DSTLRY announces three more titles that will debut next spring

Titles by Scott Snyder, Francesco Francavilla, James Tynion IV, Christian Ward, Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso will arrive next year.

DSTLRY has announced three more titles that spin out of its recent anthology The Devil’s Cut, all of which will debut next spring.

The titles include White Boat by Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla, Spectregraph by James Tynion IV and Christian Ward, and The Blood Brothers Mother by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso.

DSTLRY, the new comics company formed by former Comixology execs David Steinberger and Chip Mosher, released The Devil’s Cut in print back in August and a digital edition a couple of weeks ago. They’ve also released print editions of Gone by Jock and Somna by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay, which were followed this month by limited-edition digital releases (The digital Somna #1 should go on sale on the DSTLRY site this week). Blasfamous by Mirka Andolfo was announced to come out this week.

With these three announcements, that leaves two more titles that were featured in The Devil’s Cut that you can expect to see in the future — one by Elsa Charretier and another by Marc Bernardin and Ariela Kristantina.

Here’s more info on the three titles:

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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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Horror for the holidays: James Tynion IV + Joshua Hixson bring ‘The Deviant’ to Image

The nine-issue miniseries begins in November.

Worldtr33 writer James Tynion IV will team with Children of the Woods artist Joshua Hixson for a new Christmas-themed psychological crime thriller titled The Deviant.

They’ll be joined by letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou for this “pitch-black holiday horror story” that’ll run for nine issues.

The Deviant is something a little different,” said Tynion IV. “A dark, focused psychological crime thriller where I get to explore the intersection of my queer identity and a broader scope of cultural transgression and deviance. This is my response to Silence of the Lambs and Jeffrey Dahmer serving as my first real glimpses of my queer identity as a young closeted Midwestern boy. It’s one of the darkest and most personal stories I’ve ever written. It’s also a story about Christmas.”

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Tynion + Simmonds resurrect ‘Dracula’ at Skybound

The Universal Monsters version comes to comics in October.

Count Dracula returns to comics as part of a partnership between Skybound and Universal Products & Experiences, which manages the Universal Monsters license. James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds will bring Dracula, R.M. Renfield, Mina Seward, Doctor John Seward, Van Helsing and more to the comics page in the four-issue Universal Monsters: Dracula miniseries.

“A few times in my life I’ve had the pleasure of writing about one of the great pop culture icons, but there is something singular about Dracula that made this opportunity too good to pass up,” Tynion said. “The challenge in front of Martin and I is to take the bloody heart of the Universal Pictures classic and find a bold new way to bring the character to life. It’s been one of the most exciting creative challenges of my life, and I am phenomenally excited for you to see the horrors we have in store for you.” 

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‘The Oddly Pedestrian Life Of Christopher Chaos’ promoted to an ongoing series

The chaos will live on at Dark Horse.

Although the first issue hasn’t even hit stands yet, Dark Horse has already announced a second printing for the first issue of The Oddly Pedestrian Life Of Christopher Chaos. Also, the miniseries is now an ongoing series.

The comic by James Tynion IV, Tate Brombal and Isaac Goodhart first debuted on Substack last year, and a deal with Dark Horse to bring it to print was announced in November.

“Christopher Chaos means a lot to me,” Tynion said in his Substack newsletter. “I’m immensely proud of the work Tate, Isaac, Miquel, Nick, and Aditya have done building it all out. You’ve seen early version of the work here on Substack (though we’ve made some changes to the print addition, namely bringing on Miquel Muerto as the new series colorist starting with Issue #1), but the most fun here has been talking about the world that surrounds Christopher, and Adam, and Jordi, and the Helwing Corps. We have lots of stories we want to tell, and your support will help make that happen.”

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Two Comixology vets return to comics with DSTLRY

The new publisher will offer creators an ownership stake in the company.

If you’ve been wondering what comiXology co-founder David Steinberger and former comiXology Originals head Chip Mosher have been doing lately, wonder no more. Today the duo have launched DSTLRY [pronounced “distillery”], a “next-generation comics publisher that redefines creator-owned comic books and collectibles.”

The new company will offer “limited physical and digital item drops, available online or in-store at local comic shops, while providing creators with fairer deals alongside company ownership.” There’s a lot to unpack from their press release, so let’s jump in … but first, here’s an image of DSTLRY’s founders drawn by Tula Lotay:

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James Tynion IV’s Substack comics will arrive in print from Dark Horse

‘Blue Book’ and ‘Christopher Chaos’ will arrive in shops next year.

James Tynion IV has been building up a library of creator-owned comics on Substack since last year, when he was part of the first wave of creators to sign on to the platform. Through his Empire of the Tiny Onion newsletter, he’s released comics with Michael Avon Oeming, Tate Brombal, Isaac Goodhart, Kurt Michael Russell and many more, with at least one of them, The Closet with artist Gavin Fullerton, already making it to print via Image Comics.

Given his existing relationships with Image, BOOM! and even DC, it’s somewhat surprising to see that his remaining Substack comics will be collected and published by Dark Horse Comics. Blue Book will launch in February of next year, and The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos will follow in June.

Tynion explained why he went with Dark Horse for these particular books:

“Why Dark Horse? Well, honestly, I’ve always liked being able to silo similar projects together,” Tynion said in his newsletter. “I think Blue Book, all the True Weird stories we’re looking to tell, and the world of The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos fit very neatly on the shelves next to titles like Hellboy, Black Hammer, Norse Mythology, and a little-known series from Michael Avon Oeming called Powers (not to mention the whole Jinxworld library!). And like I told Dan Chabon and Tim Wiesch early in our conversations… I want a shelf of those gorgeous Dark Horse Library Editions. And as I’ve said to Tate a few times, now we can refer to the Chaosverse as the queer teenage cousin to the Mignolaverse!”

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Slugfest | Beware Doom the Living Planet!

Check out news and announcements about ‘Avengers Assemble,’ Miracleman, ‘Space Job,’ Spawn and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you from comics creators, publishers and more. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel’s upcoming Avengers Assemble crossover is set to kick off in Avengers Assemble Alpha later this month, but Marvel’s already teasing what’s in store for the big multiversal event in February.

Those plans include more info on Avenger Prime, the “most important Avenger in the Multiverse,” as well as the introduction of Doom the Living Planet! You’d have to have a pretty big Ego to turn yourself into a planet, so it’s no surprise to see a multiverse version of Dr. Doom has done exactly that.

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The Corinthian faces venture capitalists in a new ‘Nightmare Country’ miniseries next year

The Sandman Universe series by James Tynion IV and Lisandro Estherren returns.

Nightmare Country, the Sandman Universe series featuring The Corinthian, will return next year as another miniseries — Nightmare Country: The Glass House. James Tynion IV and Lisandro Estherren, who worked on the previous series, will return.

“I’m thrilled to announce that Nightmare Country’s follow-up miniseries, The Glass House, is coming early in 2023,” said Tynion. “The Corinthian is going to be making his way to Silicon Valley, where he will go head-to-head with angels, demons and a breed of creature far more terrifying that anything he’s faced before—venture capitalists. Lisandro and I are excited to continue this nightmare tour through modern America and can’t wait for you all to see what we’ve got in store for you.”

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Tynion + Blanco’s new horror series ‘Worldtr33’ explores ‘the secret architecture beneath the internet’

The new series launches next spring, with a preview appearing in the ‘Image! 30th anniversary anthology next month.

Image Comics has announced W0rldtr33, a new series that will spin out of next month’s Image! Anthology #8. James Tynion IV and his Razorblades collaborator Fernando Blanco will venture into the “secret architecture beneath the internet,” which turns out to be a place filled with unimaginable horrors, kind of like the real internet at times.

Tynion and Blanco will be joined by colorist Jordie Bellaire and letterer Aditya Bidikar for the ongoing series, which Tynion said he hopes will run for several years.

W0rldtr33 is a horror epic that’s been festering in the back of my brain for the better part of five years. I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring this story to life at Image Comics,” said Tynion IV. “I can’t wait to show the world what Fernando, Jordie, Aditya, and I have been building for you.”

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Mail Call | Tynion, Brombal + Goodhart debut ‘Christopher Chaos’

Plus: News and updates on ‘Darkskulls,’ ‘The Bone Orchard Mythos,’ ‘The United States of Murder’ and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of cool things we’ve received in our mailboxes from comics creators, publishers and more. Hit the links for more information.

If you aren’t following James Tynion IV’s TinyOnion newsletter, then you likely missed the launch of his newest comic last week — The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos. He’s released the first chapter for free via his Substack newsletter.

“This is a comic for folks who like teenage angst and horror monsters,” Tynion said. “I’ve always liked books that don’t fit neatly into one category or another. You’ll see some trappings of young adult storytelling here, but when the horror kicks in we don’t hold back. And we don’t hold back on the language either. Hell, it’s not like teens do, anyways. It’s not a superhero bit, but it doesn’t shy away from some of my favorite superhero tropes. It’s not a YA story, but it similarly doesn’t shy away from the best of those tropes. I think when I first started kicking it around in the back of my mind I thought of it as ‘A queer horror answer to Invincible.'”

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What Are You Reading? | ‘Batman: Fortress,’ ‘The Closet’ and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately, which includes ‘Avengers Forever,’ ‘JLA Classified,’ ‘Little Monsters,’ ‘Strange’ and more.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately. Today’s reviews include some Batman, some Justice League, some Avengers and some horror comics.

Let us know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments or on social media.

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