AHOY Comics Returns! June Brings All New Releases About The End of the World, Billionaires Behaving Badly, & Cats (in Space)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

AHOY Comics Returns in June

All New Releases About The End of the World, Billionaires Behaving Badly, And Cats (in Space)

(June 1, 2020) AHOY Comics—the Syracuse-based, independent publisher that pledged for readers to “expect more” from its line of comic book magazines and graphic novels—will resume publishing new comic book magazines in June. “The world pandemic has caused some problems with serialized comics publishing, particularly for small publishers like us,” said AHOY Comics Publisher Hart Seely. “But if there was ever a year that demonstrated the need for laugh-out-loud funny books that are actually funny, it is the year that is 2020. And AHOY Comics will be there for readers and retailers alike.”

AHOY Comics’ updated summer publishing schedule includes:

• ASH & THORN, a 5-issue miniseries by bestselling writer Mariah McCourt (True Blood, Stitched), artist Soo Lee (Analog Sci-Fi Magazine, Charlie’s Angels vs. the Bionic Woman), and colorist Pippa Bowland (2000AD), with lettering by Rob Steen and covers by legendary artist Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother, Wonder Woman: True Amazon). 

Originally scheduled to debut on April Fool’s Day, the highly-anticipated debut issue #1 of ASH & THORN will be published on June 24, 2020, followed by issue #2 on July 8, issue #3 on July 29, issue #4 on August 19, and issue #5 on September 9, 2020. 

“ASH & THORN has an engaging, offbeat heroine, an amusing supporting cast, and a fun premise that suggests life experience counts, especially when demons are about to overrun the world. Come for the company, stay for the adventure. You’ll be glad you did!”

—Louise Simonson

“How refreshing to see women of a Certain Age be heroines for a change, says this woman of a Certain Age!  You don't have to be a teenager to battle demons!”

—Trina Robbins

“What if the Chosen One isn’t a nubile young girl, a hot young dude, but a mature woman with life experience, some attitude, and no f*#cks given. ASH & THORN answers that question. Very amusing, fun and highly recommended.”

—Colleen Doran

• BILLIONAIRE ISLAND, a 6-issue miniseries by acclaimed writer Mark Russell (Second Coming) and artist Steve Pugh (Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass), and colorist Chris Chuckry, with lettering by Rob Steen. Issue 1 features a cover by series artist and co-creator Steve Pugh and a variant cover by bestselling artist Pia Guerra (Y The Last Man). 

The critically acclaimed series returns on July 1, 2020 with an all new second issue, followed by issue #3 on July 22, issue #4 on August 12, and issue #5 on September 16.

“Mark Russell and Steve Pugh reteam for another devastating satire…..Sick of seeing billionaires try to buy their way into elected office? Getting worried about global pandemics and accelerating climate change while you read articles about how the super-rich are planning their own private apocalyptic failsafes? Then BILLIONAIRE ISLAND is a comic for you.” 

—ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

“The most intelligent, jaw-dropping, razor sharp, impeccably-timed comic you'll read this week or possibly ever.”—COMICBOOK.COM

"A nasty piece of art that bares its teeth at the 1% with a level of bloodlust not seen nearly enough in the graphic medium."—CBR

• CAPTAIN GINGER SEASON 2: DOGWORLD, a 6 issue mini-series by acclaimed writer Stuart Moore (Bronze Age Boogie) and artists June Brigman (Power Pack) and Roy Richardson, and colorist Veronica Ghandini, with lettering by Rob Steen. 

CAPTAIN GINGER: DOGWORLD, which had two issues published at the time of lockdown, will complete its serialization in exclusive digital editions from Comixology. The first new issue of CAPTAIN GINGER SEASON 2: DOGWORLD, issue 3, will be released digitally on June 10, followed by issue 4 on July 8, issue 5 on August 5, and issue 6 on September 2.

“Readers can look forward to more space-cat drama, including a massive starship crash, a small tragedy, and Captain Ginger’s stranded crew will finally make first contact with the mysterious, intelligent dogs—who MAY or may NOT play poker in their spare time,” said co-creator and writer of CAPTAIN GINGER, Stuart Moore.  

Each upcoming issue of CAPTAIN GINGER: DOGWORLD will contain a special Digital Bonus Book at no additional cost: issue #3 features DRAGONFLY & DRAGONFLYMAN #1, issue #4 features BILLIONAIRE ISLAND # 1, issue #5 features BRONZE AGE BOOGIE #1, and issue #6 will feature will feature a selection from EDGAR ALLAN POE'S SNIFTER OF TERROR, including Hunt Emerson's Black Cat comics.

