(September 23, 2024) Due to the success of THE TOXIC AVENGER — starring the satirical hero of the Troma Films cult classic films — AHOY Comics is announcing a collectible trading card by acclaimed artist Steve Ellis (The Only Living Boy, High Noon), to be included in a newly added special variant edition of issue #2. Ellis, a MAGIC THE GATHERING card artist, brings his prodigious talents to the all-new 5-issue comic book series by Matt Bors — the founder of The Nib and a political cartoonist who has twice been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist —and acclaimed artist Fred Harper (Snelson). THE TOXIC AVENGER #1 Cover D, which features a collectible trading card by Harper, will debut October 9, with THE TOXIC AVENGER #2 Cover D featuring Ellis’ collectible trading card following on November 13.
“Speaking as a completely unbiased observer with absolutely no skin in the game, it feels like a very good time to be an AHOY fan,” said AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “We’ve had two runaway hits this year with brand new series THE TOXIC AVENGER and BABS by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows — both of which have been the most successful AHOY Comics launches since the delightfully controversial SECOND COMING by Mark Russell, Richard Pace and Leonard Kirk. Is AHOY Comics about to blow up and forget the names of all the small-timers who knew us when we were nobodies? Watch this space!”
In THE TOXIC AVENGER, teenager Melvin Junko helps run his parent’s junkyard in Tromaville, a small town in New Jersey where nothing much ever happens — until an ill-timed train derailment of toxic waste transforms Melvin into a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength: the Toxic Avenger! Under a media blackout imposed by Biohazard Solutions (BS) and their PR-spewing Chairwoman Lindsay Flick, Melvin emerges as a hero fighting against BS and the mutated threats that keep popping up around Tromaville. Eventually Melvin uncovers a vast conspiracy more far-reaching than he could have ever imagined — but he knows if everyone is simply made aware of the crisis, they’ll act to stop it. Right?
TOXIC AVENGER is the second comic book series from Bors, following the release of JUSTICE WARRIORS, his critically-acclaimed comic with artist Ben Clarkson which follows two police officers, Swamp Cop and Schitt, stationed in the world’s first perfect city. The Toxic Avenger first appeared in the 1984 cult classic film about a mutated weakling mopping up a corporate mess, directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz and starring Mitchell Cohen.
THE TOXIC AVENGER #1 will land in stores on October 9, 2024, with THE TOXIC AVENGER #2 following on November 13, 2024. For more updates on AHOY Comics, visit them on X, Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram.
About AHOY Comics
AHOY Comics debuted in the fall of 2018 with the bold promise for readers to expect more from its line of comic book magazines, featuring comic book stories, poetry, prose fiction, and cartoons. The independent, Syracuse-based company is the brainchild of publisher Hart Seely, an award-winning reporter whose humor and satire has appeared in The New York Times and on National Public Radio. AHOY’s editor-in-chief Tom Peyer is committed to publishing comics with a (dark) sense of humor with titles like the religious satires SECOND COMING and HIGH HEAVEN, the superhero parodies THE WRONG EARTH and MY BAD, the sci-fi spoofs CAPTAIN GINGER and HIGHBALL, the time travel tales PLANET OF THE NERDS and G.I.L.T., and the humor/horror anthology series EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF BLOOD.
About Troma Entertainment, Inc.
Established in 1974 by Yale friends Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, Troma Entertainment is the longest-running, independent movie studio in North America, and it’s one of the very few genuine brand names in the industry. Troma is worldfamous for producing & distributing classics such as Kaufman’s “The Toxic Avenger”, Trey Parker’s “Cannibal! The Musical”, “Poultrygeist”, “Class of Nuke ‘Em High”, Charles Kaufman’s “Mother’s Day” & “Tromeo & Juliet”. Many of today’s luminaries can be found in Troma’s library of 1000 films, TV shows & shorts. Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Costner, Fergie, Vincent D’Onofrio, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gunn & Eli Roth are just a few notable Troma-lumni. Troma Blu-rays, DVDs, books, shirts & Tromabilia can be purchased at www.tromadirect.com. Troma’s classic & new films & exclusive extras can be viewed at www.troma-now.com.
About the creators
Matt Bors is a cartoonist, writer, editor, and publisher who founded the comics publication The Nib. His work has appeared in The Nation, CNN, The Guardian, The Village Voice, Daily Kos, and was collected in the book We Should Improve Society Somewhat. He is a two time Pulitzer Prize Finalist for his political cartoons and drew the graphic novel War Is Boring.
Fred Harper has illustrated stories for DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Most memorable (at least to Fred) would be penciling for Animal Man at DC Vertigo. He started out with Savage Sword of Conan, Ghost Rider, and Doctor Strange at Marvel Comics. He went on to do illustrations for White Wolf and Magic the Gathering as he transitioned to magazine illustrations for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, The Week, SPORT, The Sporting News, Muscle and Fitness, Men’s Health, Muscular Development, and Sports Illustrated… to name a few. Fred currently resides in an apartment where he conducts experiments about the effects of copious amounts of espresso on an artist’s brain. Results have been inconclusive, but sometimes secrets take time for the beans to spill.
