At the height of the popularity of Indiana Jones in the 1980s, Marvel Comics—and some of the biggest creators of the era—took on the challenge of bringing the iconic hero from the silver screen to the printed page, and the results were every bit as exhilarating as the groundbreaking films! This September, Marvel brings these legendary adventures back to print in two deluxe hardcovers: Indiana Jones: The Further Adventures Book I and Indiana Jones: The Further Adventures Book II.
The collections will include the comic adaptations of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as well as the entire run of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, the beloved series that expanded on the Indiana Jones mythology in blockbuster fashion with action-packed new quests. Featuring leatherette binding, debossed cover designs and ribbon bookmarks, these special volumes are treasures worthy of Indy himself and must-haves for collectors and fans alike.
Indiana Jones: The Further Adventures Book I HC includes MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL (1977) #18 and #30, adaptations of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, along with THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF INDIANA JONES (1983) #1-16. Indiana Jones: The Further Adventures Book II HC includes INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989) #1-4 and THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF INDIANA JONES (1983) #17-34. The stories feature work by some of the biggest talents of the 1980s including David Michelinie, Walt Simonson, John Byrne, John Buscema and many more!
With clouds of war gathering ominously over Europe and a Great Depression gripping the world, one globe-trotting professor’s appetite for adventure and discovery remains unsated! Join Dr. Henry Jones as he scours the farthest corners of the planet in a constant race to keep priceless artifacts out of the wrong hands!
Join the 2026 Baltimore Comic-Con at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on September 25-27, 2026. Baltimore Comic-Con has announced Howard Chaykin, Steve Conley, Amanda Conner, Pop Mhan, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Brian Stelfreeze as guests of the 2026 event! Your tickets are waiting for you online now!
Howard Victor Chaykin is a longtime veteran of the comic book business. As a cartoonist — both writing and drawing — he has been a major influence on the direction of comics, referred to frequently as one of the principal architects of the modern comic book. His signature creation, American Flagg!, introduced a new level of narrative complexity, depth of character, and point of view in its text, not to mention a previously unseen level of design and craft to the visual nature of an all-too-frequently staid and timid medium. And, yes, sex that wasn’t confined to pinup posing for most proclivities to enjoy. Chaykin continues to produce work that pushes the envelope of concept, context, and content in comics…his The Divided States of Hysteria, for example, a comic book which, thanks to social media, enraged an entire new generation of the willfully ignorant who might have had a better case if they’d actually read the damned book. Chaykin’s Hey Kids! Comics! is a fictionalized history of the comic book business, a love letter written with just a frisson of acid in the ink, to the field he’s loved and called home for over five decades. His magnum opus bebop comic book, The Time² Omnibus, might still be out there…and The Black Kiss Omnibus, four hundred pages of unredeemed filth, is in stores now.
Steve Conley is the writer and artist of The Middle Age, a “beautifully drawn and hilarious” fantasy webcomic that has earned ‘best webcomic’ nominations in the Ringo Awards, Eisner Awards, and National Cartoonists Society Awards. He has provided art and covers for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (BOOM! Studios), Adventure Time (BOOM Studios!), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Publishing), Star Trek: Year Four (IDW Publishing), and Michael Chabon’s Escapist (Dark Horse Comics). Steve is a co-host of the weekly Pencil to Pencil comics livestream with Jamar Nicholas and Mike Manley.
When not making comics, Steve’s gaming work includes writing and illustrating Dungeons & Dragons-compatible supplements including Nibblemancy, Death Dealing, and Intoximancy. Steve’s comics and TTRPG work can be found online at SteveConley.com.
Amanda Conner has worked on many of the top titles in comics, such as Lois Lane, Codename: Knockout, and Birds of Prey for DC Comics, X-Men Unlimited for Marvel, Gatecrasher for Blackbull Comics (which she also co-created), and The Pro, an Eisner-nominated creator-owned book for Image Comics with Jimmy Palmiotti and Garth Ennis. Recently, she worked on the highly successful Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre series with Eisner-winning creator Darwyn Cooke.
