Lumberjanes #3
Writer(s): Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson
Artist(s): Brooke Allen
Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley will have to put their Lumberjane knowledge to the test as they make their way through a mysterious cave filled with traps and riddles!
Sweet Bessie Coleman! Lumberjanes fans around the world have asked, and BOOM! Box is pleased to announce that Lumberjanes is now officially an ongoing comic series. Written by fan-favorite Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, co-created by BOOM! Studios editor Shannon Watters, with art from Brooke Allen, Lumberjanes was originally slated to run for eight issues but has essentially been “promoted” due to overwhelming praise from critics and fans alike. The series is a fun mix of Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Gravity Falls, featuring five rad, butt-kicking teenage girls who go to summer camp, fight monsters, and discover a mystery that puts the whole world at stake, all while championing the power of “friendship to the max!”
Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five best pals determined to have an awesome summer together…and they’re not gonna let any insane quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! Not only is it the second title launching in our new BOOM! Box imprint, but LUMBERJANES is one of those punk rock, love-everything-about-it stories that appeals to fans of basically all excellent things.
The first two issues of Lumberjanes are already out in the wild. Lumberjanes #3 arrives in comic shops on June 11th with a cover price of $3.99 under Diamond order code APR140998. The main cover is illustrated by Noelle Stevenson, with an incentive cover available in a limited quantity by Faith Erin Hicks.
Lumberjanes #2
Writer(s): Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson
Artist(s): Brooke Allen
When you’re a scout, nothing is more important than being prepared, but how do you prepare for legions of supernatural creatures threatening to beat down your scouting camp’s door? Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are about to find out! It’s just supposed to be a normal day at camp with games and a bit of canoeing, but when the girls find themselves separated from the rest of camp they realize there really is a lot more going on and it might be an unhelpful river monster that gives them the key to figuring everything out. Don’t miss out on the second issue of this hot new series from Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen!
Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five best pals determined to have an awesome summer together…and they’re not gonna let any insane quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! Five best friends spending the summer at Lumberjane scout camp…defeating yetis, three-eyed wolves, and giant falcons…what’s not to love?!
Lumberjanes is the second title launching from the new BOOM! Box imprint of BOOM! Studios. The comic is one of those punk rock, love-everything-about-it stories that appeals to fans of basically all excellent things.
Take a bit of the kick-ass women from Buffy, mix it with a feel of Scooby Doo and give it the look of a hit Cartoon Network show and you have the first issue of Lumberjanes, a fun and entertaining debute.
The comic features five butt-kicking, rad teenage girls wailing on monsters and solving a mystery with the whole world at stake, set in a camp. There’s something really fun about the issue. It drops you right into the action, only slowing down the pace for the reader to figure out what’s going on well after… and even then, not really.
That kinetic energy that kicks off the story is expressed perfectly in the artistic style that reminds me of the renaissance of cartoons that are hitting the airwaves and entertaining adults and kids alike.
I can go on and focus that fact that this is a female heavy comic, a rarity, and that alone is why it deserves your cash, but in reality, the story, the art, everything about it is quality and fun. This is a fantastic debut, and along with The Midas Touch, is placing BOOM! Box near the top of the list of one of the best imprints out there. It’s all quality.
With the talent of acclaimed cartoonist Noelle Stevenson, talented newcomer Grace Ellis writing, and Brooke Allen on art, this is going to be a spectacular series that you won’t want to miss.
Story: Grace Ellis and Noelle Stevenson Art: Brooke Allen
Story: Art: Overall: Recommendation:
BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review
Lumberjanes #1
Writer(s): Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson
Artist(s): Brooke Allen
Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five best pals determined to have an awesome summer together…and they’re not gonna let any insane quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! Not only is it the second title launching from the new BOOM! Box imprint but Lumberjanes is one of those punk rock, love-everything-about-it stories that appeals to fans of basically all excellent things.
Five best friends spending the summer at Lumberjane scout camp…defeating yetis, three-eyed wolves, and giant falcons…what’s not to love?!
It’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Gravity Falls and features five butt-kicking, rad teenage girls wailing on monsters and solving a mystery with the whole world at stake. And with the talent of acclaimed cartoonist Noelle Stevenson, talented newcomer Grace Ellis writing, and Brooke Allen on art, this is going to be a spectacular series that you won’t want to miss.
BOOM! Studios this April brings us Lumberjanes, the second title to join the publisher’s newest imprint, BOOM! Box. Written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, and illustrated by Brooke Allen, Lumberjanes follows the quirky, spooky adventures of five campers as they fight crazy critters, solve mysteries, and enjoy “friendship to the max!”
Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five best pals determined to have an awesome summer together…and they’re not gonna let any insane quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! Not only is it the second title launching in our new BOOM! Box imprint but Lumberjanes is one of those punk rock, love-everything-about-it stories that appeals to fans of basically all excellent things.
Lumberjanes #1 arrives in comic shops on April 9th, with a cover price of $3.99 under Diamond order code FEB141071.
Adventure Time: 2014 Winter Special #1
Writer(s): Becky Dreistadt, Frank Gibson, Noelle Stevenson, Ryan Pequin
Artist(s): Becky Dreistadt, Noelle Stevenson, Ryan Pequin
It’s winter time in the land of Ooo! Join your favorite characters in a collection of short stories as they embrace the cold! Snow, sweaters, and chilling adventures!
This is a perfect issue of snowy ADVENTURE TIME tales to curl up with by the fire and a cup of hot chocolate. An all-star team of indie cartoonists bring you stories as warm as your holiday spirit. Who doesn’t love a snow day?
Award-winning publisher BOOM! Studios has announced the December debut of Ryan North’s first original print comic book series The Midas Flesh, marking the launch of the publisher’s new imprint, BOOM! Box.
Featuring art by North’s Adventure Time comic partners, Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb, The Midas Flesh is the first title to come out under BOOM! Box, a line of books aimed to allow some of the most creative talents in comics to let loose with their wildest ideas. To highlight the series and imprint launch, the inaugural issue will contain extra pages of story and art.The Midas Flesh #1 will ship with a main cover by John Keogh and variant covers by Emily Partridge, and Noelle Stevenson. The first issue will also feature the first original “Writer’s Edition” incentive cover, where North will hand-letter varying character dialogue on each variant cover.
Fatima and her space crew have decided to return to Earth—a planet completely sectioned off, abandoned, and covered in gold—to find out exactly what happened to this once thriving planet and see if they can use that knowledge against the evil empire that’s tracking them down. As luck would have it, they just landed the most powerful weapon in the universe: some ancient dead guy’s body.
We’ve all heard of the Midas touch. You know, the Greek Myth about the man who did a number on himself by wishing for everything he touched to turn to gold? Who better to turn that tale on its head with a heavy dose of sci-fi than Ryan North? Also, did we mention the Utahraptor?
The over-sized debut issue, The Midas Flesh #1, arrives in comic shops on December 18th with a cover price of $3.99.
Last week we kicked off our “Women of BOOM!” feature, spotlighting the many kick-ass women that work at BOOM!, Archaia and KaBOOM! We’re focusing on everyone, editors, designers, writers, artists, you name it!
BOOM! (and KaBOOM! and Archaia) has given us unprecedented access and the chance to ask questions to their staff, and creative teams, to find out why the publisher is so successful in hiring women and their experiences in the comic industry as women.
Up this week is Noelle Stevenson, a triple threat as a writer, artist and cover artist. She has worked on Nimona (an original comic), Fionna and Cake, Bravest Warriors and Adventure Time!
Graphic Policy: How did you get involved in the comic book industry?
Noelle Stevenson: I became interested in comics as a medium during a Sequential Art class at art school. I began drawing and posting my own webcomic in the summer of 2012, and also started attending conventions. I interned with BOOM! and got some experience there.
GP: Did you read comics growing up? Do you read them now?
NS: I didn’t read many comics – I read Calvin and Hobbes, Tintin, and some old Spider-Man.
GP: How did you come to work with BOOM!/Archaia?
NS: I interned last summer with Boom! Studios, and then began freelancing for them!
GP: How would you describe your job for people?
NS: I draw comics day-in and day-out, both for myself and for other people.
GP: For people who want to pursue a career in what you do, what advice would you give them?
NS: Put yourself out there! Make something you believe in, and show that you can make something cohesive – scraps of concept art don’t show your skill in telling a long-term story. Attend conventions! Make friends with other industry professionals!
GP: Did you have a mentor to help you break into the industry? Do you mentor anyone yourself?
NS: One of my mentors was Joan Hilty, my Advanced Sequential Art teacher at school. She is a professional editor and really helped me with NIMONA when it was in its early stages. She gave me a lot of valuable advice. My other mentor is Shannon Watters, editor at BOOM! She was the one who hired me for the internship, and really took me under her wing during that time! She’s given me a lot of freelance opportunities too!
GP: Do you think women have a more difficult time breaking in and making it in the comic industry, if so why? And if yes, how do you think that can be overcome?
