Ghosts, goblins and gardening: Norman Shurtliff’s ‘Skull Cat’ starts his job at ‘The Curious Castle’ next month

The new Top Shelf graphic novel kicks off a middle grade series by the creator.

Ghosts, vampires, goblins … they’re all in a day’s work for Skull Cat, the new garden-keeper at Le Dark Chateau, the local spooky castle.

Skull Cat and the Curious Castle is the first in a planned series by Norman Shurtliff and arrives in stores on Feb. 21. The thing I find interesting about it, besides the supernatural elements, is the fact that Skull Cat is a gardener — which makes sense given Shurtliff has a degree in horticulture. So come for the cute cat being chased by monsters, stay for the (hopefully plentiful) gardening tips.

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Inferno and Fly Girl return in ‘Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics’ #310

Check out an exclusive preview of two new stories coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of our friends at Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present one more preview before the year ends — for Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #310, which comes out Jan. 4.

Today we have previews of two new stories that will be in next week’s (next month’s? next year’s) digest, featuring the return of two Mighty Crusaders characters we’ve seen recently — Fly Girl and Inferno. In the first story by Ian Flynn and Ryan Jampole, Fly Girl, aka Kelly Brand, hangs out with Betty and helps her come up with a new superhero name for herself — something besides “SuperTeen.” The second story features Inferno, Veronica and evil clowns. It’s by Flynn and Bill Galvan.

Check out the preview below, as well as a classic winter story featuring Archie, Betty and Veronica.

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Reggie faces Mr. Justice in ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #336

Check out an exclusive preview of a new story by Ian Flynn and Steven Butler coming in next week’s digest.

Courtesy of our friends at Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #336, which arrives in stores Dec. 21.

Our preview today is for the second of two new stories appearing in the digest — “Justice Isn’t Blind” by Ian Flynn, Steven Butler and Rich Koslowski, which features the return of Mr. Justice. Once Prince James of England, the ghostly Mr. Justice was a trapped spirit who was released in 1940 and went on to fight evil, including Satan. His first appearance was in Blue Ribbon Comics #9 in a story by writer Joe Blair and artist Sam Cooper.

Check out the preview below, as well as a classic crime story featuring Archie.

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Archie falls for the magical superhero Darkling in ‘World of Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest’ #21

Check out an exclusive preview of two new stories by Ian Flynn and Steven Butler coming in next week’s digest.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of World of Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #21, which arrives in stores Dec. 14.

Today we have previews from two of the new stories appearing in this digest. The first, “Expensive Stuffing,” features Betty helping the patriotic superhero Captain Flag and his eagle, Yank. Then“She’s Goth What It Takes!” features a new girl catching Archie’s eye — but when a monster attacks, luckily for Archie this new girl turns out to be Darkling, the 1980s mystical superhero. Both stories are by the team of Ian Flynn and Steven Butler.

Check out the previews below, as well as a classic story by Frank Doyle and Dan DeCarlo.

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Captain Flag + Inferno the Fire Breather come to the rescue in ‘World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #125

Check out an exclusive preview of two new stories coming in next week’s digest.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #125, which arrives in stores Nov. 30.

This digest features three new stories, and today we have previews of two of them. Both are by Ian Flynn and Bill Galvan, and feature appearances by Captain Flag and Inferno the Fire Breather — not to be confused with Fireball, Archie’s other flame-throwing superhero.

Check out the previews below, as well as a classic story featuring Chuck Clayton.

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Betty & Veronica fight crime with Fly Girl in ‘Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest’ #309

Check out an exclusive preview of a new story coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of our “fly” friends at Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #309, which comes out Nov. 23.

This digest will include two new stories, in addition to a selection of classic Archie material. Our preview today includes pages from “Super Sale!” by Ian Flynn and Ryan Jampole, which features an appearance by Kelly Brand, aka Fly Girl, aka the daughter of the original Fly Girl Kim Brand. As eagle-eyed continuity followers might remember, Kim passed on the mantle to Kelly in the 2012 Mighty Crusaders series.

Check out the preview and solicitation information below.

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The Power Pets make their triumphant return in ‘World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #124

Check out an exclusive preview of a new story coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #124, which comes out Oct. 26.

This digest will include two brand-new stories, in addition to a selection of classic Archie material. Our preview today includes pages from “The Power Pets Return!” by Tom DeFalco, Pat & Tim Kennedy, Jim Amash, Glenn Whitmore and Jack Morelli. As Evilheart, Reggie’s alter ego, tries to ruin Archie’s date with Veronica, the Power Pets step in to save the day.

Check out the preview and solicitation information below.

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‘Crash & Troy’ reaches its explosive conclusion in December [Exclusive Preview]

Check out an exclusive preview of ‘Crash & Troy’ #4 by writer Jarred Luján and artist Kyler Clodfelter.

