074 The Future of Radiant Black
The Catalyst War Ends! Plus, more on Radiant Black! Moon Man! C.O.W.L.! and Comic Drake goes Massive!
Hey everyone!
Kyle here, coming to you from about 30,000 feet up, chasing the sunset on my way from Baltimore back to LA.
This weekend was Baltimore Comic Con, my first time doing the show and my first real time in Baltimore. I’ve heard good things about the con over the years and it was great to see how comics focused the show still is. It was also great to see and hang out with so many creators and friends gathered in one place which wasn’t SDCC or NYCC. In a lot of ways, this show reminded me of conventions I used to do back in the early 2010s and how much I miss them.
I also met so many Massive-Verse fans! And hopefully made a few new ones along the way! Shout out to everyone who signed up for the newsletter at the show— I try to do this on the regular, ideally getting a new edition out once a week or so, though we’re a bit delayed on this one. The last month has been predictably packed as we crunched to get Radiant Black #30 and #30.5 across the plate along with Moon man #5, Rogue Sun #22 and the upcoming C.O.W.L. #3 plus our gorgeous NO/ONE and Moon Man trade paperbacks.
I’ve got some fun preview pages for you today— with special attention on Radiant Black #30 and #30.5, both of which are on Final Order Cutoff (FOC) and provide a big finish to The Catalyst War, our multi-timeline event that I am immensely proud of despite it running quite a bit longer than any of us wanted. These issues also answer a very important question surrounding the future of the title: WHO WILL BE RADIANT BLACK?
We’ve also got some fun announcements including one about a very cool special edition of our upcoming Radiant Black Hardcover.
But first, let’s hit a few of the things that have happened since our last newsletter!
A Massive Demo
A few weekends ago, Ryan Parrott and I met up to play a few hands of the upcoming Massive-Verse Fighting Card Game that we made with the fine folks at Solis Game Studio— and we filmed it! You can watch our demo here, where we show off a bit more of the game in practice ahead of its pending release:
And on the release front, my understanding is that the game— which had been targeted to hit stores and backers hands in October— is currently stuck on a boat at customs, overseas. It’s a bit frustrating but unfortunately with the state of shipping these days, there’s not much Solis can do. We’ll make sure to let everyone know an updated release projection just as soon as we have some hard info.
If this is the first time you’re hearing about the game and/or you want to learn more about it, Michael Busuttil put together a great newsletter post for us a few months ago that covers everything. You can read that right here:
064 Last Days for The Massive-Verse Fighting Card Game!
Hey there, folks! Bit of a change of pace this week - it’s your friendly neighbourhood editor Michael Busuttil here! Kyle’s at a convention this weekend, so you get me instead!
And if you’re looking for an easy way to pre-order the game, the Kickstarter edition is still available via Backer Kit!
Comic Drake Goes Massive
One of my favorite YouTube channels, Comic Drake, recently put together a new video called “What is the NEXT Invincible,” in which he highlights several books that feel like they have some of that same awesome, high-end-indie-superhero sauce that made Invincible the best superhero comic book in the universe.
Drake was kind enough to feature The Massive-Verse, with a special focus on Radiant Black and Rogue Sun.
The whole video is a great watch and, as Drake mentions towards the end of the Massive-Verse section, could also be the precursor to a larger Massive-Verse deep dive video. That is, if enough people comment and let him know they’d love to see one (hint hint ;)
One of the things that we’re constantly trying to do is raise general awareness about the Massive-Verse— especially now, as we’ve hit the point where our back catalogue is substantial enough to warrant really getting invested in. YouTube channels like Drake’s are a really good way of helping us do that— so, if you’re reading this today and have a few minutes, please head over and check out the video. Hit the like button (subscribe, too, if you dig it!) and please do leave a comment telling Drake how much you’d love to see a larger Massive-Verse video!
Final Order Cutoff
Radiant Black #30 and #30.5 - FOC September 22 (TODAY), on sale October 16
At last! We’ve reached the end of The Catalyst War! This has been an event four years in the making, dating back to the earliest days of Radiant Black— the initial idea started brewing for me before issue 1 actually hit stands and I pitched it in full to Eric Stephenson as far back as June of 2021.
This event has been a labor of love, an immense challenge, and something we’re all crazy proud of.
It’s also been something that has run quite a bit behind schedule. I’ve spoken about some of the reasons for this before and I’m not going to get into rehashing them today, other than to say that it is of the highest priority for us to get the book back on track and monthly.
Which is why, after these two issues, we will be taking a little break from comic book stands until February 2025 in order to bank several issues ahead of our bombastic return. Our goal is to not have anything like this past year happen again— it’s a crowded landscape, a crowded shelf space, and we know how important it is for this series to be regular, especially with all the huge things we have planned for our return.
But while we’re talking about the future, the future of the book actually starts today. You see, final order cutoff for our Catalyst War two-part finale, spanning Radiant Black #30 and #30.5, is right now. Like, literally. It’s today.
In addition to a huuuuge ending, we’re staying true to our word— by the end of Radiant Black #30.5… there will only be one Radiant Black. Who is going to wield the Radiant? Which timeline will survive? How many will die?
Of course, I’m not going to answer any of that for you now… but I will tell you that at the end of this story, the one true Radiant Black will be the character who won the vote.
