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Save the Date – Play NYC 2020!
Posted in Conventions, Events & Expos, PLAY NYC, Video Games
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Vacation with Monsters in BEN 10™: THE CREATURE FROM SERENITY SHORE From BOOM! Studios
“Fast-paced and well told, this story really made me think I was watching it on TV.”—Major Spoilers
LOS ANGELES, CA (October 21, 2019) – BOOM! Studios today announced BEN 10™: THE CREATURE FROM SERENITY SHORE, the newest middle grade original graphic novel based on Cartoon Network’s global hit series Ben 10, with Rainbow Award-winning writer CB Lee (Not Your Sidekick) and artist Mattia di Meo (Adventure Time™/Regular Show™), in stores July 2020.
Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max head to a beautiful seaside resort for some much-needed relaxation – but they’ll need to use all their abilities to defeat the terrifying monster ruining everyone’s good time! Luckily, Ben Tennyson isn’t your average 10-year-old…he’s also the wielder of the Omnitrix, an alien device that allows Ben to shift into 10 different alien forms from around the galaxy. Together with his cousin Gwen and his Grandpa Max, they’re going defeat the Sharktopus and discover just who would want to ruin a good summer’s day!
“Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max head to Serenity Shore looking forward to sand, surf and the promised serenity–but what they find is a mysterious tentacled creature prowling in the deep and secrets to uncover from the mysterious lab overlooking the cliffs.” said writer, CB Lee. “THE CREATURE FROM SERENITY SHORE is all about working with your fears and doing your best in the face of challenges, and I had such a blast working on this summer adventure! ”
BEN 10™: THE CREATURE FROM SERENITY SHORE features cover art by di Meo.
“This is my second time on a BEN 10™ adventure, and I’m so glad of it! Drawing monsters and aliens is never boring and I really love the Tennyson family! In this story we have the sea, summer, friends, tentacles, fangs and aliens, of course,” said artist, Mattia di Meo. “It was amazing to draw! And working again with the team made up of C. B. Lee as writer and Eleonora Bruni as colorist was the icing on the cake.”
This is the newest original graphic novel release from the partnership between BOOM! Studios and Cartoon Network, featuring cover art by artist Mattia di Meo (Adventure Time). Fans can currently find BEN 10™: THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE from CB Lee and Lidan Chen and BEN 10™: FOR SCIENCE! from CB Lee and artist Mattia di Meo in bookstores everywhere.
“Sunny skies, hot sand, and . . . a rampaging sea creature make for a typical beach day with Ben and his monster-fighting family.” said Matthew Levine, Editor, BOOM! Studios. “So of course we’re excited to have writer CB Lee and artist Mattia di Meo back for a seaside adventure that’s got Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max facing a tsunami of trouble just in time for summer vacation!”
BEN 10™: THE CREATURE FROM SERENITY SHORE is the latest release from BOOM! Studios’ award-winning KaBOOM! imprint, home to comics for middle grade and younger readers including licensed series such as Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Ben 10, and Over The Garden Wall, along with original series like Just Beyond: The Scare School by R.L. Stine and Kelly & Nichole Matthews, Hex Vet by Sam Davies, RuinWorld by Derek Laufman, and Pandora’s Legacy by Kara Leopard, Kelly & Nichole Matthews.
Cartoon Network’s Ben 10 was recently greenlit for season four and is expected to premiere globally beginning 2020. The new season will follow Ben, his cousin Gwen and Grandpa Max on adventures to some of the world’s most popular destinations including Italy, Japan and Mexico. Season four will continue to empower its worldwide fanbase through new alien transformations, action-packed battles with villains and more. Ben 10 is produced by Cartoon Network Studios and created and executive produced by Man of Action Entertainment.
Print copies of BEN 10™: THE CREATURE FROM SERENITY SHORE will be available for sale in July 2020 at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one), bookstores and the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and the BOOM! Studios app.
For continuing news on BEN 10™ and more from BOOM! Studios, stay tuned to www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.
