Two Cool BOOM! Announcements: Pietsch on Adventure Time Mini and Moreci Cultivates Burning Fieldsnow

2014 was a very good year for BOOM!, and it looks like 2015 is going to be just as good, if not better. Hot on the heels of ending 2014 with more Roger Langridge, comes news that two of my favorite creators are getting more work at BOOM!, albeit on two very different projects.

Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift #1
cover by Reimena Yee

First came news of another Adventure Time mini-series focusing on Marceline and Princess Bubblegum called Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift, written by Meredith Gran and illustrated by Panel Patter favorite Carey Pietsch of the Dirty Diamonds group, Snapdragon Queen, and many other mini-comics. 

The premise this time really pushes things in terms of moving outside the usual Ooo orbit. From the press release: 

Marceline is on a rampage for mysterious reasons, and the kingdom of Ooo is desperately scrambling to stop her. In trying to save both Ooo and Marceline herself, Princess Bubblegum accidentally propels Marceline into the farthest reaches of space...and strips her of her powers! Guilt-ridden, Princess Bubblegum sets off on a space rescue that’ll test the power of her mind...as well as the power of friendship.

I've really enjoyed the Adventure Time comics from BOOM!, and the best of those, I think, have been the graphic novels and mini-series, with the Paul Tobin-Colleen Coover-Wook Jin Clark The Flip Side being the best of the bunch. Pietsch illustrated the Lumpy Space Princess section of Adventure Time 30 (the zine issue), so she's familiar with the world. I can't wait to read this one in January, and I'm sure I'll have a review.

Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift #1 is scheduled to be released on January 14th, and is $3.99. It's a 6-issue mini-series, and of course there will be variant covers for those so inclined.

Burning Fields #1 cover by
Colin Lorimer

The second project is extremely different, but that's no surprise given that it's from the writing team of Tim Daniel and Michael Moreci. They worked together on an excellent horror mini, Curse, last year, which also came out from BOOM!, and now they're back again, with one of the Curse artists, Colin Lorimer, for a new series. It's called Burning Fields, and this time their target is a military procedural mixed with ancient evil for a concept that's sure to push readers into thoughtful comparisons between horror tropes and the things that happen as part of everyday, cruel, reality.

Here's the press release, giving the premise:

Dana Atkinson, a dishonorably discharged army investigator, is pulled back to the Middle East when a group of American oil technicians disappear under bizarre circumstances. With the help of an Iraqi investigator, what Dana discovers is unimaginable: a series of unusual incidents at the drill site lead her and her unlikely ally to discover a mythic evil that has been released, one that threatens both the lives of the entire region and the fragile peace that exists.

 Mike Moreci is one of the best at using horror to explore the mindset of humanity, and given the topical nature of the content this time, I expect to see this one really challenging its audience while also ensuring that there's a definite shade of gray. I really liked how Mike and Tim worked together on Curse, and it's great to see them working with Lorimer, who also killed it on art for that series. The longer artists and writers can work together, the more their stories improve, because they know how to play to each other's strengths. I'd happily read one new series from this year every year, and I expect this one to be perfect for horror fans looking for an early fix in the new year.

Burning Fields is also $3.99, and comes out January 21st, to your favorite comic book store or digital device.