Perhaps the most shocking (and amusing) thing to occur this month at Vault was Henry Henry’s takeover of the publisher’s Twitter account, ahead of the November release of Dark Interlude #1, the not quite sequel to Fearscape. “HH” had lots to say about Vault’s lineup of comics and creators.
I Detest THESE SAVAGE SHORES too much to speak on it further. See attached pic for a brief summation. Do not waste your time reading it. -HH pic.twitter.com/Zg69kxytiK
— Vault Comics (@thevaultcomics) October 13, 2020
Speaking of These Savage Shores and its nine-panel gridding, congratulations to the team for winning Best Comics team at this year’s FIYAH CON Ignyte Awards.
Catch up on interviews around the web for Dark Interlude and other books this month:
- Giant Robots and Deep Questions with Alex Paknadel & John Lê
- Ryan O’Sullivan Talks A DARK INTERLUDE, Unreliable Narrators, And More
- Writer Ryan O’Sullivan talks A DARK INTERLUDE #1, more
- INTERVIEW: Sebastian Girner and John Bivens talk THE DEVIL’S RED BRIDE
And David Mack shows off yet another beautiful cover with his variant for GIGA #1.
Coming Soon
Vault’s younger readers imprint, Wonderbound, has announced that they will be publishing Verse, a young adult graphic novel by Sam Beck coming in the fall of 2021.
Verse is the story of Fife, who lives in a world where magic is feared–only the evil monsters known as Vell are known to use it. But when Fife discovers a young girl with mysterious powers, everything he ever thought he knew is turned on its head. Forging a friendship that will change the course of their society, Fife and Neitya take their first steps on an epic adventure through an unforgettable world.
“The story of a shared journey is one that feels timeless,” said Sam Beck. “It isn’t the promise of adventure or the fantastical things you unearth that draw us back to them. It’s getting to see how each character grows and develops along it, testing the bonds they form over and over again. And even when paths diverge, as they often do, seeing how they manage to find a way back to each other.”
“I tenaciously sought these stories as a kid; in video games, in books, and in comics—my only wish, to immerse myself in that shared journey. Nothing is more delightful than being presented with a cast of colourful characters and slowly getting to learn what drives them to make each decision. To turn them over in your head and wonder what path led them there.”
“Verse is the story I wanted to read as a shy, bookish, thirteen-year-old. To be shown a wonderful and terrifying world and still get to see the moments of tenderness between characters amidst all of it.”
Out this Month
Vault has several titles out this month. Here are highlights from a few of my firsts and faves:
If you haven’t met Henry Henry before, there’s no need to be intimidated by Dark Interlude #1. You can jump into this book without knowing too much about the history in order to discover one of the most irreverent characters in modern comics history.
Did you grab Vault’s ColorUp during lockdown? Then you’ll recognize the cover of Money Shot #9! In this issue, the XXX-plorers are trapped on a desert island with their enemies and find some interesting (read: sexy) ways to negotiate peace.
Devil’s Red Bride #1 takes us back to feudal Japan with a clear love for stories like the 47 Ronin. As a homage to the genre, the creative team does an excellent job with this first issue.
Harper’s wild vampire ride continues to take some difficult turns for her as she turns to an old flame for help that she knows she may or may not be able to count on. Bleed Them Dry #4 is doing a solid job of keeping the tension high as the monsters close in, including the one inside Harper herself.
Shadow Service #3 continues with the enticing cover imagery and the deliciously monstrous illustrations from Corin Howell as we explore Gina’s past and step inside Hex.
As well as digging further into its immense worldbuilding, Engineward #4 also features some creative panel work that must be seen within the scope of this story to be fully appreciated.
Stealing a planet isn’t easy and it requires patience, so this Heist Or How To Steal A Planet #7 slows down a bit. Glane doesn’t spend quite as much time running from assassins, even though he knows Eddy is now working for the enemy and still has a serious beef with him. A lot of this issue focuses on the intricacies of the caper which means a lot more dialogue and exposition, but that’s not a bad thing.
Heavy #2 gets good and raunchy for this issue as Bill teams up with his mortal enemy and grudgingly has to admit that the psycho who killed him and his wife is actually really good at this job.
There’s definitely a whole lot going on in the post-robot war apocalyptic world of GIGA #1, but my first thought was definitely “They turned Optimus Prime into apartment buildings???”
Cover Gallery
