Tag Archives: john lees

Vault announces Five New Titles

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Vault has announced not one, not two, but FIVE series that will be released in Spring 2023. Check out what’s coming to comic shops!

BARBARIC: HELL TO PAY #1

Writer: Michael Moreci
Artist: Nathan Gooden
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Designer: Tim Daniel  
Cover A & B: Nathan Gooden
January 2023

Barbaric is back and headed straight to hell in an all-new arc so big and bloody, it’s getting an extra issue! While Owen tames a dragon with an old friend, Soren and Steel cross paths with someone else from our cursed barbarian’s past…who isn’t looking nearly as friendly. Hell hath no fury like a woman stabbed through the heart by an ugly f***ing orc.

Oh, wait! Who’s carrying Axe?

GODFELL #1

Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Ben Hennessy
Colorist: Triona Farrell & Vittorio Astone
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Cover A: Ben Hennessy
Cover B: Nathan Gooden
February 2023

One sunny day in the land of Kerethim, God falls dead from the sky. The impact sends out shockwaves that draw in royal families at war, shadowy creatures of the dark, and armies of the dispossessed, all coming to lay claim to parts of God’s body. Into this power struggle wanders Zanzi Vuiline, a soldier and berserker trying to get home from a years-long war. Forced to fight her way through the strange landscapes in and on God’s corpse, from the soles of its feet through the top of its head, Zanzi will acquire a mysterious traveling companion on her own pilgrimage.

THE NASTY #1

Writer: John Lees
Artist: George Kambadais
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Designer: Tim Daniel 
Cover A: George Kambadais
Cover B: Sally Cantirino
March 2023

Eighteen-year-old Thumper Connell still has an imaginary friend: the masked killer from his favourite slasher film. Thumper is obsessed with horror and always has been. He fills his time with scary VHS rentals and hanging out with his fellow fans, The Murder Club. But everything changes when his local video shop acquires one of the notorious films known as “video nasties” – films so scary, they’re the target of the British Moral Decency League’s crusade to ban and burn. But it’s only a movie, right? It’s all just imaginary, isn’t it?

A story about the perception of evil, the power of genre, the love of fandom, the need to create art, oh, and crap-your-pants TERROR!”

SONGS FOR THE DEAD: AFTERLIFE

Writer: Andrea Fort & MC Heron 
Artist: MJ Erickson
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Andworld
Cover: MJ Erickson
Designer: Tim Daniel
March 2023

Bethany is a necromancer and a hero. Along with her companions, Elissar and Jonas, she has finally found the rumored covenant. Her Perilous journey has brought her to the last bastion of the necromancers, but resurging prejudices have them in shambles. Can Bethany unite them in the face of escalating tensions? Or will the coming war shatter all of her dreams for a peaceful future? 

SONGS FOR THE DEAD: AFTERLIFE

MONEY SHOT COMES AGAIN

Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Gisele Lagace
Colorist: Carlos Badilla Z
Letterer: Crank!
Designer: Tim Daniel
Cover A: Gisele Lagace
Cover B: Tim Seeley & Tim Daniel
April 2023

The XXXplorers are back and on their hands and knees for the good of humanity! When the giant ass space jellyfish who run the ordered universe arrive on earth, the porn-stars-cum-science explorers must put away grudges, crushes and side hustles to once again take one or two or three for the team. Begins an epic new arc, which takes aim at dumb billionaires and bad optics, and guests stars a LEGENDARY underground comix heroine! NEW ARTIST Gisele Lagace puts her sexy spin on the book!

It’s The Last Ride of Pillar & Pryde this November

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The Last Ride of Pillar & Pryde #1

Writer: John Lees 
Artist: Joe Mulvey 
Colorist: Doug Garbark 
Letterer: Shawn Lee 
Cover: Joe Mulvey 
Incentive Cover: Alex Cormack
$4.99 / 32 pages / Color / On Sale 11.09.22

When Ben Pillar and Eli Pryde were kids, they did something incredible. They saved a young girl’s life and stopped a madman. They were heroes. But that was a long time ago. Now, with their career as young adult adventure novelists in decline, and their friendship in similar dire straits, the pair embark on a road trip back to their old hometown in hopes of mending their relationship. But a new evil has emerged in the town of Tarragon Falls. Can Pillar and Pryde be heroes again? 

Written by John Lees (And Then Emily Was Gone, Oxymoron: The Loveliest Nightmare, The Standard) and illustrated by Joe Mulvey (Scam, Happy Hill, Wailing Blade), lifelong friends embark on a road trip back to Tarragon Falls where evil has set up camp. 

