John Tarachine’s manga is described by publisher Titan as a Japanese spin on Harry Potter and Charmed. It’s the tale of a witch and her apprentice, set in Geek Native’s hometown HQ.

The blurb for  Witch of Thistle Castle says;

Spirits and magic are everywhere in the streets of Edinburgh – if only you dare to see it!

Dive into this heartfelt manga about a witch and her apprentice as they try to find their place in a world that hates their very existence.

The last in a long line of Witches of the Black Wood, Marie Blackwood lives a quiet life in Edinburgh – away from the scrutiny of the Church.

But when the Church thrusts 13-year-old Theo into her hands for safekeeping, Marie suddenly gains the responsibility not just of taking care of a teenager – but protecting the world and Theo himself, from the amazing power that lives inside of him.

The author, also known as John Taratsumi in English, is best known as the author and artist of End Roll, Alcohole Communication, and Shinonome Tantei Ibunroku.

Witch of Thistle Castle preview

Witch of Thistle Castle v2

Do you know what? I’ve spotted Amazon has volume 2 already in their database and with a December 5th release date. Here’s what the megacorp has for the blurb.

New dangers will be coming for the young apprentice and his awesome powers, as they slowly come to be accepted and not merely feared for the power they wield! Marie Blackwood and the newly trained Theo visit France and the young teenager is spellbound at the finery on display and a handsome young man named Charles… but not is all as it seems and Marie will have to come to the aid of her charge once more, all while another party make Theo an intriguing offer…

Quick Links

• Buy Witch of Thistle Castle at: Amazon | Forbidden Planet | Barnes & Noble.
• Buy volume 2 at: Amazon.

The word “woke” is not a pejorative despite the angry insecurity from some of the geek community, and the brief, decisive and glorious civil war on the 50,000-strong BattleTech fan Reddit was a timely reminder.

The drama started when the incumbent moderators deleted any mention of the Battletech Pride Anthology 2023, presumably in support of free speech and in protest at the cancel culture (<- sarcasm). Their homophobia was noticed, and the community reacted quickly.

Each of those moderators has now been removed, and as Polygon reports, the sub-Reddit’s founder, ddevil63, is back. The new rule one in the forum is BattleTech is for Everybody. 

Humbly, ddevil63 also added;

Yesterday was when I became aware of the removal of the Pride Anthology post and the rightfully deserved backlash. I have no moderation or community management experience but I’m trying my best to right any wrongs.

Sci-fi legend and BattleTech author Michael A. Stackpole is also on the record with the reminder that;

BattleTech has always been woke. Read the Warrior Trilogy. The anti-prejudice/anti-racism theme roads through all of it. 

Catalyst Game Labs, who make the BattleTech RPG and other games, also weighed in clearly and with strength. In a Reddit post, the publisher added;

To build safe and respectful communities for BattleTech, Shadowrun, Leviathans, and Board Gaming.

and then;

Let me be clear: BattleTech is for EVERYONE.

There are now more safe and respectful BattleTech communities than before. Catalyst has started its own sub-Reddit and is working with ddevil63 to coordinate between the two.

Freelancer Russell Zimmerman is on my community team, and has experience moderating safe communities. I asked him to take point on creating a subreddit and wrangling a mod team. Reddit is designed to be a community space, and our plan is to encourage and enable community members to moderate rather than us. It is not my intention to have this account be an active participant here. But to call this subreddit “official,” the community and moderation team will need to abide by the same community guidelines as our other spaces. Once those are finalized, we will communicate them with you.

I’m especially fond of this “works in progress” by SneakyZaku and shared on the new OfficialBattleTech community. 

Sneaky said;

Work in progress on the new ‘Pride-star’ im making, a celebration of Battletech’s inclusivity across the ages, starting with an Original box Thunderbolt and a Clan Invasion Mad Cat!

Graphic novel and queer horror debut Let Me Out from Emmett Nahil & George Williams promises to thrill and enthral later this year.

Described as ‘a tribute to queer cinema and vintage revenge-exploitation films’, Let Me Out‘s premise begins with the discovery of a corpse in the woods, and a group of queer and trans misfits being falsely accused of devil worship and murder.

