EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW - AWA Studios
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EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW
LETTER FROM THE CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
Let’s get this straight: Comics aren’t a genre of
storytelling – they’re a medium. A medium that
is only as limited as the talent and tastes of the
creators making them and the publishers
supporting those creators. At Artists, Writers &
Artisans, we want to tap their full potential, with
stories that span and blend all genres: crime,
horror, war, western, science fiction, journalism
– and yes – super heroes.
At AWA, we’re building a new business model
for the industry – an environment, a culture,
and a community in which creators can bet on
themselves without putting it all on the line.
Where creators own their works or own part of the company – or even both.
Where creators have a real stake in their works, without being left to their
own devices. Whether they’re telling a fresh story that exists in its own
universe or one that exists as part of a larger tapestry, creators are not alone
when they craft a series for AWA’s main imprint, Upshot Studios. Creators
are part of a community that they work with, lean on, and root for. And with
the help of our creative council – J. Michael Straczynski, Reginald Hudlin,
Garth Ennis, Gregg Hurwitz, Margaret Stohl and Frank Cho – Upshot Studios
is creating an all-new shared universe designed to bring comics into the
21st century and beyond.
The plan is simple: No fear, no rules. Just curate innovative series by top
talent and tomorrow’s stars that will entertain, challenge, provoke and
expand the boundaries of the medium.
Axel Alonso
UPSHOT STUDIOS
WWW.AWASTUDIOS.NET
Axel Alonso - Chief Creative Officer
Stan Chou - Art Director UPSHOT EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW #1. May 2019. Published
Michael Coast - Senior Editor by Artists Writers & Artisans, Inc. Office of publication: 1359
Broadway, Suite 800, New York, NY 10018. © 2019 Artists
Ryan Conners - Executive Assistant Writers & Artisans, Inc. or their respective owners. All Rights
Bill Jemas - CEO and Publisher Reserved. All names, characters, events and locales in this
Dulce Montoya - Associate Editor publication are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual
persons (living or dead), events, or places, without satirical
Angela Moznerova - Controller
intent is coincidental. Printed in the U.S.A.
Ken Shepps - Director of Business and Legal Affairs
Colin Weldon - Marketing Associate 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
EXCITING NEW SERIES COMING in 2020
FIGHT GIRLS ACTION-ADVENTURE
MATURE READERS
Ten hard-as-nails women face off in an ancient contest of champions
where the winner truly takes all: the title of “Queen of the Galaxy.”
To win the challenge each contestant must survive the hazards of
the planet’s harsh landscape, the ferocious predators on and below
its surface, and their fellow contestants. This edition of the contest
has a twist: one of the contestants is an infiltrator who has her eye
on something bigger than the prize. Who is she and what does she
really want?
CREATIVE TEAM
Frank Cho is an Emmy Award-winning and
critically acclaimed writer and illustrator. He
is known for his newspaper comic strip series,
Liberty Meadows, as well as for books such as
Mighty Avengers, Spider-Man, X-Men, Shanna
the She-Devil, The Hulk and Savage Wolverine
for Marvel Comics. He is now the cover artist
for Harley Quinn and Batman at DC Comics.
Frank Cho is noted for classical and energetic
figure art, beautiful illustrations of women,
Frank Cho humorous writings and adventure stories.
WRITER & ARTIST Presently, Frank Cho wrapped up his fantasy
action book, Skybourne at BOOM! Studios. He
@frankchoartist
is currently working on several creator-owned
facebook.com/frankchoartist projects: Fight Girls for AWA, Guns & Dinos at
Image Comics, and War Witch with novelist
Tom Sniegoski for Big Wow Publications.
Sabine Rich is a self-taught French/British
artist who got her start in comics in 2011 as
a colorist for JP Roth’s Ancient Dreams. She
continued on to draw and color other titles
for Rothic Comics including Theory of Magic
Sabine Rich and Rem 8. She has worked as a colorist for
COLORIST J. Scott Campbell’s covers and Frank Cho’s
Harley Quinn covers. She created covers for
sabinerichart.storenvy.com Lady Death and for Zenescope. She likes to
@sabine_rich play with new mediums and techniques to
produce unique styles for covers.
