Hello Lifeline Comics Readers!
It’s that time again: time to reveal our Comic Kickstarters slate for the next few months! We’ve got some exciting announcements for you about our upcoming projects — including a Holiday Special we’re really excited about!
We’ll also introduce you to a new member of the Lifeline Comics team, dish on our experience with Hilary Duff’s “Lucky Me” tour, share our thoughts on recent releases: Heartstopper, Off-Campus, and more!
Let’s dive in!
Kat: Find out what’s coming up from Lifeline Comics for the Fall Season!
More details for each Kickstarter will be revealed closer to their launch dates.
But to make sure you don’t miss out on any projects, this is your chance to Follow our upcoming Pre-Launch Pages IN BULK!
LAUNCHING: August 24th
Writer: Phil Falco
Artist: Mau Mora
“GHOST HUNTER, Hope, must team up with Bram, the Bratty SUPERNATURAL TEEN she tried to KILL, to take down her POSSESSED EX-GIRLFRIEND!”
LAUNCHING: September 14th
Writers: Algy, Kat Calamia, & Phil Falco
Artist: Alex Brennan-Dent
“Transgender Witch OZMA has a shocking encounter in Emerald City as the Fairy Tale War heats up! EverAfterVerse Event Tie-in Oneshot!”
Follow "Ozma Fairy Tale Wars Tie-in"!
NOTE: This project was originally solicited for August 17th, but has shifted. Full announcement details coming 8/31.
LAUNCHING: September 21st
Writers: Kat Calamia & Phil Falco
Artist: Tabby Chan
“Liam Graves is a CHEERY VAMPIRE. Dean Hikaru is his GLOOMY CLASSMATE from a family of Monster Hunters. OPPOSITES ATTRACT at Hemlock U!”
LAUNCHING: October 5th
Creative Teams: TBA
“Lifeline Comics will have a table on the Exhibitors Floor of NYCC and we’re going ALL OUT with MULTIPLE EXCLUSIVES across our series!“
Follow "Lifeline NYCC 2026 Exclusives"!
LAUNCHING: October 12th
Writers: Kat Calamia & Phil Falco
Artist: Michela Cacciatore
“Six Sapphic Princesses must team up for their biggest, most fantastical battle yet against the EVIL QUEEN and her new pet!”
Follow "Fairy Tale Wars #2" here!
LAUNCHING: October 19th
Writer: David M. Booher
Artist: Winston Gambro
“Malloch was cast from Hell by his father after he came out. Can he make his mark as a Supernatural Detective on Earth? (BOOHER, GAMBRO)”
LAUNCHING: November 9th
Editors/Creators: Kat Calamia & Phil Falco
Contributors: TBA
“Basketball, Softball, Track, Ice Skating, Wrestling, and so much more. Celebrate women’s sports with a Ringo Award-winning publisher. “
Follow "Women's Sports Anthology" here!
LAUNCHING: November 16th
Writers: Kat Calamia & Phil Falco
Artist: Michela Cacciatore
“Taking place between Witches of Oz #4 and Fairy Tale Wars #1, Glinda & the Wicked Witch star in their own romance novel-inspired Holiday comic while building a life together on Gale Farm in Kansas.”
Follow "WOZ Holiday Special" here!
LAUNCHING: November 30th
Writer: Zoe Tunnell
Artist: Lauren Knight
Colorist: JP Jordan
“VAMPIRE PI, Corsica Smith, and her SIRE-TURNED-HUMAN, Florence Carmichael, are being hunted by mobsters, vampires, and hunters!”
Follow "Sink Your Teeth In" here!
NOTE: The previously-solicited “Beast & Snow” Vol. 1 will launch in Early 2027 (Originally May 25th, 2026, but Shifted).
You’ve heard about what’s coming up. Now here’s a reminder of our currently-live projects!
We’re FUNDED and just announced our first Stretch Goal! Don’t miss out on the most ambitious comic we’ve launched to date!
“The Beast & Snow, Nightmare in Wonderland, & The Witches of Oz COLLIDE! Mature 18+ Fantasy EVENT. (Featuring Tula Lotay, Dan Mendoza)“
Support "Fairy Tale Wars #1" here!
