Independent Comics Thread

Topic

This is the thread to talk about comics that aren’t DC or Marvel Comics.

Replies

Kirkman seems to like doing 30-36 issue runs. I’ve the first OHC to read but wanted to know it was continuing. Been a bit burnt on some Image series.

That’s a shame. I feel this series still had legs left, but given the apocalyptic events of recent issues this isn’t entirely unexpected. Still really enjoying it. Look forward to seeing how they wrap things up.

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Dave, Ben

Yeah, I’m wondering if the second Fire Power deluxe hardcover will go issues 13-30, or if they’ll try to squeeze two more out of us.

The first one had 18 issues, Sean (12 issues plus the OGN). Pretty sure they’ll only be one more h/c.

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Sean Robinson, Ben

Dave wrote:

Looks like Fire Power is coming to an end.

Kirkman continues his (unofficial) policy of bringing each series to a logical and natural conclusion regardless of how successful and popular they are. I respect that.

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Vikram, Ben, Todd

Went looking for news on Donny Cates and found quite a bit.

Turns out he was seriously injured in a road accident, including six months of amnesia and, somewhere along the way, a divorce.  Nor does it look like he is anywhere near fully recovered.

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Todd

Image Solicits for December are up, in the Solicitation thread.

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francisg

New Bendis & Maleev project from Dark Horse:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/brian-michael-bendis-reteams-with-alex-maleev-1235594984/

I’ll likely check this out.

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Sean Robinson, Ben

Nice find, will keep an eye out for the trade – probably towards the end of 2024.

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Sean Robinson, Dave

[Sean Robinson]

Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch, Francis Manapul and more A-List creators form new comic imprint Ghost Machine – Newsarama

Ghost Machine is described as a “creator-owned and operated media company”

Several of the biggest names in superhero comics are coming together to launch their own “creator-owned and operated media company,” named Ghost Machine. Jason Fabok, Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch, Geoff Johns, Lamont Magee, Francis Manapul, Brad Meltzer, Peter J. Tomasi, and Maytal Zchut will all become exclusive Ghost Machine creators once their current obligations to other publishers are through.

“Our ambition for Ghost Machine is to push beyond superheroes, introducing new genres, characters and shared universes, completely co-owned by all the creators involved. We see this as the future of how creatives will work and retain creative control and meaningfully participate in success like never before,” reads a joint statement from the Ghost Machine founding creators.

“Our passion is for the magic of graphic storytelling and the emotional resonance of compelling characters. But we are not just a comic book company – we are the first wholly creator-owned and operated media company of its kind, born out of a desire to create and succeed together.”

Rather than operating as a publisher itself, Ghost Machine will publish its titles through Image Comics. As for what those titles are, here’s Ghost Machine’s description of their initial line:

“A two-issue prequel series, GEIGER: GROUND ZERO by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, ships in November and December before Ghost Machine’s first official release in January 2024 with GHOST MACHINE #1, a 64-page special which will introduce its FOUR SHARED UNIVERSES of characters:

1) THE UNNAMED; revealing a mysterious group of genre heroes from across history, featuring characters and titles like GEIGER, JUNKYARD JOE, REDCOAT and FIRST GHOST. A GEIGER series, based on Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s hit comic of the same name, is already in development at Paramount TV with director Justin Simien.

2) ROOK: EXODUS; a sprawling sci-fi epic which takes place in the far future, on a world where every aspect of nature is controlled by humanity.

3) The universe of FAMILY ODYSSEYS centering around the time displaced family, THE ROCKETFELLERS, and their friends. And 4) An epic HORROR UNIVERSE co-created and illustrated by one of our secret superstar artists to be announced, currently under contract. Following Ghost Machine #1, Ghost Machine’s titles will begin shipping in April 2024 with an all-new ongoing GEIGER series, REDCOAT and ROOK: EXODUS.”

And here’s a gallery of Ghost Machine covers: (click the main link…)

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by Sean Robinson.

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Ben

Sean Robinson wrote:

Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch, Francis Manapul and more A-List creators form new comic imprint Ghost Machine – Newsarama

Johns, Frank, Hitch and others have been working together on the “Unnamed” shared universe concept for two years now, with good results that are spaces a bit too far apart to have a major impact on the industry (one GEIGER mini-series plus a special, one JUNKYARD JOE mini, and an anthology one-shot are all that I can recall at the moment). I’m glad to see they are planning a major re-introduction, but I hope they ramp up the production accordingly.

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Ben, Dave

I’m not sure ramping up production is that good an idea. A steady stream of product yes but companies can easily go off the rails doing too much too fast.

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Todd, garjones

Feels a lot like Gorilla Comics did back in the day. Hopefully this survives longer.

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Ben, Todd

Ben wrote:

I’m not sure ramping up production is that good an idea. A steady stream of product yes but companies can easily go off the rails doing too much too fast.

Yeah I have always been wary of ‘linewide’ launches. I don’t think consumers want them, even original Image with the biggest hype comics have ever seen dripped their launch titles month by month. When single issues are $4-5 a pop nobody really wants to commit to $20-40 extra a month on an unknown ‘universe’. If you think of things like original Marvel from the launch of FF or even Vertigo, they grew very organically off one title and then branched out.

Saying that I think this looks less taxing than most but I would go back and advise them to launch one at a time and get the hype if the product is good.

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Todd, Ben

Had heard of some of these but the big surprise was Fabok’s involvement – guy’s been quiet for a while.

I hope they also issue trades later on.

Ben wrote:

I hope they also issue trades later on.

They will, as long as they don’t flop massively. Having read Gillen’s analysis of Image sales the creators make the bulk of their money on trade sales after the costs have been settled on the issues.