In June, AHOY will also be publishing the trade paperback of DRAGONFLY & DRAGONFLYMAN, the prequel to the dazzling series THE WRONG EARTH—by writer Tom Peyer, artist Peter Krause, colorist Andy Troy, and letterer Rob Steen. The trade paperback will be released in comic book stores on June 3rd and in bookstores on June 16th.

“There was no one-size-fits-all solution for AHOY’s publishing schedule, so we took a creative approach,” said Kit Caoagas, AHOY Comics’ Marketing Associate. “There was a long anticipation for the debut of ASH & THORN and issue 1 was already printed and at Diamond, so we wanted to get that to market as soon as possible. BILLIONAIRE ISLAND had one issue published before the lockdown, so we’ve decided to resume publication as soon as possible on a slightly accelerated schedule, with an eye toward getting the trade paperback out in the fall, as originally planned. And, after a long hiatus, it just didn’t make sense to resume print publication of the second season of CAPTAIN GINGER. As with all AHOY books, we’ll release the trade paperback of CAPTAIN GINGER: DOGWORLD in print and digital on schedule, so that old-school sci fi fans and cat fanatics can read the whole story in their preferred format.”

Originally scheduled for release this summer, as part of the company’s fourth wave of releases, PENULTIMAN, the new super hero title by Tom Peyer and Alan Robinson, will be resolicited at a later date. 

"The plan is to postpone PENULTIMAN far enough into the future that we'll have the technology to send it back into the past, so it won't be as long a wait as it will be," said Peyer.

For more updates on AHOY Comics, visit them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

PRESS RELEASE: Gaelstone Media Announces Acquisition of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Crossover Character Panda Khan

Gaelstone Media Announces Acquisition of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Crossover Character Panda Khan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ONTARIO, CANADA: Gaelstone Media Group, the studio known for the upcoming Amazon Prime Original Series Action Mice, announced its full acquisition of the classic 80s character Panda Khan. The iconic panda is well-known to nostalgia lovers who remember him as a regularly featured character in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book crossovers. Toy collectors will recall that Panda Khan also made an appearance as an action figure in Playmates original TMNT toy line back in 1990. While the Panda Khan character is completely recognizable to Turtles fans and toy collectors of the 90s, he was never featured in the highly popular Ninja Turtles cartoon show.

"We at Gaelstone were so very fortunate to meet Dave Garcie and Monica Sharp, the amazingly kind and generous creators of such a timeless character," says Jon Robert Bryans, CEO, Founder and Co-Creative Director of Gaelstone Media. "It was enormous for us, and we worked so hard to make it happen."

Now in Gaelstone’s hands, the beloved character will experience a pop culture resurgence, with the company planning to place the panda in newly developed comic book and animated adventures.

"I wanted to grow the brand of Panda Khan into something it wasn’t the first time around, but deserved to be," Jon Robert Bryans continues. "Panda Khan does come with pre-existing lore in the comic books, but we will be taking him in a slightly different direction with the animated series. We at Gaelstone Media have created a universe (not unlike the MCU Marvel Cinematic Universe) and Panda Khan was a perfect addition to our universe, The Anthroverse."

Jon Robert Bryans of Gaelstone Media is available for interviews to discuss Panda Khan, its acquisition, development plans for the character, or any of the other franchises and properties Gaelstone Media has in its portfolio. Please reply to this email to schedule an interview.

Gaelstone’s website www.gaelstonemedia.com and social media links are available here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gaelstonemedia/

Panda Khan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pandakhananimatedseries/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaelstonemedia/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GaelStoneMedia

Power Morphicon Convention Postpones to June 2021

For Immediate Release:

Los Angeles, CA: On Wednesday April 29^th, 2020 the Power Morphicon Convention announced the show’s official postponement. While originally scheduled to take place over Labor Day Weekend 2020 (September 4-6^th), the event will now take place June 18-20^th, 2021 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California. Event staff have confirmed that all memberships have been automatically rolled over to the newly confirmed 2021 date, and that anyone unable to attend will be upgraded to a non-attending membership free of charge. New memberships will be available for purchase later this year.

