OUT TODAY: Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #1!
Plus Spider-Man: Stories from the Spider-Verse, Legendary Lynx, Alter Ego, Dark Space, and lots more!
Hey friends! Happy Wednesday! I hope you’re week is off to a good start!
I also hope you were able to pick up my two new releases at your local comic shop last week - Dick Tracy #5, the conclusion of our first arc, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold #17, which closes out our three-part Renee Montoya story, “Duality,” which leads in quite nicely into November’s The Question: All Along the Watchtower #1, which you can still preorder from your local comic shop or wherever you get your comics.
I got to meet a lot of readers and fans at a flurry of events this week, including Baltimore Comic-Con, which was a lot of fun. It’s always energizing to connect with people who enjoy what you do, and though I’m utterly exhausted, I’m back at my desk feeling motivated and grateful. I also got to meet Spider-Punk. He seemed happy about Spider-Society, which is halfway through it’s run - so you still have time to catch up!
And speaking of Spiders, yesterday marked the release of Spider-Man: Stories from the Spider-Verse, a middle-grade anthology featuring stories by an amazing roster of writers - including pals Steve Foxe, Preeti Chhibber, David Betancourt, and me! We each got to tackle a different Spider-Hero, and I had the added honor of crafting the over-arching conceit that ties everything together.
I was so happy to write my favorite boy, Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099 again, not to mention Anya Corazon/Araña! If you dug Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow, you’ll get a kick out of this. It’s available now wherever books are sold!
But before I get too deep into things, I do want to talk a bit about the devastating path of Hurricane Helene - which has hit North Carolina with brutal force. I realize how silly it seems to post about comics and books at a time like this. If you’d like to help, my friend (and great writer) shared a list of charities from Blue Ridge Public Radio, which includes aid initiatives like Operation Airdrop and community service groups like Manna FoodBank and BeLoved Asheville. Thanks, Nate!
Okay, onward -
STAR WARS: THE BATTLE OF JAKKU - INSURGENCY RISES #1 IS OUT
So, as you’ve probably seen here or around the Internet, I have a pretty big comic hitting TODAY - Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #1! I’m no stranger to long SW titles (See Star Wars - Poe Dameron: Free Fall), but this project is my first major foray into SW comics - and it’s filling in a gap many fans and readers have long wondered about: the post-Return of the Jedi era, in the years before The Force Awakens. My Poe novel touches on this period briefly, but even that is further along than what we’re doing here - which picks up immediately after the Battle of Endor and focuses on the core characters from the original trilogy - Luke, Leia, Han, etc. Here are some cool, unlettered pages by Leonard Kirk and Rachelle Rosenberg!
I cannot emphasize how awesome this is. Not only do I get to work with a murderer’s row of artists, including Leonard Kirk, Stefano Raffaele, Jethro Morales, and Luke Ross, but we all get to craft what’s basically an untold tale of Star Wars lore - exploring a period that remains shrouded in mystery. I mean, look at these pages:
Now, there are a ton of spoiler and speculative stories floating around the Internet - which is cool, it tells me people are excited - but I wanted to take a minute to give you all a quick vibe check on what to expect, which will, in turn, get you jazzed for what’s to come. I hope.
I don’t want to get into too many details - because I like this gig and don’t want to make anyone mad, but mainly because I want to do as much as I can to retain the wonder of picking up a new comic on release day. Surprises are fun! So, without further ado, in true clickbait fashion, here are the Top 5 Reasons You Should Pick Up Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rises #1!
Familiar faces! Luke, Leia, Han, Mon Mothma - we’re gonna see them all here, and they’ll play key roles in the first mini-series…and beyond!
Fallout from the Galactic Civil War. We all know the Empire was on the ropes after Endor, but there’s a whole unexplored chunk of story that showcases just what those Imperials were up to in the months before Jakku. This is where we shed light on it.
A new Big Bad! A few savvy folks have guessed who the villain is, and you can obviously parse it if you choose to read the preview pages, but I really hope people dig what we’ve done with this character.
Twists galore! I know it sounds trite, but NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS. I love me some crime sagas, and they’re rife with double-crosses and big explode-y plot twists. So keep an eye out.
New characters! One of my favorite parts of adding to the Star Wars mythos is creating new characters to pair with established icons to better reflect the overall saga, and this story is no exception to that! Prepare to meet cool heroes like Rynn Zenat and dangerous villains like Reyna Oskure! Let me know what you think.
That’s it! Today’s the day! Star Wars: Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rises #1 is out in comic shops and digitally. Grab a copy, tell your friends, and most importantly, ENJOY! This whole project has truly been a labor of love for me and the entire team - including our killer editorial crew, especially Mark, Danny, and Mikey. Just the most patient people you could ever imagine. We’re so proud to bring it to you and I hope it brings some fun to your day. We could all use it.
LINKS! NEWS! STUFF!
