Ahead of its January 2022 solicitations, Image Comics have announced two new five-issue miniseries, the surreal romance “Bolero,” and the satirical anthology “Monkey Meat.” “Bolero” was created by writer Wyatt Kennedy (“Heavy Metal”) and artist Luana Vecchio (“Lovesick,” “Millarworld”), while “Monkey Meat” is the product of cartoonist Juni Ba (“Djeliya,” “The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber”).
“Bolero” follows a woman on the run who discovers a metaphysical entity known as the Mother Key, which allows her to travel into alternate realities; however, she can only use that power 53 times, and is never allowed to talk to the secretive Mother behind it.
“I sincerely can’t thank Image enough for giving us the chance to tell this story,” said Kennedy. “I’ve lived with it and these characters for nearly six years, and no one besides the tremendously talented Luana Vecchio could have imbued this with such soul and joy and kept me from rewriting it for the 87th time.”
“Page by page, Wyatt and I put our whole love and passion for comics into this miniseries to convey the strong sense of loneliness and despair that many feel after the end of a relationship,” continued Vecchio. “Running away might often seem like the simplest solution, but there is no simple solution when dealing with pain.”
The pair have collaborated before on the “Heavy Metal” magazine story ‘Something For You M.I.N.D.’ “Bolero” #1 releases January 12 with a cover by Vecchio and variants from Jim Mahfood and Maria Llovet. A preview is available here.
Meanwhile, “Monkey Meat” is a commentary on late stage capitalism that marries the cartoonish with the visceral in the signature style of Juni Ba. It follows the titular corporation, Monkey Meat, in a series of standalone stories, as they transform the island of their Soylent Green-esque production line into a capitalist dystopia brimming with unethical experimentation and pacts with demons from Hell.
“’Monkey Meat’ is a passion project born of wanting for us all to poke fun at how dystopian the world is,” said Ba. “It’s fun and colorful but most of all aims to be cathartic, and bring you great cartooning!”
“Monkey Meat” #1 release January 5 with a cover by Ba. Click here for a three-page preview.