NS: I think they do for a lot of reasons. One of those is that there just aren’t that many women in the industry right now, so there isn’t much of a model for us. If we look up to famous comic artists, they are usually male. The female creators are few and far between. The other thing is that I think more respect and attention is given to stories written by men and geared towards men – anything too “girly” is eye-rolled away. There’s just a pervasive attitude in the industry, a sort of antagonism towards women, you see it at cons and in feedback all the time. And normally if a woman creator is asked to be on a panel or to give an interview, it’s more often than not about “women in comics.” Not that those panels and interviews aren’t important – I think we need to be talking about this stuff! – but it feels like we’re considered a sub-category sometimes. That’s of course mostly just about the mainstream comics industry, though – the same thing isn’t true for indie comics and webcomics, in which there are a ton of female creators and stories with female leads! I think that the mainstream comics industry can learn a lot from webcomics. BOOM! has been doing a great thing, hiring webcomic artists to work on the KaBOOM! titles like Adventure Time, and it’s been a huge success. I want to see more of that in other big comics publishers.
GP: We notice that when it comes to women in the comic industry, BOOM!/Archaia has a lot of diversity present. Why do you think have they succeeded when so many other publishers struggle with this? By hiring women?
NS: I don’t know if it’s much more complicated than that. People talk about “affirmative action” or “tokenism” when it comes to hiring women or minorities, but I really don’t think it’s that hard. Like, there are women in the industry who are looking for work – hire them! Lots of them! They’ll bring something new to the table and encourage a more open-minded, innovative approach.
GP: We’ve heard horror stories concerning women in the industry, have you ever seen or been discriminated/harassed and if so, how did you handle it?
NS: As a webcomic artist, most of the sexism I see is through social media. I think I have it a lot easier than many female creators. Honestly, most of the flak I get is when I speak up about issues like sexism, on my blog or on Twitter. But again, I don’t get it as bad as others. The rest of it is kind of standard-issue – you know, getting grabbed or hollered at Comic-Con, being condescended to in comic book stores, people using derogatory language towards me online – I feel like every woman has multiple stories like this. The way you deal with them is a lot like the way you deal with being yelled at from a car – you don’t look at them, or acknowledge them, or show you’ve been bothered, and then later you tell people you trust about it and complain. You can get mad, and I get mad sometimes, but that brings a whole new level of harassment sometimes, and sometimes it’s just not worth it.
GP: What advice do you have for women looking to break into the comic book industry?
NS: Make comics that you believe in, and don’t absorb the poisonous attitudes perpetuated by male comic creators – that only certain kinds of stories are good or worthwhile. If the kinds of comics you want to read aren’t being represented by the industry, make them yourself and show everyone!
BOOM! Studios continues its 2013 convention tour with a return to Baltimore Comic-Con from Saturday, September 7th through Sunday, Sunday 8th. The publisher will be bringing along a pair of exclusive variant covers along with fan-favorite talent.
BOOM! Studios is honored to host luminary author Mike Carey at its booth, #1303, for signings throughout the show for his only United States comic book convention appearance in 2013.
In addition, KaBOOM! Studios is equally excited to welcome Natasha Allegri, Mike Holmes, Noelle Stevenson, Ian McGinty, Travis Hill, and Allison Strejlau signing and sketching at the KaBOOM! Studios booth all weekend long. The publisher will also be hosting Paul Jenkins, Brian Stelfreeze, Matt Gagnon, Mike Kunkel, and Eric Esquivel throughout the weekend along with signings by Archaia creators, including David Petersen and Charles Soule.
Newly acquired imprint Archaia Entertainment will be on hand at the BOOM! Studios booth with a section devoted entirely to their titles.
BOOM! Studios will debut two exclusive variant covers, one from each of their two primary imprints, at Baltimore Comic-Con. From the KaBOOM! imprint, copies of Garfield #17 with an all-new cover by Natasha Allegri will be available for purchase. Meanwhile, from the BOOM! Studios imprint, copies of Robocop: Last Stand #1 with an exclusive 8-bit cover by Matthew Waite will be available for purchase. As an added bonus for convention-goers, an exclusive Adventure Time: Candy Capers #3 by Fellipe Martins will be available at the convention exclusives booth and VIP ticket holders will receive an exclusive Sons of Anarchy #1 “Road to Baltimore” exclusive variant cover.
