Tag Archives: artists writers and artisans

Marshawn Lynch Goes Beast Mode with AWA this October

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When Oakland calls, Beast Mode answers. Artists Writers & Artisans (AWA) has announced Beast Mode 510, a 120+ page graphic novel conceptualized by AWA Chief Creative Officer Axel Alonso, written by NAACP Image Award-nominated author Sheldon Allen, and inspired and guided by NFL legend and cultural icon Marshawn Lynch. Launching October 6 and set in Oakland, CA, Beast Mode 510 is a mythic, irreverent, and deeply personal love letter to the city that raised Lynch and continues to define the former running back and Super Bowl XLVIII champion. Inspired by Lynch’s larger-than-life persona and backed by the Oakland icon himself, the title transforms the “Beast Mode” mentality into a cinematic new comic book hero rooted in loyalty and community.

Blending stylized action, interconnected mystery, and sharp social satire, Beast Mode 510 channels the just-retribution of The Equalizer with the comedy and social satire of Atlanta, with a healthy dose of West Coast swagger. At its center is Beast Mode: the 510’s legendary fixer and freelance sleuth whose rough exterior hides a code of loyalty and willingness to deal with problems others won’t touch. If you’ve got a problem the authorities won’t handle, Beast Mode will. No invoices. No contracts. Just results.

Written by Sheldon Allen with art by legendary Eisner Hall of Fame artist Denys Cowan, Beast Mode 510 assembles a powerhouse creative team that translates Lynch’s unmistakable presence and Beast Mode mythology into a vivid, kinetic graphic novel epic. The title reimagines the Beast Mode mentality as a bold new storytelling universe rooted in Oakland, grounded in truth and elevated to myth. The book is colored by Chris Sotomayor and inked by Dexter Vines, with cover art from Rahzzah and chapter break art by Ron Ackins.

In Beast Mode 510, Lynch’s legendary “Beast Mode” mentality becomes mythic. Most of the time, Beast Mode is Level One cool: laid back, sharp-minded, enjoying a glass of Hen and a freshly rolled blunt. But faced with enough bother, the dial can turn all the way to Level Six, and an unrestrained force of nature is unleashed. What starts as a super-secret birthday surprise for his mother spirals into a globe-spanning conspiracy involving three missing young women, a Silicon Valley slavery ring, Yakuza assassins, reptilian billionaires, a million-dollar bounty on his head, a world economy-shattering takedown, and so much more. As enemies close in and chaos escalates, Beast Mode must protect his family, defend his city, and confront powerful forces threatening the community he loves.

Beast Mode 510 will be available online and in stores wherever graphic novels are sold on Tuesday, October 6. 

ECCC 2025: Go Beyond the Emerald City in AWA’s New Graphic Fiction Universe Set in the Land of OZ

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Think you know OZ? Think again. While The Wizard of Oz and Wicked have captivated audiences, they’re just a sliver of the vast, enchanting world L. Frank Baum created across 14 books. Artists Writers and Artisans (AWA) has announced Ultimate OZ Universe, a visionary expansion that stays true to Baum’s rich canon. Launching November 12 with the first volume, The Lost Lands, this isn’t just another trip to Emerald City—it’s an odyssey into unexplored corners of OZ, bringing to life long-overlooked characters, hidden histories, and untold adventures, all deeply rooted in the lore that started it all.

OZ is having a moment—again. Wicked has dominated Broadway for over 20 years with sold-out shows—and made a massive impact on the big screen in one of 2024’s biggest films—while The Wizard of Oz remains an enduring classic. Yet, these stories only scratch the surface. Ultimate OZ Universe dives deeper, exploring uncharted regions, uncovering lost lore, and introducing a new generation of fans to the limitless magic of Baum’s creation. Available in trade paperback and hardcover, the series includes QR codes throughout its pages that link to video footnotes and commentary with original music, maps, and behind-the-scenes features for a truly immersive experience. 

Co-written by award-winning writer Cullen Bunn and songwriter and Baum enthusiast Larry King, with artwork by Mike Deodato, Jr., the initial book–the 144-page The Lost Lands graphic novel–is a visually stunning and narratively rich odyssey. It features colors by Ive Svorcina and lettered by Steve Wands. With industry-leading collaborators including King’s ShaggyMan Productions and esteemed Broadway producer Kevin McCollum , Ultimate OZ Universe: The Lost Lands is an expansion, a bold reimagining, and a meticulously researched celebration of Baum’s original vision, updated for today’s audience. This first story is just the beginning—more books, music, and even big-screen adventures are already on the horizon, ensuring the magic of OZ shines brighter than ever.

