Roll out those lazy hazy crazy days of summer with some comics and our latest Titan PUBWATCH!
Our latest Titan PUBWATCH installment includes a look at the finale of Cowboy Bebop and the debut of Doctor Who: Origins. We’ll also check in with Rivers of London: Deadly Ever After to see if the second issue holds up to its debut.
Titan Comics News and Announcements
July and August 2022 Release Schedule
Below is Titan’s current (as of this writing) release schedule for this month and the following month. Please note release dates are always subject to change.
July 2022
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- Doctor Who: Origins #2: July 6th
- Frank Lee: After Alcatraz: July 12th
- The Michael Moorcock Library: Elric: Bane of the Black Sword: July 12th
- Negalyod: The God Network: July 19th
- The Official Horizon Zero Dawn Coloring Book: July 19th
- Bloodborne: Lady of the Lanterns #1: July 27th
August 2022
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- Doctor Who: Origins #3: August 3rd
- Minions Mini Boss Vol. 6: August 9th
- Rivers of London Deadly Ever After #3: August 10th
- Blade Runner Black Lotus #1: August 10th
- Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia 2 #1: August 17th
- The Official Horizon Zero Dawn Peach Momoko Poster Portfolio: August 23rd
- Gun Honey Blood for Blood #1: August 24th
- Peanuts Boxed Set: August 30th
- Blade Runner Origins Vol. 3: August 30th
- Afro Samurai Vol. 1: August 30th
- Bloodborne: Lady of the Lanterns #2: August 31st
The Black Lotus in Bloom: Sneak Peek of Blade Runner: Black Lotus #1
The next generation of Blade Runner stories kicks off in August with Blade Runner: Black Lotus #1. Set directly after the events of the anime series that bears the same name, the Black Lotus (Elle) is trying to leave her old violent life behind. But that’s not going to be easy to do when Replicants are still Public Enemy Number 1.
We have a preview of one of the pages from the debut issue above, featuring a script by Nancy Collins (Swamp Thing) and artwork by Enid Balam (V.E. Schwab’s ExtraOrdinary). Blade Runner: Black Lotus #1 will be available on August 10th.
Conan the Barbarian Coming to Titan Comics
2022 marks the 90th anniversary of Robert E. Howard’s most famous character (and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s breakout film role). Previously at Marvel, the license for Conan the Barbarian comics will be moving to Titan. And Titan will celebrate the anniversary this fall with two new books. The first will be a novel in a new series of standalone adventures (Conan: Blood of the Serpent) coming in October. November will feature a behind-the-scenes look at that 1982 film, Conan the Barbarian: The Official Story of the Film. A new new Conan ongoing comic series will debut next May, and several miniseries featuring other Robert E. Howard heroes are in development.
“We have been working with Titan for a year on the prose side and established a good foundation for expanding our business together. When it became clear that Heroic Signatures would publish our own comics it was natural to partner with a team that we have known for decades. Their expertise in publishing is stellar and we couldn’t be more excited to launch a barbarian horde of titles like Conan, Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes, and many more together.” said Fredrik Malmberg, President of Heroic Signatures, who will publish the books along with Titan Comics.
PUBWATCH will share details on all the new series as we receive them.
A Double Dose of Kamen Rider News
The anticipation for Titan’s new manga line continues to build, with plenty of exciting news. And we have a double dose of news on the upcoming Kamen Rider titles!
Above, we have a preview of one of the first pages from November’s Kamen Rider Kuuga Vol. 1. Based on the Japanese TV series, this manga marks the return of this classic character in a modern story.
Turning to the other Kamen Rider series in development, Anime Expo 2022 broke the news that the upcoming Kamen Rider Zero-One comic series, debuting later this fall, has an artist: Power Rangers artist Hendry Prasetya.
Astro Boy Prequel First Look
Continuing in Titan’s expansion into the world of manga, we have a first look at one of the translated pages from Volume 2 of ATOM: The Beginning, a story that serves as both prequel to the original Astro Boy series and a standalone story. ATOM: The Beginning focuses on two robotics students and their project A106 (aka “Six”) who is both unassuming and strong.
The first volume of the series will drop in October, and the second volume will be available two months later.
Ryuko Returns for Volume 3
Hard Case Crime manga Ryuko is returning for another story! In an interview with Forbidden Planet TV, creator Eldo Yoshimizu revealed that he had some more stories to tell in Ryuko’s world:
“I’m actually working on Ryuko Volume 3. Ryuko is back! Originally I was thinking of finishing Ryuko with Volume 2 but […] there are some complex and difficult situations in Hong Kong, and the students are fiercely fighting against the government for their democracy. I’m not drawing for my friends there – but as I said I have the spirit of [The Clash musician] Joe Strummer […] I thought I should really write and draw about the situation there.”
When we last left Ryoku in Volume 2, Ryuko found herself in the throes of a mysterious terrorist organization, and having to deal with the kidnapping of her mother. Based on the promo page we see above and Eldo’s comments, Volume 3 of the series will take on the real-life fight for democracy in Hong Kong.
We’ll keep you posted on details for the third volume as we have them.
What I’m Reading
There’s mystery afoot in all our titles: from new mysteries in Doctor Who: Origins #1 and Rivers of London: Deadly Ever After #2, and mystery solved in the finale to Cowboy Bebop.
(Note that our reviews may contain spoilers, so proceed carefully!)
Cowboy Bebop #4
Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt (letterer), Emilio Lecce (colorist) Lamar Mathurin (artist), Richard Starkings (letterer), Roman Titov (colorist), Dan Watters (writer)
June 22, 2022
If there is anything more powerful than money, it is fame. And that’s what the Bebop team realizes Melville is after with the vest of unlimited luck: not riches, but glory. It leads them to make a plan to go back to the casino where this story began, which is reopening with enhanced security. Is Melville brash and clueless enough to let his lightning strike twice? With that knowledge, the team puts a plan in place to trap Melville at his own game. But Spike is also out for some of his own personal revenge after the death of his mentor.
A good Cowboy Bebop story always has the twist you don’t expect, and this one is no exception. That twist? That there is no such thing as the quantum vest that provides the unlimited luck. It was a myth Melville invented in pursuit of the wealth of fame. This isn’t a revelation handed to us straightaway, naturally. We’re treated to a well-crafted action showdown between Melville, Spike, and Faye that certainly would not be out of place in the anime. But then there’s a twist upon the twist, as we find out the vest of unlimited luck does exist, and it’s in Fusao’s hands. He was the real enemy all along, and the Bebop’s pursuit of Melville is the classic Bebop red herring. The unluckiest set of bounty hunters strikes out again!
What will stick out most in this series for me is the excellent colorwork of Emilio Leece. In each issue, he stayed true to the noir feel of the series, but added pops of candy color to remind us of Cowboy Bebop’s anime roots. Keeping this balance was key to keeping up with the complex plot, for there is a lot revealed in the concept of “show, don’t tell.” I hope to see more of his work in the future, whether it’s another volume of this series or another series altogether.
The Cowboy Bebop comic did a lot right that had its parent Netflix show also done, could have ensured it another season. But let’s not dwell on that past. Let us look forward to hopefully some new adventures. See you soon space cowboys.
Rivers of London: Deadly Ever After #2
Ben Aaronovitch (creator), Jose Maria Beroy (penciler), Celeste Bronfman (writer), David Cabeza (inker), Jim Campbell (letterer), Andrew Cartmel (script editor), Jordi Escuin Llorach (colorist)
June 22, 2022
The subtitle of this issue is “Once Upon a Dreadful Time.” And things are certainly dreadful for everyone. While the sister team of Chelsea and Olympia escape the forest, Peter and Nightengale are trying to figure things out. And the reality of what they’ve done also hits Chelsea and Olympia as they catch up on the news. Traumatized, they promise to handle the situation themselves. On a visit to one of the victims from the campsite, the sisters find the fairytale book that led to the current state of affairs – – and eventually its editor Phoebe Collins. But it’s not Phoebe letting the fairy tales loose in London. But whomever is has the sisters in their sights.
Celeste Bronfman creates two very sympathetic characters in Chelsea and Olympia, giving them the right balance of intelligence, empathy, and compassion to make them likable. And there’s still a layer of mystery to them. What drew them to this mulberry tree? Why did the tree reach out to them? What further secrets do they have that they themselves have yet to discover? It’s clever and complexly layered writing. And it’s all done without sacrificing larger Rivers of London canon, making this a story that can hook new readers into discovering the rest of Ben Aaronovitch’s world.
The mystical moments in this issue have just the right touch of the supernatural in linework and color, particularly the latter. Shades of blue and green center this magic as that of a more natural realm, gentle in its touch but still deadly in its effects. It blends in with the real-life Rivers of London world seamlessly, illustrating that magic is just a normal part of its world. But that blend also blurs lines between good and evil, and that’s going to make things difficult. There’s also excellent work in shading and shadow that gives a very realistic three dimensional look to two dimensional art.
As with any good Rivers of London mystery, you leave issue #2 with more questions than answers. Let’s see if the sisters can provide us with that fairytale happy ending.
Doctor Who: Origins #1
Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt (letterer), Jody Houser (writer), Roberta Ingranata (artist), Warnia K. Sahadewa (colorist), Richard Starkings (letterer)
June 8, 2022
Meet our Fugitive Doctor, Rogue Monster Hunter and Partner of the Weeping Angels. Partner of the Weeping Angels? Yes indeed, this Doctor now works alongside feared enemy of other Doctors in The Division. It’s that work that gets the attention of the Gallifreyan High Council for a critical mission: to prevent the destruction of Gallifrey. In order to carry out this mission, the High Council pairs the Fugitive Doctor with Taslo, a new Division agent who’s just a little too keen to be working with such a legend. And there sets up a classic story: will the two Doctors be able to save their home planet without destroying each other first? And the Doctor also doesn’t smell something right about this mission either.
While Houser turns to some classic storytelling tropes to set up this new series (the bickering colleagues forced to work together), it’s actually part of what makes Doctor Who work best. Consider the pairings of the Seventh Doctor and Ace, or the early seasons of the Eleventh Doctor and Amy. There’s a master-student relationship at play in those that allows the audience to learn along with the characters. Now those stories also have a risk of making the Fugitive Doctor as master too much of a curmudgeon. So I hope that Houser takes her lessons from the Seventh Doctor-Ace stories, where that Doctor was a gentle but forceful teacher. And we’re starting to see that here, as the Fugitive Doctor lets Taslo work out answers at her own pace and logic.
This issue also contains one of my favorite lines I’ve seen in Doctor Who anywhere: “But the learning doesn’t end when we leave the Academy. That’s when it truly begins.” Wise advice for students of all ages!
Most of this issue takes place in the TARDIS, and Roberta Ingranata does well with framing TARDIS scenes to provide the right sense of perspective and intimacy in its vastness. And when the Fugitive Doctor and Taslo land on their first planet, Ingranata and colorist Warnia K. Sahadewa show they’re ready to have fun creating fantastical worlds. As for their translation of the Fugitive Doctor to comics, they both so far have done well with rendering a character that had such limited screen time.
It’s good to see Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor back in series canon. Long may her comics tenure reign!
