Yesterday morning I ran a piece summarizing an investigation into the bankruptcies of both the US and French branches of Humanoids. Not even three hours later, an email landed in my inbox from Humanoids PR touting a new kickstarter campaign for COSMOCHASM: FROM CHILE TO THE EDGE OF IMAGINATION, a sort-of-but-not-really collaboration between Alejandro Jodorowsky (The Incal) and Locke & Key’s Gabriel Rodríguez.
Despite having debts of $17 million and assets of $0, it looks like Humanoids is back! In fact, they never left.
The book itself looks great:
Decades after penning the beloved, highest-selling science-fiction graphic novel of all time, The Incal, and with countless other sequential artworks under his belt, the prolific cult filmmaker and renaissance man Jodorowsky returns to the comics medium with a bloodlusting, vengeful space pirate opera—brought to life by the acclaimed Pete Woods (The Metabaron, The Incal: Kill Wolfhead): COSMOPIRATES.
In tandem, the co-creator of the bestselling and tv-adapted Locke & Key, Gabriel Rodríguez, joins writer Hirodjee in weaving a horrific tale of gothic proportions—a period piece exploring matters of life, death, and the in-between: THE CHASM OF RESURRECTION.
So two books by two different teams BUT campaign backers WILL get a one-time, one-shot comics collaboration between Jodorowsky and Rodríguez “a surprise, sequential art adaptation of a surrealist, autobiographical short story written by the former.”
My first thought on reading this is “Alejandro Jodorowsky is still alive??!!??” Indeed, the famed surrealist filmmaker behind El Topo and and Santa Sangre is still around at age 96. Quite an age to be writing comics but still able to give a statement on the project:
“This unexpected short opus rises from the echoes of my childhood in Tocopilla, Chile, where I first opened my eyes ninety-six years ago. It will come alive in images through the hand of the great Chilean artist, Gabriel Rodríguez.”
Rodríguez had his own statement:
“Having the chance of working with Humanoids was a dream come true. As my love of comics books and graphic novels blossomed, I grew up enjoying and studying the works of artists such as Jean Giraud (Mœbius), Philippe Druillet, Francois Boucq, Caza, Richard Corben, and so many others. Teaming up with Hirodjee to create The Chasm of Resurrection was my love letter to classic literature and bande dessinée stories of adventure, magic, and horror. And having the opportunity to collaborate with a living iconic creative legend such as Alejandro Jodorowsky would be a pinnacle in a creative journey driven by love for arts and stories,” beams Gabriel Rodríguez.
And far from being bummed out by both of his publishing companies going bankrupt, Humanoids publisher Fabrice Giger has his OWN excited thoughts on new projects:
“I’ve always been driven by the desire to explore new paths and experiences—it has guided me throughout these past decades. Beyond what I loved in Locke & Key, I was eager to see Gabriel Rodríguez express himself in the bande dessinée format. With Chasm, he amazed me,” states Humanoids Publisher Fabrice Giger. “In a similar spirit, pairing the great Alejandro Jodorowsky with American artist Pete Woods has produced a book visually distinct from what Alejandro was accustomed to, particularly through Pete’s nuanced color palette.”
What the heck is going on here? WELL, as we reported yesterday, based on the reporting by Antoine Oury for ActuaLitté, Humanoids transferred some of its assets to a holding company, Luxembourg-based Humanoids Holdings SARL. The same Humanoids Holdings SARL which is owed more than $7 million from an unsecured loan to Old Humanoids. And indeed, the “About” section of the PR gives the story:
Born in 1975 from the cosmic spark of Metal Hurlant, Humanoids has never simply followed the curve of publishing—it has bent it. Through every shift of era, medium, and frontier, the spirit has remained the same: restless, visionary, unafraid to evolve.
That evolution took shape once more in October 2025. All publishing operations now live within a new vessel: Humanoids Studios—new body, SAME neurons! Still guided by the pulse of imagination that has fueled every metamorphosis since the beginning.
More a movement than a company, HUMANOIDS is celebrating its 50th anniversary—marking five decades of groundbreaking storytelling and stunning visuals. HUMANOIDS champions creator-driven content that explores the power of art beyond boundaries and across genres.
That’s right: Humanoids Studios is picking right up where bankrupt Humanoids left off. Not even skipping a beat.
As soon as my story ran yesterday, people wrote to me saying that it was more or less business as usual at Humanoids, and they got their copy of Hetal Hurlant #3 in the mail. As Brian Hibbs noted in the comments, Simon & Schuster, Humanoids US book distributor issued this statement in November:
“As of October 10, 2025, all assets of Humanoids, Inc. have been transferred to Humanoids Studios SA. Apart from company alignment, this has no notable effects on Humanoids as a brand or its publishing operations. Humanoids’ catalog, including the quarterly anthology Metal Hurlant (with Issue 3 scheduled for release in December), remains fully available through all usual distributors.”
In addition, I’ve learned that some creators at Humanoids are being told that business is going forward as usual following this “transfer.”
Just as a reminder, Humanoids US filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning all of their (non-existent) assets will be liquidated. It’s the bankruptcy of no return. Unless you happened to create a new company, backed by a holding company which can take a $7 million loss and still keep going.
While the original Humanoids US might have been pursuing “The Big Lie” – success via media adaptations – it seems that their continued existence is based on what every comics publisher needs: an amazing backlist that includes some of the best comics ever made.
But what do I know. This one is too wild even for The Beat.
