Free Comic Book Day 2024 Gold sponsors include DC, Marvel and more

Free comics featuring Spider-Man, Hellboy, Jonny Quest, Encanto and more will be available next year on May 4.

Diamond has revealed the “Gold Sponsor” comic publishers and titles for Free Comic Book Day 2024, which includes Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and more. A dozen comics from the gold sponsors will be available during next year’s event, which is scheduled for May 4.

“We’re looking forward to another great year of celebrating comic books and comic book shops!” said Ashton Greenwood, Free Comic Book Day spokesperson. “This year’s lineup has a title for everyone. Whether you’re new to comics or a longtime reader, you’re sure to find a title that grabs your attention. And with the event falling on Star Wars Day this year, that adds a little extra excitement to the day!”

Interestingly, DC returns to the list for 2024, promoting an “exciting new project” that’ll be revealed at a later date. Since DC left Diamond back in 2020, they’ve participated in the event, but their books were not promoted by Diamond nor were they included on the Free Comic Book Day website.

Here’s a look at the gold sponsor titles, many of which are teasers rather than actual announcements. The extensive silver sponsor title list will be announced later this week.

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Dark Horse announces the mech vs. kaiju comic ‘Dawnrunner’

Ram V, Evan Cagle, Dave Stewart and Aditya Bidikar helm the new title, which launches next spring.

Writer Ram V and artist Evan Cagle will team up for a new miniseries from Dark Horse Comics titled Dawnrunner, which tells the story of an Earth invaded by kaiju and the mech pilots who keep them at bay.

They’re joined by colorist Dave Stewart and letterer Aditya Bidikar for the five-issue series.

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Dark Horse announces ‘Goblin: The Wolf and the Well’ for next July

Eric Grissom and Will Perkins send Rikt the goblin to school.

Eric Grissom and Will Perkins’ Goblin graphic novel was pretty great, so I’m happy to see that Dark Horse has announced a sequel, The Wolf and the Well, for next year.

The second volume in the story of the goblin named Rikt will find him facing his greatest challenge — school.

“After Rikt’s first adventure in Goblin, I knew I wanted to throw him up against something even bigger and scarier than a blood-thirsty warrior with a tattooed face,” said Grissom, “and what’s more frightening for a kid than a new school? But there’s so much more going on at Underwood than homework. Rikt and his best-wolf, Fish-breath, are in for a rough ride, but at least they’ll make some friends along the way…and, unfortunately, some enemies, too. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell the difference. I can’t wait for readers to discover the mysteries behind Underwood’s iron gates.”

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King, Evely, Lopes + Cowles reunite for ‘Helen of Wyndhorn’

“It’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ meets Conan.”

The award-winning Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow team will reunite for a new title coming from Dark Horse Comics next year.

Helen of Wyndhorn by writer Tom King, artists Bilquis Evely and Matheus Lopes, and letterer Clayton Cowles will tell the story of the daughter of a deceased pulp fiction writer who finds out his creations live in the woods outside his house.

“It’s Wuthering Heights meets Conan,” King said on Twitter. “It’s thrilling, gothic, heartbreaking, heartwarming and SO beautiful. If you dug Supergirl, this book’s for you.”

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Slugfest | ‘Titans: Beast World’ has giant starfish and lenticular covers

Plus more news and announcements on Canto, Nomads, Batman, Blue Book, Star Wars and more.

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

DC has released a preview of the upcoming Titans: Beast World miniseries, which was announced this past summer. The crossover event will feature a main series by Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis and Danny Miki, with various tie-ins throughout.

The story centers on The Necrostar, a giant space starfish that rivals Starro and who the Titans, along with the rest of the DC Universe, team up to fight. Along the way, they somehow end up being turned into animal versions of themselves. Beast Boy, in fact, will show that it takes a giant starfish to stop a giant starfish, as he transforms into a version of Starro himself.

Here’s a preview, along with a look at the main cover, which is by Ivan Reis, Danny Miki and Brad Anderson:

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‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: The Hidden Codex’ arrives from Dark Horse next year

Writer Mathieu Gabella and artist Paolo Traisci tell another tale set in the video game world.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was released almost three years ago, bringing vikings into the popular video game world. The game proved to have a long shelf life, as developer Ubisoft continued to release new content for it over the course of two years, finally releasing a new game for the franchise this year — Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which is actually a prequel to Valhalla.

Dark Horse helped expend the world of Valhalla since its release, putting out several miniseries and now, as announced earlier this week, they plan to release a hardcover graphic novel by writer Mathieu Gabella and artist Paolo Traisci.

“We were very lucky to work with Mathieu Gabella and Paolo Traisci, two long-standing fans of the franchise who infused their love and deep knowledge of our lore in this book. Fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this mysterious tale which expands Assassin’s Creed Valhalla across uncharted territories,” said Etienne Bouvier, Senior Transmedia Content Manager.

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Kindt + McDaid go dimension-hopping in the ‘scuzzy cosmic sci-fi’ story ‘If You Find This, I’m Already Dead’

The miniseries from Flux House/Dark Horse Comics arrives next year.

Matt Kindt and Dan McDaid will go multi-dimensional next year in If You Find This, I’m Already Dead, a new miniseries about a reporter whose job takes her on a cosmic odyssey.

“If Moebius, Richard Corben and Jack Kirby had a baby…well…they actually did. And it’s us,” Kindt said. “We wanted to capture the great tradition of such great sci-fi magazines as Heavy Metal, Epic Magazine and 1984 with a big scuzzy cosmic sci-fi story and format.”

Kindt and McDaid will be joined by colorist Bill Crabtree and letterer Jim Campbell on the project, which will be released through Kindt’s Flux House imprint at Dark Horse Comics.

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Viking bankers go to war in ‘Kill All Immortals’

Zack Kaplan, Fico Ossio + team present a new tale starring Erik the Red in the modern day.

Ahead of New York Comic Con this weekend, Dark Horse Comics has announced Kill All Immortals by prolific writer Zack Kaplan, artist Fico Ossio, colorist Jordie Bellaire, designer Tom Muller and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

The story will feature famed Viking explorer Erik the Red, who discovered the secret of immortality and runs a banking empire in the modern world. His daughter decides to leave the family business, which leads to a savage conflict with the rest of her family.

Kill All Immortals is my 10th creator-owned series to date and I am so freaking thrilled to return to Dark Horse Comics,” said Kaplan, “a publisher that is a pinnacle for supernatural action comics, from Hellboy to Black Hammer. And I’m stoked to be joined in combat by this team of immortal and cutthroat comic warriors, Fico Ossio, Jordie Bellaire, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Oliver Barrett, Tom Muller and the entire Dark Horse family, all ready to bring this series to life.”

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Slugfest | Soule + Alburquerque continue ‘The Shrouded College’ storyline in a new miniseries

Plus: News and announcements about Star Wars, Sea Serpent’s Heir, Richard Corben, Kingdom Come, Stranger Things and more.

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

Charles Soule and Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque will present the second of seven interconnected miniseries in “The Shrouded College” saga that started with Soule and Will Sliney’s Hell to Pay.

The Bloody Dozen will run for six issues and kicks off in December.

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YouTuber Karl Jacobs teams with Dave Scheidt, Kelly and Nichole Matthews for his first comic

‘Time Traveler Tales’ will arrive from Dark Horse Comics this winter.

Karl Jacobs, a cast member of the mega-popular MrBeast YouTube channel and a popular YouTube streamer in his own right, will work with writer Dave Scheidt and artists Kelly and Nichole Matthews on Time Traveler Tales.

The five-issue miniseries will adapt Jacobs’ “popular Minecraft streaming series, Tales from the SMP, into their very own comic series.”

“I am so excited for this book!” said Scheidt. “Working with Karl and Kelly and Nichole and Dark Horse has been a thrill. Karl’s created such a fun world to play around in and getting to tell new stories in that world with such an incredible creative team is an honor.”

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Bendis + Maleev will deliver a ‘Masterpiece’ in December

The six-issue miniseries features a 16-year-old genius who learns her parents were master criminals.

Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev are reuniting on a new series from Bendis’ Jinxworld imprint at Dark Horse. Masterpiece will star the daughter of two famous criminals who gets pulled into the life when their last victim comes for revenge.

Bendis and Maleev have been working together for more than two decades now, from Sam & Twitch for Todd McFarlane to Moon Knight and Daredevil at Marvel to their creator-owned series Scarlet.

“Anytime we’re given an opportunity to work together, we take it very seriously to make sure it’s everything it should be. I don’t want to waste a moment of his time. A lot of thought goes into what we do,” Bendis told the Hollywood Reporter.

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Deck the claws with boughs of Hellboy

Mike Mignola and Matt Smith present a holiday story featuring Hellboy and a giant cat.

I’d never heard of Jólakötturinn, the “ferocious Yule Cat of Icelandic folklore,” who is said to lurk about “the snowy countryside during Christmas time and eats people who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve.” Let’s hope Hellboy remembered to buy a new outfit, because he’ll be facing off with the Yule Cat in a new special this December.

It’s by Barbarian Lord creator Matt Smith, with colors by Chris O’Halloran and letters by Clem Robins, and of course the oversight of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola (whose birthday was yesterday! Happy belated birthday, Mike Mignola!)

“The land of fire and ice, trolls and necropants, Iceland is as natural a setting for a Hellboy story as any I could think of,” Smith said. “Set in 1990 and coming close to the events of the Hellboy: Bones of Giants, Hellboy likely hasn’t forgotten about the wrath of old Norse giants. But a giant, child-eating cat—that would be something new.”

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