Tag: Ahoy Comics

Melissa F. Olson + Sally Cantirino bring ‘Archaic’ to Ahoy Comics

The series features a woman on the run who ends up on an island populated by gods and monsters.

Urban fantasy novelist Melissa F. Olson will make her full-length comic debut with Archaic, a new miniseries coming from Ahoy Comics that will feature artwork by Sally Cantirino (I Walk With Monsters, Human Remains) and colorist Gab Contreras (Witchblood, Mezo).

Archaic is about a woman looking for a place to hide from her husband’s misdeeds who inherits an island from the biological father she never met — an island filled with “retired” gods and legendary creatures.

“This is my first full-length comic book, but, weirdly, it’s also the most personal story I’ve ever written,” Olson said. “When the world came to a standstill during COVID lockdown, a lot of people had to re-think their place in the world, myself included. What does it really mean for me to be employed, to parent, to have purpose? What do I do with the instinct to protect my children from really big things I can’t control? Those are tough questions, and the more I considered them, the more I wanted to write about a character who was doing the same thing in a truly fantastical place. I’m so grateful I was able to connect with Sally, the best monster artist in the business, and honored that AHOY wanted to tell this story with us.” 

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Smash Pages Q&A | Matt Bors + Ben Clarkson on ‘Justice Warriors: Vote Harder’

The creators of the dystopian satire sequel graphic novel talk about their secret origins, being ‘plagiarized’ by real-world events, meatball riots, buddy-cop bro-mances and more.

I’m not sure if Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson could have asked for better timing for their new graphic novel, Justice Warriors: Vote Harder, which arrives in stores today.

Now, obviously, it is election season here in the U.S., and their sequel to the first Justice Warriors miniseries is focused on an election in the fictional city of Bubble City — so that tracks. But when the project was announced by Ahoy Comics, they had no idea that it would arrive the day after the second presidential debate or that said debate would feature different candidates than the first debate.

If you read the first Justice Warriors miniseries, you know that the story drew heavily from the headlines, twisting our reality into a dystopian satire series that poked fun at capitalism and law enforcement in a future of severe inequality — and one populated by mutants. This time around our two protagonists, Swamp Cop and Schitt, get pulled into the chaos of the first Bubble City elections that have happened in, like, forever.

I spoke with Bors and Clarkson about the new graphic novel, their work process, why they went with an OGN instead of another miniseries and more. I thank them both for their time — or at least the concept of their time.

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The Gloucester Sea Serpent surfaces in a story by Carol Lay in next week’s ‘Project: Cryptid’ #10

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

Courtesy of Ahoy Comics, we’re pleased to share a preview of a new story by Carol Lay from next week’s Project: Cryptid #10.

If you’re not familiar with Ahoy’s first ongoing title, Project: Cryptid is an anthology of “unbelievably hilarious and hilariously unbelievable tales about cryptids from around the world.” Lay builds her story around the Gloucester Sea Serpent, which was first “discovered” in the early 1800s off the coast of Massachusetts. The creature shows up at just the right time for a young girl who could use some luck.

Lay, the creator of Murderville, Good Girls and Lay Lines, has had her work featured in The New Yorker, Mad Magazine, the Village Voice and many other publications. She’s also done several back-up pieces for Ahoy and was one of the contributors to their “Partially Naked Came the Corpse” round-robin story that ran through several of their titles last year. Her graphic novel, My Time Machine, will be published by Fantagraphics in September.

Lay’s story is accompanied by “Family Tree” by Atagun Ilhan, and the issue will arrive in stores on June 26. Check out the preview below.

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‘Justice Warriors’ returns this fall as an original graphic novel

‘Justice Warriors: Vote Harder’ takes aim at politics and elections.

Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson’s Justice Warriors will return from Ahoy Comics this fall as a full-length graphic novel, titled Justice Warriors: Vote Harder.

A dystopian satire series that pokes fun at capitalism and law enforcement in a future of severe inequality, the first Justice Warriors miniseries was released in 2022 and collected in 2023. This new graphic novel takes aim at politics and elections, which no doubt makes it the perfect companion to what’s happening in America this year.

