Tag Archives: taylor esposito

Paul Tobin Teams with Carlos Javier Olivares for a Wild New Series Featuring Backup Stories by Colleen Coover, Junk Punch!

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It’s one woman’s quest to solve a bizarre series of thefts, such as kisses stolen from willing and waiting lips! Mad Cave Studios has announced Junk Punch, an all-new series that explores a world where sudden compulsions begin affecting people in bizarre and uncontrollable ways.

This offbeat new series reunites the creative duo behind the Mad Cave hit String—Eisner Award-winning writer Paul Tobin features a main story and backup story, with main story art by Carlos Javier Olivares, colors by Francesca Vivaldi, and lettering by Taylor Esposito, bringing the strange world of Junk Punch to life with playful humor and dynamic visual storytelling.

Each issue also includes a fun, standalone backup story with art, colors, and letters by Colleen Coover, kicking off a rotating lineup of guest artists including Lin Visel, Christine Larsen, and Dani Strips. These additional stories expand the strange world of Junk Punch, introducing new characters and misadventures across its growing gallery of oddballs.

Junk Punch #1 features a variant cover by Marguerite Sauvage and retailer incentive by Mirka Andolfo.

In a near-future world, peculiar new compulsions have arisen to afflict individuals in bizarre ways, such as a need to paint all pigeons pink or the unfortunate craving to tell the truth on dating apps. One such individual is Clara Castanelle, aka Junk Punch, who “suffers” an addiction to punching people square in their junk!

With its wildly inventive premise and unpredictable sense of humor, Junk Punch will appeal to readers who enjoy comics where absurdity, mystery, and heart collide.

Junk Punch #1 drops in shops June 3, 2026.

Barbarian Behind Bars #2 is a solid second issue where we get more depth about the characters

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The Barbarian is making a break from behind bars — but between freedom and our hero from another world stands a squad of taser-wielding prison guards! Luckily, a solitary confinement cell is a great place to receive a mystic visitation from a goddess of cosmic justice. Meanwhile, the Barbarian’s public defender, Irene Chang gets much too close for comfort with her client’s possessed, blood-thirsty battleaxe! BARBARIAN BEHIND BARS is the high-fantasy grindhouse story you’ve been dreaming of!

Story: Elliott Kalan
Art: Andrea Mutti
Letterer: Taylor Esposito

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Zeus Comics
Kindle

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Space Ghost Vol. 2 #9 allows Blip to take center stage and save the day in another fun issue

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BLIP TO THE (PSYCHIC) RESCUE!

When Team Space Ghost is ambushed on the Ghost Planet and trapped inside their own minds by the villainous Sorceress, Blip must don the Creature King’s telepathic helmet in order to save his now-catatonic family. But even if he can manage to throw a monkey wrench into the Sorceress’s works, will it be enough to save the Guardians of the Spaceways from their own inner demons? Or will her All-Seeing Eye burn our heroes to their deepest cores?

Story: David Pepose
Art: Jonathan Lau
Color: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Taylor Esposito

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Zeus Comics
Kindle

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Stardust, Stardom, and the Cost of Going Viral. Solar Sisters arrives from Amit Tishler, Elliot Sperl, Virginia Salucci, Giulia Zucca, and Taylor Esposito

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Papercutz and Mad Cave Studios invite readers to blast off into a vibrant sci-fi comedy with Solar Sisters, an all-ages original graphic novel from writers Amit Tishler and Elliot Sperl, illustrated by Virginia Salucci, colored by Giulia Zucca, and lettered by the award-winning Taylor Esposito.

Phoebe Dust’s days as a child star are over. Born and raised on the moon, she’s shocked to discover her mom’s tourist trap, the Lunar Link, is deep in debt and circling the drain. Determined to save it, Phoebe hatches a plan that accidentally rockets her alien sister, Luna, into interstellar superstardom. Overnight, the Lunar Link is swarmed with tourists, the perils of fame close in, and Nova Starr, the galaxy’s most ruthless influencer, is plotting to claw the spotlight back by any means necessary. With the forces of fame, fortune, and cutthroat rivals pulling from every direction, Phoebe must keep her family’s future from being blown into stardust.

