10/13/16 @ 12:21 pm EST

Source: Bleeding Cool | Categories: Dynamite

A Writer’s Commentary: Fabrice Sapolsky talks Intertwined #1, on sale now from Dynamite. Cover and interiors by series artist Fred Pham Chuong.

[WARNING: Spoilers ahead!]





Let me start by saying that Intertwined #1 was supposed to be very different originally. What is now issue #0 was supposed to be the beginning of the story, but after talking about it with my editor, we changed the way the story was told. Instead of making it a linear story in a Once Upon a Time in America manner, we started following the hero’s journey from Hong Kong to the U.S., from random student to hero. But the first 13 pages were already written, drawn and colored. So I decided to cut it from the rest of issue #1 and make it a #0. The good thing about this is now issue #0 can be read before or after reading issue #1 without spoiling anything.

Page 1

In the original version, we start with a cool noir action scene. But, since we changed the menu, we couldn’t serve the same dish twice in a row. I opted for a dream sequence, for readers to have a peek at the cool world of the Spirits of WuXing in the first pages. The series now follows Juan’s POV. Starting in his head became obvious because, as you’ll see later in the series, the “astral” plane plays a big role. See… That’s what I like about Intertwined: it has different influences and layers. We have Noir, we have Kung Fu, but we also have pulp, Chinese folklore, magic, social justice and spiritual vibes. For issue #0, my inspiration was the opening scene from the first episode of the Batman Beyond cartoon and The Big Boss, the first Bruce Lee movie. In issue #1, I had to find something else, hence the dream sequence. But I didn’t want it to be an action scene. I wanted something showing Juan Jin’s personality and how we’d be more than just and action/kung fu series. You’ll see here and there, in each episode, some social background. In Intertwined, a lot is happening behind the scenes.



There’s a panel I rewrote multiple times, to get the right tone. It’s the one where Juan compares himself to Peter Pan, or an Asian version of Peter Pan. I like that nod to the J.M. Barrie hero who inspired many comic book writers. And I always found the Disney version, by far the most popular, conveyed some… let’s say questionable designs for the main character: he has almond eyes and rabbit teeth. Which is typical of ethnic sterotypes in caricatures and some comics of the 20th century (Ming in Flash Gordon, Egg Fu, Fu Manchu,…). This is a very sensitive and important matter for both Fred, my co-creator, whose family comes from Vietnam, and myself. Juan Jin is a positive, powerful, Asian modern superhero. He’s not sorry for who he is. He wasn’t born in the United States so he has a lot of problems understanding how the American society puts the “race factor” front and center. He doesn’t see himself as Asian or Chinese first. He’s a human being before anything else. With great values. But representation, inclusion and diversity are major topics in Intertwined.

Page 2

We’re introduced to the Spirits of WuXing for the first time. At least three of them (out of five). They have a problem. One Spirit is dead (the Spirit of the Earth) and they have to find a solution. How the Spirit died is what triggers a chain of events that will involve Juan Jin. This is a game-changer in the History of Spirits. Usually, when a Spirit dies, he’s replaced by someone he or she chose. But here, the Spirit died with no replacement and the remaining Spirits are freaking out. They feel they need to find that person themselves. They’ll, sort of, play the sorcerer’s apprentice and there will be consequences for that. But for now, they set their sights on Juan.



Page 3

Juan wakes up to “I Got You” from Sonny and Cher. It’s just me loving that wake-up scene from Groundhog Day and paying homage to it (laughs). It’s not easy to present a character in very few panels. Fred and I discussed that page a lot. I came up with the idea that he was so obsessed with his martial arts tournament, that he was practicing all the time. So he’d even practice in the shower. Fred even put impacts on the walls in that panel. That’s how much of a fighter Juan Jin is! Last panel, there’s also a poster for The Big Boss. Fred added that. He’s the ultimate Bruce Lee fan. I am, for sure. But Fred is the biggest fan ever. One of the reasons that brought us together is Bruce Lee. And with Intertwined, we’re also paying homage to those movies we’d rent at the video club and see in VHS when we were kids. From that perspective, Intertwined is a labor of love. And believe me when I say that Bruce Lee’s words and philosophy helped me a great deal making this book happen and trying to find my way, as an “alien worker” in America. I can’t stress enough how Intertwined is important for me as a writer and as a human being. It’s fiction, but it’s the kind you can relate to. Because, and even if a lot of people in the United States have forgotten that, we all come from somewhere else. And we have to find keys to happiness in a society that works differently than the one we were raised into. It’s like living in a parallel universe! It looks familiar, but it’s not.