“Bubble City is having its first ever mayoral election and mutant cops Swamp and Schitt are pulled in to special duty to protect the vote from the people,” Bors said in his newsletter. “Ben Clarkson and I have been hard at work, along with our colorist Felipe Sobreiro, to top our first volume of the series and bring you an election year satire for the ages.”

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‘Toxic Avenger’ returns to comics courtesy of Matt Bors + Fred Harper

Ahoy Comics takes us back to Tromaville this fall.

The Toxic Avenger, the star of the 1984 Troma movie of the same name, will return to comics this fall in a new series by Matt Bors (The Nib, Justice Warriors) and Fred Harper (Snelson).

Ahoy Comics will publish the series, which Bors says will combine elements of the original films — it had several sequels — and the Toxic Crusaders cartoon. The original film was about a New Jersey teenager named Melvin who fell into a vat of toxic waste while fleeing bullies and became the Toxic Avenger.

“The Toxic Avenger is first and foremost an environmental satire, one about a small town and its unremarkable people trapped and transformed by circumstances they don’t control,” Bors said. “The story Fred Harper and I are telling is about people frustrated by authorities telling them not to worry about their life, that things are fine, even as their dog mutates in front of their eyes. And at its core it is about a powerless boy, Melvin, who finds out he can be incredibly strong, hideously mutated, well-admired, and incredibly heroic… but still ultimately powerless over human behavior.”

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Ennis + Burrows bring ‘deeply disrespectful humor’ to the fantasy genre in ‘Babs’

The new miniseries debuts from Ahoy Comics in July.

Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows’ partnership is going on about 20 years now, having started at Avatar with 303 and continued into Crossed, Punisher: Soviet and the upcoming Get Fury. But the duo will head into a different direction this summer in Babs, a sword-and-sorcery satire coming from Ahoy Comics.

This sounds like something that will appeal to fans of Ennis’ work on titles like Hitman and Dicks.

“Writing Babs was an absolute hoot,” said Ennis. “The character is one of my favorite types—good at the job but crap at life, with a lousy attitude to boot—and the world of ‘Sword & Sorcery’ provides endless opportunities for deeply disrespectful humor. Having our heroine smash her way through goblins, ogres, imps, incels and other vermin was extremely satisfying; nobody’s going to be Making Middle Earth Great Again while she’s around.”

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Villains search for normal lives in ‘Deadweights’ by Tyrone Finch + Sebastián Píriz

The miniseries kicks off in April.

What happens when super villains are fired for being bad at their jobs and try to integrate back into society? They become Deadweights, and the subjects of a new miniseries by Tyrone Finch and Sebastián Píriz.

The six-issue miniseries from Ahoy Comics will follow Cannonbulk and Bounder, two evil mutants trying to go straight.

“At its core, Deadweights is about friendship,” Finch said. “It’s the story of two people who have been relentlessly beaten, battered, tossed off of bridges and forced to live in hideouts with no electricity or plumbing. But somehow, the two of them have never given up on each other or their dreams. When you look past their costumes, battles and vows to subjugate the human race; they’re just a couple of guys looking to find a place for themselves in this crazy, mixed-up world.”

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Captain Ginger takes flight once more in ‘The Last Feeder’

Stuart Moore and June Brigman return to the stars for another tale of evolved cats in space.

Although its existence was revealed in May when Ahoy Comics announced Project: Cryptid, they made it official this week that writer Stuart Moore and artist June Brigman will reunite for Captain Ginger: The Last Feeder .

The two-issue miniseries is part of Ahoy’s celebration of their fifth anniversary, and follows the two previous Captain Ginger series. If you aren’t familiar with Captain Ginger, it’s kind of like Star Trek, but with cats. Evolved cats at that.

“I’d rather write Captain Ginger than anything else in the world, so I’m grateful to AHOY for giving us the chance to continue our story,” said Moore. “This time, we decided to tell a self-contained, Strange New Worlds-type adventure that, at the same time, tackles some of the biggest questions in the Captain’s universe. All his life, Ginger has wondered about his father, and all the evolved cats have wondered about the long-dead humans who created them. Now the answers are in their grasp—maybe.”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Paul Cornell on ‘Con & On’

The writer of Ahoy’s newest title talks about comic conventions, working with Marika Cresta and more.