A Wave Blue World’s classic sci-fi buddy miniseries comes to a close in December, as writer Jarred Luján and artist Kyler Clodfelter bring the banter-filled adventures of Crash & Troy to their climatic, explosive conclusion with issue #4.

The fourth and final issue finds the super-strong Crash and their handler Delphi in jail, with Troy 3.0 seemingly dead. But can you really kill a sentient software arts aficionado?

“Issue #4 is my favorite of the series,” Luján told Smash Pages. “Writing the action was a blast, especially because we finally got to unveil what Troy, in all his irreverence, is capable of doing as a mercenary in a way only Troy could think of. Best of all, it ties everything together so well and we cap it off with some of the funnest, most explosive moments yet—but there’s another layer here. I think folks are going to be surprised with how emotional this issue is and how intensely it lays out what Crash & Troy is all about.”

This issue also brings a scene that Clodfelter has been itching to draw for awhile.

“Drawing issue 4 was extremely liberating for me because I finally got to let loose and draw some imagery that I’ve had swirling in my head for years. Jarred and I have always worked really well together, but there’s this cool thing I wanted to happen in the story that Jarred was game for and it was probably my favorite scene to draw in the entire issue. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it surprisingly doesn’t even have anything to do with fists or that Jarred asked me to tell him what my favorite fight scenes of all time were. But I mean, those things should also inform you of what you’re in for!” Clodfelter said. “I think ultimately, we’re just thrilled that everyone has finally had a chance to read the book, and I hope people have had as much fun reading it as we did making it.”

Courtesy of A Wave Blue World, we’re pleased to present an exclusive preview of the fourth and final issue of Crash & Troy. Check out the cover, preview and solicitation text below:

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The Power Pets assemble in ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #334 [Exclusive Preview]

Check out an exclusive preview of a new story coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #334, which comes out Oct. 12.

This digest will include two brand-new stories, in addition to a selection of classic Archie material. Our preview today includes pages from “Here Comes the Power Pets” by Tom DeFalco, Bill Galvan, Glenn Whitmore and Jack Morelli. A villain named Snowboy puts Pureheart and the rest of the SuperTeens on ice, and it’s up to Pawsheart, Claws and the rest of the Power Pets to come to the rescue. We also have a complete Little Archie story that’s perfect for the Halloween season.

Check out the preview and solicitation information below.

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Rich Koslowski explores money, fame and super powers in ‘F.A.R.M. System’

The creator of ‘Three Fingers’ returns with a new graphic novel from Top Shelf this November.

It’s been more than a decade since Top Shelf released a triple threat of creative graphic novels from Rich Koslowski — Three Fingers, the faux “behind the scenes” mockumentary about the world of animation and a certain iconic mouse; The King, about an Elvis impersonator who just may have been more than that; and BB Wolf and the Three LP’s, with writer J.D. Arnold, which mixed the tale of the Three Little Pigs with a blues aesthetic.

Since then, he’s certainly kept himself busy with other work for various publishers, including Archie Comics, but this November he’ll return to Top Shelf for F.A.R.M. System, a new graphic novel that combines baseball’s minor league set-up with superheroes.

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Archie + Sam Hill team up to take down a hacker in ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #333’ [Exclusive Preview]

Check out an exclusive preview of a new story coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #333, which comes out Sept. 7.

This digest will include two brand-new stories, in addition to a selection of classic Archie material. Our preview today includes pages from “Case of the High Grade Hacker!” by Ian Flynn and Ryan Jampole, who you might know from their work on Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man. This one has Archie teaming up with Sam Hill, the private investigator who was first introduced back in the 1950s, as they take on a hacker who is plaguing Riverdale.

We also have a full-length classic Archie story for you, featuring the work of Bob White, the creator of Cosmo the Merry Martian. The story features Archie having all sorts of money troubles.

Check out the preview and solicitation information below.

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Exclusive preview: Balazs Lorinczi’s ‘Doughnuts and Doom’

A struggling witch and a failing musician face curses and love in the new graphic novel, coming from Top Shelf in September.

Courtesy of Top Shelf Productions, we’re pleased to present an exclusive preview of Doughnuts and Doom, the upcoming graphic novel by Hungarian-Scottish cartoonist Balazs Lorinczi.

Described as a “quirky, magical, queer teen romance,” the graphic novel is a love story featuring a struggling witch and a failing musician. Here’s the description:

Margot is a stressed-out witch trying to get her potions business off the ground. Elena is a struggling rock musician whose band is going nowhere. Neither one of them is having a good day when they first meet at the local doughnut shop. Their exchange quickly escalates from words to literal sparks flying as Margot loses her cool. Turns out, accidentally cursing that infuriatingly cute girl at the doughnut shop isn’t a great way to start a relationship. As they work together to disperse this curse, will their initial animosity flare up in their faces or blossom into something sweeter? 

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