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Ben

Interesting to consider what might have happened for TKO had they distributed to bookshops.

They announced some excellent titles, then made their stuff hard to buy.

Ben wrote:

Had heard of some of these but the big surprise was Fabok’s involvement – guy’s been quiet for a while.

I hope they also issue trades later on.

Geiger is already out in trade, currently only a fiver at Amazon for a full-length collection if you feel like giving it a punt.

I thought it was OK, the really nice Gary Frank art elevates a slightly average story.

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Vikram

I have both the first Geiger and Junkyard Joe trades, both are good stories boosted by Frank’s art.

I have to admit that I could have gone for these books without the shared universe aspect.

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Vikram

I was at the launch panel at NYCC earlier today.

Look at the talent on this panel! With another big name artist to be announced after their exclusive runs out in a couple of months (guessing they rhyme with Flatrick Meason).

 

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Bruce, Todd, njerry, Ben

Oh good, another superhero universe launched by a handful of mediocre writers. Can’t wait to see them explore the previously unwritten histories of new analogues of mainstream superheroes.

I don’t know, man. This isn’t the nineties. Is anyone really looking for a new shared superhero universe anymore?

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garjones, Todd

The best new shared superhero universe is what Kyle Higgins and friends are doing with the Massive-verse.  Those books are a lot of fun and feel different to read.

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njerry

Christian wrote:

Is anyone really looking for a new shared superhero universe anymore?

I prefer stuff like the horror “universe” that Lemire and Sorrentino are creating with their Bone Orchard books, or the Criminal universe that Brubaker and Phillips did a few years ago. But I’ve enjoyed the books that Johns and Frank have released so far, so I’m willing to continue following them for a while, at least.

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Vikram, Ben

Yeah, I was also thinking about how the best recent superhero universe creation was probably Lemire’s Blackhammer, and part what made it so good was probably that it wasn’t a sprawling thing with multiple books from the start.

njerry wrote:

But I’ve enjoyed the books that Johns and Frank have released so far, so I’m willing to continue following them for a while, at least.

Sure, that’s fair. Personally, the writing team of Johns, Meltzer and Thomasi leaves me cold. They all wrote perfectly serviceable books for DC, but certainly never anything that made me go “Oh, I want to see what that guy can do outside of the mainstream!”.
It’s probably going to be a slightly more “edgy” version of the same old.

That’s just me of course, this may well become extremely successful. But it does feel like they’re trying to go down a road that isn’t really there anymore. The big days of Wildstorm and Top Cow have been over for a while.

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Todd

These days for me, just as I’m no longer drawn to superhero comics by the genre itself but by the creators that are working on it, I’m also not averse to reading superhero comics if some good creators are working on a story in that genre that sounds promising.

For example, this new book from the Death Or Glory team of Remender and Bengal sounds like it’ll be worth a look:

NYCC ’23: REMENDER & BENGAL reunite for new ongoing NAPALM LULLABY

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njerry

Yeah, I mean, if this was an imprint launched by, say, James Tynion, Jonathan Hickman, Jeff Lemire and Tom King, I’d be there for it.

Spotted a collection of Hate by Peter Bagge in my LCS’ 50% off sale. For some reason i didn’t pick it up today but I’m sure it’ll still be there next week so I might grab it then.

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Christian

To be fair, Ghost Machine aren’t doing superheroes. Whilst the characters definitely do share traits with the capes & cowls crowd, they are not creating a superhero universe. They’re leaning heavily into science fiction, all ages, and horror.

The sales pitch was they are doing “character first” books – I.E. they’re trying to do what McFarlane, Lee, Larsen et al did back in the day. Create characters that sell books rather than creators or concepts. I think there’s a place for that in the industry. Not exclusively, which would be boring, but that type of storytelling has its merits too.

They’re launching in April with Geiger (Johns & Frank) ongoing, Redcoat (Johns & Hitch), and Rook: Exodus (Johns & Fabok). There’s a giant size Ghost Machine one shot in January with preview stories. Other creators’ books start coming out later in the year.

The business model is interesting. They’ve basically set up a company – Ghost Machine Productions – where they are all partners. And, as creators, they are now signed up to exclusive contracts with their own company. So, as their existing commitments wrap up, we’ll only see their work here for the foreseeable future.

And, to Christian’s point earlier, I love Tomasi’s work but am pretty indifferent to Johns and Meltzer. However, I adore Frank, Hitch, Fabok, Manapul’s (and Gleason, maybe) artwork though. That’s an awesome artistic lineup. I do imagine I’ll be getting most of what they produce over the next few years, even if it’s only for the gorgeous art alone.

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Todd, Ben

Vikram wrote:

I.E. they’re trying to do what McFarlane, Lee, Larsen et al did back in the day. Create characters that sell books rather than creators or concepts.

Did they do that? I’ll give some credit to McFarlane for his dedication to Spawn but most of the Image launch books were just analogues of existing Marvel and DC books. I have an archer superhero, he’s called Shaft and not Hawkeye, even though he’s really Hawkeye.

I have admiration to some degree for that era and the energy they brought but 30 years on next to nothing they originated is being published.

 

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Christian

The longevity might not be there, Gar, but at the time the characters were huge. Spin off books, guest appearances, TV shows, etc.

People weren’t just buying Spawn for McFarlane. They were buying Spawn because he was a hot character.

Liefeld only ever did a couple of issues of any of his books before farming them out to others. Those still sold gang busters at the time.

That is the energy that the Ghost Machine team are trying to recapture.

I doubt they’ll succeed or have any great longevity either, but that’s not really my point.

Vikram wrote:

I doubt they’ll succeed or have any great longevity either, but that’s not really my point.

Then what is the point?

