New York Comic Con News:  First Second Books has announced the July, 2014 publication of The Rise of Aurora West, a prequel to Paul Pope’s all-ages superhero book Battling Boy, the recently released graphic novel about a young superhero who saves a town overrun by monsters after the death of its previous hero, a Doc Savage-like adventurer Haggard West.  Written by Pope (and J.T. Penny) with art by David Rubin, The Rise of Aurora West presents the backstory of Battling Boy’s first ally, Aurora West, daughter of the scientist/adventurer Haggard West.
 
The Rise of Aurora West is set in the monster-ravaged town of Arcopolis that was also the scene of much of the action in Battling Boy.  Pope, who is currently at work on the sequel to Battling Boy, wants to expand the Battling Boy universe, telling WIRED, "We’re definitely planning some kind of a story platform, similar to maybe the way [Mike] Mignola uses Hellboy or [Frank] Miller, Sin City.  There’s certainly plenty to work with. Battling Boy is set in three realms, the gods’ Kirby-esque floating space fortress, the besieged human world, and the seedy underworld of the monsters, each ripe for exploration."