Amanda’s work can also be seen outside the comic-book community, in such places as ABC’s Nightline, New York Times, MAD Magazine, Arm & Hammer, PlaySchool, and Nickelodeon. She has also done monthly spot illustrations for Revolver magazine and has enjoyed a huge success with the DC Comics title Harley Quinn with Jimmy Palmiotti. Her collaboration with pop sensation Ingrid Michaelson was industry celebrated. Additionally, her work has been featured and spotlighted on the award-winning CBS comedy series The Big Bang Theory, where her artwork was used for multiple episodes.
She continuously produces cover work for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and an assortment of independent titles. Her involvement with DC and Warner Brothers for the Harley Quinn animated series along with several characters and themes leveraged for the cartoon and motion pictures are evident.
Pop Mhan was lucky enough to get his jump into the comics industry under the tutelage of Jim Lee at Wildstorm Productions. Since those early days, his art has graced the pages of comics from Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Top Cow, Dark Horse Comics, and Tokyopop. His recent work can be seen at DC Comics, where he has been penciling licensed properties like Gears of War 3 and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and Marvel Comics on All-New X-Factor and variant covers for Amazing Spider-Man.
Jimmy Palmiotti is a writer, editor, and a multi-award winning character creator with a wide range of experience in advertising, production, consulting, editorial, film writing, development and production, media presentation, and video game development. Just a few of his clients include Nike, Nickelodeon, Universal Pictures, Disney, Warner Brothers, DreamWorks, Lion’s Gate, Vidmark, Starz, Fox Atomic, Alliance Films, New Line, Spike TV, MTV, 2K Games, Midway, Radical Games, Activision, and THQ Games.
He is co-founder of such companies as Event Comics, Black Bull Media, Marvel Knights, a division of Marvel Comics, and the current Paperfilms, where he is partners with Amanda Conner. Together, they have created and co-created numerous universes, comics, TV series, and characters including: The New West, Monolith, 21 Down, The Resistance, The Pro, Gatecrasher, Beautiful Killer, Ash, Cloudburst, Trigger Girl 6, Thrill Seeker, Trailblazer, Ballerina, The Twilight Experiment, Killing Time in America, Rage, Queen Crab, Retrovirus, Pop Kill, and the TV series, Painkiller Jane. Other titles with which he is involved are hit series Harley Quinn, DC Comics’ relaunch into the Wal-Mart nationwide stores, Jonah Hex, and several other series. Several of his contributions for both DC and Marvel can be found in major motion pictures and TV series, including Black Panther, Daredevil, Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn animated, and more.
Brian Stelfreeze is an American comic book artist. Stelfreeze is a painter, penciller, inker, and colorist, and has worked for nearly every major American comic book publisher. He is one of the original members of Atlanta’s Gaijin Studios. Stelfreeze began his career as the artist of the sci-fi miniseries CyCops in the mid-1980s. While Stelfreeze has been known throughout his career primarily as a cover artist, painting more than fifty cover illustrations for DC Comics’ Shadow of the Bat, he’s also produced a significant amount of sequential work, most notably of late with the miniseries Domino for Marvel Comics and Matador for DC Comics’ Wildstorm imprint. Currently, Stelfreeze acts as art director for 12-Gauge Comics and occasionally has provided artwork for their series The Ride and its prequel, Gun Candy. Recent work can be seen on the Walt Simonson-written Demon/Catwoman feature in DC Comics’ Wednesday Comics. Stelfreeze is the artist on the 2016 revival of Marvel’s Black Panther with writer Ta-Nehisi Coates. In 2020, Stelfreeze launched Thomas River, a spy series with a 40-page first issue. He created the art for the series, and co-wrote the series with Doug Wagner. The first issue, crowdfunded through Kickstarter, surpassed its funding stretch goal of $30,000, and was published by 12-Gauge Comics.