We’re 95% funded and SO CLOSE to our funding goal! Help us cross the finish line!
“Cheerleader Lucy and her Anime Character girlfriend have to survive long-distance when Yuriko makes her way to JAPAN!“
Kat: We’re happy to announce a new member to our team, Christian Angeles. He’s a very hard worker and one of the easiest people to talk to. We can’t wait for him to join our team as an assistant!
Christian Angeles is an award-winning writer, editor, and producer specializing in comics, video games, and digital media. His creative writing has appeared in comics and short-story anthologies, and he’s about to launch several of his own original comic series, including BEAUTIFUL and DEAD ON THE INSIDE. As a journalist, Christian has written for multiple media outlets, including Fanbase Press, IGN, and TheGamer. He was also Senior Editor at The Beat during its Eisner Award-winning year and is currently, Editor-in-Chief of The DeMonster Substack, working alongside beloved content creator Sami DeMonster. His experience spans editorial strategy and entertainment journalism, but honestly, he’s really just a guy who likes talking with people about stories. Why they’re important and why it matters.
Christian: I wanted to join Lifeline Comics because they’re the real deal. I genuinely believe in what they’re doing, and I think they make really cool comics. More importantly, Lifeline is a company built by creators who understand where comics are today and where they can go, spanning many genres while representing diverse voices. I’ve spent my career moving between journalism, editorial, and making and selling comics myself. What excites me about Lifeline is the ecosystem Kat and Phil have built. The way they use Kickstarter and conventions to push for creator-owned publishing to build long-term relationships with readers. All while encouraging creators to make something truly original. That’s the kind of environment I want to be part of, and so I’m excited to bring my experience and talents to Lifeline and contribute wherever I can.Substack | Instagram | Threads | Bluesky | Twitter
Let’s talk about some of the things we’ve done to keep busy these last couple of weeks!
Phil: 👅🍦 PEEEEETTTAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
Our friend, T, and I are a big Family Guy fans. So when we saw that an NYC pop-up turned a local bar into “The Family Guy Experience, we knew we wanted to check it out! And Kat was a good enough sport to join us for the fun (I believe she was the one who found the pop-up for us).
The whole set-up was exactly what we were looking for: a few sets for photo ops, and then tables set up with a chill vibe for drinking, snacking, and catching up with friends. And that’s exactly what we did: made our way through the different photo ops and then sat in the same style booth as Peter, Joe, Quagmire, and Cleveland to catch-up for a couple of hours.
Popular scenes from the show played on loop on a big TV, which made for a fun conversation piece. And while the ambiance music in the bar wasn’t Family Guy themed, the early-2000s heavy playlist gave us a similarly nostalgic feeling.
Recommend if you’re looking for a low-key hang out with your Family Guy-loving friends.
Kat: We were very lucky that my Dad won a charity offering to get to see a pregame shoot around COURT SIDE before the Liberty Vs Sparks game.
Always a fun time in Barclays, especially when the Liberty win!
Kat: Hilary Duff was my very first concert back in the day. So it felt like a full circle moment going to see her again. It was a well-balanced show with audience interaction, throwback songs, and deep cuts.
The Madison Square Garden show was packed so we decided to go to her Philly performance instead. The smaller stadium felt much more intimate than our hometown concert. Glad we were able to celebrate Julius’ birthday in a very nostalgic way!
Let’s discuss some non-comics media!
Note: We’re holding off seeing The Odyssey until we can see a 70MM IMAX showing at the end of the month. So expect our thoughts in a few weeks!
Kat: Not many shows, especially queer television, get a happy ending. Instead of a final season, Heartstoppers opted to make a movie for its final bow - becoming one of the few Netflix productions to give queer fans a satisfying ending.
Does it feel like a movie?
…no
It’s really a truncated version of the show rather than an over-the-top film production. As a movie fan, I do wish there could have been some more flashiness and umpff, but as a Heartstoppers watcher - I was satisfied enough with Charlie and Nick’s farewell.