Preview: Dig: A Sink Tale #1

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Dig: A Sink Tale #1

(W) John Lees (A/CA) Alex Cormack
In Shops: May 25, 2022
SRP: $7.99

Spinning out of the critically acclaimed pulp crime saga Sink, comes a thrilling sixty-four page one-shot! Rojan Hardi is a migrant building a new life for his family in his adoptive home of Glasgow, Scotland. But he leads another life as the masked, shovel-wielding vigilante Mr. Dig. Once driven by fury and vengeance, he has unexpectedly become a protector and community leader. Now, Rojan must confront his traumatic past while facing a terrifying, seemingly unstoppable new enemy intent on burning all he has built to the ground. This new reader friendly, standalone tale will also set the stage for the next volume of Sink!

Dig: A Sink Tale #1

Review: The Crimson Cage #1

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The Crimson Cage #1

Take Shakespeare’s Macbeth and put it in the world of professional wrestling and you get The Crimson Cage #1, an interesting debut that should be pretty enjoyable for fans of sports entertainment.

Set in New Orleans in 1984, Chuck Frenzy is the headliner of the local Louisiana pro wrestling territory. He of course wants more. In a fateful meeting, Frenzy comes across a trio of beings who promise him glory, a run as the champion. But, to get there, he must do something horrible.

Written by John Lees, The Crimson Cage #1 is an interesting debut that works in some ways and others it falls a little short. The story takes a lot from Macbeth and that works really well for the overall plot. But, it’s some of the specifics and details that feel a little off.

The idea of a story about the ins and outs of professional wrestling and one doing something horrible to reach the top is a great idea. That stands on its own and has no need of any supernatural elements. It’s the supernatural elements that takes the story out of its focus.

It’d be easy to just focus on the wrestling, and yes the idea of supernatural beings pushing the narrative is part of Macbeth, but the story so far would still work, and work well, without them. I’d argue it’d make some of the decisions and moves even more ominous and cold. It’d be straight want as opposed to being driven by what you’re told is your destiny. There’d be something a bit more dramatic about it all as opposed to just being pre-determined events. Though, for wrestling there’s something interesting there that isn’t quite played up enough.

The art by Alex Cormack delivers all the action and drama with a dark cloud hanging over it all. Ashley Cormack provides the colors with lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. The style of the comic delivers a flair for all the characters that creates larger than life characters but at the same time does so in a small time promotion sort of way. Each character has a look and style that tells a story by itself. The wrestling action is captured really well. There’s a lot of emotion as well that plays out in the panels.

The idea of a pre-determined destiny playing out in a pre-determined sport is an interesting concept. That’s what the elements of Macbeth brings to The Crimson Cage #1 but that juxtaposition isn’t focused on enough in the debut. Instead, it feels like a normal story of greed with some supernatural elements that don’t quite fit. There’s something really close to being a hell of a read here but it dances around either its more interesting aspects or dives into them without much need for them.

Story: John Lees Art: Alex Cormack
Color: Ashley Cormack Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.7 Overall: 7.6 Recommendation: Read

AWA Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics

Preview: Crimson Cage #1

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Crimson Cage #1

(W) John Lees (A/CA) Alex Cormack
In Shops: Dec 08, 2021
SRP: $3.99

Double double toil and rumble…Brace yourself for a No-Holds-Bard reimagining of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth from the critically-acclaimed creators of Sink. New Orleans, 1984. Chuck Frenzy is the main event star of the local Louisiana pro wrestling territory, but yearns for something greater. A fateful encounter with a trio of terrifying beings in the Bayou gives Chuck a glimpse of championship glory beyond his wildest dreams…if he is willing to do something terrible to achieve it. Join writer John Lees (Hotell) and artist Alex Cormack (Sea of Sorrows) for a thrilling new vision of the classic tale of ambition and madness, starting with this special, oversized first chapter.

Crimson Cage #1

Preview: Hotell Vol. 2 #1 (of 5)

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Hotell Vol. 2 #1 (of 5)

(W) John Lees (A) Dalibor Talajic, Lee Loughridge (CA) Keron Grant
In Shops: Dec 01, 2021
SRP: $3.99

Five more interconnected stories chronicle another harrowing week at Pierrot Courts, the mysterious roadside motel where lost souls make their last stand with the demons that haunt them. A family, desperate and destitute after being evicted from their home. A struggling artist, yearning for inspiration. A lonely bachelor, tending to his beloved, ailing dog. A brutal motorcycle gang, hunting for a runaway initiate…When all these haunted souls check into the Pierrot Courts, who will survive to check out?

