Announcing Our New Imprints: DEATHline & POWerline!

Find out the creators behind the first wave titles from Lifeline Comics imprints: DEATHline and POWerline! Also, vote for us in the 2025 Ringo Awards!

Aug 21, 2025

Hello Lifeline Comics Readers,

A super big announcement coming your way this week! Lifeline Comics is EXPANDING with the debut of two new imprints! Learn more about the Imprints, who we’ll be working with to run the imprints, and the upcoming new comic titles below!

We’ll also announce our 2025 Ringo Award Nomination, talk about our experience Paneling and Signing at Flame Con, dish on Kat’s trip to Europe, and share our thoughts on recent releases Wednesday Season 2 Part 1, Freakier Friday, and Weapons!

Buy Lifeline Comics!

Let’s dive in!

Lifeline Comics’ New Imprints: DEATHline & POWerline

Kat: Lifeline Comics is proud to announce four brand new titles that will be part of our newest imprints: DEATHline & POWerline.

Both DEATHline and POWerline will feature books written by some of your favorite creators. DEATHline will focus on the darker side of comics…

…while POWerline will feature multiple genres and tones.

The two imprints will be headed by The Color of Always & When I Was Young’s Michele Abounader.

Some of the writers involved are: David M. Booher, Jeremy Whitley, Zoe Tunnell, Cheyenne Ewulu, Stephanie Williams, Joseph Illidge, Chris Robinson, Cody Ziglar, and Akira B. We will announce the specific titles and artists attached in our upcoming newsletters.

Phil: Michele likes to call DEATHline her “Post-Mall Goth” Era. We’re really excited to debut the titles under that line (which include Demons, Vampires, Witches, and more!

And POWerline is already shaping up to be just as fun with a super-cool and unique Anthology coming very soon and an upcoming Queer Superhero Comic!

You won’t want to miss out on these awesome titles!

Lifeline Comics Has Been Nominated for a Ringo Award!

Kat: We’re happy to announce that Transphoria has been nominated for a 2025 Ringo Award!

If you are in the comic book industry and looking to vote for a Best Anthology, we hope you consider Transphoria: A Trans & Non Binary Comic Book. It’s a book that explores the trans and non binary experiences through the scope of a wide variety of genres.

Vote!

What have we been up to?

Let’s talk about how we’ve kept busy these last few weeks!

Flame Con

Kat: As queer comic book creators from New York, Flame Con is one of our favorite conventions to visit.

And this time around we teamed up with Mad Cave & Papercutz to promote our newest LGBTQ Loud House release. We did a few signings and were on a Mad Cave panel discussing the wide range of queer books that they publish.

And, of course, we gave ourselves a little time to buy some queer comics for our own collection.

Kat’s European Trip

Kat: Thank you to Phil for holding the Lifeline Comics’ fort as I traveled to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris for a European vacation with my family.

Our first stop was Disney Paris as we mark off visiting Disney parks across the world. Disney Paris is a bit smaller compared to Disney Tokyo and Disney World, but still had a few unique attractions that made the visit worthwhile.

Including: a “firework” show with drones crossing the sky with your favorite Disney characters, the best version of Pirates of Caribbean across any park as it’s a much longer version of the ride that truly immerses you into the world, a carnival styled Crush attraction that may have been a long wait, but my favorite unique ride to the parks as a darker, more whimsical mouse trap, and an Iron Man ride that may not be close to the standards of Guardians of the Galaxy in Disney World, but still a fun exposure to the Marvel for mainstream audiences.

As we were in Paris we visited the Mona Lisa at Louvre, while only scratching the surface at one of the largest museums in the world, and visited the refurbished Notre Dame.

And along the way, I ran into fellow indie comic book creator, Elliott Mondry!

Then we headed to Amsterdam - the capital of riding bikes and cars everywhere, even on the sidewalks! All jokes aside, it was honestly so unique and one of my favorite stops!

They had just recently celebrated Pride, so they were decked in rainbows.

One of the most moving and my favorite tour during our trip was visiting Anne Frank’s house. The guide gave an in-depth look into her life, which made it even more powerful as we stepped into the house that she hid away in for years.

During our time in the Netherlands we also visited the Van Gogh Museum where we saw the progression of his art and learned how he became one of the most famous artists following his death.

