Tag: Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse puts a hit out on ‘Mafiosa’ in October

The story follows a mafia family’s youngest daughter and her quest to join the family business.

Dark Horse has announced they’ve acquired Mafiosa, the story of a mafia family’s youngest daughter deciding to join the family business. The comic, which started life on Kickstarter, will be published as a trade paperback in October.

The story was developed by Thomas Brooke of Portland’s Rainwerks Studio, and was created by Sunshine Barbito, Alessia Alfano, Débora Caritá, Ronda Pattison and Mariacristina Federica.

“What draws me into the world of organized crime is the juxtaposition of tradition, loyalty, hyper-morality, and what boils down to murderous greed,” Barbito said. “We wanted to take this familiar and popular storytelling genre; set in the roaring ’20s, but show you this world from a different perspective in order to create a dialogue. For me, this story is about desire and how it affects people once it takes over completely.”

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Star Wars, Blade Runner, InvestiGators among the 2021 Free Comic Book Day gold sponsor comics

This year’s Free Comic Book Day on Aug. 14 will include titles from Marvel, IDW, Dark Horse, Titan and more.

Diamond Comics Distributors has announced the 12 gold sponsor titles that retailers will offer on Free Comic Book Day this year. This year’s event will take place Aug. 14.

“This year’s lineup of titles has something for every kind of comic fan,” said Ashton Greenwood, Free Comic Book Day spokesperson. “We can’t wait to once again share the FCBD experience with fans, especially on our landmark 20th anniversary! We hope fans will safely visit their local comic shops to celebrate and to pick up a few of the great titles available this year.”

Missing from the list is DC Comics, who no longer use Diamond to distribute comics to U.S. retailers. DC has indicated their plans to participate, however.

The titles were curated by more than 20 comic shop retailers who make up the FCBD Selection Committee. The Gold Sponsor titles come from Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Archie Comics, BOOM! Studios, Macmillan/First Second Books, Penguin Workshop, AfterShock Comics, Titan Comics, TOKYOPOP and VIZ Media.

This year’s gold sponsor books are:

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Mail Call | DC celebrates 80 years of Wonder Woman, Green Arrow this year

Check out recent news and announcements from DC, Marvel, IDW, Dark Horse and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

DC will celebrate milestone years for two characters in 2021, just like they’ve done for Batman, Superman and others over the last few years.

First up, on June 29, DC will release Green Arrow 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1, celebrating the 80th anniversary of Oliver Queen, who debuted in More Fun Comics back in 1941.

The anthology will feature stories by Mike Grell, Jeff Lemire, Phil Hester, Otto Schmidt, Ben Percy, Tom Taylor, Devin Grayson, Stephanie Phillips, Mariko Tamaki, Ram V, Vita Ayala, Nicola Scott, Chris Mitten, Laura Braga, Max Fiumara and Brandon Thomas, among others. Expect appearances not only by Green Arrow, but also by Black Canary, Speedy, Red Arrow, Connor Hawke, Arsenal and more.

Then in October, Wonder Woman will take the spotlight on, naturally, Wonder Woman Day. DC has announced their plans for Wonder Woman’s 80th anniversary, which will include a 100-Page Super Spectacular of her own. They have not yet revealed details on the contents, but they did share the cover (above) by Yanick Paquette with colors by Nathan Fairbairn. Wonder Woman Day is Oct. 21.

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Sitterson + Gregori tag-team on ‘The Worst Dudes’ at Dark Horse

The five-issue series kicks off in June.

Aubrey Sitterson (No One Left to Fight, The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling) and Tony Gregori (Deuce of Hearts, Karma Police) are teaming up for a “hilarious, aggressively weird, and willfully vulgar” new comic from Dark Horse. They’re joined by colorist Lovern Kindzierski and letterer Taylor Esposito

“After the colossal success of No One Left to Fight, I knew we needed to follow it up with something entirely different,” said Sitterson. “That’s why Tony and I cooked up a book so vile, so raunchy, so utterly odious, that it’ll make your other comics turn yellow.”

