It’s been quite the year for Lion Forge who has been busy announcing new imprints like CubHouse, Roar, and Magnetic Collection (formerly Magnetic Press). The independent publisher based in St. Louis had a slew of announcements during their Saturday panel at NYCC.

The Catalyst Prime release schedule, via Lion Forge on Facebook.

Writer Amy Chu (Red Sonja, Poison Ivy) was present to offer more details about her work on Summit for the Catalyst Prime series. Chu says she’s enjoyed writing the incredibly smart but reluctant hero Val, who is grappling with the emotional trauma of being the sole survivor. The first trade of Summit is due 11/11/17 and will appear alongside Noble.

Dr. Sheena Howard was present to talk about her experience writing about Jonah for Superb. Howard says it was really important for her and their partners at the National Down Syndrome Society, that Jonah had personal agency, that he was not defined by having Down Syndrome but was a fully emotional and complex character–the way all of us are.

CubHouse, Lion Forge’s imprint for younger demographics, was up next. Wrapped Up is targeted towards children and details the story of Milo, a 12-year-old-kid mummy. David Scheidt (Adventure Time) and illustrator Scoot McMahon were on hand to show some illustrations and talk about the main character and inspiration. Both said the series came from wanting to provide kids with something they wish they could have read when they were younger. For Scheidt it was important that the character have a great relationship with his sister. He wanted to show that there could be other dynamics between siblings beyond the usual adversarial ones often seen in children’s books. Milo is a child of divorce and the relationship he has with his sister is one that gives him strength.

Water Memory, released in August of 2017, by Mathieu Reynes and Valerie Vernay is based in reality and follows the path of the character Marion who on a journey of discovery to find out who she is and where she came from. It’s rooted in reality and has elements of fantasy. Other titles discussed include: The Little Red Wolf (a play on Little Red Riding Hood), Taproot (a queer love story about a ghost and a gardner) and Lighter Than My Shadow (a graphic novel that deals with overcoming an eating disorder).

Lion Forge

Three new comic properties were announced at the Lion Forge panel including: The Wormworld Saga, an adaption of the popular digital series from Daniel Lieske. The series involves adventures of a young boy who can enter the paintings that live in his grandmother’s attic. The Wormworld Saga will be released in May 2018.

Lion Forge

In June 2018 Lion Forge will release Dinosaucers based on Michael Uslan’s 1987 cartoon series. Uslan was on deck to talk about how the series has been reimagined and updated for modern times, including recent discoveries about how dinosaurs had feathers. Uslan teamed up with co-writers Andrew Pepoy and Jason Millet for the story that imagines another Earth like planet ( Reptilon,) where dinosaurs were never extinct and have developed into more advanced creatures.The series will be released as part of Lion Forge’s Roar imprint.

Via: Ezra Claytan Daniels

Following in September 2018 will be the recent Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics award winner, Upgrade Soul by Ezra Clayton Daniels. Upgrade Soul, which defines itself as an immersive science fiction graphic novel, will be adapted for print by Lion Forge. Upgrade Soul chronicles the story of an elderly couple who are guinea pigs in body modification procedure aimed at reducing toxins from their bodies. The experiment however, goes horribly wrong  and the couple is left with severely disfigured (though intellectually superior) clones of themselves.

Also to look forward to will be Black Comix Returns and POS: Piece of Sh*t which was described as “Boogie Nights meets Marley & Me.” Without a doubt it’s been a big year for Lion Forge and it looks like we can only expect more from the team who continues to expand their editorial board and imprints to help bring more people into the world of comics and graphic novels.