You have some big names in the industry. They can do well if they provide intriguing characters and stories. The Image launch really didn’t do that. They sold a lot of comics on hype but as characters nobody cares.

[Vikram]

Obviously they’re hoping that they will succeed. I would assume that’s the point.

My personal opinion isn’t going to determine their success or lack thereof. I will be buying the books so putting my money into the endeavour, supporting the creators and characters I enjoy. As I did back in the day with Image.

At GHOST MACHINE, we believe in two guiding principles: great comics come from great characters and equity comes from true artistic ownership. Committed to these ideals and inspired by those who came before us, GHOST MACHINE launches new characters from all genres …

Quoted from their marketing pitch.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Vikram.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Vikram.

I’d argue that the Image books actually did pretty well in terms of longevity for brand new creations.

Spawn is still a well known character now across many different media, and his comic book is still going, as is Savage Dragon. The Jim Lee Wildstorm stuff was pretty huge and ended up being so big that it became a whole universe of its own with characters that now are part of the DC line and still going (with the Authority due to get the movie treatment soon).

Yeah, you can argue that many of the Image bunch were a bit derivative, but that’s true of a lot of comics characters, even the successful new creations. Jessica Jones is a hard-drinking private detective with emotional baggage, it’s about as cliché as they come but she’s still one of the biggest new characters to come out of Marvel in a long time. Miles Morales is literally another Spider-Man but again he’s caught on with people.

In both those cases the books were well written and drawn, despite the derivative nature of the characters. People enjoyed them as a result.

Coming back to Ghost Machine, there’s no reason why those creators can’t put out good comics even if the characters are a bit uninspired and familiar.

Will it turn out that way? Who knows, but let’s not write it off without even giving it a chance.

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Todd, Ben, Vikram

garjones wrote:

I have admiration to some degree for that era and the energy they brought but 30 years on next to nothing they originated is being published.

*cough*savagedragon*cough*

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Ben, Vikram

Vikram wrote:

And, to Christian’s point earlier, I love Tomasi’s work but am pretty indifferent to Johns and Meltzer. However, I adore Frank, Hitch, Fabok, Manapul’s (and Gleason, maybe) artwork though. That’s an awesome artistic lineup.

Yeah, the artists are pretty amazing. I’ve never been a reader who follows artists – always stuck to the writers really, and only very seldomly to the characters – but if I did, I’d probably own every Gary Frank book.

Dave wrote:

Spawn is still a well known character now across many different media, and his comic book is still going, as is Savage Dragon. The Jim Lee Wildstorm stuff was pretty huge and ended up being so big that it became a whole universe of its own with characters that now are part of the DC line and still going (with the Authority due to get the movie treatment soon).

That’s kind of my point though. They did really great for a while there, and in some form those characters are still there, but – that was then. I doubt that this kind of undertaking will be similarly successful today.

Dave wrote:

Yeah, you can argue that many of the Image bunch were a bit derivative, but that’s true of a lot of comics characters, even the successful new creations. Jessica Jones is a hard-drinking private detective with emotional baggage, it’s about as cliché as they come but she’s still one of the biggest new characters to come out of Marvel in a long time. Miles Morales is literally another Spider-Man but again he’s caught on with people.

Dave wrote:

Coming back to Ghost Machine, there’s no reason why those creators can’t put out good comics even if the characters are a bit uninspired and familiar.

Will it turn out that way? Who knows, but let’s not write it off without even giving it a chance.

I mean, sure, for everybody who enjoys those creators’ work. Personally, I’m not interested, but I do wish them the best of luck.

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Vikram

I felt that I was doing a disservice to the original Image creators earlier, and so spent a little time crunching some numbers this morning.

There have been over 150 issues of Jim Lee’s Wildcats published, across a number of volumes and even different publishers, but the core characters remain the same (Zealot, Grifter, Void, Spartan, …).

Marc Silvestri’s Witchblade has racked up 200 plus issues.

There are more issues of Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon (270 plus) than there are solo Tim Drake Robin comic books!

And, the grand daddy of them all, Spawn has accumulated more issues over its run (including the main spin off series starring Al Simmons) than all of the John Constantine, Hellblazer volumes put together.

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DavidM, njerry, Todd

Millarworld moves to Dark Horse.

https://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/3929/mark-millars-millarworld-moves-dark-horse-comics-n

Interesting move. The Library Editions should be nice.

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njerry, Todd

They ought to be, though I’m less enthused about thus than I ought to be.  Likely due to Millar going full dipshit in both his comics work and public comments.

Though, it’s a fair point he always kind of was, it was just easier to tolerate in a less fucked-up world.  And he was putting out better material.

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lorcan_nagle, Todd

This could be good, a new Azzarello-Risso book, May 2024:

https://aiptcomics.com/2023/12/18/dstlry-the-blood-brothers-mother-may-2024/

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Sean Robinson

Yes. Looking forward to that one. Was reading the new DSTLRY solicits yesterday and they had 5 books listed. This one, one by Snyder & Francavilla, another by Tynion & Ward, Cloonan & Lotay, and the final issue of Jock’s Gone. That’s a pretty awesome creative line up.

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Dave, Sean Robinson, Ben

DSTLRY are doing trades too. Jock’s Gone is out as a hardback end of May.

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Sean Robinson

I’ve bought all the DSTLRY books so far and they’ve been fairly good. Somna is probably my favourite so far – beautiful art and an intriguing story.

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Ben

Coming in August:

Houses of the Unholy is a riveting horror thrill-ride from bestselling creators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, the award-winning team behind CRIMINAL (soon to be a TV series on Amazon Prime), RECKLESS, NIGHT FEVER and WHERE THE BODY WAS.

