coming next year

Dark Horse Comics will publish the new graphic novel about surviving cults, murderers and high school.

Dark Horse Comics will publish Loving, Ohio next year, a graphic novel about four friends trying to survive high school in a town built around a cult.

Matthew Erman, writer of Good Luck, Witchblood, Terminal Punks and Mariko Between Worlds, and Sam Beck, the wonderful artist of Verse and Renegade Rule, will introduce The Chorus, a cult that “has infiltrated every structure of Loving.”

 “Loving, Ohio is the best piece of fiction I’ve written so far in my life,” said Erman. “I grew up in a cult, as many people do and Loving, Ohio says everything I want to say on the matter. I am immensely proud of it and so grateful for Sam and the gorgeous book she created with me. I can’t wait for you to read this because I think you all are going to be wowed by what we’ve made. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

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Molly Ostertag reveals the cover to ‘The Deep Dark,’ coming next year from First Second

The print version of her Substack work will arrive in June.

Over the course of about two years, Molly Knox Ostertag serialized a comic called Darkest Night on her Substack. Now the award-winning creator of The Girl from the Sea and Witch Boy has revealed the cover to the print version of the story, which will be titled The Deep Dark.

First Second will publish the graphic novel next June, as Ostertag undergoes the process of converting the original art, which was made for scrolling on a device, to print pages.

“I’ve spent the past few months turning those long scrolling updates into graphic novel spreads and cursing my past self for being so chaotic about how I layer my photoshop files,” she said in her latest newsletter. “I also hand lettered everything, which looks so good that I’m furious because now I HAVE to hand letter all future projects.”

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Chu + Lee revisit the first vampire in ‘Carmilla: The Last Vampire Hunter’

Dark Horse will publish the sequel graphic novel next July.

Dark Horse Comics has announced a sequel to Carmilla: The First Vampire, the graphic novel by Amy Chu and Soo Lee published earlier this year. Carmilla: The Last Vampire Hunter will feature lettering by Sal Cipriano and will arrive in stores next July.

Based on a 19th century queer feminist murder mystery, Carmilla: The First Vampire was a contemporary retelling set in 1990s New York Chinatown. The new OGN follows social worker-turned-vampire hunter Athena Lo to San Francisco as she investigates her family’s dark history.

“Excited to continue the story of Athena and Carmilla, this time on the West Coast, and to introduce a whole new world of pan-Asian supernatural characters to the readers,” said Chu. “I hope with the Last Vampire, Soo Lee and I help define Asian American horror as a genre.”

The trip to SF will bring new challenges and introduce a new vampire threat — with the shadow of Carmilla still hanging over Athena. The book falsl under the Berger Books banner, the imprint overseen by former Vertigo chief Karen Berger.

“I’ve fallen in love with these characters as I bring them to life on paper, and Athena has a very special place in my heart,” said Lee. “Introducing a new cast of Asian Vampires creates a twist to the genre that I hope will become a new trend for many years to come. This story has become a part of me and this sequel is one I hope resonates with many people, especially if family is an important part of you. 

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Dark Horse announces ‘Goblin: The Wolf and the Well’ for next July

Eric Grissom and Will Perkins send Rikt the goblin to school.

Eric Grissom and Will Perkins’ Goblin graphic novel was pretty great, so I’m happy to see that Dark Horse has announced a sequel, The Wolf and the Well, for next year.

The second volume in the story of the goblin named Rikt will find him facing his greatest challenge — school.

“After Rikt’s first adventure in Goblin, I knew I wanted to throw him up against something even bigger and scarier than a blood-thirsty warrior with a tattooed face,” said Grissom, “and what’s more frightening for a kid than a new school? But there’s so much more going on at Underwood than homework. Rikt and his best-wolf, Fish-breath, are in for a rough ride, but at least they’ll make some friends along the way…and, unfortunately, some enemies, too. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell the difference. I can’t wait for readers to discover the mysteries behind Underwood’s iron gates.”

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‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: The Hidden Codex’ arrives from Dark Horse next year

Writer Mathieu Gabella and artist Paolo Traisci tell another tale set in the video game world.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was released almost three years ago, bringing vikings into the popular video game world. The game proved to have a long shelf life, as developer Ubisoft continued to release new content for it over the course of two years, finally releasing a new game for the franchise this year — Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which is actually a prequel to Valhalla.

Dark Horse helped expend the world of Valhalla since its release, putting out several miniseries and now, as announced earlier this week, they plan to release a hardcover graphic novel by writer Mathieu Gabella and artist Paolo Traisci.

“We were very lucky to work with Mathieu Gabella and Paolo Traisci, two long-standing fans of the franchise who infused their love and deep knowledge of our lore in this book. Fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this mysterious tale which expands Assassin’s Creed Valhalla across uncharted territories,” said Etienne Bouvier, Senior Transmedia Content Manager.

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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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Art Baltazar, James Kochalka + Kaeti Vandorn will bring Dr. Seuss characters to comics

Random House Graphic will release a new line of graphic novels featuring Cat in the Hat, the Grinch and more

Random House Graphic will publish a series of graphic novels featuring Dr. Seuss characters, starting with the Cat in the Hat next year.

Cat Out of Water by Art Baltazar (Tiny Titans) will arrive in stores next April, followed by a Grinch story by Kaeti Vandorn (Monster Friends) next fall and a Green Eggs and Ham spinoff by James Kochalka (Super F*ckers) in 2025.

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Oni announces a third ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ graphic novel

Stephanie Phillips and Dani Bolinho bring ‘Forecast from Stonehenge’ to comics.

Oni Press will release a third Choose Your Own Adventure adaptation next year by Grim writer Stephanie Phillips and Dani Bolinho, who drew the first CYOA adaptation.

Forecast from Stonehenge, based on the prose novel by R. A. Montgomery, follows Journey Under the Sea and Eighth Grade Witch. And like the other novels and graphic novels in the series, it gives the reader the opportunity to choose what happens next at certain points in the story.

“I was excited to help bring a choose your own adventure story to comics and expand the audience of readers who get to experience this fun and unique format,” Phillips said. “As a kid, I loved CYOA stories because they allowed me to take an active role in the story being told, and thanks to Dani Bolinho’s art I think readers will absolutely feel like they are being pulled into the world of Forecast from Stonehenge.” 

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