Dark Horse Books presents the next Stranger Things Library Edition Volume 3, collecting Stranger Things: The Tomb of Ybwen by Greg Pak, Diego Galindo, Francesco Segala, and Nate Piekos, and Stranger Things: Holiday Specials by Michael Moreci, Chris Roberson, Keith Champagne, Todor Hristov, ABEL, Caio Filipe, Dan Jackson, and Nate Piekos. This oversized hardcover collection will feature cover art by Stranger Things fan-favorite artist, Kyle Lambert.
Stranger Things: The Tomb of Ybwen is set in January 1985 after the Hawkins crew survived a battle with the Mind Flayer. Will and Joyce are reeling from Bob Newby’s death, but Will’s friends have been too busy with their girlfriends to notice him struggling. After Mr. Clarke and Will discover an odd map Bob left in a box of A.V. club memorabilia, Will rallies the gang to investigate—but with a blizzard coming, they’re afraid to follow. But when Will takes off into the freezing wilds alone, they rush to stop him and just as they catch up, they discover that Bob’s map may lead to a real hidden treasure–and that turning back is no longer an option.
Stranger Things: Holiday Specials includes three separate heartwarming and terrifying stories perfect for any season. In the Winter Special, Eleven gets introduced to everyone’s favorite Christmas stories; in the Halloween Special, Will tells the other boys the scariest Hawkins Halloween story ever; and in the Summer Special, officers Powell and Callahan investigate strange events that they’ll be lucky to survive.
Stranger Things Library Edition Volume 3 will be in bookstores October 24, 2023 and in comic shops October 25, 2023. It is now available to pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local comic shop and indie bookstore.
BOOM! Studios has revealed a first look at The Seasons Have Teeth #1, the premier issue of a brand new 4-issue horror series from writer Dan Watters, artist Sebastián Cabrol, colorist Dan Jackson, and letterer Nate Piekos of Blambot, coming to a comic shop near you this April 12.
In a drab, colorless world, the seasons bring change.
Andrew, a retired conflict photographer, lives a life steeped in regret, pain, and sorrow. When the seasons arrive–each one embodied as powerful god-like creatures–everything for Andrew begins to change. As he risks everything to track down Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, he can’t help but hope that capturing the perfect picture of each will help him find his redemption…and maybe–just maybe–bring color back to his world.
The Seasons Have Teeth #1 features a standard cover by artist Qistina Khalidah, and variant covers by Duncan Fegredo, Sebastián Fiumara, and David Mack.
BOOM! Studios has revealed legendary artist David Mack’s variant cover of The Seasons Have Teeth #1, the premier issue of a brand new 4-issue horror series from writer Dan Watters, artist Sebastián Cabrol, colorist Dan Jackson, and letterer Nate Piekos of Blambot, coming to a comic shop near you this April.
In a drab, colorless world, the seasons bring change.
Andrew, a retired conflict photographer, lives a life steeped in regret, pain, and sorrow. When the seasons arrive–each one embodied as powerful god-like creatures–everything for Andrew begins to change. As he risks everything to track down Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, he can’t help but hope that capturing the perfect picture of each will help him find his redemption…and maybe–just maybe–bring color back to his world.
The Seasons Have Teeth #1 features a main cover by artist Qistina Khalidah, and variant covers by Duncan Fegredo and Sebastián Fiumara.
Dark Horse Books presents the Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 3. This oversized hardcover collects issues of #1-12 of the Black Hammer Reborn comic series, featuring a story that picks up years after the previous Black Hammer series with a group of new artists. The book is written by New York Times bestselling author Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Caitlin Yarsky, Malachi Ward, and Matthew Sheean, colored by Dave Stewart and Malachi Ward, and lettered by Nate Piekos, with cover art by Dean Ormston.
Years after Black Hammer and the rest of Spiral City’s greatest heroes seemingly died defeating the cosmic despot known as Anti-God, Lucy Weber, the daughter of Black Hammer, took up his mantle and carried on the legacy of her father.
Years after that, Lucy, and the world, have moved on. Living in the suburbs of Spiral City, Lucy is married and has children. But all is not blissful. Her marriage is falling apart, her job has reached a dead end, and for mysterious reasons, she hasn’t picked up the hammer in years. But as her domestic life begins to crumble, the secrets of the last 20 years, and the reasons Lucy really gave up being Black Hammer, begin to resurface, threatening her family and the peace she has tried hard to find for herself.
This deluxe, oversized hardcover features a new cover, sketchbook extras, and more!
