Tag: Ellie Wright

Dark Horse returns to ‘Survival Street’ this fall

A second miniseries by James Asmus, Jim Festante, Abylay Kussainov, Ellie Wright and Taylor Esposito begins in September.

Survival Street, the 2022 miniseries that turned the puppets of Sesame Street into freedom fighters, will reload another round this fall.

The original creative team of James Asmus, Jim Festante, Abylay Kussainov, Ellie Wright and Taylor Esposito reunites for Survival Street: The Radical Left, a four-issue miniseries coming from Dark Horse Comics. The satire will feature “battles against A.I., soulless kids’ entertainment, American colonialism and much more.”

“James and I have always been drawn to satire because you can take a really big, really complex issue and use humor to make it accessible,” Festante said. “When it’s not grounded in something you see every day (like anthropomorphic puppets), it’s easier to step back and say, ‘Wow, that’s pretty messed up – how can I address or fix that?’ We wanted people who don’t usually read comics to be excited for Survival Street. I imagine the sets of our little Venn diagram involve an awareness of politics, love of puppets and a desire for catharsis in a world where tech bros pump out AI-driven nonsense for kids whose only goal is to keep little eyes glued to a screen.”

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The Jewish mob confronts U.S. Nazism in ‘Kosher Mafia’

The historical crime thriller by David Hazan and Sami Kivelä arrives in August.

Mad Cave Studios has announced a new historical crime drama, Kosher Mafia, by Nottingham writer David Hazan and Deer Editor artist Sami Kivelä. They’re joined by colorist Ellie Wright and letterer Simon Bowland.

Set in the 1930s, Kosher Mafia is about a Jewish bookkeeper who tries to spur the Jewish mob to fight back against the rising sentiments of Nazism in the American heartland.

“I poured my heart and soul into Kosher Mafia,” Hazan said. “The characters live and breathe and talk like people I know, love or would love to have known, family or otherwise. It’s a crime thriller that’s more than a little transgressive and provocative, and it’s steeped in Jewish Cleveland, where our modern comic book industry was born.”

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Ron Robbins + Laura Braga play a game of ‘Truth or Dare’ with Archie Horror

The one-shot will bring Trula Twyst into the Archie Horror-verse for some fun and games.

I would think one of the fun things about working on the Archie Horror line would be that you could grab your copy of the Archie Encyclopedia, open it to a random page, point at a character and ask, “Ok, what evil thing can we do with them?”

Which brings me to Chilling Adventures Presents … Truth or Dare, a new one-shot announced by Archie this week. It brings a character named Trula Twyst into the Archie Horror universe, and based on her encyclopedia entry, I suspect she was destined to be there all along:

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Take a look at one of the stories from the ‘Death of Comics Bookcase’ anthology

Zack Quaintance and a host of great artists are crowdfunding an anthology of stories as told by a talking bookcase.

Comics blogger Zack Quaintance left his former blog, Comics Bookcase, behind a few years ago, but now he’s circling back to finish it off in Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 1, which is now up on Kickstarter.

“I shut down my comics site a couple years ago to focus on creating comics,” Quaintance said. “Now, I’m dusting it off to tell the tale of the titular Bookcase’s demise. There will be blood…and bookcases…and comics. It’ll be great!”

The 48-page anthology features six stories, all written by Quaintance and featuring artwork by Anna Readman, Nick Cagnetti, Luke Horsman, PJ Holden, Pat Skott, Ryan Lee and more.

Courtesy of Quaintance, we’re pleased to share a preview of one of the stories from the anthology titled Next Door #2, a “subtle neighborhood crime short” that follows up the 2021 comic Next Door, which features art by Skott, colors by Ellie Wright and letters by Rob Jones. You can check out the preview and more information about the book below.

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Sam Maggs + Lisa Sterle bring ‘The Wicked Trinity’ to Greendale High

Sabrina’s not the only teenage witch in Greendale.

Sabrina Spellman’s old high school is getting a new class of witches in The Wicked Trinity, a one-shot written by Sam Maggs with art by Lisa Sterle. They’re joined by colorist Ellie Wright and letterer Jack Morelli for the project.

“Real witches writing real witches — that’s how we do things over at Archie Comics!” Maggs said. “I was named after a famous witch — Samantha from Bewitched — and so I grew up absolutely obsessed with everything witchcraft, devouring every book series I could about teen witches. That makes Wicked Trinity a dream project for me.”