An FBI agent from the cult crime beat and a woman with a past linked to the Satanic Panic are drawn into a terrifying hunt for an insane killer hiding in the shadows of the underworld. Can you ever escape your past, or are all your bad decisions just more ghosts to haunt you, wherever you go?

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Ben, Todd, njerry, Sean Robinson

Series? GN? Series of GNs?

144 pages, Hardcover. Expected publication August 13, 2024

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Ben

That sounds excellent, thanks for the tip-off.

Just saw that DWJ is off art duties on Transformers after issue #6, he’ll still be writing but another artist (Jorge Corona) is drawing the second arc.

It’s what I expected but I’ll likely drop the book as it’s really DWJ’s art that I’m there for.

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Ben

I was going to say that’s really disappointing to hear, but Corona did excellent work on Middlewest with Skottie Young, so it could work better than we expect.

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Vikram

I don’t think I know Corona’s art, but I read he’s working on something new with Young too, so I’m going to assume this is just for an arc on Transformers. In which case, it’s disappointing but I’ll probably keep reading hoping that DWJ is back on art for arc 3.

Personally, I was really hoping that James Harren would be lined up for a fill in arc. Very similar stylistically and I haven’t seen anything from him in a while. He does have an established relationship with Skybound too.

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Ben

I doubt DWJ will be back on art, he’s said in interviews that he likes the idea of alternating between big properties like this and more personal stuff, so I imagine he’ll be working on something creator-owned again next.

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Vikram

Image Solicits for April are up in the Solicitation thread

Blood Squad Seven: New Image Comics Series Deconstructs ’90s Superheroes

Seems a bit late for that, but then again, it’s Joe Casey, so I’ll probably keep an eye out, actually. His Image/Wildstorm stuff was always good, though Wilcats 3.0 is still the peak of his career for me.

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JRCarter, lorcan_nagle, Ben, Todd

New Kieron Gillen series! https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kieron-gillen-launching-the-power-fantasy-comic-1235840258/

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JRCarter, Sean Robinson

paul f wrote:

New Kieron Gillen series! https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kieron-gillen-launching-the-power-fantasy-comic-1235840258/

Let me guess: They come into conflict.

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JRCarter

No, they all just sit around at home crocheting.

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JRCarter, Todd

This one does sound an interesting riff on superheroes.

Gillen says that this is to Immortal X-Men what Wicked & Divine was to Young Avengers. His Immortal X-Men work was quite superb, IMO, so I think this should be excellent. I’m optimistic about it.

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Dan, Ben

Yeah, I’m totally in. I love it when Gillen does superhero revisionism. Peter Canon was also him an Wijngaard, and that was great.

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Dan, Ben

Sam & Twitch Series Headlines New Spawn Spin-off Line at Image Comics

Christian wrote:

Yeah, I’m totally in. I love it when Gillen does superhero revisionism. Peter Canon was also him an Wijngaard, and that was great.

Yeah, that was maybe his best book.

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Christian, Dan

Dave wrote:

Christian wrote:

Yeah, I’m totally in. I love it when Gillen does superhero revisionism. Peter Canon was also him an Wijngaard, and that was great.

Yeah, that was maybe his best book.

Peter Cannon is so under appreciated. Its fascinating in several different dimensions.

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Dave, Christian

Fire Power #30 brings Kirkman, Samnee and Wilson’s mystical kung fu epic to a close, with a giant sized finale that wraps up the ongoing conflict with the dragon and brings things full circle with the debut OGN.

For a series that started out as a barely concealed Iron Fist analogue, it morphed into an all-ages family adventure as it went along. There’s enough gloriously drawn action to keep things moving forwards, but it was always the familial interactions between the Johnson clan that were the highlight of the book. Those are the bits that I’ll miss the most.

Now that the series is done, I think I’m going to dig out the back issues from storage and hand the lot over to my teenage son. I think he’ll get a big kick (no pun intended) out of the book.

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Todd, Ben, njerry, Dave

I appreciate that Kirkman starts many of his Image series with an ending in mind, so that most of the events of the storyline are moving the characters toward that end. Hope your son enjoys Fire Power as much as you have, Vikram.

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Todd, Ben, Vikram

The second arc of Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard’s Damn Them All (#7-12) was a bit of a step down from the first, albeit still a great read overall. The story was more apocalyptic in nature, and Ellie, therefore, ended up feeling less consequential to events. It’s a little disappointing that they went so big so quickly, as it’s the quieter more intimate stories that made Spurrier’s Hellblazer so compelling, and they seem to have squandered all that potential far too quickly here. I don’t know if this book is continuing, as there has been no solicitation for #13 thus far. If it’s not, then they wrapped up the main storyline nicely, with some clever twists and turns. But, if it does come back, I hope they narrow the focus back down again for future storylines.

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Dave

Yeah, I felt like the book was already a bit artificially extended after #6, which felt like a natural endpoint.

I do wonder whether Spurrier getting the Hellblazer gig back again ultimately led him to lose interest in this, which always felt like an analogue to Constantine that he came up with when his first Hellblazer run finished. Then once he got the real thing back, maybe he gave up on this a bit.

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Vikram

Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows’ The Ribbon Queen (#1-8) was a haunting and quite disconcerting tale of man’s propensity for the subjugation of women, and the avenging force of retribution that is brought about in response. It’s quite horrific and unsettling. It’s not an easy read, but an engrossing one, from a creative team on fine form. Recommended.

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njerry, Ben, Todd, Dave

Vikram wrote:

Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows’ The Ribbon Queen (#1-8) was a haunting and quite disconcerting tale of man’s propensity for the subjugation of women, and the avenging force of retribution that is brought about in response. It’s quite horrific and unsettling. It’s not an easy read, but an engrossing one, from a creative team on fine form. Recommended.

