Rich Koslowski explores money, fame and super powers in ‘F.A.R.M. System’

The creator of ‘Three Fingers’ returns with a new graphic novel from Top Shelf this November.

It’s been more than a decade since Top Shelf released a triple threat of creative graphic novels from Rich Koslowski — Three Fingers, the faux “behind the scenes” mockumentary about the world of animation and a certain iconic mouse; The King, about an Elvis impersonator who just may have been more than that; and BB Wolf and the Three LP’s, with writer J.D. Arnold, which mixed the tale of the Three Little Pigs with a blues aesthetic.

Since then, he’s certainly kept himself busy with other work for various publishers, including Archie Comics, but this November he’ll return to Top Shelf for F.A.R.M. System, a new graphic novel that combines baseball’s minor league set-up with superheroes.

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Archie + Sam Hill team up to take down a hacker in ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #333’ [Exclusive Preview]

Check out an exclusive preview of a new story coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #333, which comes out Sept. 7.

This digest will include two brand-new stories, in addition to a selection of classic Archie material. Our preview today includes pages from “Case of the High Grade Hacker!” by Ian Flynn and Ryan Jampole, who you might know from their work on Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man. This one has Archie teaming up with Sam Hill, the private investigator who was first introduced back in the 1950s, as they take on a hacker who is plaguing Riverdale.

We also have a full-length classic Archie story for you, featuring the work of Bob White, the creator of Cosmo the Merry Martian. The story features Archie having all sorts of money troubles.

Check out the preview and solicitation information below.

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Exclusive preview: Balazs Lorinczi’s ‘Doughnuts and Doom’

A struggling witch and a failing musician face curses and love in the new graphic novel, coming from Top Shelf in September.

Courtesy of Top Shelf Productions, we’re pleased to present an exclusive preview of Doughnuts and Doom, the upcoming graphic novel by Hungarian-Scottish cartoonist Balazs Lorinczi.

Described as a “quirky, magical, queer teen romance,” the graphic novel is a love story featuring a struggling witch and a failing musician. Here’s the description:

Margot is a stressed-out witch trying to get her potions business off the ground. Elena is a struggling rock musician whose band is going nowhere. Neither one of them is having a good day when they first meet at the local doughnut shop. Their exchange quickly escalates from words to literal sparks flying as Margot loses her cool. Turns out, accidentally cursing that infuriatingly cute girl at the doughnut shop isn’t a great way to start a relationship. As they work together to disperse this curse, will their initial animosity flare up in their faces or blossom into something sweeter? 

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Trula Twyst rocks Jughead’s world in ‘World of Archie Jumbo Comics’ #122 [Exclusive Preview]

Check out an exclusive preview of two new stories coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of World of Archie Jumbo Comics #122, which comes out Aug. 17.

This digest will include two brand-new stories, in addition to a selection of classic Archie material. The new stories feature the work of Francis Bonnet, Craig Boldman, Bill Golliher, Rex Lindsey, Bob Smith, Rich Koslowski and more. In the first one, Archie tries to win an obstacle course — and a date with Veronica — as Mr. Lodge does everything he can to ruin Archie’s chances. The second story features Jughead’s nemesis, Trula Twyst, who steals his drumming style to get under his skin.

We also have a fill-length classic Archie story for you, featuring the work of Bob White, the creator of Cosmo the Merry Martian. The summertime story features Archie, Reggie, Veronica and poolside shenanigans.

Below you’ll also find previews of stories by Dan Parent, Ian Flynn, Jeff Shultz and more, plus a complete classic Archie story featuring the work of Frank Doyle and Dan DeCarlo. Enjoy!

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Meet Archie’s newest character Jake Chang in ‘Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics #305’

Check out an exclusive preview of three new stories coming in next week’s digest from Archie Comics.

Today, courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present a preview of Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics #305, which comes out July 6.

The digest will feature not just one but THREE new stories, along with classic Archie material. And one of those new stories, it turns out, will feature Jake Chang, the brand new character who has a TV series in the works, according to Deadline Hollywood. Jake Chang teams up with Betty and Veronica in the story “Toadally Washed Up,” which is by David Gallaher and Bill Galvan.

Below you’ll also find previews of stories by Dan Parent, Ian Flynn, Jeff Shultz and more, plus a complete classic Archie story featuring the work of Frank Doyle and Dan DeCarlo. Enjoy!

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Fireball + the Superteens team up in ‘World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #120

Check out an exclusive preview of two new stories coming in next week’s digest.

When a friend goes missing at a beach party, it’s up to Archie and the gang to find her. Meanwhile, the Eliminators have recruited some fiendish new members, and they’ve placed Fireball and the Superteens into a death trap! Writer David Gallaher returns to the world of the Mighty Crusaders for a new story featuring not only the flaming hot hero, but also the super-powered alter egos of Archie and the gang.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present an exclusive look at next week’s World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #120, which features 192 pages of comics, including two new stories. The first, “Beach Party Mystery,” is by Francis Bonnet, Jeff Shultz and Jim Amash, and the second, “The Heat of the Moment,” is by Gallaher, Bill Galvan and Bob Smith.

Below you’ll find previews of the new stories, as well as a complete Frank Doyle/Stan Goldberg story from the archives. Enjoy, and you can find it in stores June 8.

