Announcing Terry Moore's WITCHES OF OZ Cover!
Lifeline Comics reveals TERRY MOORE'S drop-dead gorgeous The Witches of Oz #1 cover!
Hello Lifeline Comics readers!
We’ve got a really exciting reveal for you in this newsletter: our TERRY MOORE cover for the upcoming The Witches of Oz #1!
Let’s dive in!
The Witches of Oz Launches on Kickstarter April 15th
Taking place in the same universe as The Beast & Snow & Nightmare in Wonderland, the “EverAfterVerse” expands with The Witches of Oz - a new mature series that sees Glinda and the Wicked Witch finally fall in love!
“The once beloved GLINDA THE GOOD WITCH is now an outcast. She only has one person left to turn to...THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST.”
We’ve been keeping tight-lipped on the nitty-gritty details for this book, but here’s one of our big reveals…legendary artist Terry Moore of Strangers in Paradise fame has a cover for the book.
We even have the ORIGINAL ART available as a reward tier! So if you want to be the person to get your hands on this one-of-a-kind piece, be sure to follow the Pre-launch page to grab it on day one!
Why Did We Make More Fox Pins?
With our LGBTQ+ Fox & Wolf Enamel Pins Kickstarter now live, we wanted to take a moment to talk about our journey to get to this point.
We didn’t initially set out to create a “Pin Empire”, but our enamel pins have become an important part of the Lifeline Comics’ business model. Let’s reflect on the lessons we learned in building our pin library with a behind-the-scenes look!
Long-time fans may remember our first set of enamel pins were a tie-in to our Bi Visibility: A Bisexual Anthology comic. We created five bisexual enamel pins with a goal of selling them to fans of the anthology.
After seeing success with this first set (particularly at conventions), we expanded to include a set of pins based on our WEBTOON, “Slice of Life”. At the time, we figured that it made sense to only produce pins as tie-ins to our comic properties so that we could incentive enamel pins fans to check out our comics.
We eventually overcame this reluctance to introduce pins not specifically based on any of our comics - a decision we’re very thankful to have made. In addition to a strong revenue stream, we’ve gotten many new comic fans to check out our books just because they liked our non-comic-based pin designs!
As our comic library expanded and as we continued to accumulate new queer titles, we launched our “Rainbow” set of pins based on various other sexual orientations and gender identities.
While all of the pins in our library have been solid performers, we quickly learned that the animal pins were the top-selling items. It makes sense. They’re the most unique designs and are very specific to our pin brand.
And the Trans Fox in particular was a monster seller. This led us to create the Rainbow Fox as a follow-up, which quickly grew into our second-best seller (only behind the Trans Fox). In fact, these two pins alone make up more than 50% of our monthly Etsy sales!
Knowing the power of the Pride Foxes, it only made sense for us to expand our offering with even more Fox and Wolf enamel pins!
We never pictured enamel pins being such a big part of our comic business. But we couldn’t be more thankful to have fallen down this rabbit hole. We love creating unique identity-based pins as well as pins based on our comic properties. And we love seeing people get into our comics because they’re fans of our pin brand!
Trans Day of Visibility Rutgers Event
We were honored to be invited by Garden State Equality to their Rutgers Newark Trans Day of Visibility.
We love doing school events! It’s an honor meeting local LGBTQ voices ranging from speakers, teachers, students, and other venders.
Rutgers had plenty of entertainment including workshops for trans youth and even a DRAG SHOW!
What a way to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility! We were even able to give a sneak peek of a secret enamel pin that you may or may not see as part of our next anthology campaign 🤫
Media
And let’s discuss some non-comics media!
AMC’s Scream Unseen - Sting (2023)
Kat: We’ve been AMC Stub members for a number of years now, but this is the first time we’d ever went to their Screen/Scream Unseen showing, which is a brilliant premise. Go see a random upcoming scary movie that will be coming out in theaters in a few weeks, but the movie isn’t revealed until the credits roll. It’s a great way to get people in the theater on a random Monday night!
The first 10 minutes were really fun as we tried to figure out what movie it was going to be. Is it Civil War? Abigail? It was officially revealed to be Sting, which will be released in theaters on April 12th.
A movie I probably wouldn’t have seen unless it was a mystery pick, which is a huge positive towards the AMC experience. I like being exposed to things that otherwise wouldn’t be on my radar. Bodies, Bodies, Bodies and Barbarian are great examples of random films we’ve seen because of our AMC stubs membership and walked out of the theater very satisfied.
Sting is about a little girl who befriends a spider, and then said spider haunts her whole family. It’s your standard monster movie that has gruesome kills and interesting enough camera angles, but the movie isn’t reinventing horror by any means.
There are A LOT of lulls throughout the film, but the little girl’s relationship with her comic book creating stepfather kept my attention. There are a few missteps and questionable dialogue between the pair, but overall it was a unique take on the step-parent/step kid relationship.
I don’t recommend rushing to the theater for this one, but if you’re looking for a streaming movie to queue or a short film to watch on a plane this probably fits those criteria.
Phil: Our first but definitely not our last Screen Unseen showing! Like Kat said, there was so much excitement for this mystery screening of an unknown movie. We really made an event of it and the energy in the theater was tons of fun. And even though I didn’t love the movie we ended up seeing, I had a lot of fun!
Sting is a pretty middle-of-the-road horror movie. Sometimes creepy (in a skin-crawly arachnophobia sort of way) and occasionally funny. It very much coasts on its titular monster and the spectacle of its kills (and captures).
The family drama at the center of the movie isn’t bad, but I think maybe could have used a few more script rewrites to tighten the dynamic of the group. And a similar sentiment for the more comedic beats, which landed about half of the time for me.
Strange as it may sound, I’d give a similar recommendation for Sting to the one I gave for Cocaine Bear (2023). It’s not a “must-see”, but is a good "party" movie. Something to have on in the background and pay middling attention to (until a more exciting scene claims the attention of the room).
Tender is the Flesh (2017 Novel)
Phil: A 2017 dystopian novel by Argentinian author Agustina Bazterrica about a world where all animals are infected with a disease that renders them inedible. In the absence of animal meat, cannibalism is legalized and normalized. We follow Marcos, a human meat supplier who works at a processing plant for “special (human) meat” and develops a special relationship with one of the “product”.
The novel takes an almost documentary-like approach to its storytelling. We get a tour of different parts of this world from Marcos’ eyes - going through his day-to-day from the processing plant, to butcher shops, to breeders/suppliers, to general society/buyers of “special meat”. If you boil down the “plot” of the novel, not very much happens. We simply follow Marcos through this world and learn about it through his eyes. The “meat” of the plot (pun, unfortunately, intended) - the “shake-up” to Marcos’ life - constitutes a relatively small number of pages in the book. But this isn’t a criticism. It’s a very unique approach that perfectly communicates the clinical, “everyday” view of this dystopian world without diluting the horror of it.
My personal favorite aspect of Tender is the Flesh is the narrative voice. The book is told not quite from first person and not quite third person point-of-view. There’s an intentional mechanical distance between the reader and Marcos. We’re not getting his thoughts from first person (Marcos is referred to as “he” consistently by the narrative, and very rarely by name) but we very much live in his head and hear his thoughts as he has them.
Without spoiling too much, this is brilliantly deceptive. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that we “know” Marcos because we’re seeing things almost from his point of view. But the distance - like a sheet of glass between the reader and Marcos’ actual thoughts - makes it so that we never actually know exactly what Marcos is feeling about this heinous society. This is used to pretty great, and sometimes shocking, effect and creates a really unique reading experience.
Comics
Let's discuss some comics we've enjoyed recently!
As always, we'll spotlight a Direct Market Indie Book, a DC or Marvel book, a Kickstarter book, and a Webcomic!