It had just the right touch of drama, while keeping the warm and fuzzy moments that made the franchise popular in the first place. I was even impressed by the amount of screentime side characters were able to get for a movie mostly focused on Charlie and Nick’s relationship (though I still wanted more. Take Imogen for example. I mean, she had a whole damn lesbian arc off screen).
Heartstoppers Forever isn’t perfect, but it will be rewarding for most viewers, especially fans of Nick and Charlie.
Phil: Based on novel series by Elle Kennedy, Off-Campus is one of the more popular “Hockey romantic drama” series to launch in the recent boom of the genre that began with Hearted Rivalry.
One of the biggest successes of Off-Campus is the chemistry between its couples — not just our lead couple (Hannah and Garrett), but also our secondary couple Allie and Dean). Their respective “friendship-to-romance” and “situationship-to-relationship” dynamics thrive on the effortless chemistry between the actors and are a lot of fun to watch unfold.
Our protagonist, Hannah Wells, has more depth to her than a lot of your typical “teen romance” protagonists, who are often (perhaps intentionally, to serve as easier audience inserts) a bit more “blank slate” and lacking in much personality or complex history. But Hannah is flawed, sometimes (intentionally) unlikeable, and deeply affected by past trauma. She made for a refreshing protagonist to follow in a teen drama.
Hockey plays a decent role in the show (more than it does in Heated Rivalry) for folks who want more substance from the sport that anchors the series. And the plot tends to progress pretty quickly, with arcs rarely holding long enough to grow stagnant.
On the negative side, some arcs might even progress a bit too quickly. Hannah and Garrett’s relationship, for example, is well-paced for the most part. But I found that they got to the level of “all-in, totally in love” a bit too quickly after they actually got together. It would have been nice to sit in the early stages of their relationship a bit longer rather than to go straight from “friends” to “soulmates”.
A lot of the characters act more like high schoolers than they do college students. It makes for fun TV drama, but there was more than one time where it took me out of the show — like it should have been set in high school.
And if you’re looking for queer rep in the show…it’s pretty minimal. There’s one gay supporting character, but he doesn’t get to do much of anything at all. But credit where it’s due, a pretty major supporting character is non-binary and they’re one of the more fun characters in the show.
If you like teen drama, Off-Campus is a worthwhile addition to the genre.
Spoilers Ahead
Kat: For a show that has lasted over two decades, Top Chef has evolved just like many other long running competition shows. It cares a lot less about drama, and more about the connections you make along the way.
This season had one of their biggest shakeups when a contest questioned the whole rules of the show. He was not satisfied with his elimination, and very vocal about it. Of course, drama is fun, but the most interesting element to come out of this incident was seeing how production dealt with it. Ten years ago, this moment would have ballooned - taking up half the episode and overshadow the “cooking” part of the cooking competition.
But in a 2026 production of Top Chef, you can tell the editing team CUT A LOT of the drama out. They left a few minutes to showcase what happened, but they didn’t over dramatize the moment. A conversation that must have taken hours is shaven down to a 2 or 3 minute stint. And in an even more shocking turn of events, the next time this contestant returns it’s like nothing ever happened. He’s there to support the finalists without one complaint.
I may be in the minority, but I much prefer modern Top Chef to the very early days of the program where the “stew room” became more the show than the competition. Top Chef these days is much more about the community you create and THE FOOD YOU MAKE - this is a reality I much rather indulge in.
Let’s discuss some comics we’ve enjoyed recently!
As usual, we’ll spotlight an Indie Book, a DC/Marvel book, a Webcomic, and a Live Kickstarter book!
Kat: Silent Count follows a coach from the big leagues going back to basics with a high school team as he leads his mute son, and a group of potential stars to become a successful football team.
Writers and story collaborators, Anthony Stokes and AJ Ampadu, very quickly create a fun dynamic between these players for a fast-paced sports drama. I was also VERY impressed by Gabriel Fonseca’s kinetic art style as it brought action packed visuals to something that could have otherwise been categorized as “slice of life”. Silent Count is one of the best Kickstarter comics I’ve read in quite a while as the creative team are perfectly in sync and giving a professional sheen.