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Archie goes Jurassic in ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #330 [Exclusive Preview]

Check out a preview of ‘Archie Jumbo Comics Digest’ #330.

There’s no time better then summertime, and what does summertime bring? Sun, surf and dinosaur movies! Wait, what? OK, this summer does, and it also brings a brand new story featuring a prehistoric version of the Archie gang.

Courtesy of the fine folks at Archie Comics, we’re pleased to present an exclusive look at next week’s Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #330, which features 192 pages of comics — including a new story by Dan Parent, Bob Smith, Glenn Whitmore and Jack Morelli, titled “Jurassic Farce!” We’ve got a snippet of the new story, as well as a complete Frank Doyle/Harry Lucey story from the archives.

You can find all the solicitation details and the preview below:

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Preview | ‘Mezo: Battle At Coban Rock’ #1

The new miniseries by Tyler Chin-Tanner, Val Rodrigues, Gab Contreras and Varga Tomi debuts in May.

Courtesy of the fine folks at A Wave Blue World, we’re pleased to present a preview of their new title, Mezo: Battle at Coban Rock, which kicks off in May.

The five-issue miniseries by writer Tyler Chin-Tanner, with artwork by Val Rodrigues, Gab Contreras and Varga Tomi, continues the story set up in Mezo: Rise of the Tzalekuhl. Though Mezo has some “show-stopping magical moments,” at its heart it’s a gripping wartime adventure filled with political intrigue and old-world combat, as the daughter of a fallen chief tries to form new alliances to turn the tides against the rising Tzalekuhl empire.

Below, you can check out the cover by Rodrigues, the variant cover by Terry Blas and five pages from the first issue.

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Comics Lowdown | Seuss settlement scotches mash-up

Plus: Politician under fire for threatening cartoonist, Al Plastino’s house is for sale, and more!

Dr. Seuss Enterprises and the creators of a Star Trek-themed parody of the perennial graduation gift Oh, the Places You’ll Go have settled out of court, and the news is not good for mash-up makers.

Johanna Draper Carlson has a quick summary, with links, at The Beat: Former Star Trek writer David Gerrold and artist Ty Templeton mashed up the Seuss book with Star Trek characters and themes to create Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!, which was supposed to be published by ComicMix. The famously litigious Seuss estate sued on grounds of both trademark and copyright infringement; the courts dismissed the trademark case in 2017, and in 2019 a judge found the book was sufficiently “transformative” and met the conditions for fair use. The Seuss folks appealed, and the parties settled out of court this week.

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Snyder + Daniel’s ‘Nocterra’ will debut in March from Image Comics

The comic features a world with no sun and the badass trucker who navigates it.

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign that ran earlier this year, Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel’s creator-owned title Nocterra will debut from Image Comics in March.

Originally titled Nocternal, the comic raised more than $200,000 on Kickstarter in late summer. While the campaign offered lots of extras and collectible editions, the intent was for it to eventually be published by Image.

Nocterra marks my return to solo creator owned work, and it’s a book I’ve been dying to do for years,” said Snyder. “It mixes the horror of my indie series like Wytches and American Vampire with the high-octane stakes of my DC work to bring you something personal, twisted and big, big fun. And I couldn’t ask for a better co-creator on Nocterra than buddy and superstar artist Tony Daniel. His art on this book is next level, and with the amazing Tomeu Morey on colors and Deron Bennett on letters, and Will Dennis editing, we’ve got an all star team steering this wild ride. So get ready for trucks, monsters and mayhem on an epic scale…”  

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Read the entire first issue of ‘Black Stars Above’

Check out the entirety of the first chapter of the Vault Comics title by Lonnie Nadler, Jenna Cha, Brad Simpson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

Courtesy of Vault Comics, we’re pleased to present the entire first issue of Black Stars Above by Lonnie Nadler, Jenna Cha, Brad Simpson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Described as a “chilling historical cosmic horror tale of survival,” the story features a desperate young fur trapper in 1887 Northern Canada who is hired to deliver a package:

The year is 1887 and a storm brews. A young fur trapper flees her overbearing family only to get lost in a dreamlike winter wilderness that harbours a cosmic threat. The fur trade is dead and the nation is changing. Yet, Eulalie Dubois has spent her entire life tending to her family’s trapline, isolated from the world. A chance at freedom comes in the form of a parcel that needs delivering to a nameless town north of the wilderness. Little does Eulalie know, something sinister hides in those woods and it yearns for what she has.

It’s a series that Shane Bailey said is “a masterclass in building tension and dread,” and is “the equivalent of a Shepard Tone, the illusion of the ever-rising note. Eventually the musician ends the song, ending that tension. In this case, though, I really don’t want it to end.”

You can check out the first issue below, and look for the just-released trade paperback at a comic shop near you.

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‘Crossover’ blurs the line between fact and fiction [Preview]

The new title by the creators of ‘God Country’ arrives in November.

Image Comics has released a preview of the first issue of Crossover, the new series coming from Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe and John J Hill that was revealed this week during Comic-Con@Home.

Referred to by Cates as the “scariest” project he’s ever tried to produce, but also “the most exciting thing I’ve ever done” during their CCI@Home panel Crossover is about what happens when a big summer event book crosses over into the real world.

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