WARNING: contains preview pages for Fearbook Club!
Earlier this year, young adult imprint Seismic Press and its initial offering, the original graphic novel Rainbow Bridge. AfterShock has announced the second Seismic Press title, Fearbook Club, which will be on sale in comic shops January 5 2022 and everywhere on January 18.
Upon entering the industry just a few years ago, AfterShock Comics has risen to become one of the most exciting independent publishers in North America. By bringing together both new and established talent, and giving them platforms to tell compelling stories, AfterShock has distinguished themselves; the company won New Publisher of the Year in 2017 and their individual books have won industry awards as well. The company branched out into the young adult/middle reader market this year, starting Seismic Press. Rainbow Bridge, the first title, got the line off to a great start, debuting to critical acclaim. Fearbook Club by Richard Ashley Hamilton, Marco Matrone, and Dave Sharpe will continue this tradition, telling an intensely relatable story set against the backdrop of a haunted middle school!
AfterShock has provided darker than ghosts waiting for them. The preview pages below showcase Matrone’s artwork, and waste no time setting up the story and introducing readers to Whit Garcia and Nepenthe Middle.
Feelings of awkwardness and social anxiety are coming for young people (and adults too) and Fearbook Club is tapping into that and using it to tell a fun horror story full of hauntings and other strange phenomena. Writer Richard Ashley Hamilton, who revealed the book started as a campfire tale he told his sons, said in the press release the book was about “fear” and how it is a part of everyday life for kids. He feels that books like Fearbook Club are important because they allow children to process and deal with their fears in a health way. Just as Rainbow Bridge couched its heavy themes of losing a pet in a trippy fantasy story, Fearbook Club uses horror as a way to look at themes of fear and not fitting in.
AfterShock Comics’ Seismic Press got off to a strong start earlier this year, providing middle age readers with unique graphic novels aimed firmly at them. The imprint’s new Fearbook Club looks to be another sure-fire hit for the company.
Source: Comics Beat