Yeah I enjoyed this one too. I felt like Ennis used a fairly straight supernatural horror/revenge story to touch on some interesting wider aspects – Metoo, BLM etc. – and consider them intelligently without resorting to any easy answers. Plus Burrows’ art struck the perfect tone for the story.

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njerry, Ben, Vikram

30 years after he created Hellboy, Mike Mignola is creating a whole new folklore-inspired universe – GamesRadar/Newsarama

Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck are teaming up to create Curious Objects, a whole new comic universe

Mike Mignola’s signature creation Hellboy hit the scene 30 years ago, in 1994. And now, in 2024, the beloved cartoonist is creating a whole new “shared universe” of comic stories alongside writer/artist Ben Stenbeck, a frequent contributor to Mignola’s BPRD Universe.

Their new universe will debut in an anthology comic published through Dark Horse, titled Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, featuring a whole slate of new stories written and drawn by Mignola, along with his longtime collaborators colorist Dave Stewart and letterer Clem Robins.

The new venture, dubbed ‘Curious Objects,’ will expand down the road with another title from Stenbeck. The first comic in the line, Bowling for Corpses, seems to take all the creepy-crawly, humorously ghoulish elements Mignola is known for in a specifically folklore-inspired direction, offering a preview of what the expanded line will be about.

In Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, the stories are fantastical, odd and charming — from a search for the beating heart of a long-dead sorcerer, to a pirate girl who makes a deal with the devil, to the titular boy who wins a grim prize in a game with undead interlopers,” reads Dark Horse’s announcement.

Many Hellboy stories have incorporated elements of folklore into the BPRD Universe over the years, showing a modern, somewhat superhero-ized version of characters from myth and legend. But Curious Objects seems to go from the other angle, focusing more directly on the folkloric elements in what Dark Horse calls its “weird, wicked, and whimsical stories.”

It all started with an Italian Folktale about a boy who goes bowling with corpses,” Mignola explains in a statement. “I fell in love with the story as soon as I discovered it but I wanted to play fast and loose when adapting it, so I created a whole new world.”

“Not TOO different than our world a few centuries ago, but with a lot more gods and monsters. Once I created that world new characters and stories just started pouring out of it. There is a whole lot to play with here and I expect to be at it for a very long time.”

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njerry, Todd

That explains the lack of new Mignolaverse content then.

It’s a bit weird that he felt he couldn’t fit this into the Hellboy-verse, but maybe he just felt like a fresh start on a blank slate. That can be good for creativity after so many years, I am sure.

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Todd, Ben

This isn’t Mignola’s first venture away from the Hellboy Universe. He’s created the Outerverse (Baltimore, Joe Golem, Lady Baltimore and other related titles); the “Our Encounters With Evil” trilogy of prestige books featuring Prof. Meinhardt and Mr. Knox; and books like ZombieWorld, Jenny Finn, Amazing Screw-On Head, Radio Spaceman, and the prose books Father Gaetano’s Puppet Catechism and Grim Death and Bill the Electrocuted Criminal, that don’t seem to fit into any established universe. I’m just happy that he has found a new outlet for his creativity and seems excited to be drawing and writing comics again.

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Dave, Todd, Ben

Yeah, it’s not a bad thing by any means.

Meanwhile, there’s a pile of good stuff in the Image July solicits, including Massive-Verse 2024 one shot.

Inside the cutesy, cuddly serial killer thriller that has taken the comics world by storm – GamesRadar/Newsarama

Patrick Horvath’s Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees has become a surprise smash hit for IDW

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It can be hard to predict what’s going to be big in comics. Sure, you can rely on the big name Marvel and DC titles to regularly sell well and there are certain creators who can shift thousands of copies based on their name alone, but given that there are more than 150 different comics, graphic novels, and trade paperbacks published this week alone, it can be hard to cut through the noise. Every now and again, though, something entirely unexpected will take off.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees is one such book. The blackly comic murder mystery series from IDW launched in October last year and, in its five issues so far, has become the company’s best-selling original (ie. not based on a franchise like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) comic. What’s even more remarkable, however, is that it’s written and painted by a creator who is more-or-less a newcomer to the comics industry: Patrick Horvath.

Described by IDW as, “Dexter meets Richard Scarry’s Busy Town” Beneath the Trees is blessed with an instantly attention-grabbing pitch.

Woodbrook is a town full of walking, talking, anthropomorphic animals. It’s cute, picturesque, and seemingly entirely safe. Little do the residents know, however, that their neighbour – and the comic’s protagonist – Samantha is a serial killer. She makes sure to practice her hobby far from home in the big city, but when another killer starts to brutally off her friends in Woodbrook, Sam is forced to try and solve the mystery of their identity and take them out before the murders draw too much attention to her own crimes.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees’s premise instantly raises a smile, but what really makes it work is the contrast between Horvath’s cutesy storybook visuals and the utter horror of both Sam and the mystery killer’s actions. There’s a real sense of melancholy amid the guilty chuckles. These animals are, for all intents and purposes, just regular people, and that makes the comic’s mix of adorable art and outright brutality all the more impactful.

So who is Patrick Horvath? Before breaking into the comics world, he was best know for writing a string of indie horror films, including work on the Southbound anthology and The Pact 2. Frustrated with the slow pace of the film world, however, he returned to his youthful love of drawing every day. After several years of doing this, he self-published an online graphic novella Free For All (which is due to get a print release later this year) and published a short story in Josh Trujillo’s Love Machines Anthology. Arguably his first mainstream work came, however, when he painted an issue of Image’s Haha back in 2021. Horvath’s work caught the attention of IDW and he was approached to pitch to the publisher as part of a new creator push.