This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try),Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Trish Forstner (Feral), Gene Ha (Mae), Larry Hama (GI Joe: A Real American Hero), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Jamal Igle (Superman), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Jose Marzen Jr. (Y: The Last Man), Mike McKone (Teen Titans), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Adriana Melo (Fantastic Four), Pop Mhan (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), Sarah Myer (TMNT Saturday Morning Adventures), Kevin Nowlan (Batman: Sword of Azrael), Patrick Olliffe (Untold Tales of Spider-Man), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Andrew Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic Tales, courtesy of Flesk Publishing), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), Scott Snyder (DC K.O.), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Mark Waid (Action Comics), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).
(W) Darin S. Cape (A) Geoffrey Krawczyk (CA) Geoffrey Krawczyk (VCA) Howard Chaykin Retail: $5.99 Initial Due Date: 9/25/2025 FOC Date: 9/29/2025 In-Store Date: 11/19/2025
SHP Presents: EroTech #1. Bad bosses, crazy co-workers, and sex robots. What could go wrong? EroTech is the story of Samantha Jenkins, new Silicon Valley CEO, trying to rally her team of misfit engineers and out-of-touch managers to release the new Model 6000 on time. Testing is going well, but there’s still a few bugs to work out… Includes the first installment of “AI Joe”, a new feature from indie comics legend, Dean Haspiel!
Alien Books, building off the success of the Zorro Remastered crowdfunding campaign from earlier this year, has announced plans for two new comic book mini-series starring the iconic masked avenger Zorro. Zorro and Zorro’s Legacy will be produced in collaboration with the team at Zorro Productions, Inc. and sold into direct market comic shops next year through Alien’s sub-distribution partnership with IDW Publishing.
The first mini-series, titled Zorro, will launch in April 2026 from the team of comics legend Howard Chaykin and super star artist Jorge Fornés. The series will follow Don Diego de la Vega as the crime-fighting Avenger faces off against Napoleon Bonaparte forces in a showdown for the ages.
Zorro’s Legacy, launching in June 2026, pairs fan-favorite writer Dan Abnett and artist Aaron Lopresti as they break new ground for the franchise, exploring the adventures of a modern-day descendant of Zorro in Los Angeles and his quest to live up to his newly-discovered heroic roots in a grounded series perfect for fans of mature street-level stories.
Additional details and artwork for both Zorro and Zorro’s Legacy will be shared in the months to come.
(W) Darin S. Cape (A) Geoffrey Krawczyk (CA) Geoffrey Krawczyk (VCA) Howard Chaykin Retail: $5.99 Initial Due Date: 9/25/2025 FOC Date: 9/29/2025 In-Store Date: 11/19/2025
SHP Presents: EroTech #1. Bad bosses, crazy co-workers, and sex robots. What could go wrong? EroTech is the story of Samantha Jenkins, new Silicon Valley CEO, trying to rally her team of misfit engineers and out-of-touch managers to release the new Model 6000 on time. Testing is going well, but there’s still a few bugs to work out… Includes the first installment of “AI Joe”, a new feature from indie comics legend, Dean Haspiel!
Lost Marvels No. 2: Howard Chaykin Vol. 1: Dominic Fortune, Monark Starstalker, and Phantom Eagle
by Howard Chaykin
When Howard Chaykin broke into comics in the 1970s, there was nothing quite like him. His original characters Dominic Fortune and Monark Starstalker took classic pulp heroes and ran them through a postmodern blender. This new volume contains retro-science-fiction bounty hunter Monark Starstalker’s debut appearance and all Chaykin’s color-comic-book Dominic Fortune stories, including the character’s unexpurgated Max series, published a generation later. Completing the package is the collision between pulp heroism and the devastating, bloody realities of World War I in Chaykin’s 111-page collaboration with The Boys writer Garth Ennis on War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle. The collection is introduced by author and comics scholar Brannon Costello. This second title in Fantagraphics’ Lost Marvels series collects some of the most exciting, sought-after work by Howard Chaykin from 1975 to 2008. Full-color illustrations throughout
Join the 2025 Baltimore Comic-Con this October 17-19, 2025 at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. The Baltimore Comic-Con welcomes comics guests Howard Chaykin, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Ron Marz, Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, and Thom Zahler to this year’s event. You can purchase tickets now!