With their options fast running out and no allies to turn to, they realise that maybe devil worship isn’t so bad after all, and might be the best route to revenge.

Light in the darkness from co-creaters Nahil & Williams

This is writer, narrative designer and game developer’s Emmett Nahil’s graphic debut novel. Here’s what he had to say: “Let Me Out turns classic horror tropes on their head, while showcasing how marginalized people are sacrificed on the altars of power.

He continued: “This is a story about what happens when a group of queer and trans friends are given the supernatural means to fight back. It is also about found family and the joy one finds in one’s friends, even amidst seemingly inescapable darkness.”

Sounds right up our street!

Trans comic artist and colourist George Williams chimed in with: “Mitch Sahadi and his friends are bunch a queer misfits stuck within the gates of small town life. Let Me Out was such a blast to work on, and I hope new readers love Mitch and the gang and all the freaky chaos that ensues.”

Appeal for fans of classic horror, too!

Sounds like another fantoosh offering from multiple Eisner and Harvey award-winning publisher Oni Press, and something to look forward to for October!

Oni Press Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn said: “Emmett Nahil and George Williams have created a riveting, timely tale of terror. It’s a stunning, supernatural graphic novel debut that will appeal to fans of classic revenge flicks and horror movies like Carrie and The Craft.”

Let Me Out is set for an October 3rd release – just in time for Spooktober! Yaysies.

MCM London Comic Con will run October in 2023, and despite the train strikes here in the UK, the hotels near the ExCeL already look pretty busy.

I think pre-orders on the Limited Edition Batman & The Joker and Nadia Shammas’ Dead by Daylight #1 will be as popular, hence the rush. Forbidden Planet has announced them this week.

Both are exclusives, and it’s worth noting that there are two Batman & The Joker #7 variants. One is signed by Jock Virgin and limited to only 500; the other is not signed, limited to 1500 and about £10 cheaper.

Issue 7 of Batman and The Joker concludes Marc Silvestri’s brutal Gotham story; it’s 31 pages long.

As you’d expect for such potentially valuable and certainly collectable comics, all three are bagged and boarded. Pre-orders are open now, Batman is due out on the 7th of June, and the prequel for the horror Dead by Daylight is expected later on the 14th.

I think there will be a grab for these, and it’s strange that Forbidden Planet hasn’t limited them to 1 or 2 per customer.

Quick Links

• Batman & The Joker, signed, limited to 500.
• Dead by Daylight #1, limited to 500.

There are two bundles of Girl Genius comic bundles, including an all-new one, currently on offer.

The mad-science world of strange machines, zeppelins, romance and gaslight fantasy adventure is a series from Studio Foglio. There are books and even a GURPS-powered Girl Genius RPG.

The deals run only until June 12th.

Girl Genius

Returning from 2010, there’s the original Girl Genius bundle.

Starter Collection – $5.95

There’s a retail value of $26 in the tier, excellent value.

• Girl Genius graphic albums V1-3
• Girl Genius Secret Blueprints
• Girl Genius freebies

Bonus Collection

The threshold value started at $29.95 and is going up, but if you can meet it, you’ll get an additional $102 in downloads.

• Girl Genius graphic albums V4-13
• Buck Godot Zap Gun for Hire V1-2

Girl Genius 2

The second and originally titled Girl Genius 2 takes up to volume 20.

Journey 2 Starter – $9.95

The value of this new starter tier weighs in at $40.

• Girl Genius V14-16
• Girl Genius: Nuts and Bolts

Journey 2 Bonus Collection

The threshold for this second bonus started at $17.95 and unlocks a further $50, but will change over time.

• Girl Genius V17-20
• Buck Godot 3: Gallimaufry

The bundles help support Direct Relief, with a chunk of sales going to helping support healthcare workers with protective gear.

Quick Links

• Girl Genius bundle.
• Girl Genius 2.

As if inviting friends over and then spending the night asking them if they have wood wasn’t classy enough, you soon cook for them too.

Okay, the resource is officially called lumber in Catan and ‘soon’ means June, which is when the official cookbook from Ulysses Press for Catan is released.

Catan, just as a reminder, is that board game played on hexes, designed by Klaus Teuber and about resources. It’s sold tens of millions of copies since its release in 1995.

The synopsis for the cookbook includes;

From snack-worthy appetizers to feast-level entrees, this cookbook includes fun and easy-to-make recipes such as: Over-Knight Oats; Chicken under a Brick; Ear of Plenty Corn Dip; Robber’s Discard Delight; Rocky Road Cookies; Desert (Prickly Pear) Margaritas.

We’re also promised photos, artwork, and fan references, and the book is an ideal gift.

At around £25, the Catan cookbook is on Amazon and anyone but Amazon shops like Forbidden Planet.

Frankly, if anyone wants to bake me some hex cookies, they’re welcome.

Catan: The Official Cookbook preview

We have got a reasonably generous collection of recipes to sample from inside the Catan cookbook.

Quick Links

• Catan: The Official Cookbook – Amazon | Forbidden Planet.

The World of Darkness brand has entered a two-year deal with a text-based interactive novel company called Choice of Games. Choice of Games has had Nebula Award nominations and has a scripting language, ChoiceScript, for others to use.

The projects will span several World of Darkness story worlds, including Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and Hunter: The Reckoning, with each story exploring the franchise’s signature dark themes. Werewolf: The Apocalypse – The Book of Hungry Names and Hunter: The Reckoning – The Beast of Glenkildove, both launching in 2023, will begin the collaboration.

The Book of Hungry Names

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – The Book of Hungry Names is the latest interactive novel by Kyle Marquis, the author of Vampire: The Masquerade – Night Road, Choice of Games’ first World of Darkness title. The studio’s first project, set in Werewolf: The Apocalypse, is an immersive and detailed story that delves into the property’s key themes. Readers will see the story through the eyes of a Garou, the warlike shapeshifters torn between rage and spirit as they come to terms with their failure to save the Earth Mother.

Hunter: The Reckoning – The Beast of Glendkildove

In William Brown’s Hunter: The Reckoning – The Beast of Glenkildove interactive novel, players take on the role of a mortal hunter on the trail of a deadly supernatural threat that murdered a close friend. Confronting this lonely truth – that the monsters exist and it is up to the player to deal with them because no one else will – is central to the Hunter: The Reckoning experience and Brown’s story.

Sean Greaney, Vice President of World of Darkness at Paradox Interactive, told the press;

Choice of Games is behind some of the most beloved World of Darkness stories that resonate with our fans, expanding our partnership is a natural fit. World of Darkness thrives on immersion and meaningful choices, Choice of Games consistently delivers on this formula with riveting narratives that draw out our inner monsters. They have more World of Darkness stories to tell, expanding into additional story worlds that our community has been eager to explore.”

Jason Steven Hill, COO and Cofounder of Choice of Games added,

Collaborating with World of Darkness has been a dream come true for Choice of Games. The World of Darkness community has welcomed us with open arms since we launched Vampire: The Masquerade – Night Road in 2020, and they have been eager to explore our stories ever since. Expanding our partnership with World of Darkness empowers us to continue developing captivating interactive narratives for fans of their story worlds. We are bringing the deep narratives and choices fans expect from our Vampire: The Masquerade stories to more World of Darkness properties, allowing players to experience these worlds like never before.”

There’s already Choice of Games’ World of Darkness novels to check out.

Tabletop gamers will know there’s been some shuffling of Conan IP, with Monolith taking over. RPG fans will also know Jim Zub.

Zub is the writer with King-Size Conan artist Roberto De La Torre on the new Conan the Barbarian series. Issue one is due in late July, with Diamond Previews offering pre-orders and Forbidden Planet handling UK and EU.

We’ve covers and some insides to share, and some big names are attached to the alternative covers, including Panosian, Artgerm and Mignola!

Years after the battle of Venarium, a weary CONAN returns to his homeland to seek rest and solitude. However, a mysterious scout rides in to warn the Cimmerians of an imminent threat on the march from the Pictish wilderness. Will CONAN and his new ally be able to hold off this new horde of invaders?

There’s also a cover for cartography fans with a wrap-around card stock map of Hyboria.

