Welcome back to The Beat Digest, a twice-weekly round-up of the biggest comics-related news stories we’ve missed every Tuesday and Friday. Is there a story out there you think we should cover? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
§ Mad Cave announced 51, a satirical sci-fi series, by writer Curt Pires and artist Jok (The Body Trade). Revolving around the titular Area 51, the book sees the President’s failson inadvertently get every item from the base stolen, forcing him and his co-workers to “go out into the world and put the genie back in the bottle — capturing rogue aliens, stolen superpower formulas, experimental energy weapons, and all manner of impossible objects.” Issue #1 will be released on March 11, with a variant cover by Michael Avon Oeming.
Meanwhile, the publisher’s children’s imprint, Papercutz, will launch a new line of Disney graphic novels, Disney Adventure Journals. The four books, by rotating teams of creators, will follow Mulan, The Little Mermaid‘s Ariel, Frozen‘s Anna, and The Princess and The Frog‘s Tiana on new adventures early next year. The first installment, Mulan’s Adventure Journal: The Palace of Secrets, will kick off the line on February 17 (aka Chinese New Year). They will all feature cover art by Paulina Ganucheau.
Furthermore, Mad Cave’s international imprint Nakama Press revealed See You in Memories, a graphic novel by Hong Kong artist Pen So. Due out May 12, the book follows a singer-songwriter who fell out with her father when the limits of online fame became too difficult for her to accept. Years later, she wakes up on the streets of Hong Kong with no memory of how she wound up there, with only her sketchbook for clues. “Retrac[ing] the vivid locations within her sketches, she embarks on a profound, otherworldly journey through memory and place.”
§ Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard (Plastic, Plush etc.) will reunite at Image on Narco, a five-issue thriller launching March 4. The Hitchcock-inspired book follows a man who struggles with narcolepsy, as he becomes the prime suspect in a murder he witnessed. Image also announced Blood Squad Seven Yearbook, a special concluding Joe Casey and Paul Fry‘s ’90s-inspired superhero series on March 25. For more news from the publisher, click here.
§ Via IGN, Oni Press revealed Dead Teenagers, a time loop slasher series by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Caitlin Yarsky. Starting March 18, the book follows five friends, who’ve been trapped in the same horrific prom night since 1997… “until now. Something is about to break the cycle that has kept Alicia, J.T., Ryder, Brandy, and their group of friends locked in a bizarre purgatory beyond all understanding… but what they find on the other side will be the most disturbing revelation of all.”
§ Kyojin has won this year’s annual Script2Comic Contest, sponsored by AMP Comics and Kodansha. The script, penned by the Mul brothers, follows American and Japanese soldiers who are forced to team up against subterranean giants during World War II. It will be developed by AMP into print and media, while Kodansha will receive rights for the Asian market. For the runners-up, head to The Hollywood Reporter.
§ Netflix released a trailer for Stranger Things 5, Vol. 2 (consisting of episodes 5-7), ahead of its release on Christmas Day, at 8pm ET. (The series finale will follow at the same time on New Year’s Eve.)
§ Via Facebook, Star Trek painter Kavita Maharaj shares she will no longer be selling official prints of the series, explaining the recent acquisition of Paramount by Skydance means the company “has significantly increased their minimum royalty commissions for their licensees. Ours, unfortunately, was raised by 2000% (yep, that’s not a typo). As a result, I’ve made the sad decision, after seven years of dedicated Trek art, to not renew our license with Paramount.” Maharaj, who is based in Canada, will continue to take commissions for Star Trek and non-Star Trek paintings alike, while their remaining official prints of the series will still be available to buy until March 31.
§ Finally, actor Peter Greene was found dead in his home on Friday, December 12. He was 60 years old. Best known for playing Dorian Tyrell, the lead villain of The Mask (1994), and the creepy Zed in the same year’s Pulp Fiction, Greene also appeared in The Usual Suspects, Under Siege 2, Blue Streak, Training Day, Law & Order, the American version of Life on Mars, Justified, Hawaii Five-0, Chicago P.D., and The Continental. He struggled with drug addiction in the 1990s and 2000s, and is survived by a brother and a sister.
