Tag Archives: alter ego

Experience the “lost” story, The Legendary Lynx

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Mad Cave Studios has announced The Legendary Lynx from LA Times Book Prize-winning novelist Alex Segura and artist Sandy Jarrell. 

Expanding on Segura’s bestselling prose novel Secret Identity, the 112-page OGN features “previously undiscovered” material of this fictional forgotten gem, enjoyable both as in-world content building upon the novel’s 1970s-era mystery and setting, and as delightfully retro comic book adventure for curious newcomers!

Welcome to Triumph City. A city plagued by corruption and crime, where every alleyway and dark corner holds a deadly secret. The lone figure, standing against the onslaught of crime, is a savvy crimefighter known as the Lynx—sworn to protect the city that forged her.

By day, she’s Claudia Calla, a quiet secretary at Triumph City’s biggest paper. A woman haunted by a dark tragedy that has pushed her toward taking on the mantle of the Lynx—to prevent others from experiencing the same pain she’s dealt with. But when a specter from her earliest days returns, asking for her help against a cabal of dark forces, the Lynx must choose between her heroic responsibilities and her debt to a dear friend.

This seminal debut of the character and renowned novelist and writer, Carmen Valdez, blurs the lines between fiction and reality in the best way possible. Don’t miss this exciting spin-off!

Follow the legacy of The Legendary Lynx in Alex Segura’s new novel, Alter Ego, out 12/3 from Flatiron Books, as artist/writer Annie Bustamante looks to revive the character and plunges into the mysteries surrounding the Lynx’s origins and disappearance.

The Legendary Lynx is set for release in book stores on November 12th and in comic shops Nov. 13th.

Exclusive Guest Column: “I make comic books. But my first love is comic strips.” – Nate Cosby

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The Daring Double Life of Ace Adams

Last month, The Daring Double Life of Ace Adams (formerly Alter Ego) launched on Kickstarter. The 100-page all-new graphic novel from writer Nate Cosby, artist Jacob Edgar, colorist Kike J. Diaz, and letterer Rus Wooton hit its goal and then some and is in its final 48 hours!

As the campaign winds down, we have an insightful exclusive guest post from Nate Coby about his collaboration with Jacob Edgar to create a one-page script that helped pitch the story!

Find out a bit about the process behind the curtain and support The Daring Double Life of Ace Adams!

Most of my time in high school was spent doodling obvious riffs on Calvin & Hobbes, Foxtrot, Wizard of Id, Mutts, Hagar The Horrible, Peanuts, etc. The challenge of a comic strip is in efficiently expressing yourself. You need to find the fundamental essence of what you want to say and show, do it, then get out. The writer part of me loves that. The editor part of me loves it even more.

When I worked as an editor at Marvel, I’d get bored during meetings and doodle short strips, giving myself the personal challenge of portraying the important aspects of characters in three panels.

There was Iron Man…

Professor X…

The Sentry…

I was just screwing around, passing the time. I encapsulated Spider-Man’s origin with the help of Colleen Coover, which was used as the recap page of Spider-Man Family #4…

When I quit Marvel to start my own company, I got busy, which meant less doodle time. But just for fun, every once in a while I’d tweet out short quotes from the point of view of characters. And my Buddy Cops co-creator Doc Shaner would add art to them, like The Spectre…

…and Captain Marvel…

Chris Eliopoulos and I were asked to do a one-pager for Archaia’s Free Comic Book Day book, which was a flip book. I took the “format” as a challenge, and came up with a story that was both about flipping, and required a flipping of the comic itself…

So when it came time for Jacob and I to start promoting The Daring Double Life of Ace Adams, we had plenty of interior pages to show, that Jacob had drawn, Kike J. Diaz colored, Rus Wooton lettered…but there wasn’t a short sequence that succinctly sold what the book was about as a whole, so I thought, well heck, Jacob’s been doing one-pagers of Superman, Batman & Robin for years…

…let’s do one for Ace Adams!

My original script was a montage of sorts, showing The Black Dog and Whiz-Bang in action at various times of day. But it felt too obtuse in its intentions, too busy…plus it required Jacob to draw a bunch of backgrounds, and that wouldn’t be nice of me to ask for…Jacob’s a comic artist with TRIPLETS, for god’s sake.

So I thought back to the Captain Marvel strip that Doc drew so effectively, which was just a series of middle shots, with incredible attention to facial expressions and body language. I knew Jacob could nail that sort of thing, so I wrote a script that had Ace changing from Dog to Whiz, and speaking to the viewer.

I didn’t ask Jacob to “move his camera” at all…so all the great choices to tilt up, zoom in, focus on boots, those are all his.

The idea was to convey the central reason that Ace chooses to be two different superheroes…one at night, one during the day. Ace explains himself, shares this idea of not being deterred by helping, even when knowing that there’s no way he can actually fix or solve anything. Just because something’s impossible doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying. And he does it while changing, to give the reader the sense that Ace is always moving, always changing and adapting to his situation.

Kike did a beautiful job of providing texture on the backgrounds without having it compete for attention with Ace. He pops out quite nicely. And Rus did his requisite masterclass on lettering…I particularly love the way Rus sometimes puts balloons “higher” than the panel borders, so they’re drifting into the gutters. It’s a small thing, but I feel like it subtly “attaches” panels to one another, and creates a cohesion across the page.

And voila! A one-pager that gives you a sense of our main character, and the journey he’ll be on throughout our 100-page graphic novel.

Nate Cosby and Jacob Edgar’s Alter Ego is now on Kickstarter

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Hush-hush and on the QT, we present to you, dear reader, the Golden Age of Hollywood. Los Angeles is ripe with beautiful beaches and gorgeous movie stars, and there’s opportunity as far as the eye can wander. There is also, unfortunately, a supervillain problem, with rogues running rampant everywhere. During the day, the city is attacked by atomic robots, robbers that run football formations, and circus acts with a death wish! And by night? There’s an onslaught of gangsters with magic wands, feral beasts out for blood, and seedy criminal organizations conducting cosmic-powered turf wars. Welcome to the world of Alter Ego, an action-packed, 100-page all-new, original graphic novel by Eisner-nominated writer Nate Cosby, artist Jacob Edgar, colorist Kike J. Diaz, and letterer Rus Wooton. A Kickstarter for Alter Ego is now live from Linney Incorporated, featuring variant covers by superstar artists Wilfredo Torres, Phil Hester, Declan Shalvey, Chris Eliopoulos, and SOZOMAIKA, and a main cover from artist and co-creator Jacob Edgar.

In Alter Ego, LA’s scandalous crime wave inspires two strikingly different heroes to spring into action. By day, the streets are protected by Whiz-Bang, a grinning, gregarious defender of goodness. By night, the City of Angels is defended by an entirely different kind of hero: The Black Dog appears in a cloud of smoke, a mysterious vigilante determined to strike fear in cowardly criminals. And unbeknownst to the mayor, the police force, the entire city…these radically different heroes share an incredible secret: They are the same man.

Ace Adams is a cocky stuntman who can throw himself off 20-story buildings, or scrap with a legion of thugs. Ace is the kind of guy that has a motor that won’t quit. He thinks he’s got the world on a string; all he has to do is keep pulling. This superhero thing is a gas, and it allows him to perform, in ways that he’s not able to in movies, now that his acting career is stalled. Who knows…if he saves enough people, maybe they’ll make a movie about him, and maybe he’ll star in it.

The Kickstarter for Alter Ego is live now and will end on April 14. 

Tokyopop Announces New Manga Titles

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Tokyopop has announced a new list of manga releases for late 2020 and early 2021.

First to be released is The God and the Flightless Messenger by hagi, due to hit shelves in December 2020. A one-off BL title, it follows the story of a young messenger to the gods who struggles to fit in due to his tiny wings, but forms a bond with his unusual assignment.

“My lord, were you the one who stayed by my side?”

Shin is a messenger to the gods, but he’s always been alone because of his tiny wings. And when he’s finally assigned a god to serve, it turns out to be… a huge ball of fluff?! Stranger still, he feels an odd, nostalgic connection with the funny-looking god. 

This is not the story of how a shape-shifting god and an earnest messenger with a short temper meet, but of how they find each other again.

The God and the Flightless Messenger

A Boys Love adjacent title, BL Fans LOVE My Brother?! by Mimu Oyamada is about a woman whose shut-in brother is famous in fan communities for his Boys Love artwork and comics. A heartfelt comedy about overcoming anxieties and supporting family in their hobbies, this title is a love letter to BL fans.
 
Four years ago, Kirika Amano’s older brother became a shut-in. Since then, he’s barely even left his own room, constantly working on something at his desk. When Kirika finally finds out what he’s been doing all that time, she’s shocked — her brother creates boys love comics! Not only that, but it turns out that he’s actually quite good at it, and he’s got a dedicated fanbase.
 
Even though Kirika doesn’t understand her brother’s hobbies or the fandom that surrounds him, he’s still family. Maybe if she helps him sell his comics, she can convince him to step outside into the world again and greet his fans in person.

BL Fans LOVE My Brother?!

Following the success of Dekoboko Sugar Days, Atsuko Yusen’s This Wonderful Season With You is another BL one-shot about an unlikely highschool couple and a friendship that develops into something deeper.
 
Enoki is practically the poster-boy for what a typical nerd looks like: short and slight, complete with big round glasses and social awkwardness. His main hobby is playing video games, and he’s used to not having many friends at school. Then, he meets Shirataki, a former member of the baseball club and his exact opposite; tall, muscular and sporty. Despite their many differences, the spark of friendship between the two boys begins to grow into something more…

This Wonderful Season With You

Alter Ego is a new addition to both International Women of Manga and LOVE x LOVE imprints. The Girls Love title from Spanish creator Ana C. Sánchez deals with unrequited love and the difficulties of confessing a gay crush to a friend who appears to be straight.
 
Noel has always been in love with her best friend Elena, but she’s never been able to find the courage to confess her feelings. Then, when her friend starts dating a boy, Noel’s world collapses as she sees her chance at love slipping away.
 
One night, in a moment of desperation, Noel ends up confessing her feelings for Elena to a complete stranger. But as fate would have it, this stranger turns out to be a girl named June, Elena’s other best friend… and Noel’s rival in love! Worst of all, now June knows Noel’s secret. With everything suddenly going wrong, how can Noel ever win the girl of her dreams?

Alter Ego

A catboy themed BL by Dento Hayane, The Cat Proposed follows an exhausted salaryman who accidentally catches the eye of a mischievous bakeneko, or shapeshifting cat, who promptly decides they are meant for one another.
 
Matoi Souta is an overworked office worker tired of his life. Then, on his way home from a long day of work one day, he decides to watch a traditional Japanese play. But something strange happens. He could have sworn he saw one of the actors has cat ears.
 
It turns out that the man is actually a bakeneko — a shapeshifting cat from Japanese folklore. And then, the cat speaks: “From now on, you will be my spouse.”

The Cat Proposed

Azumi Kyohei’s Katakoi Lamp rounds up the list with this sweet BL romance story about a café owner who develops a crush on one of his customers and struggles with how to confess his feelings.

Kazuto Muronoi runs a cute little coffee shop, where many people enjoy doing some work or writing papers for school. Among his coffee shop’s regulars is a college student named Jun, who often studies there. It was love at first sight for Kazuto! Will Kazuto be able to find the courage to confess his crush before Jun graduates college and stops frequenting the shop? And to make matters even more complicated… it seems Jun has his sights set on another worker at the café! 

Katakoi Lamp

Heroic Digital Comics Headed to ComiXology

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The heroes of Heroic Publishing are headed to the #1 digital comics service. Heroic, the California-based publisher of Flare, Champions, and others has been publishing since 1987 and is best known for their line-up of self-assured, sexy super-heroines. Comixology is the leading distributor of digital comics in the United States, with a significant worldwide presence too. So far, titles including Alter Ego, Champions and Chrissie Claus have been approved for Comixology distribution. More of Heroic’s extensive library will roll out through Comixology in 2014.