Jim Zub is a comic book writer, artist, and art instructor from Canada. He is best known for his work on the Image Comics series Skullkickers (2010), Wayward (2014), and Glitterbomb (2016), as well as his work on the Marvel Comics series Thunderbolts (2016), Uncanny Avengers (2017), Avengers: No Surrender (2018), and Champions (2018). Zub, in addition to writing and drawing comics, is a former programme coordinator and current art professor at Seneca College in Toronto. He and his wife, Stacy King, live in Toronto, Canada.

The new comic book series is being helmed by Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures.

Conan the Barbarian #1 covers

Wraparound Hyborian Age cover map

Inside Conan the Barbarian

Quick Links

• Forbidden Planet.

On April 27, IDW Publishing, publisher of comic book titles such as Locke & Key, Wynonna Earp, and 30 Days of Night as well as licensed properties such as the Dungeons & Dragons comics, cut more than a third of its staff and management.

The publicly traded company eliminated 39% of its employees including publisher Nachie Marsham, CFO Brooke Feinstein, and CEO Allan Grafman. Going further, they’re delisting their stock from NYSE by May 18 in order to move it to the OTCQB platform at a later date. This downsizing represents a departure from their previous path and, with a new CEO, means a new direction for the company, which may impact their line of Dungeons & Dragons comics. 

Deadline, Comics Beat, ICv2, and Bleeding Cool shared details about what triggered the layoffs. Losses driven by the difficult state of the comic book market and the trough between in-production series on various streaming services impacted IDW’s bottom line. These economic pain points are better detailed in ICv2’s review of the first quarter financial results for IDW Media Holdings, the parent company for IDW Publishing. Short version: Money was not made in Q1. 

Downsizings have a real life impact on those that lost their positions. Those that were let go represent leadership, middle management, workers, and creative directors, many of whom are notable in their fields. The difficulty for those affected by this reorganization cannot be understated. Not to trivialize their lost jobs and incomes, but there’s another element to this story, how this affects tabletop roleplaying games?

IDW holds the license to create Dungeons & Dragons comics. As the public face of roleplaying games, D&D’s importance to the health of the RPG industry cannot be understated. IDW’s contract has been active since 2010, and includes the option to reprint older D&D series such as those from DC Comics (including the Forgotten Realms series) and Devil’s Due Publishing. In addition, they can and do create new content ranging from Cutter written by R.A. Salvatore to Baldur’s Gate tie-ins, Ravenloft tales, the Honor Among Thieves movie prequel, and the new series based on the 1980s Dungeons & Dragons Saturday morning cartoon. IDW offers a variety of projects that showcase the known campaign settings and types of stories you can play at your gaming table. 

What benefits does Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast (WotC) get from their contract with IDW? Primarily, a steady stream of revenue. Beyond that, additional consumer awareness. After webseries such as those from Critical Role, the D&D movie, video games, and R. A. Salvatore’s Drizzt Do’Urden novels as well as the new lines of D&D YA novels, these comics are many fans best connection to tales of D&D beyond the game itself. 

The concern is, with these layoffs and a new CEO – Davidi Jonas, son of the principle shareholder Howard Jonas – taking the reigns, the company may reconsider their publishing strategy regarding D&D comics. They could let the license lapse. Alternatively, they could sit on the property without producing new content. Either hurts fans of the comics, comic book retailers, and, in a tiny way, Hasbro’s quest to turn D&D into a billion dollar brand. To be fair, there’s also the possibility that IDW ramps up the number of D&D comics they produce. Until IDW announces their path forward, it’s impossible to say which direction they’ll choose. 

Other RPG Comics

For comparison to the D&D comic license, here are some of the other properties that made the jump from tabletop RPG to four-color funnies. Dynamite Entertainment publishes Pathfinder comics and is soliciting the first Starfinder series based on Paizo’s sci-fi tabletop RPG. While Moonstone Books had the World of Darkness in the early 2000s, Vault Comics is the current home for Vampire: The Masquerade comics based on the White Wolf RPG. Outland Entertainment and Outrider Publications publish comics set in the alternate history of Pinnacle Entertainment Group’s Deadlands. Dark Horse Comics publishes Cyberpunk 2077 comics based on the video game which is based on the tabletop RPG, as well as comics based on Critical Role’s campaigns. Of course, there’s Kenzer & Co’s Knights of the Dinner Table, a comic magazine about gaming that I have the honor of contributing to. 

