On the fourth episode of The Ashcan Edition, Brant Lewis interviews prolific comics letterer and writer Aditya Bidikar. In the conversation they discuss the art of lettering, the importance of work-life balance, and his upcoming work as a member of Tiny Onion’s Artists in Residence Program.
You can follow Aditya Bidikar on social media @adityab or on his website. You can also follow Brant Lewis on Twitter @Brant__Lewis and on Bluesky @brantlewis.
Music is Win This Battle Win This War by Everet Almond.
Dark Horse Comics and Tiny Onion present Let This One Be a Devil, the first story in a new set of True Weird tales from James Tynion IV and various other creators. Let This One Be a Devil is a four-issue miniseries that explores the legend of the Jersey Devil written by Tynion and Steve Foxe, illustrated by Piotr Kowalski, colored by Brad Simpson, and lettered by Tom Napolitano. The first issue will feature covers by Gavin Fullerton, Kowalski, and Max Fiumara and will also feature a True Weird short comic written by Rachel Deering, illustrated by Jesse Lonergan, and lettered by Aditya Bidikar.
In the early 1900s, Henry Naughton returns home to the family farm in the swampy Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. One night, he encounters a strange predator stalking the woods. This sends the young scholar on a research project that uncovers the legend of Mother Leeds and the terrible birth of the Jersey Devil in 1735.
Let This One Be a Devil #1 (of 4) stalks into comic shops on February 19, 2025. Issue #1 is now available for pre-order at your local comic shop for $4.99.
Dark Horse Books and Tiny Onion present True Weird Volume 1, a collection of black-and-white short comics originally featured as bonus stories throughoutBlue Bookseries 1 and 2. Based on true accounts, these stories describe encounters with cryptids, ghosts, paranormal phenomena, medical oddities, and all manner of the strange.
This new volume features twelve of the strangest “true” stories from the world around us, featuring an all-star lineup of creators including James Tynion IV, Klaus Janson, Chris Condon, Michael Avon Oeming, Ming Doyle, John McCrea, Genevieve Valentine, Aditya Bidikar, Anand RK, Gavin Fullerton, and many more.
True Weird Volume 1 (paperback, 120 pages, 6.625×10.188”) will be available in bookstores on January 28, 2025 and in comic shops on January 29, 2025. It is now available to pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, tfaw.com, and your local comic shop and indie bookstore for $24.99.
Dark Horse Comics and Tiny Onion present The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos: Halloween Special, a fantastically frightful 48-page one-shot issue featuring five short comics that celebrate the world of Christopher Chaos.
James Tynion IV and Isaac Goodhart tell a story of family and loss featuring the characters Adam Frankenstein and Viveka. Tate Brombal and Phil Jimenez introduce a wild new monster far above the Arctic Circle. Back in Briar City, Brombal is joined by Morgan Beem for a sweet and spooky story of young Christopher during a Halloween long past. And finally, Soo Lee and Nick Robles both write and draw their own bewitching stories that will leave you breathless and terrified for All Hallow’s Eve!
The Halloween Special will have two covers: one by David Talaski and a variant cover by Jeff Lemire.
The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos: Halloween Specialone-shot (48 pages)arrives in comic shops on October 2, 2024. It is now available to pre-order from your local comic shop for $6.99.
Tiny Onion has brought on four additional staff members as of this week. The new hires include DeAna Avila as Production Manager, Antonio Guanaes as Executive Assistant, Steve Foxe as Editor, and Greg Lockard as Talent Manager.
DeAna Avila, Production Manager
DeAna Avila is the Production Manager for Tiny Onion. She comes from a background in Production at Z2 Comics, and worked on titles including Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound, Iron Maiden: Piece Of Mind, and Broken Social Scene: You Forgot It In People. She works and resides in Los Angeles with her dog, Fincher. She enjoys the smell of a burger, and a brand new comic book.
Antonio Guanaes, Executive Assistant
A recent media business management master’s graduate with a background in computer science, Antonio Guanaes has done everything from helping develop an event-search mobile app startup, Minimap, to working on the development of budding film and TV projects at Hungry Man, one of the world’s leading commercial production houses. Now, he works as Tiny Onion’s executive assistant, ensuring tasks big and small are handled smoothly and on time. A resident of New York City, Antonio loves music and comic books, but his greatest passion is film.
Steve Foxe, Editor
Steve Foxe is the editor of W0RLDTR33, The Deviant, and the multiple-Eisner-nominated The Department of Truth at Image Comics. He is the co-creator of Razorblades alongside James Tynion IV. Beyond his work with Tiny Onion, he has been a freelance editor for First Second since 2020, overseeing New York Times bestselling titles like Agents of S.U.I.T.; was the editor for Paste Magazine’s comic section (when it existed); and spent five years at Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. You may also know him from his writing, which includes titles like Dark X-Men, X-Men ’97, Spider-Woman, the Eisner Award-nominated Creepshow anthology, the Eisner and Ringo Award-nominated Rainbow Bridge, and the Spider-Ham series from Scholastic. He lives somewhere cold with his partner and their dog.
Greg Lockard, Talent Manager
Greg Lockard is an editor and writer of comic books. He has written and co-created two graphic novels: Trick Pony with artist/co-creator Anna David and Liebestrasse with artist/co-creator Tim Fish. Liebestrasse was nominated as an “Outstanding Comic Book” for the 2020 GLAAD Media Awards and listed by the New York Times as one of 10 Comic Books to Celebrate Pride. With over fifteen years in the industry, Lockard began his career at DC Comics in the Talent Relations department and later the editorial team of the Vertigo imprint. Working freelance since 2015, editorial clients and their publishers have included: Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, Comixology Originals, DSTLRY, the Stout Club, and more. He lives and works in Jersey City with enough houseplants to qualify as “rainforest.”
James Tynion IV has announced the formation of a new independent production house, Tiny Onion, with aggressive plans across the publishing, film, television, and animation industries. Tynion is known for comic series such as Something is Killing the Children, The Department of Truth, The Nice House on the Lake, and W0RLDTR33.
Tiny Onion is backed by a seed investment from Lyrical Media, the Los Angeles and New York-based company that develops, produces, and finances unique stories across multi-media formats, including film, television, video games, podcasts, and graphic novels.
In the comics space, Tiny Onion is bringing together the brightest minds in behind-the-scenes comic book production to staff up a full-service independent editorial and design team. Following the principles that have brought Tynion’s work success in the comics market, the team will seek to identify creative partners and elevate them, curating and packaging the titles before bringing them to the company’s publishing partners across the industry. Tiny Onion will not operate as a publisher itself, but rather an independent creative services company with a footprint across many publishers, including BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, DSTLRY, and Image Comics.
Leading Tiny Onion’s editorial team is Eric Harburn, who helped Tynion and co-creator Werther Dell’Edera develop Something is Killing the Children into one of the most successful comic book franchises of the last decade during his time at publisher BOOM! Studios. While at BOOM!, Harburn also served as editor of the Keanu Reeves comic book series, BRZRKR, which launched with one of the most successful comic book Kickstarter campaigns of all time. Joining Harburn are Courtney Menard (formerly of Z2 Comics) as Director of Production, and Jazzlyn Stone (formerly independent) as Director of Communications.
While its roots lay in comics, Tiny Onion has ambitions in other media. The company will manage a significant portion of Tynion’s backlist of intellectual property and is in the process of developing a slate of new projects across the film, television, and animation industries. UTA, who represents James Tynion IV and Lyrical Media, will now represent Tiny Onion in media rights, where it will help the production company grow its producing profile across film and television.