The first Heroic comic available, Alter Ego #1 is priced at only 99 cents. Created by legendary writer and editor Roy Thomas, with co-writer Dann Thomas and artist Ron Harris, Alter Ego is the story of teenager Rob Lindsay, who finds a magic mask that transports him to a world where comic book super-heroes of the Golden Age are real. Drawing upon Roy Thomas’ experience a co-founder of comics fandom and as the top writer of characters of the 1940s at Marvel and DC, the landmark series celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2012 with a brand new issue (#5) which paid homage to the crime comics of the 1950s.

Heroic Publishing Releases All-New Alter Ego #5

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ROY THOMAS, RON HARRIS TEAM UP FOR BRAND-NEW FIFTH ISSUE OF ALTER EGO

After 25 years, legendary comic book writer ROY THOMAS has once again teamed up with artist and co-creator RON HARRIS for a brand-new issue of the ALTER EGO comic book.

This brand-new fifth issue of ALTER EGO continues the adventures of teenager Rob Lindsay, a young hero who battles evil by donning a mystic mask that transports him into a world where comic book characters are real.

The ALTER EGO comic book was originally published in 1986 as a four-part mini-series, in which Alter Ego and members of the superheroic “Limbo Legion,” based on classic heroes from the golden age of comics, did battle against the sinister Crimson Claw. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of that original series, Roy Thomas and Ron Harris, together with Heroic’s publisher, Dennis Mallonee, have produced an all-new fifth issue, in which Alter Ego travels into the world of crime comics from the late 1940s in order to do battle with a new incarnation of evil who styles himself “Brother Crime.”

Copies of this special issue of ALTER EGO are not being distributed through normal comic book distribution channels. ALTER EGO #5 is available only through select retailers, and by special order from the Heroic Publishing website at www.heroicpub.com.

Comic book retailers interested in carrying this and other popular Heroic Publishing titles such as Flare, Champions, and Liberty Girl should contact Heroic Publishing directly, and register online for a retail account with the Heroic Distribution comic book service.

For more information on Heroic Publishing comic book titles, visit the Heroic Publishing website at www.heroicpub.com

Heroic Publishing New Release Up to May 2012

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Official Press Release

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Heroic Spotlight #7

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The classic science-fiction adventures of ETERNITY SMITH continue in this seventh issue of HEROIC SPOTLIGHT, in a booklength 25-page action adventure! Co-creators, writer Dennis Mallonee and artist Rick Hoberg team up with inkers Tim Burgard and Jim Janes to bring you the classic adventures of Eternity Smith, seen again for the first time in nearly 25 years, featuring the time-traveling adventurer fighting alongside his beautiful super-spy daughter, SKYLARK SMITH, and her traveling rock band, THE CREW, taking on the forces of international terror long before 9/11, long before terrorism became a buzzword. And if you demand it, there will be new adventures of Eternity Smith on the horizon.

Infinites #3

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“This is a tale of worlds, of realities and of the heroes who have banded together to save them.” The action builds in part three of comic’s most ambitious, exciting and innovative new series, The Infinites. In Technopolis, the Colossus of Science and progenitor of super humanity itself, Vigil, teams with his fellow Infinite, the Ultimate Aerialist, Aviatrix, to prevent the newly-empowered Raiders from opening the door to E.D.E.N. Should they fail untold devastation will be unleashed upon the Earth! Meanwhile on MV4, the Scientist Supreme, Dr. Karnak, and his faithful robot retainer, Tut, journey through the Duat in search of a treasure for the boy king, Hertsher. What they discover deep within Mt. Manu will alter their world forever! Written by David William Daniel Thomas, penciled by Christopher Hanchey and with inks and colors by John Anderson, The Infintes dares to walk boldly where other comics fear to tread. Don’t miss a second of the action and intrigue as comic’s most compelling new concept continues to unfold.

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Alter Ego 25th Anniversary #5

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For the first time in 25 years! Enjoy an all-new adventure of ALTER EGO, by Roy Thomas and Ron Harris, as Rob Lindsay once again dons the mystic mask to travel into the world of crime comics of the 1950s!