The one-shot will feature Amber Nightstone, Jade Kazane and Sapphire Gill, who have appeared in Archie classic, all-ages titles, but this will be their first appearance in Archie’s line of comics for older readers.

“When Editor-In-Chief Mike Pellerito came up with the idea of the Wicked Trinity, I was immediately intrigued,” said Archie’s Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante. “I even had the good fortune to work on the script for Jade and Sapphire’s first appearance in last year’s Sabrina Annual Spectacular comic for younger readers. What I especially loved about these magical teens is that they could seamlessly transcend from classic-Archie stories into more mature, even horror stories. I was eager to start developing their world with a modern sensibility, taking cues from the great work of Kelly Thompson and Veronica Fish on our Sabrina the Teenage Witch series, and Sarah Kuhn and Carola Borelli on our recent Darkling one-shot. Inspired by series like Charmed and films like The Craft, I knew there was so much potential to build up this coven in a story that beautifully blends magical fantasy with horror.”

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Exclusive Preview | ‘The Jaguar’ leaps back into action next month at Archie Comics

Check out a preview of a new one-shot by Keryl Brown Ahmed and Tango.

Courtesy of our friends at Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present an exclusive preview of next month’s The Jaguar one-shot by Keryl Brown Ahmed, Tango, Ellie Wright and Jack Morelli.

“I absolutely loved updating The Jaguar, a character with a rich history and a few different iterations,” Brown Ahmed said. “First of all, I’m a cat person, so a feline-themed superhero delights me to no end. I chose to center this story on Ivette embracing her heritage because, coming from a multiethnic background myself, it’s something I struggle with. I think it’s important for first- and second-generation Americans to find ways to connect with their family’s cultures of origin because, in my experience anyway, it increases self-worth and gratitude for those who came before us.”

Zoologist Ivette Velez is the current Jaguar and star of the one-shot. Her predecessor, Ralph Hardy, debuted in 1961 and passed the mantle on to her in a New Crusaders story by Ian Flynn and Ben Bates about 10 years ago. This new story has Velez heading to Peru to investigate the mysterious deaths of the Pampas cats of Northern Peru.

“I appreciate that Ivette is a character who clearly still carries much of her trauma pretty close to the surface,” Tango said. “Keryl organically shows that in the ways Ivette maintains an aloof (and catlike), antisocial streak in her approach to others. That also takes on new layers when she shifts into her Jaguar persona.”

Check out the preview and solicitation text below, and look for The Jaguar when it hits store shelves on Feb. 21.

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The Jaguar returns to action in a one-shot next year

Keryl Brown Ahmed and Tango send the Mighty Crusader to Peru for a solo adventure.

Jaguar, the New Crusaders character who debuted in 2012, leaps into a one-shot this February, courtesy of writer Keryl Brown Ahmed (Big Ethel Energy), artist Tango (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), colorist Ellie Wright, and letterer Jack Morelli.

Zoologist Ivette Velez is the most recent character to use the Jaguar name; her predecessor, Ralph Hardy, first debuted in 1961 and passed the mantle on to her in a story by writer Ian Flynn and artist Ben Bates. This new one-shot follows up on that story, as Jaguar heads to Peru to confront a predator that’s killing off wild cats.

“The character’s long history and many iterations provided a great creative foundation for me while also leaving plenty of room to explore The Jaguar’s character in ways that felt exciting and authentic,” Ahmed said. “I’m very grateful to Archie Comics for entrusting me with her, and I’m excited to see where she goes next!”

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Meet some ‘Nice Jewish Boys’ by Neil Kleid + John Broglia + Ellie Wright

The five-issue miniseries will debut on Comixology in November.

Neil Kleid has never shied away from writing about his faith, in books like Brownsville and The Big Kahn. This fall he teams again with artist John Broglia, who he worked with on Savor, for a new series from Comixology Originals called Nice Jewish Boys.

Rejoining them are colorist Ellie Wright and editor Sarah Litt for a story about “a modern day Jewish crime drama set in suburban New Jersey.”

“Nice Jewish Boys is about a modern Orthodox / religious Jewish community and communities like it — somewhat insular, judgmental and pious, maybe a tad hypocritical to the point of criminal,” Kleid said. “And like all good stories, it’s about the author. It’s about my fears and anxieties and what it might be like to succumb to frustration with a beloved system that can also be restrictive and expensive…and, in many cases, unjust and unfair to certain people who love what it offers in terms of faith, community and an elusive connection to something far greater than ourselves if only it would put aside the entitlement, judgment, and unwillingness to change.”

