Tag Archives: toben racicot

To survive the night, enemies must become allies… Discover Beneath in July

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To survive the night, enemies must become allies… Mad Cave Studios has announced Beneath—a gritty horror graphic novel from acclaimed showrunner and filmmaker Steven S. DeKnight and celebrated comics artist Michael Gaydos, with letters by Toben Racicot. Originally released as a comiXology Original, Beneath is a visceral story of survival, suspicion, and the terrifying unknown.

Deputy Sheriff Jess Delgado is tasked with transporting the sole survivor of a mysterious attack along the Texas-Mexico border to CoreCivil, a for-profit immigration detention center closing down due to widespread protests. Housing only a handful of remaining detainees and manned by a skeleton crew of disgruntled guards, the detention center becomes a desperate battleground when something otherworldly emerges from deep below the earth. Something that only fears the light. Deputy Delgado must pull together the guards and detainees—two groups that hate and fear each other—to survive the night. Or fall to the vengeance of the things that live Beneath.

To survive the ultimate horror, they must confront what lurks below the surface. A definite on the pull list for those who love Something is Killing the Children, Infidel, Unearth, and The Walking Dead. 

Beneath arrives in comic shops and bookstores on July 15, 2025.

Beneath

Exclusive Preview: Beneath the new US Mexico border horror ogn by filmmaker Steven DeKnight

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In Beneath, Deputy Sheriff Jess Delgado is tasked with transporting the sole survivor of a mysterious attack along the Texas-Mexico border to Core Civil, a for-profit immigration detention center that is about to be closed down due to wide-spread protests. Housing only a handful of remaining detainees and manned by a skeleton crew of disgruntled guards, the detention center becomes a desperate battle ground when something otherworldly emerges from deep below the earth. Deputy Delgado must pull together the guards and detainees – two groups that hate and fear each other – to survive the night or fall to the vengeance of the things that lurk beneath.

Beneath is from filmmaker Steven S. DeKnight is best known as the creator and head writer of the Starz series Spartacus and as the showrunner of Netflix’s Daredevil series. Having written comics for Marvel Comics, including Conan and Wastelanders: Wolverine, DeKnight makes his creator-owned comics debut with the original graphic novel Beneath, which features hauntingly terrifying art by acclaimed Alias artist and Jessica Jones co-creator Michael Gaydos. With Beneath, DeKnight and Gaydos head to the Texas-Mexico border for a supernatural horror story unlike any other. The book features graphic design by Cindy Leong, lettering by Toben Racicot, and was edited by Allison O’Toole; Kate Sánchez served as a cultural consultant and translator. Beneath is available now, from Amazon’s Comixology Originals exclusive digital content line.

We have an exclusive look at the graphic novel!

Beneath

Slightly Exaggerated gets a paperback edition from Dark Horse

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Comics explorers craving the artistic depth and wonder of Studio Ghibli with the epic and daring of Tomb Raider will find their next adventure in Slightly Exaggerated. Initially available on their successful Kickstarter, writer Curtis Clow, artist Pius Bak, colorists Roman Titov, and Eva De La Cruz, and letterer Toben Racicot partner with Dark Horse Comics to collect issues #1 through #4 together in a new paperback collection.

A dying treasure hunter must steal back a sacred artifact from a crazed cult leader to restore order before her sickness overcomes her, in a new, fantasy world where religion is the law.

Set in a land where Sky-whales and airships populate the horizon, this action-packed story follows Mia and her companion Winston, caught in a scheme well outside their comprehension. Mia’s talent for treasure-finding has dragged them into peril, with factions waging war to obtain three sacred relics capable of granting a person the power of a god. A terminally-ill adventurer in a race against everyone, Mia is prepared to sacrifice everything to save her friends.

Slightly Exaggerated arrives in trade paperback on bookstore shelves on July 9, 2024, and comic shops on July 10, 2024. Pre-order at your local comic shop, bookstore, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble for $19.99. 