BOOM! will host three panels in Baltimore:
SPOTLIGHT ON GEORGE PÉREZ – Saturday, 1:00pm-2:00pm
Artist and writer George Pérez has a career that spans four decades and has the rare distinction of being one of the top creators in the comic book business consistently for the mass majority of his career. His credits are too numerous to list and his contributions to the mythology of Marvel and DC comics are profound and enduring. After over a decade working exclusively with DC Comics, Pérez is embarking on a new chapter in his career at BOOM! Studios. Join BOOM! Founder and CEO Ross Richie in a reflection of Mr. Pérez’s first four decades of work and a discussion of what the future holds for this comic book luminary. Plus, be the first to find out what Mr. Pérez’s new project at BOOM! will be!
WE ARE BOOM! – Saturday, 3:00pm-4:00pm
You will not want to miss this jam-packed, inspiring hour as BOOM! Founder & CEO Ross Richie and Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon along with special guest creators reintroduce BOOM! Studios to the world of comics. This won’t be your average publisher panel droning on and on through a series of press releases and stale cover images. Find out what makes BOOM! Studios different than every other comic publisher in the market and why 2013 has been a transformative year for us. We are BOOM! Come Innovate With Us.
SPOTLIGHT ON MIKE CAREY – Sunday, 1:00pm-2:00pm
Eisner Award-winning writer Mike Carey’s work spans comics, novels, film, and television. Carey made his initial impact in the U.S. comic market with the longest running and most successful SANDMAN-related spinoff series from Vertigo: LUCIFER. Since then, he’s solidified himself as a nuanced, character-driven creator on other critically acclaimed Vertigo series such as CROSSING MIDNIGHT and THE UNWRITTEN; while becoming a mainstream fan favorite on series like X-MEN and ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR. This year, Carey launched his first ongoing, original series from an independent publisher: SUICIDE RISK from BOOM! Studios. Join BOOM! Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon as he moderates a lively discussion with Carey about his career, his process, and his inspirations.
Additionally, BOOM! guests Mike Carey and Paul Jenkins will take part in the British Invasion panel on Saturday at 11:00am-12:00pm.
BOOM! Studios and its imprints are nominated for nine Harvey Awards, which will be held as part of Baltimore Comic-Con on Saturday, September 7 at 8:45 p.m. ET at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Hotel.
The previously announced guests include: Josh Adams (Doctor Who); Neal Adams (First X-Men); Mark Bagley (Fantastic Four); Art Baltazar (Aw Yeah Comics!, Tiny Titans); Brian Bolland (Dial H); Harold Buchholz (Archie Comics); Mark Buckingham (Fables); Sal Buscema (Amazing Spider-Man); Frank Cammuso (Knights of the Lunch Table, Otto’s Orange Day); Jimmy Cheung (Avengers vs. X-Men); Frank Cho (Savage Wolverine); Steve Conley (Bloop); Amanda Conner (Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre); Jamie and Tyler Cosley (Cody the Cavalier, Ninja Squirrel); J.M. DeMatteis (Phantom Stranger); David Finch (Justice League of America); Franco (Aw Yeah Comics!, Tiny Titans); John Gallagher (Buzzboy, Roboy Red); Zack Giallongo (Broxo); Chris Giarrusso (G-Man); Keith Giffen (Masters of the Universe); Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!, The Dumbest Idea Ever!); Joe Hill (Locke and Key); Jason Horn (Ninjasaur); Adam Hughes (Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan); Denis Kitchen (The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen); Barry Kitson (Empire); Roger Langridge (Popeye); Jim Lee (Superman Unchained); Paul Levitz (World’s Finest); Kevin Maguire (World’s Finest); Mike Maihack (Cleopatra in Space); Mark Mariano (Happyloo); Billy Martin (Vitriol, the Hunter); Dave McDonald (Hamster Sam); Mark McKenna (Star Wars, Banana Tail); Jason Mewes (Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie); Mike Mignola (Hellboy In Hell); Jamar Nicholas (Leon: Protector of the Playground); Chris O>Matic (The Chris O>Matic Show!); Jimmy Palmiotti (Batwing); Dan Parent (Archie, Veronica, Kevin Keller); George Perez (World’s Finest); David Petersen (Mouse Guard); Joe Prado (Earth 2); Ivan Reis (Aquaman); Dave Roman – Saturday only (Astronaut Academy, Teen Boat); Chris Samnee (Daredevil); Jeff Schultz (Archie, Jughead); Louise Simonson (X-Factor); Walt Simonson (The Mighty Thor); Kevin Smith (Batman: The Widening Gyre); Allison Sohn (sketch card artist); Frank Stack (My Cancer Year); Bobby Timony (Night Owls, Detectobot); Mark Waid (Indestructible Hulk), Bill Willingham (Fables); and Thom Zahler (My Little Pony).