Flare Adventures #31

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It’s our shining goddess of the light’s “Farewell to the City of Angels,” as MARK PROPST returns at last to FLARE with an all-new blast from the past! This is the never-before-told story of how and why our glittering heroine decided that being a CHAMPION was far more important to her than pursuing an acting career. And it features guest appearances by LADY ARCANE, the invincible THUGMASTER, and the savage original TIGRESS! Also in this issue, enjoy the classic adventure, “Joyride,” by Dennis Mallonee, Kevin Tuma, and Craig Stormon.

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Champions #55

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She’s here! Ahead of the debut of her own long-awaited new comic book title, the SENSATIONAL G-GIRL makes a special preview appearance in the pages of CHAMPIONS! In this issue, America’s newest costumed heroine faces down the challenge of the mysterious SPIDER-BABY in a charity wrestling match brought to you by Terrance Griep and Gaetano Petrigno. Also in this issue, find out why Federal agent Felicity Bliss has such a mad on for the savage TIGRESS in the classic adventure, “Bliss,” brought to you for the first time in color by writer Dennis Mallonee and artist Ciro Napolitano.

Heroic Spotlight #8

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The classic science-fiction adventures of ETERNITY SMITH continue in this eighth issue of HEROIC SPOTLIGHT, in a booklength 25-page action adventure! Co-creators, writer Dennis Mallonee and artist Rick Hoberg team up with inkers Tim Burgard and Jim Janes to bring you the classic adventures of Eternity Smith, seen again for the first time in nearly 25 years, featuring the time-traveling adventurer fighting alongside his beautiful super-spy daughter, SKYLARK SMITH, and her traveling rock band, THE CREW, taking on the forces of international terror long before 9/11, long before terrorism became a buzzword.

Infinites #4

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“Who is Osr S?” On Earth, Infinites Vigil and Aviatrix’s battle with the Raiders reaches its climax but in the aftermath a series of nagging questions arise. Just how did the Raiders gain access to E.D.E.N. and what where they looking for? On MV4, the mystery of the sarcophagus’s occupant begins to unravel. Just who is Osr S and how did he come to MV4? Combining elements of ancient Egyptian mythology with modern ancient astronaut theories and a reexamination of the legend of the superman, The infinites #4 is nothing short of revolutionary. Guest starring the Raiders and introducing the boy king, Hertsher, and the mysterious Osr S, Ge B and Nu T, The Infinites #4 is a must read. Catch the buzz building around this bold new series for yourself. Written by David William Daniel Thomas, penciled by Christopher Hanchey and with inks and colors by John Anderson, The Infintes dares to walk boldly where other comics fear to tread. Don’t miss a moment of comic’s most thought provoking and innovative new series as The Infinites rocket on!

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ON SALE IN MAY

Champions Adventures #3

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A NEW ADVENTURE IN THIS ISSUE! ESPER! RED RAPIER! DEMONFIRE! RADAR! SONAR! AND THE ABOMINABLE OGRE! THE LEAGUE OF ENEMIES LIVES AGAIN! First, enjoy the classic tale, “A Question of Need,” starring MADAME SYNN, ESPER, and the RED RAPIER, by Dennis Mallonee, Howard Simpson, and Willie Blyberg. Then, in the all-new adventure, “The Gathering,” by Dennis Mallonee and Mark Propst, learn for the first time how the Champions’ greatest enemies were at last brought together as a team!

Flare #40

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In this issue, Dennis Mallonee and Gordon Purcell bring you a solo adventure starring Flare’s police officer boyfriend, LUCAS MADISON! When naughty Nyx decides she wants hunky Lucas for herself, and recruits help from APHRODITE in order to get him, how in the world is a mere mortal ever going to be able to resist the mind-altering potions of the Olympian goddess of love? Also in this issue, witness the birth of the world’s foremost ecological avenger. “The Origin of Mudpie” is by Jim Gettman, Paul Abrams, and Craig Stormon. All this, plus a new adventure of the stupid little stick-boy, DOLF!