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Warwick Johnson-Cadwell will write and draw ‘Falconspeare’ graphic novel

Johnson-Cadwell returns to the mysterious world he created with Mike Mignola for the new story.

Warwick Johnson-Cadwell will return to the eerie, Victorian world he and Mike Mignola created in Mr. Higgins Comes Home and Our Encounters with Evil: Adventures of Professor J.T. Meinhardt and His Assistant Mr. Knox for a new graphic novel. Johnson-Cadwell will both write and draw Falconspeare, with letterer Clem Robins.

Falconspeare will feature Professor J.T. Meinhardt, Mr. Knox and Ms. Mary Van Sloan, who appeared in the previous volumes, as they investigate the disappearance of their friend fellow monster hunter, James Falconspeare.

“Evil lurks among dark shadows and in many forms. The vampire, the werewolf, monsters of all kinds,” said Johnson-Cadwell. “We need a particular kind of hero to thwart these evils, and Professor J.T. Meinhardt, Mr. Knox, and Ms. Mary Van Sloan are just those heroes. A cryptic correspondence sets them on a mysterious path which will lead them to diabolic danger and grim reality where evil may lie. Diabolic evil is revealed in grim reality, and an ultimate sacrifice is demanded. Their encounters with evil continue.”

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Mail Call | Momoko’s ‘Demon Days’ continues in June

Plus: News from BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse and more!

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

The first issue of Peach Momoko’s Demon Days arrived last Wednesday, and Marvel took the opportunity to announce the second issue’s title and focus: Demon Days: Mariko.

Mariko is the former fiancée of Wolverine; she was the daughter of a Yakuza boss and eventually took over his duties before dying back in the early 1990s. The issue will also introduce Nightcrawler and Black Widow into this alternate reality Momoko has created.

“The first issue of Demon Days starts off in feudal Japan with Sai (Psylocke)… but the next issue will be completely different. Different timeline, different characters (even the main character is changing), different tone to the story. But it is still a connecting story,” Momoko said.

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Colleen Doran to adapt Neil Gaiman’s ‘Chivalry’

Dark Horse will release the graphic novel adaptation in September.

Colleen Doran will once again adapt a Neil Gaiman short story into a graphic novel later this year. Chivalry will arrive from Dark Horse in September.

Gaiman and Doran’s collaborations go back to the days of Sandman. She has also adapted his short stories for Dark Horse before, including the award-winning Snow, Glass, Apples and Troll Bridge.

“I’ve wanted to do an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Chivalry ever since he sent a draft of the story to me at about 1 a.m. via fax machine decades ago,” Doran said. “It is one of Neil’s loveliest, most charming stories, and I cried with happiness when I learned I would get to do the adaptation. I wear my art on my sleeve throughout, bringing Golden Age illustration styles and Illuminated Manuscript studies to the work. It’s a Holy Grail project for me. I sincerely hope it brings joy to people.”

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Mail Call | Black Cat kicks off Marvel’s ‘Infinite Destinies’ event this summer

Plus more news from Marvel, DC, Image, AfterShock, Dark Horse and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

Last summer the “Infinite Destinies” storyline was supposed to run through several Marvel annuals, including Iron Man, Captain America, Black Cat and Thor, among others. The story revolves around the returning “infinity stones,” those pesky don’t-call-them-infinity-gems MacGuffins that regularly take center stage at Marvel.

Anyway, like with many other things, the COVID pandemic and comics industry shutdown threw a wrench in Marvel’s plans, and those annuals were never released. But now it looks like they are back on the schedule for 2021, with an added prelude comic to kick things off — Black Cat #8 by Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa.

“Felicia Hardy- the Black Cat- gets tangled up with the Infinity Stones, some of the most dangerous prizes in the universe. Felicia may be the most accomplished jewel thief on the planet, but when those jewels hold the power of the cosmos, it’s a whole new ball game. Felicia is in a race against the others who would seek to control the stones for their own ends- like Nick Fury (and a secret someone you won’t see coming!),” MacKay said. “Who can cross the world’s most dangerous men, wrangle a pack of villains hopped up on fragments of infinite power, (hopefully) get the job done and look great all the while? The Black Cat, that’s who!”

