BOOM! prepares a ‘Slow Burn’ for October

Ollie Masters and Pierluigi Minotti present the story of a robbery gone bad and a getaway to a town on fire.

Snow Blind writer Ollie Masters moves from frozen Alaska to a town literally on fire in Slow Burn, a new miniseries with artist Pierluigi Minotti, who drew the Comixology originals title Lost Falls.

Slow Burn is about a crew of thieves who botch a robbery in New York, then head to a mining ghost town in Pennsylvania to hide out — a town where a coal-seam fire as been burning since the 1960s.

“This is a comic about a fire that’s been burning underneath a town for decades and will continue burning for centuries. It’s about desperate people with violent pasts living on the edge, looking for a way out” said Masters. “About how our parents shape who we are, for better and for worse.”

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BOOM!’s ‘Ranger Academy’ will launch in October

Maria Ingrande Mora, Jo Mi-Gyeong and Fabiana Mascolo present the story of a very special school.

Following a preview on this year’s Free Comic Book Day, BOOM! Studios has announced that Ranger Academy, a new Power Rangers title set at a school that trains them, will launch in October.

Novelist Maria Ingrande Mora, who wrote Fragile Remedy and The Immeasurable Depth of You, will team with artist Jo Mi-Gyeong (EVE, Beastlands) and colorist Fabiana Mascolo on the series. I’m not even a big Power Rangers fan, but you put “Academy” next to a word, and I’m in.

“It’s such an honor to introduce Sage and her friends to a new generation of Power Rangers fans,” Mora said. “Jo is a dream to collaborate with, and her love for these characters is clear in every panel and expression. Welcome to Ranger Academy!”

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‘Abbott: 1979’ wraps up the trilogy by Ahmed + Kivelä

Elena Abbott’s battle against the forces of darkness in 1970s Detroit will continue in October.

Writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Sami Kivelä will wrap up their Abbott trilogy this fall with Abbott: 1979, which will arrive in stores from BOOM! Studios in October.

The story started back in 2018 with Abbott, which was followed in 2021 with Abbott: 1973, which jumped ahead a year. This new series will jump six years into the future, as reporter Elena Abbott continues to defend Detroit against the forces of darkness, both real and supernatural.

“I couldn’t be more excited to bring you the next (and final!) chapter in the saga of hard-nosed reporter Elena Abbott, sorcerous savior of the city of Detroit,” said Ahmed. “Abbott: 1973 left Elena in a grim place, and things have only gotten worse since — for her and her beloved city. Now Detroit itself is being consumed — eaten alive by the Umbra. And it will take all Elena’s got to keep her own spark from being snuffed out. From the beginning I’ve imagined Abbott as a three-act story, and I’m positively thrilled to team with the awe-inspiring Sami to bring this story to its epic conclusion.” 

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Kickstarter’s comics projects have increased by 14% this year

The crowdfunding platform shares some of their data for the first half of 2023, as comics projects continue to flourish on the site.

Crowdfunding continues to serve as a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors, as comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter. Even with the rough economic environment we’ve seen over the last six months, with rate hikes, inflation and layoffs, comics-related projects on Kickstarter have remained resilient — and have even grown compared to last year.

With Comic-Con on the horizon and the first half of the year complete, Kickstarter shared some of their recent data with us.

In the first half of the year:

  • Comic projects on the platform grew by 14% when compared to the first half of 2022. Comic projects in the first half of 2022 numbered 1,457 and increased to 1,666 in the first half of 2023.
  • Dollars pledged to comics campaigns also increased, from $14.4 million in 2022 to $17.6 million in 2023.
  • While the number of overall projects increased, so did the number of successful projects. 1,171 comics projects, or 78.1%, successfully met their funding goal this year. This is a 13.5% increase compared to the same time last year. 
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Slugfest | Mary Jane officially becomes a superhero in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #31

Plus: News on the Witcher’s next comic series, White Widow, ‘Coda’ returns, Ram V and Filipe Andrade reunite, ‘Killer Queens’ is back, and more.

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

Marvel has been teasing Mary Jane Watson’s new power set, most notably in the recent Mary Jane & Black Cat miniseries, but the longtime supporting character will put on a costume and go full superhero in Amazing Spider-Man #31.

The oversized issue will not only feature a story by the regular creative team of Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr., but also will include a story by Celeste Bronfman and Alba Glez that features Mary Jane suiting up to become Jackpot.

Here’s a look at her costume, designed by Humberto Ramos:

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BOOM! announces ‘Firefly: The Fall Guys’

Sam Humphries, Jordi Perez and Francesco Segala pit the Serenity crew against ‘assassins, jobs gone wrong, and organized crime.’

The crew of the Serenity will fly once again this fall in a new miniseries by Sam Humphries, Jordi Perez and Francesco Segala.

Firefly: The Fall Guys will find Mal and the crew dealing with organized crime and local politics (is that redundant?) as they attempt to make some bank to keep the Serenity in the sky.

“So thrilled to be welcomed into the Firefly ‘verse. I love Westerns, so bringing the best bandits in the galaxy back to their buckaroo roots with a fantastic artist like Jordi has been a dream,” said Humphries. “Don’t worry, there’s still a giant gorram spaceship in the first issue. Yee haw!”

