Slugfest | ‘Radio Apocalypse’ goes on indefinite hiatus

Plus: A new Secret Stash title, Poison Ivy grows and Marvel Masterworks gets reprinted.

Vault Comics and writer Ram V have announced via press release that the comic series Radio Apocalypse will go on “an indefinite hiatus.” The series, which suffered delays before launch, only saw two issues published.

“We launched this book with much excitement and to celebration and acclaim,” Ram V said in the statement. “And for that I have readers, retailers and everyone who worked on this book to thank. Unfortunately, in the time since, Anand, Aditya and I have been through some rough times. I will allow everyone including myself some privacy but suffice to say health issues, bouts of COVID and some difficult family emergencies on my end have meant that we have been unable to work on this book with the care and attention it deserves.”

The series, which reunited Ram V with Anand RK, who he worked with on Grafity’s Wall, was about the last radio station on Earth.

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Matt Kindt’s Flux House will publish ‘Spy Superb’

Kindt and his wife Sharlene will team up once again for the story of a spy who doesn’t know he’s a spy.

Super Spy creator Matt Kindt will go undercover once again in Spy Superb, which stars a different sort of secret agent — one who doesn’t even know they’re a spy.

Kindt will team with his wife, Sharlene Kindt, who he worked with on Dept H. It’ll come out from Flux House, Kindt’s new imprint at Dark Horse.

“In Spy Superb I wanted to explore a character, the idea of a very average person who is under the belief that he is utterly exceptional,” said Kindt. “There is a scientific term for this–The Dunning-Kruger effect–a person who insists they possess knowledge and skills that they obviously do not. What if a super spy was suffering from this? Well…they would of course be a…SPY SUPERB. It was actually really hard for me to keep this character alive past issue #1… there are hit men after him…a super assassin who kills only with rock, paper, and scissors… and a real super spy working in the shadows of our “hero” who may actually be the real spy superb. It feels really great to be drawing a new book–and I’m beyond happy that Sharlene Kindt is painting it. It’s definitely the most ambitious collaboration we’ve ever had.”

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Bendis + Edgar bring ‘The Ones’ to Dark Horse

The four-issue miniseries kicks off in November.

Brian Michael Bendis’ Jinxworld will grow by one this fall as the award-winning writer teams with artist Jacob Edgar and colorts K.J. Diaz for The Ones.

The story will feature characters from multiple mythologies and multiverses who were told they were “The One” — think Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the kid from Good Omens, Highlander, the “One and Only” Richochet from WWE and everyone else given that label — only, not actually those characters, but new ones created for this comic. They’re brought together to defeat, naturally, The One.

“Jacob is an amazing artist and creating this brand-new, fun-as-hell world with him has been one of the greatest delights,” Bendis said. “Wilson and the rest of The Ones are among my absolute favorite creations I’ve ever been a part of and I can’t wait to introduce you to all of them.”

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Mignola + Stenbeck + Stewart return to Hell for new Koshchei miniseries

‘Koshchei in Hell’ kicks off in November.

Mike Mignola, Ben Stenbeck and Dave Stewart will team once again for Koshchei in Hell, a new miniseries set in the Hellboy-verse coming from Dark Horse in November.

The series will star Koshchei the Deathless, who once tried to kill Hellboy at the bequest of the Baba Yaga. This time around, Koshchei must defend his home, Hell, from destruction.

“It’s always a pleasure working with Ben, as he can really do everything,” said Mignola. “And there’s just something about how he does things—something very natural and almost quiet—subtle—til it’s time to NOT be subtle. It just really works with the kind of stories I’m trying to tell. And Koshchei—I just love this guy. I’ve really put him through the wringer, but he keeps on going. And Hell—well, is it odd to say I love that place?”

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‘Hotel REM’ awakens at Dark Horse next year

Zack Keller, Gabriele Bagnoli, Valerio Alloro and Frank Cvetkovic check into a hotel for dreams in March.

Former Unikitty! and Telltale Games writer Zack Keller will team with artist Gabriele Bagnoli, colorist Valerio Alloro and letterer Frank Cvetkovic on Hotel REM, an all-ages graphic novel coming from Dark Horse in 2023.

The fantastical Hotel REM is the place your dreams go when you’re awake. It’s run by Rembrandt Somner, who runs into problems when a difficult celebrity guest arrives.

“I have literally been dreaming about this story for over a decade so I’m thrilled readers can finally come visit this wild and wonderful hotel in book-form thanks to Dark Horse,” Keller said.

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Dark Horse brews an ‘Elixir’ for next year

Frank J. Barbiere, Ricky Mammone and Victor Santos bring a new graphic novel that mixes technology and magic to Dark Horse.

Frank J. Barbiere, Ricky Mammone and Victor Santos will team up on a new graphic novel, Elixir, that’s set to be published by Dark Horse Comics next March.

The dark fantasy story combines magic with modern technology, as the daughter of a druid seeks an artifact known as the “Elixir.”

“I began my career in Europe doing fantasy comics but basically I am known in the USA as a noir-crime author,” Santos said. “Thanks to this new collaboration with my partner Frank Barbiere and with the addition of the talented writer Ricky Mammone, I have had the chance to build a world with all the elements and aesthetics I loved reading as a teen but with my experience as a creator and a more modern point of view of what a good fantasy story should be.”

