Tag: graphic novels

Exclusive Preview | Jessica Oublié  + Nicola Gobbi’s ‘Toxic Tropics’

Jessica Oublié and Nicola Gobbi look at the impact a pesticide has had on life in the French Antilles in their new graphic novel.

Courtesy of Street Noise Books, today we have an exclusive preview of Toxic Tropics, the upcoming graphic novel by writer Jessica Oublié and artist Nicola Gobbi.

The graphic novel explores the use of the chemical Chlordecone on the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, even after it was discovered to be toxic to people and wildlife. Originally produced by a company called LifeSciences in Virginia, the chemical was used in pesticides in the 1960s and 1970s, until the company shut down after it was found they were poisoning the James River. But in the French Antilles, farmers continued to use the pesticide even after it was banned there in 1993. Oublié learned of the chemical’s impact when she moved to Guadeloupe and has interviewed scientists, government officials and locals about the decision to keep using it.

Check out the preview and more information provided by the publisher below, along with a video featuring Oublié discussing her work. Toxic Tropics will arrive in stores on Dec. 10.

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Oni announces ‘The Goddamn Tragedy’ by Chris Condon + Shawn Kuruneru

The vicious Western draws from the real-life story of the Donner Party.

That Texas Blood writer Chris Condon is teaming up with Fishflies artist Shawn Kuruneru for the Western thriller The Goddamn Tragedy, a new graphic novel that Oni Press will publish next year.

While the story is fiction, it does draw from the real-life tale of the Donner Party in the mid-1800s, whose ill-fated journey from Illinois to California became infamous when members of the party resorted to murder and cannibalism during a harsh winter spent in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

“I had been reading about the tragic Donner Party of 1846 and an idea struck me: there’s a story here to tell, one that could capture the psychological tumult a family endures as they are faced with an impossible decision: kill…or be killed,” Condon said. “We all know how the Donner Party played out, but we don’t know how things work out for the Janson family and that’s a story that the masterful Shawn Kuruneru and I are all too excited to tell. Thankfully, we’ve found a great home for this one-shot of survivalist terror at Oni Press who excels at telling gut-wrenching tales from beyond the pale.”

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Chip Kidd + Michael Cho team for a graphic novel featuring the original Avengers

Abrams will release the high-end hardcover next year.

Writer and designer Chip Kidd will team with artist Michael Cho for The Avengers in the Veracity Trap, a graphic novel coming next year from Abrams Books’ MarvelArts line. The 64-page hardcover will retail for $25.99.

Abrams published the award-winning Fantastic Four: Full Circle by Alex Ross, as well as the expanded edition that was recently released and features a lot of extras.

“Writing this book was really just an excuse to see Michael Cho depict glorious, epic, jaw-dropping sequential storytelling with these iconic characters that we love so much. He more than delivered,” Kidd said. “Oh, and it was also my ultimate comics ego trip, which Abrams and Marvel actually allowed me to take. I still don’t know why but I am beyond grateful.”

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Oni Press will publish Patrick Horvath’s ‘Free For All’ next March

Billionaires defend their riches in ritual combat in the graphic novel.

Oni Press has announced plans to publish Free For All, a graphic novel written and drawn by acclaimed creator Patrick Horvath, next year. Horvath is the creator of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, the excellent “cozy horror” miniseries published by IDW, and previously funded Free For All on Zoop.

Free For All seems to have dropped the “cozy” and replaced it with “brutal greed.” It’s set in a world where the world’s richest people are forced to either donate money to charity or face off in ritual combat to defend their millions.

“I’m thrilled that Free For All has found a home with Oni Press,” said Horvath. “The idea for it came from an immense frustration with the state of society almost a decade ago, and with the issues of the world as they stand now, it’s only become more relevant. I’m so glad this book has a chance now to reach a wide audience.”

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Guest Q&A | Hanna Harms on ‘Milk Without Honey’

The new graphic novel from Street Noise Books showcases the important role bees play in our overall ecosystem.

Today we’re pleased to present a guest interview with Milk Without Honey creator Hanna Harms, conducted by her publisher, Street Noise Books publisher Liz Frances. If you’re not familiar with the graphic novel, it offers an up-close-and-personal look at the life of bees — their hives, their colonies and their interactions with the ecosystem. It explores the impact that our actions as humans are having on them and, as a result, on agriculture and the worldwide food supply. The graphic novel is available now.

by Liz Frances

Of all the many creatures on the planet, why have you chosen to write about bees?

Milk Without Honey started as my thesis in 2019. The year before, I read an article about how closely the cultural history of humanity is interwoven with the history of bees. While news about the insect extinction were becoming more and more frequent worldwide, I couldn’t get this paradox between the almost divine elevation of bees and the ruthless destruction of their habitat by humans out of my mind.

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Oni Press will publish Meredith McClaren’s ‘Meat Eaters’ next year

The horror graphic novel is about a woman who dies and wakes up to a new reality.

Black Cloak artist Meredith McClaren is back with a new graphic novel landing next year from Oni Press. Meat Eaters, a horror story about a woman whose life changes when she dies and wakes up as something else, will arrive in stores next July.

“Meat Eaters is an ode to all the teen horror television I lovingly consumed over the years,” McClaren said. “Where there are bad things in the world, sometimes they hurt you, and sometimes that makes you change in ways you do not like.”

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‘Hulk Teach!’ by Jeffrey Brown will arrive next school year

Marvel and Scholastic team up to present a lesson in patience and anger management in the worst environment possible.

