(W) Tini Howard, Blake Howard (A) Max Raynor, Gleb Melnikov In Shops: Mar 28, 2023 SRP: $3.99
RETURN OF THE CLOWN PRINCE! At the moment Punchline needed him the least, The Joker has returned to interfere with her war to take over as Gotham City’s queen of crime. In The Joker’s damaged and defeated state, will he help his former partner, or will he burn her the way he’s burned everyone else? The epic conclusion to the bestselling Punchline miniseries is here, and it will change the shape of Gotham’s villain world forever!
Three terrifying tales will chill Riverdale’s warm summer nights this June in Chilling Adventures Presents… Camp Pickens,an all-new one-shot from the Archie Horror imprint of Archie Comics.
Camp Pickens kicks off with “Bug Juice,” a frame story by writer Jordan Morris and artist Diana Camero, in which Jughead Jones leads a group of campers on a quest to find a mysterious drink that counselors think will ward off evil and misfortune . . . which Camp Pickens requires because it is ridiculously haunted. As they go deeper into the woods and use all their camp skills to make it through the night, they learn more about the camp’s monstrous past.
That past is revealed in “The Curse of Camp Pickens,” a tale of ghostly menace through the ages by writer Blake Howard and artist Carola Borelli, and the slasher send-up “Down and Out and Death Cursed” by writer Tim Seeley and artist Mike Norton.
Camp Pickens has always been the go-to summer destination for the younger residents of Riverdale. It’s a rite of passage for the teen residents to hold the coveted camp counselor positions. However, Camp Pickens’ mysterious past shrouds a deep, dark secret: it’s cursed, and this summer all of its campers are going to find out the hard way in this one-shot anthology that’s equal parts Sleepaway Camp and American Horror Story: 1984, reuniting the team behind the mega-hit comic series Revival.
Camp Pickens, with an open-to-order variant cover by Francesco Francavilla, colors by Matt Herms, and lettering by Jack Morelli, releases June 21 in comic shops nationwide.
(W) Tini Howard, Blake Howard (A/CA) Gleb Melnikov In Shops: Feb 28, 2023 SRP: $3.99
THE BATTLE FOR PORT ROYAL! As Bluebird and Nightwing desperately search for brother, Cullen, Punchline’s expansion of the Royal Flush Gang takes a terrifying technological turn. The nanotech experiments she’s been conducting with 1-0 will allow her to create an army of A.C.E. robots, and nothing beats a hand full of A.C.E.s…Nightwing and Bluebird are in for a world of hurt.
(W) Tini Howard, Blake Howard (A/CA) Gleb Melnikov In Shops: Nov 22, 2022 SRP: $3.99
SHOWDOWN AT ACE CHEMICALS! Punchline’s construction of her Royal Flush Gang court draws the attention of Gotham City’s thriving Yakuza faction and Batman. All things come to a head at Ace Chemicals. Will Batman successfully stop Punchline and her court, or will the factory bring him another devastating failure?
(W) Tini Howard, Blake Howard (A/CA) Gleb Melnikov In Shops: Nov 22, 2022 SRP: $3.99
SHOWDOWN AT ACE CHEMICALS! Punchline’s construction of her Royal Flush Gang court draws the attention of Gotham City’s thriving Yakuza faction and Batman. All things come to a head at Ace Chemicals. Will Batman successfully stop Punchline and her court, or will the factory bring him another devastating failure?
(W) Tini Howard, Blake Howard (A/CA) Gleb Melnikov In Shops: Oct 25, 2022 SRP: $3.99
THE NEW QUEEN OF CRIME! Punchline is out of jail and back on the streets of Gotham City. She’s not coming back for some of what Gotham has to offer, she’s coming back for all of it. She wants to be the queen of crime, and with the help of her Royal Flush Gang, no one will stand in her way. But Punchline created a lot of angry enemies in Gotham before she was incarcerated, and they all want payback. Presenting a miniseries that will redefine the criminal landscape of Gotham City from the superstar creative team of Tini Howard (Catwoman, Knights of X), Blake Howard (Batman: Urban Legends), and Gleb Melnikov (Robin, Wonder Woman)!