@sabine_rich
facebook.com/sabine.rich.artist
Interior art from Fight Girls #1
Interior art from Fight Girls #1
ARCHANGEL 8 ACTION-ADVENTURE
MATURE READERS
In a world beyond the sight of mortals, Heaven and Hell wage an
eternal war for the soul of mankind. Principal among God’s legion
are seven archangels written about in religious texts for millennia.
But there is an eighth archangel, known only from passing allusions
in Apocrypha, who operates under a different code. Fighting
without God’s sanction, he faces the enemy on his own terms, and
shows just how bad good can be.
CREATIVE TEAM
Michael Moreci is a comics author and novelist.
His current comic series, Wasted Space, has
been hailed as one of the best comics of 2018;
it comes on the heels of Moreci’s other hit sci-
fi series, Roche Limit, which Paste Magazine
dubbed “one of the 50 best sci-fi comics of all-
time.” Moreci has also written canonical comics
for Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Archie, and
Michael Moreci Planet of the Apes. Other original titles include
WRITER Curse, Burning Fields, Hoax Hunters, and the
forthcoming Archangel 8. His debut novel,
michaelpmoreci.com
Black Star Renegades – a space adventure in
@michaelmoreci the spirit of Star Wars – was released in 2018
@michaelmoreci and nominated for an Audie Award. Its sequel,
We Are Mayhem, was released in April 2019.
C.P. Smith is the celebrated comic book artists
of titles such as The Programme for DC; The
New Invaders and Wolverine Noir for Marvel;
and Ten Grand for Image.
C.P. Smith
ARTIST
AMERICAN RONIN ACTION-ADVENTURE
MATURE READERS
War is over, democracy an illusion, real power now lies not with
nation states but huge corporations engaged in a silent war for
global domination. Their number one weapon: highly-skilled,
technologically-enhanced operatives trained since childhood to
pledge their allegiance to the corporate flag.
But what happens when one such operative breaks free of his
mental chains and decides to bring the whole system down? Can
one “Ronin” make a difference?
CREATIVE TEAM
Peter Milligan was at the forefront of the
revolution in comics which were created for a
more sophisticated, adult audience. Shade the
Changing Man for Vertigo offered a skewered
look at American culture, while Enigma, Face
and Rogan Gosh pushed the boundaries
of what comic books could do. The hugely-
popular X-Statix was a radical reworking of the
X-Man paradigm, described by Kevin Smith as
“the most well-observed scholarly analysis of
media-manipulation filtered through a pop-
Peter Milligan culture lens ever committed to the page.”
WRITER Milligan’s other work for Vertigo includes his
long run on the cult horror comic Hellblazer
@1petermilligan and his innovative take on Human Target,
which inspired the TV series. More recent work
includes the critical and fan hit Britannia for
Valiant, the surreal Kid Lobotomy for IDW, and
The Discipline, a highly controversial sexually-
charged tale published by Image.
ACO is a popular cover and interior artist that
ACO has worked for Marvel and DC. He is best
ARTIST known for his stunning work in Marvel’s Nick
Fury.Interior art from AMERICAN RONIN #1
Interior art from AMERICAN RONIN #1
SAVIOR ACTION-ADVENTURE
MATURE READERS
The Savior is special. Possessing godlike powers, he’s been raised his
whole life in a carefully controlled bubble of his mother and father’s
creation. When his parents pass away, he falls into the clutches of a
secret society that has been waiting for someone like him to carve
a future of their design. His parents anticipated this moment and
prepared their son for it, but for him to truly rise to the occasion
he must first pull back the curtain on his family legacy and uncover
who he really is.
CREATIVE TEAM
Ales Kot is a comic book writer whose critically-
acclaimed work has been featured on the
pages of Marvel, DC, and Image publications.
His controversial series Days of Hate takes
Ales Kot an unsparing look at the state of modern
American politics. Several of his projects are
WRITER currently in development for film and television
@ales_kot adaptations.
@aleskotsays
facebook.com/aleskotpage
Robert Sammelin is a self-taught concept
artist, illustrator, graphic designer and comics
creator. He’s worked as Senior Concept Artist
at DICE since 2007, making concept art
Robert Sammelin and graphic design for the award-winning
ARTIST Battlefield series among other projects. He
robertsammelin.com makes comics and illustrates on the side.