Hotell Vol. 2 #1 (of 5)

AWA Studios Announces Hotell Vol. 2 #1 and The Crimson Cage #1 for December

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Hotell Vol. 2 #1

(W) John Lees (A) Dalibor Talajic, Lee Loughridge
(CA) Keron Grant, Mike Deodato Jr.
ORDER CODE – A: OCT211314, B: OCT211315
FOC: November 8 On Sale: December 1

Five more interconnected stories chronicle another harrowing week at Pierrot Courts, the mysterious roadside motel where lost souls make their last stand with the demons that haunt them. A family, desperate and destitute after being evicted from their home. A struggling artist, yearning for inspiration. A lonely bachelor, tending to his beloved, ailing dog. A brutal motorcycle gang, hunting for a runaway initiate…When all these haunted souls check into the Pierrot Courts, who will survive to check out?

The Crimson Cage #1

(W) John Lees (A/CA) Alex Cormack, Ashley Cormack
ORDER CODE – A: OCT211316, B: OCT211317
FOC: November 15 On Sale: December 8

Double double toil and rumble…Brace yourself for a No-Holds-Bard reimagining of William Shakespeare’s MACBETH from the critically-acclaimed creators of Sink. New Orleans, 1984. Chuck Frenzy is the main event star of the local Louisiana pro wrestling territory, but yearns for something greater. A fateful encounter with a trio of terrifying beings in the Bayou gives Chuck a glimpse of championship glory beyond his wildest dreams…if he is willing to do something terrible to achieve it. Join writer John Lees (HOTELL) and artist Alex Cormack (SEA OF SORROWS) for a thrilling new vision of the classic tale of ambition and madness, starting with this special, oversized first chapter.

AWA Studios’ Hotell Returns for a Second Volume

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Artist, Writer, and Artisans (AWA Studios) has announced the return of the original creative team John Lees, Dalibor Talajic, Lee Loughridge, and Sal Cipriano, to bring fans a second volume of the hit horror series, Hotell. Described as a modern-day Twilight Zone with a twist, the series depicts a roadside motel off of Route 66 where a wide array of heroes and antiheroes make their last stand with the demons that haunt them. Some check out. Most don’t. This series will be in stores monthly on December 1st, 2021, with two covers by Keron Grant and Mike Deodato Jr. before being collected in trade paperback in 2022. 

Five more interconnected stories chronicle another harrowing week at Pierrot Courts, the mysterious roadside motel where lost souls make their last stand with the demons that haunt them. A family, desperate and destitute after being evicted from their home. A struggling artist, yearning for inspiration. A lonely bachelor, tending to his beloved, ailing dog. A brutal motorcycle gang, hunting for a runaway initiated… when all these haunted souls check into Pierrot Courts, who will survive to check out?

Hotell Vol. 2 #1 debuts on December 1st, 2021.

Preview: Mountainhead Vol. 1

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Mountainhead Vol. 1

(W) John Lees (A/CA) Ryan Lee
In Shops: Jan 13, 2021
SRP: $17.99

Don’t slow down. Don’t get comfortable. Don’t think you’re safe. Be ready to run. Something sinisters lurks in this graphic novel that is part psychological thriller and part horror story.

Abraham Stubbs and his father Noah roam America in a nomadic existence. Convinced they are being pursued by sinister government forces, Noah has them living off the grid, burgling houses to survive. Elsewhere, on Mount Rector, the lone survivor of a climbing expedition staggers homeward, covered in blood. Both are on an inevitable collision course with the picturesque Canadian resort town of Braeriach. Massive storm clouds are brewing. The animals are running. Something else is on its way.

Mountainhead Vol. 1

Preview: Mountainhead #5 (of 5)

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Mountainhead #5 (of 5)

(W) John Lees (A/CA) Ryan Lee
In Shops: Dec 09, 2020
SRP: $3.99

The acclaimed horror sensation reaches its devastating conclusion! With no hope of escape, the only option left for Abraham is to fight. And so begins a perilous ascent to the peak of Mount Rector, where it all began. But Abraham and his friends won’t just have to deal with dizzying heights and dangerous terrain… they are being pursued. If you thought you were prepared for the revelations of this explosive finale, you were wrong!

Mountainhead #5 (of 5)
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