A new trend amongst indie comic publishers has seen an uptick in the publication of superhero stories. Though the genre has often seen itself labeled inglorious by several indie juggernauts due to the frequent publishing schedules of Marvel and DC, indie capes and tights tales are returning in a big way. Because of that, titles like Dark Horse’s Minor Threats have become a beloved comic in its own right, shining a new light on the genre that helped sequential storytelling become what it is today. Though Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum continue to be dedicated to expanding the world of through comics, the former revealed in one recent interview he’d love to see the property expand to the big screen.
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“You know, DC and Marvel are the big boys and you are working with their IP unless you’re Robert Kirkman or Brian Michael Bendis and you get your own shingle over there. But for the most part, you know, a smaller company like Vault, Image, AfterShock, Dark Horse, you get to own your own property so that if it gets sold, you own it, you decide how it gets made,” Oswalt sasid in a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Jess Cagle show. “So that’s what we’re kind of hoping.”
Late last month, Oswalt and Blum announced the first spin-off to Minor Threats titled The Alternates, written by Nightwing and Hack/Slash alumnus Tim Seely. While the first series largely focused on villains that become the heroes in a story similar to Suicide Squad or Thunderbolts, Blum told us the new book will focus on the more obscure types of characters.
“Forgotten goofy heroes pulled into a suddenly ‘mature’ existence that both humanizes and alienates them,” Blum said regarding the announcement. “Tim is such a master and historian of comics, we were so thrilled with the new sandbox he built for us all to play in — once again offering a fresh and unique point of view we hadn’t yet seen explored in superhero comics. This story of existence, addiction, recovery and monster smashing was beautifully rendered thanks to the art of Christopher Mitten and paintings by Tess Fowler.”
Those “offbeat” characters includes heroes known as Mary the Multi-Monster, The Tripper, Crab Louie, Kid Curious, and Persona. The Alternates #1 hits comic stores on September 13th and is available for pre-order now at your local comic shop!