That list of RPG-based comic books is notable for its brevity. Especially when compared to the projects that do not have a tie-in comic book series. In 2023, there aren’t any comics based on Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu or RuneQuest. No comic publisher is utilizing the rights to make comics based on Old-School Essentials, Shadowrun, The Fantasy Trip, Mutants & Masterminds, Delta Green, Twilight: 2000, Dragonbane, or many other titles ready to be transformed into graphic novels.This is to say, RPGs rarely make the jump to comic book format. 

If the largest RPG in the Western world ceases to have a supporting comic series, it will damage the cross pollination between the two medias. Where this will have the most impact is the smaller RPG publishers. Just as the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie represented Hollywood’s litmus test for whether other RPGs are ripe for exploitation, sales of the D&D comics help comic book publishers to determine their financial interest for diving into RPG comic publishing. For RPG publishers, licensing their intellectual property (IP) into a comic series represents an additional income stream in an industry that is niche in both audience and economics. As well, it would broaden the audience for their property. 

If D&D comics go out of print, will that impact Dungeons & Dragon’s success as a tabletop RPG? Absolutely not. D&D will continue to grow. That said, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), publishers of the D&D RPG, experienced a variety of PR challenges. From lawsuits to overcharging for Magic: The Gathering products to sending Pinkertons after a YouTuber to the Open Game License (OGL) crisis, WotC’s decisions have left them with a number of bad news cycles. The IDW D&D comics, many featuring stories by the much-loved comic and gamer Jim Zub, have been a consistent bright spot. Even as D&D’s prose novel offerings decreased towards the end of the 2010s, IDW maintained a steady supply of D&D comics since 4th edition. Their work provides a consistent outlet for D&D adventures away from the gaming table. 

Are IDW’s Dungeons & Dragons comics in imminent danger of cancellation? At the moment, no. IDW’s most recent graphic novel Ravenloft: Orphan of Agony Isle, collecting the four-issue series of the same title, arrived in comic stores March 14th. The third issue of Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures four-issue mini-series is scheduled for delivery to comic stores on May 24th. Based on past publishing trends, IDW will complete the four-issue series in June or July and make the trade collection of the series available by year’s end. 

After the current series, what’s next for Dungeons & Dragons comics from IDW? That’s hard to state with certainty at this time. The last news posts on their website are from 2022 announcing the movie prequel and cartoon-based series. The publisher just announced its reorganization, and needs to calibrate its staff and partners before cementing its next round of comic offerings. Will IDW continue to create original D&D comics? For the time being, the titles are safe. But only time will tell what they plan for 2024 and beyond.

British comic book publisher Time Bomb Comics launched the anthology Quantum last week with a competition.

To win the original cover artwork as pencilled by David Morris and inked by Pat O’Connor, buy a copy from a shop, take your new copy of Quantum #1 outside and post a selfie with it along with where (name and address) you bought it.

I guess that’s a bit of market research for Time Bomb, but original art is worth a selfie, I think! The self can go on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Sorry fellow Mastodon users, our time will come.

The draw happens on the 21st of June, which feels like ages away, but Quantum has gone international, and entries can be from anywhere in the world.

I know Quantum is in WS Smith here in the UK, and if you can’t get out (which might close competition doors) you can order it from Forbidden Planet International. At least, this is what Time Bomb says. I’ve had no luck looking up the first comic book online.

It’s all about supporting local stores, though, and Steve Tanner of Time Bomb Comics told the press;

We want to recognise how important the newsagents will be to Quantum’s success, so that’s why the rules of entry for our unique cover art giveaways are designed to give them some much deserved kudos too. So, if your local independent newsagent doesn’t have a copy of Quantum on the shelf, ask them to order one for you and enter our cover art competition when you get it.

It’s just one part of what we’ll be doing with Quantum. We hope the readers will enjoy the content, but we also hope they’ll enjoy being involved with the comic on a deeper level. A Quantum level!”

Quantum isn’t all old school, though. There’s a QR code inside the comic book, which takes you to a private web page with unique features.

Via Time Bomb Comics’ newsletter