Beginning with The Lost Lands, Ultimate OZ Universe is a meticulously researched saga that explores the hidden corners of the continuity established in Baum’s original 14 books—and the dozens of others from his successors. Larry King, a decades-long Oz obsessive, collaborated with Baum historians Jay Duncan, Julie McNulty, and Mike Bujnak to master every intricacy of this beloved world. Together, they ensured that every panel, character, and storyline honor the spirit of OZ while pushing the boundaries of modern storytelling. Blending reverence with innovation, this series offers a fresh, visually striking, and immersive experience for both devoted Oz fans and newcomers alike.

During Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, attending fans will have the opportunity to learn more about Ultimate OZ Universe via a special panel on Saturday, March 8th from 1:45-2:30 pm in Room 320 (Level 3). During the discussion, panelists Mike Deodato Jr., Cullen Bunn, Axel Alonso, and Larry King will share a first peek at the new AWA universe.

Ronda Rousey and AWA Announce Her Graphic Novel Debut with Expecting the Unexpected

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UFC, WWE, and Olympic superstar, multi-ESPY Award-winner, and Hollywood actress Ronda Rousey has stepped out of the ring and into the world of comics. Artists Writers and Artisans (AWA) has announced the upcoming Kickstarter campaign for Rousey’s graphic novel debut, Expecting the Unexpected. Penned by Rousey and edited by Axel Alonso, AWA Chief Creative Officer and former Editor-and-Chief at Marvel, with art by Eisner and Ringo Award-winning comic book artist Mike Deodato, Jr., the graphic novel draws on Rousey’s incredible career in the ring and pairs it with Deodato’s martial arts background to create the most accurate and action-packed fight scenes in comics!

Her codename: “Mom.” With a fake baby bump filled with guns, she’s built a reputation as one of the deadliest hitwomen on the planet. But on the verge of her big break in the criminal underworld, Mom makes a fateful decision: sleeping with a potential target (who just so happens to be a top-ranked assassin himself). A few weeks later, Mom finds that her codename is about to become a whole lot more literal. What follows is a wild mashup of action, adventure, comedy, and romance as a newly pregnant Mom with a bounty on her head fights off wave after wave of assassins, falls in love with her baby daddy, and decides how to face her personal and professional predicament. EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED sets a new bar for the authenticity of fight scenes through a unique creative process developed by Rousey, Deodato, and AWA.

Through Kickstarter, AWA allows fans to support its most ambitious limited-edition projects. This new graphic novel will feature Kickstarter exclusives and include premium, tiered rewards for the biggest Ronda Rousey fans. The Expecting the Unexpected Kickstarter will launch on July 25 and those interested in learning more about the campaign and its reward offerings should sign up here to be notified when the campaign is live. Throughout her career as a global superstar, Rousey has built a huge fan base around the world and Kickstarter allows fans to support this debut in more than 200 countries worldwide.

AWA appoints Diya Sagar as the Company’s First Chief Financial Officer

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Diya Sagar

Artists, Writers & Artisans Inc. (AWA) has announced the appointment of Diya Sagar as the company’s first Chief Financial Officer. 

Diya Sagar is an experienced finance and investment professional with an international background. She has worked with businesses of all stages, including large-cap public companies, private equity-owned corporations, and venture-backed startups. Sagar joins AWA from its lead shareholder Lupa Systems, James Murdoch’s private investment firm, where she was an investor in media and technology companies. Previously, she led corporate development & strategy at Endemol Shine Group, the world’s largest independent TV production company at the time. She started her career in investment banking at Deutsche Bank in London, covering M&A and capital raises for technology, media and telecoms companies. In addition to her financial and operational acumen, she has a keen understanding of how new technologies and strategic partnerships can support creators’ work. She received her M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management and B.A. in Economics from the University of Durham.

In her new role, Sagar will work closely alongside AWA’s executive leadership team including Anderson, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman Jon Miller, Chief Creative Officer Axel Alonso, AWA Studios’ President Zach Studin, and General Counsel Bob Cohen. In addition to being responsible for the financial management of the company, Sagar will lead business strategy, corporate development, M&A, operations and emerging technology initiatives.