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Critically Acclaimed Graphic Novel UPGRADE SOUL by Ezra Claytan Daniels Expands into Multimedia with Original Vinyl Soundtrack and Innovative App
UPGRADE SOUL Will Relaunch Its App in October, Timed to the Release of Alexis Gideon’s Haunting Score on FPE Records
(October 22, 2019) Ezra Claytan Daniels’ mesmerizing graphic novel debut UPGRADE SOUL has received widespread praise and award nominations for the comic book industry’s top honors, including The Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics and the Eisner, Ignatz, Harvey, and ‘Ringo Awards. This fall, the critically acclaimed book is expanding into multimedia with the vinyl release of Alexis Gideon’s UPGRADE SOUL Original Soundtrack and the relaunch of an innovative UPGRADE SOUL app. Both the app and the soundtrack will be available for purchase October 25th, 2019.
UPGRADE SOUL is the dark and surreal story of an elderly couple who volunteer themselves for an experimental scientific procedure intended to rejuvenate their aging bodies. When the procedure goes horribly wrong, creating physically disfigured but intellectually superior clones of the couple, the scientists, the couple, and their clones must grapple with existential questions of morality—with very real consequences. The book is a profound meditation on identity, and the ways society imposes restrictions based on our age, gender, race and perceived disabilities.
Ezra Claytan Daniels spent a decade writing and drawing UPGRADE SOUL before it was published in book form last year by Lion Forge. The book was originally conceived as a digital graphic novel and published as an interactive iOS comic app, launching in 2012, complete with 3D picture-box effects, extra features, and unlockable content. The app was designed by Erik Loyer, a media artist and two-time Webby Awards Official Honoree, whose work has been commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
“Erik Loyer’s interactive web-based science fiction story called Chroma was a game changer for digital storytelling,” said Daniels. “Stylish and thoughtful, it showed a path for digital interactivity to push the boundaries of the comics form even further. I sent Erik a gushing fan letter about Chroma and that led to the UPGRADE SOUL app.”
“The UPGRADE SOUL app release seven years ago was ahead of its time and helped pioneer digital comics tech which is now in use in games, apps, and on the web,” said Loyer. “Now technology has caught up and enabled us to finish the project as we originally intended, with the rich interactive score, 3D picture-box effects, and seamless navigation that makes the experience so immersive. There’s a reason why we put it on the App Store in the ‘Entertainment’ category—it’s not an ‘enhanced’ version of a print graphic novel, it’s its own unique thing.”
The app featured an incredible original score by composer/hip hop producer Alexis Gideon, who is known for his work with the band Princess and his solo Video Musics series of animated operas. Gideon created the music for the UPGRADE SOUL app to seamlessly flow with and complement the interactive app, creating a wholly unique experience that’s a high water mark for digital comics and a standard-setter for the future of the medium.
“I tried to draw out some of the unsettling and cinematic sci-fi/horror undertones of the book with Goblin and John Carpenter-esque compositions,” said Gideon. “The inquisitive and philosophical nature of UPGRADE SOUL’s story encouraged me to experiment with searching and soundscape compositions.”
And in October, for the first time, the trippy and ethereal soundtrack that accompanied the app’s initial launch will be available to the public outside the app. Chicago’s FPE Records will release the soundtrack in two formats: a regular black vinyl edition and a limited deluxe edition featuring translucent orange vinyl, red markings, and a signed print by Daniels. Of the latter, only 100 copies will be released worldwide.
“Alexis Gideon’s music for the UPGRADE SOUL Soundtrack perfectly expresses FPE Records eclectic ethos – you can’t say what genre it is and it’s addictively catchy and groovy,” said FPE Records founder Matt Pakulski. “Bonus that it scores such a weird, deep, lovely, repulsively attractive work of narrative fiction, and that cover! It’s a dream project for me and I’m proud to have it join Turning Jewels Into Water, Nicole Mitchell and others on the FPE roster that defy our expectations and keep us mesmerized.”
The UPGRADE SOUL app, which includes the first story’s chapter, is available as a free download. Throughout the month of October, the entire story can be unlocked for $6.99. Beginning November 1, the entire book can be unlocked for $7.99. A preview of the app can be seen here:
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The UPGRADE SOUL Original Soundtrack Standard Edition, with black vinyl, retails for $18.00. The UPGRADE SOUL Original Soundtrack Limited Edition, featuring color vinyl, is exclusively available through FPE Records’ website, via Bandcamp or directly from Ezra Claytan Daniels at appearances. The UPGRADE SOUL Original Soundtrack Limited Edition retails for $45.00.