Howard Victor Chaykin is a longtime veteran of the comic book business. As a cartoonist — both writing and drawing — he has been a major influence on the direction of comics, referred to frequently as one of the principal architects of the modern comic book. His signature creation, American Flagg!, introduced a new level of narrative complexity, depth of character, and point of view in its text, not to mention a previously unseen level of design and craft to the visual nature of an all-too-frequently staid and timid medium. And, yes, sex that wasn’t confined to pinup posing for most proclivities to enjoy. Chaykin continues to produce work that pushes the envelope of concept, context, and content in comics…his The Divided States of Hysteria, for example, a comic book which, thanks to social media, enraged an entire new generation of the willfully ignorant who might have had a better case if they’d actually read the damned book. Chaykin’s Hey Kids! Comics! is a fictionalized history of the comic book business, a love letter written with just a frisson of acid in the ink, to the field he’s loved and called home for over five decades. His magnum opus bebop comic book, The Time² Omnibus, might still be out there…and The Black Kiss Omnibus, four hundred pages of unredeemed filth, is in stores now.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson broke into comics in 2015 with the BOOM! Studios miniseries Last Sons of America and Warlords of Appalachia, leading him to DC Comics and Marvel, where he is best known for his acclaimed work on Superman and Action Comics, Marvel’s Alien series, Green Lantern: War Journal, and his current fan-favorite run on The Incredible Hulk. He has also written such characters/titles as Aquaman, Captain America, Marvel Zombies: Resurrection, Extreme Carnage, and his creator-owned series The Fellspyre Chronicles at DC Black Label and Crocodile Black at BOOM! Studios. Johnson has also been published with Archaia, IDW, Aftershock, Dynamite, and Scout Comics.
Louise Simonson has, like her husband Walter, contributed significantly to the comic book industry. “Weezie”, as she is known, began her comics career as an editor at Warren Publishing before leaving for Marvel to edit titles including X-Men, New Mutants, and Star Wars. Departing the editorial role in favor of writing, Weezie has contributed to storylines in Marvel’s Marvel Team-Up, Web of Spider-Man, and Red Sonja, and was responsible for the introduction of Apocalypse in X-Factor as well as the launch of Power Pack. At DC Comics, she worked on Superman: The Man of Steel and The Adventures of Superman.
Walter Simonson has made vast contributions to comics publishing, as a writer, an artist, and even in founding publishing imprints. He was recognized in 2012 at the Harvey Awards in Special Award for Excellence in Production/Presentation and Best Domestic Reprint Project for Walt Simonson’s The Mighty Thor, Artist’s Edition from IDW, and in 2013 for Alien: The Illustrated Story from Titan Books for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work. He also received the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 at the Harvey Awards. Walt’s career began in the 1970s at DC Comics, where he worked on titles such as Weird War Tales, Manhunter, Metal Men, Orion, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Vigilante, and Hercules Unbound. Over at Marvel Comics, Simonson has had numerous noteworthy runs, including The Rampaging Hulk magazine, X-Factor, Fantastic Four, and Thor, on which he was responsible for the introduction of Beta Ray Bill and Thor as a frog.
Ron Marz has been writing comics for more than three decades, starting his career with a lengthy run on Silver Surfer for Marvel. Since then, he has worked for virtually every major publisher and compiled a long list of credits, including stints on Thor for Marvel, Green Lantern and Superboy for DC, Star Wars for Dark Horse, and the historic Marvel vs. DC crossover. He co-created the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner during his landmark run on the title.
