IN THIS POST
- The Forgiven return in Marvel's Unforgiven: Spider-Man #1
- Preview: Image's I Hate This Place #5
- Image announces Dark Ride #1
- Marvel announces X-Men: Hellfire Confessionals #1 (digital only)
- Marvel announces X-Men Unlimited #50 (digital only)
- Fantagraphics announces See You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture non-fiction book
- Preview: Image's Outpost Zero #1
MARVEL'S TEAM OF SUPER HERO VAMPIRES COME OUT OF THE SHADOWS IN NEW UNFORGIVEN SAGA!
Kicking off next year, Tim Seeley and Sid Kotian craft a new three-part vampire epic starting with UNFORGIVEN: SPIDER-MAN!
New York, NY— August 30, 2022 — In 2023, a band of vampires will creep out of the darkest depths of the Marvel Universe to do the unthinkable--save the world! The FORGIVEN, the fan-favorite team of unlikely super heroes that debuted in 2011’s Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula, will star in a series of one-shots next year. Written by Tim Seeley and drawn by Sid Kotian, the three-part story will reintroduce these strange heroes and see them make big waves across the Marvel Universe, interacting with the likes of the X-Men, Spider-Man, and, the team’s inspiration, Captain America.
Who can resist the call of the blood? A group of vigilante vampires have decided to fight crime — while at the same time, wage a desperate war within themselves to reject their own bloodthirsty natures! The Forgiven’s new saga will kick off in SPIDER-MAN: UNFORGIVEN #1 where the team will confront a new foe with a desire to transform vampires into their most powerful and violent selves. The storyline will then continue with more high-stakes vampire drama in X-MEN: UNFORGIVEN #1 and AVENGERS: UNFORGIVEN #1. This epic struggle for the souls of the soulless will make readers rethink the place these creatures of the night have in the Marvel Universe!
"I love Marvel super heroes, no doubt, but I've got a special obsession with Marvel's horror heroes,” Seeley explained. “UNFORGIVEN gives that creepy, sexy, weird underbelly a chance to shine as a horrific conspiracy unites a crew of vampires with Spider-Man, the X-Men and Captain America, and shows us the stark differences (and surprisingly similarities) of those who are gifted with the ability to fight evil, and those who have to carry evil's curse. By the end of this epic event, we'll have toured a lot of dark corners of the Marvel Universe, and reminded readers that monsters are at its shrunken black heart!"
Check out the cover of SPIDER-MAN: UNFORGIVEN below and see the FORGIVEN team up with some of Marvel’s greatest heroes next year! For more information, visit Marvel.com.
UNFORGIVEN: SPIDER-MAN #1
Written by TIM SEELEY
Art by SID KOTIAN
Cover by KYLE HOTZ
FIRST LOOK: I HATE THIS PLACE #5 WRAPS UP THRILLING FIRST STORY ARC
“I continue to recommend this series without reservation, ranking as it does one of the best monthly horror stories in comics.” - Zack Quaintance, The Beat
“I Hate This Place has plenty of scares and revelations left to keep drawing readers in.” - ComicBook.com
“A stellar horror story. Atmosphere, character, and terrifying creatures continue to be the hallmarks of this series.” - But Why Tho
LOS ANGELES 08/30/2022 — Today Skybound unveiled a first look at I Hate This Place #5, which concludes the epic first story arc of the supernatural horror series from writer Kyle Starks (Assassin Nation, The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton), artist Artyom Topilin (Ice Cream Man Presents Quarantine Comix Special), colorist Lee Loughridge (Deadly Class, The Good Asian), and letterer Pat Brosseau (Birthright, Manifest Destiny).
The girls have finally left the woods you’re not supposed to go in, but they’re still not safe. They’ll never be safe on Rutherford Ranch, and they’ll never be able to leave it.
“I'm so proud of these first five issues and the tremendous work Artyom, Lee and Pat have done to bring Gabby, Trudy and this awful, awful ranch to life,” said Starks. “They've done such incredible work that it thrills me to be able to announce that we're coming back with another five issues of I HATE THIS PLACE where questions will be answered, dangers will be escalated, and nothing gets any easier for Gabby and Trudy on Rutherford Ranch. If you've enjoyed the ride so far things are about to get crazy.”
In order to provide retailers and fans with options, each issue of I Hate This Place will have open-to-order covers by Topilin with clean and explicit cover options, featuring the standard series title and the explicit version of the series’ original title, Fuck This Place.