(W) Tini Howard, Blake Howard (A/CA) Gleb Melnikov In Shops: Oct 25, 2022 SRP: $3.99
THE NEW QUEEN OF CRIME! Punchline is out of jail and back on the streets of Gotham City. She’s not coming back for some of what Gotham has to offer, she’s coming back for all of it. She wants to be the queen of crime, and with the help of her Royal Flush Gang, no one will stand in her way. But Punchline created a lot of angry enemies in Gotham before she was incarcerated, and they all want payback. Presenting a miniseries that will redefine the criminal landscape of Gotham City from the superstar creative team of Tini Howard (Catwoman, Knights of X), Blake Howard (Batman: Urban Legends), and Gleb Melnikov (Robin, Wonder Woman)!
Vault Comics has announced World of Darkness: Crimson Thaw, a multi-property World of Darkness event that spins out of Vault’s smash hit Vampire: The Masquerade comic book series. In World of Darkness, there is more lurking in the shadows than just vampires, and this event will shine a light on just what else hides in the night.
The World of Darkness: Crimson Thaw event will be told by a murderers row of the best comic creators working today. The series is written by Jim Zub, Tim Seeley, Blake Howard, Tini Howard, and Danny Lore, drawn by Julius Ohta, colored by Addison Duke, lettered by Deron Bennett, and designed by Tim Daniel. The series will feature covers from legendary horror artists Aaron Campbell and Joshua Hixson.
In World of Darkness: Crimson Thaw, Cecily Bain has become everything she never wanted as The Prince of the Twin Cities. But her rule over a fractured, backbiting vampire court is interrupted by an intruder—something big, hairy, and full of teeth. For over a century, werewolves of the Twin Cities have protected their blessed places from threats both physical and spiritual. When vampires under Cecily rule move in on one of these precious sites, it’s a declaration of war, one that Tyrell ‘the Stainless’ Stinar and his ferocious pack will avenge at any cost.
The three-issue event will launch in September 2021. Making the series even tastier for fans of Vampire: The Masquerade, each issue of World of Darkness: Crimson Thaw will include exclusive gaming material for Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition of the tabletop RPG from Renegade Game Studios, allowing players to actually play the events of the series in their own games.
The White Wolf/Onyx Path RPG Vampire: the Masqueradereturns to comics courtesy of Vault, and this issue is a wonderful entry point into a complex world of alliances, hierarchies, and yes, bloodthirst. Tim Seeley, Devmalya Pramanik, and Addison Duke handle the lead story of Vampire: the Masquerade #1 focusing on Cecily Bain, who is muscle for a vampire clan in Minneapolis. However, she also has a fiercely independent streak and the tiniest trace of a soft side beneath her murderous, take no shit attitude. On the flip side is Tini Howard, Blake Howard, and Nathan Gooden’s backup story about the anarch, Colleen, who isn’t beholden to the Twin Cities power struggle and just wants to make sure her and her vampire buddies survive to the next day. It was really nice to get two incredibly different perspectives on this rich world, especially as a newcomer to the franchise. (My only real exposure to Vampire the Masquerade was in the Baphomet/Morrigan-centric issue of WicDiv even though the lore has always fascinated, and I picked up some of the RPG sourcebooks via Humble Bundle.)
Seeley and Pramanik set up Cecily as an anti-hero with a heart of gold in Vampire: the Masquerade #1’s opening story. She proves her ruthlessness by killing the clan accountant’s girlfriend (He’s just valuable enough.) in the opening scene, but then she shows tenderness with her sister Karen, who has dementia, and a new vampire, Ali. Pramanik with the help of colorist Addison Duke uses intense shadows to create intimacy in their visuals and hint that Cecily is strongly considering turning Karen into a vampire so she doesn’t have to deal with the pain of completely losing her and also that her youth is restored.
This concern for the weak continues to Ali, who was sired by an anonymous vampire and is clan-less drifter in a highly hierarchical world except this may not be the case thanks to some suspenseful silent sequences from Seeley and Pramanik. Visually, Devmalya Pramanik and Addison Duke lean into an industrial, post-punk vibe that hints at past “glory days” for Cecily and Karen and also hinting that Cecily might have a sense of nostalgia between her tough, get the job done veneer. Her interest in alternative culture and music does dovetail nicely with her refusal to be more of a company woman and just do her job for the Prince instead of getting the vampire clan equivalent of a desk job and lose some of her precious freedom. (And, by extension, a lack of prying eyes on Karen.)
In both stories, Tim Seeley, Tini Howard, and Blake Howard lean on characterization and easy-to-connect-with personal relationships instead of the deep Vampire the Masquerade lore to drive the story. Without the vampirism, Colleen and her band of anarchs (Basically, vampire without a cause.) could be young people with wanderlust that favor the open road instead of stable jobs and lifestyles. The character sheet for Colleen (And Cecily too, while we’re here.) adds real depth to her character and the messed up relationship with her husband/sire Mitch and also acts as a rare peek at the bottom of the author’s theoretical iceberg. The backup is a free spirit to the rigid structures that Cecily encounters in the main story, and Addison Duke uses a lighter palette because as a thin blood, Colleen can actually go out during the day. The Howards and Gooden’s story adds depth and perspective via a momentum-filled On the Road with vampires plotline instead of relying on boring exposition to show what life as another kind of vampire is like.
With two memorable leads and a focus on showing readers what it’s like in the universe instead of exhaustively explaining its rules, Vampire: the Masquerade #1 is an enjoyable read even if you’re not familiar with the RPG. The dual nature of immortality shows up a lot in the comic, but Tim Seeley, Tini Howard, Blake Howard, Devmalya Pramanik, Nathan Gooden, and basically Gothic set-dresser Addison Duke dive into other implications of being a vampire in this world like navigating bureaucracies and complicated interpersonal relationship. Hey, it sounds like the real world, but with hotter outfits, blood, and fangs.
Story: Tim Seeley, Tini Howard, Blake Howard Art: Devmalya Pramanik, Nathan Gooden Colors: Addison Duke Letters: Andworld Story: 7.9 Art: 8.7 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy
Vault provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Vault has announced a set of new Vampire: The Masquerade #1 variant covers from legendary artist David Mack.
The gorgeous, painted piece by Mack will come in two different printed variants. The first, in a lush purple and blue, will be a standard, open order variant. The blood red version will be a special, deluxe variant, printed on thick card stock, with silver foiling and spot-gloss highlights, and will retail for $9.99.
Each issue of the Vampire: The Masquerade will include exclusive material for Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition of the tabletop RPG from Modiphius Entertainment. These materials enable readers to play alongside the unfolding comic events in their own in-game chronicles.
Sink your teeth into the hidden world of vampires, ghouls, and hunters who live in the shadows and scheme among us. In the comic series, Cecily Baine, an enforcer for the Twin Cities’ elite cabal of Kindred (vampires), takes a mysterious young vampire under her wing and is swept up in a conspiracy that can shake the foundations of vampire society.
Vampire: The Masquerade is co-written by Tim Seeley, Tini Howard, and Blake Howard, with art by Devmalya Pramanik and Nathan Gooden, with colors by Addison Duke, letters by AndWorld Design, design by Tim Daniel, and covers by Aaron Campbell, Nathan Gooden, and David Mack. The first issue will hit store shelves on August 5th, 2020.
When Cecily Brine, a courier for the Twin Cities Camarilla, takes a mysterious younger vampire under her wing, she’s dragged into an insidious conspiracy. Will she be able to escape with her unlife and protect her aging, Alzheimer’s afflicted sister, or will she be yet another pawn sacrificed to the Masquerade?
Meanwhile, an Anarch coterie investigates a mysterious killing.
