Earlier today, Diamond Comic Distributors announced the publishers selected as Gold Sponsors of FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2023 and AfterShock Comics is once again honored and excited to be counted among them!
Recognizing the ongoing importance of the growing young adult graphic novel category to retailers’ bottom lines, AfterShock’s FCBD 2023 offering is completely devoted to their Seismic Press young adult graphic novel imprint. Titled SEISMIC STORIES, the 32-page comic will feature all original content based on what will be, by May, the latest Seismic Press title – THE DARKNESS WE BROUGHT BACK – as well as one of the publisher’s most successful series of all time, ANIMOSITY, currently being reintroduced as a Seismic Press series of graphic novels.
A perfect blend of fun, suspense, adventure and intrigue, SEISMIC STORIES breaks new ground in the AfterShock FCBD tradition.
“Prelude to the Darkness We Brought Back” is an original standalone story that takes place days before the events depicted in THE DARKNESS WE BROUGHT BACK, the 112-page graphic novel that will debut a few weeks after FCBD. Written and illustrated by the same award winning creative team – Rex Ogle, Alex Segura and Joe Eisma – this fantasy adventure is a coming of age tale depicting high schoolers of diverse backgrounds thrown together into an alternate reality only to return as a team who must do battle with otherworldly monsters in order to save their town and the planet.
“THE DARKNESS WE BROUGHT BACK has been an absolute pleasure,” said co-author Alex Segura. “Rex and I have these kind of stories in our DNA, character-driven tales that are packed with supernatural elements while still focusing on the personal dramas our heroes are facing. It’s a big love letter to Buffy, Chris Claremont’s New Mutants, with a dash of The Magicians and the Narnia books.”
Added co-author Rex Ogle, “I’ve always wanted to write a story with a Narnia-type door… only one that leads to a darker place, a world that offers up only nightmares. Teens dealing with monsters has always been a fun place to exist creatively, so it was an absolute joy to bring that idea to life with a friend like Alex and an artist like Joe.”
Written by series creator Marguerite Bennett, “Animosity Tales: One Day More” tells a heretofore unknown original standalone story from young Jesse and her canine friend Sandor’s now legendary trek across the country following the day the Animals woke up – when they started thinking, started talking and started taking revenge.
Celebrating its 22nd anniversary, Free Comic Book Day 2023 will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2023 in local comic shops throughout North America and around the world. As a Gold level sponsor, SEISMIC STORIES will be available everywhere FCBD is celebrated.
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