News of the show’s postponement comes in the wake of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has shaken the public events industry across the entire country. In order to protect attendees and guests, Power Morphicon’s promoter Scott Zillner knew that that postponement of the 2020 convention was the smartest and safest thing to do for all parties involved.

“Like nearly everyone around the world right now, we have been following the COVID-19 crisis very carefully,” Zillner said in an official statement. “It has caused many restrictions in how large events can be conducted. Because of these restrictions and the impact of COVID-19 in the state of California, we are not able to hold our event this year. It is with a heavy heart that we are announcing the postponement of Power Morphicon 2020.”

But with the announcement of Power Morphicon 2020’s postponement, PMC staff brought some happy news alongside it, confirming that there would indeed be convention exclusives for the new 2021 event!

“COVID-19 caused production delays all over the world. We became unsure if any of our exclusive items would be ready in time for the September 2020 show,” Scott Zillner shared. “We have been working diligently with Hasbro and Super7, who will be supplying the next round of PMC Exclusive items. With PMC postponed to June 2021, we have our exclusives confirmed and they will be ready for members and attendees to buy without issue.”

Additional information can be found on Power Morphicon Convention’s website and social media, as well as their up to date FAQ portion of the site.

Official Power Morphicon Convention website: https://officialpowermorphicon.com/

Official Power Morphicon Convention Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Official-Power-Morphicon-Convention-226350690636/

Official Power Morphicon Convention Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialpowermorphicon/

Official Power Morphicon Convention Twitter: https://twitter.com/PowerMorphicon

Josie and the Pussycats in Space by Alex de Campi Available Now From ComiXology Originals

Graphic Novel Available for the First Time Today, Wednesday, April 22, 2020 from comiXology Originals

“A mixture of cosmic comedy... and chilling alien mystery.” –Screen Rant

Josie and the Pussycats in Space

by Alex de Campi and artist Devaki Neogi

ComiXology and Archie Comics, join forces to bring readers Josie and the Pussycats in Space. The famous musical group Josie and the Pussycats are the hottest band on tour with the USO. But with fame and fortune comes turmoil as internal conflicts are threatening to tear the group apart. But that's nothing compared to the alien horrors Josie, Valerie, and Melody are about to encounter as they find themselves adrift in the vastness of outer space! Even if the Pussycats manage to stick together as a band, will they be able to survive the horrors that await them in the final frontier? 

Part of the comiXology Originals line of exclusive content, Josie and the Pussycats in Space is available upon release to read at no additional cost to members of comiXology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited and Prime through Prime Reading, and for purchase on Kindle and comiXology.

For more updates on comiXology Originals, check out http://comixologyoriginals.com.

INTRODUCING A HORROR, MYSTERY SERIES FROM THE WRITER OF CRIMINAL AND THE ARTIST OF THE PRIVATE EYE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

INTRODUCING A NEW SERIES FROM THE WRITER OF CRIMINAL 

AND THE ARTIST OF THE PRIVATE EYE, AVAILABLE NOW ON PANEL SYNDICATE

ED BRUBAKER, MARCOS MARTIN & MUNTSA VICENTE SURPRISE READERS WITH 

FRIDAY, A POST-YA HORROR SERIES

“This book feels like Lovecraft's New England is colliding with Edward Gorey's.”

—Writer Ed Brubaker

April 15, 2020) Award-winning writer Ed Brubaker, acclaimed artist Marcos Martin, and colorist Muntsa Vicente have surprised readers with the debut of FRIDAY, a previously unannounced comic on Panel Syndicate. In the series, Friday Fitzhugh—girl detective—and Lancelot Jones—her best friend and also the smartest boy in the world—spent their childhoods solving crimes and digging up occult secrets. But that was years ago. And now Friday is in college and starting a new life on her own. She’s moved on. Until she returns home for the holidays and is immediately pulled back into Lance's orbit. This is literally the Christmas vacation from Hell and neither of them may survive to see the New Year. FRIDAY Chapter One, “The Girl in the Trees,” is available now on Panel Syndicate in English and Spanish, with fans paying what they want to read the story. 

“One of the first things I said to Marcos was that this book feels like Lovecraft's New England is colliding with Edward Gorey's,” said Brubaker. “And I like to describe FRIDAY as post-YA, which is a genre that doesn't really exist. It’s an idea I've been circling for a long time, that lets me tap into my own nostalgia for my youth and the YA books I loved back in the 70s and 80s - stuff like The Great Brain, or John Belliars books, or Harriet the Spy, or Encyclopedia Brown. I want to take that concept of the teen detective and those supernatural mysteries aimed at kids, but then let the protagonists grow up, so they have all the same problems we all do... and they encounter a much more dangerous world.”