Slightly Exaggerated

This spring the Gods are real but they are not good … they are Fallen.

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Centuries ago the Gods were cast out of the heavens and forced to live for an eternity on Earth.  Ensconced in the nightlife of 1980s Manhattan, the pantheons have fallen into warring crime families, controlling mankind with illicit dreams and substances.  A mid the neon lights and glistening streets something has begun hunting the gods and inter-family war is sure to break out, and sure to spill into the mortal realm, unless private eye Casper Clay can find the hunter and stop him for good.  This spring the Gods are real but they are not good … they are Fallen.

A blend of Miami Vice neon-noir, mythology and classic pulp fiction, Fallen is an unfamiliar trip down some familiar paths.

Inside this nest of gods, demi-gods, monsters and men is a world of greed and betrayal, just like Homer would have wanted it.  Gang warfare is coming, but like no war anyone has seen before.

The Gods are Fallen this Spring from Red 5 Comics. Written by Matt Ringel, art by Henry Ponciano, and lettering by Toben Racicot.

Fallen #1

Beastlands: Keepers of the Kingdom in June 2022

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In a medieval fantasy world filled with powerful companion creatures known as “keepers,” one boy and his friends are on a quest to find his missing father. Beastlands: Keepers of the Kingdom, from Curtis Clow, writer of The Wild Cosmos, and Jo mi-Gyeong, powerhouse artist of Eve and The Dark Crystal, with letters from Toben Racicot, is the heartfelt fantasy adventure you’ve been waiting for!      

Tensions rise as the angsty teens run out of clues and face unexpected peril at every turn. A grieving tyrant has outlawed keepers from the land and sent his murderous soldiers to exterminate every one of the beasts they can find. Mac, Ava, and Ping will have their friendship tested as they struggle, tooth and claw, to save each other and as many keepers as they can.

Beastlands: Keepers of the Kingdom trade paperback will be in available everywhere books are sold June 28, 2022. It is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local comic shop and bookstore. Beastlands: Keepers of the Kingdom will retail for $19.99.

Beastlands: Keepers of the Kingdom

Review: The Leaders of the Free World #1

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The Leaders of the Free World #1

When I was in the military, whenever we had an emergency with geopolitical consequences or not, we had a term for it. It’s still called “contingency operations.” We had to follow rules of engagement for such situations to ensure the safety of everyone involved. This would normally include us being deployed for something we had trained in.

Of course, nothing is anything like what you expected. Even if it’s anywhere near what you trained for you’re still surprised. Though, you may not show it. I’ve done a few of these missions while serving. We usually get a hodgepodge of personalities. The enlisted are just trying to do their job while the officers jockey for position. Often, at the end of the day, we all know what we’re there for, and that is paramount to whatever egos people bring. In the debut issue of The Leaders Of The Free World, we get a few superheroes who pretty much get thrown together to fight .evil all of them have a stake in.

We meet Cong Li, a mostly normal teenager whose life is full of distractions. He’s also a superhero. The reader finds out pretty quickly how the “Godsend” came into being. They’re this world’s super team, where one superhero protects each country. A world war forced this division and a third of the world’s population was lost during this conflict. We also find out that Cong Li currently occupies the legendary title of Monkey King. Not born in China, instead, Cong was born in the Bay area in California where racism and ignorance are rampant. We also meet Illyas Godfrey, the Son Of Gaia, whose public persona is that of a wrestler Brother Nature. There’s also Doohickey Cyborgi, a Korg, who can change into any weapon. The various characters come together for a mission of saving the world.

Overall, the comic is a thrilling debut which seeks to not tell the typical superhero story and does so exceedingly well. The story by Corey Lakel Pruitt is exciting, smart, and well characterized. The art by the creative team is stunning. Altogether, a story that shows that no matter how crowded the genre, new superheroes can still gleam with the best of them.

