Comics and graphic novel publisher ABLAZE looks ahead to March of 2024 and gives a preview of several notable new releases including the launch of TORPEDO 1972 as well as the latest additions to several continuing ABLAZE series. Also previewed are a pair of notable advance solicitations for April including science fiction manga TOMORROW THE BIRDS, by Osamu Tezuka, and RompepistA, a compelling new coming-of-age rock-n-roll graphic novel by Rosa Codina.
Below, you’ll find all of the highlighted releases coming to you next Spring:
TORPEDO 1972, Issue 1
written by Enrique Sánchez Abulí
art by Eduardo Risso
Available March 6th
In the 1930s, Lucas Torelli, known as “Torpedo”, was a legend of the suburbs of New York. A tough, trigger-happy Sicilian who only knew how to make friends–anyone else is no longer here to say otherwise. Nearly forty years later, the Big Apple has changed quite a bit. Torpedo, not so much. As a persistent journalist prepares to write an article about the Caputo family, the demons of Torpedo’s past resurface, along with his dirty old habits…
TOMORROW THE BIRDS
story and art by Osamu Tezuka
Available April 10th
A fatal fire in the countryside escalates into incineration of cities by swarms of pyromaniac magpies. An avian leader with psychic power demands a brutal reduction in the human population. Homo sapiens descends into a subservient role but manages to land some counterpunches. The birds’ quest for equality is derailed by conflict between carnivorous species and those that eat insects. What jump-started the wild leap in ornithological evolution? What will be the fate of humans?
RompepistA
story and art by Rosa Codina
Available April 10th
In her first graphic novel, Rosa Codina adapts Kiko Amat’s coming-of-age novel about the wild years of adolescence. Rompepistas is seventeen years old. He’s a punk, he lives on the outskirts of Barcelona, and he does everything for the music he loves: Generation X, The Clash, The Jam, Las Duelistas… That last one’s his own group, where he plays the guitar and bellows into the microphone. It’s all about playing to keep the sadness at bay and to never cry again. When you start playing, everything changes. All the shit clears up.
ABLAZE ARTIST SPOTLIGHT COLLECTED SET – maria llovet
written by Maria Llovet
art by Maria Llovet
Available March 13th
With ABLAZE’s MARIA LLOVET collection, receive two hardcover volumes that speak to the artist’s mastery of romance, fraught storytelling, and the eerie.
In EROS/PSYCHE: La Rosa’s female boarding school is paradise for young girls…but only if you follow the rules. Because, if you disobey them, you can end up expelled, or even worse, dead. Sara and Silje are two students learning the rules of the school, which includes classes by day…and the casting of curses and spells by night. A love develops between the two, which is tender, but threatens to break under the weight of the dark secret society within La Rosa.
In PORCELAIN: Beryl’s life in the desert, living with her aunt and her cat, is relatively simple…until the day she finds and enters the Dollhouse. Stuck inside an ever-changing mystery house that hunts children and turns them into dolls, Beryl goes on a psychedelic journey where she must face the notion of her own limitations and move past them…before she becomes the building’s newest prey.
ELLE(S) Vols. 1-3 box set
written by Kid Toussaint
art by Aveline Stokart
Available March 6th
Elle is just another teenage girl…most of the time. Bubbly and good-natured, she wastes no time making friends on her first day at her new school. But Elle has a secret: she hasn’t come alone. She’s brought with her a colorful mix of personalities, which come out when she least expects it… Who is Elle, really? And will her new friends stand by her when they find out the truth? Then, when confronted with family tragedy and a psychological shock, can Elle face down her own self to find peace with her unusual existence?
get schooled, Vol. 3
story by Yongtaek Chae
artwork by Garam Han
Available March 13th
As Hwajin Na’s TRPA team expands, bad actors within the Korean education system don’t stand a chance! As their assignments continue, they discover that their brand of corrective justice must be applied to students and teachers alike. Very little bad behavior happens without cause and, through unconventional means, Hwajin and Hanrim seek to cut off school-led chaos at the root.
TERROR MAN, Vol. 3,
story by Dong-woo Han
artwork by Jin-ho Ko
Available March 13th
Jungwoo’s re-upped resolve has led him closer to the top of the criminal enterprise responsible for his mother’s death, but the revelations were not won without sacrifice. Jungwoo and his team face injury, the police investigator who wanted the real truth has been killed, and Jungwoo’s childhood best friend has become tangled in the fray.
Despite the setbacks, Terror Man’s desire for justice has only intensified, but how will this pursuit ultimately affect him? And how thin is the line between justice and vengeance?
An animated series adaptation from Studio Bazooka & Dr. Movie is coming soon!
New March 2024 comic book issues for continuing ABLAZE titles:
THE PRISM, Issue 6
story and art by Matteo De Longis
March 13th
In the latest issue, the band is on the moon, and we all know the moon is the perfect environment for Zen meditation. Encouraged to center themselves and their own motivations within the scope of the mission, to forget the universe and see their own souls, can their motivations align for true Resonance?
almost dead, Issue 5
story by Galaxy
Available March 20th
After an ordeal that has driven Sara, Zack and the group away from shelter and safety in a blink of an eye, Sara must take the lead and push the newly assembled group onward with no solid plan in mind, just a final destination that she is determined to get to. Will they continue this long journey on foot and with very limited resources or find another way? A stop for resources becomes a rude awakening for the group as they realize danger is abundant and relentless, and situations can change as easily as turning a corner. Sara is forced to make a decision that will change the course of one person’s life forever. Will she risk many lives to save one?
THE AGENT, Issue 5,
story by Mathieu Gabella
artwork by Fernando Dagnino
Available March 27th
Occultists and betrayal! Rhym and Sebastian have followed the trail of their foe to a confrontation within the Parisian Catacombs, where it’s literally sink or swim! And, on the other side, Rhym must decide on her own fate going forward.
Source: Press Release