Marz is also known for penning numerous inter-company crossovers, including Green Lantern-Silver Surfer, Batman-Aliens, Batman-Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman, Green Lantern-Aliens, and Amalgam title Doctor Strangefate. He was Senior Writer at CrossGen Comics, where his titles included Mystic, Scion, Sojourn, and The Path.
Other credits include his acclaimed run on Witchblade, as well as Magdalena, Artifacts, and Cyber Force for Top Cow/Image, and many others. Marz’s creator-owned series include the all-ages tale Dragon Prince at Top Cow; the historical adventure Samurai: Heaven and Earth at Dark Horse; the vampire tale Shinku at Image; and cosmic graphic novel Resolution.
Marz has also written for video games, including multiple Skylanders titles, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Spider-Man 2, and more. He is currently part of the narrative team for Blizzard’s Diablo franchise. Marz also teaches comic book writing at the Jacob Krueger Studio, based in Manhattan.
Thom Zahler is a northeast Ohio-based comic book artist and writer. He’s particularly known for his romantic comedy comics. In 2006, he debuted Love and Capes, the superhero romantic comedy about the adventures in love of an ordinary bookstore owner and her accountant boyfriend…who also happens to be the superhero The Crusader. In 2014, he introduced readers to Long Distance, a story about two young professionals who meet while stranded at an airport during a snowstorm and decide to date even though they both live in different states. In 2016, he debuted Time and Vine for IDW, about a magical time-traveling winery.
He is the writer and artist of the hit Cupid’s Arrows series on WEBTOON, chronicling the story of a pair of Cupids who get couples together across the world. His previous WEBTOON was Warning Label, featuring a girl cursed by her ex-boyfriend so that every guy who asks her out gets the list of what they need to watch out for.
His current projects include the young readers’ series The Ghost Whiskerers for John Carpenter’s Storm King comics line, about cats that see ghosts (starring Zahler’s own cats). He is also the artist on Rocketship’s Angry Birds series.
He is also a frequent writer and artist for IDW. He is a regular contributor for My Little Pony, and has also contributed to Star Trek and Disney Tsum Tsum Kingdom.
Zahler has written for the Disney XD cartoon Spider-Man Web Warriors, where he wrote the first part of the season finale “Contest of Champions.” He is also a frequent contributor to the Topps’ Star Wars card sets. He recently wrote the second episode of the Knights of the Zodiac Netflix series.
He continues to work as a cartoonist, illustrator, and letterer for many companies across the country.
He is a graduate of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art and of Lake Catholic High School.
He lives at his palatial estate, Zahlerdu, in Northeast Ohio. Okay, he doesn’t really call it “Zahlerdu” but if he did, it’d be because he liked Orson Wells’ “Citizen Kane” and not that Olivia Newton John disco-and-roller skating movie. It’s not really a palatial estate, either, but it is a nice place.
See more of Zahler’s artwork at www.thomz.com or follow him on Instagram and X at @thomzahler.
2025 GUESTS
This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Kaare Andrews (Spider-Man: REIGN 2), John Beatty (Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars), Russ Braun (The Boys), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jim Cheung (Young Avengers), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Amy Chu (Emma Frost: The White Queen), Chris Claremont (X-Men), Becky Cloonan (Somna), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Michael W. Conrad (Manowar: Invictus), Jeff Dekal (Something is Killing the Children), David Finch (Moon Knight), Trish Forstner (Feral), Franco (Deadman Tells the Spooky Tales), Barbara Friedlander (Swing with Scooter), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Mike Grell (Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Incredible Hulk), Tula Lotay (Barnstormers), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons), Shawn Martinbrough (Red Hood: The Hill), Ron Marz (Green Lantern), Mike McKone (Red Goblin), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Adriana Melo (Action Comics), Josh Middleton (Aquaman), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Mark Morales (Thor), Trevor Mueller (Albert the Alien), Sarah Myers (TMNT Saturday Morning Adventures), Tom Nguyen (The Switch), Kevin Nowlan (Batman: Sword of Azrael), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Andrew Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), Barbara Perez Marquez (The Cardboard Kingdom), Amy Reeder (Power Girl), Esad Ribic (Conan the Barbarian), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), Craig Rousseau (Herculoids), Jim Rugg (Street Angel), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Mark Waid (Justice League Unlimited), Maria Wolf (Phoenix), Rich Woodall (Electric Black), John Workman (Wild Things), and Thom Zahler (Love and Capes).
