Small Press Spotlight: CALEXIT: THE BATTLE OF UNIVERSAL CITY set to hit this summer

Indie publisher Black Mask Studios recently announced a new series set to debut this July at Comic-Con International—Calexit: The Battle of Universal City. Writer Matteo Pizzolo and artist C. Granda are teaming up for the book.

Read details from the publisher below:

Theme parks have already become political battlegrounds, but what if they became actual battlegrounds? What if the culture wars became actual wars? As mass demonstrations consume Hollywood, the comic book CALEXIT considers the question: What if California refused to be ruled?

This is the world of CALEXIT: THE BATTLE OF UNIVERSAL CITY, the new comic book series launching this July from Black Mask Studios, the Los Angeles-based indie publisher of acclaimed titles including BLACK, SPACE RIDERS, DESTINY NY, ALICE IN LEATHERLAND and 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK. Together writer Matteo Pizzolo and artist C. Granda, the creators of ROGUE STATE, have created a timely title about young rebels willing to risk it all for freedom of thought.

“This is a special moment in the history of comics. Passionate creators from all storytelling spheres are being drawn to the freedom of thought offered by the indie comic market like never before, and they’re racing to tell their authentic, provocative, most personal, and just plain coolest stories in comic books and graphic novels,” said Pizzolo, who is also co-founder of Black Mask Studios. “It’s not by accident that iconic talents from Chuck D to Keanu Reeves are choosing comics as the medium to tell the stories they’re most excited about, or that new audiences are supporting indie comics in stores, on Kickstarter, and across the web to an unprecedented scale. As politics and finance have created headwinds for independent expression in other media, indie comics are engaging with bigger and more passionate audiences than ever before.”

More from the publisher:

In CALEXIT: THE BATTLE OF UNIVERSAL CITY, it’s total war on the streets of Los Angeles as rebel leader Zora rallies her Mulholland Resistance to seize freedom or die trying. The battle rages all the way to the iconic Hollywood theme park in Universal City where Zora’s Resistance fighters make a last stand against Homeland Security’s Occupying Forces. Warzone courier Jamil has been hired to spirit Zora away from the firefight to a Resistance stronghold, but Zora won’t be dragged to safety without a fight.

“Pizzolo and Granda have crafted a high-octane war story in Calexit: The Battle of Universal City that focuses on character and wild action but also rhymes with our historical moment of culture battles being waged through intellectual property, from DeSantis v. Disneyworld to J.K. Rowling to the WGA strike,” said Brian Giberson, head of publishing development for Black Mask. “Black Mask Studios has always focused on stories that are adventurous and also have a real message driving them. Starting with OCCUPY COMICS, we published stories about inequity and the struggle for financial justice. Since then, we published stories about gentrification (THE DREGS), LGBTQIA+ self-discovery and found family (ALICE IN LEATHERLAND) and empowered Black superheroes fighting racist plutocrats (BLACK). The fact that the comic market continues to support and provide a platform for such authentic voices is a striking reminder that comics play a crucial and important role in our cultural dialogue.”

Calexit: The Battle of Universal City is the latest mini-series in the Calexit comic book universe created by Pizzolo and illustrator Amancay Nahuelpan, which launched in 2017 as one of the most widely acclaimed comic book series of the decade and spawned spinoffs such as Calexit: All Systems San Diego and Calexit: Our Last Night in America. Both books were illustrated by Granda.

In 2019, the universe’s character Emmie-X was the poster image for one of INDIVISIBLE CALIFORNIA’s Voter Outreach Campaigns that helped flip several House seats in the midterm elections. Blurring the line between fiction and political commentary, every issue features non-fiction backmatter devoted to real-world applications of the topical ideas in the story world.

The first issue of Calexit: The Battle of Universal City is set for release at Comic-Con International in July.