Tag: graphic novels

Smash Pages Playlist | Yudori shares the songs that helped inspire ‘Lovers of the Empire’

From early K-Pop pioneers Sobangcha to the 1950s pop of The Chordettes, check out the songs the artist listened to while creating this romantic coming-of-age story.

Raging Clouds creator Yudori returns this week with Lovers of the Empire, the first book from Takumigraphics, Fantagraphics’ new imprint dedicated to East Asian comics. The romantic coming-of-age story is set in 1920s Korea, where a budding relationship unfolds against the complicated backdrop of Japanese occupation, social upheaval and a rapidly changing society.

To accompany the book, Yudori has shared with us a playlist of songs that connect to the characters, themes and atmosphere of the story. Below, she explains the thinking behind her selections, and we’ve embedded the playlist so you can listen along as she takes you into the world of the graphic novel. Enjoy some tunes, and check out Lovers of the Empire, which is in stores today.

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Doug Wagner + Daniel Hillyard reunite for ‘I Love Apocalyptic Zombie Misfits!’ at Clover Press

The ‘Plastic,’ ‘Plush’ and ‘Narco’ creators return with a supernatural horror comedy about zombies, psychics, Heaven and Hell, and homicidal chickens. Check out our exclusive preview.

The Fourth Leaf, the new creator-owned imprint from Clover Press, is officially getting underway with a graphic novel that seems tailor-made for the imprint’s promise of “bold, bloody and pulpy stories”: I Love Apocalyptic Zombie Misfits! by Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard.

The longtime collaborators behind Plastic, Plush, Vinyl and Narco are back together for a supernatural horror comedy that features a pacifist, a psychic kid, a really big serial killer, the forces of Heaven and Hell, and, of course, a squad of murderous chickens.

Courtesy of Clover Press, we’re pleased to offer an exclusive preview of the new graphic novel, which launched today on Kickstarter.

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Smash Pages Q&A | Matthew Dow Smith on ‘Amelia Shadows’ + ‘The October Girl’

The writer and artist talks about his newest book, ‘Amelia Shadows and the Monster in the Box,’ giving his editors nightmares with his creative process, and more.

Over the course of 30 years, Matthew Dow Smith has built a career that has taken him everywhere from Hellboy and The X-Files to DC and Marvel. But in recent years, the writer and artist has been able to work, as he says, “with the training wheels off,” embracing middle-grade and young adult graphic novels that better reflect the kinds of stories he’s always wanted to tell.

That creative shift has resulted in two growing fantasy series arriving just months apart. Amelia Shadows and the Monster in the Box debuted this week from Papercutz, continuing the adventures of the curious young heroine. Meanwhile, The October Girl Book Three arrives from Mad Cave’s Maverick imprint (in October, naturally), which expands the mythology of the supernatural world Smith has been developing for decades. I caught up with him to discuss both series, how all-ages comics unlocked a new level of creativity for him and how finding the right audience has transformed his career.

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Picture + Panel | Damian Alexander + Alex Krokus on expressing grief in their comics

The two cartoonists reflect on grief, memory and how personal stories can help readers feel a little less alone.

Grief, loss and the ways we carry them are deeply personal, but they’re also themes that have inspired some of comics’ most powerful stories. For its latest Picture + Panel discussion, the Boston Comic Arts Foundation brought together cartoonists Alex Krokus and Damian Alexander for a conversation about processing death and grief through their work, drawing on both their creative approaches and deeply personal experiences.

Damian Alexander is a cartoonist and storyteller who grew up around Boston. He created the graphic novels Hand-Me-Down, Other Boys and Absolutely Everything. When Damian isn’t doodling or making comics, he can be found rearranging his dollhouse and caring for his terrariums. Damian lives in New England with his husband and their cat and dog.

Alex Krokus is a cartoonist and animator based out of Brooklyn, New York. His work has been published by VICE, Buzzfeed, the New York Times, Comedy Central, the Tribeca Film Festival, and the Food and Drug Administration. The latest volume of his webcomic series, Loud & Smart, was published by Silver Sprocket in a volume titled Loudest & Smartest.

Our thanks as always to Gina Gagliano and Jason Viola, who organize the monthly series in Boston and brought this Q&A series to Smash Pages.

