Comics
[Pre Order This] Black Mask Studios’ Entire March Lineup
There is something you need to understand about the indie comics you love: they live and die by the preorder system. Usually when I do this article I touch on one or two titles that should earn your cash before they even hit the stands, but this time I’m here to make a broad call for support because each of these titles sound phenomenal.
Black Mask Studios is a new comics publisher that specializes in transgressive storytelling. Each of their titles use the medium to its full effect and offer compelling stories you really can’t find anywhere else in the comic shop. After a wave of releases last year, like the incredible Ballistic, and Godkiller they are coming back in March with a collection of new titles. Find out why you should preorder them right here:
Mayday #1
Diamond code: JAN151091
Writer: Curt Pires
Artist: Chris Peterson
Cover: Chris Peterson
SRP: $3.99
MR, Color, 32 pages, monthly
A washed-up, drug-addicted screenwriter and a transgender bartender stumble onto a Satanic cult’s plan to sacrifice people all across LA (geomapped in the form of a pentagram, of course) and bring on armageddon. As our intrepid, damaged heroes embark on a suicide mission to stop the crazy cultists, even they wonder if this is all really happening or if they’re just plain batshit crazy. Probably both.
The latest project from the mind of white hot scribe Curt Pires (POP) sees him teaming with art sensation Chris Peterson (Grindhouse) for a story that cuts to the very center of Hollywood mythology and depravity itself.
Curt Pires has proved himself a young Grant Morrison-esque storyteller. Something tells me the surreal horrors of this comic will burrow deeply into your psyche.
Space Riders #1
Diamond code: JAN151092
Writer: Fabian Rangel Jr.
Artist: Alexis Ziritt
Cover: Alexis Ziritt
SRP: $3.99
MR, Color, 32 pages, monthly
From the galactic core to the outer quadrants, one name strikes terror in the hearts of evil beings everywhere: THE SPACE RIDERS
Sailing the cosmos in the Skullship Santa Muerte, Capitan Peligro and his fearless crew deal harsh justice to the scum of the galaxy while searching for the forbidden truths of the universe!!
Fabian Rangel Jr (Doc Unknown) and Alexis Ziritt (The Package) bring you a new and exciting space adventure that will DESTROY YOUR BRAIN! (in a good way)
This comic will likely melt everyone’s minds once it hits shelves. I can’t imagine a better person to do it than Fabian Rangel JR, who is a writer that will be on everyone’s pull lists by the end of the year.
We Can Never Go Home #1
Diamond code: JAN151093
Writers: Matthew Rosenberg & Patrick Kindlon
Artist: Josh Hood
Covers: Michael Walsh
SRP: $3.99
MR, Color, 32 pages, monthly
A well worn mixtape, a stolen convertible, a duffel bag full of cash, a fully loaded .45, and super-powers. 17 and on the run is the only way to see America right.
Navigating the halls of high school is never easy. And for teenage outcast Duncan and popular girl Madison things are even harder. They share a secret- they can do things other people can’t. But their abilities and need for secrecy take them down a dangerous path. A blend of crime road stories like True Romance & Badlands, We Can Never Go Home is a new chance to fall in love with the doomed misfits and dreamers who set off to find something bigger.
The debut creator-owned book from writers Matthew Rosenberg & Patrick Kindlon (12 Reasons To Die, Ghostface Killah’s new LP 36 Seasons) and artist Josh Hood (JLA: Scary Monsters, Venom).
Matthew Rosenberg is a tour de force. He’s easily one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met, and he’s tapped into a very emotional and provocative type of storytelling, “We Can Never Go Home” will be his masterpiece.
Godkiller #4
Diamond code: JAN151090
Writer: Matt Pizzolo
Artist: Anna Muckcracker Wieszczyk
Cover: Ben Templesmith
SRP: $3.99
MR, Color, 32 pages, monthly
Godkiller returns for the second half of the beloved ‘Walk Among Us’ arc beginning with issue 4, where Tommy meets notorious bounty hunter Soledad and commences his training in the mysterious arts of quantum-physics-based magic.
Godkiller has grown in notoriety and fandom since issue 1 debuted in October, this is a perfect jumping on point since issue 4 will street alongside the first trade collecting issues 1-3 (100+ pages since two issues were double-sized) also dropping in March.
Don’t sleep on this unique series that earned sleeper hit status when stores demanded reprints of #s 1 & 2 and #3 topped Diamond’s Advanced Reorder Charts.
Godkiller is one of the best comics I’ve ever read, bar none. Don’t miss it.
Ballistic, Volume 1
Diamond code: JAN151088
Writer: Adam Egypt Mortimer
Artist: Darick Robertson
Cover: Darick Robertson
SRP: $14.99
MR, Color, 132 pages
Darick Robertson (Happy, The Boys, Transmetropolitan) and Adam Egypt Mortimer’s madcap, psychedelic, transreal buddy adventure about Butch and his best friend Gun, a drug-addicted, genetically-modified, foul-mouthed firearm, as they attempt to elevate Butch from air conditioner repairman to master criminal in the twisted, post-eco-apocalyptic Repo City State, a reclaimed trash island built entirely from DNA-based, living technology with bad attitudes.
That’s my quote right above Grant Morrison. That should say it all. My favorite comic of the last few years, maybe ever.
Godkiller, Vol 1: Walk Among Us, Part 1
Diamond code: JAN151089
Writer: Matt Pizzolo
Artist: Anna Muckcracker Wieszczyk
Cover: Ben Templesmith
SRP: $9.99
MR, Color, 128 pages
Fallen gods, weaponized orgasms, and quantum physics-wielding technowizards collide in Pizzolo and Wieszczyk’s beloved modern classic about a teenage orphan named Tommy and an escaped slavegirl named Halfpipe who travel through a post-nuke wasteland in search of a new heart for Tommy’s dying sister.
The sleeper hit of 2014, Godkiller’s devoted following has grown larger and more fanatical since its debut in comic shops in October. Collecting issues 1-3 here, this trade streets alongside issue 4 so the two books combined make for a great jumping on point as word spreads of this unique, grimy, beloved tale that is unlike anything else out there and on route to becoming a trilogy of animated feature films.
Now for the easy part. Just take the following form to your LCS and check off the titles you want, make your voice heard and make sure you get the titles you really crave before anyone else. Trust me, these are the comics to look out for in 2015.
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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