Tag Archives: Liana Kangas

SDCC 2026: Stage Tour turns the page with a Dark Horse Comic, Hands on Gameplay, and more!

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RedOctane Games has unveiled a host of Stage Tour announcements, following their recent debut at IGN Live 2026. Inspired by the energy of live performance, music culture, and the community that continues to fuel the genre, Stage Tour is set to reignite the rhythm game genre when it launches later this year.

Headlining the announcement is an exclusive partnership with Dark Horse Comics, bringing the world of Stage Tour to comics for the first time through a special one-shot issue debuting at San Diego Comic-Con 2026. Expanding the lore of the Stage Tour universe, the comic offers fans a new way to experience the bandmates that help shape the world behind the game, featuring cover art by Kim Hu, script by Zoe Tunnell, art by Liana Kangas, colors by Diana Sousa, and lettering by Comicraft’s Tyler Smith.

The limited-edition comic will be available exclusively to SDCC attendees while supplies last and will also be included as a free bonus collectible with future Stage Tour hardware bundle pre-orders.

RedOctane Games also confirmed today that Stage Tour is confirmed for release on PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, Nintendo Switch™2, and PC. Steam wishlists are available now, with PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series X|S wishlists and pre-orders to follow.

Experience Stage Tour at SDCC 

Attendees visiting San Diego Comic-Con will have the opportunity to experience Stage Tour for themselves, heading over to Booth #2834 to be one of the first to go hands-on with the latest closed alpha build, playable on custom-built arcade cabinets developed in partnership with Paradox Arcades.

The playable demo will feature a selection of previously announced songs, while showcasing the latest gameplay refinements shaped by feedback from IGN Live attendees and the growing community of closed alpha testers.

In addition to the game, attendees will be among the first to experience the official Kramer Guitar Controller for Stage Tour. Pre-production demo units of the officially licensed controller-featuring the classic design of Kramer guitars-will be available throughout the event, giving fans an exclusive early look at the hardware ahead of its planned release and securing their own controller for themselves ahead of launch.

Fans can also pick up the exclusive Stage Tour comic at both the Stage Tour booth #2834 and the Dark Horse Comics booth #2615 while supplies last.

Explore an Expanded Soundtrack

Since its reveal earlier this year, Stage Tour has continued to unveil songs from its officially licensed soundtrack, bringing the total number of confirmed tracks to sixteen. 

The currently announced lineup includes:

• “RATATATA” — BABYMETAL & Electric Callboy
• “Get The Funk Out” — Extreme
• “Square Hammer” — Ghost
• “Mimi’s Delivery Service” — Good Kid
• “Dani California” — Red Hot Chili Peppers
• “Terminator Oscillator” — Static-X
• “Island In The Sun” — Weezer
• “Bite Me” — Avril Lavigne
• “Airhead” — Honey Revenge
• “For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic” — Paramore
• “The Unknowing” — Jfarrari
• “Jane!” — The Long Faces
• “Do Me Like That” — The Paradox
• “Siren” — Castle Rat
• “Broken Dreams Inc.” — Rise Against
• “Psychosocial” — Slipknot

Spanning rock, metal, alternative, pop-punk, and emerging artists, the soundtrack reflects Stage Tour’s mission to celebrate multiple generations of music fans while introducing players to both iconic favorites and exciting new discoveries.

The sixteen songs revealed so far represent a small preview of the soundtrack planned for launch. Fans can expect additional song reveals, gameplay updates, and major announcements throughout the summer as Stage Tour builds toward pre-orders and its release later this year.

Built for the Stage 

Built around the fantasy of forming a band and becoming a rockstar, Stage Tour combines classic 5-fret rhythm gameplay with modern progression, customization, and replayability. Players can form a band, take the stage on guitar, bass, drums, or vocals using a compatible guitar controller, drum kit controller, microphone, standard gamepad, or keyboard, and jump into a variety of game modes designed to get them rocking from the very first note.

Developed by a team that includes veteran creators from Guitar Hero® and DJ Hero®, alongside respected members of the rhythm gaming community, Stage Tour is built with a simple goal: to bring rhythm gaming back to the living room for a new generation of players. Whether reliving the golden era of rhythm games or discovering the genre for the first time, players can form a band, hit the stage, and go on tour together through a modern rhythm game built around the universal language of music. 