Blending colorful worldbuilding with sharp commentary on celebrity culture, Solar Sisters explores the complicated balance between ambition, identity, and the pursuit of happiness while delivering a story packed with humor, heart, and high-stakes cosmic chaos.

Beyond the graphic novel, Solar Sisters is expanding to include an original K-Pop EP, Nova Starr: Solar Cyclone, produced by Amit Tishler and music composer Alon Kaplan, and the tabletop game Stardom: The Solar Sisters Game from Lichenwood Games and 10 Forward Productions, launching soon on Kickstarter.

Solar Sisters goes on sale October 13, 2026, in paperback (ISBN: 9781545827772 | $12.99) and hardcover (ISBN: 9781545827789 | $17.99) formats and is now available for preorder wherever books and comics are sold, including papercutz.com. Direct Market FOC is October 14.

Solar Sisters

Barbarian Behind Bars #1 is a great debut with a solid concept, set up, and art

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Who is the mysterious, musclebound warrior who came to our world in a storm of magic and violence?! That’s what public defender Irene Chang wants to know. This guy came out of nowhere, doesn’t speak English, and now she’s supposed to help him beat a murder charge after he chopped some other weird dude’s head off with a magic axe in broad daylight? Of course, he may not live to go to trial, with all the enemies he’s making in prison. Good thing his cellmate grills a mean cheese sandwich.

Story: Elliott Kalan
Art: Andrea Mutti
Letterer: Taylor Esposito

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Zeus Comics
Kindle

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Space Ghost Vol. 2 #8 wraps up the two issue arc delivering action and emotion

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LEGACY OF DESTRUCTION!

Trapped inside Contra Industries, Jan and Jace scramble to survive the Antimatter Man’s hostile takeover! As the rampaging villain works to rebuild the generator that originally transformed him into nigh-omnipotent negative energy, the Guardian of the Spaceways must construct a brand-new weapon to defeat the rogue scientist before he reaches critical mass. But when Jan and Jace discover the Antimatter Man’s true identity, will family bonds make the price of victory too much for Team Space Ghost to bear?

Story: David Pepose
Art: Jonathan Lau
Color: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Taylor Esposito

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Zeus Comics
Kindle

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Barbarian Behind Bars #1 Delivers a Solid Opening to an Intriguing Concept

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Barbarian Behind Bars #1

Who is the mysterious, musclebound warrior who came to our world in a storm of magic and violence?! That’s what public defender Irene Chang wants to know. This guy came out of nowhere, doesn’t speak English, and now she’s supposed to help him beat a murder charge after he chopped some other weird dude’s head off with a magic axe in broad daylight? Of course, he may not live to go to trial, with all the enemies he’s making in prison. Good thing his cellmate grills a mean cheese sandwich. Barbarian Behind Bars #1 kicks off a concept where you wonder why it hasn’t been done before.

It’s no surprise that I’d enjoy Barbarian Behind Bars #1. Written by Elliott Kalan, art by Andrea Mutti, and lettering by Taylor Esposito, it’s the team behind Maniac of New York, a series published by Aftershock that I loved and hope we get more of. And honestly, Barbarian Behind Bars #1 feels like a series that would have been released by that publisher.

The concept is very simple. A warrior from another time and place is arrested after battling his evil foe in modern times. Now, the justice system has to figure out what to do with him and he needs to continue hist quest against evil. It’s so simple, it’s brilliant.

Kalan delivers a fantastic start focusing on each aspect of the comic and doing so in a way that makes it really intriguing. A defense attorney needs to figure out how to deal with her client who speaks a language no one knows. A justice system needs to figure out how to deal with a murder of an individual who doesn’t exist by a person who doesn’t exist. And the barbarian needs to keep fighting evil to save his world but he’s behind bars. The combo is a series that nails it at every step.

The art by Mutti is excellent. It’s not too surprising as we’ve seen over and over what to expect. The initial battle looks epic in scope, to the point I hope we see more in flashbacks. The frustration of so many feels very real as you can see it in their body language and faces. The guards feel sleezy just looking at them. It’s all fantastic visuals that balance the fantastical and the grounded.