The available covers for the issue include:
I Hate This Place #5 CVR A
Fuck This Place #5 CVR B Explicit Variant
Both versions of I Hate This Place #5 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, with Cover A also available on digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play.
STRAY DOGS’ TONY FLEECS TO ART DIRECT NEW VARIANT COVER PROGRAM FOR SKYBOUND’S DARK RIDE
Joshua Williamson & Andrei Bressan’s New Amusement Park Horror Series Launching October 2022
LOS ANGELES 08/30/2022 — Skybound today announced an epic variant cover program by superstar creator Tony Fleecs (Stray Dogs, Star Wars Adventures) for Dark Ride, the buzzed about new horror comic book series from the Birthright team of Joshua Williamson (Batman, Dark Crisis) and Andrei Bressan (Justice League Incarnate). Dark Ride #1 will arrive in comic book shops October 5, 2022.
Fleecs will serve as art director for the classic homage poster variant cover program which pays tribute to the timeless theatrical posters that serve as inspiration for the amusement park horror series. The 1:25 incentives will span the Cover D slot of Dark Ride’s first four issues, bringing on a new guest artist for each cover. Fleecs’ Stray Dogs co-creator Trish Forstner is the artist at the helm for issue #1, with the Dark Ride world’s rendition of The Little Demon. Incredible homage covers from Agnes Garbowska (DC Super Hero Girls) for issue #2, Andy Price (My Little Pony) for issue #3, and Dennis Culver (Edison Rex) for issue #4 will follow.
"I have a secret superpower, and I didn't know it was something I could really do until we did approximately 1 million horror movie covers for Stray Dogs; I know how to do the logo part of an homage image... maybe better than anyone in the game,” said Fleecs. “I've been friends with Josh Williamson for years and I think he really dug the horror movie covers Trish Forstner and I had done on our book Stray Dogs. He asked if we could bring that kind of thing to Dark Ride but sort of in reverse: Instead of cartoon versions of horror posters, horror versions of cartoon posters. So, of course, I called up some of my favorite artists. I’m so excited to be working on this project and to be able to bring a bunch of great artist friends with me.”
This variant program joins an outstanding previously announced cover lineup continuing through Dark Ride’s first arc. In addition to the main cover by Bressan and series colorist Adriano Lucas, Dark Ride’s Cover B variant spotlights park mascot Danny D. Evil, with issue #1 cover by Martín Morazzo (Ice Cream Man) and Adriano Lucas, while Cover C showcases Devil Land’s resident femme fatale and horror aficionado, Halloween, with the first four issues’ cover art by Sweeney Boo (Over My Dead Body). Dark Ride #1 will also offer a blank sketch cover.
Devil Land has been the world’s premiere horror-themed amusement park for over 50 years, home to the scariest ride ever created – The Devil’s Due. But when lifelong fan Owen Seasons begins his first day on the job, he will discover the true horrors happening behind the scenes, the truth about the park’s reclusive creator Arthur Dante and that the job of his dreams might just be a living nightmare.
Dark Ride #1 will be available at comic book shops and digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.
The full list of covers for the debut issue is below:
Dark Ride #1 CVR A by Bressan & Lucas
Dark Ride #1 CVR B (Danny D. Evil Mascot Variant) by Morazzo & Lucas
Dark Ride #1 CVR C (Halloween Character Spotlight Variant) by Boo
Dark Ride #1 CVR D 1:25 INCV (Classic Homage Poster Cover) by Forstner & Fleecs
Dark Ride #1 CVR E Blank Sketch Cover
‘X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA CONFESSIONALS’ #1 AND ‘X-MEN UNLIMITED #50: SECRET X-MEN’ ARC LAUNCHING ON MARVEL UNLIMITED ON MONDAY, AUGUST 29
AND FOR READERS WHO WANT THE FULL STORY... THE ‘X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA’ ONE-SHOT IS NOW AVAILABLE ON THE APP!
WATCH THE ‘SECRET X-MEN’ TRAILER HERE
Relive mutantkind’s biggest event of the year! Today the X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA (2022) one-shot is available on the Marvel Unlimited app! Tying into this event, Marvel Unlimited also launched two new Hellfire Gala stories, ‘X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA CONFESSIONALS’ #1 and ‘X-MEN UNLIMITED #50: SECRET X-MEN’ ARC, and both are now available in the exclusive Infinity Comics format.