I’m writing a WHAT IF…? one-shot that asks WHAT IF GALACTUS TRANSFORMED MOON KNIGHT INTO HIS HERALD?? The worlds demands an answer! I’m ecstatic to be working with the great Scot Eaton on this book, which will be a love letter to the classic Moench/Sienkiewicz run, but also evocative of the 90s cosmic Marvel madness I grew up on. Look for it, and a bunch of over great Galactus one-shots, in January from Marvel.
Elisa at Book Riot included Alter Ego in this list of 8 Mysteries and Thrillers Set in the Book World! “This forthcoming book is one of my favorite books of the year.” Elisa also spotlighted The Legendary Lynx over at Murder & Mayhem! Thank you, Elisa!
And speaking of Alter Ego, the graphic novel companion to Secret Identity and AE, The Legendary Lynx, just got a RAVE review from Kirkus, which is not easy, folks. “The end result is a companion piece to a celebrated novel (and its sequel, Alter Ego) that doesn’t just dither in meta-commentary—it’s actually a fun super-hero period piece that stands on its own.”
Our sci-fi espionage thriller, Dark Space, is out NEXT WEEK. Wild! As we spin out to pub day, Gizmodo and New Scientist both listed the novel (co-written by me and good pal ) as one of the best of the month!
I talk about Green Hornet/Miss Fury with the Dynamite Comics crew.
GeekDad liked the final installment of our three-part “Duality” Renee Montoya story in Batman: The Brave and the Bold!
I was profiled by the Brooklyn College Vanguard newspaper, timed to my Spider-Society signing at Anyone Comics in Brooklyn!
Also, where has this game been my whole life?
Very much here for any and all Brian de Palma deep-dives.
My favorite new comic of late has to be Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard’s The Power Fantasy - and this insightful interview by David Harper at SKTCHD spotlights why. Add it to your pull list, please.
And, speaking of things to add to your pull list, did you know the amazing team of and David Lopez are back in action with a new series, FML, from Dark Horse? No? Want a copy? Well, good! They came up with a handy-dandy explainer-comic to tell you how! I love this so much, and I cannot wait to read their book.
Oh, one more! I got an early peek at my friend Jamie McKelvie’s new supernatural thriller series, One For Sorrow, hitting soon from DSTLRY. Reader, this was GOOD. It was beautiful to look at and suspenseful as hell. FOC just passed, but you still have time to reach out to your comic shop and reserve a copy. Or ask them to reorder for you!
Wait, I lied! ONE MORE. I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a hearty shout to my good friend Spencer Ackerman, who is launching a freakin’ new Iron Man book into the world this month, with art by the super-talented Julius Ohta, who I had the pleasure of working with back in my Archie Comics days. Julius is a megastar in waiting, and Spencer is just a genius. I say that seriously! I’m not only a friend, but also a fan - Spencer is a supremely talented natsec (that’s NATIONAL SECURITY, if you’re nasty) reporter, as shown by his bestselling Reign of Terror. On top of that, the guy just has comic book writing chops. I wrote about Waller vs. Wildstorm in this very newsletter, but I fully expect his Iron Man to be a leveling up - so buckle in for that. Let your retailer know you want a copy, and enjoy the ride.
That’s all for this week! Take care, friends!
Alex
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UPCOMING RELEASES
SPIDER-MAN: STORIES FROM THE SPIDER-VERSE - Oct. 1
STAR WARS: THE BATTLE OF JAKKU- INSURGENCY RISING #1 - Oct. 2
DARK SPACE - Oct. 8
EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE: SPIDER SOCIETY TPB - Oct. 15
STAR WARS: THE BATTLE OF JAKKU- INSURGENCY RISING #2 - Oct. 16
SPIDER-SOCIETY #3 - Oct. 23
STAR WARS: THE BATTLE OF JAKKU- INSURGENCY RISING #3 - Oct. 30
STAR WARS: THE BATTLE OF JAKKU- INSURGENCY RISING #4 - Nov. 6
DICK TRACY TPB - Nov. 12
LEGENDARY LYNX TPB - Nov. 12
THE QUESTION: ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER #1 - Nov. 20
STAR WARS: THE BATTLE OF JAKKU- REPUBLIC UNDER SIEGE #1 - Nov. 20
GREEN HORNET/MISS FURY #1 - Nov. 27
STAR WARS: THE BATTLE OF JAKKU- REPUBLIC UNDER SIEGE #2 - Nov. 27
ALTER EGO - Dec. 3
ENCANTO: NIGHTMARES AND SUEÑOS - Dec. 3
STAR WARS: THE BATTLE OF JAKKU- REPUBLIC UNDER SIEGE #3 - Dec. 4
UPCOMING EVENTS
DARK SPACE launch @ PT Knitwear - Oct. 12 (RSVP)
NEW YORK COMIC CON - Oct. 17-20
CHATANOOGA COMIC CON - Oct. 26-27
MIAMI BOOK FAIR - Nov. 17-24
So cool! Love it. Congratulations!
Congrats! Goals.