@robertsammelin
facebook.com/robert.sammelinInterior art from SAVIOR #1
Interior art from SAVIOR #1
OLD HAUNTS HORROR
MATURE READERS
Three Made Men, standing at the brink of retirement, find their
unbreakable bond put to the ultimate test when they are suddenly
assaulted by the ghosts of their past. Confronted by decades of
buried secrets – resentments, affairs, double-crosses, and murders
– the three friends have no choice but to unearth the deepest,
darkest sin from their past and pray they don’t find an empty grave.
CREATIVE TEAM
Ollie Masters is a popular comic book writer
known for Killer Groove, Snow Blind, and Sons
of Anarchy. His original series The Kitchen has
Ollie Masters been adapted into a film by New Line Cinema
WRITER set for release in August 2019.
olliemasters.tumblr.com
@olliemasters
Rob Williams is the writer of the Judge
Dredd: Mega City One TV show. His comics
work includes Suicide Squad, Trinity, Martian
Manhunter and Action Comics for DC; Amazing
Spider-Man, Ghost Rider and Daken for Marvel;
Kingsman: The Red Diamond for Millarworld;
Judge Dredd for 2000AD; Doctor Who for
Rob Williams Titan Comics; and Star Wars and Indiana
WRITER Jones for Dark Horse. He is currently writing
the Roy of the Rovers Young Adult Graphic
robwilliamscomics.co.uk
Novels for Rebellion. His creator-owned works
@robwilliams71 include Unfollow and The Royals: Masters of
War for Vertigo, Ordinary for Titan Comics, and
@robwilliams1971
Cla$$war for Com.x.
Laurence Campbell is a British comic book
artist whose work on titles such as Punisher
MAX, Judge Dredd, and Wolverine has made
Laurence Campbell him a legend in the industry.
ARTIST
getcampbell.com
@getcampbellInterior art from OLD HAUNTS #1
Interior art from OLD HAUNTS #1
BAD MOTHER ACTION-ADVENTURE
MATURE READERS
April Walters is a hit-and-run victim of life – a soccer mom whose
inner fire has been snuffed out by her dreary suburban existence.
When her teenaged daughter goes missing under mysterious
circumstances, April embarks on a harrowing journey through the
underbelly of her suburban community that sets her on a collision
course with a massive crime syndicate and its lethal matriarch.
Tested to her limits and beyond, April discovers that hell hath no
fury like a mother scorned.
CREATIVE TEAM
Christa Faust is an author of award winning
crime novels, media tie-ins and comics such as
Money Shot, Snakes on a Plane and Peepland.
She has worked in the Times Square peep
Christa Faust booths as a professional dominatrix and in the
adult film industry, both behind and in front
WRITER of the cameras. She currently lives and writes
christafaust.com in Los Angeles.
@ faustfatale
@ christafaust
facebook.com/christafaust
ARTIST TO BE ANNOUNCEDRED BORDER THRILLER
MATURE READERS
When a young, middle-class Mexican couple targeted for death by
the Juarez Cartel flee across the border into Texas, they wander into
a house of horrors beyond their wildest imagination. Rescued by a
mysterious local who takes them to the safety of his family’s ranch,
the couple soon realize their hosts have more than just skeletons
in their closet, and the army of assassins on their trail might be the
least of their problems.
CREATIVE TEAM
Jason Starr is the international best-selling
author of many crime novels, psychological
thrillers and comics. His novels include The
Follower, Tough Luck, Hard Feelings, Panic
Attack, Twisted City, Fugitive Red, and the
official Gotham novels based on the hit TV
show. His work in comics for Marvel and DC
includes The Punisher, Ant-Man, the Wolverine
Jason Starr MAX series, Batman, The Avenger, and Doc
WRITER Savage. His original graphic novels include The
jasonstarr.com Chill for Vertigo and The Returning for Boom.
@jasonstarrbooks Several of Starr’s novels are in development for
film, TV and theater. He has won the Anthony
@jasonstarrbooks Award twice, as well as the Barry Award. He
facebook.com/JasonStarrFan lives in New York City.
