Image Comics have announced that “Man-Eaters” will return with a new five-part series titled, “Man-Eaters: The Cursed,” by the original creative team of writer Chelsea Cain, artists Kate Niemczyk and Lia Miternique, colorist Rachelle Rosenberg, and letterer Joe Caramagna. The first issue will feature two different covers by Lia Miternique.
“Man-Eaters” is set in a world where girls and women are transformed into panthers when they menstruate; the new series will take place three years after the events of the first, with protagonist Maude now aged fifteen, and set for week-long stay at Craft Camp. The solicitation for the first issue promises “adolescent feminist derring-do and supernatural hijinks” throughout the series.
This announcement comes in spite of the controversy concerning the original series’ run. “Man-Eaters” was accused by critics of erasing transgender and non-binary people, a controversy that escalated when two tweets criticizing Cain’s writing on the series was incorporated into artwork from issue #9, without the individual’s permission, leading to Cain being accused of “punching down” on the reader. She apologized for the instance, but was met with more criticism for soliciting trans sensitivity readers for the final three issues of the series.
The series follows in the wake of Image picking up “Rain Like Hammers” by Brandon Graham, in spite of allegations of his predatory behaviour, as well as “Lucy Claire: Redemption” by John Upchurch, who was arrested for domestic violence in 2014 and described as an abusive father and husband by his estranged wife. Image’s former pinned tweet on controversial comics from 2018 states, “Just a reminder: Creators are not employees of Image. They are independent and speak for themselves.”
“Man-Eaters: The Cursed” #1 is currently scheduled for release on July 14.
