Aconyte Announces Summer 2022 Books

 

Publisher Aconyte Books, home to fiction set in a number of famous worlds such as Marvel, Arkham Horror, Legend of the Five Rings, and Zombicide to name but a few, have revealed a host of exciting new titles coming to readers in summer 2022. And I'm very excited by the books that are on offer!

Coming in May 2022, Legend of the Five Rings: The Great Clans of Rokugan - The Selected Novella's volume 2 brings together some wonderful stories by some top names. The book will feature 'Deathseeker' by Robert Denton III, 'The Eternal Knot' by Marie Brennan, and 'Trial of Shadows' by D G Laderoute.

In addition, the book will also include a series of spooky stories from the Legend of the Five Rings Halloween tales; which have never been in print before.

The new book features a beautiful cover by Mauro Del Bo.

Also releasing in May 2022 is the latest Marvel novel, the first in the new School of X series; School of X: The Siege of X-41 by Tristan Palmgren.

Spinning out of the pages of Palmgren's recent Marvel Heroines novel, Outlaw: Relentless, this new story follows Joshua 'Josh' Foley, also known as Elixir. An Omega-level mutant, Elixir must learn to come to terms with his anti-mutant upbringing, all whilst fighting off vampiric mermen, and an ancient leviathan in a story being descried as an 'intense survival adventure'.

The book features cover art from Christina Myrvold.

The final book releasing in May 2022 is the third, and final, entry in the epic Twilight Imperium series, Twilight Imperium: The Veiled Masters by Tim Pratt.

This trilogy comes to a close as the galaxy stands on the brink of war. But hope yet remains that the vast web of schemes that has led to this point can be exposed before it's too late to stop disaster. The final part of this sprawling space opera has been tipped to be an astounding conclusion.

The cover for Twilight Imperium: The Veiled Masters is provided by Scott Schomburg, and fits together with the previous two books to make one huge piece of art!

June 2022 kicks off with some more zombie slaying action in the latest Zombicide entry. After fighting zombies in the modern day, as well as travelling to the future and space, this novel brings the action to a new fantasy setting in Zombicide: Age of the Undead by C. L. Werner.

Set in a fantasy world whose peace has been shattered by the zombie apocalypse, a bold knight must enlist the help of a band of unlikely allies in order to track down the source of the undead corruption sweeping across the land.

Zombicide: Age of the Undead is based upon the Black Plague edition of Zombicide, and is set to be a fun horror adventure packed with humour.

The cover art has been provided by Daniele Orizio.

The next entry in the Watchdogs Legion series comes in June 2022 with the release of Watchdogs Legion: Daybreak Legacy by Stewart Hotston; which sees the return of the resistance group from Watchdogs Legion: Day Zero!

Set right after the events of the game, this novel sees our past heroes return to take on an emergent AI and an authoritarian state in this gritty, high tech thriller. Project Daybreak isn't as dead as they thought, and neither are those who died with it.

The cover for this book has yet to be revealed; make sure to keep an eye on Acontye Books for the announcement! 

The Legend of the Five Rings, A Daidoji Shin Mystery: The Flower Path by Josh Reynolds also hits shelves July 2022, and sees the extraordinary detective Daidoji Shin investigating a wonderfully complex and intriguing locked room mystery.

This third entry in the Legends of the Five Rings series follows on from Legends of the Five Rings: Poison River, which received the People's Choice award at the 2021 UK Games Expo.

The cover art for the book has been provided by Grant Griffin.

The second entry in the Terraforming Mars series comes in July 2022 as readers return to the red planet in Terraforming Mars: Edge of Catastrophe.

In this sweeping science fiction thriller set in the 26th century Mars is a thriving world; the huge crater left by the crashing moon in Terraforming Mars: In The Shadow of Deimos is now a domed city filled with industry and a burgeoning Martian-born workforce.

The cover art has been provided by René Aigner.

Also arriving July 2022 is Descent Legends of the Dark: The Raiders of Bloodwood by Davide Mana.

A non-stop sword and sorcery action adventure set in the world of Descent: Legends of the Dark, the book sees a terrible invasion of Terrinoth. A handful of heroes is all that stands in between a monstrous horde and the total destruction of the heart of Terrinoth.

The stunning cover art is by Asur Misoa.

A new entry in the chilling Arkham Horror series comes in August 2022 with Arkham Horror: Coils of the Labrinth by David Annandale.

The first novel in the series to be written by Annandale, the book sees an unnatural horror penetrating our reality to prey on the dreams of its victims. Something sinister is lurking at the heart of a labyrinthine nightmare, something longing to be set free.

This gorgeous cover art has been provided by John Coulthart.

The next entry in the popular Assassin's Creed novel series comes in August 2022 with Assassin's Creed: The Magus Conspiracy by Kate Heartfield, the Aurora-award winning historical fantasy author.

The war between the Assassin's and the Templars causes havoc in the Victorian era when Pierette, a daring acrobat performing at the Great Exhibition, comes to the rescue of mathematician Ada Lovelace; saving her from a gag of thugs.

