At Oz Comic-Con in Melbourne over the weekend (5-6 July), Gestalt Comics took to the stage to announce a slew of new comics and projects for the coming year, including a prequel to The Deep, a new volume of Justin Randall’s Changing Ways and a second volume of the best-selling Flinch anthology. The announcements were made in the Royal Exhibition Hall as part of the Gestalt Comics panel featuring editor Wolfgang Bylsma and creators Andrew Constant, Colin Wilson, Justin Randall and Tom Taylor.
Tom Taylor presents The Deep: Voyages of the Aronnax at Oz Comic-Con in Melbourne
The Deep: Voyages of the Aronnax was revealed as the upcoming prequel to the all-ages comic The Deep: Here Be Dragons and The Deep Volume 2: The Vanishing Island. Set several centuries before the Will Nekton took his family exploring the titular depths of the ocean, the piratey adventure will again be written by Tom Taylor. However, with original artist James Brouwer unavailable for this project, Darryl Toh will take on art duties.
From the promotional imagery so far (pictured below), his slick art is not only in keeping with the feel of the first two volumes, but also add something slightly different to the mix. It is the first project where Gestalt Comics will make use of the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, with Bylsma indicating that this was largely so that Toh could be paid a reasonable page rate. With the forthcoming TV series adaptation of The Deep, this prequel is sure to gain some attention.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned artist Brouwer will team up with Bylsma, who will pen a brand-new book called Kansas, Mars. Described as “The Wizard of Oz in space”. The beautiful imagery from the book was also teased on the day, and this is definitely one to look out for in the next year.
Gestalt Comics Panel at Oz Comic-Con 2014 Melbourne – (L-R) Justin Randall, Tom Taylor, Wolfgang Bylsma, Andrew Constant, Colin Wilson
Fly is a new one coming out from Andrew Constant and “newcomer” to Gestalt Kathryn Mann. Constant, who had a (now sold-out) Oz Comic-Con exclusive edition of his new book Broken Line #1 available for sale, had previously worked with Nicola Scott and Joh James on Torn for Gestalt. He describes Fly as “an all ages book gone sideways”, with the end-of-times scenario giving rise to the tagline “Your best friend in the world may just save the world”.
Changing Ways Book 3 cover by Justin Randall (Gestalt Comics)
Justin Randall also announced that Changing Ways: Book 3 will debut next year, giving us the long-awaited follow-up to the gripping horror/thriller series. Of course, Randall isn’t making the wait any easier. After ending the second volume on a giant cliffhanger, he announced that the third book would actually take place immediately after the first chapter. Speaking with Randall just prior to the panel, we also learned that he will be pushing the colour scheme on the art somewhat. Fans will know that Randall’s art is already next level material, so any notion of “pushing it” gets us really excited.
Karnak is another one we had previously heard about, way back when we first interviewed author Christian Read about Black City and The Eldritch Kid. Karnak follows a cult investigator who is drawn to the darker arts. Or as Read puts it, “a bit more like Doctor Who, with ghosts”. Incidentally, Read’s follow-up to Black City, titled Devil City, is the second book of The Lark Case Files and is now available digitally via your favourite ebook repository.
Perhaps the most exciting thing to be announced was the announcement of open submissions to a second volume of Flinch. The first anthology volume went into a second printing following the airing of the documentary Comic Book Heroes, and an open call will soon be announced on Flinchbook.com when it is launched. A call for short stories around the interpretation of the word “flinch” will be sought. The book will be dedicated to the late Mel Tregonning, who tragically passed away in May of this year.
Bylsma also reiterated the releases of previously announced titles The Undertaker Morton Stone reprints, including new material from Justin Randall, and we got another look at Nocturne, the second book in the “Walled City” trilogy. It’s the follow-up to the Communication Arts award-winning His Dream of the Skyland, written by Anne Opotowsky with Chinese-colonial inspired illustrations from Angie Hoffmeister.
We sat down for an exclusive interview with Bylsma, which features in the 100th episode of our podcast (out 14 July 2014). See more of our Oz Comic-Con coverage (including our extensive cosplay photos from the entire weekend).
The Deep: Voyage of the Aronnax promotional image by Darryl Toh (© Gestalt Comics. All Rights Reserved)
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[…] to its release, Constant described it at the Gestalt Comic Panel at the Melbourne Oz Comic-Con as “an all-ages book gone sideways”. Fly, one of the […]
[…] way, expect gorgeous art and disturbed dreams as a result of this volume. Speaking with Randall in July last year, we also learned that he will be pushing the colour scheme on the art somewhat. Fans will know that […]