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With ‘Teen Titans: Together’ wrapped, Kami Garcia + Gabriel Picolo look to the future with a book tour, more graphic novels

Fans of the Young Adult graphic novel series will be happy to learn the team will next focus on a new series with Kid Flash and Blue Beetle.

Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo’s Teen Titans: Together arrives in stores today, wrapping up the Young Adult graphic novel series that started about eight years ago — back when DC was using the DC Zoom and DC Ink imprints for their graphic novels aimed at younger readers. In each volume, Garcia and Picolo slowly reintroduced each member of the Teen Titans, from Raven to Beast Boy to Raven AND Beast Boy, then Robin and Starfire, with the final volume bringing everyone together.

“This series changed my life,” said Picolo. “We’ve shared so many unforgettable moments with fans around the world, and we’re excited to celebrate this final chapter together. I see these characters as my friends. The more I draw them, the more fun it gets. Some of my favorite moments came from drawing these characters the same way I’d draw my own friends just hanging out, and Kami and I are always blown away when fans show up in cosplay inspired by those everyday looks from the books.”

The series out-survived its imprint, proving to be mega-popular and critically acclaimed.

“Teen Titans has been one of the most rewarding creative journeys of our careers,” said Garcia. “We’ve loved telling stories with these characters and watching readers connect with Raven, Beast Boy and the rest of the Titans over the years. We grew alongside these characters, and these characters grew alongside the readers who embraced them from the very beginning.”

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Dark Horse will adapt ‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ stage play

The graphic novel brings the award-winning stage play to the printed page next January.

Dark Horse has announced a new entry in their long-running Stranger Things line — an adaptation of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the stage play that serves as a prequel to the Netflix series. Rachel Pinnelas and Jake Bartok will adapt it into an 80-page graphic novel that’ll arrive in January.

The play is currently running at London’s Phoenix Theatre and New York’s Marquis Theatre, and tells the story of Henry Creel, a.k.a. the villainous Vecna, when he was a teenager in the late 1950s.

The play opened to five-star reviews in 2023 and has racked up an extensive awards haul since, including multiple Olivier Awards and Critics’ Circle Awards, and a WhatsOnStage Award for “Best New Play.” It also took home four Tony Awards in 2025. The production marked Netflix’s first foray into theatre, and has sold nearly 1.6 million tickets across its West End and Broadway runs with more than 1,500 performances. The play was written by Kate Trefry from an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Trefry, and the Duffer Brothers have confirmed that the play is canon to the series.

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Image will release ‘The Trap’ by Bears legend Lance Briggs + Kyle Higgins + Danilo Beyruth this fall

Sports and comics collide in this graphic novel.

Image Comics will publish a new edition of The Trap by seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker and former Chicago Bear Lance Briggs, Massive-verse architect Kyle Higgins and Catwoman artist Danilo Beyruth.

The project was originally crowdfunded back in 2020, bringing in more than $40,000 on Kickstarter.

“I love working with interesting people and from the moment I met Lance—over a decade ago—I was impressed by how much his love of comics and storytelling was at the forefront of all our conversations, to say nothing of his desire to tell new stories in new corners of fiction,” said Higgins. “We started this journey to make The Trap—what we like to call an interstellar sports noir—over six years ago. Now, I’m so excited to share what we’ve built with the world.”

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Exclusive | Bit Bot reveals ‘Thief: Pulse of Promise’ apparel ahead of crowdfunding campaign

Bit Bot unveils officially licensed shirts, hats and hoodies inspired by the classic video game franchise ahead of the BackerKit campaign for its new graphic novel.

One of gaming’s most influential stealth franchises is returning as a graphic novel, and we’ve got a first look at some of the merchandise that will accompany it. You can sign up to find out when the campaign will launch on its BackerKit page.

We’re happy to exclusively reveal the first apparel from Bit Bot’s upcoming Thief: Pulse of Promise crowdfunding campaign, including officially licensed T-shirts, hoodies and hats celebrating Garrett and the world of Thief. The collectibles will accompany the publisher’s upcoming BackerKit campaign for the new graphic novel, which bridges the events of Thief: The Dark Project and Thief II: The Metal Age.

Written by Joshua Viola and Sean Eads, with artwork by Emanuele Ercolani and Gianluca Papi, Thief: Pulse of Promise follows master thief Garrett after what appears to be a routine burglary spirals into a mystery involving forgotten Keeper secrets, hidden powers beneath the city and a young boy whose fate could shape the future. The story is set between the original Thief and Thief II: The Metal Age and includes appearances by fan-favorite characters Artemus and Father Karras.