Will Conrad has been a cover artist, inker, and
penciler for many series including Buffy the
Will Conrad Vampire Slayer, Elektra, Serenity, She-Hulk
and more.
ARTIST
@willconrad
@willconradart
facebook.com/WConradArtInterior art from RED BORDER #1
HOTELL HORROR
MATURE READERS
You won’t find it on any map, but if you happen to be driving
down Route 66 late at night and you’re truly desperate for shelter,
sanctuary or secrecy, you might see a battered sign on the side of
the road:
HOTEL
The Pierrot Courts Hotel – where many check in but few check out:
the woman whose unborn child urges her to do terrible, terrible
things…the man who can’t get rid of his wife no matter how many
times he chops her body into pieces…the failed priest performing a
desperate exorcism on a kidnapped boy…the investigative journalist
on the trail of a serial killer, who discovers a terrible secret in the
crawlspace between the hotel walls. These are but a few of the
Pierrot Courts Hotel’s guests, and all of them will wish they had just
kept driving.
CREATIVE TEAM
John Lees is an award-winning comic book
writer from Glasgow, Scotland. He is best known
for his work on acclaimed horror series And
Then Emily Was Gone, with artist Iain Laurie,
and hard-boiled Glasgow crime saga Sink,
drawn by frequent collaborator Alex Cormack.
John Lees John’s other credits include superhero drama
WRITER The Standard, serial killer thriller Oxymoron: The
johnleescomics.wordpress.com Loveliest Nightmare, psychedelic nightmare
@johnlees927
quest Quilte, and a story for Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles Universe.
@johnlees927
Dalibor Talajić started his international comic
book career in 2005 at Desperado with the
Deadworld series. He also worked for French
publisher Delcourt before starting at Marvel in
2009. There his art has been featured in such
titles as Deadpool, X-Men, Punisher, Dexter,
Luke Cage, and many more. Most recently he
Dalibor Talajić co-created Witch Hammer with Cullen Bunn
ARTIST for Aftershock, where he also worked with
Zac Thompson and Andy Clarke on Relay.
@dalibor410
Dalibor refers to himself as the William Shatner
@talajicd of comics – whatever he is working on he is
facebook.com/dalibortalajicart
enjoying the hell out of it! He is a proud father
of two fantastic kids.Interior art from HOTELL #1
DEVIL’S HIGHWAY THRILLER
MATURE READERS
A young woman with a dark family secret embarks on a quest to
hunt down the serial killer that brutally murdered her father – only
to discover he is just one piece of a national network of evil that
snakes across the country and hides in plain sight. To catch the devil
she must first embrace the darkness within.
Benjamin Percy is the author of four novels
CREATIVE – The Dark Net, The Dead Lands, Red Moon,
and The Wilding – as well as three short story
TEAM collections – Suicide Woods, Refresh, Refresh,
and The Language of Elk. His essay collection,
Thrill Me, is widely taught in creative writing
classrooms. In 2021, his sci-fi trilogy, The
Comet Cycle, will be published by Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt; it has been optioned by the
Russo brothers (Avengers: Infinity War) for
development. He broke into comics in 2014
with a two-shot Batman story for Detective
Comics. He is known for his celebrated runs
on Wolverine, Nightwing, Green Arrow, Teen
Titans, and James Bond. His scripted podcast
series, Wolverine (produced by Marvel and
Benjamin Percy Stitcher), is now in its second season. It was
WRITER listed as one of the top fifteen podcasts of the
benjaminpercy.com year by Apple and won the iHeart Radio Award
for Best Scripted Podcast. His fiction and
@benjamin_percy nonfiction have been published by Esquire,
@benjamin.percy GQ, Time, Men’s Journal, Outside, the Wall
Street Journal, the New York Times, and the
facebook.com/BenjaminPercyWriter Paris Review. His honors include the Whiting
Award, the Plimpton Prize, the Pushcart Prize,
an NEA fellowship, and inclusion in Best
American Short Stories and Best American
Comics.