Pages 4-5

On page 4, we see Juan going head to head with the Triads (the Chinese mob). There’s a little Triad emblem on the door of the mini-van one of them is driving (panel 3). This is real! The Chinese mafia has its own logo. It’s fascinating. These pages also have a Spider-Man feel to it. I guess I couldn’t help it. Can’t hide my Spider-Man Noir origins (laughs).

Pages 6-9

This is a classic! The scene between the master and the student. We’ve seen this one too many times in Kung Fu movies and even in Hollywood-made martial arts movies. The Master is important. But the student can also be as talented as he’s reckless, which is Juan’s case.



Page 10

In panel 1, Yuki is introduced. He’s one of the 6 real-life characters who are part of our series. Yuki is a Kickstarter backer of ours. Making him a character was part of his package. I decided to make him the hero’s best friend in Hong Kong. This is a challenge also for Fred as he wasn’t really used to draw likenesses. But I believe Yuki was pleased. This page also shows us the beginning of a funeral service in Hong Kong. When I was researching for the series, I came across all sorts of article which pointed out how difficult and expensive burials were in the little Chinese territory. At some points, you had to wait months until you could organize and decent funeral for your relatives. This is one of the many real life issues I like to talk about. I don’t read a lot of fiction, but I’m a huge news reader. Reality is, of course, an incredible source of inspiration for comic book writers.

Page 12

Lady Xia is in the house! It’s no mystery that I love writing strong female characters. And even more if they’re mysterious too. I have a female-centric comic book that I’ve been working on for years with Leila Leiz called Harem. Leila is now doing Alters at Aftershock and I’m doing Intertwined at Dynamite, but I’m confident that, at one point, we’ll be able to go back and finish Harem together.

For this one page, I simply said to Fred : “I want an Asian Audrey Hepburn”. And he designed the beautiful and deadly Lady Xia. In this issue, you don’t really understand who she is. You see her with mysterious men in the chapel. Then you see her with mobsters in the streets. She’s the unofficial leader of the Spirits. She’ll play a MAJOR role in the issues to come. Stay tuned!



Page 14-16

This scene has been very tough to write but I’m very pleased with the result. It seems very simple, but it’s not. It’s an ordinary scene. An interaction between Juan and his mother. There’s a lot there. I tried to capture the relationship between a mother and her son in 1970s Hong Kong society. She’s tough. She’s cold. She never makes physical contact with her son. But you can see how much she cares. Fred is more comfortable with action scenes than with emotional ones. But there, he completely knocked it in conveying the right level of emotion. Oh, and since we’re in the 1970s, the mom smokes. It has become rare in modern comics. Not that I’m promoting cigarettes, quite the contrary, but it’s what the character does. You know, just like Wolverine back in the day… Just sayin’.

Page 19-23

I wrote this big street fight scene while watching one of my favorite movies, IpMan, with Donnie Yen. For fight scenes, I loosely write and the heavy lifting is done by Fred. First, he LOVES drawing fight scenes, and he’s the Kung Fu expert! His father and grandfather were already practicing and teaching Kung Fu. And the Spirit of Fire character is based on his brother Alex who’s also invested in martial arts. Fred often told me he’d draw positions as accurately as possible, based on his own moves, mixed with the main Kung Fu stars styles (such as Bruce Lee, of course. But also Jet Li or Donnie Yen).