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Jared Cullum returns with ‘Kodi: A Place to Call Home’ this September

The follow-up to the Reuben Award-winning graphic novel arrives in September from Top Shelf.

Cartoonist Jared Cullum is back with a second volume in his Kodi series this fall. Kodi: A Place to Call Home arrives in SEptember from Top Shelf Productions, continuing the story of a boy and his bear.

In this new volume, Katya and Kodi are adjusting to life together in the city, but Katya is falling behind in school and Kodi is struggling to find his footing in his noisy new surroundings. When a greedy zookeeper sets out to separate them for good, Katya and her found family have to head back into the wild, confront their fears and figure out where they truly belong.

Cullum described the book as a continuation of a deeply personal story.

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Clover Press launches a creator-owned graphic novel line, The Fourth Leaf

The publisher will launch the imprint with projects by Doug Wagner, Daniel Hillyard, Steve Niles, Sean Lewis and Jonathan Marks Barravecchia.

Clover Press has become well known for everything from their Marvel and DC art books to their comic strip reprints. Now the boutique publisher is launching a line of creator-owned graphic novels, calling the imprint The Fourth Leaf. (Clever name, right?)

“We’re living in an unparalleled time of creativity and opportunity in the comic book industry,” said Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz. “We may not have flying cars (yet) and we may not be living on space stations (yet), but we are absolutely living in the future of near endless creative possibilities. It’s our distinct pleasure at Clover Press to spotlight some of the stories that resonate deeply with us, and connect them directly to readers looking for something new and different. These are bold, bloody and pulpy stories by fearless creators, and we’re proud to provide them a place to create without limits. These are stories to invigorate and ignite the future.”

Their first three projects under the new imprint are:

  • I Love Apocalyptic Zombie Misfits! by longtime collaborators Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard, the team behind Narco, Plastic, Vinyl and many more.
  • Bear Pirate Viking Queen by Sean Lewis and Jonathan Marks Barravecchia, a hardcover collection of the Image Comics series.
  • Cal McDonald: Plague of Evil and Other Stories, a return to his supernatural detective character by writer Steve Niles, who will team up with a “superstar line-up of international artists” for this short story collection

Like most projects from Clover Press, all three will be funded through Kickstarter. See below for more information on these first three projects.

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‘Cult of the Lamb: Pilgrim’ gets wide release from Oni Press in December

The previously sold-out graphic novel tied to the hit video game arrives in comic shops and bookstores for the first time.

Fans who missed out on Cult of the Lamb: Pilgrim will soon have another chance to add the graphic novel to their collection. As part of their build-up to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Oni Press announced it will publish a new hardcover edition of the previously sold-out book this December, bringing the story to comic shops for the first time.

Originally released as part of the limited physical edition of Cult of the Lamb’s Pilgrim DLC — that’s downloadable content, for the non-video game players out there — the 112-page graphic novel is written by Cult of the Lamb‘s head of narrative, JoJo Zhou and illustrated by the game’s concept artist, Carles Dalmau. The story takes place within the continuity of the hit video game from Massive Monster and Devolver Digital.

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Smash Pages Q&A | Jordan Mechner on ‘Liberty’

The creator of ‘Prince of Persia’ discusses his new graphic novel on the Revolutionary War, which is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter.

Jordan Mechner has built a career around storytelling. Best known as the creator of Prince of Persia and The Last Express, Mechner has turned his attention to graphic novels in recent years, bringing the same cinematic sensibilities to projects ranging from Monte Cristo and Templar to his award-winning memoir Replay.

His latest graphic novel, Liberty, is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter by Magnetic Press. It tells the true story of a clandestine French operation that helped supply the American Revolution with desperately needed weapons, following playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais and American diplomat Silas Deane as they risk everything to support the fledgling United States from across the Atlantic. Illustrated by Étienne Le Roux, Loïc Chevallier and Elvire De Cock, Liberty shines a light on people whose contributions to history have largely been forgotten.

I spoke with Mechner about discovering the story behind Liberty, why he prefers history’s unsung heroes to its famous names, the challenge of balancing historical accuracy with compelling drama and more.

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