Most people reading this are probably familiar with the San Diego Comic-Con, the annual gathering of Hollywood, the comics community, media of all shapes and sizes, and fans from around the world. But are you familiar with the Vista Al Mar Comics Festival, which also has taken place on the California coast for the past five decades?

If not, don’t worry — the Vista Al Mar Comics Festival is fictional, a construct of writer Paul Cornell and artist Marika Cresta for their new miniseries from Ahoy Comics, Con & On. The first issue arrives in stores this week.

The comic is set in five different years in the life of the Festival—one year per issue, spanning three decades—from the points of view of “a diverse bunch of desperate people whose lives revolve around this greatest show on Earth.” The comic will track the lives of two young comics talents trying to break into the business; three “brilliant, boozy and bombastic” British creators; as well as crusty editors, forgotten TV stars and fans who “make the convention experience something to revisit year after year.” 

Cornell was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about his work on the title, as well as share some convention memories. My thanks for his time.

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Ahoy will collect Russell + Snejbjerg’s ‘Cereal’ in October

The trade paperback collects ‘a dark, distinctly adult and lovingly funny take’ on breakfast cereal mascots.

Sugary cereal has never been scarier than when it’s in the hands of writer/satirist Mark Russell and artist Peter Snejbjerg. Their “Cereal” serial, which first appeared in the Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of… series of miniseries, will be collected in October by Ahoy Comics.

Described as “a dark, distinctly adult, and lovingly funny take on an earlier generation’s beloved monsters,” the story follows several breakfast-loving monsters who will seem familiar to any fans of General Mills’ “Monster” line of cereal. I was always a big fan of Franken Berry.

“Monsters play such an expansive role in our collective conscience, being used for everything from giving face to our deepest fears to selling us breakfast cereal,” said Russell. “This book looks at monsters from every angle at once. It sees them as we are — as cartoonish but scary, as comical, and yet, still sad.”

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Ahoy Comics celebrates five years with several new projects

‘Project: Cryptid,’ an anthology title featuring the work of Grant Morrison, Alex Segura, Mark Russell, Zander Cannon, Hanna Bahedry, Liana Kangas and more, will kick off in September.

Ahoy Comics will celebrate five years of publishing with several fun projects — an anthology titled Project: Cryptid, a “back matter” prose project titled “Partially Naked Came The Corpse!” and several anniversary specials.

“Five years of AHOY?! It doesn’t seem possible!” said editor-in-chief Tom Peyer. “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the comic books of our lives. September ’23 will mark the fifth anniversary of The Wrong Earth #1, the first comic we ever shipped. Jamal Igle, June Brigman, Stuart Moore, Mark Russell, Greg Scott, Grant Morrison — these artists and writers who helped launch AHOY — will return, and new creators will join them in the wildest celebration this young century has seen! The boisterous bacchanalia begins with our bestial new anthology Project: Cryptid and continues with a wave of projects, familiar and new, through the end of the year.”

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‘Black’s Myth’ returns with a new miniseries this summer

Eric Palicki and Wendell Cavalcanti head back into L.A.’s seedy supernatural underground in ‘Black’s Myth: The Key to his Heart.’

Black’s Myth, the story of a werewolf PI named Strummer who lives in Los Angeles and tries unsuccessfully to avoid the supernatural world, will return with a new miniseries from Ahoy Comics this summer.

The first miniseries by writer Eric Palicki and artist Wendell Cavalcanti came out in 2022, introducing the world to Janie Jones “Strummer” Mercado and her djinn assistant Ben Si’lat. The new story, titled Black’s Myth: The Key to his Heart, will involve Strummer trying to save a young girl from becoming a monster, as well as reveal a more sympathetic side to the character whose name appears in the title.

“I’ve made a terrible mistake, and I don’t just mean pursuing a career in comics!” Palicki said. “How can we continue calling our book Black’s Myth unless Strummer once again finds herself in the orbit of her enigmatic client-turned-nemesis Rainsford Black? Hopefully, Volume Two reveals Mister Black to be a little less mysterious and perhaps a tad more sympathetic, as Wendell and I build on the unanswered questions of the first volume while also delivering a new mystery for Strums and Ben to unravel.”

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