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R.L. Stine’s ‘Stuff of Nightmares’ returns this fall

The ‘Goosebumps’ author will work with artist Adam Gorham on a new miniseries about a comic book writer.

Goosebumps author R.L. Stine will return to BOOM! Studios this fall for a second miniseries under his Stuff of Nightmares banner. Stine will team with Adam Gorham, artist of the awesome The Blue Flame, for Stuff of Nightmares: Red Murder.

“The works of R.L. Stine and illustrations of Goosebumps cover artist Tim Jacobus formed pillars of my pop culture DNA while growing up in 1990’s Canada. Their novels were staples of any school book fair or library and coveted by many fifth graders, myself especially,” Gorham said. “The Goosebumps television show (filmed in Canada) was appointment viewing for me, and I have fond memories of drawing any spooky thing I could imagine while watching that program. If you told me then that nearly 30 years later, I would be working with the legendary author on a comic book of our own… actually, that is exactly the kind of opportunity I’d have hoped for as a kid, which makes this project all the more exciting.”

The previous Stuff of Nightmares miniseries, by Stine and artist A.L. Kaplan, was published last year. Stine called it his “first horror comic book work for grownups.”

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Slugfest | BOOM! offers a limited ‘Fence: Redemption’ cover for Pride Month

Plus: Updates on ‘Norse Mythology,’ Ms. Marvel, Bone Orchard Mythos, ‘The Asiri’ and more.

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

BOOM! Studios will sell a Pride Month charity cover for Fence: Redemption #1 this month on their webstore, featuring artwork by LySandra Vuong.

The cover is limited to 750 copies, and all proceeds from it will be donated to The Trevor Project.

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‘Old Ma’am Logan’ will return in ‘Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer’ miniseries

Casey Gilly and Oriol Roig show us a future where Willow’s daughter becomes a slayer.

In the Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer one-shot that came out in 2021, Casey Gilly and Joe Jaro introduced us to a Buffy Summers who was well out of her senior year and living out life in her more senior years. Now that weathered, veteran Buffy will return in a five-issue miniseries from BOOM! Studios.

This time, Gilly is joined by artist Oriol Roig as Buffy mentors a new slayer — Thess, the daughter of Willow and Tara.

“It always feels SO GOOD to sink my fangs back into Last Vampire Slayer! For this arc, Oriol and I are bringing readers to beautiful Santa Carmen, CA, where our girl Thessaly is figuring out the life of a Slayer in her early 20s: she’s got a job at the local boardwalk, a big crush on her cute co-worker, oh—and a bunch of grizzly supernatural murders to stop,” Gilly said. “It’s been such a privilege to see these characters through three books so far and I hope everyone is excited to see what we have in store for them.”

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Pak + Miyazawa’s ‘Mech Cadets’ return to comics

The hit series from BOOM! Studios returns just in time for its debut on Netflix.

The story of Mech Cadet Yu will continue in comics this summer just as it starts up on TV. BOOM! Studios has announced Mech Cadets by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa, with colors by Ian Herring.

Mech Cadet Yu debuted back in 2017 and ran for 12 issues. It’s since been collected in three trade paperbacks, with a collection of all 12 issues due out today. It’s about an interstellar war, an alien invasion, giant robots and the unlikely teenager who finds himself at the center of it all. The new series picks up after Stanford Yu and his fellow pilots saved the world.

“The original Mech Cadet Yu series is one of my favorite of all the things I’ve ever written, so I’m beyond thrilled to be working with Tak on the next chapter in the Mech Cadets saga,” said Pak. “Tak’s bringing all his magic to every page and every panel, with that special combination of incredible genre thrills, amazing humor, and fantastic emotional subtlety. And all of our characters are a bit older and the world has gotten a bit more complex, with some shocking twists and challenges. I’m biased, of course, but it feels vital and real and just as fun as ever, and I can’t wait for y’all to see it!”

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Slugfest | Frank Miller draws a new variant cover featuring Wolverine

Plus: a manga tribute to Marvel, Star Trek’s ‘Day of Blood,’ Power Rangers, Oni Ronin and Whoopi Goldberg!

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

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Frank Miller draw Wolverine. Before moving on to DC to work on Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, Miller worked with writer Chris Claremont on the character’s first miniseries in the early 1980s, which, along with his work on Daredevil, established Miller as a top-tier creator.

Decades later, Miller has drawn a variant cover for Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons of Vengeance Alpha #1:

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BRZRKR returns in a new one-shot this summer

Keanu Reeves, Steve Skroce and Dave Stewart pit the title character against an ancient evil in ‘Poetry of Madness.’

BRZRKR may have ended last month, but you can’t keep a good immortal warrior down. BOOM! Studios has announced that writer Keanu Reeves will team with Steve Skroce and Dave Stewart on BRZRKR: Poetry of Madness in July.

The one-shot special will find the immortal B. facing off against a “Lovecraftian nightmare” in the ancient city of Atlantis.

“I loved the original BRZRKR series and I’m thrilled to be helping Keanu craft a tale of high fantasy and adventure in his creation’s singular, blood soaked style.  It’s action horror on a scale you can only get on the comics page,” said Skroce.

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