Hailing from the epicenter of culture known
as South Beloit, IL, Brent Schoonover was on
a one-way trip to normalcy until the fateful
day he laid eyes upon his first comic book. He
immediately grabbed hold of a pencil and
never let go, dedicating himself to creating
scores of characters and scenarios with a zeal
that would make lesser men quake in dread.
Brent Schoonover Now located in Minnesota, he draws upon a
fertile imagination marinated in comics, old
ARTIST cartoons, classic horror movies, pro wrestling,
brentschoonover.com and face-melting metal to create distinctive
illustrations with a retro feel that run the gamut
@brentschoonover
from comic books to editorial and packaging
@bschoonyart assignments. He has worked for clients such
as Target, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Surly
facebook.com/brent.schoonover
Brewing, and the Star Tribune.Interior art from DEVIL’S HIGHWAY #1
Interior art from DEVIL’S HIGHWAY #1
YEAR ZERO HORROR
MATURE READERS
A Japanese hitman, a Mexican street urchin, an Afghan military
aide, a Polar research scientist, a midwestern American survivalist
– five survivors of a horrific global epidemic who must draw upon
their unique skills and deepest instincts to navigate a world of
shambling dead. A braided narrative that offers a global look at the
Zombie Apocalypse, Year Zero wrestles with the weighty moral and
theological questions posed by the pandemic and investigates its
cause and possible cure.
CREATIVE Benjamin Percy is the author of four novels
– The Dark Net, The Dead Lands, Red Moon,
TEAM and The Wilding – as well as three short story
collections – Suicide Woods, Refresh, Refresh,
and The Language of Elk. His essay collection,
Thrill Me, is widely taught in creative writing
classrooms. In 2021, his sci-fi trilogy, The
Comet Cycle, will be published by Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt; it has been optioned by the
Russo brothers (Avengers: Infinity War) for
development. He broke into comics in 2014
with a two-shot Batman story for Detective
Comics. He is known for his celebrated runs
on Wolverine, Nightwing, Green Arrow, Teen
Titans, and James Bond. His scripted podcast
series, Wolverine (produced by Marvel and
Benjamin Percy Stitcher), is now in its second season. It was
WRITER listed as one of the top fifteen podcasts of the
benjaminpercy.com year by Apple and won the iHeart Radio Award
for Best Scripted Podcast. His fiction and
@benjamin_percy nonfiction have been published by Esquire,
@benjamin.percy GQ, Time, Men’s Journal, Outside, the Wall
Street Journal, the New York Times, and the
facebook.com/BenjaminPercyWriter Paris Review. His honors include the Whiting
Award, the Plimpton Prize, the Pushcart Prize,
an NEA fellowship, and inclusion in Best
American Short Stories and Best American
Comics.
Ramon Rosanas is an illustrator and comic
artist based in Barcelona. He has produced
works for editorial and advertising clients
Ramon Rosanas around the world. His work for Marvel includes
ARTIST Ant-Man, All-New Wolverine, and The Mighty
ramonrosanas.com Captain Marvel.
@ramonrosanas
@ramon.rosanas
facebook.com/ramon.rosanasInterior art from YEAR ZERO #1
Interior art from YEAR ZERO #1
J. Michael Gregg
Straczynski Hurwitz
AWA
CREATIVE
COUNCIL
Reginald Margaret
Hudlin Stohl
Garth Frank
Ennis Cho
AWA has brought together six of the most prominent creators in
comics to serve as our Creative Council. Together, they are helping to
fashion a new universe with twenty-first century sensibilities. With each
coming from a unique background, these six accomplished creators
will bring their own perspectives in the form of new characters and
new stories.J. Michael Straczynski is a legendary comic book
writer, screenwriter, and producer whose works
are beloved by a wide range of audiences around
the world. In film, Straczynski’s credits include five
produced movies in six years that have collectively
earned over a billion dollars: Changeling for Clint
Eastwood, Ninja Assassin for the Wachowskis, Thor
for Kenneth Branagh, Underworld: Awakening for
Kate Beckinsale, and World War Z for Paramount
and Brad Pitt. He is the creator of the landmark
sci-fi television series Babylon 5 and the co-creator,
with the Wachowskis, of Sense8. His comics for
Marvel, DC and Image have sold over 13 million
J. Michael individual issues and include runs on The Amazing
Spider-Man, Thor, Rising Stars, and Superman:
Straczynski Earth One. He was nominated for a BAFTA Award
WRITER for his screenplay for Changeling and he has
@straczynski won two Emmys, two Hugo Awards, the Eisner
Award, the Inkpot Lifetime Achievement Award,
facebook.com/officialjmspage the Saturn Award, the Ray Bradbury Award, the
GLAAD Media Award, and several others. His
autobiography, Becoming Superman, will be
published in hardcover by HarperCollins Voyager
July 23, 2019.
