As the coronavirus continues to keep us locked indoors, it is vital to find ways to keep your sanity while doing your part to “flatten the curve.” Black Mask Studios is offering all of their #1s for free to help out.
For a limited time, you can try out a few new books. Not only does this give you some much-needed entertainment during a crisis, but it will also give the comic industry the support it needs right now. If you like the first issue, the publisher encourages you to order a copy from your local comic shop (mail order or through their website/eBay store). You can also order directly from Black Mask, and if you do they will send 50% to your favorite comic store. Simply list the shop in the “Special Instructions” at checkout.
The company’s entire library can be test-driven. Check out synopses of a few options below and click here for the full list and to begin reading.
BLACK #1
written by Kwanza Osajyefo, designed by Tim Smith 3, illustrated by Jamal Igle, lettered by Dave Sharpe, covers by Khary Randolph, edited by Sarah Litt
In a world that already hates and fears them – what if only Black people had superpowers. After miraculously surviving being gunned down by police, a young man learns that he is part of the biggest lie in history. Now he must decide whether it’s safer to keep it a secret or if the truth will set him free.
CRITICAL HIT #1
written by Matt Miner, illustrated by Jonathan Brandon Sawyer, colored by Doug Garbark, lettered by Jim Campbell
Matt Miner rallies a brand new art team and launches Liberator fan-favorites Jeanette and Sarah in a bold new direction with their own gritty mission to stop a rogue gang of hunters – but the girls learn to their horror that these hunters have developed a new hobby: hunting people… and suddenly the rescuers become the prey.
JADE STREET PROTECTION SERVICES #1
written by Katy Rex, illustrated by Fabian Lelay, colored by Mara Jayne Carpenter, lettered by Taylor Esposito, cover by Annie Wu
In this new series that mashes The Breakfast Club with Sailor Moon, Kai, Saba, Noemi, Divya, and Emma are (bad) students at Matsdotter Academy, an elite private school for magical girls. When they all meet for the first time in a totally unfair detention, these punk rock witch delinquents cut class and discover the fates Matsdotter has in store for them are even more sinister than they suspected. With JSPS, the creative team of writer Katy Rex, penciler/inker Fabian Lelay, colorist Mara Jayne Carpenter, and series cover artists Annie Wu and Kiki Jenkins channel Black Mask’s edgy, subversive sensibility into a whipsmart adventure for delinquents young and old.
NO ANGEL #1
written by Eric & Adrianne Palicki, illustrated by Ari Syahrazad, colored by Jean-Paul Csuka, lettered by Jim Campbell, cover by Amancay Nahuelpan
Religious texts from The Bible to the Sumerian tablets speak of strange creatures descending from the heavens and mating with humans, their children the superhuman heroes of myth. None of this ever meant anything to Iraq War veteran Hannah Gregory, until she found herself in the crosshairs of a dangerous cult convinced that she’s a descendant of these mysterious bloodlines… bloodlines they’re determined to eradicate.
QUANTUM TEENS ARE GO #1
written by Magdalene Visaggio, illustrated by Eryk Donovan, colored by Claudia Aguirre, lettered by Zakk Saam
Mad science is the punkest s*** there is. Teenage sweethearts Nat & Sumesh spend their nights breaking into abandoned superlabs to steal the parts they need to build a time machine – and they’ve just found the most important part. But mysterious entities keep trying to stop them turning it on. Now all they’ve gotta do is hang on long enough to figure out why. Magdalene Visaggio (Kim & Kim) and Eryk Donovan (Memetic) bring you a high-octane adventure full of robots, muscle cars, and queer-a** skater punks.
WE ARE THE DANGER #1
written & illustrated by Fabian Lelay, colored by Claudia Aguirre, lettered by Taylor Esposito, edited by Stephanie Cooke
Starting as the new girl in your senior year of high school is never easy, and Julie Malliari is having a terrible first day- until she meets Tabitha. After a night out at a rock show, their friendship quickly grows and, before they know it, the two form a band with their sights set on a record deal… they just need to win it in a nationwide Battle of the Bands competition.
With Tabitha’s rival keen to take the prize for herself, it’s a battle not to be missed…
THE WILDS #1
written by Vita Ayala, illustrated by Emily Pearson, colored by Marissa Louise, lettered by Jim Campbell
After a cataclysmic plague sweeps across America, survivors come together to form citystate-like communities for safety. Daisy Walker is a Runner for The Compound, a mix of post-apocalyptic postal service and black market salvaging operation. It is a Runner’s job to ferry items and people between settlements, and on occasion scavenge through the ruins of the old world. Daisy is the best there is at what she does. Out beyond the settlement walls are innumerable dangers: feral animals, crumbling structures, and Abominations – those that were touched by the plague and became something other. After a decade of surviving, Daisy isn’t phased by any of it – until her lover, another Runner named Heather, goes missing on a job. Desperate to find her, Daisy begins to see that there may be little difference between the world inside the walls and the horrors beyond.