Indie Comic: Motor Girl
Kat: In celebration of our announcement, let's highlight a Terry Moore title for this week’s indie installment.
Terry Moore may be best known for his long epic, Strangers in Paradise, but he has plenty of shorter runs that pack a similar punch. Motor Girl is one of his most underrated titles, and my personal favorite from his library.
It follows the story of an Iraq veteran who with her Gorilla best friend gets caught in some alien madness. The aliens and even Sam’s gorilla friend are tools to tell a bigger story about PTSD. It’s a character driven narrative that uses sci-fi to tell a much more grounded piece. It’s a tight 10 issue series that is a must have in your comic book collection.
Marvel: Ultimate Spider-Man
Kat: The original Ultimate Spider-Man was a trailblazer as Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley told modern stories with a teenage Peter Parker (a concept that hadn’t been touched for decades with the character up to that point) with plenty of twists pulling from Spider-Man’s original source material.
The new Ultimate Spider-Man reverse engineers that concept and tells a story about a married Peter Parker getting spider powers for the first time. (Once again, tackling a concept that hasn’t been told in an ongoing form in decades.)
The series perfectly balances telling stories that old fans of Spider-Man have been wanting to see, all while keeping it new reader friendly for people who are getting into comic books for the first time. It’s truly the PERFECT superhero book, and as a hardcore Spider-Man fan I’m so happy to see a Spidey book like this on stands.
Webcomic: Avatar: The Last Airbender
“After the conclusion of the Hundred Year War, Avatar Aang and his friends, Zuko, Sokka, Katara, and Toph work to heal the Four Elemental Nations and usher in a new age of progress. Follow the gang as they discover secrets of the past, battle new threats, heal old wounds and make new friends.”
Phil: A republishing of the A:TLA Dark Horse graphic novels in shiny new Webtoon Vertical Scroll format. It almost feels weird talking about books I’ve previously read in traditional format in the Webcomic section of our newsletter. But these Avatar comics are now officially a Webtoon, so they qualify!
Beginning with The Promise (and presumably continuing to cover The Search, The Rift, and the other later A:TLA comics), this webcomic picks up right where the original animated series ends (literally, seeing the moments right after Aang and Katara’s kiss) and tackles the work that comes after you defeat the big bad and need to start the process of healing in a world ravaged by war.
It’s been a long time since I read these comics in full, so it’s fun returning to them now in this new episodic format. One big plus for this series is that it really captures the spirit of the animated series’ characters. You can really hear their voices when they talk. This makes for an enjoyable read, even when the story (from my recollection) never hits the exciting heights of its source material.
I’m excited to revisit comics that I read nearly a decade ago. And even more excited to have some Avatar content to look forward to on the weekly!
Kickstarter: Death’s Kiss
“Where death meets desire, their impossible love story begins… An NSFW comic with sex, love, and a tragic destiny. Drawn by Yishan Li.”
Phil: A new mature comic from Russell Nohelty, S.K. Prince, and Yishan Li - three names that always mean great content! An exploration of death that is brimming with life. This looks like exactly the kind of NSFW we love. Sexy and substantive, with meaningful exploration of character and theme. Really looking forward to this one!
In Closing
Thank you for reading!
Be sure to check out LGBTQ+ Fox & Wolf Enamel Pins on Kickstarter! And to follow the Pre-launch Pages for The Witches of Oz #1!
If you’re not already subscribed, definitely consider doing so to make sure you get future updates!
We’re so excited to share these exciting new books with you in the coming weeks!
Current Kickstarter: LGBTQ+ Fox & Wolf Enamel Pins (Ending 4/18)
Next Kickstarters: The Witches of Oz #1 (Launching 4/15)
Next Convention: New Jersey Horror Con & Film Festival (Edison, NJ - 4/19-4/21)
That cover! The sly smirk on the Wicked Witch’s face. Sends an absolute shiver down my spine.
Bodies Bodies Bodies!!!! One of the most surprising movies I've seen in a long time. Thanks for the shout out. :)