This breakneck thriller is set to open a new chapter in the Assassin's Creed universe. Keep an eye open for the cover reveal!

The final announcement for summer 2022 sees Squirrel Girl arriving on the scene in August. Squirrel Girl: Universe will be written by Tristan Palmgren, and will see the titular hero setting out in an adventure to save the galaxy.

Squirrel Girl is in a pickle and a jam, a metaphor that mixes about as well as it tastes. She and her friends are lost in outer space, where there is a conspicuous absence of oxygen and, even more troubling, a shortage of squirrels. What’s a girl to do?

Stay tuned for the reveal of the cover.

To keep up with the exciting announcements, as well as information on all of Aconyte's  upcoming and previous releases, make sure to head over to their website. I don't know about you, but I'm excited for a lot of these new releases, and look forward to seeing what other things they announce soon.

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Inferno Girl Red Comic Kickstarter & Interview With Mat Groom

 

After being teased in the back of the first issue of Radiant Black a new Tokusatsu inspired super hero comic has hit Kickstarter; Inferno Girl Red.

Penned by Mat Groom, one of the writers on Marvel's new Ultraman books, the new graphic novel introduces readers to Cássia Costa, a teenage girl who finds herself in possession of a mystical bracelet that transforms her into the magically powered hero Inferno Girl Red. Joining Groom on the book is artist Erica D'Urso who has previously worked on Captain Marvel, colourist Igor Monti, and letterer Becca Carey.

The book has been described as combining high school super-heroics drama of Into The Spider-Verse with the dynamic storytelling and world-building of Japanese tokusatsu superheroes, with the intrigue and relationship drama of Britich boarding school fiction thrown in too.

'We all need something to believe in.  Especially Cássia Costa.

'An ancient cult and their army of demons have stolen Cássia’s home, Apex City.  When a magical dragon bracelet rockets into her life and affixes itself to her arm, Cássia’s the only person equipped to stop the cult from offering the entire city to their dark lord.

'There's just one catch...

'The magical bracelet is powered by belief, and Cássia — an intensely pragmatic, rational girl – doesn’t have much to spare. She’ll have to find something to kindle her faith, though, and fast —because she has a secret legacy to live up to. Because her mother's life is on the line. And because Apex City needs Inferno Girl Red.'

The lead character of the book, Cássia, is a hero that immediately jumps off the page from a lot of other super-hero comics. Not only is she a teenage girl, she's also a person of colour, and stands out even more thanks to her vitiligo; making her one of the only super heroes with the condition.

'Cássia’s not shy– but bouncing around from city-to-city as her Mom bounced from job-to-job meant it was hard to make friends... and any friends she did make disappeared pretty quickly once they found out who Cássia’s mother was. So instead of socialising, she focused on learning– showing a particular aptitude for science.

'Now Cássia has a chance for a fresh start in Apex City. Her impressive test scores have earned her an invitation to the world-famous entrepreneur Doctor Janine Caro’s prestigious boarding school for promising young minds. There, Cássia starts to settle in. She starts to make friends. She starts to see a future for herself.

'But when a magical bracelet blasts through a window while Cássia is studying late one night, everything changes. Cássia's quickly drawn into a strange war that she previously only heard about from her mother... '

The Kickstarter was launched on March 30th, and has already reached it's goal. This means that not only is the book definitely going ahead, but those who've decided to back the project are also being treated to a number of stretch goals.

Mat has already added a bookmark ribbon to the hardcover edition, an exclusive to the Kickstarter before the book hits shops, and has also announced that an extra twenty pages of story will be added to the book, returning content to the story that was initially removed. 

Most exciting of all, however, is the newly added reward tier that offers people the chance to own a full scale, wearable replica of the Inferno Girl Red helmet. Created by the amazing folks at Starchild Props (who have produced some of the amazing new helmets from the Power Raners comics) it's a truly stunning piece. At the time of writing this there is still one of these amazing helmets left of the ten that were produced, so if you're interested you should definitely head over to the Kickstarter and grab it whilst you can.

Inferon Girl Red Kickstarter

The Kickstarter also has some brilliant behind the scenes looks at the designs of several characters, as well as a couple of preview pages that sees our new hero going up against The Griffin, the spooky new villain for the book.

Having been a fan of Mat's work since before he even began writing comics, listening to his brilliant Power Rangers podcast Ranger Danger, I reached out to Mat to ask him a little about the project, and am pleased to be able to bring you some insight into the new book.

Inferno Girl Red is being described as Tokusatsu inspired, which whilst being a very distinct area of super hero stories still has a lot of variety on offer. From the way the story is described it sounds like Inferno Girl Red is leaning more on the mystical side of Tokusatsu, would that be a correct assumption?