And then we headed to Brussels where I had a fun filled comic book day as I learned more about European comics WHICH IS SO DIFFERENT than American comics. I now have a better understanding for how and why premium hardcovers have been seeping into the states because that’s how European’s regularly read their comics.

It was interesting to see how much Manga as interrogated into their comic culture because of their longer format.

I also visited the Comic Art Museum where they explained exactly how to make a comic book to the public. They went into the process of inking, coloring, publishing - it’s a great resource for people who want to learn the basics of the medium.

Operation Mincemeat

Kat: If you are a consistent reader of our newsletter, you’ll know that our friend T is a HUGE fan of Broadway and loves exposing us to a wide variety of shows. To celebrate her birthday, we went to Operation Mincemeat - a British show that found its way to the states as it takes a humorous view on a real-life story from the time of World War 2.

Our Current Kickstarter Campaigns

If you’re a fan of our comics, be sure to check out our current campaigns!

LIVE: The Last Case of Deven & Taylor #1-2: MY SLASHER BEST FRIEND

“It's always been Detectives Deven & Taylor vs. the world. Will that hold true if Deven discovers that Taylor is a secret SERIAL KILLER?”

Back This Project!

COMING SOON: Ozma: The Trans Witch of Oz #1 - A Mature Fantasy One-Shot

“DOROTHY'S LOST PRINCESS & TRANSGENDER WITCH, Ozma, is forced to take a stand when her home is on the brink of WAR. Mature 18+ Fantasy”

Follow Ozma!

Media

Let’s discuss some non-comics media!

Wednesday (Season 2, Part 1)

Wednesday' Season 2, Part 2: Trailer, Cast and More

Phil: Netflix’s Wednesday took the world by storm back in 2022, with fans reveling in the Gothic style of the series and the star-making performance of Jenna Ortega as the titular Wednesday Addams. And now three years later, the series returns with the 4-episode start of the new season.

The series doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to Wednesday herself, delivering even more of the dry, dark humor that fans loved in the first season. Practically every other line from the young Miss Addams is a quotable one-liner or double entendre. The airport security scene that was all over the trailer for this season is a perfect example of the type of humor that this show just absolutely nails every time.

Season 2 increases the role of other Addams Family members: mother Morticia, father Gomez, and brother Pugsly. Catherine Zeta-Jones absolutely soars as Morticia in these first four episodes. She was good in Season 1 (with a lot less to work with), but she’s fantastic in Season 2. Her increased role is without a double the highlight of this new season.

Luis Guzmán’s Gomez remains a less impressive casting to me, with Guzmán still not bringing much energy or excitement to the role and the show not doing many favors with the writing.

Probably the biggest negative of this first batch of episodes centers around the underuse of Emma Myers’ Enid Sinclair. Enid was one of the breakout characters in the first season. The contrast between the bright-and-bubbly werewolf and the gothic Wednesday was one of the reasons that the show was successful in the first place. But Enid and Wednesday are largely kept apart for the majority of this season so far. And Enid’s story is almost paper-thin compared to the much more interesting things happening to the characters surrounding her. I sincerely hope that the second half of this season can rectify its Enid problem.

The half-season release of Wednesday ends this part of the season at an awkward time where it’s not super easy to tell whether Season 2 will stick the landing. But these first four episodes deliver enough fun and intrigue to leave me excited for the remaining half next month.

Freakier Friday

Kat: I don’t say this lightly…Freaky Friday is a perfect movie. So I had high hopes for the sequel, but I’ve also been burned by plenty of nostalgic returns….so I’ll be honest I was a bit weary. But I’m proud to say Freakier Friday is EXACTLY what I wanted from a sequel.

It’s not just a love letter to the original, but a celebration of Lindsay Lohan’s career with references to The Parent Trap and Mean Girls. Freakier Friday could have just been a repeat of the original, but this sequel does a great job at making the body switching unique to a new generation, all while keeping the character growth from the 2003 film intact.

It was the rare movie that had my whole family laughing. It hit a chord for different generations just like Freaky Friday. This is a true return for Lindsay Lohan as one of the most talented comedic actresses of my generation, and Jamie Lee Curtis is a perfect foil as she showcases just how versatile she is as an actress.