TheBlack Hammer Library Edition Volume 3 will be in bookstores October 10, 2023 and comic shops October 11, 2023. It is available for pre-order now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at your local comic shop and bookstore and will retail for $49.99.
Gert is down on her luck. She does have some highly needed knowledge, she knows Fairyland. She’s been offered a job, head to that world and bring back the son of a very wealthy man. But, as we see in I Hate Fairyland #2, the mission is more complicated and there’s much more at play here.
Skottie Young continues the misadventures of his foulmouthed antisocial heroine as she’s given offer she can’t refuse. Literally, she has nothing else going for her. This is pretty much it. But, the offer is from a billionaire who has more sinister wants from her mission. All of it comes together for another issue full of low brow humor that’s like Looney Tunes on drugs… and really funny.
I Hate Fairyland #2 wears everything about itself on its sleeve. It’s an over-the-top hack and slash-ish story that has no trouble of dropping a censored swear and insult and playing off it’s saccharine infused sweetness. It’s putting the Punisher into Wonderland and letting him go nuts. Things are going to die and do so in brutal ways and that’s part of the entertainment. Young knows that and anyone who has read the series does too. This issue is more focused on the setup though as we learn why Gert has been chosen, what she brings to the table, and clearly she’s going to be double-crossed at some point.
The insanity is delivered through the art of Brett Bean which continues the goofiness of the original series. Bean is joined by Jean-Francois Beaulieu on color and lettering by Nate Piekos and the trio emphasizes the over-the-top nature of it all. Everything is exaggerated, as it should be. This isn’t some grounded story, this is one where the hero wields weapons twice her size and creates bloody mayhem with it. Exaggeration is the name of the game and the visuals nails that down perfectly in every way.
I Hate Fairyland #2 continues that line of humor that goes back to Looney Tunes and then fed drugs in Ren & Stimpy until it’s stretched further today. This is a comic where everything is so amplified that it becomes part of the joke, if not the joke. Everything emphasizes that, things are taken to the extreme. It’s the exact type of silly escape so many of us need and only comics can deliver.
Award-winning writer Jody Houser returns to pen an anthology of vibrant new stories woven into the larger tapestry of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things in Stranger Things: Tales From Hawkins! Joining Houser on her trip through Hawkins are artist Caio Filipe, Sunando C, Giorgia Gio Esposito colorist Dan Jackson, and letterer Nate Piekos.
On the surface, Hawkins, Indiana seems like the kind of town where nothing too out of the ordinary ever happens, but in the fall of ’83 it is anything but safe. In Issue #1 of Tales from Hawkins, two friends head out into the woods with their rifles and a six-pack. These would-be hunters find themselves the prey of a nightmarish beast who has claimed the wilderness around town and everything inside it, including them.
Stranger Things: Tales From Hawkins #1 (of four) will be in comic shops February 8, 2023. Artists Kyle Lambert, Diego Galindo, and Danny Luckert each contributed a variant cover for issue #1. All four variants are available for pre-order at your local comic shop.
For Free Comic Book Day, Dark Horse Comics is bringing The Umbrella Academy/The Witcher to comic shops. Free Comic Book Day takes place on May 6, 2023.
Presenting fan-favorites for FCBD: a squad of superpowered siblings and the infamous monster hunter!
In The Umbrella Academy: Safe, Hargreeves and Abhijit embark on an interdimensional journey and find a cosmic horror that will have repercussions for our heroes and the universe. This short story is co-written by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, illustrated by Gabriel Bá, colored by Dave Stewart and lettering by Blambot’s Nate Piekos. The cover art for this issue is also provided by Bá and Stewart.
Then, in The Witcher: Frog Kiss, Geralt must uncover why the young women in Novigrad are turning into frogs! This short story is written by Bartosz Sztybor, illustrated by Fabio Violante, colored by Igor Monti and lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
Be sure to pick up this Free Comic Book Day issue in anticipation for the release of the final season of The Umbrella Academy and Season 3 of The Witcher, both coming to Netflix in 2023.
Gert is all grown up and living in the real world. Times are tough, and the only job she’s qualified for has her trying to find her way back to the place she hates the most… Fairyland. I Hate Fairyland #1 kicks off a brand-new volume that continues Gert’s adventures for long-time fans and new readers. It’s the over the top kinetic ultra violence you’d expect.
Skottie Young is back to tell Gert’s tale. The comic opens catching new readers up but quickly dives into her current life. And it sucks. Gert can’t keep a job, she has no skills, and she’s drinking a lot. Fairyland looks pretty good at this point.
