Corporate greed + revenge fuel the new series ‘The Body Trade’ from Mad Cave Studios

Zac Thompson, Jok and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou kick off the neo-noir series this September.

Writer Zac Thompson, artist Jok and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou are heading down to Florida for the tale of an ex-convict trying to find his son’s corpse in The Body Trade, a new series coming from Mad Cave Studios this fall.

“I’ve wanted to create this comic for years and collaborating with Jok is a dream,” Thompson said. “Through his lines and colors he’s built this incredible mood on the page that captures the gaudy excess of Florida balanced against the horrific stylings of an industry of death. Together we’ve created a story that’s both a fierce revenge yarn and an interrogation into a seedy corporate underbelly of America. The Body Trade is a raw and unflinching neo-noir where an ex-convict goes up against the intense might of corporate power and will do anything to win. But what when there’s nothing illegal about what you’re up against—how do you expose the truth?! And will anyone care when you do?”

Thompson has been quite busy lately, with Into the Unbeing, Blow Away and Cemetery Kids Don’t Die all debuting in the first half of 2024.

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Zac Thompson + Hayden Sherman travel ‘Into the Unbeing’

The eco-horror miniseries from Dark Horse Comics begins in June.

Zac Thompson, writer of the freshly minted Cemetery Kids Don’t Die and the upcoming Blow Away, and Hayden Sherman of Dark Spaces: Dungeon fame will descend into the depths of a giant’s mouth in Into the Unbeing: Part One.

Dark Horse will publish the “eco-horror” miniseries this summer, as a discovery in Australia leads to a tale of terror for a group of scientists.

“Hayden and I have been building Into the Unbeing for years now,” Thompson said. “It’s easily the most ambitious comic I’ve ever made. It’s a sprawling adventure into the unknown blending eco-horror, body horror and my intense fear of getting lost in nature into a new comics experience. Hayden’s rendering of alien landscapes really needs to be seen to be believed. If you’ve ever wanted to get lost in an entirely new world… this is the comic for you.”

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Thompson + Izzo commit crimes in remote places in ‘Blow Away’

The neo-noir thriller will arrive from BOOM! Studios in April.

Writer Zac Thompson and artist Nicola Izzo will channel their inner Hitchcock on Blow Away, a crime thriller kicking off at BOOM! this spring.

The story’s about a wildlife videographer who, while on a remote video shoot, may have witnessed and filmed a murder.

“Ever since I first watched Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, I’ve dreamt of telling a paranoid thriller story. Blow Away is that dream made manifest through an incredible collaboration with Nicola,” said Thompson, whose known for his work on Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage LandThe Marvelous X-Men and The Dregs. “We’ve crafted a neo-noir mystery about obsession and the slippery and subjective nature of the truth. Really, it’s a big love letter to Brian De Palma and Alfred Hitchcock where suspense is the driving force on every page.”

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Oni Press announces four new titles for 2024

“Oni 2024” will bring new comics from Olivia Cuartero-Briggs, Zac Thompson, Roberta Ingranata, Chris Condon and more.

Following their partnership announcement with the Nacelle Company, Oni Press heads into New York Comic Con by announcing several new miniseries that will land the first months of 2024, dubbed “Oni 2024.”

Including Invasive by Cullen Bunn and Jesús Hervás, which was announced in San Diego this summer, the initiative begins with five new titles “that will fully embrace the potential of the comics medium to invert, collide and reinvent the foundational genres of horror, science fiction, crime, fantasy and beyond throughout the new year.” More titles are planned for subsequent months.

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Mad Cave announces three new titles for late 2022

Cullen Bunn, Andrea Mutti, Zac Thompson, Bayleigh Underwood, Joe Corallo, Andrea Milana and more will create new comics this Fall.

Mad Cave Studios has announced three new titles that will arrive in stores at the end of the year.

First up will be A Legacy of Violence, a 12-issue horror/mystery series by Cullen Bunn and Andrea Mutti in October, followed by Nature’s Labyrinth by Zac Thompson and Bayleigh Underwood In November. Then December brings Dahlia In The Dark by Joe Corallo and Andrea Milana.

Here’s a look at the three titles:

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Voting opens for the finals of the DC Round Robin tournament

It’s Superboy vs. Suicide Squad Dark in the final vote of the tournament.

DC’s second Round Robin tournament will come to a close this weekend, as voting has opened for the final round. The finals pit Suicide Squad: Dark by Zac Thompson and Garry Brown against Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow by Kenny Porter and Jahnoy Lindsay.