THIS is how you do a sequel! It includes much of what we enjoyed from the first film without it feeling like a carbon copy.

And we saw the movie in the most gorgeous theater in Amsterdam. It reminded me a lot of the old theaters you’d see on Broadway, but for movies.

Phil: Kat and I are on the exact same page when it comes to 2003’s Freaky Friday. I truly think it’s a perfect movie. Equal parts funny and heartwarming. Incredibly sharp and timeless script. Phenomenal performances from the entire cast (but especially Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis). And so many quotable lines that my family and I have routinely thrown out over the last two decades.

The hype for this 2025 sequel has been palpable — especially following some great trailers. In fact, I have never seen my mom so excited for a movie in my life. She mentioned it every single time I saw her for the entire month leading up to its release. So suffice to say, Freakier Friday had some enormous shoes to fill.

And I’m pleased to say that Freakier Friday is one of the best examples of a legacy sequel out there. For starters, it is absolutely hilarious. There are so many laugh-out-loud moments in this film. Pretty much any time Jamie Lee Curtis is on screen. But like its predecessor, the film also has heart. The development and growth Anna and Tess went through in the first film still permeates this sequel in a really refreshing way. It’s obvious that the team behind the film didn’t want to retread the same ground with Anna and Tess.

I was initially nervous about the younger cast, not particularly wanting Anna and Tess to have to share the spotlight with newcomers in this 20+ year reunion. But thankfully, both Harper and Lily made for fun and interesting characters in their own right. Special shout out to Julia Butters’ Harper, who did a fantastic job with both the comedic and dramatic elements of her role and even delivered on a really sweet new song.

I suppose it’s a good thing that my only real criticism of the film is that it doesn’t soar to the unreachable heights of its predecessor. Freakier Friday definitely leans more heavily into the “comedy” territory than Freaky Friday did — with a ton of one-off characters who just kind of exist to deliver one-liners. Most of the time, it works and is funny (particularly with Vanessa Bayer’s Madame Jen). But it’s definitely a little bit of a tonal shift from the predecessor that was more equal parts comedy and drama.

That’s not to say that Freakier Friday doesn’t have touching moments. They may not reach the level of pathos of Anna-in-Tess’-body’s speech at the wedding rehearsal dinner in the preceding film. But there are plenty of heart-tugging moments in this sequel that will bring a smile to your face and maybe even a tear to your eye.

If you’re a fan of Freaky Friday, you should definitely check out Freakier Friday in theaters or when it hits Disney Plus. And future legacy sequels should pay close attention to what this movie does right.

Weapons

Phil: Weapons was one of our most anticipated movies of the year. Kat and I are both huge Barbarian fans — both of us even including the film in our Top 10 Horror Movies of All Time. And our whole group was super excited for Writer/Director Zack Cregger’s follow-up.

Cregger takes the perspective shifts we first saw in Barbarian to the next level with Weapons, shifting between six different characters who each effectively get their own starring role in a “mini-movie”. And while some segments are more exciting than others, each of these perspectives lends a little more to the bigger picture of the film.

One of my favorite things about Weapons is that it is completely open to interpretation. Cregger has cited some of his inspirations and intentions for the film in different interviews (pointing towards being a child of parents afflicted by alcoholism, the death of his friend Trevor Moore, and his own alcoholism as thematic inspirations), but has stated that he intentionally left the film vague enough that different viewers would have different interpretations of the film.

And this goal was certainly accomplished, with each member of our viewing party having different theories and interpretations of the movie when we left the theater (suppression, manipulation, abuse, and addiction being the four we discussed most heavily).

This vagueness makes the film less thematically cohesive than Barbarian (which was very singular in its messaging), but was a welcome different flavor from the incredibly talented Cregger.

If you’re a fan of elevated horror that is open to different interpretations, Weapons is an absolute must-see.

Kat: Barbarian is not just one of my favorite horror movies, but one of my favorite movies PERIOD. Zach Cregger follows up this absolutely chilling film with Weapons, cementing Cregger as a horror mastermind.

I won’t say Weapons scared me as much as Barbarian as it relies more on pop ups and “scary” visuals, but it displays the same tension that I loved about his previous film. Why did these children disappear? How does the town react to such a crazy phenomenon?

Cregger does a beautiful job at focusing on multiple characters. They aren’t perfect. They are extremely flawed. But still likable. You want to know how they are connected to the bigger picture.

