The agreement between Dark Horse Comics and Comixology to bring the digital publisher’s Originals titles to print is still going strong. Dark Horse will publish trade paperback editions of a trio of Comixology Originals titles in April and May of next year. Among the series coming to print are The Final Girls, .Self, and Red Tag.
First up, on April 4th, is The Final Girls, from the creative team of writer Cara Ellison, artist Sally Cantirino, colorist Gab Contreras, and letterer Joamette Gil. Here’s how the publishers describe the series:
Part dark comedic superhero drama, part dystopian political thriller, The Final Girls is set six years after the hero collective the Scottish tabloids named “The Final Girls” —Kogarashi, Bavanshee, Selkie, and Ash—left civil service and disappeared into the less fraught alleyways of Scotland. When Scathach, the world’s most powerful working hero, asks her retired peers for help, they secretly agree to deal out punishment on another hero in the public eye. When the weapon of publicity is wielded, it threatens to kick up all of their personal traumas, past and present. What does justice look like when violence isn’t enough?
Ellison expressed her enthusiasm to The Beat about seeing The Final Girls make the jump from screen to page:
“The Final Girls was written and designed for reading in an app format, so it’s with absolute joy that we can also bring this work to print, a format I associate with my twenty-something era of reading those glossy pages of action drama and delicious grimy 2000 AD cynicism.”
Two books will follow in May. May 2nd will see the physical release of .Self, the sci-fi thriller from writer Christopher Sebela, artist Cara McGee, colorist Rebecca Nalty, and letterer Aditya Bidikar. Dark Horse describes the series thusly:
Swallow the capsule. Wait. Let your Postscript unit sync up. It’s designed to preserve everything that makes you you. Postscript backs up your memories, your feelings, and physical reactions. It scans your hard drives, analyzes your social media, and captures a complete snapshot of who you are — stored securely until you die. After that, your files can be loaded into an artificial body called a Blank for 48 hours of closure with friends and family. You will write your own ending. At least, that’s what the ads say. But what happens if your files get swiped and put online for anyone to grab and put into a Blank of their own? Natalie Winters is about to find out.
Speaking to The Beat, Sebela and McGee both reflected on their work on .Self, and what they hope print readers are able to get from the book:
“Every book I manage to get published feels like I’ve gotten away with something and .SELF is that heist we managed to successfully pull off while the whole world was going to heck. Especially with a concept that hangs so heavily on technology and digital preservation, there’s something doubly satisfying about making it available to bookstores and libraries for readers who still enjoy holding an analog version in their hands.” – Chris Sebela
“I’m immensely proud of what we explored in this series, especially since the bulk of the work was done during such a bleak time. Drawing Nat and exploring so many aspects of herself (literally) made me very personally introspective as well. I’m glad more readers will have an opportunity to connect with Nat (hopefully) as much as I did.” – Cara McGee
Later in May, on the 23rd, comes Red Tag. The series from the Stout Club collective is written by Rafael Scavone, illustrated by Roger Cruz, colored by Cris Peter, lettered by Bernardo Brice, and edited by Bis Stringer Horne.
Lis (aka Lisa), Lu (aka Luciana) and Leco (aka Leandro)—three friends bonded by their love for Brazil’s unique street art “pixo” also known as pichação or pixação, a distinctive style of tagging unique to Brazil—strive to be good in a place where corruption still thrives. After Lis witnesses injustice and abuse of power on the streets of São Paulo, she enlists her friends to take matters into their own hands. Their plan works until they realize they’ve become privy to sensitive information belonging to holdovers from the country’s brutal dictatorial past who are plotting against the movement for reform and an upcoming election in São Paulo. Armed with a can of spray paint and the help of a journalist, can they escape the dangerous and life-threatening plot they’ve mistakenly become entangled in?
The Final Girls, .Self, and Red Tag are just the latest Comixology Originals titles to receive print releases from Dark Horse Comics. With so much unrest still circulating around Amazon’s Comixology integration, these print editions are sure to put this trio of titles in front of more readers eyes than ever before.
Look for The Final Girls to arrive in print on Tuesday, April 4th, 2023; preorders are available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your favorite local bookseller. .Self will follow on Tuesday, May 2nd; preorders from Amazon, B&N, and your local shop are open now. And Red Tag will round out the trio on Tuesday, May 23rd from Amazon, B&N, or your local bookstore.
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