Pages 24-26

These pages are also very dear to me. It’s obvious, but Intertwined is deeply rooted in Asian culture. I got the idea while I was on a trip in Beijing in 2015. And I’ve been exposed to the Chinese world for a long time. My sister-in-law is Chinese and my brother, who’s a talented director, is fluent in Mandarin. He was even able to direct a movie, a web-series and many TV spots in that language with locals. That said, New York has always been a multi-cultural town. And the series was always going to reflect that. When page 24 opens, we’re on a boat. Juan has been dropped by sea pirates paid by Lady Xia on a boat that came from Haïti. Living in Brooklyn, I could realize how much the Haïtian community is generous, united and warm. I have Haïtian friends. We come from different countries, of course, but most of them speak French too, so we can easily communicate in a friendly way. And, just as there’s a lack of positive Asian heroes in comics, there’s a lack of Haïtian heroes too (because frankly, Marvel’s Brother Voodoo is so cliché). When I started talking about it with my friends, they were very happy and just said: “thank you”. They were honored. I intend to respect their culture and their personalities, just like all the characters in my books. I want to publicly thank my friend Roobens for helping me with Haïtian Creole too! There’s also a character named Antwan who’s based on Haïtian-Canadian stand-up comedian Anthony Kavanagh. Anthony is an old friend of my family. His career is in France now, but he always has been a comic book fan too. Antwan is set to become a new kind of hero. Hopefully, with success, I’ll be able to tell his story and show that Haïtian heroes are much more than voodoo-inspired characters!



Next?

You probably ask yourself this question: the creators said Intertwined was “Kung Fu Noir”, but it’s more Kung Fu than Noir. Yes and no. As I said, this is a journey. If you look closely at the Intertwined logo, you’ll see New York on the left and Hong Kong on the right. Juan Jin goes from “Happy HK” to “Dark Chinatown”. This doesn’t happen in an episode. Issue #2 is definitely more Noir-infused, with half the issue taking place in a rude prison facility. And it’s getting darker as we delve into the series. Be prepared. This is just the beginning!

04/19/24 @ 1:30 pm EST

Source: Deadline | Categories: MIsc

Joe Manganiello has come aboard to produce and star in Mountain Man, a zombie thriller set to enter production later this year, which will launch sales via Film Bridge International at Cannes. An adaptation of the popular book series of the same name from Keith C. Blackmore, Mountain Man tells the story of Gus, a lonely post-apocalyptic survivor facing isolation and the ever-present specter of a zombie attack, who struggles with alcohol abuse and suicidal thoughts until he discovers another survivor, a captivating woman who poses another threat altogether. John Lee (A24’s False Positive) will direct from a script by Matt Deller, with Nick and Joe Manganiello’s 3:59 producing alongside Danny Chan (Barbarian). (via Deadline)

04/19/24 @ 1:22 pm EST

Source: Deadline | Categories: Alien

Foundation star Sandra Yi Sencindiver has joined FX and Noah Hawley’s Alien series which is filming in Thailand. Exec-produced by Ridley Scott, the prequel series will be set towards the end of this century (franchise watchers estimate the date to be a few years before Prometheus, and some thirty years before Scott’s film). It’ll be the first project in the franchise to take place on Earth and has been reported to deal with the emergence of the story’s infamous Weyland-Yutani Corporation and the race between corporations to create new android life. The series will star Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav, Kit Young, Timothy Olyphant, David Rysdahl, Babou Cessay, Erana James, Lily Newmark and Adrian Edmonson. Deadline is reporting that Sencindiver appears in multiple episodes and will play a senior member of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. There is reportedly scope for the character to grow in future series.