NYCC 2023: AWA announces its signings, exclusives, and more!

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Comic nerds unite! With New York Comic Con (NYCC) just around the corner, Artists, Writers and Artisans (AWA) has announced an array of activities and offerings that will take place at this year’s highly anticipated pop culture event. Showcasing the freshest and most critically acclaimed graphic fiction creators and their work, AWA is hosting a special creators panel with Chief Creative Officer Alex Alonso, holding several talent signings at its booth, and showcasing its first line of custom merch that celebrates AWA’s creators and their titles. Throughout NYCC on October 12-15, AWA can be found on the Show Floor at booth #3456.

AWA has assembled a lineup of the world’s most renowned comic book talent who will be on-site throughout the fan-forward event to discuss and showcase their latest work. AWA’s NYCC offerings include:

  • NYCC Panel: Inside AWA’s Fall Debuts with Axel Alonso, Mark Russell, and Frank Cho – To kick off the Con, fans are invited to join Mark Russell (last year’s Eisner winner for “Best Humor Publication” with NOT ALL ROBOTS), writer of the recently debuted RUMPUS ROOM alongside Emmy® and Ringo Award winner Frank Cho, creator of FIGHT GIRLS – DELUXE DIRECTOR’S CUT EDITION (announced last month as AWA’s first Kickstarter), in conversation with AWA Chief Creative Officer Axel Alonso as they take attendees inside their latest releases and upcoming projects. Following the discussion, fans will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with the panelists and take home several giveaways from the event. The panel will take place on Thursday, October 12 from 3:00-4:00 pm in room 406.2.
  • Talent Signings at the AWA Booth – During the first three days of the Con, AWA is holding talent signings at its booth (#3456) with fan-favorite writers and artists including:
  • Custom Merch & Con Exclusive Offerings – To celebrate its latest lineup of popular series, AWA is debuting its first-ever merchandise collection, a series of t-shirts featuring designs by its renowned stable of artists including Mike Deodato, Jr., Joe Quesada, and ACO. The artwork featured includes scenes from popular AWA titles like NOT ALL ROBOTS, THE MADNESS, and BLACK TAPE. Fans will have the opportunity to purchase the collection at the AWA booth.

In addition to the apparel, AWA is also offering three special-edition Con exclusive series issues including RUMPUS ROOM #1 Convention Exclusive (special cover by artist Kaare Andrews (E-RATIC)), RIBBON QUEEN #1 Convention Exclusive (special cover by artist Fay Dalton (NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS)), and an AWA Variant Cover Bundle Set which features four AWA comics with covers by Frank Cho covers.

Fremantle invests in AWA

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Devil's Highway Vol. 1 cover

Fremantle has made a strategic minority investment in Artists, Writers & Artisans, Inc. (AWA). AWA is an independent developer of bold and relevant stories across graphic fiction, film and television. This investment signifies a deepening of the initial partnership made between Fremantle and AWA in April 2022, which saw the companies come together to collaborate on co-developing a slate of TV projects based on AWA’s rapidly expanding IP library.

Fremantle and Lupa Systems co-led the investment round alongside new capital from long-term backers of AWA and a number of strategic individual investors with expertise in production, finance, sports, human rights and technology.

AWA Studios, AWA’s film and TV arm, will benefit from Fremantle’s strategic input and investment, whilst also unlocking the specialist expertise of the global content powerhouse, its infrastructure and its renowned international distribution footprint.

The two companies have announce that the first project on the joint development slate is Devil’s Highway, a thriller based on the successful comic series by Benjamin Percy and Brent Schoonover in which a young woman seeks to unravel a sinister mystery hidden in the dark underbelly of the long-haul trucking industry.

The expanded partnership was spearheaded by Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s Group COO and CEO Continental Europe, and Matthew Anderson, Co-Chair and President of AWA.

AWA is backed by Lupa Systems, Lightspeed Venture Partners and SISTER. Marvel alum Axel Alonso serves as Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer overseeing editorial output. In 2021, the company established AWA Studios, its film and TV division, helmed by Hollywood veteran Zach Studin as President. Matthew Anderson, Co-Chair and President, and Jon Miller, Co-Founder and Co-Chair, lead AWA’s executive team.

