Tag: Magnetic Press

Smash Pages Q&A | Mike Kennedy from Magnetic Press on ‘Loba Loca’

The publisher talks with us about their latest team-up with Label 619 and more.

Magnetic Press is about halfway through their Kickstarter campaign for Loba Loca, a graphic novel set in the MFKZ Universe from creators Guillaume “Run” Renard and Guillaume Singelin of Label 619 in France. The project has already blown past its modest goal with more than $46,000 in raised funds and another two weeks to go.

The graphic novel is about Guadalupe “Guada” Mayflower, a 17-year-old who discovers her infamous luchadore father may have once saved the world. This sends her on a dangerous road trip to confront her family’s past that involves other masked luchadores, underworld figures and more.

I caught up with Magnetic Press’ Director of Publishing Mike Kennedy to talk about what drew Magnetic Press to the project, their relationship with Label 619 and, of course, the role of lucha libre in the book.

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Exclusive | First look at the ‘Loba Loca’ Slipcase Edition as Magnetic Press returns to the MFKZ universe

The world of the cult animated film expands with a road trip graphic novel about a teenager who uncovers dangerous family secrets.

Magnetic Press are preparing to crowdfund Loba Loca, a new graphic novel set in the MFKZ Universe from creators Guillaume “Run” Renard and Guillaume Singelin. The Kickstarter campaign will launch soon, and we’re happy to give an exclusive first look at the limited edition slipcase that’ll be available as a reward.

The book follows Guadalupe “Guada” Mayflower, a rebellious 17-year-old whose house arrest leads her to discover a diary that upends everything she thought she knew about her family, including the identity of her infamous father, a luchadore who once, maybe, saved the world. The revelation sends her on a dangerous road trip through a criminal underworld populated by other masked luchadores, underworld figures and (gasp!) reality show stars.

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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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Exclusive | First look at the slipcase editions for ‘The Complete Urbance’

Magnetic Press is heading to Kickstarter soon with a deluxe collection of the manga-inspired cyberpunk saga by Joël Dos Reis Viegas.

Urbance by Joël Dos Reis Viegas has had an unusual journey. It began as an animated short film developed at the studio he co-founded, Steambot Studios, went viral and earned a devoted international fanbase after a successful Kickstarter campaign. Yapiko Animation in Tokyo helped bring the 8-minute pilot to life in 2015, and the response was strong enough that Viegas took the world of Neopolis somewhere the animation couldn’t fully go: a four-volume comic series.

Now Magnetic Press and Oni Press are bringing the complete Urbance comic book saga to Kickstarter, and today I’ve got your first look at the slipcase editions that will be available as part of the campaign.

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Exclusive | Magnetic Press reveals deluxe box set for Mathieu Bablet’s ‘Silent Jenny’

The campaign will bring the first U.S. edition of Bablet’s climate crisis graphic novel to readers, completing the trilogy that includes ‘Shangri-La’ and ‘Carbon & Silicon.’

We have an exclusive first look at the deluxe box set being offered as part of the upcoming Kickstarter campaign for Silent Jenny, the latest graphic novel from internationally acclaimed French cartoonist Mathieu Bablet. The box set will collect all three of Bablet’s science fiction graphic novels — Shangri-La, Carbon & Silicon and Silent Jenny — in a single premium edition.

The campaign launches in the coming weeks, and fans can sign up now to be notified at the Kickstarter pre-launch page.

Silent Jenny marks the conclusion of Bablet’s science fiction trilogy and its first U.S. publication. Set in a not-too-distant future ravaged by climate change, the story follows Jenny, a solitary researcher attempting to restore pollinating insects by recovering bee DNA. Mobile cities called “monads” have formed across the barren landscape, with communities developing their own customs and ways of life in the absence of stable land.

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Oni Press moves to Penguin Random House for comics, book distribution

The new deal will kick off in August.

Oni Press and Penguin Random House have announced that Oni will move all of their comics and book distribution to Penguin Random House beginning in August.

This includes Oni’s frontlist and backlist trade books, as well as single issue comics “across all sales channels worldwide,’ including the direct market. Oni Press is currently using Lunar Distribution for comics distribution, who they began working with back in 2021.

“There is simply no better partner than Penguin Random House in maintaining and growing Oni’s longstanding relationship with retailers and readers,” said David Steward II, Chairman of the Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group. “As the gold standard for both book market and direct market distribution, we’re proud to partner with PRHPS to increase the reach for Oni’s distinguished, award-winning library and hit the ground running in support of what is sure to be the company’s most formidable line-up of new releases across our long history.”

The deal also includes their sister publisher, Magnetic Press, whose graphic novels they began distributing last year and is now an imprint of Oni Press.

Smash Pages Q&A | Magnetic Press publisher Mike Kennedy on bringing ‘Freaks Squeele’ to America

The publisher launches all seven volumes of Florent Maudoux’s acclaimed series on Kickstarter.

Magnetic Press has been building a distinctive catalog of internationally acclaimed graphic novels since 2013. With 31 Eisner Award nominations and a win for Best Production Design in 2024, publisher Mike Kennedy has proven there’s a market in the U.S. for stories from Europe. Now Magnetic is taking on one of its most ambitious projects yet: the complete seven-volume saga of Florent Maudoux’s Freaks Squeele, a manga-inspired superhero series that’s been captivating readers around the world since 2008.

Described as “Jujutsu Kaisen meets X-Men by way of Scott Pilgrim,” Freaks Squeele follows three misfit students at a superhero university where heroism is a regulated profession and deadly tournaments are broadcast for public consumption. The Kickstarter campaign launches all seven volumes at once, featuring 1,000 pages of story — plus an exclusive artbook and a limited edition “dorm footlocker” storage box.

We caught up with Kennedy to talk about what drew Magnetic Press to Freaks Squeele, how the publisher approaches translating international works and why European comics continue to offer something American readers can’t find anywhere else.

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