 Yeah! We’re going to be playing a bit with more sci-fi technology as well, in terms of the greater world around our lead character Cássia – but the inferno powers, that come from the Dragon Gauntlet, very much leaning into the mystical side of the Tokusatsu spectrum yeah. There are just so many exciting possibilities in that conception of ‘magic’, it’s so expressive and creative and so much more about fantastically expressing core ideas than rote imitation of what’s come before. So I’m very happy to have the opportunity to put our spin on that.

You’ve previously brought Tokusatsu hero Ultraman to life with Kyle Higgins, after working on a pre-established character was it a difficult transition to creating something completely fresh and new? 

It’s always difficult to create an entirely new world, I think, but it’s very much the fun sort of challenge, you know? But it’s actually not entirely different to ULTRAMAN – because with that, as much as we had existing characters and ideas to use as touch-points, as a new version of that universe we did have to build a new conceptualisation of the world. We had to create a new history, re-imagine the entire cast, re-imagine the cosmological aspects... so there was a lot of world-building there, too. In many ways, it was good practice.

Despite the book being a new property it seems like there’s a lot of history to be discovered there if the preview pages are anything to go by, did you end up creating a lot of backstory to these characters, and if so how much of that will be seeing in the book?

There’s a lot of history to this world, yeah. I’ve developed a lot of backstory, some of which will come up explicitly in the story, some of which won’t—but it’s very important to me to have a firm understanding of where these characters have come from, to inform where they’re heading. And with the larger world-building stuff, I think it’s wise to build one or two layers deeper than you think you’ll actually need, if that makes sense – because though you might not need to go down to that level now, you might need to later… and you’ll be kicking yourself if you’ve written yourself into a trap because you didn’t flesh things out properly, y’know?

I love that the lead character in your book isn’t your average superhero, what with her being a young woman of colour. I think it’s great to see more representation in comics, and think that this definitely helps the book further stand out. Did you find it a difficult process writing Cassia’s story, was there added pressure knowing that you would probably get extra attention for having her as the lead? 

I certainly felt an extra level of responsibility, for sure. I think the biggest responsibility I felt was ensuring we found a female artist/co-creator for the project, because I knew we needed that perspective and lived experience for Cássia to feel at all authentic. Outside of that, I think all we can do is be mindful and empathetic and considerate, and try and tell the most compelling story possible to do the character justice.

What made you decide to work with Erica D’Urso on the book, what was it about her work that made her feel like a good fit for the project? 

I think the two key things for a superhero comics artist to have are an ability to do thrilling, dynamic action that jumps off the page, and the ability to depict genuine-feeling, affecting human emotion. You really need both ends of that spectrum to do the job right. Erica is a master of both of those elements, which is something we were looking for—but she also has this particular style that’s hard to define, but it’s just bursting with humanity. Each character has such a specific look and way of being that they instantly feel like real people, at least to me. It’s like a magic trick. Erica is incredible.

What things can people expect if they decide to take part in the Kickstarter project? 

Depending at what level they back—120 pages of thrilling and (I believe) moving storytelling, with absolutely electric art, in a premium oversized hardcover, plus art prints from some of the industry’s best talents!

If this goes well can we expect to see more from Inferno Girl Red in the future? 

We’re focused right now on providing a full, satisfying and compelling book for our Backers—but yeah, we’re all absolutely in love with this world and these characters and we’d love to return to INFERNO GIRL RED.

The Kickstarter for Inferno Girl Red is currently live now, and if this is a project that interests you I'd definitely encourage you to check it out and perhaps consider backing it (I've already secured my copy of the book!). And if you're a fan of tokusatsu inspired work you should also check out Radiant Black, Ultraman, and the Power Rangers comics too. As someone who loves these types of stories it's definitely a great time to be reading these books.

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Resident Evil Voice Actor Paul Haddad Passes Away

Voice actor Paul Haddad, who played Leon Kennedy in the original Resident Evil 2 in 1998, has passed away aged 56.

Haddad voiced the original version of Leon Kennedy, and was for many the definitive version of the character. His voice acting career included many other credits, including Quicksilver in the 90's X-Men animated series, the Wolfman in Monster Force, and Willy in the Free Willy series. He has also provided voices for series such as The Adventures of Tintin, Rupert, and Barbar.

Haddad had recently worked on the video game Daymare: 1998 from Invader Studios, a third-person survival horror game that's influenced by Resident Evil, and hopes to recreate the mood of the original games. Invader Studios confirmed his passing in a recent Twitter post, where they shared a small tribute to him.

Nick Apostolides, who voiced Leon in the recent Resident Evil 2 Remake released an emotional video on his social media shortly after hearing the news of Paul's passing, where he talked about his friendship with the man who was his introduction to the world of Resident Evil.

The exact details surrounding Haddad's passing are still unclear, however, he had been sick for a while, battling throat cancer and a neurological disorder. He had a GoFundMe set up to help assist with his health bills, and was scheduled to receive neurosurgery, though this was delayed due to the current pandemic health crisis.