04/19/24 @ 1:21 pm EST

Source: Marvel | Categories: Venom

Maximum Carnage. Absolute Carnage. King in Black. Every few years, the wild symbiote corner of the Marvel Universe erupts in a saga oozing with violence, drama, and insanity that only Venom and his kind can deliver. This August, the next milestone symbiote event arrives in Al Ewing and Iban Coello’s VENOM WAR. A master at planning out epic storylines, Ewing has been laying the foundation for VENOM WAR since the very beginning of his current run of Venom. Limitless in scope, the series has followed Eddie Brock and his son, Dylan, on separate journeys as the symbiote heroes. But after both have terrifying glimpses of the future, they realize only one of them can be Venom. Their father and son feud will become everyone’s problem as past and present symbiote characters alike are forced to take a side! LAST VENOM STANDING! The Venom Symbiote has bonded with both Eddie Brock and his son Dylan at different points. Now both Brocks are going head-to-head, determined to be the one, true Venom! Father versus son in a showdown of showdowns that threatens to tear the world asunder! From heavyweight talent champions Ewing and Coello comes a Battle for the ‘Biote like you’ve never seen! "This is what we've been building to since the start of this wild and way-out symbiote odyssey - the fateful confrontation between father and son!” Ewing explained. “Where better to have it than inside the squared circle? And who better to bring this all-action epic to the page with than my old buddy Iban Coello? I'm tellin' ya, goo believer -- this is vehemently varied Venom violence like never viewed, and only one host can wear the symbiote when the dust settles! Who's it gonna be?" Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for more VENOM WAR news, including tie-in series announcements.

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04/18/24 @ 5:32 pm EST

Source: Hollywood Reporter | Categories: Transformers

Paramount and Hasbro’s animated Transformers One is pushing back its release in theaters by one week in order to take advantage of Imax screens and to provide some breathing room from the competition.The film will now open Sept. 20, 2024, instead of Sept. 13. That gives it two weeks of distance from Sony’s Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice.Paramount revealed the date change as it launched a new trailer for Transformers One from nowhere other than space — a first for Hollywood, according to the studio. The launch kicked off at 6 a.m. PT with a livestreamed countdown showing the journey into space. After one hour, the craft reached its peak at 125,000 feet above the Earth, revealing the trailer with a custom introduction video from voice stars Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry. The star-studded voice cast also includes Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key and Steve Buscemi, with Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm. (via THR)

Trailer: https://youtu.be/u1rqoa8x7g4

04/18/24 @ 5:33 pm EST

Source: Marvel | Categories: Blood Hunt

On May 18, the next Marvel Comics crossover epic begins! From Avengers and Moon Knight scribe Jed MacKay and acclaimed X-Men artists Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia comes the bloodiest event in Marvel history--BLOOD HUNT! The saga kicks off when eternal night washes over Earth, and vampires, united by a single vision for the first time in millennia, emerge from the shadows. To keep them at bay, a new world order may need to be put in place… Today, fans can get a peek at the final issue of the main series, on sale in July. In BLOOD HUNT #5, Doctor Strange is presented with a dread bargain to gain a chance to save the world. The Avengers ride into a battle they cannot win. The dead battle the undead across the globe. Will it be enough? Will the world be saved, and how will it be changed if it is? Featuring a dramatic shift for the future of the Marvel Universe! Check out the BLOOD HUNT #5 cover and pick up the debut issue on May 1.

04/18/24 @ 11:37 am EST

Source: Top Cow | Categories: Witchblade

Top Cow is reimagining the hit supernatural thriller series Witchblade. The new series, coming July 2024, will be penned by NYT Best-Selling Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. Together, they will reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s die-hard fans with a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.Marguerite Bennett, who has been focused on writing for the upcoming Butterfly TV Series and Ark: The Animated Series, says, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

In Witchblade #1, New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini's life was forever fractured by her father's murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it? Through last year’s Witchblade Complete Collection Kickstarter, the world received a glimpse of Marc Silvestri’s Witchblade Armor redesign. But, a whole new universe has been created by Giuseppe Cafaro, who states, “The Witchbladeuniverse is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac!”Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”Witchblade #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. The Final Order Cutoff deadline for comic shop retailers is Monday, June 24th, 2024.

- Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
- Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
- Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover
- Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)
- Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)
- Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)
- Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)
- Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

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04/18/24 @ 11:27 am EST

Source: Image Comics | Categories: Image

The bestselling creators behind the three-time Hugo Award nominated, two-time British Fantasy Award winning series Die—Kieron Gillen (The Wicked + The Divine, Immortal X-men) and Stephanie Hans (Secret Wars 1602: Witch Hunter Angela, Black Bolt)—will reteam for their first ever original graphic novel collaboration to be titled, We Called Them Giants. This epic, post-apocalyptic story is scheduled to hit shelves in November from Image Comics. Gillen and Hans first made waves with their breakout hit dark fantasy Die in 2018. Die quickly caught reader attention and the series skyrocketed to the top of the sales charts and launched Hans’ career into superstardom. It went on to appear on many Best of the Year lists, including that of Tor.com, and snagged multiple award nominations and wins. "After we finished Die, we knew we wanted to do something completely different. Rather than a sprawling ongoing, do something smaller, intimate, self-contained and really pure,” said Gillen. “So, in the middle of the covid lockdowns, I was left alone with my cats, staring at them, and them staring at me, and thinking about the miracle of relationships between beings of completely different kinds of intelligences, and the wonder of the jump across that gap. The image of the feral girl in the devastation and the giants came quickly after that, and we were away. People will fall in love and have their hearts broken—the full Hans/Gillen experience. Despite the post-apocalypse setting the story has an almost weird-fable kind of vibe, and ends up basically as a conversation between The Walking Dead and The Iron Giant. Basically, We Called Them Giants is the story of communication across a chasm at the end of the world. Folks have seen what Stephanie does on a month-by-month rush on an ongoing comic. Here, it's a thrill to see her luxuriate—creating this single long story, and being able to shape the whole thing into a poignant, romantic, devastating single canvas." We Called Them Giants follows main character Lori, who wakes to find the streets empty. Everyone has gone. Or at least, nearly everyone. She’s thrown into a world where she has to scrape by in the ruins of civilization, nearly starving, hiding from gangs when… They arrive. Hans added: “As an Artist, it is always a joy to work on new challenges, especially when it is with such a great Writer. Kieron wrote an emotional story in which he let me go wild on designs. It’s a new, beautiful end of the world tale, a little bit epic, a bit nostalgic and a bit contemplative. It’s nothing like we did before. In all the best ways.” We Called Them Giants promises readers the poignant, romantic, and devastating story of a young girl who wakes up to find her world has turned upside down. "This book is nothing short of incredible," said Eric Stephenson, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer at Image Comics. "Kieron and Stephanie had already established themselves as one of comics’ premier creative teams, but they’re operating at a whole other level with We Called Them Giants." We Called Them Giants hardcover (ISBN: 978-1534387072) will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, October 30 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, November 12. We Called Them Giants will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

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04/18/24 @ 11:20 am EST

Source: Marvel | Categories: X-Men

Following Krakoa’s fall, it’s a dangerous time to be a mutant in the Marvel Universe. Luckily, Cyclops will step up to lead a formidable new team in Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman’s X-MEN #1. Today, fans can see three new variant covers for the debut issue! In MacKay and Stegman’s X-MEN, mutant business is Cyclops’ business as the first X-Man makes it his mission to keep hope alive for the species—by any means necessary! Cyclops’ group includes some of his most trusted soldiers like Psylocke, Magik, and Beast, the brightest of the next generation including Kid Omega and Temper, along with powerhouses like Magneto and Juggernaut. Raising a flag of defiance at their new base in Alaska, everyone in the world will soon know that if they want to go after mutantkind, they’ll have to go through them first! X-MEN, the first of three flagship titles set in the X-Men’s From the Ashes era, will have new variant covers including a group shot by celebrated X-Men artist Tony Daniel, a character spotlight by J. Scott Campbell that will also be available as a virgin variant cover, and a hidden gem piece by the legendary George Pérez, whose iconic depiction of Beast during his time with the Avengers inspired Stegman’s own take on the character! Check out the covers and preorder X-MEN #1 at your local comic ship today!