My biggest criticism is that thematically Weapons isn’t as strong as Barbarian. Barbarian has a very clear-cut commentary about women’s relationships with men. Weapons commentary is a bit more muddled, while struggling to connect all the pieces.

But overall, it’s a story about living with some sort of abuse - depending on your reading: alcoholism, drugs, neglect, and how these vices can affect a child’s upbringing. Even if it doesn’t all come full circle, it’s still a strong commentary that makes the film even more horrifying because it’s grounded in reality.

Comics

Let's discuss some comics we've enjoyed recently!

As usual, we’ll spotlight an Indie Book, a DC/Marvel book, a Webcomic, and a Live Kickstarter book!

Indie Comic: Lake Yellowwood Slaughter (Goats Flying Press)

Kat: As a HUGE fan of slashers, the idea of a movie that was never made being adapted into a comic intrigued me.

What do the parents do when the kids are away at summer camp? It’s a unique POV from your average slasher flick as the drama runs high between this group of adult friends, all while these mysterious murders begin to ramp up. You can tell Alejandro Arbona and Gavin Guidry are both fans of horror as they bring the classic summer camp setting into the “real” world. Murder isn’t exclusive to teens! And that’s what makes this a slasher that truly stands out from the pack.

DC Comic: Tom Taylor & Bruno Redondo’s Suicide Squad

Kat: With Peacemaker Season 2 around the corner, I wanted to give a recommendation for fans looking for something to fill the void as they wait for the show. Peacemaker first made his appearance in The Suicide Squad film, and one of my favorite Suicide Squads was Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo tight run on the team.

These international creators take a worldly approach to some of your favorite Suicide Squad stars, while mixing in new faces that readers will be quickly drawn to. If you were a fan of their Nightwing run, it’s a great predecessor to the title that made Taylor and Redondo a superstar team. It pulls on the heart strings with a mix of humor and character work that allows this creative duo to thrive. …Just like a certain TV show.

Webcomic: Ring My Bell (Tapas)

Kat: Tapas has a plethora of queer stories in their library, especially translated titles from South Korea. Ring My Bell is a completed story about a manhwa artist, who lives next door to who she perceives as her homophobic neighbor. It’s a slow burn book where these neighbors learn to become friends…and maybe even more as multiple characters explore their queer identities.

Unlike many GL Manga’s/Manhwa’s we spend a good chunk of the book with the lead being a couple even with its slow burn start, which allows some other “will they, won’t they: dynamics to shine. I especially love the blossoming relationship between the local barista and a religious university student that realizes she may have feelings for a girl.

Ring My Bell is one of my favorite manhwas as it takes a college approach to your classic schoolgirl love story.

Kickstarter: The Childless: A Comic Anthology

“A graphic novel set in a dystopian world where children of separated parents are sacrificed in the name of family values.”

Phil: I love a high-concept anthology that is all meant to take place in the same world. And The Childless delivers a fascinatingly unique premise of a dystopian future where children are sacrificed by a sanctimonious religious party when their parents are separated. It’s the sort of The Handmaid’s Tale dystopia that feels both impossible but horrifically not distant enough from some of the conversations being had in this political climate.

The anthology features thirteen unique stories with a variety of different topics and art styles depicted. Some that stood out to me were two stories about Trans kids in this world, a story about a serial killer who targets parents on the verge of divorce, and a reality TV family with over 200 children.

There are also a ton of familiar names in the anthology, including Tomi Trembath, Travis Gibb, Oscar Osorio, Francesca Fantini, Matt Mortal, JP Jordan, and more.

Back “The Childless” here!

In Closing…

Thanks so much for reading this week’s newsletter! We hope you’re as excited for DEATHline and POWerline as we are!

If you’re a comic book professional, we hope you’ll consider casting your vote for Transphoria in the Best Anthology category for the 2025 Ringo Awards.

Be sure to check out The Last Cast of Deven & Taylor #1-2 on Kickstarter and to follow the Pre-Launch Page for Ozma: The Trans Witch of Oz #1!

We hope to see you at Anime NYC this weekend!

Buy Comics!

Subscribe above for biweekly updates on our future projects!

Buy Lifeline Comics on our Website!

Current Kickstarters: