Dennis Hopeless draws from his real-life childhood for the crime comic ‘She’s Running on Fumes’

Tyler and Hilary Jenkins will illustrate the six-issue digital series.

All families have their crazy backstories, but few could fuel a crime comic. Writer Dennis Hopeless will tell a story based on his own life in She’s Running on Fumes, coming next month from Comixology Originals. He’s joined by artists Tyler Jenkins and Hilary Jenkins, letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and editor Heather Antos.

“When I was 3 years old, my mother started a chop shop with a half-wit junkyarder named Corn Dog,” Hopeless said. “Dad was the criminal. Mom had never broken a law in her life, but with him brain-damaged, $50,000 of cocaine gone missing and hospital bills piling up, grand theft auto was our only hope.”

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Quick Hits | Posy Simmonds wins the 2024 Grand Prix at Angoulême

Plus: News on the Eisners, Brett Lewis, Bill Griffith and more.

British cartoonist and illustrator Posy Simmonds has been awarded the Grand Prix at France’s annual Angoulême International Comics Festival. Simmonds beat out Daniel Clowes and Catherine Meurisse to capture the prize, and is only the fourth woman to be awarded the Grand Prix in its 50-year history.

Simmonds, 78, has done it all in her career, including comic illustration, daily press cartoons, weekly comic strips, best-selling albums, children’s books and screen adaptations. Her debut graphic novel, True Love, is one of the first British graphic novels, and she went on to create the well-regarded Gemma Bovery, Tamara Drewe and Cassandra Darke. She began her career doing comic strips for the Sun, the Times and the Guardian, where she spent the majority of her career. Later in life, she would start creating children’s books, and her most famous, Fred, went onto become an Academy Award-nominated short film, Famous Fred.

“I always think in a perfect world, the gender of a prize winner shouldn’t be remarkable,” Simmonds told the Guardian. “But it’s an imperfect world and the comics and bande déssinée world has always been a masculine milieu, a bit of a boys’ club. But, bit by bit, especially over the last decade, women have infiltrated it, so I’m pleased to be one of them, of course.”

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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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Roxxon wages a hostile takeover against Thor + Marvel this spring

The Roxxon Age of Comics is upon us.

Thor will get a corporate makeover of sorts in April, as Marvel’s longtime evil oil company, Roxxon Energy Corporation, “takes over” Marvel in April and releases their own Thor comic.

Roxxon Presents: Thor is a one-shot by current Immortal Thor writer Al Ewing and, probably the perfect artist for a project like this, Greg Land. Roxxin’ Thor will “be there to defend big business and the sanctity of shareholder value,” as he smashes woke environmentalists at the bequest of longtime Thor villain and Roxxon CEO Dario Agger, a.k.a. the Minotaur.

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Exclusive Preview | ‘The Jaguar’ leaps back into action next month at Archie Comics

Check out a preview of a new one-shot by Keryl Brown Ahmed and Tango.

Courtesy of our friends at Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present an exclusive preview of next month’s The Jaguar one-shot by Keryl Brown Ahmed, Tango, Ellie Wright and Jack Morelli.

“I absolutely loved updating The Jaguar, a character with a rich history and a few different iterations,” Brown Ahmed said. “First of all, I’m a cat person, so a feline-themed superhero delights me to no end. I chose to center this story on Ivette embracing her heritage because, coming from a multiethnic background myself, it’s something I struggle with. I think it’s important for first- and second-generation Americans to find ways to connect with their family’s cultures of origin because, in my experience anyway, it increases self-worth and gratitude for those who came before us.”

Zoologist Ivette Velez is the current Jaguar and star of the one-shot. Her predecessor, Ralph Hardy, debuted in 1961 and passed the mantle on to her in a New Crusaders story by Ian Flynn and Ben Bates about 10 years ago. This new story has Velez heading to Peru to investigate the mysterious deaths of the Pampas cats of Northern Peru.

“I appreciate that Ivette is a character who clearly still carries much of her trauma pretty close to the surface,” Tango said. “Keryl organically shows that in the ways Ivette maintains an aloof (and catlike), antisocial streak in her approach to others. That also takes on new layers when she shifts into her Jaguar persona.”

Check out the preview and solicitation text below, and look for The Jaguar when it hits store shelves on Feb. 21.

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The death of the last unicorn sends the world into darkness in Rich Douek + Gavin Smith’s ‘Heartpiercer’

Dark Horse Comics will publish the miniseries beginning in May.

Drive Like Hell writer Rich Douek will team with artists Gavin Smith and Nicholas Burgdorf on Heartpiercer, a new miniseries coming from Dark Horse Comics later this year. They’ll be joined by letterer Justin Birch.

In the story, a monster hunter named Atala is tricked into killing the last unicorn, plunging the world into darkness.

“Fantasy is the first genre I fell in love with as a reader,” Douek said. “And my earliest work in comics is deeply rooted in it. In a lot of ways, Heartpiercer is a return to my roots as a writer; an epic, dark fantasy about love, vengeance and coming to terms with the sins of your past. I can’t wait for readers to see the world we’ve built.”

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Darth Maul slashes his way into his own ‘Black, White & Red’ miniseries

The first issue by Benjamin Percy and Stefano Raffaele arrives in April.

Following in the footsteps of Darth Vader, Darth Maul gets the Black, White & Red treatment this spring in a new miniseries coming from Marvel.

Each issue of the four-issue series will be by a different creative team, but the stories will run a full issue — rather than containing several shorter stories like previous BW&R series have. The first issue will feature a story by Wolverine writer Benjamin Percy and artist Stefano Raffaele, who has worked on previous volumes featuring Darth Vader and Moon Knight

“I’ve been a lifelong, obsessive fan of the Star Wars galaxy — it’s such a foundational part of my imagination — and it’s a thrill to be able to contribute to it now. My mind is busy with nightmares, so it’s especially a treat to step into the mind of Darth Maul, one of the great villains of this galaxy far, far away,” Percy told StarWars.com. “The silent assassin has a busy inner world. He is loyal to Palpatine, but that does not make him a puppet or a tool. He is willing to make his own decisions — ones that could shake the very fabric of the galaxy — as is the case in this chiller and thriller of a story, ‘The Final Occultation.'”

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Fleecs + Wachter will lead you to the ‘Uncanny Valley’

The new series arrives from BOOM! Studios in April.

BOOM! Studios has announced that Tony Fleecs of Stray Dogs and Local Man fame will team with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles artist Dave Wachter for a new series called Uncanny Valley.

The story revolves around a 12-year-old named Oliver whose powers connect him to a surreal, cartoon-ish world.

“Uncanny Valley is a book that I’ve wanted to make for years. I’m so excited to be making it with the impossibly talented Dave Wachter and with BOOM! Studios,” said Fleecs. “It’s a big huge story set in two giant worlds with all sorts of magic and mystery and robots and skeletons but it’s centered on this little tiny family. Those are my favorite kinds of stories.”

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Slugfest | ‘Masters of the Universe’ starts a ‘Revolution’

Plus: Check out news and announcements on Ghost Machine, Spider-Man, Archie Horror, Dr. Frederic Wertham and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Dark Horse has announced another miniseries tie-in to the Masters of the Universe Netflix show, which returns to the streaming platform on Jan. 25.

Masters of the Universe: Revolution is written by show producers Tim Sheridan, Rob David and Ted Biaselli, with illustrations by Daniel HDR, inking by Keith Champagne, coloring by Brad Simpson and lettering by AndWorld Design. The first issue features a variant cover by Tyler Boss:

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Oni’s first NacelleVerse miniseries, ‘RoboForce,’ will debut in April

Melissa Flores and Diogenes Neves will bring the toy line to the printed page in a new miniseries.

Oni Press has revealed more details about RoboForce, the first miniseries spinning out of their NacelleVerse #0 one-shot that arrives in March.

Melissa Flores and Diogenes Neves, both of whom are working on the one-shot, will helm the RoboForce miniseries as well. It’s based on the Robo Force toyline from the 1980s, which was revived by Toyfinity about 10 years ago. Nacelle purchased the rights to make toys, comics and a new animated program from Toyfinity in 2021.

“We’re going on a heist! Working with Nacelle and Oni Press to create an original prequel to the RoboForce animated series in comic form has been an incredible adventure,” Flores said. “This miniseries will dive deeper into Maxx 89 and Detonator’s complicated relationship, showing us their true motivations and state of mind as they figure out their place in futuristic Chicago. It will be an action-packed three issues that will complement the upcoming animated series perfectly. You won’t want to miss it!” 

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Mad Cave announces ‘Love Me: A Romance Story’

Francesca Perillo and artist Stefano Cardoselli present a story of robot love.

Mad Cave Studios has announced a new romance/science fiction hybrid called Love Me: A Romance Story, which will arrive in stores this spring. It’s about a robot cabbie named JoJo who falls in love with Gilda, who is “entangled with the mafia.” Bulletproof heart, meet hollowpoint smile.

The story is by writer Francesca Perillo and artist Stefano Cardoselli. Cardoselli wrote and drew Don’t Spit in the Wind at Mad Cave last year, and if you haven’t checked that title out, I highly recommend it. They’re joined by colorist Lorenzo Scaramella and letterer Buddy Beaudoin.

“Love Me is the story everyone can read: it’s about possibility, hope and diversity. It talks about the ability to wait for and recognize the love that comes after personal fulfillment,” Perillo said. “In fact, if you are fulfilled with your life, grateful for the work you have achieved, the conquests you have made and the friends you have chosen, despite the difficulties, you can leave room for true feelings even if they are scary and put you face to face with great challenges and strange emotions. Love me is the story of all those who have been able to wait for true love, in the seat of a taxi or at the table in a bar just like what happened to me.”

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Bunn + Schoening continue the story of cult leader Bingo Wilkin this spring

‘The Cult of That Wilkin Boy: Initiation’ will arrive in stores in April.

The classic Archie character Bingo Wilkin received a makeover as a rock star-turned-cult leader last year courtesy of Archie Horror, and this spring he’ll return for another round of fame, fortune and satanic worship in The Cult of That Wilkin Boy: Initiation.

The one-shot will reunite writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dan Schoening, who worked on the previous story of Bingo and his quest for fame. They’re joined by inker Ben Galvan, colorist Matt Herms and letterer Jack Morelli. 

“I’m so excited to have the chance to write a new Bingo story,” Bunn said. “Initiation stands completely on its own as a fun, dark little horror tale. But, for those who have read The Cult of That Wilkin Boy, it continues the tale of deviltry and supernatural shenanigans in an exciting way. Returning to this world, I wanted to tell a tale that was a natural progression for Bingo but was also an amplification of the nightmarish horror that surrounds him.”

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