Plus Afro-Brazilian Gods Become Superheroes, Gay General Fights the Redcoats, and More!
Abrams ComicArts has lined up a diverse set of books for its fall catalog, including March artist and former punk rocker Nate Powell’s latest original graphic novel, a superhero story steeped in Afro-Brazilian folklore, and the story of a gay general who played a key part in the American Revolution.
Fall Through, by Nate Powell, is the tale of a punk band who become unwilling interdimensional travelers, propelled from one alternate world to the next by a spell woven into one of their songs. Powell draws on his experience as a musician in the hardcore Arkansas punk scene of the 1990s for an authentic portrayal of the band and their milieu while unfurling the story in a circular, Russian-Doll type of narrative. The full-color, jacketed hardcover is slated for February 2024 release with an MSRP of $24.99. While Powell is best known for his award-winning work as the artist of March, he is also a skilled fiction storyteller, and his Swallow Me Whole won the 2009 Eisner Award for Best Original Graphic Novel.
Tales of the Orishas, by Hugo Canuto, draws on Afro-Brazilian mythology for a muscular superhero story in the vein of Jack Kirby. That’s literally the backstory of this comic, which started when Canuto recreated The Avengers (1963) #4 with the Orixa, the Yoruba gods, in place of Kirby’s characters. He crowdfunded the comic series on the Catarse crowdfunding platform, where the three issues pulled in over $40,000 in pledges. Abrams will publish the 112-page graphic novel in September 2023 under its Megascope imprint; the jacketed hardcover will have an MSRP of $24.99.
Washington’s Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben, by writer Josh Trujillo and artist Levi Hastings, is a graphic biography of the flamboyantly gay man who brought professionalism to the ragtag Continental Army, creating the blueprint for what would become the U.S. military. Von Steuben started his career in the Prussian Army and was recruited by Benjamin Franklin to lead the Americans alongside George Washington. The graphic novel is being published under Abrams’ Surely Books imprint, a line of LGBTQ+ books curated by Mariko Tamaki (see “Abrams Announces LGBTQIA Graphic Novel Line”). The 192-page, two-color jacketed hardcover will be released in August 2023 with an MSRP of $24.99.
We Are Not Strangers, by Josh Tuininga, puts a new twist on what has become a popular topic for graphic novels, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. A fictional story based on Tuninga’s grandfather, We Are Not Strangers tells the story of a Sephardic Jewish immigrant who befriends a Japanese man and keeps his business running when he is imprisoned in the internment camps. The 208-page jacketed hardcover will be released in September with an MSRP of $24.99.
The Alex Ross Marvel Comics Super Villains Poster Book is a collection of 37 prints, all suitable for framing, depicting Marvel Comics villains, as well as a four-page gatefold of the massive mural that Ross did of all the villains together. The book is similar to The Alex Ross Marvel Comics Poster Book (see “Abrams Unveils Spring 2021 Slate”), but with more evildoers. The 11” x 16”, 80-page paperback will go on sale in September with an MSRP of $29.99.
Also on the list: Vol. 2 of The Night Eaters, by the Monstress team of Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, a 272-page hardcover due out in October 2023 with an MSRP of $29.99, and Vol. 2 of Silver, the conclusion of Stephan Franck’s vampires-in-the castle heist caper, a 320-page hardcover, rated 14+, that’s also due out in October with an MSRP of $29.99.
Several previously announced titles are also in the fall catalog, including Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller(see “Bill Griffith to Tell the Life Story of Ernie Bushmiller in ‘Three Rocks’”), The Super Hero’s Journey, by Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell (see “Abrams’ MarvelArts to publish ‘The Super Hero’s Journey’”), and Marvel Super Stories, in which popular kids’ comics creators take on Marvel characters (see “Marvel, Abrams Team Up for Middle-Grade Superhero Anthology”).
Source: ICV2