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Dark Horse to publish Roye Okupe’s ‘YouNeek YouNiverse’ graphic novels

Dark Horse will publish the first three titles this fall.

Dark Horse Comics and YouNeek Studios‘ founder Roye Okupe will team up to bring Okupe’s self-published graphic novels to a larger audience this fall. Dark Horse will re-publish three of YouNeek Studios graphic novels, which were originally funded on Kickstarter, with plans for new titles as well.

“What we are trying to do over the next few years is create a compelling and immersive universe with our own twist. How? Well, the YouNeek YouNiverse is a massive, interconnected universe of sci-fi, fantasy and superhero content spread across multiple timelines with stories told from an African perspective. Is this ambitious? Yes. Is it impossible? Not at all,” Okupe said. “With this monumental partnership with Dark Horse and the impeccable history, support and infrastructure they bring to the table, we will finally be able to achieve our ultimate goal: create, for a global audience, content that empowers African creatives and storytelling.”

The Nigerian-born creator, who now lives in Maryland, wrote all the books in the “YouNeek YouNiverse,” and teamed with artists from Africa to create the books. This story from the Washington Post earlier this week reveals how the partnership was formed.

“YouNeek Studios is unlike anything in American comics today,” said Dark Horse CEO Mike Richardson. “Roye has brought together a host of amazing African talent telling African stories, and Dark Horse is honored to help further their reach.”

The first three graphic novels Dark Horse will publish are:

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Dark Horse announces ‘Jenny Zero’ for April

The ‘hard-drinking, hard-partying’ daughter of a superhero goes monster-hunting in April.

Dave Dwonch, Brockton McKinney, Magenta King and Megan Huang are teaming up on Jenny Zero, a new series about the ‘celebutante’ daughter of a superhero who tries to give up the party lifestyle to become a superhero herself.

“When Dave and I started working on Jenny Zero we wanted to get back to the idea of making ‘fun comic books’ simply for fun’s sake,” said McKinney, who is co-writing the comic with Dwonch. “And the end product, the idea of an ass-kicking lush who hunts monsters, most certainly is. But as we worked, and as series artist Magenta King began to bring Jenny and her world to life, it also took on the themes of self-responsibility, parental contrition, and the idea that no one but yourself can define who you are. All that, set against the backdrop of off-the-wall characters and otherworldly creatures. But yeah, in the end, it’s still very much about getting a good buzz on and going monster-hunting.”

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New ‘Beasts of Burden’ miniseries tells a story from the past

‘Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory’ heads to post-WW2 Japan in April.

The Eisner-winning Beasts of Burden returns in April with a new miniseries, Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory.

Writers Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer tell a story set in post-World War II, as a member of the Wise Dogs must deal with a curse that creates an army of crawling heads. They’re joined by artist Benjamin Dewey and letterer Nate Piekos, while series co-creator Jill Thompson will provide a variant cover for issue #4.

“I’m very excited to have a new Beasts of Burden story for the fans and I’m extremely happy with the way everything came together working with Sarah, Benjamin and Nate,” Dorkin said. “Why post-war Japan? I used to half-jokingly ask editor Daniel Chabon if we could have his Shiba Inu, Zell. He said we should have a Shiba in the series, instead. One thing led to another, one idea led to three more, and that’s where our latest story of dogs fighting supernatural evil ended up.”

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Dark Horse announces updated Code of Conduct, anti-harassment policies

The announcement follows the serious allegations from last year about former Dark Horse staff and freelancers.

Dark Horse Comics has announced updates to their Code of Conduct, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies on social media, including Facebook and Twitter. The statement comes about six months after the latest wave of sexual harassment and misconduct allegations hit in the comics industry, including additional ones against former Dark Horse editor Scott Allie.

Here’s their full statement:

With the help of outside HR Consultant, McGeachy Consulting, Dark Horse leadership has been reflecting, discussing and implementing new and updated policies to ensure the safety, happiness, and well-being of all employees.

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