‘X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA CONFESSIONALS’ #1 follows the mutant runner-ups as they react in real time to the election results that determined the latest X-Men team. Fans will get an inside look at what their favorite characters were thinking as the results rolled in. Then, just moments after the polls close, ‘X-MEN UNLIMITED #50: SECRET X-MEN’ ARC picks up with the Gala in full swing!
‘X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA CONFESSIONALS’ #1
Writer: Steve Foxe
Artist: Alan Robinson
Colorist: Carlos Lopez
Editor: Jordan White
A Hellfire Gala special! They can’t all be winners of this year’s X-Men Vote, but these mutant runner-ups still have plenty to say! X-Men candidates Avalanche, Gorgon, Gentle, Micromax, Surge, Bling!, Siryn, Penance, Armor, and Firestar, react in real time to the election results that determine the latest X-Men team. Who will claim the coveted spot?
‘X-MEN UNLIMITED #50: SECRET X-MEN’ ARC
Writer: Steve Foxe
Artist: Alan Robinson
Colorist: Carlos Lopez
Editor: Jordan White
Uniting the “losers” of this year’s #XMenVote, this round of the Secret X-Men picks up only minutes after the election with the Hellfire Gala in full swing!
Marvel Unlimited is a one-stop destination for over 30,000 comics spanning the entire Marvel Universe. The app is available for iPhone®, iPad®, Android devices™ and on web. For more information on Marvel Unlimited comics, please visit: www.marvel.com/unlimited.
Fantagraphics Books To Publish SEE YOU AT SAN DIEGO: AN ORAL HISTORY OF COMIC-CON, FANDOM, AND THE TRIUMPH OF GEEK CULTURE
Featuring Forewords by USAGI YOJIMBO creator Stan Sakai and BONE creator Jeff Smith, An Afterword by RZA, 400+ Photos and Art Bursts, And Stories by Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Bruce Campbell, Felicia Day, Scott Aukerman, Sergio Aragonés, Trina Robbins, the Russo Bros., Lloyd Kaufman, Tim Seeley, Kevin Eastman, and More
This fall Fantagraphics will publish SEE YOU AT SAN DIEGO: AN ORAL HISTORY OF COMIC-CON, FANDOM, AND THE TRIUMPH OF GEEK CULTURE, a comprehensive chronicle of the rise of fandom and pop culture nostalgia throughout the past century. Over the course of 480 pages, author and pop culture historian Mathew Klickstein presents the rise of both Comic-Con and modern geekdom itself, with behind-the-scenes observations from the likes of Ho Che Anderson, Sergio Aragonés, Scott Aukerman, Bruce Campbell, Felicia Day, Kevin Eastman, Mark Evanier, Neil Gaiman, Lloyd Kaufman, Frank Miller, the Russo Brothers, Stan Sakai, Scott Shaw!, Kevin Smith, Brinke Stevens, Trina Robbins, Tim Seeley, Maggie Thompson, and more. The book also includes forewords by Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai and Bone’s Jeff Smith, as well as an afterword by the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA.
“Fandom is a tribe of people,” said Klickstein. “Geeks, nerds, fanboys/fangirls, misfits, outsiders, weirdos — all bonding over pop culture nostalgia. People who speak a shorthand based on the singular universe built around certain niche passions. It’s more than a subculture, but rather an entire network of interconnected and often overlapping nodes of fandom. The Marx Bros, Ray Bradbury, Flash Gordon, Bride of Frankenstein, Bruce Lee, Sailor Moon, all melding together and burbling a certain effervescent energy. I wanted to help organize and tell the story of how this all came together over the last century, focusing on the thrust of the before-during-and after the creation and expansion of Comic-Con over the past five decades in particular. These are my forebears, my people, and I think we together are telling the story of the progenitors of modern fan culture today. And at less than $50. What a steal.”
From THE TWILIGHT ZONE to Ray Bradbury to STAR TREK to FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND to STAR WARS to Bruce Lee flicks to TWILIGHT, SEE YOU AT SAN DIEGO: AN ORAL HISTORY OF COMIC-CON, FANDOM, AND THE TRIUMPH OF GEEK CULTURE explores how fandom has transformed popular culture. Featuring more than 400 photos and art bursts, the book is an essential and defining resource of the forces that have transformed popular culture over the course of the past century.
“Having attended Comic-Con from the early ‘70s to the present, I’ve literally experienced it grow from a small, intimate con to the frenetic, hyper commercial mass media extravaganza it is today,” said Fantagraphics publisher Gary Groth. “ I can say with some authority that Klickstein’s oral history captures evolution of the convention itself and the concomitant devolution of American culture — a sociological spectacle told with verve and humor by the participants.”