Beneath the Trees has its origins in one of Horvath’s daily sketches – in this case, a teddy bear carrying a bloodied axe – as well as a famous nursery rhyme. Talking to Bearded Comic Bro on YouTube, he revealed that the title of the series was plucked from the song ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic.’ “I think it’s the second chorus where they sing, ‘Beneath the trees where nobody sees, they hide and seek as long as they please, because that’s the way the teddy bears have their picnic’ and I was like, what do they do beneath the trees where nobody sees?!”

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More DSTLRY books on the way:

https://dstlry.co/blogs/news/introducing-dstlrys-next-batch-life-the-missionary-time-waits

Let’s hope they keep up the quality.

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Sean Robinson, Ben

This sounds very cool:

Brian Azzarello (The Blood Brothers Mother, 100 Bullets) and Stephanie Phillips (Grim, Harley Quinn), writing together for the first time, team up with artist Danijel Žeželj (Nostalgia) and colorist Lee Loughridge (Somna, Deadly Class) to create a masterfully crafted flip book, housing two enthralling narratives that collide in unexpected ways.

In the future, a death penalty will be considered an act of kindness, as covert experiments have forced criminals with multiple life sentences to live all their time to full term. For the “Casanova Killer,” that means living out the nearly 2,400 years of his 32 life sentences mining on a distant prison planet alongside some of humanity’s most heinous offenders. Years pass…

Decades turn to centuries, abandoned, the prisoners are shocked to see a ship approaching, filled with thieves hoping their next big score is on the planet’s long-dead mine. They have no idea that the prisoners are still alive. While the prisoners scheme to find a way off planet, the thieves plan the biggest score of their careers.

Each issue of LIFE is a flip book, housing one story from two different perspectives. A prison break and a heist both offer interlocking narratives, creating an immersive experience that will challenge your perceptions of justice while begging the immortal question: Who really wants to live forever?

That’s a very brainy/abstract approach for Azzarello. I’m interested.

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Todd, Dan

Yeah, I like the sound of that one.

Dark Horse announces Jupiter’s Legacy: Finale – the last act of Mark Millar’s 12-year superhero saga – GamesRadar/Newsarama

The book will reunite Millar with artist Tommy Lee Edwards

12 years after it launched, Mark Millar’s superhero saga Jupiter’s Legacy is drawing to a close with a new five-issue series from Dark Horse Comics. The aptly-named Jupiter’s Legacy: Finale will see the world’s heroes trapped on an alien world, just as Earth faces the threat of invasion

Finale will be written by Millar with Tommy Lee Edwards handling the art duties as he did in the saga’s previous chapter, 2021’s Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem. Edwards will provide a main cover for the first issue alongside variants from Jupiter’s Legacy co-creator Frank Quitely, Julian Totino Tedesco, and Skottie Young. You can check them all out in the gallery below. (By clicking on the link. .)

“We started this book in 2012,” Millar said in a statement. “When Barack Obama was still in his first term and now we’re finally finishing it, 12 years older and hopefully wiser. It’s been the longest story I’ve written in my career and an honor to work with some of the greatest artists in the modern industry. I had this plotted on my board a couple of years before and it’s so satisfying to see it all come together at last. I’m so proud of this book and want to thank everyone for their patience. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. What other book out there can promise: The secret of the universe contained within?”

Jupiter’s Legacy started life at Image Comics, but moved to Dark Horse with the rest of the Millarworld catalog last year. The publisher’s synopsis for the final chapter of this sprawling saga reads:

“The lineage of America’s superheroes is on the brink. They’ve grappled with internal scandals, personal demons, and the constant threat of raising children in a world teetering on the edge of destruction. The struggle to understand the origins of their powers and the looming threat of heroes and villains to humanity has been a constant battle. Now, the superheroes find themselves trapped and murdered on an alien world, while the enemies of Earth, who have long envied our planet, seize the opportunity to launch their invasion.”

Jupiter’s Legacy: Finale #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics on October 16.

https://www.polygon.com/24183350/ram-v-joelle-jones-horror-comic-through-red-windows

Another DSTLRY book that looks like it’ll be worth checking out.

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njerry, Sean Robinson

Dave wrote:

Another DSTLRY book that looks like it’ll be worth checking out.

I suppose if you’re the kind of person who would prefer to spend his hard-earned money on a quality product made by dedicated writers and artists, rather than the latest derivative drivel being shat out by Marvel and DC, then yeah, this is worth checking out.

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Todd, Ben, Dave

Well when you put it like that, I sound crazy.

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njerry, Todd

[Sean Robinson]

Image Solicitations for October 2024

at FCN

• This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by Sean Robinson.
• This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by Sean Robinson.

Big news from SDCC – 2025 will see Act 4 of Ragnarok from Walter Simonson!

I saw that. I also saw that Act 4 (the name of Scott Dunbier’s new comic company) will also be publishing a hardcover collection of Darwyn Cooke’s Spirit run. Very cool.

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Ben

Ooh, I’m tempted by that – even though I have it in paperback.

DSTLRY.co
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You Won’t Feel a Thing: New DSTLRY Series Reunites Batman: The Black Mirror Creators | SDCC 2024 – IGN

Scott Snyder and Jock are back together again for a twisted new horror series.

DSTLRY has enjoyed a strong debut in the comic book industry over the last couple of years, thanks in no small part to the fact that their talent pool includes some of the industry’s biggest creators. That’s certainly true for their latest project, You Won’t Feel a Thing, which reunites the Batman: Black Mirror and Wytches creative team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Jock.

IGN can exclusively reveal the first details about You Won’t Feel a Thing, which was announced at the “Building New Worlds with DSTLRY” panel at San Diego Comic-Con today. The series’ creative team also includes editor Will Dennis, who previously worked on Wytches with Snyder and Jock.

You Won;’t Feel a Thing focuses on an aging ex-detective named Jack Bernard. Decades in the past, Jack built a reputation for putting criminals behind bars, even if his obsession cost him his family. Now, Jack is wasting away in a nursing home and struggling with a tumor that’s erasing his memory. He’ll have to race against time to catch a serial killer from his past before Jack’s mind finally gives own. The problem is that he’s the only one who believes the killer even exists.

“You Won’t Feel a Thing is by far the most haunting and atmospheric project I’ve ever worked on,” said Snyder in a statement. “The story is a descent into white-knuckle giallo and noir influences, with a healthy sheen of psychological (and very literal) horror. It’s a project that wouldn’t work on any level without Jock as a co-pilot, and we’ve been brainstorming and layering this deeply complex thriller into the twilight hours.”

Jock added, “The claustrophobic, disorienting approach of You Won’t Feel a Thing is unlike anything we’ve done before. The oversized format of DSTLRY books allow us to push the boundaries of our creativity. This is a horror experience designed to blow minds and stop sleep. It’s an understatement to say I can’t wait for this to hit stands.”

You Won’t Feel a Thing #1 will be released in November 2024. As with all DSTLRY titles, it’ll be available in both print and on the DSTLRY app
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SDCC ’24: DSTLRY announces Cloonan’s COME FIND ME: AN AUTUMNAL OFFERING – Comics Beat

Hot off the heels of its first Eisner Award win for Best New Series (Somna), DSTLRY announced a new horror one-shot curated by Somna co-creator Becky Cloonan at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday.

Come Find Me: An Autumnal Offering is a folk-horror anthology one-shot featuring stories by six creators including Cloonan, whose contribution introduces her next DSTLRY series. Her story follows a thief who’s cursed to doom everything they touch after they steal the coins laid over a dead person’s eyes.

Debuting in late October, Come Find Me also features some of the most iconic horror creators working in comics: E.M. Carroll (A Guest in the House), Céline Loup (The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs), Vanesa R. Del Rey (Scarlet Witch, Redlands), HamletMachine (Lucifer’s Garden), and Molly Mendoza (Skip, Stray). Carroll, Mendoza, and Del Rey’s stories dig into “naturalistic romance and dread,” while HamletMachine takes a Faustian route with a musical demon and their victims.

“Just like Somna allowed me to collaborate with [co-creator] Tula Lotay and create something subversive and unexpected, I wanted to cultivate that same feel with Come Find Me,” said Cloonan. “From a place of selfishness, these are my favorite voices in horror comics, and uniting them has been a nightmare come true. Much like my first contribution in DSTLRY’s one-shot, The Devil’s Cut, you may just see some of these stories set the stage for larger projects.”

Founding editor Will Dennis said, “Following on the huge success of Somna, Becky is at it again with the sexy horror stories! It’s a testament to her stature in this business that she’s managed to assemble such a stellar lineup of established and emerging talent, and I feel very blessed that she’s asked me to be a part of it. It’s going to be an amazing book!”

DSTLRY co-founders Chip Mosher and David Steinberger called the one-shot “as thought-provoking as it is terrifying” and remarked upon how Come Find Me continues their commitment to publishing “unique, high-quality content”—what they call “the DSTLRY difference.”

Although the publisher only launched last year, it’s already gained major accolades from the industry. Its comics appeared on multiple “Best of 2023” lists last year, and on Friday DSTLRY took home its first Eisner Award. It was also nominated in two additional categories, and we’re likely to see its titles on the Harvey Awards ballot come fall.

Come Find Me will be available in October via dstlry.co and at your local comic shop. The one-shot is available for pre-order now.
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SDCC ’24: DSTLRY What’s next? – Comics Beat

DSTLRY talks about upcoming projects including Time Waits and Through Red Windows

The independent comic book publisher DSTLRY was founded in May of 2023. Since its launch, it has released multiple new series from some of the biggest creatives in comics here today.

This is why at a special panel showcasing their upcoming releases At San Diego Comic-Con, creatives Mirka Andolfo, Ram V, David Brothers, and Joelle Jones got together to discuss the future of DSTLRY and what this meant to them as creators in their most recent panel.

Time Waits is a new story from David Brothers and Chip Zdarsky set to release this summer. Zdarsky was not able to be at the panel and so Brothers took the initiative to explain their new work. This new sci-fi adventure centers around Blue, a man now trapped in the past as he could not go through with the mission he was set out to complete before.

Brothers said:

Essentially blue used to be a paramilitary soldiers, the trouble was they sent him into the past on a mission he didn’t really agree with and instead of bringing things back he stayed, got with a nice lady, settled down and now they’re looking to adopt. His bosses in the future did not like that and they send forces back to kill them

To him, Time Waits is meant to be a classic revenge story with small councilors and Zdarsky and himself have got some amazing stuff.

Andolfo got to talk about her newest collection for BLASFAMOUS as the hardcover completed collection release in October. Although she was excited for her current run with DSTLRY she was happy to speak on her future project how she is more willing to take more of a serious approach and focus on some more themes she was looking forward to.

Ram V will be releasing his newest project yet, Through Red windows, which is a collaboration between himself and Joelle Jones as they explore a take on a modern horror. Protagonist Athul Laal is invited to live in a house by his Mentor. What he thought was his initiation into inner circles of the elites, turns into his own personal hell. The illness that consumes his mentor is somehow tied to the very 73 story building and behind each there are even more secrets and monsters tied to Harlan and Athuls lives.

“This is really a series that asks questions about what do you sacrifice to fulfill your ambitions” said V. “How wealth and the kind of world that some people have can essentially alter reality itself. So I’ve had a fascination with taking things that don’t really combined well and putting them together anyway. In a book called blue green, which was jazz and horror put together, so this one is wealth and business and horror put together”.

Jones finished the panel by commenting on how she understood where V was coming from with this project. She said “ this immediately clicked with my sort of brand and I said yes, I’m very excited”.
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Meet Ballpoint, the worst Transformer ever, who turns into a pen – Newsarama

Transformers: Worst Bot Ever: Meet Ballpoint is a new YA/Middle Grade original graphic novel which puts it all right out there in the title – Ballpoint is a Transformer who turns into a pen and he’s the worst.

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njerry

[Sean Robinson]

Image Solicitations for November 2024

at Image

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by Sean Robinson.
• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by Sean Robinson.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Todd

I am going to get myself 10 copies of each cover to #1
Money in the bank!

Rob Liefeld Returning to ‘Youngblood’ (Exclusive) – Hollywood Reporter

The comic book creator will write and illustrate a new series after seven years away from the property.

Comic book creator Rob Liefeld is plotting a return to the property that helped launch his post-Marvel career more than 30 years ago.

Liefeld will return to write and illustrate a Youngblood title for Image Comics, which will publish the book next year. It marks his first work on the property in seven years, and he is working with Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, who oversees the property for rights holder, Rip Media Inc.

“It’s so great that I can run into the comfort of characters that I created, that launched a movement. They carry such history. I love Youngblood so much. These characters are my absolute passion,” said Liefeld.

Youngblood came after Liefeld created breakout hits for Marvel, including Deadpool, Cable and X-Force. Then in 1992, he and other top creators departed Marvel to launch Image. Youngblood launched Image Comics, and became the first title outside of Marvel or DC to bow at No. 1 and sell more than 1 million copies. The original Youngblood miniseries ultimately sold 25 million copies globally. And the property has spanned 100 issues, counting top talents such as Robert Kirkman, Alan Moore and Mark Millar as contributors.

In addition to the new series, Image will publish Youngblood Vault Edition, featuring high-res scans of the original art from the first Youngblood series, collected in a deluxe oversized hardcover. There will also be a facsimile edition of Youngblood #1 to timed to its 33rd anniversary in April 2025.

“Rob and I are a fantastic team, and I’m as excited now for Youngblood’s relaunch as I was in 1992 for its initial launch,” said Rosenberg, adding, “I’m excited to bring them to audiences old and new with their original creator, Rob Liefeld.”

Sean Robinson wrote:

The original Youngblood miniseries ultimately sold 25 million copies globally. And the property has spanned 100 issues, counting top talents such as Robert Kirkman, Alan Moore and Mark Millar as contributors.

That reminds me: we’re still waiting for issue #2 of Mark Millar’s Youngblood: Bloodsport. Hey, Rob, any idea when those pages will be ready???

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Todd, Sean Robinson

njerry wrote:

Sean Robinson wrote:

The original Youngblood miniseries ultimately sold 25 million copies globally. And the property has spanned 100 issues, counting top talents such as Robert Kirkman, Alan Moore and Mark Millar as contributors.

That reminds me: we’re still waiting for issue #2 of Mark Millar’s Youngblood: Bloodsport. Hey, Rob, any idea when those pages will be ready???

Rob is still drawing the feet.

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Sean Robinson, njerry

Horror comic Ice Cream Man returns in 2025 with an anthology written by Grant Morrison, Patton Oswalt, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Matt Fraction, Geoff Johns, and many more – Newsarama/GamesRadar

Anthology horror comic Ice Cream Man has been teasing the upcoming involvement of some big name creators in recent weeks, and we now know that it’s been leading up to Ice Cream Man #43, which will feature one page stories by some of the top writers in the comic industry.

Ice Cream Man co-creator W. Maxwell Prince will be joined on the issue by a line up of writers including Grant Morrison, Patton Oswalt, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Matt Fraction, Jeff Lemire, Geoff Johns, Zoe Thorogood, Deniz Camp, and Frank Barbiere, each of whom will contribute one page stories drawn by artists Martin Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran.

As a series, Ice Cream Man tells darkly comic horror stories that all center around a creepy ice cream man named Rick, whose involvement in peoples’ lives often leads to disaster. The title launched in 2018, and has released irregularly since. It was recently picked up for a film adaptation written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar of Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice fame.

“In the Ice Cream Man anthology series, mysterious horror host, Rick, delivers morsels of delicious terror in every flavor,” reads Image Comics’ official description. “The genre-defying comic book series features short tales of sorrow, wonder, and redemption, with each installment featuring its own cast of strange characters, dealing with their own special sundae of suffering.

“And on the periphery of all of them, like the twinkly music of his colorful truck, is the Ice Cream Man—a weaver of stories, a purveyor of sweet treats,” it continues. “Friend. Foe. God. Demon. The man who, with a snap of his fingers – lickety split! – can change the course of your life forever.”

The line-up of writers coming on board for Ice Cream Man #43 is essentially a who’s who of top comic writers. Grant Morrison, whose involvement was previously teased, is an especially exciting addition as they’ve rarely done much comics work in recent years, but everyone on the list piques my personal interest. It’ll be cool to see what masters of the craft can do with just a single page to tell their stories.

“How lucky are we? That some of comics’ most beloved writers agreed (or one may say were tricked) into contributing to our issue of one-page horror stories,” says series co-creator W. Maxwell Prince in a statement. “Our MO has always been compression – getting a full story to fit one floppy. But this is a whole new level, and a whole new challenge. We hope that you like our little stories, and hope even more that you appreciate our guests and their amazing brains.”

Ice Cream Man #43 is due out in January, with covers by issue artists Martín Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran, and a variant cover by Maria Llovet.

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