Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez Reunite in Dark Horse's FML First Look Preview (Exclusive)

Read a new preview of Dark Horse's FML, featuring the long-awaited reunion of Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez

By Matthew Aguilar - September 23, 2024 12:55 pm EDT

Fans have been waiting for Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez to reunite a new project ever since their work on Captain Marvel, and that time has finally arrived with their new creator-owned project for Dark Horse Comics FML. FML tells the story of a 16-year-old heavy metal fan named Riley and his friends as their lives are forever changed by the worlds of magic and gods, and we've got your exclusive first look at the series! FML is written by DeConnick and illustrated by Lopez, with Cris Peter handling colors and Clayton Cowles on lettering, and you can get a sense of Riley's family life, his heavy metal roots, and the dangers he faces in our full preview on the next slide.

We are quicly introduced to Riley through a vision of him rocking out surrounded by flames and atop a bevy of skulls, though that vision is soon disrupted by Riley's mother. Riley then reveals that his mother is also Patricia Reynolds Maloney, aka the rockstar PattYCake, but these days she is just focused on keeping him out of trouble. That's no easy feat, as through a conversation in the car we hear about the danger of the nearby wildfires, though more pressing perhaps is the music blaring from the speakers from the group Eight-Minute Murders. As they try and stop the song, something gets in their way, but that's where the preview stops, and we'll just have to wait until the full issue to find out what it is.

What Is FML About?

"Riley is a 16-year-old heavy metal kid who draws down his anxiety with a ballpoint pen. His mother is an aging punk cartoonist slam dancing with a true crime obsession. Bound by threads of magical realism, they navigate the absurdities and horrors of our modern lives.

Issue one introduces Riley's daily life: terrorism diaries, school shooter drills, and social pressures under the constant shadow of encroaching wildfires that rain ash like a morbid snow. His refuge? The Forest Park Witch's House, where tales of chaos magic and trickster gods promise some semblance of sense in a senseless world."

A Long-Awaited Reunion

"David and I have been talking about doing something creator-owned together since Captain Marvel, but it took years for the stars and our schedules to properly align," DeConnick said. "Now that we're here though, it almost feels planned – like we needed exactly as long as it took us to grow and change, both as artists and as people, so that we could come back together for this big swing.

"FML is a challenging book – stylistically and in tone – and I'm not sure we could have pulled it off five years ago, honestly. But here we are – and I'm so proud of and impressed by the work put in by everyone involved. David is drawing like he's got something to prove, Cris is pulling disparate styles together seamlessly, tying them together with her palette and Clayton of course, our ace and secret weapon, works his subtle magic on lettering to make sure you hear everything in your head exactly the way it was intended. McCubbin developed this terrific logo that evolves with each issue, and I don't even know where to start with how supportive and inspiring Daniel Chabon's editorial team has been. They've given us exactly what we needed at every step along the way," DeConnick said.

FML will launch in comic stores on November 6th.

Are you excited for the new series? You can talk all things comics with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!