FRIDAY marks the first major collaboration between Brubaker and Martin.

“Ed Brubaker has always been one of my favorite comic book writers,” said Martin. “There’s a unique quality to his writing, like a sober sadness that permeates all his work and always shines through, whether it's on his crime noir stories with artist extraordinaire Sean Phillips or on his superhero projects at Marvel or DC. We had the chance to collaborate briefly on a Captain America Annual almost 15 years ago and I remembered the experience fondly, so when the time came last year to start thinking about what creator owned project I wanted to tackle next, I was hoping he’d had a similar positive memory of our past work together. But most importantly, I had his email address.”

“When Marcos wrote to me last summer asking if I wanted to work with him on his next big thing for Panel Syndicate, I think I wrote back within a minute to say yes,” said Brubaker. “I've been a longtime fan and watching his style evolve over the years has been amazing, and I was also really interested in what he and Brian K Vaughan created when they released The Private Eye on Panel Syndicate. For a while now a lot of cartoonists I follow—like Emily Carroll and Tillie Walden—have been publishing their work digitally as they complete it, and then putting out these gorgeous collections in print, and I've been curious to try something like that... to serialize a graphic novel in chapters, then put out the book in print (and knowing me, with all sorts of extras) when it's done.”

“I had been wanting to experiment a bit with my drawing style and get away from my comfort zone for a while now, contemplating the possibility of cross-hatching, a technique I’ve never really looked into,” said Martin. “So when Ed pitched me the idea for FRIDAY with its mixture of Edward Gorey and Lovecraft set in a New England-ish town in the late 60s/early 70s, I was surprised to find the concept fit perfectly with what I was hoping to develop.”

FRIDAY will be released on Panel Syndicate in two formats: one for computers and laptops where it's a double-page spread, and one for iPad, where it's a single page view. In 2013, Marcos Martin founded the online platform Panel Syndicate with writer Brian K. Vaughan and illustrator/colorist Muntsa Vicente, in order to distribute their creator-owned comic, The Private Eye. 

“Panel Syndicate was born as an example of a distribution model I felt was fair to both readers and creators, and eventually, comic publishers and retailers who can make more informed decisions with the books they were publishing and stocking on their shelves,” said Martin. “Our payment model also establishes a direct relationship between readers and creators. As creators, we're responsible for creating quality comics to the best of our abilities, and the reader then gets to decide the value they think those comics have, according to their own perception and personal circumstances.”

“When we started work on the series last summer, we had no idea our surprise drop would come during a global pandemic, with a comic market that's completely shut down," said Brubaker. "But I know that my level of reading comics and books, and marathoning everything on Netflix, has gone through the roof the last month, so hopefully FRIDAY will be a nice surprise for comic readers today, and maybe a small escape from the real world right now.”

###

Introducing SILVER's Stephan Franck's New Graphic Novel Series

For Immediate Release:

Cartoonist Stephan Franck Launches PALOMINO on Kickstarter 

An All New, Neo Noir Graphic Novel Series, 

Set In The Lost Culture of Los Angeles' Country Music Clubs

(April 13, 2020) The year is 1981. The American Century is running on fumes, but the end isn't anywhere in sight. The cowboy is still America's most central symbol—and from movies, to music, to the President himself, it all hails from Southern California. Welcome to PALOMINO, cartoonist Stephan Franck’s all new neo noir graphic novel series, set in the lost culture of Los Angeles’ country music clubs. 

The age of urban cowboys is in full swing. Cowboy hats and rhinestone suits are all the rage. Kenny Rogers “Lady” is Billboard’s number three song of the year. Dolly Parton is a national icon. And across LA, six nights a week, working musicians, TV actors, stuntmen, cops, hustlers, and broken souls all play their part in the cultural myth making. Most of them are just trying to survive—on the B-side of the City of Angels. 

Stephan Franck is an award-nominated animator, writer, and director who has worked on some of the most beloved animated films of all time, including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Iron Giant, and currently is Head of Animation on the MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE’s first animated series WHAT IF? For the last five years, Franck has been writing, illustrating and publishing SILVER, a graphic novel series that mashes up the world of Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula with action, adventure, humor, pulp storytelling and modern sensibilities. 