04/17/24 @ 10:24 pm EST

Source: Marvel | Categories: Ultimates

Following blockbuster series launches—ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER, and ULTIMATE X-MEN—the highly anticipated next title in Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe arrives this June: ULTIMATES! Directly spinning out of Jonathan Hickman’s foundation for the new Ultimate line, ULTIMATES will be written by Deniz Camp, known for his thought-provoking and socially relevant work on titles like Children of the Vault and 20th Century Men, and drawn by rising superstar Juan Frigeri, known for his acclaimed work on Invincible Iron Man. The series will introduce the all-new super hero team that will usher in the next wave of bold storytelling within the new Ultimate Universe. Months ago, Tony Stark sent Peter Parker a radioactive spider to set him back on the course to become Spider-Man. Since then, Iron Lad (Stark), Captain America, Doom, Thor, and Sif have begun to do the same for other lost heroes, building a network of super-powered heroes hungry for change… Over two years, they must band together to destroy the Maker’s Council and restore freedom and free will to a world ruled from the shadows. Fans can see their opening efforts in the all-new ULTIMATES #1 trailer, featuring never-before-seen artwork from both ULTIMATES #1 and FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2024: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN/ULTIMATE UNIVERSE #1. "The new Ultimates line is the most exciting super hero comics event in years, and it’s humbling to be a part of it!" Camp shared. “We are reinventing these classic characters and archetypes to be as surprising and vital as when they were first introduced. Our Ultimates is an evolution not just of the Avengers, but of the whole super hero team concept; from the grand and operatic to the small and personal, THE ULTIMATES will feel like no Avengers or Ultimates comic ever before! That's our ambition, anyway; tune in to find out if we succeed.“ In 2002, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s mega influential ULTIMATES series revolutionized the super hero epic, and its impact is still felt today! Now, 20 years later, Camp and Frigeri return the ULTIMATES to greatness with a modern take for a new world and a new generation of readers! The time has come for an ULTIMATE plan of action! Check out the trailer and preorder ULTIMATES #1 at your local comic shop today!

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04/17/24 @ 10:18 pm EST

Source: BOOM! Studios | Categories: MIsc

New York Times bestselling writer C.S. Pacat and lauded artist Johanna the Mad return to the high stakes world of Fence with FENCE CHALLENGERS: LONG SHOT, the next chapter in the Fence saga. The Kings Row fencers are fresh off of Halverton Training Camp and ready for State Championships, bringing with them the burden and blessing of a brand-new reputation as the underdog champions. As attraction rises between Nicholas and Seiji, the team will face old training rivals in their first match, but MacRob has a secret strategy that turns the tide… “The State championship begins! Everything the boys of Fence have fought for is on the line. Get ready for some epic showdowns–this is my favorite volume yet!” said bestselling author C.S. Pacat. “Kings Row heads on to a new challenge and they will need a lot more than just skill!” said series artist Johanna the Mad. “I hope readers enjoy diving into this new chapter as much as we do creating it!” FENCE CHALLENGERS: LONG SHOT #1 will be available in comic shops July 24, 2024. It is available for pre-order at your local comic shop. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including Kindle, iBooks, and Google Play. FENCE CHALLENGERS: LONG SHOT is the latest release from BOOM! Studios’ award-winning BOOM! Box imprint, home to groundbreaking original series such as Lumberjanes by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Gus Allen, and ND Stevenson; Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera and Celia Moscote; Giant Days by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Max Sarin; Mamo by Sas Milledge; Save Yourself! by Bones Leopard and Kelly and Nichole Matthews; Specter Inspectors by Bowen McCurdy and Kaitlyn Musto; The Last Witch by Conor McCreery and V.V. Glass; Ghosted in LA by Sina Grace and Siobhan Keenan; The Avant-Guards by Carly Usdin and Noah Hayes; Fence by C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad; Goldie Vance by Hope Larson and Brittney Williams; Hollow by Shannon Watters, Branden Boyer-White, and Berenice Nelle; Getting Dizzy by Shea Fontana and Celia Moscote; and the educational series Seen: True Stories of Marginalized Trailblazers.

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