Despite having played the original Resident Evil first, Resident Evil 2 was the first game in the series I completed, and the first that I spent any real time on during the early years of the franchise. Leon Kennedy was a character that stood out, even amongst other great heroes in the Resident Evil series. Whilst Leon would go on to become even more popular over the coming years, espeically thanks to Resident Evil 4, I'm sure that many will agree with me that it was Resident Evil 2 and Paul's performance in that role that made the character iconic for us.

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Beloved Star Trek Actor Aron Eisenberg Passes Away

Aron Eisenberg, an actor best known for his role as Nog on Star Trek Deep Space Nine has passed away suddenly at age 50.

It was announced via the social media page for his podcast, 7th Rule, that he had been rushed into hospital. A few hours later his wife, Marissa Longo, announced that he had passed away on her Facebook page.

'It is with extreme regret and sadness to announce that my love and best friend, Aron Eisenberg, passed away earlier today. He was an intelligent, humble, funny, emphatic soul. He sought to live his life with integrity and truth. He was so driven to put the best he had into whatever work was put before him. He lived his life with such vigor and passion. He was like a breath of fresh air, because I knew I would always hear the truth from him. Even if I didn't want to hear it and even if the truth was inconvenient. He made me (and still makes me) want to be the best human I can possibly be, because he always strove to be the best human he could be. His resilience and willingness to learn was and is an inspiration. We didn't officially announce that we had eloped on December 28th, 2018. We were hoping to have a big shindig in celebration of our nuptials, but had to wait to save up the money.
While, our marriage, on paper, was a short one. Our hearts had been married for far longer. I will be forever thankful for the time we had to love each other. Five years felt like a lifetime, in the best possible ways. There will never be another light like Aron's. The beauty that he was and the legacy he leaves behind is beyond words. I love him dearly and will miss him eternally. At the moment I'm not sure how to do life without him... He is and always will be My California.'

Aron was rushed into hospital on September 21st in critical condition due to kidney failure, and passed away soon after. He had suffered with kidney difficulties throughout his life, and was only born with one. He received a kidney transplant at the age of 17, but these difficulties limited his growth to 5 feet. In August 2015 he was once again diagnosed with kidney failure. Thankfully, he was only on the waiting list for a transplant for just four months as a friend of his, Beth Bernstein, offered him one of her kidneys.

'She is just so incredibly selfless to give to me like this,' he told StarTrek.com following his recovery, 'that words cannot express my gratitude to her.'

Aron will be best remembered for his role as Nog, a young Ferengi that lived on Deep Space 9. Originally introduced as as the son of recurring character Rom, and nephew of regular character Quark, he was originally treated as a comic relief character; as many Ferengi were. Due to his chemistry with Cirroc Lofton, who played Jake Sisko, he was asked back multiple times.

Nog eventually went on to become a Starfleet officer, the first Ferengi to do so. During the course of the Dominion War story line he was shown battling on the front-lines, and lost a leg in combat. This led to a story line that dealt with him having to live with PTSD following his injury, one of the few Star Trek episodes that explored the emotional damage that combat can have upon veterans.

'It's Only A Paper Moon', the episode in which he had to deal with his loss is regularly featured in lists of the best ever Star Trek episodes, and Aron received praise from a number of real life veterans for his portrayal in the episode.

"Compared to you, I'm hollow as a snare drum." #StarTrek #AronEisenberg pic.twitter.com/Cuy2IR8JOP

— TrekCore.com 🖖 (@TrekCore) September 22, 2019

 Members of the Star Trek community, and Arons friends and colleagues have begun to express their sadness online at his passing.

I remember watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine when it first aired, and falling in love with the character of Nog even then. Nog went from a throwaway character to having one of the best story arcs of any Star Trek character. He was a thief and a liar, but ended up becoming a loyal, brave, and kind man. He took what the writers and fans thought a Ferengi was and threw it on its head, showing that it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, you can strive to become something greater than what you are. Aron brought so much strength and compassion to the role that no one else could have played it half as well.

I recently introduced my wife to the series, and she, like me, has gone on to fall in love with his character. We woke up to the news of Aron's passing this morning and the two of us cried at the news. Star Trek has lost one of its brightest stars, and the world has lost a kind and loving actor and human being.

My thoughts are with his family and friends, and all of his fans during this difficult time. Rest in peace Aron. You'll always be Captain Nog in our hearts.


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New Resident Evil Game Teased

The latest game in the Resident Evil franchise has been teased ahead of a bigger reveal at the Tokyo Game Show this coming Thursday 12th September.

Project Resistance, possibly the game's title, possibly a working name, appears to be an online multiplayer game. The teaser trailer, whilst impressive, doesn't give too much more away. It's unclear if this will be in a similar vein to Left 4 Dead, where a team of four will face off against AI controlled monsters, or if it will follow other recent horror games like Friday the 13th: The Game and Dead by Daylight, and one player will control some of the scarier Resident Evil monsters, such as the Mr X tyrant featured in the trailer.

Hopefully more will be revealed later this week.