“UPGRADE SOUL was originally conceived for this format; when you put on your headphones and start swiping through the panels, and Alexis’ score punctuates every interaction, it’s just an incredibly immersive reading experience. There are several moments where my already creepy story becomes almost unbearably tense,” said Daniels. “We set out to create a digital comic that was first and foremost reverent to the comics medium, and I’m so proud of the final result.”
UPGRADE SOUL has received widespread critical acclaim:
“Masterfully crafted. Daniels’s prose is haunting and cinematic, and his storytelling structure is magnificent.” —Vulture
“A dazzling, disturbing piece of science fiction that examines aging, family and science gone wrong. It’ll grip you from the first page on.” —Comics Beat
“Brilliant. One of the best comics I’ve read in years.” —Mat Johnson, author of Loving Day and Incognegro
“A stunning work of feverish imagining.” —io9
“Earth-shattering sci-fi. UPGRADE SOUL has profound things to say about mortality, aging, identity and the fundamental sense of self. Every choice, every component of UPGRADE SOUL simply works.” —Paste Magazine
“One of the best comics of the year, full of incredible depth of characterization, unexpected turns, difficult resolutions, and broad themes dealt with using pinpoint precision. It’s one of the rare works that yields deeper meaning each time it’s revisited, and where not a single panel of narrative is wasted: each development furthers a promise made to the reader that we are in the hands of a creator who is taking the questions he asks seriously.” —The Comics Journal
“A beautiful work of deep emotional resonance. It transcends the medium of comics, settling comfortably in the realm of literature. Nothing short of a masterpiece.” —David Walker, writer of Cyborg, Shaft, and Power Man and Iron Fist
About the creators
Ezra Claytan Daniels is a writer and illustrator based in Los Angeles, CA. His Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Award-nominated graphic novel, UPGRADE SOUL, was the recipient of the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics and was named one of the best books of 2018 by Publishers Weekly, Vulture, Library Journal, and Paste. His graphic novel collaboration with Ben Passmore, entitled BTTM FDRS, was released in June 2019 by Fantagraphics Books.
Alexis Gideon is an American visual artist, composer and performer. Gideon’s work examines the loss of the mystical in contemporary society. Alienation, subjugation and the human condition are persistent themes in the artist’s work. In 2013, the New Museum of Contemporary Art paired Gideon with William Kentridge in a joint exhibition that explored spiritual and political colonialism. Gideon has performed and exhibited throughout the world, including at Moderna Museet Stockholm, New Museum of Contemporary Art, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Málaga, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Vdrome, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Wexner Center for the Arts, and Time Zones Festival Italia. His work is in the collection of the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, the Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, the Debra & Dennis Scholl Collection in Miami, FL, The Benter Foundation in Pittsburgh, PA as well as a number of private collections.
Erik Loyer is a media artist whose “storytelling instruments” explore social justice and spirituality while combining elements of comics, video games, and interactive music. Loyer founded the digital storytelling label Opertoon in 2008, creating the interracial love story RUBEN & LULLABY, the touchscreen meditation STRANGE RAIN, and developing the digital graphic novel UPGRADE SOUL. A two-time Webby Awards Official Honoree, his work has been commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Snoopy Art book from Black Dog & Leventhal coming October 29th
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Beyond’s Uncharted Territory Thursday’s continues TONIGHT!
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Posted in Wrestling
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Shocking New Ghost in GHOSTED IN LA #5 from BOOM! Studios
“A freaking delight…Ghosted in L.A. is a winner.”—Nerdist
“What a fun read. This is a must add to your pull list at your local comic shop and I can’t wait to see where they take the story.”—Mairghread Scott
“A delightful slice of life debut, with killer character work and charmingly detailed art.”-Multiversity Comics
LOS ANGELES, CA (October 16, 2019) – BOOM! Studios revealed a first look at GHOSTED IN LA #5, the newest issue in the new original comic book series from GLAAD Media Award-nominated writer Sina Grace (Jughead’s Time Police) and artist Siobhan Keenan (Jem and the Holograms) about figuring out your love life – and your afterlife – in Los Angeles, available in stores November 2019.