Backed by a multi-year partnership with Gibson–the iconic and leading global instrument brand, Stage Tour features officially licensed Gibson, Epiphone, and Kramer instruments, bringing some of the most iconic names in music directly into the Stage Tour experience. 

Stage Tour is currently in development for PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC, with a planned release for Holiday 2026. Additional announcements, including the official release date, pre-orders, soundtrack reveals, and community initiatives, will be shared throughout the coming months. 

Fans can wishlist Stage Tour on Steam today and follow along as RedOctane Games continues revealing new music, gameplay, hardware, and partnerships on the road to launch. 

Exclusive: Check out “Pink Ban” by Mark Russell, Noah Dao, and Lucas Gattoni from Civil Disobedience: Stories of Resistance

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A Wave Blue World has launched their latest crowdfunding campaign, this time for the anthology Civil Disobedience: Stories of Resistance. The 150+ page anthology not only collects 16 inspiring stories or resistance, but provides useful resources and practical guides for getting involved, staying safe, and making a difference!

The stories themselves range from historical accounts of protest movements, to tales from the current political climate, to allegories set in the near and distant future. And all along the way, “guide” characters like Mayne and Henry the Antifascist Honey Badger are there to demonstrate the practical applications to the lessons found in each story.

The campaign runs to July 4. Rewards include the anthology in both digital and and print, a Kickstarter Exclusive digital “Inside Look,” as well as button, pins, and a signed book plate.

Civil Disobedience is edited by Vita Ayala, Jarred Luján & Tyler Chin-Tanner. The cover art is by Chris Shehan, with a logo by Tim Daniel. The full list of creators include:
DB Andry, Vita Ayala, Henry Barajas, Angel Baron, Corinna Bechko, Chase Bluestone, Mark Bouchard, Jordan Clark, Terence F. & Jayne Ellen Clark, Tim Daniel, Noah Dao, Lucas Gattoni, Matt Harding, Jonathan Hedrick, Miguel Hernandez, Maya Houston, Jamie Jones, Liana Kangas, John Konrad, Danny Lore, Jarred Luján, Ryan Oakley, Leonie O’Moore, Micah Myers, Greg Pak, Chas! Pangburn, David Precht, Mark Russell, Seth Smith, Valentine M. Smith, Morgan Tellie, Leah Williams, Stephanie Williams, and Hana Yaacob.

We have an exclusive look at 6 pages from Mark Russell and Noah Dao‘s story. Lettered by Lucas Gattoni. The story is about the “Pink Ban” in Australia, where Macquarie University tried to evict a student from housing because he was gay, and the local building users shut down all construction on campus until he was reinstated.

Preview: The Art of Star Trek & Defiant

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The Art of Star Trek & Defiant

Angel Unzueta; Mike Feehan; Ramon Rosanas, Marcus To

You’ve read the series, now revel in the art that brought to life the critically acclaimed and award-winning Star Trek and Defiant comic series!

Star Trek and Defiant have woven a story consisting of 65 issues’ worth of comics into one interconnected epic. This art book gives you an in-depth look into what made it all possible, focusing on cover art, concept art, and final interior art. Also included are interviews with a select number of artists talking about their process and what makes Star Trek special for them.

Artists include Ramon Rosanas, Francesco Francavilla, Declan Shalvey, Rachael Stott, Malachi Ward, JK Woodward, Liana Kangas, Ángel Unzueta, Angel Hernandez, Marcus To, Megan Levens, and more. In total, over 65 artists are highlighted for their contributions to the series!

The Art of Star Trek & Defiant

Hello Darkness: Good Bones and Other Sordid Tales #1 arrives in February 2026

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From the vaults of BOOM! Studios’ acclaimed horror anthology Hello Darkness comes a curated collection overflowing with grimy, gritty, and gory grotesqueries by bestselling writer Steve Orlando and a certifiable rogue’s gallery of incredible artists in the new special one-shot Hello Darkness: Good Bones and Other Sordid Tales #1.