Marvel has announced a smash-worthy new graphic novel by Jeffrey Brown, creator of Batman and Robin and Howard and Clumsy, among many other projects. Hulk Teach! shows what happens when you give Dr. Bruce Banner a job as a middle school teacher.

The middle-grade graphic novel, which comes as part of the publishing partnership between Scholastic and Marvel, arrives next August.

“Marvel Comics were a big part of my childhood, so when Scholastic asked if I’d be interested in doing a middle grade series with Marvel super heroes, I immediately knew I wanted to—I just didn’t know which characters I wanted to write about,” Brown said. “Doing talks at schools gave me the inspiration I needed. I was watching teachers navigate their days with more patience than I have and realized it would be really funny to see Bruce Banner try to teach middle school without getting frustrated and turning into the Hulk. I was also excited for the chance to write a version of Hulk I had in mind, somewhere between smart Hulk and dumb Hulk – and of course he’s fun to draw, so it all fit together nicely!”

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Dark Horse will publish Richard Corben’s final graphic novel

A special edition hardcover of ‘Dimwood’ will arrive next April.

As part of their publishing partnership with Fantagor Press, Dark Horse Comics has announced plans to release the final work of legendary underground artist Richard Corben, who passed away in 2020.

Dimwood is about a woman who returns to her childhood home to try to recover missing pieces in her memory. Written and illustrated by Corben and lettered by Nate Piekos, the hardcover includes a dust jacket, an introduction by author Joe Lansdale, an epilogue by project art director José Villarrubia and other bonus material.

“I’m excited to share his new story that he poured all of his imagination and artistic vision into,” his widow, Dona Corben, said in 2022 when the partnership was announced. “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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Smash Pages Q&A | Matt Bors + Ben Clarkson on ‘Justice Warriors: Vote Harder’

The creators of the dystopian satire sequel graphic novel talk about their secret origins, being ‘plagiarized’ by real-world events, meatball riots, buddy-cop bro-mances and more.

I’m not sure if Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson could have asked for better timing for their new graphic novel, Justice Warriors: Vote Harder, which arrives in stores today.

Now, obviously, it is election season here in the U.S., and their sequel to the first Justice Warriors miniseries is focused on an election in the fictional city of Bubble City — so that tracks. But when the project was announced by Ahoy Comics, they had no idea that it would arrive the day after the second presidential debate or that said debate would feature different candidates than the first debate.

If you read the first Justice Warriors miniseries, you know that the story drew heavily from the headlines, twisting our reality into a dystopian satire series that poked fun at capitalism and law enforcement in a future of severe inequality — and one populated by mutants. This time around our two protagonists, Swamp Cop and Schitt, get pulled into the chaos of the first Bubble City elections that have happened in, like, forever.

I spoke with Bors and Clarkson about the new graphic novel, their work process, why they went with an OGN instead of another miniseries and more. I thank them both for their time — or at least the concept of their time.

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Image Comics will release Emma Ríos’ ‘Anzuelo’ in November

The original graphic novel tells a dystopian story about how the rising Sea impacts three kids.

Emma Ríos, the Eisner-winning artist whose work includes Pretty Deadly, Doctor Strange, Osborn and more, returns in November with Anzuelo, an original graphic novel she’s written and drawn.

Image Comics describes the project as “gorgeous and brutal,” as it features a world where the capital-S Sea has risen up to absorb the world.

“No matter how carefully you plan a project like this, the work and the creator always transform and adapt due to learning and experimentation. I wanted to write the Sea under my skin, and I’m fortunate to have become someone else in the process,” Ríos said.

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Meet Ballpoint, the worst Transformer ever, in Skybound’s upcoming young adult graphic novel

Writer Brian “Smitty” Smith and artist Marz Jr. tell the story of a Decepticon who is bad at being bad.

Following the success of their best-selling and Eisner Award-winning Transformers reboot, Skybound will expand their partnership with Hasbro with Transformers: Worst Bot Ever: Meet Ballpoint, the first in a series of young adult graphic novels featuring the Transformers.

Writer Brian “Smitty” Smith and artist Marz Jr. will tell the story of Ballpoint, a Decepticon who gets kicked off the team for being horrible at his job. So he decides to try and take down the Autobots by himself.

“It’s been awesome bringing Ballpoint to life,” Smith said. “Getting to add a brand-new character to the Transformers universe is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” 

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Smash Pages Q&A | Fred Van Lente + Tom Fowler on ‘Gamemasters: The Comic Book History of Roleplaying Games’

The graphic novel that explores the history of all your favorite tabletop RPGs is currently funding on Kickstarter from Clover Press.

Fred Van Lente and Tom Fowler are no strangers to creating engaging comics that not only entertain, but also inform. Together they worked on the Re: Ignition, a tie-in of Nick Dragotta’s Howtoons series that encouraged kids to take part in do-it-yourself science projects. And Van Lente has been working for many years with artist Ryan Dunlavey on Action Philosophers and other non-fiction comics that use the medium in a fun, educational way.

Combine that with Fowler’s background in drawing for tabletop roleplaying games, and you’ve got the perfect team to create Gamemasters: The Comic Book History of Roleplaying Games. Clover Press launched a crowdfunding project for the graphic novel earlier this week, which you can find on Kickstarter.

“Fred and Tom are both hardcore gamers, and it shows in this meticulously researched history of the tabletop RPG,” said Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz. “Their passion for gaming comes through in their dramatic and often humorous take on how and why these games work, and why we love them so.”

The project has already blown past its goal like a fireball flying down a dungeon corridor, looking to roast a host of kobolds. But you can still get in on the fun; the crowdfunding project will run through Aug. 22.

I spoke with the two creators about the project, what attracted them to it and their own histories with RPGs.

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