At its Humanoids 20th Anniversary in America panel, the publisher unveiled H1, a new imprint that will take place in a shared superpowered universe. Humanoids’ new Chief Creative Officer John Cassaday (see “Humanoids Hires John Cassaday”) and Humanoids’ new Director of Creative Development Mark Waid (see “Humanoids Hires Mark Waid as Director of Creative Development”) will be working with a team of architects for the universe, including Kwanza Osajyefo (Black, Black AF), Yanick Paquette (Wonder Woman Earth One) and Carla Speed McNeil (Finder, Sensation Comics) . Creators who will be working on projects in the universe include Phil Briones, Vanessa Del Rey, Cheryl Lynn Eaton, Mike McKone and Afua Richardson.
“H1 represents a number of important milestones for Humanoids,” said Fabrice Giger, Humanoids CEO and Publisher. “This is our first foray into a shared universe, one with stories by talented creators whose undeniable creative chemistry is forging a new and fantastic world. Next summer, we’re launching three ongoing comic book series, the first three ongoing periodicals in this company’s history, and we’ll be publishing them in an unprecedented and unexpected way which we’ll announce in the coming months.”
The first three ongoing series will be launching in Summer 2019.
- Ignited will see the planet attempting to rebalance itself, even as the human population surges. Among that growing population, individuals are developing superpowers, and they are being labeled the Ignited.
- Omni follows the life of doctor Cecelia Cobbina, who suddenly becomes Ignited after an incident in Africa. She can now think faster than the speed of light, which is completely overwhelming.
- Strangelands sees Elashi and Adam Land forced into close contact, because if they separate, the planet may be destroyed.
In addition to their ongoing series, Humanoids will feature new mini series with self-contained original stories by well known talent including Dennis Calero, Jock, Shawn Martinbrough, Helen Mullane, Andrea Mutti, Quinton Peeples, Dom Reardon, and Darick Roberston.
- The Big Country follows Grissom Callahan, the in a long line of Texas sheriffs. The Old West is dead, and cowboy tactics don’t work well when facing a serial killer. Grissom will have to adapt if he wants to survive.
- Meyer is the imaginary biography of Jewish mobster Meyer Lanksky, combining an immigrant story with Breaking Bad.
- Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen starts with a modern-day druid attempting to unleash the gods of Great Britain with some human sacrifice. But when he picks Nicnevin “Nissy” Oswald as his latest victim, things don’t go as planned.