The Beat is live at today’s ComiXology originals press conference announcing their second wave of original titles as part of ComiXology Unlimited and other Amazon reading services.

What will comprise their new set of titles? Let find out together.

ComiXology founder David Steinberger opens the floor with a discussion of ComiXology’s goal of “making everyone on Earth a comics fan”, and a quick history of ComiXology Unlimited.

Chip Mosher has now taken the mic to announce the four new titles:

The first is Goliath Girls by Sam Humphries and Alti Firmansyah, a 5 issue miniseries.

In the middle of introducing the creative team, Mosher announces that the title will be available day and date in Japan.

Humphries describes the comic as “Pitch Perfect meets Pacific Rim” centering on a trio of girls who raise their own kaiju and explains how the new global comic book landscape will allow to book to appeal in the Japanese marketplace. He calls it a “love letter to manga”.

The second title announced is Grave Danger, written by Tim Seeley with art by Mike Norton.

Norton describes the central character, named Grave Danger, was raised on old crappy 80’s movies and interacts with the world within that context. She’s an agent of the clandestine espionage organization that handles illegal acts committed by vampires, witches, demons, and “Frankensteins”.

Norton calls up Seeley on the phone, who isn’t at the conference, and asks him why he created Grave Danger. Seeley tries to answer but the phone signal couldn’t hold up…

Norton says it’s great fun to play with all the favorite interests of their childhood and is a great turnabout from their work on Revival.

Hit Reblog is the third series, a series that features hit viral comics with bios of those featured creators written and drawn by Megan Kearney, edited by Hope Nicholson.

Kearney said she was fascinated by the way sudden fame affected these respective creators.

Both Kearney and Nicholson take some time to discuss some of their favorite comics they delved into for this project.

The fourth series is Teenage Wasteland by Magdalene Visaggio and Jen Vaughn, focusing on Ellie Tweed, a new kid in school who falls in the wrong crowd, who harbor a huge secret, they are Earth’s secret defenders.

They open up their discussion about their own high school experiences and which generation they relate to the most…I liked Vaughn’s answer: “the Oregon Trail” generation.

Now the entirety of the panel swaps over for a new lineup of creators…with Mosher now moving our attention to The Dark by Mark Sable and Kristian Donaldson.

It’s a near future story, where a cyberattack knocks out technology as we know it. A pair of unlikely allies team to fight the rise of a biologically based internet. It will be an original graphic novel.

Delver, the sixth title, is co-written by C. Spike Trotman and MK Reed, and features art by Tish Doolin.

“I’m a huge fan of trying new things”, Trotman said as to why she was interested in bringing this book to the platform.

The series pitch: a door to a living dungeon surfaces in a tiny village called Oddgoat, and village girl Temerity Aster has to choose between abandoning the only home she’s ever known to carpetbaggers and sellswords, or carve out a place for herself and her family in this new and dangerous world.

Trotman’s description of the series, to paraphrase, “Skyrim, but the story of the people who live in the town where the adventurers go on killing sprees” is especially enticing.

The last new title featured is The Stone King by Kel McDonald and Tyler Crook. It’s a fantasy adventure that explores the life of a teen girl thief, working to determine her future path….but instead provokes a giant!

McDonald relays to the press how she and Tyler began their work together post-BPRD. She stated that the series was initially berthed from imagery that Crook presented to McDonald of a giant roaming the landscape…it’s reminiscent of Shadow of the Colossus visually based on my brief impression of it.

A question from the audience was posed around guided view and how the books are designed for that. Mosher confirmed that is indeed something they keep in mind, particularly in regard to page layouts and are thinking specifically about the digital reader.

A question is posed about the rating systems in ComiXology and if the platform has any guidance about trolls/bullies using it to attack certain creators. Mosher said they do not have any guidance on that topic currently.

And there is no word currently on adaptations.

To reiterate, the first four books are available right now. The next four will available in the near future at dates to be announced.

And thus endeth the show! A nicely put together event with a number of intriguing titles. ComiXology’s publishing endeavors are looking very promising.

Comments are closed.