About Oni Press
Oni Press is a USA based comic book publisher who splits its time between publishing original comic book and graphic novel stories and releasing licensed titles. Oni Press are best known for releasing titles like The Tea Dragon Society, Sheets, Gender Queer, A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, Scott Pilgrim, and Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty.
In this article, I’m going to breakdown the upcoming releases from Oni Press coming to a local comic shop near you in June 2023.
Xino #1 (of 3)
Writers: Chris Condon, Melissa Flores, Phil Hester & Jordan Thomas
Artists: Nick Cagnetti, Phil Hester, Daniel Irizarri & Shaky Kane
Because the future is getting weirder everyday, we give you XINO #001—the first of three 40-PAGE intra-ocular lozenges of subversive, surrealist science-fiction to cure your awful awareness of it all. Try not to worry—the insertion process will be guided by the megawatt brilliance of Oni’s brightest talents—past, present, and future—as they slowly tune your hopes, dreams, desires, paranoia, alienation, anxiety, and adrenaline to produce the desired results.
In our first exploratory outing: Rising stars Melissa Flores (The Dead Lucky, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) and Daniel Irizarri (Judge Dredd) surgically activate the hidden dimensions of the human senses; cult phenoms Chris Condon (That Texas Blood) and Nick Cagnetti (Pink Lemonade) debut the world’s first intravenous video game system; underground radicals Jordan Thomas (Weird Work) and Shaky Kane (Bulletproof Coffin) surveil the suburbs for signs of covert infiltration, and master cartoonist and foundational Oni creator Phil Hester (Gotham City: Year One, The Coffin) returns to the fold to leave his deepest mark yet!
Release date: June 14, 2023
Lamentation #2 (of 3)
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Arjuna Susini
Trapped within the Requiem Theater, lead actress Jennifer fights for her life and freedom as threats encroach from the real world and within the play. When the mysterious Prince Razide selects her as his bride, new dangers emerge, and she still doesn’t know who—or what—lies beneath the prince’s mask
The Haunting of Hill House meets The Phantom of the Opera in this dizzying horror mystery by acclaimed writer of nightmares Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, The Empty Man, The Sixth Gun) and illustrator Arjuna Susini (Made Men, Forever Forward).
Release date: June 7, 2023
Rick and Morty #6
Writer: Alex Firer
Artists: Marc Ellerby and Andrew Dalhouse
It’s an epic battle of the Ricks! Hyper tech bro Glug Vronsky wants to become the new Rick; a Rick 2.0, if you will. Morty is losing his mind and slowly turning into Rick, and Rick is, well, the same old Rick! And they’re all fighting aboard a giant dog spaceship that’s headed straight for Earth, only they don’t know Summer’s coming in ninja-style to join the party. Meanwhile, the Goldenfolds, Noelle, and a slew of weird gods plan to exact revenge on the foolish fool who tried to do away with them: Rick Sanchez. Geez, guy can’t catch a break, can he?
Release date: June 21, 2023
Parallel
Writer/Artist: Matthias Lehmann
Karl Kling’s story is one of revelations, and these he has addressed in a letter to his daughter, Hella, who had disowned Karl many years ago. Karl’s letter is a cri de coeur from a father to a daughter he never really got to know, and he comes clean to her about his failed marriages, his fractured family relations—and his love for men.
Taking place between the end of World War II and the 1980s, Parallel chronicles Karl’s efforts to comply with social norms in order to keep his sexuality a secret. It also paints a picture of a life torn between conformity and rebellion, and the cruel realities of twentieth-century German society, where homosexuality was proscribed and punishable until 1994. Matthias Lehmann poignantly depicts the story of a decades-long yearning to live an open and free life, and the price Karl and those he loves must pay for it. It is also a story of finding the courage to finally tell the truth no matter the obstacles…or the cost.
In Parallel, creator Matthias Lehmann deftly explores the complexities of being gay at a time when queer relationships were forbidden. Torn between his longing for a family and his simultaneous desire for gay love, Karl Kling hides his homosexuality from his wife and child while pursuing male romances in 1950s Germany.
Release date: June 14, 2023
Turning Japanese
Writer/Artist: Marinaomi
The year is 1995. Fresh out of a long-term relationship, twenty-two-year-old MariNaomi finds herself amidst a flurry of major life changes. Newly immersed in the pan-Asian diaspora of San Jose, California, half-Japanese Mari searches for connections to a culture that has so far eluded her.
It doesn’t take long for Mari to find a new love and a new job—at a hostess bar for Japanese ex-pats—in a bid to learn the language and culture. Turning Japanese follows Mari from Northern California to Tokyo, Japan, as she tries to get by in an unfamiliar city with rudimentary language skills—all in the hopes of finally connecting with her Japanese relatives without the use of her mother as a translator.
Turning Japanese: Expanded Edition includes new story pages that bring fresh insight and a new resolution to this classic comics memoir of our times.
Release date: June 7, 2023
Which of these Oni Press comics will you be picking up for NCBD?
Do any of these Oni Press comics look appealing to you? Which will you be picking up?
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