Comics Are For Everyone! Oni Press Announces Spring 2019 Line
by Richard Bruton
Oni Press, the Portland, Oregon, publisher, has had a pretty fine 2018 so far, but with news of its 2019 Spring release schedule, it looks like 2019 is going to be even better.
The spring schedule has six very different titles, with something for everyone. There’s chain-smoking chimps in the omnibus edition of Guerilla, hobo adventures in Long Road to Liquor City, or T-Rex family sagas in the heart-rending Cretaceous, the continuing adorable and funny autobiographical tales of Sarah Graley in Our Super Adventure, the all-ages tale of friendship and loss of Pilu of the Woods, and finally A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities from Oni’s Limerence Press imprint.
It’s an incredibly strong looking line-up and we’ll be looking forward to telling you more about them, complete with some of the incredible art involved in the months to come.
But in the meantime, enjoy the covers and the Oni Press solicitations for some fantastic looking comics coming in spring 2019.
Long Road to Liquor City by Macon Blair and Joe Flood (February 20th, Adult Audiences)
From filmmaker Macon Blair (Blue Ruin, I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore) and artist Joe Flood (Science Comics) comes a Great Depression-era adventure comedy about love, friendship, and the pursuit of happiness. As jaunty hobos Jed and Thanny crisscross the country in search of the fabled Liquor City, they are pursued relentlessly by fearsome rail yard sergeant Ronan O’Feathers, who wrongly blames them for his wife’s death. With the the law on their tail and a succession of colorful characters along the way, the only constant is the absurdity and mayhem they leave in their wake on the Long Road to Liquor City.
“Long Road to Liquor City has been a passion project of ours for ten years, with Joe and I chipping away at it bit by bit in between our day jobs. Hard to believe it’s actually coming out! It began as a ‘hobo comedy adventure,’ but with time I’ve come to see it as a love story. All our train-hopping heroes have in the world is each other, no amount of moonshine or hot dogs can change that, but being road partners is hard stuff and the fun of this book is putting their relationship to the test in increasingly dangerous ways. We always wanted to balance the laughs with heart.” —Writer Macon Blair.
“Creating the art for Long Road to Liquor City was a metaphorical road that stretches across most of my career to this point. Macon handed me the script shortly after finishing our first graphic novel project together and I might have bitten off more than I could chew, but the persistence of both myself, Macon and our editor resulted in a book that I’m not only proud of, but I find is a excellent cross-section of my growth as a comic artist.” —Artist Joe Flood
Guerillas: Omnibus Edition by Brahm Revel (February 27th, Adult Audiences)
Brahm Revel’s (Marvel Knights: X-Men, T.M.N.T, Venture Bros) critically-acclaimed series is collected for the first time in one volume in the Guerillas: Omnibus Edition! Private John Francis Clayton is on his first tour of duty in Vietnam, facing death at every turn in the middle of a war he doesn’t understand. Clayton is just trying to stay alive when he encounters an elite platoon of…. simian soldiers?! This squad of chain-smoking chimps is the most dangerous fighting force in the jungle… but whose side are they on?
“All said and done, Guerlilas took me almost ten years to complete. Luckily, it was a story flexible enough to adapt to the changing sensibilities of a maturing artist. What started as a youthful adventure, wandered into rumination on war, the nature of man, and the relationships between fathers and sons. All that and monkeys, too—not so bad!”—Brahm Revel.
Cretaceous by Tadd Galusha (March 27th, All Ages)
When a Tyrannosaurus Rex is separated from its family unit, it embarks on a harrowing journey to reunite with them before the raw, real dangers of the Cretaceous Period separate them for good. This heart-wrenching story takes to the skies and dives into the sea—and explores everywhere in between—in this research-based, fictional account written and illustrated by Tadd Galusha (TMNT, Ghostbusters 2).
“Dinosaurs were such amazing and startling creatures,” said Tadd Galusha. “I’ve always imagined their lives played out as these visceral and turbulent, day-to-day epics across a harsh and unforgiving landscape disguised by nature’s splendor.”
Our Super Adventure: Press Start to Begin by Sarah Graley (March 27th, Young Adult Audiences)
Fans of Kate Beaton and Sarah Andersen will love this collection of the hit webcomic Our Super Adventure by Sarah Graley (Rick and Morty, Kim Reaper)!
Eating too much pizza together. Smelling your cats. Figuring out how to spend your evening when the internet has suddenly stopped working. Relationships are full of sweet and quirky little moments! Sarah Graley’s first collection of the hit diary webcomic Our Super Adventure chronicles two years of these strange, relatable instances, as she navigates life with four cats and one cat-like boy. Whether it’s that feeling of getting the entire bed when your partner gets up before you, or the heartbreaking realization that the love of your life has burned the microwave popcorn, Press Start To Begin documents all the weird little everyday flashes of shared absurdity that make up a relationship.
“I’ve been drawing and sharing Our Super Adventure strips online since 2012 about all the cute little everyday moments I have with my partner and our four cats. We’ve had so many amazing conversations with people who tell us that they’ve experienced similar cute moments in their own relationships! Press Start To Begin is a really sweet collection of personal comics that also holds up a mirror to the sweet dorky moments that we all seem to experience during everyday life with a loved one. I love working on this series—it’s so nice to share these weird little moments with the world.”—Sarah Graley
Pilu of the Woods by Mai K. Nguyen (April 17th, All Ages)
A heartwarming story of friendship, loss, and finding your way home from debut author/illustrator Mai K. Nguyen! Willow loves the woods near her house. They’re calm and quiet, so different from her own turbulent emotions, which she keeps locked away. When her emotions get the better of her one day, she decides to run away into the woods. There, she meets Pilu, a lost tree spirit who can’t find her way back home—which turns out to be the magnolia grove Willow’s mom used to take her to. Willow offers to help Pilu, and the two quickly become friends. But the journey is long, and Pilu isn’t sure she’s ready to return home yet—which infuriates Willow, who’s determined to make up for her own mistakes by getting Pilu back safely. As a storm rages and Willow’s emotions bubble to the surface, they suddenly take on a physical form, putting both girls in danger… and forcing Willow to confront her inner feelings once and for all.
“With Pilu of the Woods, I wanted to show how the kindest thing you can do for a grieving heart is to embrace your emotions, both good and bad, and to open yourself up to the people that you love. I hope readers of all ages find Willow and Pilu’s journey through the woods to be an uplifting adventure.”—Mai K. Nguyen
A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities by Mady G and J.R. Zuckerberg (April 24th, Young Adult Audiences)
In this quick and easy guide to queer and trans identities, cartoonists Mady G and J.R. Zuckerberg guide you through the basics of the LGBT+ world! Covering essential topics like sexuality, gender identity, coming out, and navigating relationships, this guide explains the spectrum of human experience through informative comics, interviews, worksheets, and imaginative examples. A great starting point for anyone curious about queer and trans life, and helpful for those already on their own journeys!
“A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities invites curious readers of all ages in to learn about the diversity of ways in which LGBTQIA+ people see and express ourselves, develop our identities, and love one another. This book can be a space for inquisitive young individuals to reflect and find themselves, and can also be a powerful educational tool for parents, teachers, siblings and other inquisitive allies who want to gain a better understanding so they can support the queer and trans people in their lives.”—Artist J.R. Zuckerberg