And Young does an impressive thing, he makes Gert somewhat sympathetic. At a point, you feel bad that she had her life stripped away from her and then dumbed back in the real world expected to function. You feel bad she can’t keep a job. There’s a bit of a mircocosm of the frustration so many are feeling in the world right now all represented by Gert’s struggles.
So, what is Gert to do? She’s presented a mission by the end, one she’s rather suited for.
The art by Brett Bean is fantastic. It continues the kinetic over-the-top nature of the original series. The violence is cartoonish levels, the visual presentation is the punchline to so much of Young’s insanity. Bean is joined by Jean-Francois Beaulieu on color and Nate Piekos on lettering and it all comes together for hilarity. This is Looney Tunes for adults, it’s just missing the Acme products. And what’s great is none of it is dialed back in the real world. Gert gets the crap beat out of her and it’s to ludicrous levels, and we roll with it. It’s just silly violent fun.
I Hate Fairyland #1 is exactly what you’d expect going into it. It’s just insane violence with a slight offensive nature about it all. It does a solid job of setting up what’s to come while catching up new readers. It’s cathartic violent fun wrapped up in a cute beat up package that’ll give you the finger.
Horror seems to thrive in anthologies. Their short story-heavy forms guide creators down a more urgent path to terror and the weird given the space given to each individual tale. It’s a whole different animal. Compare Stephen King’s short stories with his novel-length (plus a thousand pages more) work and you’ll find one might even become a different storyteller in the process of scaring readers with less pages.
Cullen Bunn’sShock Shop is the latest example of this creative phenomenon, a flip horror comic that sees the writer go for a kind of ongoing double-feature that celebrates the anthology format while adding a special horror comic twist to the classic ‘crypt keeper’ figure that guides readers through the book.
Shock Shop tells two separate stories presented by Desdeamona Nimue Moreau, the proprietor of a comic book/horror collectibles shop that bears the name of the comic itself. She introduces each story in classic Tales From the Crypt fashion, but looks more like a magician than the iconic Crypt Keeper. The stories reunite Bunn with two creators he’s worked with before: Danny Luckert (Regression) and Leila Leiz (The Last Book You’ll Ever Read). Nate Piekos letters both stories.
The first story, “Something In the Woods, In the Dark” (illustrated by Luckert) follows a group of friends who organize a hiking trip so that a married couple within the group can hopefully find a way through their recent problems. An insidious being filled with violence starts haunting the group, possessing a link to them that might be more profound than initially thought.
The second story, “Familiars” (illustrated by Leiz), follows a father that moves into what seems to be a friendly haunted house. Once his kids come to visit and join in on the fun with the playful spirits, the house starts revealing its true face.
When it comes to anthologies, one eventually starts to consider which story is the best from the bunch. In the case of Shock Shop, both stories are equally strong and enticing. A lot of it is owed to the character work. Bunn’s scripts come with a cast of imperfect people that are as interesting as the things that mean to hurt them. The have a personal history that’s palpable and they speak volumes both in conversation and in their lonesome.
Short though these entries may be, the intention is clear when it comes to the Bunn’s character development. In just a few pages each, every character feels layered and lived in. There’s space for the human aspect to unravel and room for growth. They’re not mere avatars for a metaphor or message. They live and breath and scream, just like real people.
Luckert and Leiz squeeze as much character as possible from both casts of characters, respectively, giving them each a look and feel that doesn’t come off as disposable or superfluous. Luckert goes for expressive facial gestures that tell their own stories and reveal a lot about their personalities. Leiz produces more kinetic work, capturing the energy and excitement of the dad and his kids only to make you feel dread as the house pulls the curtains back on its more sinister aspects.
Shock Shop #1 variant cover by Francesco Francavilla
Piekos’ lettering does an excellent job of keeping the horror SFX under control, expertly capturing sounds without overplaying the effects. Some horror comics try to go big with these parts of the text to simulate a kind of jump scare sensation or to startle the reader. In Shock Shop, the SFX creeps in, letting the reader adjust the volume and intensity. It’s a smart approach that promotes participation in the creation of mood and ambiance.
In an uncommon twist on the anthology formula, especially when it comes to horror comics, neither story ends in this first issue (this is uncommon, not non-existent). They will be continued in issue #2 and it doesn’t look like things will come to a close then. I appreciated the commitment to the stories, in this regard, to let them play out without compromising the anthology format. It makes the deal sweeter. Month after month we’ll be getting two great horror stories in one flip comic.
Shock Shop #1 sets the stage for a pair of horror tales that are of equal quality, presented via a refreshingly twisted comics retailer that I hope we get to see more of. The haunted comic shop setup is brilliant and deserves to be explored a bit further, perhaps leaning into metafiction to get at some other kinds of dark happenings as the series progresses. Regardless, the terror on this display in Shock Shop is expertly crafted and is sure to become a mainstay for horror fans that faithfully tuned in either to their favorite anthology show week after week or to went out late at night for the old school double-feature show at the local movie theater.
Script: Cullen Bunn Art: Danny Luckert and Leila Leiz Colors: Danny Luckert, Bill Crabtree Letterer:Nate Piekos Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy and write letters to publishers for more flip comics!
Dark Horse Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Horror seems to thrive in anthologies. Their short story-heavy forms guide creators down a more urgent path to terror and the weird given the space given to each individual tale. It’s a whole different animal. Compare Stephen King’s short stories with his novel-length (plus a thousand pages more) work and you’ll find one might even become a different storyteller in the process of scaring readers with less pages.
Cullen Bunn’sShock Shop is the latest example of this creative phenomenon, a flip horror comic that sees the writer go for a kind of ongoing double-feature that celebrates the anthology format while adding a special horror comic twist to the classic ‘crypt keeper’ figure that guides readers through the book.
Shock Shop tells two separate stories presented by Desdeamona Nimue Moreau, the proprietor of a comic book/horror collectibles shop that bears the name of the comic itself. She introduces each story in classic Tales From the Crypt fashion, but looks more like a magician than the iconic Crypt Keeper. The stories reunite Bunn with two creators he’s worked with before: Danny Luckert (Regression) and Leila Leiz (The Last Book You’ll Ever Read). Nate Piekos letters both stories.
The first story, “Something In the Woods, In the Dark” (illustrated by Luckert) follows a group of friends who organize a hiking trip so that a married couple within the group can hopefully find a way through their recent problems. An insidious being filled with violence starts haunting the group, possessing a link to them that might be more profound than initially thought.
The second story, “Familiars” (illustrated by Leiz), follows a father that moves into what seems to be a friendly haunted house. Once his kids come to visit and join in on the fun with the playful spirits, the house starts revealing its true face.
When it comes to anthologies, one eventually starts to consider which story is the best from the bunch. In the case of Shock Shop, both stories are equally strong and enticing. A lot of it is owed to the character work. Bunn’s scripts come with a cast of imperfect people that are as interesting as the things that mean to hurt them. The have a personal history that’s palpable and they speak volumes both in conversation and in their lonesome.
Short though these entries may be, the intention is clear when it comes to the Bunn’s character development. In just a few pages each, every character feels layered and lived in. There’s space for the human aspect to unravel and room for growth. They’re not mere avatars for a metaphor or message. They live and breath and scream, just like real people.
Luckert and Leiz squeeze as much character as possible from both casts of characters, respectively, giving them each a look and feel that doesn’t come off as disposable or superfluous. Luckert goes for expressive facial gestures that tell their own stories and reveal a lot about their personalities. Leiz produces more kinetic work, capturing the energy and excitement of the dad and his kids only to make you feel dread as the house pulls the curtains back on its more sinister aspects.
Shock Shop #1 variant cover by Francesco Francavilla
Piekos’ lettering does an excellent job of keeping the horror SFX under control, expertly capturing sounds without overplaying the effects. Some horror comics try to go big with these parts of the text to simulate a kind of jump scare sensation or to startle the reader. In Shock Shop, the SFX creeps in, letting the reader adjust the volume and intensity. It’s a smart approach that promotes participation in the creation of mood and ambiance.
In an uncommon twist on the anthology formula, especially when it comes to horror comics, neither story ends in this first issue (this is uncommon, not non-existent). They will be continued in issue #2 and it doesn’t look like things will come to a close then. I appreciated the commitment to the stories, in this regard, to let them play out without compromising the anthology format. It makes the deal sweeter. Month after month we’ll be getting two great horror stories in one flip comic.
Shock Shop #1 sets the stage for a pair of horror tales that are of equal quality, presented via a refreshingly twisted comics retailer that I hope we get to see more of. The haunted comic shop setup is brilliant and deserves to be explored a bit further, perhaps leaning into metafiction to get at some other kinds of dark happenings as the series progresses. Regardless, the terror on this display in Shock Shop is expertly crafted and is sure to become a mainstay for horror fans that faithfully tuned in either to their favorite anthology show week after week or to went out late at night for the old school double-feature show at the local movie theater.
Script: Cullen Bunn Art: Danny Luckert and Leila Leiz Colors: Danny Luckert, Bill Crabtree Letterer: Nate Piekos Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy and write letters to publishers for more flip comics!
Graphic Policy was provided with a free copy of the comic from Dark Horse for review.