We’ve got a preview of issue 30 for you right here— but we won’t be running any previews for issue 30.5. This ending is so big that I legit can’t show off any of it.
Preview:
WILD, right?
Like I said— Final Order Cutoff is today, ending in just a few hours.
The future of Radiant Black starts right here. Don’t miss out on these historic issues— tell your store to order you a copy of Radiant Black #30 and Radiant Black #30.5 as soon as you can!
Moon Man #5 - FOC September 30, on sale October 23
Ramon dives deeper into the mystery of his powers and learns a truth that changes everything. With his family on the line, Ramon will have to decide where he stands—and find out who he can trust to stand with him.
Moon Man #5, which wraps up the first arc of our critically-acclaimed new series with Kid Cudi, has turned into one of the most visually stunning comics we’ve done in the series yet. I need to be careful about what I share here, since not all copies of issue 4 have hit stores (more on that in a minute) but boy-oh-boy is it a big one and man-oh-man is it going to make for an epic first trade paperback.
Plus, issue 5 has a gorgeous new B cover by Stefano Simeone that I’m not sure has been widely revealed yet!
Preview:
Radiant Black: Black Market Massive Edition
Now, while Radiant Black will be off stands until February, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be starved for new radiant content! Quite the opposite, actually! In addition to our upcoming audio book (more news on that soon), on October 23 we’ll be releasing the absolutely gorgeous Radiant Black Massive Edition: Book One.
In addition to featuring some new art and lettering updates— including all new colors on issue 11 as well as other nips and tucks— this collection of the first year of Radiant Black features some of the craziest back matter we’ve done. A quick rundown—
-Ten pages of concept art
-The original Radiant color line-up
-All of Marcelo's issue 10 layouts
-Quotes from Mo of Frakking Bath Bombs, who made all the Radiant bath bombs
-A breakdown of Circle Guy News
-Full storyboards and key art from the launch trailer
-A discussion of Sam Ewing’s original score
-The rules for how the Radiant alphabet is constructed
All of this is supported by over 5,000 words of brand-new interviews with myself, Marcelo Costa, Eduardo Ferigato, Igor Monti, Becca Carey, and and a whole bunch of other people who made the first year of Radiant Black happen. In total, it comes in at 456 pages and includes almost 40 pages of back matter. Plus, we’re including the original pitch for Vanguard, the series concept that led directly to Radiant Black.
Now, we’re a few weeks away from this hitting stores but I wanted to let everyone know that in addition to the standard hardcover… we’re also doing an even more special edition:
The Radiant Black: Black Market Massive Edition will feature all of the above, plus an exclusive bookplate signed and numbered by me and a gorgeous new dust jacket from Goni Montes!
This edition will be limited to 150 copies (sans APs), priced at $59.95 (plus shipping) and we’ll be selling them exclusively through our storefront and this newsletter. These will be going up for pre-sale in the near future so if you’re not subscribed, now’s a perfect time!
Available Now
C.O.W.L. 1964 #2 - September 18
As allegations swirl around Geoffrey Warner, the future of C.O.W.L.’s national expansion is at risk, but a hidden secret threatens to bring down not just the expansion but the entire organization.
C.O.W.L. 1964 #2 hit stores last week, continuing Alec Siegel, Rod Reis, and my return to our favorite 1960s’ superhero organization. And, keeping in the tradition of issue 1, I’m happy to report that while issue 2 also immediately sold out, it will also be going back to print.
Your store might still have some copies but if they don’t, make sure to let them know you’d like a copy of the upcoming second printing! Here’s a preview!
Preview:
And speaking of sold out C.O.W.L. issues, I just received my comps for our issue 1 second printing, which we did something really cool, special and stylish for:
Yep! That’s metallic gold foil! And still at only $3.99! These should be in stores now so make sure you’re on the lookout!
Moon Man #4 - September 18 (and 25th)
Unsure who to trust as Moon Man takes to the streets of Cleveland, one terrible mistake will lead to unthinkable consequences for Ramon and those closest to him.
Last week, Moon Man #4 was supposed to hit stands… until a paper shortage at the printer delayed a number of Image titles. My understanding is that our C cover— by Danny Earls— did make it to stores, but our A and B covers were delayed until this week. You’ll be able to pick them up on Wednesday.
Preview:
But, if your local comic book store is sold out, or if you don’t have a local store, or if you missed any of the previous issues, I’ve got some pretty cool news— as of last week, Scott has started selling copies of Moon Man #1-4 via his website!
The books are being priced at cover price (plus $10 for shipping)— we’re working to figure out if shipping can be combined for multiple books (it should be able to be, but there’s some logistics they’re trying to sort out on the back end).
And if you’re looking for any of our more rare issue 1 variants, you can still find a few copies through our Black Market store!
Finally, because he’s a mad man in the best possible way, Scott not only dropped a new Moon Man track, “DON’T WORRY,” to tie in with issue 4—
—but he also shot and directed (!!!) a brand new music video for it!
Okay, that’s going to do it for me! Next week— Big NYCC news!
Until then—
Stay Radiant!
Kyle
Los Angeles
Great to see you in Baltimore!
After catalyst war wraps up will their be any involvement from cowl or subtle mentions/call backs going forward in future arcs