Daphne gets the shock of her life when famous musician Zola Tesla shows up as a ghost at Rycroft Manor the day after the terrifying Maurice gets vanished into the ether by head ghost Agyness! But will she get over her celebrity crush long enough to approach the glamorous Zola and bring her out of her post-mortem funk? And don’t forget the humans in her life—Daphne’s high school best friend is in LA for a surprise visit and her ex-boyfriend Ronnie seems to be getting awfully close to the ghostly Bernard . . . can ghosts and humans find love in a hopeless place?
GHOSTED IN LA #5 features a main cover by series artist Siobhan Keenan and a variant cover by series writer Sina Grace.
GHOSTED IN LA is the latest release from BOOM! Studios’ critically acclaimed BOOM! Box imprint, home to popular original series such as Lumberjanes by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Brooklyn A. Allen, and Noelle Stevenson; Giant Days by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Max Sarin; The Backstagers by James Tynion IV and Rian Sygh; Heavy Vinyl by Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva; Fence by C.S. Pacat and Johanna The Mad; and Goldie Vance by Hope Larson and Brittney Williams.
Print copies of GHOSTED IN LA #5 will be available for sale November 13, 2019 exclusively at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one). Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and the Madefire.
For more on GHOSTED IN LA and other projects from BOOM! Studios, stay tuned to www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.
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Superstar Artist Dan Mora Covers FOLKLORDS #1 From BOOM! Studios
Discover the Secrets Hidden Across a World Full of Magic and Monsters in November 2019
LOS ANGELES, CA (October 16, 2019) – BOOM! Studios is proud to reveal new variant cover art by all star artist Dan Mora (Once & Future, Klaus) for FOLKLORDS #1, the premiere issue of an all-new original five-issue series from Eisner Award-nominated writer Matt Kindt (Grass Kings, Black Badge) and acclaimed artist Matt Smith (Hellboy & the BPRD: Long Night at Goloski, Lake of Fire) about a young man whose forbidden quest reveals the shocking truth about his world and turns everything he ever knew upside down, available on November 13, 2019.
In a world of magic and monsters, Ansel is an outsider haunted by visions of well-pressed suits and modern technology. When it comes time for him to declare his Quest on his 18th birthday, Ansel decides to seek out a legend that is only spoken in hushed whispers—the Folklords—hoping they can explain his visions…but looking for the Folklords is expressly forbidden, and going on a rogue quest is punishable by death. What will Ansel risk to find answers to the questions and visions that have set him apart his entire life?
FOLKLORDS #1 features main cover art by series artist Matt Smith and variant cover art by acclaimed artist Duncan Fegredo (Hellboy).
FOLKLORDS is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including Once & Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora; Faithless by Brian Azzarello and Maria Llovet; Abbott by Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivelä; Bury The Lede by Gaby Dunn and Claire Roe; Klaus by Grant Morrison and Dan Mora; and Something is Killing The Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera. The imprint also publishes popular licensed properties including Joss Whedon’s Firefly from Greg Pak and Dan McDaid; Buffy The Vampire Slayer from Jordie Bellaire and David Lopez; and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Ryan Parrott and Daniele Di Nicuolo.
Print copies of FOLKLORDS #1 will be available for sale November 13, 2019 exclusively at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one) or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Madefire.
For continuing news on THE DOWN RIVER PEOPLE and more from BOOM!, stay tuned to www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.
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Jay Fosgitt’s BODIE TROLL Returns in All New Original Graphic Novel at BOOM! Studios
Discover a Brand New Adventure with Everyone’s Favorite Troll Around in August 2020
LOS ANGELES, CA (October 8, 2019) – BOOM! Studios is proud to announce BODIE TROLL: HUNGRY FOR ADVENTURE, a brand new original graphic novel set in the world created by cartoonist Jay Fogsitt that brings the entire family a fantasy adventure that celebrates growing and evolving friendships, and the power in embracing what makes people unique.
Return to Hagadorn with an all-new original graphic novel featuring the friendliest (and, in his eyes, the fearsomest) troll around, Bodie! Get ready to join Bodie, his Fairy Godmother, and his best pal Cholly, as their adventures lead them to learn about Cholly’s past, uncover the mystery of the new bridge in town, and meet a group of creatures looking to destroy the world – through hugs.