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Darkling takes the spotlight in a one-shot by Kuhn + Borelli

The one-shot will explore The Mighty Crusaders character’s mysterious origins and powers.

After reappearing in recent issues of Archie’s digest line, Darkling will appear in a new one-shot aimed at older readers this fall.

Writer Sarah Kuhn and artist Carola Borelli will tell the “dark academia” tale of the character, who first appeared in the Mighty Crusaders back in 1983. They’re joined by colorist Ellie Wright and letterer Jack Morelli for a story that “explores the character’s origins and her mysterious powers of teleportation in the sinister halls of Ivy Hollow University.” Darkling’s powers are somewhat dark, to say the least — she can teleport evildoers to another dimension through her cloak.

“Sarah Kuhn’s impressive work on Shadow of the Batgirl and Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story made her a perfect choice to tell the story of Darla Lang,” said Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante. “This one-shot explores more of her life, demystifying the character who was once defined by being cloaked in shadows. And we’re excited to work once again with artist Carola Borelli, who has a wonderful grasp of character designs and setting the right mood to tell a story.”

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Archie will reveal its first trans character in ‘Strange Science’ one-shot

Danni Malloy, who first appeared in the Archie Horror line on Free Comic Book Day, will star in the one-shot that arrives in August.

Archie Comics has announced the next one-shot in the Archie Horror line, Chilling Adventures Presents… Strange Science, which will arrive in August by writer Magdalene Visaggio and artist Butch Mapa.

They’re joined by colorist Ellie Wright and letterer by Jack Morelli on the title, which will once again feature the character Danni Malloy, who will be revealed to be a trans woman in the story.

“I’ve been wanting to make this happen for a long time, and it’s really cool to see it finally come to fruition,” Visaggio said. “I never wanted Danni’s trans identity to be gimmicky, or for her to feel like she was only created to be trans. So, I’d like to apologize for sneaking her over the line like this! I wanted you to have a chance to fall in love with her for who she is, not what she is. I’m honored I got to make it happen, and I’m grateful to Archie for never, not even once, pushing back on my insistence on making their books a little bit more queer. I hope Danni finds a good home at Archie with supportive writers and artists helping to keep her alive for years to come.”

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Li’l Jinx returns to Archie Horror for ‘A Cursed Life’

Magdalene Visaggio and Craig Cermak reunite for a new story featuring the mischievous Jinx.

Jinx Holliday, aka Li’l Jinx, the classic Archie Comics character who was born on Halloween, will return to the world of Archie Horror in Chilling Adventures Presents … Jinx: A Cursed Life.

Jinx made the jump to Archie’s more frightening imprint last year in an anthology that featured a framing story by Magdalene Visaggio and Craig Cermak. They’ll reunite for this new story featuring the character in a comic-length adventure, joined by colorist Ellie Wright and letterer Jack Morelli.

“It is a blast to not only continue Jinx’s exploits but to now venture into the occult and otherworldly!” Cermak said. “Throughout this tale’s hellish predicament, getting to develop the charmingly hilarious interplay between Jinx and Danni is a particular stand-out as an artist—so much room for very fun expressions and mannerisms. Modernizing both characters has been a true honor. The scripts by Magdalene continue to be sharp, fast-paced delights, providing a great mix of humor and horror for me to go wild. Rock ’n’ roll, flying burgers, possession, and friends who’ve got your back—what more could you ask for?”

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Slugfest | DC’s Dark Crisis expands with additional tie-ins, one-shots

Check out recent announcements about ‘Batman Inc.,’ ‘Survival Street’ and more.

With Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis now available this week, DC has announced some additional tie-ins and specials associated with the event.

First come two new one-shots, starring the sons of Superman and Batman:

The Supersons are going on separate missions to stop Pariah’s attacks on the Multiverse! In October’s Dark Crisis: The Deadly Green #1, Jon Kent joins forces with Swamp Thing, John Constantine and more to explore the spread of the Great Darkness’s influence on the Multiverse and beyond. While in November’s Dark Crisis: The Dark Army #1, Damian Wayne, Doctor Light and a ragtag team of heroes cross enemy lines to steal control of the Dark Army from Pariah. But in the process uncover a secret about Doctor Light’s place in Crisis on Infinite Earths that rocks the future of the DCU! Creative talent teams for both issues will be announced at a later date.

They also announced that The Flash crossover issues will expand by an issue:

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