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2024: The Year in Comics

Jan 21, 2025

In 2024, steampunk fans were treated to new installments of popular comic book series like Girl Genius and Lady Mechanika, but the year also saw some notable releases from lesser-known creators. Here’s a roundup of new releases and notable Kickstarter campaigns.

More Adventures for Agatha Heterodyne

Studio Foglio released a PDF edition of Girl Genius 23: Escape from the Island of the Rat Queen, the latest entry in the hugely popular Girl Genius graphic novel series. They also crowdfunded a print version of Girl Genius 21: An Entertainment in Londinium.

The long-running series features the adventures of Agatha Heterodyne, “the last of a notorious family in which the spark of mad science runs strong,” the creators explain. “We call it a ‘Gaslamp Fantasy,’ by which we mean that it takes place in an old-fashioned, Vernian world of airships, monsters, and wild inventions.”

The series has won multiple Hugo Awards for Best Graphic Story.

The creators—Phil and Kaja Foglio—publish the stories as webcomics, then periodically collect them into graphic novels. The novels appear first as digital editions at DriveThru Comics, and then the Foglios run Kickstarter campaigns to fund the print versions. Backers get free copies of the PDF versions.

A Kickstarter campaign for Girl Genius 22: The Chronometric Lantern Expedition is likely early this year. The Foglios released a PDF of the graphic novel in October 2023.

They said they hope to run a Kickstarter campaign for Escape from the Island of the Rat Queen in late 2025.

Visit DriveThru Comics to purchase the digital editions and the Girl Genius website to read the comics online.

Lady Mechanika in Siberia

Image Comics released Lady Mechanika: The Devil in the Lake, a four-issue miniseries in the Lady Mechanika comic book series by Joe Benitez and M.M. Chen. The series tells the story of a Victorian-era paranormal investigator with mechanical limbs.

In the new story arc, Lady Mechanika travels to Siberia to hunt for a dragon living in an ancient lake. Benitez, creator of the series, successfully crowdfunded Issues 1 and 2 in 2022 and the remaining two issues last August.

The series, now published by Image Comics, is available in comic book shops and digitally from Amazon, Apple Books, and Google Play. Learn more on the Image Comics and Benitez Productions websites.

Latest from Boston Metaphysical Society

Madeleine Holly-Rosing crowdfunded two special editions of Boston Metaphysical Society, her steampunk comic book series about paranormal investigators in an alternate-history America.

In April, she raised $28,900 to fund a special hardback edition of Boston Metaphysical Society Vol. 1. It features the original six-issue mini-series along with pinup art, sketches of weapon designs, and a new 10-page story entitled “The Ghost of Carlton House.” It’s a limited edition, but copies are still available for sale.

Then, in October, she raised US$27,588 to fund a hardcover edition of Boston Metaphysical Society Vol. 2. This collection features four previously published sequels – Scourge of the Mechanical Men, The Spirit of Rebellion, Ghosts and Demons, and The Book of Demons – plus new pinup art and a new 10-page story entitled “The Ghost Collector.” She expects to begin shipping copies to backers later this month.

Back to Hopeless, Maine

Outland Entertainment raised US$5,505 on Kickstarter to fund a new, repackaged edition of Hopeless, Maine Book Three: Sinners.

The gothic horror series, created by Tom and Nimue Brown, is set on an island that is “cut off from the rest of the world and lost in time.” It has become a favorite among steampunk fans, especially in the U.K.

Outland, a Kansas City publisher, acquired the popular graphic novel series in 2020 and previously released new editions of the first two volumes. A new digital edition of Book Three is now available on the website. The publisher expects that the hardcover will be available by May. The original estimate was March.

Another Ride for the Horsemen

Inverse Press launched a new series in Last Ride of the 4 Horsemen, the publisher’s steampunk Western comic book saga.

In Last Ride of the 4 Horsemen: Tribulation, the new horseman Death is hellbent on revenge, leading “his own four horsemen on a mission to destroy the rulers of both Heaven and Hell.”

It’s the third story arc in the series, which is loosely based on the biblical story of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The publisher released the first issue last year after a successful Kickstarter campaign. Inverse launched a campaign for the second issue on Jan. 12, 2025. Two more are in the works.

The publisher also crowdfunded softcover editions of the first two series, Last Ride of the 4 Horsemen and Last Ride of the 4 Horsemen: Conquest, totaling 112 and 80 pages respectively.

Learn more on the Inverse Press website.

Short Film Inspires Graphic Novel

Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt released Topsy McGee and the Scarab of Solomon, a graphic novel adventure story described as “Indiana Jones but in alternate timeline Victorian England.”

The creators are a husband-and-wife team best known as voice actors. The story is based on characters they created for a short film. It takes Topsy McGee and her husband, Captain Sean McGee, to Cairo, where they team up with Harry Houdini and Captain Nemo to uncover the secrets behind a powerful artifact.

The story was previously released as a three-issue comic book series. It is available on Amazon.

Werewolves in Bristol

Hellbound Media, an independent comic book publisher in Bristol, U.K., released Part One of Gabriel Cushing and the Curse of the Clockwork Werewolves.

The publisher described it as classic horror inspired by British Hammer films, but with a “brass-edged steampunk-twist.” The title character is a paranormal investigator who encounters cyborg lycanthropes from the Victorian era.

The 24-page comic book is available on Etsy. The publisher funded it with a Kickstarter campaign that raised £2,329 (US $2,834)

Sherlock Holmes, Captain Nemo Star in New Comic

Big Studios turned to multiple crowdfunding platforms, including Kickstarter and Indiegogo, to cover production costs for Sherlock Holmes: Leviathan, a graphic novel in which the detective teams up with Captain Nemo to prevent a world war.

The story was written by Mike Baron, a winner of the Eisner award, and drawn by Richard Bonk, whose credits include Superman, Teen Titans, and Witchblade.

The publisher estimates release in March. See the website for more info.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with new information about the release of Hopeless, Maine Book Three: Sinners.

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