(W) Christian Ward (A) Christian Ward In Shops: Dec 12, 2023 SRP: $6.99
The Court of Owls summons Batman, demanding he venture deep beneath the city to fight what has been unleashed from its depths: a wave of madness infecting Gotham’s villains, driven by the monstrous creature they’re calling the Batman Below. But the Court has not-entirely-noble reasons for wanting this chaos stopped… Is Batman their weapon, or their bait?
DSTLRY has revealed new covers for the second issues of Gone and Somna. The final order cut-off is December 10 through Lunar and December 11 from Diamond.
In Gone #2, it’s been fifteen years since we last saw ABI—a frightened 13-year-old stowaway on a spaceship bound for distant stars… Now nearly 30, Abi is not only still roaming the galaxy, but is a self-assured—and deeply scarred—veteran of an intergalactic war! Gone is in an action-packed sci-fi adventure where a young heroine has grown into a war-weary spacefarer who still dreams of one elusive goal…. getting home.
Gone #2, by Jock, features covers by Jock, Lee Garbett, Oliver Barrett,Matt Taylor, and Jamie McKelvie.
In Somna #2, set amidst the terrifying backdrop of the witch hunts in a quiet 1600s English village, Somna follows one woman’s erotic escape from the confines of her puritanical world. No one is above suspicion when the relentless Witch Hunter Roland draws his net around someone close to him as this darkly sexual thriller races towards its gripping conclusion!
Somna #2 is by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay and featuring covers by Lotay and Cloonan, Emily Carroll, Julian Totino Tedesco, Dani, and Christian Ward.
DSTLRY has announced its plans for this year’s Thought Bubble Comic Convention, taking place this weekend in Harrogate, England. From November 11–12, the publisher will host signings with six of its Founding Creators and friends, alongside offering convention-exclusive variants of debut release The Devil’s Cut.
Every purchase of a convention-exclusive The Devil’s Cut variant at Thought Bubble will also include a free black & white flip ashcan of Gone #1, written and drawn by Jock, and Somna#1, written and drawn by both Thought Bubble founder Tula Lotay and Becky Cloonan. Fans who pick up the ashcan can check out two of the hottest comics of the fall, with sci-fi adventure Gone #1(rated Teen+)selling out at the distributor level a week after its launch in late October and erotic, folk-horror thriller Somna #1(rated Mature) hitting shelves at local comic book stores on November 22.
Becky Cloonan, Christian Ward, Jock, Lee Garbett, Ram V, and Tula Lotay will be on-site at Thought Bubble this weekend to sign copies of The Devil’s Cut and the Gone/Somna ashcan. All signings will take place at DSTLRY Hall E1-2.
DSTLRYwill also sponsor a launch party in tandem with Thought Bubble on Thursday, November 9th in neighboring town Leeds at the Headrow House. Somnaco-creators Tula Lotay and Becky Cloonan will be featured in a live painting of characters from their upcoming erotic folk-horror series. The event begins at 7:30 PM GMT.
SIGNING SCHEDULE
*All Times GMT
Saturday, November 11 Ram V | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Christian Ward | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Becky Cloonan | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Tula Lotay | 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM Jock | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Lee Garbett | 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Sunday, November 12 Tula Lotay | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Becky Cloonan | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Lee Garbett | 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Ram V | 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Skybound and Hasbro have revealed a stunning lineup of variant covers for Void Rivals #6, the continuation of the new shared universe from the Oblivion Song team of Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici, along with colorist Matheus Lopes, and letterer Rus Wooton. The next chapter of the space epic hits comic book stores on November 22, 2023.
Each issue of Void Rivals promises to take readers further into this all-new world, with more familiar faces to appear. Void Rivals #6 concludes the series’ first arc, promising readers a shocking ending. Premier Zalilak will stop at nothing to prevent Darak and Solila from escaping Zertonia! But what secret awaits at the center of the Sacred Ring?
Void Rivals #6will feature a main cover by De Felici, along with a stacked lineup of variant covers by Christian Ward, Ejikure, Karen S. Darboe, and Toni Infante.
Void Rivals #6 (Lunar Codes listed below | $3.99) will be available at comic book shops and digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play on Wednesday, November 22, 2023.
The full list of covers is below:
Void Rivals #6 Cover A by Lorenzo De Felici (Lunar Code: 0923IM464)
Void Rivals #6 Cover B by Christian Ward (Lunar Code: 0923IM465)
Void Rivals #6 Cover C (1:10 Copy Incentive) by Ejikure (Lunar Code: 0923IM466)
Void Rivals #6 Cover D (1:25 Copy Incentive) by Karen S. Darboe (Lunar Code: 0923IM467)
Void Rivals #6 Cover E (1:50 Copy Incentive) by Toni Infante (Lunar Code: 0923IM468)
BOOM! Studios has revealed a first look at Lotus Land #1. Eisner-winning and Harvey-nominated writer and director Darcy Van Poelgeest is joined by artist Caio Filipe, colorist Patricio Delpeche, and letterer Nate Piekos of Blambot for a timely look at the human condition, set in a dystopic, cyberpunk future that’s as grounded as it is metaphysical. Welcome to Lotus Land, coming November 15, 2023.
Vancouver, years from now. In a future painted with ultramodern decay, entropy has met its match in the Keeper Program, a breakthrough in cutting edge technologies that’s seemingly capable of miracles. When an attack on the mysterious program threatens the lives of everyone tied to it, retired detective Bennie Strikman is called out to investigate one last case…
Lotus Land #1 features a main cover by Alex Eckman-Lawn with variants by Alex Eckman-Lawn, Christian Ward, and Ian Bertram with Gus Storms.
Grammy Award winning musician Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi will make his comics debut alongside Eisner Award-nominated co-writer and Massive-Verse architect Kyle Higgins, breakout artists Marco Locati and Igor Monti, Eisner Award-winning letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, and editor Michael Busuttil in the forthcoming Moon Man. This all-new, ongoing series will launch in January 2024 from Image Comics, Black Market Narrative, and Mad Solar, kicking off the new year with an extra-length first issue and an accompanying mixtape from the Grammy Award-winning recording artist.
Moon Man follows Ramon Townsend, a man ready for a quiet life after gaining unexpected celebrity status for steering his ship and crew safely home from a near-disastrous moon mission. Whatever went wrong on that failed moon mission, whatever happened in the missing minutes the cameras didn’t capture, all Ramon really wants is to settle down back home in Cleveland. But those missing minutes hold an Earth-shattering secret—and, with all eyes turned to him, Ramon will soon find himself becoming something the world has never seen before.
Moon Man touches down with a truly out-of-this-world variant cover lineup, including superstars such as Rod Reis and Matt Taylor; Eisner Award winners Sanford Greene and Christian Ward; along with industry legends Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz.
Moon Man #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, January 31.
Buried deep beneath Gotham City there exists another Gotham. This Gotham Below is a living nightmare, populated by twisted mirrors of our Gotham’s denizens, fueled by the fear and hatred flowing down from above. For decades, the doorway between the cities has been sealed and heavily guarded by the Court of Owls. But now the door swings wide, and the twisted version of the Dark Knight has escaped…to trap and train a Robin of his own. Batman must form an uneasy alliance with the Court and its deadly allies to stop him-and to hold back the wave of twisted super-villains, nightmarish versions of his own nemeses, each one worse than the last, that’s spilling into his streets! Batman: City of Madness #1 unleashes a new nightmare on Gotham in a comic that delivers haunting visuals to match its ethereal storytelling.
Batman: City of Madness #1 is a solid debut showing off Christian Ward‘s strengths as a writer and artist. A DC Black Label release, it features a story that feels like it’s outside of Batman’s continuity but at the same time could completely fit in. Split into three focused plots, everything flows one into another with dialogue and storytelling that has a dreamlike quality about it. Really nightmare quality. That matches Ward’s artistic style which here looks like a beautiful dream that edges on turning into scares.
Batman is being warned about something coming as he’s sucked into the latest mystery that whispers to him and Harvey Dent from beyond. The Court of Owls is dealing with divisions within its own ranks as they must deal with a creature that may or may not exist from beyond. Then, there’s a young boy dealing with the violence of Gotham as he seeks his own revenge. All three stories begin to come together in the end for that feels like it might be a modern classic Batman miniseries in the making.
Ward’s art is of course beautiful. Like the writing itself, there’s an ethereal style to it that’s almost poetic and would fit right in with a story in the Sandman Universe. It’s hauntingly beautiful and borders on dream and nightmare. The art being so good isn’t a surprise at all.
Batman: City of Madness #1 is good. It’s really good. There’s so much going for it from the story, to the dialogue, and then how the art brings it all together. It’s the perfect Batman story for the spooky season and one to absolutely pick up for fans of Batman or horror.
Story: Christian Ward Art: Christian Ward Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
(W) Christian Ward (A) Christian Ward In Shops: Oct 10, 2023 SRP: $6.99
VISIONARY CREATOR CHRISTIAN WARD UNLEASHES A COSMIC-HORROR EPIC, FEATURING THE COURT OF OWLS! Buried deep beneath Gotham City there exists another Gotham. This Gotham Below is a living nightmare, populated by twisted mirrors of our Gotham’s denizens, fueled by the fear and hatred flowing down from above. For decades, the doorway between the cities has been sealed and heavily guarded by the Court of Owls. But now the door swings wide, and the twisted version of the Dark Knight has escaped…to trap and train a Robin of his own. Batman must form an uneasy alliance with the Court and its deadly allies to stop him–and to hold back the wave of twisted super-villains, nightmarish versions of his own nemeses, each one worse than the last, that’s spilling into his streets! Visionary writer-artist Christian Ward unleashes his cosmic-horror take on Batman’s world, in a tribute to disturbing Dark Knight classics like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Gothic! You’ll never look at Batman’s villains the same way again…you simply won’t have the stomach for it!
DSTLRY has revealed eight new variant covers for Gone #1, an action-packed sci-fi adventure written, drawn, and colored by Eisner-Award winning creator Jock.
The cover artists and retailers are as follows:
Cover G – Jock (Undressed); Forbidden Planet UK
Cover I – Christian Ward; Bird City Comics
Cover J – Ariela Kristantina (Full Color); The Comic Corner
Cover L – Jason Shawn Alexander; El Rey Comics, The Comic Cupboard, and Hive Comics
Cover M – Lee Garbett; The Comic Mint
Cover O – Joëlle Jones; Rabbit Comics
Cover P – Ariela Kristantina (Ink Wash); The Comic Corner
Cover R – Jock (Interior); Bird City Comics
GONEspins out from Jock’s 8-page story “The Stowaway” from DSTLRY’s debut release The Devil’s Cut, and will feature an oversized, 48-page perfect bound issue.
On an impoverished and distant planet where menial workers scratch out a living resupplying starships, the best place to be is GONE…and that’s exactly where 13-year-old Abi wants to be. Along with her street-tough friends, Abi stows away on a colossal luxury space-liner, hoping for a better life. Unbeknownst to her, Abi’s “friends” are not who they seem, and she suddenly finds herself branded a saboteur as she desperately struggles to evade the ship’s deadly crew to stay alive! As the young heroine confronts betrayal, discovers her true allies, and fights against all odds, Abi will soon realize that nothing is farther away than…home.
Gone #1 is available to pre-order now and will be available to purchase at local comic shops on October 25.
(W) Mirka Andolfo, Brian Azzarello, Marc Bernardin, Elsa Charretier, Becky Cloonan, Tula Lotay, Jamie McKelvie, Stephanie Phillips, Scott Snyder, James TynionIV, V. Ram (A) Elsa Charretier, Becky Cloonan, Francesco Francavilla, Lee Garbett, Jo?lle Jones, Ariela Kristantina, Tula Lotay, Jamie McKelvie, Junko Mizuno, Eduardo Risso, Christian Ward (A/CA) Jock In Shops: Aug 30, 2023 SRP: $9.99
The Devil’s Cut is your introduction to DSTLRY, a new publisher redefining creator-owned comics. In the aging process, the whiskey that evaporates is called the Angel’s Share. But the most potent spirits are captured in the wood-the Devil’s Cut.
This is The Devil’s Cut-unfiltered stories from the most fearless creators, offering a distinct taste of the quality to come. 88 oversized pages printed on premium paper, featuring a flight of high-proof work from our Founding Creators including Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Tula Lotay, Mirka Andolfo, Jock, Becky Cloonan, Brian Azzarello, Marc Bernardin, Elsa Charretier, Lee Garbett, Joelle Jones, Stephanie Phillips, Ram V, Jamie McKelvie, Junko Mizuno and friends including Francesco Francavilla, Ariela Kristantina, Eduardo Risso, Christian Ward, and more. Edited by the legendary Will Dennis.
This kick-off issue will never be reprinted in this format again.