The tournament, which has been conducted through DC’s social media accounts and the DC Community message boards, allowed fans to vote on their choice for a new DC series. Last year’s winner was, appropriately, Robins by Tim Seeley and Baldemar Rivas, which brought together several of Batman’s former sidekicks. It went on to become a six-issue miniseries that recently wrapped up.

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Superboy + Suicide Squad Dark move on to the DC Round Robin finals

From 16 pitches fans have narrowed the field to the final two — but only one can win and become a real series.

From 16 pitches featuring a variety of characters, fans have narrowed the 2022 DC Round Robin tournament down to twoSuicide Squad: Dark by Zac Thompson and Garry Brown, and Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow by Kenny Porter and Jahnoy Lindsay.

But only one of these two creative teams can move on and win the tournament, but when that will happen hasn’t been announced yet.

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‘Devil’s Reign’ gets all sorts of crazy crossover titles in January + February

Moon Knight, Spider-Man, Emma Frost and more get caught up in the Kingpin’s war on superheroes.

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s epic run on Daredevil will give way to a crossover event called Devil’s Reign in December, one of several “tentpole” events Marvel announced in August. And in the Mighty Marvel fashion, the main Devil’s Reign title will be accompanied by all sorts of tie-in titles in January, February and beyond.

In case you missed the news, Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto, the creative team for the ongoing Daredevil title, are also the creative team behind the crossover event’s main miniseries. It will run for six issues and will see the Kingpin “bring his full criminal and political power to bear on the super heroes who call NYC home.” Yep, NYC’s mayor is declaring war on the superhero community, and he’s got his new team of Thunderbolts on his side.

Let’s take a look at what’s coming in January and February …

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Ka-Zar rises again in a new miniseries by Thompson + Garcia

‘Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land’ #1 arrives in September.

Marvel’s headed back to the Savage Land this fall, and writer Zac Thompson and artist Germán Garcia will be your tour guides.

Following his appearance in Empyre last year — where he died and came back — Ka-Zar will headline a new miniseries — Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land. The comic will flesh out Ka-Zar’s new abilities since his resurrection, as well as introduce a new Savage Land villain.

Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land is the book I’ve always wanted to write,” Thompson said to Marvel.com. “It’s an absolute dream-come-true to take a character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and propel them into the modern Marvel universe with a whole host of horrifying new powers! It’s been years since Ka-Zar had his own series and we wanted to mark the occasion with an evolution that channels something like Immortal Hulk but with a distinct throwback to the old adventure pulps that inspired the character’s creation 65 years ago.”

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Mail Call | Marvel celebrates 80 years of Captain America

A round-up of news and announcements from Marvel, DC, Top Shelf, Z2 Comics, AfterShock and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel will pay tribute to the 80th anniversary of Captain America next year with a special project involving John Cassaday, Alex Ross, Marguerite Sauvage, David Lapham, Declan Shalvey and many more. Captain America Tribute #1, coming from Marvel in March, will feature a bunch of current artists redrawing both Captain America Comics #1 and Avengers #4, with each page by a different artist.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Zac Thompson

The writer of ‘Lonely Receiver’ talks about the book’s themes, working with Jen Hickman and more.

Zac Thompson seemed to come out of nowhere a few years ago and is now writing one comic after another for AfterShock, Black Mask, BOOM!, Marvel and Vault. There are a lot of through lines and themes that run through his work, and one of his central concerns is structures and cycles, how we build them, how we exist in them and how we break out of them. These ideas exist on a societal level and a personal level, and the ways that he uses this to interrogate people’s lives and ideas are fascinating. 

His current project is Lonely Receiver, which he’s made with Jen Hickman. It is a science fiction story, a story about putting one’s life together after a crushing breakup, and a horror story. These elements come together in organic and fascinating ways that only become more impressive as the series goes on.

Thompson’s other recent projects include the recently concluded No One’s Rose, Undone by Blood and Angel and Spike. We spoke recently about Lonely Receiver, the third issue of which was just released, and how he works.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Dog Man, ‘Empyre,’ Doctor Who and more

New comics and graphic novels arrive this week from Al Ewing, Simone Di Meo, Dav Pilkey, Emma Kubert, Jen Hickman, Zac Thompson, Jody Houser and more.

We are back again with a look at what’s arriving in comic shops, bookstores and on digital this week. And what a week it is, with new Dog Man, Black Widow, Doctor Who and many other debuts, along with the big ending of Marvel’s Empyre miniseries.

If you’re wondering what to get this week, check out a few recommendations below. You can check the Comic List page to see what’s arriving in your local shop, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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