Rafer Roberts + Joe Eisma blend horror + romantic comedy in ‘Babylon Cove’ from Mad Cave Studios

The five-issue series, described as Stephen King writing a Hallmark movie, arrives in May.

Mad Cave Studios will publish Babylon Cove, a five-issue horror romantic comedy written by Rafer Roberts and drawn by Joe Eisma, beginning in May. The miniseries will feature colors by Marissa Louise, lettering by Crank! and a variant cover by The Goon creator Eric Powell.

The story follows Heather Hutchens, a no-nonsense career woman returning to her picturesque New England hometown for the first time in a decade for a family funeral. Waiting for her are Dennis, the all-American dreamboat who broke her heart in high school; Charlie, the shy boy she never gave the time of day; and Karthon, an ancient demon with plans to devour the entire town.

“This project came about simply because it’s more fun to make comics with your friends,” Roberts said. “My first inclination was to write a romance comic to take advantage of Joe’s reputation from his Archie and Morning Glory days, but like all of my stuff, I had to subvert those expectations by adding a straight-up horror element. Babylon Cove is the product of both Joe and me, making the comics we’re known for, but at the same time making the comics we wish people would let us make. There is no other romantic comedy like Babylon Cove that has this much blood and guts, and there is no other horror out there that has this much romance and laughs. Babylon Cove is for people who say they hate romance stories, people who go to brunch because their friends drag them to brunch, and people who join book clubs and have strong opinions about why the romantic leads don’t belong together.”

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Throw up some devil horns for ‘The Rock Gods of Jackson, Tennessee’

Dark Horse will publish a new graphic novel by Rafer Roberts and Mike Norton later this year.

Rafer Roberts and Mike Norton are getting the band back together in the upcoming graphic novel The Rock Gods of Jackson, Tennessee, which Dark Horse will publish in June. They’ll be joined by colorist Allen Passalaqua and letterer Crank!

It’s about a group of high school friends who form a band and battle “a rampaging horde of mutated monsters.”

Rock Gods started with Mike throwing ideas at me,” Roberts said. “His idea about his high school friends starting a rock band (but having to fight monsters instead) seemed like it would be in my wheelhouse. And, like Mike, I was also in a terrible rock band back in high school and thought I might have something to say.”

“The idea of this book was originally to make a serious autobiographical story about my hometown,” Norton said, “but I soon realized that wasn’t as fun as working with Rafer and making stuff up that never happened!”

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The kids aren’t all right in Roberts and Robertson’s ‘Harbinger Renegades’

I’m a big fan of Valiant’s Faith and Archer & Armstrong titles at the moment, so I’m pretty excited to see that November brings the return of Harbinger in Harbinger Renegades by A&A writer Rafer Roberts and artist Darick Robertson.

Roberts (with artist David Lafuente) has told some really fun A&A stories thus far, and now he’s teaming up with the artist of such classics as Transmetropolitan and The Boys. I’ve missed seeing his art on a regular basis, so November can’t get here soon enough. It’s part of the bigger “Future of Valiant” wave of titles, which also included last month’s launch of a Faith ongoing series, plus the upcoming Generation Zero, Britannia, Bloodshot U.S.A. and Savage.

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Have I mentioned I’m excited for Rafer Roberts’ run on Archer & Armstrong?

Introducing Davey the Mackerel …

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