When BOOM! first reached out about being part of Hello Darkness, it was the exact kind of surprise I needed—the kind that kicks you in the ass. I’d dipped my toe into horror a bit but never took the dive. When they believed in a strange story like ‘The Foster’, it was too good to be true. And then the call came again and again, I was knocking on all the wood I could find—luckily, I have pine floors. So now, to be honored with a Hello Darkness one-shot and debut a new story with ‘Good Bones’? It’s the best kind of hallucination made real. These are stories I care about—inspired by creators like Gogol, Carpenter, Bulgakov, and Cronenberg! I am so proud of the work in this book, built with an incredible cadre of the dream artistic collaborators—and I can’t wait for you folks to see it all in one place!

-Steve Orlando

Featuring familiar stories, as well as a brand-new terror in “Good Bones” illustrated by the up-and-coming Dillon Snook.

Hello Darkness: Good Bones and Other Sordid Tales #1 will be available in comic shops February 11, 2026.

Hello Darkness Good Bones and Other Sordid Tales #1

Preview: Nightlife Noir #5

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Nightlife Noir #5

Story: Jack Mulqueen
Artists (in order of appearance) : Len Gogou, Kelsey Ramsay, Marianna Ignazzi, Filya Bratyukhin, Nil Vendrell, David Still, Abylay Kussainov, Brian Level, Edison Neo, Artyom Toppling, Liana Kangas, Paul Azaceta, Amalas Rosas, Marc Garreta
Colorists: Kurt Michael Russell, Jason Wordie, Michael Woods, Jason Finestone
Cover Art: Adam Gorham
Lettering: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Design: Joe Stone
Purchase

A 46-page one-shot occurring over one wild night (and morning) in New York City.

Nightlife Noir #5

Star Trek: Omega ends one chapter of Star Trek… and doesn’t really set up what’s next

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Star Trek: Omega

Two and a half years of comics spanning 60 years of Star Trek history, a fair few awards, and more than a few universe detonations, and it’s all been coming to this! Star Trek: Omega is the denouement of the critically acclaimed Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant storylines, and the first glimpse at what comes after. The crews of the Theseus, Defiant, and Enterprise set to work restoring the universe to what it should be after the evil android Lore’s intervention.

Star Trek: Omega is an interesting finale, and let me make that clear it’s absolutely a finale. I haven’t followed IDW’s Star Trek comics religiously and haven’t read much of the recent “Lore War,” but I decided to check out Star Trek: Omega in hopes of seeing what happens next. And while the comic wraps things up nicely, it also does very little to clearly lay out what to expect. This isn’t the end of an event comic like we’ve grown accustomed to that acts as much as a final chapter as it does advertisement, instead it’s a rather muted send-off wrapping up what has come before.

Written by Christopher Cantwell, Collin Kelly, and Jackson Lanzing, Star Trek: Omega bounces around the Star Trek universe giving major characters their moments as their current storylines wrap up. It’s packed with touching moments and some interesting present situations but it really feels like it closes a lot of chapters. For fans who have read the current run of Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant, Star Trek: Omega serves as a nice ending wrapping up those series and letting us know where the various characters stand. But, it’s for the fans. New readers won’t find much as far as what’s next in this issue. There’s some teases and hints, but that’s about it, nothing clear beyond one series (and we’ll get to that).

Still, the comic has touching moments and a lot of scenes where I want to know more. I want to see what happens next, so in that way, the comic succeeds. Where it falls short is that there’s not much highlighted to come. Star Trek: Redshirts, which is a great first issue and you can read our review, is all that’s teased. It’s an odd two page spread that doesn’t really excite and feels like it’s hiding what it’s for. Add in that Star Trek: Omega has a release date of June 18 and the final order cut-off date for Star Trek: Redshirts was June 9, and you have a teaser that falls really short of what its goal is.

The art of Star Trek: Omega is interesting with a long list of artists from the years of Star Trek comics. Oleg Chudakov, Joe Eisma, Mike Feehan, Tess Fowler, Angel Hernandez, Liana Kangas, Megan Levens, Travis Mercer, Ramon Rosanas, Rachael Stott, Erik Tamayo, Davide Tinto, and Marcus To each take a bit of the story as it highlights each of the characters in their individual scenes. Lee Loughridge and Marissa Louise provide colors and Clayton Cowles handles the lettering. For the most part, the art doesn’t vary much from scene to scene except one, which is particularly jarring it’s so different than what has come before. But, with my knowledge of Star Trek I could tell who all of the characters that I know were and the art does a solid job of nailing down the emotional moments of the issue.

Overall, Star Trek: Omega feels a bit muted in some ways. It has touching moments and really does feel like a “series finale” in many ways. It doesn’t have lots of action and excitement. It wraps up storylines and teases adventures to come. Even with some neat teases that this casual fan can appreciate, it’s one for the fans who have read the comics through the recent years. But, it falls short getting readers excited for what comes next. It almost feels like it’s teasing possibilities to see the fan reaction and then go from there. It closes one chapter but doesn’t really open the next one.

Story: Christopher Cantwell, Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
Oleg Chudakov, Joe Eisma, Mike Feehan, Tess Fowler, Angel Hernandez, Liana Kangas, Megan Levens, Travis Mercer, Ramon Rosanas, Rachael Stott, Erik Tamayo, Davide Tinto, and Marcus To
Color: Lee Loughridge, Marissa Louise Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Preview: Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures 2025 Annual

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Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures 2025 Annual

(W) Justina Ireland (A) Liana Kangas, Nick Brokenshire (CA) Eduardo Francisco
In Shops: Jan 29, 2025
SRP: $7.99

This anthology issue collects five tales of Republic bravery and Nihil treachery from across the galaxy! Featuring Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh, Jedi Younglings Jon, Bree, and Toko, Churo the Hutt, the sly Nihil Driggit, and the sinister Baron Boolan as they navigate the perils of the impending Battle of Eriadu! Brought to you by some of the most influential creators of the High Republic saga, including Justina Ireland, Alyssa Wong, Cavan Scott, Zoraida Cordova, and Charles and Rosemary Soule!

Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures 2025 Annual

Preview: Archaic #1

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Archaic #1

(W) Melissa F. Olson
(A) Sally Cantirino
Cover A: Sally Cantirino
Cover B: Liana Kangas
Cover C: Emma Vieceli
December 4, 2024
$3.99

The first comic from acclaimed novelist Melissa F. Olson, author of the Old World series! Meet Tess Halliday, a broke single mom desperate to protect her kids from vicious criminals trying to collect on her ex-husband’s debts. Following a mysterious message, Tess flees to the mysterious island of Demonde—a place of demons, legendary creatures, and a family secret that just might cost Tess her life. Artist Sally Cantrino (I Walk With Monsters) deftly brings this mystical world to life.

Archaic #1

Preview: Star Trek #26

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Star Trek #26

(W) Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing (A) Liana Kangas (CA) Ramon Rosanas
In Shops: Nov 20, 2024
SRP: $4.99

In its escape from the Delta Quadrant, the U.S.S. Theseus has landed in an unknown sector of space that appears safer-if not a hundred years younger-than their own. There, the crew receive a signal from an oncoming ship: the U.S.S. Enterprise. Captain James T. Kirk is hailing. The two crews join together in the race against Lore’s wave of destruction, convinced there must be some countermeasure that will save their universes from complete annihilation. But will their combined bravery and brainpower be enough? Or is it already too late for both their timelines?

Star Trek #26

More Modern Horror in Your First Look at Hello Darkness #5

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BOOM! Studios has revealed a spooky first look at Hello Darkness #5, the horrifying continuation to the new ongoing anthology series featuring what BOOM! Studios is known for–the best in modern Horror, Fantasy, and Mystery, not to mention the darkest stories yet from a murderer’s row of world class creators! Everything from primal fears to modern political horrors will be explored, in the classic style of Creepy and Eerie and the contemporary chills of Black Mirror.

The fresh face of modern horror continues with more terror from the industry’s best! A relationship gets complicated after a photographer takes a picture they shouldn’t have in “Shutter” by Sarah Gailey and Liana Kangas. There’s a double-dose of children’s horror as neighbor girls visit “The Butterfly Field” by Jeremy Bastian and Ziyan Qiu and a long-lost sibling is the subject of “The Search” by Sarah Andersen.

In “The War, Part 5,” by Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan, David and Nikki take refuge, but quickly learn that there’s more to survival than isolation from the outside world. Meanwhile, Erica Slaughter’s investigation continues in a new Something is Killing the Children adventure, plus hilarious horror from Robert Hack, and more!

Hello Darkness #5 features a main cover by Paolo Rivera, and variant covers by Jenny Frison, and Martin Simmonds. Hello Darkness #5 will be available in comic shops November 27, 2024.

Hello Darkness #5
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