First Second

For many Scott McCloud is a name that's synonymous with comics -- Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics and Making Comics -- but it's been awhile since the Zot creator has released sequential art that wasn't rooted in education. That changes on February 3 next year with the relase of The Sculptor from First Second, a story McCloud's had in mind for more than two decades and has been actively wo

We may still be in the thick of spring, but First Second is getting ready for the May 6 release of This One Summer by writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Jillian Tamaki, prolific Canadian cousins known for a variety of solo works on top of their 2008 collaboration, the graphic novel Skim. Set in a quiet beach town, This One Summer shows readers the culmination of preteen Rose's vacation, which deviate

In the overwhelmingly male comic book industry, it has been a challenge for some editors and readers to see the ever growing number of talented women currently trying to make a name for themselves. With that in mind, ComicsAlliance offers Hire This Woman, a recurring feature designed for comics readers as well as editors and other professionals, where we shine the spotlight on a female comics pro 

Fresh off his lengthy series of short Gum Girl graphic novels, cartoonist Andi Watson is shifting gears toward a long-form, "adorably spooky" title coming from First Second in winter 2015. Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula will follow the exploits of an overworked underworld princess who decides to hire a chef (who happens to also be a vampire) to help her achieve her day-to-day task

The artist behind Late Freeze, Slow Storm and Refresh, Refresh is back this week with a new original graphic novel from First Second, and it's a wild one. Danica Novgorodoff's The Undertaking of Lily Chen is the tale of a young man seeking a corpse bride -- no, not for himself, for his dead older brother. Sent by his parents to fulfill the tradition of sending single men of good standing into the

If you'd asked me three months ago what my most anticipated graphic novel of 2014 was, I could've given you the answer without even having to think about it: Box Brown's Andre the Giant: Life and Legend, a comic book biography of one of the most famous professional wrestlers of all time. Admittedly, I'm right smack in the center of the target audience for that book, but there's so much about the m

Following the immense critical and commercial success of his two volume epic Boxers and Saints, Gene Luen Yang announced his next project for First Second, The Shadow Hero. Written by Yang and illustrated by Sonny Liew, The Shadow Hero is an origin story for The Green Turtle, a golden age pulp hero who first appeared in 1944′s Blazing Comics #1. Created by cartoonist Chu F. Hing, The Green Turtle

Nearly four years after a Kickstarter campaign netted $11,200 for its development, Glorkian Warrior: The Trials of Glork from developer Pixeljam and cartoonist James Kochalka is about to hit your iOS device very soon. The game is due out during the first quarter of this year (and that's already a third over). It mashes up Space Invaders and Galaga-style shooting with platforming for a major retro

I imagine there are some people whose introduction to Farel Dalrymple's art came in his recent collaboration with Brandon Graham on the critically praised Prophet. But hopefully that introduction has led them to track down some of his earlier work, as the Portland based cartoonist has been producing exceptional stories for more than a decade, from his creator-owned Pop Gun War to short stories in

The last twelve months offered comic book readers a wide variety of work ranging from the most crowd-pleasing superhero epics to the most idiosyncratic of indies, and the return of old favorites to the emergence of exciting new talent. It was a busy and productive year for the industry, and one we’re pleased to celebrate with what we’re certain will be an uncontroversial, unenumerated list of awards that will prompt only resounding agreement and unbroken fellowship amongst our readers in the comments below.