Since its launch, AWA Studios has quickly amassed a robust film and TV operation, kicked off by the announcement of feature film adaptations of Chariot by Bryan Edward Hill and Priscilla Petraites, which Warner Bros. acquired in competitive bidding; Marjorie Finnegan: Temporal Criminal by Garth Ennis and Goran Sudzuka, which Ruben Fleischer will direct; and Hotell by John Lees and Dalibor Talajic, to be directed by Elle Callahan, among many additional projects currently  in active development. 

In December, AWA formed a Creative Council including luminaries Reginald Hudlin, Gregg Hurwitz, Laeta Kalogridis, Joseph Kosinski, Al Madrigal and J. Michael Straczynski to help guide the company on complex creative matters and nurture ideas across a range of platforms.

The minority investment in AWA is the latest in Fremantle’s investment activity, which in 2022 saw the company take majority stakes in Eureka (Parental Guidance, Holey Moley), Label 1 (Five Dates a Week, Hospital), Element Pictures (Normal People, The Wonder, Conversations With Friends), Dancing Ledge Productions (The Salisbury Poisonings, The Responder), Lux Vide (Devils, Medici) 72 Films (9/11: One Day in America, All or Nothing: Arsenal), Wildstar Films (America the Beautiful, America’s National Parks), Silvio Productions (Buried, The Baby Daddy) and a minority stake in Fabel Entertainment (Bosch).

Preview: E-Ratic #1

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E-Ratic #1

(W) Kaare Andrews (A/CA) Kaare Andrews

You’re fifteen years old. You’re suddenly granted incredible powers. Cool, right? There’s only one problem: you can only use your powers for ten minutes at a time. What do you do when you have to save the world but you only have ten minutes to do it? This is the problem faced by Oliver Leif, a teenager who has just moved to a new town, and a new school, and is having a hard enough time navigating classes and his crush before the inter-dimensional monsters started showing up.

E-Ratic #1

AWA Studios and Upshot Present “Covid Chronicles” on NBC

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AWA Studios

AWA (Artists, Writers & Artisans) Studios‘ Upshot imprint has launched Covid Chronicles, a visual exploration of the men and women on the front lines of the Covid-19 crisis, combining hard-hitting investigative journalism with expressive and vivid comic art. Journalist and writer Ethan Sacks tells the stories of five people in some of the hardest-hit locations. Sacks is joined by artist Dalibor Talajić and letterer Bosung Kim.

The stories include:

  • An ICU nurse in New York City struggling to cope with witnessing an ever-growing death toll, as she furiously works to keep her aging mother safe at home.
  • A covid survivor retelling her near-death experience, including a last-minute recording to her children she never expected to see again.
  • An Italian opera singer whose inspiring balcony performance went viral.·      A beat reporter who sent his family to the suburbs as he puts himself at risk every day to cover the epidemic in New York.
  • An ER doctor operating a covid testing facility forced to make potential life-or-death decisions with their limited supply of testing materials.

The first episode of Covid Chronicles is live now and is available exclusively on NBC.com.

AWA Studios Launches iPOP! – iOpeningStories

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iPOP!

Last week, Artists, Writers & Artisans launched iPOP! – iOpeningStories a new “imprint” that looks to focus on webtoons, the popular digital comics platform whose audience is massive. Between Webtoon and Tapas, the monthly readership for the sites is near 60 million people a month. The first iPOP! story to launch was Be Wawa: Enter the Dragon. 

iPOP! also announced its upcoming release schedule:

  • Raider Babies #1: Scwew Yew – June 10th, 2020
  • Raider Babies #2: Scwew Yew Twew – June 17th, 2020
  • Starwar #1: Stupid – June 18th, 2020
  • Starwar #2: Tew Stupid to Live – June 23th 2020
  • Lion Queen #1 – Olivia Exotica – June 24th, 2020

Watch and read for free on these sites:

AWA Studios Launches iPOP! and Debuts Be Wawa

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Debuting on Youtube, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, AWA Studios has launched a new studio, iPOP!. iPOP! is focused on stories in both video and webtoon formats with the first series Be Wawa debuting today.

Check out the video below and readers can read AWA’s Be Wawa webtoon for free on Webtoons and Tapas.

AWA Studios is a new comic publisher headed by Bill Jemas as CEO and Axel Alonso as Chief Creative Officer. The company has released a handful of series with top tier talent featuring different distribution models and different revenue models. iPOP! looks to be another interesting move for the company focused on the massive webtoons market. More information and details will be coming soon.

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