Kat: Can the Bat books get any better?
All fans have ever wanted is a universe that feels connected. When one thing happens in a book, then there should be a ripple affect in their brother and sister titles. Barbara Gordon: Breakout only exists because of the events of Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez’s Batman. A whole series about the ripple effects of Batman - taking Barbara in a direction we’ve never seen from the character.
Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan place Barbara Gordon in jail where Vandal Savage is the puppet master of Gotham City. Barbara has gone through mentally tough experiences, and by using her past trauma, Tamaki and Nahelpan tell a whole new story with her. These are the best types of superhero comics! The creative team doesn’t forget the character’s history, but also does something NEW with them. If you are looking for interconnectivity and an intense character piece, Barbara Gordon: Breakout should be added to your pull list.
“When you’re raised by Mother Earth herself, your life’s bound to be strange. Despite it all, Dorian tries to be normal. However, seeing omens of when people will die doesn’t help things... When he and “Ellie” move to a new town for a fresh start, the calm doesn’t last. Disaster is brewing in the forgotten corners of the world, and Lord-Eternal Death has begun to stir… (LGBTQ+)”
Phil: A Supernatural Slice of life webcomic about the incarnate forms of Life and Death navigating between our world and a spirit world for immortal beings like themselves.
Lead character, Dorian Winters, is the incarnate of Death…who is also perpetually stuck as a curmudgeonly thirteen-year-old boy.
When Dorian and his guardian move to a new town in California, he befriends the outgoing Brady and forms the friendship that I find to be the most compelling part of the comic. As we all know by now, I love a “sunny/gloomy” dynamic. And the interplay between Dorian and Brady definitely fits that bill, but without either character getting too lost in their archetype.
Dorian can be angsty, but he’s well-meaning and caring. Brady can be extroverted, but he has insecurities and doubts of his own. It’s a balancing act that the comic plays out very well.
Swan Song divides its story between segments in our world and in Apeiron — complete with different art styles (and, I believe, artists) handling each section of the comic. It makes for an unique reading experience with many different kinds of striking visuals. The Apeiron segments, in particular, make very interesting use of the vertical scroll webcomic format.
“PLASTIC and NARCO creators Doug Wagner & Daniel Hillyard’s new comedic horror story with a twist, plus the MURDER CHICKENS Card Game!”
Phil: An irreverent horror comedy that sees a former pacifist die only to be resurrected in the body of a supernatural killer who rips out spines and tears off limbs on instinct. The revived Cecil is quickly tasked with protecting a psychic girl, Pavla, while navigating the world in his new forms. Our heroes take off for the road trip adventure of a lifetime (deathtime? afterlifetime?)
Featuring beautiful art by Daniel Hillyard, ILAZM easily jumps from funny to action-packed to scary in style while never losing the expressiveness of the characters.
I love a good road trip story with eccentric characters, almost as much as I love horror comedy. So this series was an instant backing from me!
Support “I Love Apocalyptic Zombie Misfits!” here!
Thanks for checking out this week’s post! We hope you’re excited about our upcoming releases and that you followed the Pre-Launch Pages for the campaigns!
Be sure to check out our current projects — Fairy Tale Wars #1 (the first part of our Epic EverAfterVerse Crossover) and Slice of Life #1-9 (which is SO CLOSE to funding)!
Subscribe above for biweekly updates on our future projects!
Buy Lifeline Comics on our Website!
Current/Upcoming Kickstarters:
Slice of Life #1-9 (Ends 8/30)
Fairy Tale Wars #1 (Ends 9/10)
Next Conventions/Prides:
Charlotte Pride Fest (Charlotte, North Carolina) (8/15-16)
Bethlehem/Lehigh Valley Pride (Allentown, Pennsylvania) (8/30)
Anthology Open Submissions: Monsters & Myths (Closing 8/27)
Read our Webtoons for FREE:
Slice of Life [GL] (Anime Character x Closeted Cheerleader High School Romance)
Love at Second Bite [BL] (Vampire College Adventure/Romance)
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.