Here’s what folks are saying about SEE YOU AT SAN DIEGO:
"Finally! An unexpurgated history of Comic-Con and fandom that comes directly from the horse's mouth – actually a whole herd of horses. The overall result is as pleasantly chaotic as the Con itself. What a relief!" — Scott Shaw! (cartoonist; Comic-Con co-originator)
"These wild and wooly origin stories of San Diego Comic-Con and fandom take us back to the thrilling days of yesteryear, before the crowds and lines, before Hall H and Hollywood celebrities, before the endless summer of superhero box office blockbusters, to the halcyon days of the early 1970s when San Diego Comic-Con was the ramshackle creation of first-generation fans, teenagers, and stoners. All of this makes for a colorful oral history, especially from the mouths of the people who lived it firsthand." — Rob Salkowitz (author, Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture)
"The rambunctious, delicious story of how the biggest pop culture event in history was born – and grew from nothing to everything." — Allen Salkin (journalist, Vanity Fair; bestselling author, From Scratch: The Uncensored History of the Food Network)
"Mathew Klickstein might be the geek guru of the 21st century." — Mark Mothersbaugh
See You At San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture will be in stores on September 6, 2022. For more info, follow Fantagraphics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
PREVIEW: SKYBOUND COMET WELCOMES YOU TO OUTPOST ZERO
Collect Sean Kelley McKeever and Alexandre Tefenkgi’s Landmark Series in a Single Volume April 2023
“The usual heart, laughs and action from Sean McKeever! Highly recommended!” - Patton Oswalt
LOS ANGELES 08/29/2022 – Today Skybound Comet unveiled a preview of Outpost Zero, which collects the acclaimed YA series from the superstar team of Eisner Award-winning writer Sean Kelley McKeever (Spider Man Loves Mary Jane) and recent 2022 Eisner Award-winning artist Alexandre Tefenkgi (The Good Asian) in a single volume. The complete volume will be available at comic book shops and everywhere books are sold April 2023.
The upcoming original graphic novel is a pivotal release for Skybound Comet, the new original graphic novel imprint aimed at Young Adult (Ages 12+) and Middle Grade (Ages 8-12) audiences, but sure to captivate readers of all ages.
Welcome to Outpost Zero: the smallest town in the universe. Where Alea and her friends graduate to adulthood under the artificial sky of a faulty biome, on a frozen world never meant to support human life, tragedy strikes...and yet, life has gone on. School, friends, the fights every Friday night—there’s plenty to distract Alea, yet she's sure there’s something else out there. And when tragedy strikes, Alea vows to uncover the truth...even if it upends her world forever.
“We’ve always felt like OUTPOST ZERO was an undiscovered gem, and we’re thrilled to be bringing this gorgeous new edition to the audience for which it was originally intended,” said Alex Antone, Senior Editor at Skybound Comet. “McKeever and Tefenkgi’s story about a teenage outsider trapped at the edge of the universe perfectly captures that classic small-town angst on a cosmic scale!”
Outpost Zero joins an exciting 2023 Skybound Comet slate that includes the February 2023 release of Scurry (Diamond Code MAR228456, ISBN: 978-1-5343-2436-7), the new Middle Grade graphic novel from webcomics superstar Mac Smith, marking the first-ever collection of the smash-hit webcomic in a complete volume; acclaimed author Michelle Fus’ first book in a new series of graphic novels collecting their groundbreaking YA webcomic with Ava’s Demon Book One: Reborn (MAR228458, ISBN: 978-1-5343-2438-1) coming May 2023; and Clementine Book Two (APR228664, ISBN: 978-1-5343-2519-7) by acclaimed writer/artist Tillie Walden (Spinning, On a Sunbeam), which continues the trilogy set in the world of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead in October 2023.
Skybound Comet’s other forthcoming releases include Everyday Hero Machine Boy OGN (MAY218589, ISBN: 978-1-5343-2130-4) from rising star voices Tri Vuong (the LEGO® NINJAGO®: GARMADON comic book series) and Irma Kniivila coming September 2022, followed by Sea Serpent’s Heir Book One (MAY218588, ISBN: 978-1-5343-2129-8) from acclaimed creators Mairghread Scott (Star Wars: Resistance, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Pablo Tunica (TMNT Universe) coming October 2022, with Sea Serpent’s Heir Book Two also coming Fall 2023.
Outpost Zero will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 and everywhere books are sold, along with digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.
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