This will not be the first time that a multi-player game has been a part of the Resident Evil franchise. Resident Evil Outbreak and it's sequel were the first games in the franchise to focus on multi-player, and were fairly well received by fans. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Umbrella Corps were the most recent multi-player entries, but were less popular with fans (for the record, I really enjoy Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City).


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Power Rangers Actor Robert Axelrod Passes Away

It's with sadness that I'm reporting that Robert Axelrod, the actor behind iconic Power Rangers villain Lord Zedd, has passed away.

The news was released early this morning, September 8th 2019, by Barbara Goodson, the actress behind the voice of Rita Repulsa, a friend and colleague of Robert's. Robert had been fighting illness for more than a year following complications from spinal surgery. Robert was immobile from the waist down and unable to work.

A GoFundMe was set up by Zachery Taylor McGinnis to assist Robert with his medical expenses, and many Power Ranger fans donated. Robert also signed a number of photos that fans could buy to help raise money. The GoFundMe reported that he only had the energy to sign 140 photos, and that these were likely the last signings he made for his fans.

Robert voiced a number of characters in Power Rangers, including monsters of the week. However, he is best known for Finster, the creator of Rita Repulsa monsters from the very first episode onward, and Lord Zedd. Lord Zedd was introduced in the second season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as the new lead villain, and was the first major character created for the franchise that had no counterpart in the Super Sentai series the show was based upon.

Robert was 70 at the time of his passing.

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Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends Coming To Disney Junior

Whilst Marvel may have lost the rights to use Spider-Man in their movies, Disney can still use the character in a variety of other media, and the company is making the most of this by bringing Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends to Disney Junior in 2021.

The Marvel Animation and Family Entertainment series will follow Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Gwen Stacey as Spider-Man, Spider-Man, and Ghost Spider respectively, as they battle villains and get in adventures. The series will also see them teaming up with other heroes, including Ms. Marvel, Hulk, and Black Panther.

'Preschool kids already love Spidey, so they'll be delighted to have Peter Parker thwipping across their screens in this new series,' said the senior vice president of Marvel Animation and Family Entertainment, Cort Lane. 'Everyone at Marvel is thrilled to launch our first preschool series on Disney Junior, the gold standard platform for the audience. We believe parents and kids will be excited about these stories filled with themes of friendship, cooperation, solving problems, and using your abilities to help others.'

Despite the series being obviously geared towards young children a number of 'fans' have taken to social media to complain about the show, claiming that it's aimed at too young an audience, or that it has somehow 'ruined' the original Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends from the 1980's. Thankfully, many more people have praised Marvel for making a show aimed at young children, and for the beautiful animation style.

Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends is set to premier on Disney Junior in 2021.


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Marvel What If...? To Feature Peggy Carter As Captain Britain

Details for the upcoming Marvel animated series Marvel What If...? have been revealed at D23. The series will have 23 episodes, one for each of the movies released so far, and will show an alternate story-line for each.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed a number of characters would be involved, including Iron Steve Rogers, a Zombie Captain America, and Peggy Carter as Captain Britain. Feige was joined on stage by Peggy Carter Actress Hayley Atwell, who will be reprising the role for the animated series.

Marvel What If...? will premier on Disney+ in 2021.


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Joker Trailer Release Date Announced

The official Instagram page for the upcoming DC movie Joker has shared six short teasers for the film, and tease the release of the first official trailer.

Each of the teasers have a mixture of footage that was released in the first teaser trailer, as well as new footage. However, eagle eyed fans spotted the brief flashes that have appeared in each. When paused these flashes reveal a piece of a hand written message, that when put together reveal the date for the trailer release.

It appears that the trailer is set for a Wednesday 28th of August release.

The film is set to star Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role, as well as Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Douglas Hodge, and Robert De Niro. Joker will be released in theatres on October 4th 2019.


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Netflix Release Action Packed Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Trailer

The prequel series to the beloved Jim Henson film The Dark Crystal, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, is fast approaching, with a release date of August 30th. To help build anticipation for the groundbreaking new series Netflix have released a new trailer that really showcases the amount of action and adventure viewers can expect.

Taking place before the events of the original film, the series will show the battle between the evil Skeksis and the Gelflings, a conflict that was only hinted at in the movie. After learning that the Skeksis have been lying to the inhabitants of the world of Thra a group of young Gelflings named Rian, Deet, and Brea form a resistance group to fight them.

The series will star the voice talent of actor that include Taron Egerton, Nathalie Emanuel, MArk Hamill, Lena Headey, Toby Jones, Jason Isaacs, Simon Pegg, Sigourney Weaver, Eddie Izzard, and Anya Taylor-Joy.


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Upcoming Graphic Novel To Explore Trans Identity

An upcoming graphic novel, The Deep & Dark Blue, is set to explore issues of identity and gender in a new, fantasy setting. Due for release on January 7th, 2020, the new Young Adult book will be written and drawn by Niki Smith, who has previously been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for her book Crossplay.