Director and producer Reginald Hudlin has
been on the vanguard of the modern black film
movement, helming some of the most influential
films and TV series of his generation. His most
recent efforts include directing the legal thriller
Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood
Marshall. Hudlin is currently finishing two feature
films. He is the producer and director of The Black
Godfather, his first feature length documentary,
chronicling the unbelievable life of Clarence
Avant, who was behind the scenes of the past 50
years of black pop culture. He is also producing
the Civil War-era historical drama Emperor which
stars Dayo Okeniyi, James Cromwell and Kat
Reginald Hudlin Graham. In his more than 30-year career, Hudlin
WRITER has written, directed and/or produced numerous
popular feature films including House Party
hudlinentertainment.com
(1990), Boomerang (1992) and Bebe's Kids (1992).
@ reghud Hudlin was also an executive producer and writer
of the animated TV series Black Panther and
executive producer of The Boondocks. Hudlin has
been honored by The NAACP, The American Civil
Liberties Union, The United Negro College Fund,
The Sundance Film Festival, The American Film
Institute, The San Diego Comic Con, The African
American Film Critics Association, and many more
organizations.
Garth Ennis has been writing comic books since
1989. His credits include Preacher, The Boys (both
adapted for TV), Hitman, Crossed and successful
runs on The Punisher and Fury for Marvel Comics.
He is particularly known for his war comics, such as
Battlefields, War Story, Sara and the recent revival
of classic British character Johnny Red. Originally
Garth Ennis from Northern Ireland, Ennis now resides in New
WRITER York City with his wife, Ruth.Gregg Hurwitz is the New York Times #1
internationally best-selling author of twenty
thrillers including Out of the Dark (January
2019; Minotaur). His novels have won numerous
literary awards and have been published in thirty
Gregg Hurwitz languages. Additionally, he’s written screenplays
WRITER and television scripts for many of the major
studios and networks. Gregg lives with his two
gregghurwitz.net
Rhodesian ridgebacks in Los Angeles, where
@ gregghurwitz he continues to play soccer, frequently injuring
@ gregghurwitzbooks himself.
facebook.com/gregghurwitzreaders
Margaret Stohl is a #1 New York Times best-
selling nerd, world-builder, video game creator,
comic book writer and festival founder. As an
award-winning young adult author, she has
been published in fifty countries and thirty-two
languages and has sold more than ten million
books worldwide. Beautiful Creatures debuted
as the Amazon #1 Teen book of the year and was
later adapted into a feature film by Warner Bros.
and Alcon Entertainment. In 2017 she began
writing the ongoing Mighty Captain Marvel
Margaret Stohl comic, followed by the acclaimed Life of Captain
WRITER Marvel miniseries, where she established a new
mstohl.com origin story for Carol Danvers in preparation for
@ mstohl the theatrical debut of Brie Larson as “Captain
Marvel” for the MCU. When not roaming the halls
@ margaret_stohl
of Seattle game developer Bungie – where she
facebook.com/MargaretStohl oversees the creation of new global IPs – Margaret
can often be seen at a Comicon or at one of the
teen and youth book festivals she co-founded,
YALLFEST (Charleston, SC) and YALLWEST (Santa
Monica, CA), the largest such festival in the
country.
Frank Cho is an multi-award-winning artist and
writer of titles such as Liberty Meadows, Shanna
Frank Cho the She-Devil, and Savage Wolverine. For more
WRITER & ARTIST information, check out his bio accompanying
the new Upshot series Fight Girls.
@frankchoartist
facebook.com/frankchoartistLearn more about
Upshot Studios and AWA at
www.awastudios.net
or contact us at info@awastudios.netYou can also read