Alien Books continues its growth with the addition of the legendary Zorro comic book license. Alien Books will give the iconic swordsman the spotlight he deserves across a variety of crowdfunding, retail projects, direct market releases, and book store titles. This expands Alien’s library which includes the home of Valiant Comics and a recently announced sub-distribution agreement with IDW Publishing.
Originally created in 1919 by author Johnston McCulley, the masked avenger Zorro is one of the most iconic and enduring fictional characters of all time with dozens of multi-generational books, tv series, films and comic books released worldwide. Zorro’s rich comic book history includes stints with publishers Dell Comics, Gold Key, Marvel, and Dynamite, among others. Over the years, talents to have provided their own unique takes on Zorro include Alex Toth, Warren Tufts, Don MacGregor, Matt Wagner, Jesse Marsh, Mel Keefer, Ruben Procopio, Paul S. Newman, Frank Miller, Russ Manning, Thomas Yeates, Dan Spiegle, Alex Ross, Francesco Francavilla, Howard Chaykin, Sean Gordon Murphy, Quentin Tarantino and many more.
One of the first projects to be released from Alien Books under this new licensing agreement will be a Kickstarter campaign for a deluxe hardcover edition of Alex Toth’s Zorro series from 1958 featuring remastered colors and lettering along with a story by Howard Chaykin and Eduardo Risso, premiering for the first time in English.
The crowdfunding campaign will offer deluxe add-ons including limited edition Zorro busts, trading cards and prints. The project will launch on April 23rd and interested backers can sign up now to get notified when it goes live.
Additional Zorro projects will be announced in the months to come and will be available to order for comic shops and bookstores through IDW Publishing’s solicitations.
Superstar artists Frank Quitely, David Mack, Nick Dragotta, Howard Chaykin, Dean Haspiel, Jae Lee, Das Pastoras, Juan Jose Ryp, Stan Sakai are teaming up with artist Vanessa Cardinali, writer Chanan Beizer, and letterer Ferran Delgado for the stunning star-studded second and final volume of graphic novel The Golem of Venice Beach. Picking up immediately after the thrilling cliffhanger of Book One, Book Two continues and concludes the epic story about the adventures of a 400-year-old Golem spanning from 16th century Europe, to the horrors of World War II, to modern day Venice Beach, where the Golem has become entangled in a war between a gang and the police. Both a riveting narrative and a celebration of Southern California, both volumes of The Golem of Venice Beach will soon be available on Kickstarter.
Returning to THE GOLEM OF VENICE BEACH to complete the story of Adam the golem presented me an opportunity to experiment with my process in an effort to inject a new vitality into the world Chanan has created. I chiefly accomplished this by, for the first time in my career, skipping the pencil stage and focusing my energy on the layouts, where all the important decisions and storytelling choices are made, and then in the inks & colors, where atmosphere is born and feeling & expression—the most important elements of comics for me—become paramount.
There is an extended fight scene later in the book and this was a challenge that turned out to be my favorite part of the whole story, I had so much fun illustrating this epic battle page after page.
I grew to love some of these characters and will miss them. Working on the GOLEM books with Chanan and Chris these past years has been a highlight of my time in comics and I hope readers enjoy how we concluded this part of the golem’s adventures!
–Vanessa Cardinali
The Golem of Venice Beach: Book Two is a 184-page oversized deluxe hardcover and also available are Kickstarter Exclusive prints, the seven prints from the artists in Book One, and a unique signature plate signed by Quitely.