The Deep & Dark Blue follows Hawke and Grayson, two boys who must flee their home following a political coup against their noble house. The two of them disguise themselves as girls, Hanna and Grayce, in order to hide amongst the Communion of Blue, an order of magical women. Whilst Hawke wants to retake his royal home and return to his old life Grayce realises that she wants to stay where she is, so that she can live as a girl.

Speaking to Newsarama about the book Niki Smith had a lot to say about the characters of Hawke and Grayce.

'Grayce and Hawke are identical twins, noble 'sons' with high expectations to live up to, to Grayce's regret. When they lose their title in a bloody coup, the twins have to go into hiding, disguising themselves as girls to join the Communion of Blue. For Grayce, it's the chance she's always wanted, a way to live openly as herself, as a girl, as Grayce. She's always been the quieter, more serious twin, but her confidence blossoms as she finds her place in the world.' She explained.

'Hawke, on the other hand, chafes at having to keep his true identity quiet and hidden. He's got a big mouth and the confidence to match, and not being able to get revenge on the woman who killed his family is eating away at him. He's got a one-track mind, and unfortunately, that means he's blind to a lot of what Grayce is dealing with.'

When talking about her inspiration for having the twins disguise themselves as girls she had the following to say. 'Growing up, I loved stories that played with gender, the classic Shakespearean trope. Girls disguising themselves as boys to have adventures and become knights and pirates and soldiers! Something about the blurring of gender roles really appealed to me. But I never saw the reverse, and I never found a story that didn't end tied up with a straight, cis bow. The Deep & Dark Blue is my quiet attempt to change that'

'The Deep & Dark Blue is for every kid out there who's still trying to find where they belong. It's about building a family of your choice that loves and embraces you, no matter what. Whether that's due to gender or sexuality or anything else; middle school is rough enough as it is. I want to reach the kids who need to know that's possible. And it's for everyone else out there who grew up never seeing themselves as the hero. It's about being more than a tragic subplot or a hilarious BFF. We all get to learn magic and save the day.'

The Deep & Dark Blue is currently available to pre-order in both hardcover and paperback.


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Rocko's Modern Life Returns To Netflix, Featuring A Trans Character

The cult television series Rocko's Modern Life, which ran for 52 episodes across four season from 1993 to 1996 has recently returned in a 45 minute special on Netflix, Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling. A show that has been noted for its veiled social commentary, adult humour, and anti-corporate themes, the new special is no exception, tackling people's inability to accept change, and transgender issues.

The end of the original series saw characters Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt blasted into space, with nothing to keep them entertained except a video of their favourite cartoon show, The Fatheads. Having now returned to earth the three of them are shocked to find the world changed in their absence, surprised by the existence of mobile phones, 3D printers, and laptops to name but a few. Disliking this new world and wanting to recapture their old life the three of them set out to find Ralph Bighead, the creator of The Fatheads, so that he can bring the show back.

The three of them find Ralph's parents, and are told that they've not seen him for a long while. 'Ralph went off to find himself years ago' the three of them are told. Eventually tracking him down they discover him hiding inside a truck in the desert, where they discover that Ralph has indeed found himself.

'I've changed', Ralph tells the three of them as he steps out of the truck to reveal a woman, 'I'm not Ralph anymore. I'm Rachel.'

Despite being relics of the 90's Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt are all positive and accepting of this news, and congratulate Rachel. From here the story changes to Rachel having to reunite with her family in order to bring The Fatheads back. Rachel's mother is quite accepting of this change, saying 'I think it's great what Rachel has done. I'm sure she's much more comfortable with herself.' Sadly, her father is less than happy with his daughters transition, going as far as telling Rachel 'I have no daughter'.

Thankfully, Rocko is able to bring Mr Bighead around. 'You can live without your old job, and you can live without your house, but you can't live without a relationship with your child' Rocko tells him. By the end of the special he learns to accept his daughter.

Speaking to Queerty about the special the series creator, and voice of Rachel, Joe Murray talked in depth about the project.

'I wrote in the story that the creator of The Fatheads went through a change in the last 20 years, and it like a natural progression of character for Rachel to find herself. Since the whole special is about change, it felt like the only way to go. Rachel wanted to make her transition.' He said.

'Nickelodeon had their initial reluctance. I think I kind of caught them off guard with it. I said that this is the story I really wanted to do. And they promised me we wouldn't back off of anything the original Rocko would have done and then some. So, Chris Viscardi took it to the then president of Nickelodeon who signed off on it as long as we brought GLAAD into the picture to consult.I thought that was a great idea and we moved forward. By the time Netflix saw it it was already baked in, but I can't imagine they would have had reluctance.'

The special has so far well received by both fans and the trans community.


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Marvel's Unstoppable Wasp YA Novel Announced

The Unstoppable Wasp, a comic series that has recently been cancelled by Marvel, will be returning for a brand new Young Adult prose novel in 2020.