Story: Corey Lakel Pruitt
Art: Eli Johnson, Ros Hughes, and Toben Racicot
Story: 10 Art:  9.4 Overall: 9.7 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Zachariah Thorn #2

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Zachariah Thorn #2

It’s been 10 years since Zachariah Thorn inadvertently tore the veil between our world and the darkness beyond. Now his dark gift is his only weapon in his quest to banish the evil he has wrought.

Eli Merric has pulled Zach from his self imposed exile. The two returned home to aid in the banishment of a trio of Howlers who had taken root in the psyche of Cynthia, the young niece of their long time friend AJ Jordan.

With Cynthia now free of the Howlers’ thrall, Zach and his friends begin to shake loose the rust of their relationships…

…but old wounds have a habit of reopening.

It hasn’t quite been ten years since I read Indigo Comics Zachariah Thorn #1 (reviewed here), not even close if I’m being honest, but it has been some time (about three years if we look at the publication date of the first review). I am happy to say that even after all that time I was still able to pick up this long awaited second issue without the need to reread the first.

I was immediately drawn back into Scott Reichert‘s story as if I’d never left – but if this the first you’ve heard of Zachariah Thorn then fear not! You can get the entire first issue for free if you check out the link below, and the sequel is available for a steal of a deal right now (there’s another link below) on comiXology. And honestly, for 99cents, this is a fantastic deal for the two issues of Zachariah Thorn.

A comic that has echoes of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files books in the setting (in that it’s a modern day magic based story with a well loved yet slight rogue star)Zachariah Thorn is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, with the world having a fully realized feel – even if the reader may not be totally aware of the history, it’s evident that Reichert has the details written down somewhere. We’re given exactly what we need to follow the story within the comic, and just enough to drive our interest further into the series with the subsequent issues.

Zachariah Thorn has a lot  about it that I really enjoyed – and for the price you’ll pay for this book, there’s absolutely no reason not to check out the two comics in the series thus far. 

Story: Scott Michael Reichert Art: Kristian Rossi
Colours Robert John Reichert Letters: Toben Racicot
Story: 8.3 Art: 8.8 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Zachariah Thorn #2 is available on ComiXology for $0.99 now. You can read the first issue for free here if you need a refresher on the story.

Review: Mister Crowley #1

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The first time I watched the movie Evil Dead was years ago and it genuinely freaked me out. It centered a man Ash Williams who goes up to a cabin with his girlfriend and three pals. There, they find an old book whose text if spoken would unleash demons and evil spirits. Of course, the movie was never a hit when it came out. Thanks to Blockbuster Video and VHS many fans like me would find the movie years after and become rabid fans of what would become cult classic movie series. The movies, which were both scary and fun, made itself its own genre as it is defined as horror but is quite unlike the rest of the genre. This is mostly due to Bruce Campbell’s performance and what he brought to the movies, and to the television series, which lived in the same vein and was just as hilarious. It is also made the occult, somewhat tangible, as many creators dipped their toes in this genre, with mixed results.

One of the better takes is Hellblazer or John Constantine, depending on when you found the character and who wrote it. The character has a wicked sense of humor and a pragmatic sensibility. In Mister Crowley we find another protagonist within this world whose fight has just begun.

Taking possession of a stoner’s body, the ghost of a restless occultist tracks the only entity to defeat him while fending off demon bounty hunters and other paranormal threats. We meet a young man, Douglas, who awakens in a hospital to hear some orderlies talk about his recent outburst. He slowly gets himself together, he hears the same voice that caused his recent episode that helps him escape. This same voice guides him to another room, where an evil spirit, known as the Vanatu, has possessed a young woman’s body. As he escapes, Douglas finds out that Aleister Crowley is what inhabits him and has given him the power he has shown.

Overall, the comic is an enjoyable entry into this wild world where everyone is more than they appear, as eyes will deceive. The story by Dan Ball is fast, action packed, and layered. The art by the creative team is vivid and alluring. Altogether, an excellent book which is more than a welcome addition in the horror comic genre.

Story: Dan Ball Art: CJ Oechsle, Jon-Peter Buzio, and Toben Racicot
Story: 9.4 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy