graphic novels – SMASH PAGES

Picture + Panel | Gemma Correll + Nicole Georges on the intersection of mental health + humor

The two creators discuss anxiety, mental illness and the ways comics can make difficult experiences easier to understand and share.

Mental health has been a recurring subject in comics, particularly for creators working in autobiography and memoir. For artists Gemma Correll and Nicole Georges, it’s also been a subject they’ve explored directly through their own experiences, from anxiety and mental illness to the ways comics can help people feel less alone.

Correll and Georges recently took part in the Boston Comics Arts Foundation’s Picture + Panel: Nervous Laughter event, a conversation about how comics can be used to explore mental health and make difficult experiences easier to understand and share. Correll is the author and illustrator of The Worrier’s Guide to Life and other comics and books about anxiety, while Georges is the author of Calling Dr. Laura and creator of the Emotional Support Animals series.

The conversation took place earlier this month, but the Q&A offers a chance to dig a little deeper into how both creators approach mental health in their work. Correll and Georges discuss how they became interested in mental health, why they began making comics about it, the misconceptions they encounter, and the comics and other media that have influenced their work.

Smash Pages Q&A | Craig Hurd-McKenney on ‘Best Friend Show’

Craig Hurd-McKenney talks with us about ‘Best Friend Show,’ youth dog shows and finding the right story for a young-adult audience.

Craig Hurd-McKenney and I go way back, far enough that our connection to comics probably isn’t the most interesting part of the story. But I’ve had the pleasure of watching him create stories and comics from the beginning, and I’ve talked with Craig about his comics work for Smash Pages a couple of times over the years, most recently in 2025.

Now he’s taking on something a little different with Best Friend Show, a Young Adult graphic novel coming Mad Cave Studios’ Nakama Press imprint on Oct. 13. After a family illness and a breakup, the main character, Landon, spends the summer with his aunt at her dog rescue. There, he discovers an unexpected talent for working with dogs and finds himself drawn into the world of competitive youth dog shows.

Illustrated by Melisa Jones with colors by Jok, Best Friend Show is a story about dogs and competition on the surface, but Craig says his fascination with youth dog shows came from something deeper: the confidence and agency they can give young people. As Landon finds his way back into the world, his relationships with the dogs and the group of young handlers he meets become an important part of that journey.

I spoke with Craig about the real-life inspiration behind Best Friend Show, what he learned about youth dog shows, working with artist Melisa Jones and his longtime collaborator Jok, and the challenge of writing his first YA graphic novel.

Smash Pages Q&A | Darryl Cunningham on ‘John of the Night’

The author of ‘Billionaires: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful’ trades nonfiction for cosmic adventure in his newest graphic novel.

After years of turning his sharp eye for politics, history, science and biography toward nonfiction in graphic novels like Supercrash, Billionaires: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful, Putin: The Rise of a Dictator and Elon Musk: American Oligarch, Darryl Cunningham decided to go a different route with his newest graphic novel.

The result is John of the Night, his first fiction graphic novel, which is a wildly imaginative cosmic adventure. The story focuses on scientist John of the Night and his daughter Aysha, who are caught between a fanatical cult determined to “fix” the multiverse and Medea, Aysha’s witch-queen mother, who has plans of her own for her daughter. Inspired in part by the grand cosmic mythology of Jack Kirby, the book combines gods, multiverses, mythology and philosophical questions about good and evil with the much more grounded relationship between a father and daughter.

The new book arrives from Avery Hill Publishing on Sept. 2.

I spoke with Cunningham about the new book, the influence of Jack Kirby, creating Aysha and Medea, finding the balance between cosmic spectacle and emotional grounding, and what’s next for John of the Night.

Scott Chantler takes on Flash Gordon for two-volume graphic novel series

Mad Cave’s ‘Flash Gordon: Two Worlds’ will feature Flash fighting against a Ming the Merciless who has conquered Earth.

After 25 years and more than a dozen books, Scott Chantler is taking on a classic licensed character. Mad Cave Studios and King Features Syndicate have announced Flash Gordon: Two Worlds, a two-volume graphic novel by the award-winning cartoonist of Two Generals, Northwest Passage, Three Thieves and more.

Chantler will worl with colorist K, J. Díaz. The first volume is scheduled for November.

The standalone story is separate from Mad Cave’s other Flash Gordon series and pulls from the pulp-adventure sensibilities of Alex Raymond’s original comic strip and the Flash Gordon movie serials. It’s also a What If? style story, asking the question — what if Ming conquered Earth?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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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