Originally introduced to audiences in 2016 in the Free Comic Book Day issue of Civil War II, the character is the daughter of Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man. After being kidnapped and supposedly killed by foreign agents Maria was raised in the same programme that trained Black Widow. After escaping using Pym Particles to shrink herself down she created her own Wasp suit and eventually joined the Avengers.

When she gained US Citizenship she took the surname Van Dyne, the same as original Wasp Janet Van Dyne, and formed the program G.I.R.L. (Genius In action Research Labs) to recognise and help women across the world with genius intellects. The character has also been revealed to have Bipolar Disorder.

Following the cancellation of her most recent comic series Marvel has announced that she will be making a return in a new novel coming next year. The book, The Unstoppable Wasp, will be written by Sam Maggs. Maggs has previously written a number of books centred on women, including Wonder Women, and The Fangirl's Guide To The Galaxy, as well as the Captain Marvel comics.

Speaking to Marvel.com Maggs said, 'I am thrilled and so honored to be taking the Unstoppable Wasp on her next adventure with Marvel Press. Nadia Van Dyne’s scientific genius is matched only by her boundless optimism; she’s an incredible role model and exactly the kind of Super Hero I think we need right now. With her brilliant and diverse G.I.R.L. squad by her side, there’s nothing Nadia can’t do. Or is there!?! Guess you’ll have to pick up the novel to find out.'


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Wonder Woman: Bloodlines Trailer Released

The trailer for the new DC animated feature film, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, has been released online. The film will retell the origin story of the Amazon princess as she saves fighter pilot Steve Trevor and chooses to leave her home of Themyscira. The official synopsis for the film reads as follows;

'When Amazon princess Diana of Themyscira chooses to save fighter pilot Steve Trevor, it’s a choice that will change her world and ours. Fulfilling the role of both ambassador as well as protector, Diana earns the name Wonder Woman from the gracious people of Earth. But her heart is as strong as her will as she is determined to help a troubled and embittered young girl whom has fallen in with a deadly organization known only as Villainy, Inc! Get ready for an exciting adventure packed with brutal battles, myth and wonder!'

This will be the third time that Wonder Woman has had her origin story told in film, following both the live action Wonder Woman in 2017, and the animated Wonder Woman released in 2009.

The new film is set for DVD, Blu-ray, and digital release later in 2019, but no specific release date has been announced.


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Star Trek: Picard Prequel Novel and Comics Announced

Star Trek: Picard, the upcoming 2020 Star Trek series set to continue to story of fan favourite character Jean-Luc Picard will be receiving a number of prequel stories over the next year to set up the new story.

Announced at Star Trek Las Vegas, CBS Consumer Products revealed that Star Trek: Picard - Countdown will be a three issue mini-series comic produced by IDW Publishing in November 2019. Set to be written by Mike Johnson and Kirsten Beyer, two supervising producers on the series, the story will focus on a mission that 'changes Jean-Luc Picard's life', possibly the mysterious rescue mission that was alluded to in the first trailer for the series.

Following the comic release the publisher Simon & Schuster will release the novel The Last Best Hope in February 2020. The book is reported to lead directly into the events of the series, and will feature several characters that will appear. The book will be written by Una McCormack, who has previously written a number of Star Trek novels.

Veronica Hart, CBS EVP of Global Franchise Management, said, 'From the moment we announced this series, we've seen a groundswell of support from our fan base who are thrilled to have Jean-Luc Picard back on our screens. Having this brand new original backstory play out through both comic book and novel formats will set the stage for the new series in an exciting way while showcasing the work of our talented partners at Simon & Schuster and IDW.'


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Wonder Woman 1984 Poster Reveals New Costume

A new poster for the upcoming DC film Wonder Woman 1984 has revealed a tantalising glimpse at a new costume for the titular hero.

Released by writer/director Patty Jenkins, the image shows off a startling gold armoured look for the Amazon warrior princess. Possibly taking some inspiration from golden outfits work by her fellow Amazon's in early Wonder Woman comics, the look is certainly different from other costumes that we've seen in the films, and looks amazing amid the bright technicolor of the new poster.

The poster was accompanied by an announcement that Warner Bros. would not be attending Comic Con  International this year.

Wonder Woman 1984 is set for release on June 5th 2020, and will star Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Connie Nielson as Hippolyta, Kristen Wig as Cheetah, and Pedro Pascal in an as yet unannounced role.


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Gareth Roberts Dropped From Doctor Who Book Following Transphobia

Author and screen writer Gareth Roberts, who has contributed to Doctor Who several times in the past, has been dropped from an upcoming Doctor Who anthology book, 'Doctor Who: The Target Storybook', following complaints regarding his transphobic views.

Roberts, who has previously written a number of Doctor Who books, as well as the television episodes 'The Shakespeare Code', 'The Unicorn and the Wasp', 'The Lodger', and 'Closing Time', was invited to contribute to the new anthology book being published by BBC Books, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House. However, when information about the book, and Roberts' contribution was leaked other writers on the project protested against his involvement, threatening to withdraw their work if he remained on the project.

With the prospect of losing several of the contributors BBC Books made the decision not to feature Roberts' work, though they would pay him for his contribution. BBC Books made it clear that the decision to remove Roberts was to avoid the book becoming 'economically unviable'.

Having been removed from the project Roberts' went online to complain about the situation, blaming tweets that he made in 2017 as the rain reason for the protest against him.

The tweets read, 'I love how trannies choose names like Munroe, Paris and Chelsea. It's never Julie or Bev is it? It's almost like a clueless gayboy's idea of a glamorous lady. But of course it's definitely not that.'

Roberts claimed that these tweets were 'cheerful vulgarity', and attempted to excuse away his use of a transphobic slur as being okay because he was gay man in the 1980's. He then went on to double down on his transphobia.

'Some have urged me to make a full, obeisant apology. Even if I was inclined to, I don’t think it would have any effect at all – for example, Helen Lewis of The New Statesman is currently being monstered for the most careful, respectful piece on this issue. I’m not bothered very much by words though I’m bothered when they distress my friends and family. But then, that’s how intimidation works. That’s why intimidators intimidate. (And I know for a fact it would be much worse for a woman in this position.)

'For the record this is my opinion on transgenderism and its ideology, with no humour or irony attached.

'I’ve rejected restrictive cultural gender stereotypes for as long as I can remember. I consider them to be very often harmful and constricting, especially for girls and women. The culture I enjoy most and the artists I like most are people who laugh at, bend and play with these roles.

'I don’t believe in gender identity. It is impossible for a person to change their biological sex. I don’t believe anybody is born in the wrong body.

'I think it’s wrong to – write a falsehood into law; compel people by law to speak words they do not believe; rewrite the law to remove women’s biological sex-based rights and protections; reinforce gender stereotypes; medicalise children who don’t conform to gender stereotypes. That’s it.

'I don’t believe my view should be protected either. People must be protected, ideas must never be. I would ask the writers who objected to my inclusion in the same book as them to reflect on that.

'My opinions on transgenderism are neither extreme nor unusual. It would be interesting to know if BBC Books/Random House would be prepared to pull from publication writing by Sharron Davies, Graham Linehan, Linda Bellos, Robert Webb, Germaine Greer, Lionel Shriver, Julie Burchill or Martina Navratilova.'

Despite only highlighting two of his past transphobic tweets in his statement Roberts has made many in the past that have used the word 'trannies', and have often insulted trans people as 'jokes'.

A spokesperson from the published has said that 'Ebury Publishing will no longer feature Gareth Roberts' work in the soon to be published Doctor Who: The Target Storybook. Comments made by the author on social media using offensive language about the transgender community have caused upset to Doctor Who fans and conflicted with our values as a publisher.'

Children's author Susie Day, one of the writers making a contribution to the anthology, complained about Roberts' involvement. She said that 'being involved felt like a tacit endorsement of his views'.

'I raised my concerns, and said if he was in, I was out. I don’t share a platform with bigots (including ones who say it’s all just bants, before restating their bigotry). I fully expected to be ditched. He’s a name in this world. I’m not. BBC Books made their decision. I'm grateful they took the opportunity to demonstrate that transphobic views have no place in the Whoniverse, both in and out of stories.' Day commented.

Many members of the Doctor Who fandom have taken to social media to support the decision to remove Roberts from the project, echoing similar sentiments to Susie Day, that transphobia has no place within the community. Unfortunately, a core group of fans of Roberts have been vocal in their siding with him, claiming that his removal is a violation of free speech.


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Dragon Ball's Vic Mignogna Sues Funimation and Colleagues For Defamation Following Sexual Harassment Claims

Voice actor Vic Mignognia, best known for his role as Broly in the Dragonball series, has filed a lawsuit against Funimation and several of his colleagues for a million dollars following accusations of sexual misconduct.

In January this year, following the release of the new Dragon Ball movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly, a number of accusations emerged from fellow voice actors of misconduct, including sexual harassment, that Mignognia had engaged in on several occassions. Due to public outcry, and internal investigations by both Rooster Teeth and Funimation Mignognia was removed from a number of projects.

Despite these claims he has been vocal about his innocence, denying that he ever engaged in any such activity. He has been supported online by a contingent of loyal fans, who have gone out of their way to attack Funimation, as well as voice actors such as Monica Rial, Ronald Toye, and Jamie Marchi, all of whom voiced allegations against Mignognina, and are named in his lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, Mignognia claims that these actors 'directly interfered' in his business affairs, and claims that all the statements made against him have been false.

'The repeated attention that Monica, Jamie, and even Funimation's agents, employees or business partners, gave Hanleia's and Marzgul's accusations caused their twitter to 'go viral',' his lawsuit stated.

The news of this lawsuit is sure to stir further drama online in the Dragon Ball community, which has divided into clear camps of those who believe the victim's accusations, and those who support Mignognia. This debate has become incredibly heated, and has become something of a toxic stain on the Dragon Ball fandom.


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