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Dark Horse announces a Criminal Macabre/Count Crowley crossover

Steve Niles, David Dastmalchian, Lukas Ketner and Lauren Affe will bring their two monster hunters together.

Legendary horror writer Steve Niles will team up with the crew behind Count Crowley for a monster-sized crossover in October — Criminal Macabre/Count Crowley: From The Pit They Came.

Niles will co-write the comic with David Dastmalchian, while artist Lukas Ketner and colorist Lauren Affe will bring the story to life.

“Working with David and Lukas has been a thrill and way too much fun,” said Niles. “Everything came together so smoothly by the time we were finished I wanted to keep going. I hope people enjoy the crossover half as much as I enjoyed working on it.”

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Dark Horse will release out-of-print + new material from Richard Corben

The publisher announces a partnership with Fantagor Press to publish old material and as-yet-unpublished comics by the legendary creator.

Iconic comics creator Richard Corben passed away in 2020, leaving behind a body of work that spanned multiple decades and publishers. The Eisner Hall of Famer and Grand Prix winner at Angoulême may be gone, but Dark Horse has entered into a partnership with Fantagor Press to ensure his legacy will endure.

Starting next year, Dark Horse will kick off an exclusive line that will reprint Corben’s long-out-of-print work with new material in deluxe hardcover editions.

“I’m so pleased and proud to share Corben art and stories with the world,” said his wife, Dona Corben. “It means so much to me to make his early works available in print again; and, I’m excited to share his new story that he poured all of his imagination and artistic vision into. I’m incredibly proud of him as an artist and a person, and touched that his work means so much to so many.”

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Before Dracula, there was ‘Carmilla: The First Vampire’

Amy Chu and Soo Lee bring the original bloodsucker back at Dark Horse.

A 19th century queer feminist murder mystery sees the sunlight again in Carmilla: The First Vampire. This new contemporary retelling set in 1990s New York Chinatown is crafted by writer Amy Chu  (Red Sonja, Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death, Netflix’s DOTA: Dragon’s Blood) and illustrator Soo Lee  (Ash and ThornStillwater: The Escape, Vampirella Fairy Tales).

The trade paperback will be published by Dark Horse Comics’ Berger Books imprint and available in January 2023.

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Mignola + Aragno bring ‘Leonide The Vampyr’ to Dark Horse

The first in a series of collaborations between the two creators features a vampire girl who washes ashore in a small coastal village.

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola will team with Mel The Chosen artist Rachele Aragno for a new series of projects, starting with Leonide The Vampyr: Miracle At The Crow’s Head this October.

They’ll be joined colorist Dave Stewart and letter Clem Robins for the one-shot, which sprang from an image Aragno posted online.

“Last October I was publishing daily sketches on social media. Mike Mignola had seen the first one, a portrait of a vampire girl, and he loved it,” said Aragno. “From there we started talking about the idea of a collaboration between us, and that my vampire portrait could be the basis of a story. When Mike sent me the outline, I went crazy with joy. It was perfect, and I was delighted to be able to draw and put those words on paper. Mignola has always been in the pantheon of my favorite authors, and I was honored to be able to work with him.”

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Cesare + Stoll present a ‘shopping spree from Hell’ in ‘Dead Mall’

The first issue of the four-issue miniseries arrives in October.

Horror novelist Adam Cesare, whose books include Clown in a Cornfield and Summer Job, will work with artist David Stoll (Pantomime) and letterer Justin Birch on Dead Mall, a new miniseries coming from Dark Horse Comics later this year.

The story takes place in — and is narrated by — the Penn Mills Galleria, a former mall that’s about to be demolished when a group of kids decide to visit it one last time — only to find it isn’t so empty.

“The first comics I remember buying as a kid, during my first trips to the comic shop with my dad, were issues of Dark Horse Presents. It’s surreal, 30ish years later, to be talking about Dead Mall,” Cesare said. “I wanted to tell a story that readers of my books would enjoy, but also something that couldn’t be done–or couldn’t be done *best*–in prose. A supernatural, monster-filled, body-horror-tinged combination of Chopping Mall and The Ruins, where the mall itself is narrating the story? That sounded like a lot! Something that could only be achieved in the collaborative medium of comics. And what a collaborator to have in David Stoll, whose art is immaculate and storytelling sense is unimpeachable. Then there’s Justin Birch and the rest of the team at Dark Horse, a dream to be working with them. We’re just so excited for readers to enter Penn Mills Galleria.”

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Love is quite literally Hell in the new miniseries ‘Hellboy in Love’

Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Matt Smith, Chris O’Halloran and Clem Robins tell a story filled with love, ex-girlfriends, punk rock and goblin train robberies.

It’s all about the love in a new miniseries coming from the creative team of Hellboy: The Bones of Giants. Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Matt Smith, Chris O’Halloran, and Clem Robins reunite for Hellboy in Love, a five-issue series that also reunites Hellboy with Dr. Anastasia Bransfield, his ex-girlfriend from the novel Hellboy: The Lost Army.

“It’s been 25 years since Dr. Anastasia Bransfield first appeared as Hellboy’s ex-girlfriend in my novel Hellboy: The Lost Army,” Golden, who wrote the novel, said. “I’ve always thought one of the reasons Mike considered my three Hellboy novels as canon is because of that relationship. Over the years we talked many times about telling the stories of their adventures together, and the day has finally come. It’s Romancing the Stone-style action, occult weirdness, and first love, with gorgeous Matt Smith art! We’re having so much fun!”

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