Jay P. Fosgitt has created comics for many familiar properties, such as Sesame Street and Dreamworks Animation Magazine (Ape Entertainment), My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, Micronauts, and Transformers (IDW), Popeye (King Features), Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, and Fraggle Rock (BOOM! Studios), Betty and Veronica and Little Sabrina (Archie Comics), and Rocket Raccoon and Groot, Avengers, Gwenpool, Web Warriors, Champions, Deadpool, Jessica Jones, Not Brand Echh. Lockjaw, and Spider-Geddon (Marvel Entertainment), and Jay has illustrated books for Disney. Jay has also written and drawn his creator-owned titles Dead Duck and Zombie Chick (Source Point Press), Necronomicomics (Rue Morgue) and Bodie Troll (BOOM! Studios). He resides in Michigan with his cat, Goonie.
“I am thrilled to continue my grumpy little troll’s exploits in BODIE TROLL: HUNGRY FOR ADVENTURE! I crammed so much character, adventure, drama and silliness into the first book that so many continuing adventures (along with brand new ones) have spilled over and filled this new graphic novel.” said cartoonist, Jay Fosgitt. “I still hold fond memories of being read to as a little kid, and so many parents have told me how Bodie Troll has become required bedtime reading so I created HUNGRY FOR ADVENTURE with the intent of inspiring the sweetest and goofiest dreams a kid, or their parents, could have. Bodie Troll takes classic fairy tale tropes and manages to milk humor and heart out of them while still paying respect to such classic stories, so it’s fun for the storybook fan in all of us, be they long time readers, or open young minds with a heart for adventure.”
BODIE TROLL: HUNGRY FOR ADVENTURE is the latest release from BOOM! Studios’ award-winning KaBOOM! imprint, home to comics for middle grade and younger readers including licensed series such as Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Regular Show, Ben 10, and Over The Garden Wall, along with original series like Just Beyond: The Scare School by R.L. Stine and Kelly & Nichole Matthews, Hex Vet by Sam Davies, RuinWorld by Derek Laufman, Hotel Dare by Terry Blas and Claudia Aguirre, and Pandora’s Legacy by Kara Leopard and Kelly & Nichole Matthews.
“Bodie is back—with even more fun, humor, and hijinx than ever! Fans of the grumpy but hilarious little troll’s misadventures are in for a treat as Jay brings a brand new story that’ll have readers young and old laughing at all of the trouble Bodie manages to get into, ”said Chris Rosa, Editor, BOOM! Studios. “Also, we’ll get to see even more of the world in which Bodie, Cholly, and their friends have their daily adventures, discovering never-before-seen lands and a whole new part of Bodie’s past.”
Print copies of BODIE TROLL: HUNGRY FOR ADVENTURE will be available for sale in August 2020 at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one), bookstores, or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and the BOOM! Studios app. BODIE TROLL Vol 1 is available now everywhere books are sold.
For continuing news on BODIE TROLL and more from BOOM!, stay tuned to www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.
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Official Cyberpunk 2077 photography contest announced!
CD PROJEKT RED invites gamers and photography enthusiasts to participate in the Cyberpunk 2077 Photography Contest.
The theme of the contest is capturing Cyberpunk 2077’s dark future vibes in the real world using the art of photography. Anyone wishing to join can do so starting today, October 14th, by submitting an eligible entry via the contest’s official website. The deadline for submissions is December 16th, 2019, with winners being announced in January, 2020.
Enter the Cyberpunk 2077 Photography Contest
Authors of three winning entries chosen by the studio’s panel of experts and award-winning photographer Liam Wong, as well as ten entries rated highest by the community will receive prizes sponsored by CD PROJEKT RED, NVIDIA, and Adobe. These include shares in prize pool money, Cyberpunk 2077 Collector’s Editions, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti/S graphics cards, Adobe Creative Cloud licenses, and exclusive Cyberpunk 2077 swag.
For more details regarding the contest, including the complete set of rules and regulations, visit the official website. For more information regarding Cyberpunk 2077, go to cyberpunk.net.
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