Tag: Mat Groom

SDCC | BOOM! recruits actual Power Rangers to work on a Power Rangers anthology

David Yost, Walter Jones, Steve Cardenas and more will contribute stories about the Power Rangers they’ve played on screen.

BOOM! Studios will release an anthology of Power Rangers stories written by former Power Rangers in October.

Power Rangers: Across the Morphin Grid will feature stories written by David Yost, Walter Jones, Steve Cardenas, Mat Groom, Nakia Burrise, JD Sutphin and Meghan Camerana, with art by Paulina Ganucheau, Tango, Patrick Mulholland, Domo Stanton, Anand Ramcheron and more.

“I’m so excited that BOOM! Studios is expanding the Morphin Grid Anthology, and it looks like I’m next on the list! I’ve had the great privilege in the past to briefly work with BOOM! about Rocky and his background. But now to have the opportunity to create and collab and tell my own story is just a dream come true for me,” said Cardenas, who played Rocky DeSantos, the second Red Ranger on Mighty Moprhin Power Rangers. “I hope you enjoy what Mat and I came up with as a part of this new chapter!”

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Slugfest | Wolverine seeks ‘Revenge’ in Marvel’s August solicitations

We run through Marvel’s August solicitations, which include Venom War, Phases of the Moon Knight, Blood Hunters and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you, with this edition focusing on Marvel’s August 2024 announcements. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel’s solicitations for August landed late last week, right before the long weekend here in the U.S. (which I made even longer!) so let’s catch up on all the new stuff they plan to release in the last month of the summer. Just like I did with DC, I’ll hit the titles I haven’t previously covered. You can read about Spider-Society, the Iron Fist 50th anniversary anthology, Storm joining the Avengers and Rob Liefeld’s final Deadpool comic elsewhere on the site.

Now let’s get to it …

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Mat Groom + Kelly McMahon crowdfund a 1920s speakeasy-themed ‘Bad Blood’ card game

The campaign, which includes a comic by Groom and artist Nicoletta Baldari, launches on Kickstarter today.

When I spoke with Mat Groom a few weeks ago about the Kickstarter campaign for the second volume of Inferno Girl Red, he mentioned he was working with designer Kelly McMahon on a 1920s-themed murder mystery card game called Bad Blood. The crowdfunding campaign for the game is now live, and not only did Groom write the game, but he also wrote a tie-in comic for it.

The comic features artwork by Nicoletta Baldari and is available via one of the many tiers being offered to backers of the campaign. The comic provides some of the back story for the game, showing what life was like for Dee Dumas, the murder victim, and Joseph Field, the journalist who would wind up investigating her death (and who you play as in the card game), before the murder.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been enthralled by the mystery genre, be it film, television, literature or a good old fashion internet stalk, I love to be the detective!” said McMahon, a graphic designer and illustrator based in Los Angeles by way of Melbourne, Australia. “The romanticized glamor of the 1920s masquerades for the realities of the era. A ritzy elegant design, lavish lifestyles and devious underground happenings. There is a similar romance in moving your life to the otherside of the world, the dream sparkles but the reality is much less polished. All of this led to Bad Blood, my idea for a card game and murder mystery experience that harkens back to my love of the 1920s and my love for a good whodunnit.” 

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Smash Pages Q&A | Mat Groom returns to discuss the second ‘Inferno Girl Red’

The writer returns to the Massive-Verse for the second volume of the graphic novel series, which is currently up on Kickstarter.

Following a very successful campaign on Kickstarter for the first book back in 2021, Mat Groom, Erica D’Urso and the rest of the team have returned to crowdfund Inferno Girl Red Book Two. The new campaign is currently live.

If you aren’t familiar with Inferno Girl Red, it’s one of the many titles that make up the Massive-Verse, the collection of titles overseen by Kyle Higgins that include Radiant Black, The Dead Lucky and Rogue Sun, among others. It combines Groom’s love of tokusatsu superheroes and boarding school dramas, and it looks great thanks to D’Urso, colorist Igor Monti, letterer Becca Carey and design group For The People.

At press time, the campaign has brought in just over $45,000, which is more than halfway to its $85,000 goal. I spoke with groom about the new campaign, what he learned from the first one, how Inferno Girl Red fits into the Massive-Verse and more. He also shares a few details on his involvement with the upcoming Bad Blood playing cards/murder mystery game.

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Slugfest | A round-up of comics publishing news

Ultraman, Blink, Sleeper Agent, Human Target and more slug it out in our first Slugfest comics publishing news round-up.

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.

Ultraman returns in August

Marvel has announced a third Ultraman miniseries by Kyle Higgins, Mat Groom and Davide Tinto. Subtitled ‘The Mystery of Ultraseven,” the story will include “an enigmatic new Ultra and a secret that has remained hidden for decades.”

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Mail Call | ‘TerrorWar’ debuts from Saladin Ahmed + Dave Acosta

Check out recent news and updates from Saladin Ahmed, Top Shelf, IDW, James Tynion IV, Kyle Higgins and more.

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

Saladin Ahmed posted the first pages of TerrorWar this week, the comic he first announced when he launched the paid version of his Substack newsletter. Drawn by Dave Acosta and Jay Leisten, the comic is about a city where people’s worst fears have come to life somehow, and the terrorfighters who face them with really big guns.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Mat Groom on ‘Inferno Girl Red’

The co-writer of Marvel’s ‘Ultraman’ discusses his latest graphic novel, which is currently up on Kickstarter.

After writing Self/Made and working with Kyle Higgins on Marvel’s Ultraman comics, Mat Groom is focusing his love for tokusatsu superheroes and boarding school dramas into a new project — Inferno Girl Red, which is currently up on Kickstarter and has already surpassed its goal just two days in.

The 100-page graphic novel is about a pragmatic girl named Cássia with a secret legacy and a magical dragon bracelet that gives her the means to stop the ancient cult attempting to offer her home, Apex City, to their demonic dark lord. Unfortunately, the bracelet is powered by belief, and Cássia doesn’t have much of that to spare.

Groom has teamed up with artist Erica D’Urso, colorist Igor Monti, letterer Becca Carey and design group For The People, with Higgins serving as editor. We spoke about the project, how it came together and what the best boarding school dramas are.

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More ‘Ultraman’ on the way next year from Marvel

Kyle Higgins, Mat Groom and Francesco Manna return for the new miniseries.

Following The Rise of Ultraman, which came out earlier this year, Marvel has announced a second miniseries starring the popular Japanese superhero. The Trials of Ultraman will feature the same creative team as the first series — writers Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom, and artist Francesco Manna.

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C2E2: Marvel announces ‘Ultraman’ creative team

‘The Rise of Ultraman’ will be written by Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom, with artwork by Francesco Manna.

It was a bit surprising last year when Marvel announced plans to bring the popular Japanese superhero Ultraman to America. At C2E2 this weekend, the publisher revealed the creative team and some cover art for the series, which will debut later this year.

The Rise of Ultraman will be written by Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom, with artwork by Francesco Manna.

“A few years ago, thanks to my time on Power Rangers, I was able to discover and learn more about Tokusatsu. With its wildly different conventions and inspirations, Tokusatsu — and Ultraman in particular — has been a huge source of joy for me,” said Higgins. “It’s a genre so ripe with possibilities, even down to what we conceive of in the structure of Super Hero storytelling. It’s both an honor and a privilege to bring Ultraman to Marvel.”

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