Vanessa is the engine of THE GOLEM OF VENICE BEACH and has pulled off the neat trick of a girl from Italy living in Italy completely manifesting modern day Venice Beach, California. Her scene setting and character work bring each diverse element of Chanan’s world to distinct and vibrant life all while grounding things with a verisimilitude even lifelong Venice residents could recognize and admire. Already in fine form on Book 1, her shift in process on Book 2 has lifted her even higher up the ladder of today’s best working artists. Did I say work? She is a rarity in comics as I can’t think of one deadline missed, one extra mile not walked in pursuit of the best result. As this story ends now, Vanessa has left her mark on all these characters and places I’ve come to know and love, and I thank her for making the journey with us.
–Chris Stevens (Editor)
In The Golem of Venice Beach: Book 1, Adam is a Golem, a creature of vengeance and destruction, of violence and death created 400 years ago in Eastern Europe. Today he spends his days adrift on the sunny boardwalks of Venice Beach, the only hope of release from his lonely existence being the clueless Jake Loeb, the sole remaining heir of the Golem’s creator. But when Jake becomes involved with a mysterious tattooed woman and a drug-dealing death worship cult, things get complicated and dangerous for Adam. Golems are not meant to walk the Earth forever. Can Adam make a difference? Can he find peace in the California sun? And can a monster have a soul?
In The Golem of Venice Beach: Book 2 we find Adam the Golem in the midst of gang warfare while trying to protect two runaway teens. To make matters worse, Jake comes under the scrutiny of the very same gang while Uncle Steph tries to mend a rift that has formed between Adam and Jake, and things come to a head when Stephan is kidnapped. It’s up to Adam and Jake to save him—but first, Jake must first find a way to make Adam whole again and restore the Golem that has been part of his family legacy for over 400 years.
We have an exclusive look at Vanessa Cardinali‘s art process including pencils, inks, colors, and lettering as well as some designs.
Next month, Marvel Comics marks Iron Fist’s milestone 50th anniversary year with a special oversized one-shot. Today, fans can check out all the covers as well as a never-before-seen sneak peek!
Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1 will spotlight different eras of the mystical martial arts hero’s storied adventures with a wide variety of epic tales. Packed with superstar creators, the one-shot will see definitive Iron Fist writer Chris Claremont’s long-awaited return to the character, writer Alyssa Wong’s continuing the adventures of the current Iron Fist, Lin Lie, AND a story that redefines the character moving forward…
The legacy of Iron Fist is a long-lived legend spanning centuries…all the way back to the year 10,000,000 B.C.E.! After an expedition to find K’un-Lun left Danny Rand’s parents dead, he found the path to the mystical city and gained the shattering power of the Iron Fist! After avenging his parents’ deaths, Rand became an iconic super hero, working alongside teams like Heroes for Hire, the Defenders, and the Avengers. Enjoy a range of stories that spotlight Danny Rand’s past, present, and uncertain future!
Here’s what fans can look forward to:
Visionary Iron Fist scribe Chris Claremont teams up with artist Lan Medina for a classic tale set during Danny’s early years and co-starring Wolverine!
Modern Iron Fists Lin Lie and Pei overcome their rivalry to take down a classic Marvel supervillain in a story by Lin Lie’s solo Iron Fist series writer Alyssa Wong and artist Von Randal.
Writer Justina Ireland and artist Elena Casagrande send Iron Fist on a mission where he join forces with his longtime allies—THE DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON!
Writer Frank Tieri and artist Ty Templeton’s story sees Iron Fist send out the call to his old teammates—HEROES FOR HIRE!
And discover what the future holds as writer Jason Loo and artist Whilce Portacio put the “immortal” in Immortal Fist!
Check out the covers, including a piece by iconic Iron Fist artist David Aja, as well as never-before-seen interior art and preorder Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1 at your local comic shop today!