And now Franck and his company, Dark Planet Comics, are launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund PALOMINO, the first part of a planned four-part graphic novel series. PALOMINO captures Los Angeles’ spirit, with hardboiled dialogue, honkytonk music, and details from the city's weird and forgotten history. 

“Cowboy culture is central to California’s history,” said Stephan Franck. “It came out west with the Dust Bowl Okie migration that Steinbeck depicted in Grapes of Wrath, showed up again in Easy Rider and the hippy generation’s cosmic cowboys, and in one form or another sold the American century to the world and to America itself. On one level, PALOMINO is about the lost subculture of LA’s country western music scene of the 1980’s, but it’s also about people living inside the myth-making machine, motivated by the belief that, here in the west, you can always reinvent yourself.”  

At the center of PALOMINO is a unique father-daughter relationship. Eddie Lang’s an ex-cop turned working musician with big dreams, but dreams don’t pay the rent. So Eddie reluctantly works as a private investigator to provide for his teenage daughter, Lisette. Eddie and Lisette share an unbreakable bond and a dry sense of humor. But they’re stuck. They’re haunted by a terrible loss and an unsolved crime that looms large over their lives. They’re running out of time to fix their family.  And just as things seem at a stalemate, a new murder case upends their lives.  

This is PALOMINO — where Farrah Fawcett hair reigns supreme, where Ronald Reagan is beginning his first term as President, and where LA’s hottest music spot is North Hollywood's historic Palomino Club. 

Here is what people are saying about Stephan Franck’s PALOMINO: 

“Well hot damn. To quote the great Bob Wills, the King of Western Swing, ‘AHAHH!!’ What makes a great and engaging narrative for me is frequently the synergy of character and place, of mise en scene…and to be blunt, Stephan Franck, in his new book, PALOMINO, delivers on those fronts in spades. His people, populating a beautifully depicted, too rarely examined piece of real estate in 1980s Los Angeles, are familiar and real, without ever becoming archetypes. To be clear, it’s been at least a decade since I’ve taken such unalloyed pleasure in reading a comic book. Trust me on this.”

—Howard Chaykin, legendary creator of American Flagg

"This is fucking awesome."—Tod Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of Gangsterland

"With page one, Stephan Franck hooked me with his noir-styled use of line and shadow. As the story unfolded, I found myself transported to a seedy world full of jaded yet funny, colorful characters all out for something and willing to use violence to get it. Oh, and did I mention PALOMINO is set in L.A.? More please.”—Shawn Martinbrough, artist of Thief of Thieves, author of How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling

“Franck's latest neo-noir graphic-novel PALOMINO reads like a free-flowing gust of pure creativity, all the while unfolding with implacable structure.”—Elsa Charretier (November, Harley Quinn)

“Fans of the Coen Brothers will dig what Franck does in PALOMINO--he’s created a gritty noir in a corner of time and space that some would overlook as inconsequential. Instead Franck draws and writes characters that leap off the page--you can almost smell the beer and denim.” 

—Marco Finnegan, writer/artist of the forthcoming Lizard in a Zoot Suit and artist of CROSSROAD BLUES: A NICK TRAVERS Graphic Novel

“A dark, moody piece that’s rife with colorful characters and a killer setting, Stephan Franck’s PALOMINO is the rare noir that nods to all of the genre’s recognizable tropes but also crafts something new, memorable, and chilling. Enjoy the ride.” —Alex Segura, acclaimed author of The Black Ghost, and the Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery novels

“Strap on your western belt buckle for this ride through the other side of Los Angeles. Stephan Franck’s knowledge of place and well-wrought characters echo long after the last page turn. Like in all great noir, the ghosts are knocking, and Franck’s surefire world building is a whiskey-soaked, Honky Tonk tune of longing for an unreachable past.”—Jonathan Lang, acclaimed author of Meyer 

“PALOMINO reads like Spielberg took a cowboy story and wrapped it in noir. Jagged dialogue and sharp art take the reader into a story about dangerous people, high schoolers, and a world weary PI.  A great, fun read.”—Dave White, author of the Shamus Award Nominated Jackson Donne series

If funded through Kickstarter, pledges will be delivered to backers this summer. The PALOMINO Kickstarter campaign is live as of Monday, April 13th and runs for 30 days, here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darkplanetcomics/stephan-francks-palomino

For updates, follow Dark Planet Comics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.