SDCC | Magma Comix reveals ‘Rome Eternal’ by Homero Rios + Diego Yapur

The new title, part of the publishing partnership between Ruptura Estudios and Magma, kicks off in November.

Magma Comix and Ruptura Estudios announced another title for their joint imprint yesterday during Magma’s panel at the San Diego Comic Con. Rome Eternal by Mexican writer Homero Rios and Argentine artist Diego Yapur will debut in stores this November.

As the title implies, the series is set on a world where the Roman Empire never fell — although it may be coming close, as a group of called the “Mithra Mysteries” plans to assassinate the emperor. The creators seem to be channeling Mithraism, a real-life “mystery religion” popular among the Roman army.

“I am thrilled to present Rome Eternal!” Rios said. “The blend of action and suspense in this rich, semi-historical sci-fi setting offers a unique challenge that I eagerly embrace. I believe that, one way or another, readers will come to realize that, much like The Mysteries, nothing lasts forever, and the best choice might just be to overthrow the Emperor.”

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Cavan Scott + Paul Fry show VHS horror movies some love in ‘Night of the Slashers’

Magma Comix will publish the first issue in October.

Cavan Scott and Paul Fry will pay tribute to their horror movie-filled childhoods in Night of the Slashers, a miniseries coming from Magma Comix this fall.

The comic is a “love letter” to slasher movies, particular the kind you could rent from a video store and watch on videotape back in the day.

“As you can probably tell from the title, Night of the Slashers is a love letter to slasher movies, an obsession that began when I saw my first serial killer (Halloween 2 on a dodgy VHS at my friend’s 12th birthday party) and has now been passed onto my daughter,” Scott said. “It was only a matter of time before I came up with my own walking nightmare in the mold of Michael, Jason or Jason, but when I met artist Paul Fry and immediately bonded over horror movies, it soon became clear that one wasn’t enough. If we were going to write a slasher, we wanted an entire town of masked knife-wielding killers. This series has everything we love in slasher movies! Victims, you can’t wait to see sliced ‘n’ diced, larger-than-life monsters, gallons of blood and gruesome deaths galore. No one is safe in The Night of the Slashers. No one at all.” 

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Garcia, Mendez + Culebras bring ‘Day of the Dead Girl’ to Magma Comix

The supernatural mystery begins in October.

Author and wrestler AJ Mendez (Crazy Is My Superpower) and actress Aimee Garcia (Dexter, Lucifer) are no strangers to comics, having written licensed titles for IDW like Glow and Dungeons and Dragons. Their next project is an original, though, for Magma Comix — a supernatural mystery that ties into Mexico’s Day of the Dead festival and features artwork by Spanish artist Belén Culebras.

Day of the Dead Girl is about a coroner investigating murders within a witch coven led by her brujas mother. They have to put aside their differences to stop a supernatural serial killer.

“Growing up, I didn’t see comics that reflected my Mexican heritage, so I’m thrilled to create Day of the Dead Girl with AJ and spotlight our rich Latino culture to readers,” Garcia said. “Not only will Belén Culebras’ stunning visuals thrust readers into the midst of a joyful Day of the Dead celebration, but this story will cut to the core of what binds us all together … death.”

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Speedwalk toward justice in Joey Esposito + Sean Von Gorman’s ‘The Pedestrian’

The latest title from Magma Comix strolls into shops this August.

A sleepy town will get the hero it needs this summer in The Pedestrian, a new series coming from Magma Comix by writer Joey Esposito and artist Sean Von Gorman.

The comic, which is about a guy who speedwalks, was born from the longtime friendship between Esposito and Von Gorman.

“I can’t tell you how pleased I am to have finally found myself in a partnership with people who share the same comics-making ethos as myself,” Esposito said. “I love making comics because at the end of the day, in the best case scenario, at least for me, it’s about making something cool with your friends. That’s what this book is—born out of a collab-turned-friendship with Sean (more than a decade old at this point) because we’re both pushing each other to another level—and having a blast doing it. Working with Magma is a huge part of this equation as well, because in my 15 years of making comics, I’ve never had a publisher so supportive. They make comics for comics’ sake and support their creators. This is the most excited I’ve ever been about a book, perhaps because it’s been the most collaborative.”

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Darick Robertson + Stephen B. Jones bring ‘Greaser: Gemini Blues’ to Magma Comix

The new sci-fi romance series kicks off in July.

Darick Robertson has made a name for himself as an artist on comics like The Boys, New Warriors, Transmetropolitan, Happy! and many more titles, but this summer he’ll take the reigns as a writer on Greaser: Gemini Blues with artist Stephen B. Jones.

They’ll be joined by colorist Marcus Collar and letterer Shawn Lee on the “post-apocalyptic sci-fi romance series” that involves aliens, biodomes and star-crossed lovers.

“Venturing into a new area of my creativity, I am excited to be writing an original idea and work with my talented friend Stephen B. Jones, who is expanding from animation and into comics,” Robertson said. “Magma is a great home for this as they too are venturing into new territory and are supportive of creators in a way that gives us the internal support we need to get a book published but with the creative freedom to try some new ideas and different directions. I’m hoping to take my world-building skills acquired from years of making and co-creating original comics and craft a series that is unlike anything I’ve done before.”

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Magma Comix + Ruptura Estudios partner on a new comics imprint

Their first title, ‘Hell’s Half Acre,’ arrives in June.

Magma Comix has announced a partnership with Ruptura Estudios, a Mexico-based comics studio, to create a line of comics “with Hispanic appeal” made by international creators.

The new imprint’s first title, Hell’s Half Acre by Magma founder Denton J. Tipton and artist Ramon Bunge, will kick off this summer.

“When Denton shared his plans for Magma Comix, I automatically thought that this was a train I wanted to travel on,” said R.G. Llarena, Ruptura Estudios’ managing partner, and a former editor for Heavy Metal Magazine, where Magma Comix got its start before spinning off as an independent entity. “Sometime later, here we are, embarking on our first journey together. To victory!”

Magma and Ruptura plan to release two other titles this year as well.

“R.G.’s commitment to creator rights has been evident throughout his long career, making Ruptura an ideal partner for Magma,” Tipton said. “Together, we will create captivating story worlds that transport our readers and lure them back time and time again.”

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It’s open season on dragons in Orlando + Huang’s ‘The Scale Trade’

Steve Orlando and Megan Huang hunt the dragon hunters in the new title coming from Magma Comix in May.

Now that we’re a couple weeks into the Year of the Dragon, Magma Comix has officially announced The Scale Trade, the new modern fantasy series by Steve Orlando and Megan Huang. Magma mentioned it last month when the publisher started unveiling their 2024 slate.

In any event, the new series sounds great — set in a modern world where dragons still exist but are high on the endangered species list, one man takes a stand against the poachers and corrupt governments that want their scales.

“The Scale Trade was absolutely influenced by the depravity of the illegal exotic meat trade, poaching, and specifically the street-level vigilance against the abuse of horses and sale of horse meat in a variety of parts of the country,” said Orlando. “We wanted to talk about these things, but also thrill and excite on an elevated scale (no pun intended). So we built a world where dragons were part of the animal kingdom, where THEY, these creatures that awe us, were also some of the most valuable commodities in the world. It’s a modern fantasy—not high fantasy or low sword and sorcery. At the end of the day it’s about the way we as a species interact with nature—concepts bigger and older than us—and how we tend to commodify life on this planet. At the core, The Scale Trade is about heroic animal rescue. A man and his dog… if his dog was a majestic flying lizard.”

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Magma Comix has big plans for 2024

The former comics publishing arm of Heavy Metal magazine has spun off into its own company, with several new titles planned for this spring.

Magma Comix launched back in 2020 as the comics publishing arm of Heavy Metal, the legendary science fiction and fantasy comics magazine that came to an end last year. Instead of letting the endeavor die off, the Magma team decided to spin the operation off and become an independent comics publisher.

“We are fortunate to have secured funding that will ensure Magma will maintain its creative freedom and independence, while providing capital and support necessary to establish long-term stability in an unpredictable industry,” said Magma Comix Founder and CEO Denton J. Tipton back in July. “Magma will lower the barriers to entry by making our line easy to navigate and by reducing risk for our retail partners. But above all, our team’s unique combination of creator relationships, industry knowledge, and passion for storytelling will unleash a creative eruption that we hope sets a new standard for comics.”

Earlier this week Magma began announcing plans for their comics line, starting with an impressive list of creators they’re working with that includes Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Eamon Winkle, Jason Starr, Dalibor Talajić, Steve Orlando and Megan Huang. They’ve also started announcing their first titles, which will arrive in April.

“Surely one of the most potent drugs in the world is the thrill of creation and I can confidently say our creators must be off their heads at this point,” said Magma Comix Editor-in-Chief Bobby Curnow. “All of our teams are pouring everything they have into their books, creating some of the best comics I’ve read in my fifteen years of editing. It’s been a real pleasure to help bring these stories into the world.”

Here’s a look at the two that have been announced thus far:

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