Taylor Esposito deserves and extra mention for the language spoken by the Barbarian. While it’s translated, you almost want to take the time to decipher it yourself, something that’s a challenge by others in the comic.

I had high expectations for Barbarian Behind Bars #1 when I saw the creative team and heard the concept and they’ve exceeded the high bar set for the debut issue. Like their previous team-up, this is a debut that you should absolute check out.

Story: Elliott Kalan Art: Andrea Mutti Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25 Recommendation: Buy

Mad Cave Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Thundarr the Barbarian #1 hits a bit of nostalgia but there’s some odd moments and bad dialogue

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When a runaway planet hurtled between the Earth and the Moon, cosmic destruction was unleashed — and mankind’s proud civilizations were cast into ruin! Two millennia later, the planet is nearly unrecognizable — a harsh and savage realm where sorcery and super-science both reign over the powerless masses.

Now, rising up from their ranks, one man is breaking the bonds that restrained him. With the help of his faithful companions, Ariel and Ookla the Mok, he has dedicated his life — and the power of his mystical blade, the Sunsword — to liberating his world from the forces of evil. He is Thundarr, the Barbarian, and his story begins here!

Story: Jason Aaron
Art: Kewber Baal
Color: Jorge Sutil
Letterer: Taylor Esposito

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Zeus Comics
Kindle

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

It’s The Phantom vs. The Sky Band in April

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In a tight, 40-page one-shot, altitude, money, and machines won’t save you in Bangalla! Mad Cave Studios and King Features Syndicate has announced The Phantom vs. The Sky Band, a 40-page one-shot that drops readers into a relentless showdown where justice is swift, inescapable, and eternal.

Written by Ray Fawkes with art by Federico Sabbatini, colors by JUANCHO!, and letters by the award-winning Taylor Esposito, this one-shot follows the trail laid in The Phantom #1-5 with a new story perfect for fans of the series and brand-new readers. The Phantom vs. The Sky Band pits The Ghost Who Walks against a ruthless band of mercenaries who believed technology and altitude made them untouchable. They were wrong.

The Sky Band entered the Phantom’s domain when they took blood money to carry the Singh Brotherhood into Bangalla. They thought their helicopters would make them untraceable, immune. Now the mercenaries-for-hire will face the Phantom’s wrath. Those who survive…will be irreparably MARKED. 

The Phantom vs. The Sky Band Cover A is by Federico Sabbatini, and Cover B by Freddie Williams II and Andrew Dalhouse.

On sale April 22, 2026, The Phantom vs. The Sky Band is a 40-page one-shot that delivers a complete, high-stakes story rooted in the Phantom’s enduring legacy. Designed as an accessible entry point for new readers and a must-have chapter for longtime fans, this special issue will be available at comic shops everywhere, with Final Order Cutoff set for March 30.

Flash Gordon #0 kicks off a new era, new status quo, new arc, and new creative team

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Mad Cave Studios and King Features have announced Flash Gordon #0, a special prelude issue marking the start of an all-new era for the iconic sci-fi hero!

Written by New York Times bestselling author Dan Abnett, with art by Manuel Garcia, colors by Ceci de la Cruz, and letters by Taylor Esposito, Flash Gordon #0 sets the stage for Abnett and Garcia’s upcoming run—officially launching the following month with Flash Gordon #16, a new arc positioned as a bold new #1 for readers. Issue #0 features a main cover by Joe Quinones and a variant cover by Miguel Mercado.

This oversized issue reveals what comes next: a grounded Flash Gordon, a world once again reaching for the stars, and a looming cosmic threat that refuses to stay distant.

A NEW ERA OF FLASH!

Flash Gordon has always been a maverick, on the football field and in the stars. But when he’s offered a job training the next generation of explorers, he’ll end up fighting for top gun! A “quick trip” around Neptune’s moons with Flash’s cadets turns into a deadly alien hunt – and one of the new recruits thinks they can save the day without the dusty instructor.

Introducing a new supporting cast—enemies and allies alike—and setting the stage for a swashbuckling new story, Flash Gordon #0 is a can’t-miss!

Flash Gordon #0 arrives in comic shops on April 8, 2026, and serves as the official prelude to the new ongoing arc beginning with Flash Gordon #16, where the final order cutoff is April 9.

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