Gungnir, a new sci-fi/fantasy publisher helmed by two comics veterans, will launch in April 2024.
In Norse mythology, Gungnir was the staff of the god Odin, which always hit its target. The name relates not only to the publisher’s sci-fi/fantasy orientation, the publisher said, but also to its ambition to foster a new creative ecosystem for writers and artists. The company has partnerships with Herø Projects, a creative studio headed by former Heavy Metal publisher Matthew Medney that will publish graphic novels through Gungnir, and Iconic Arts, a multimedia studio that will develop the properties for games, film, television, and more.
Gungnir plans to publish four to eight titles a year, primarily in the science fiction and fantasy categories, with a mix of graphic novels, prose novels, and art books. Distribution to the book channel is via Diamond Book Distributors, and Gungnir will publish digitally via Globalcomix.com and release audiobooks via Amazon’s Audible.
Two experienced comics writers head up the editorial team: executive editor Steve Orlando, whose credits include stints on Wonder Woman and Batman as well as DC’s first openly gay superhero, Midnighter, and editor-in-chief Jim Krueger, who teamed up with artist Alex Ross for the Eisner Award–winning DC miniseries Injustice and has also written for Avengers, X-Men, and licensed comics including Star Wars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Gungnir’s 2024 catalog will kick off with the April 9 publication of Hiroquest: Genesis & Double Helix, a fantasy graphic novel/prose hybrid by DJ, music producer, and electronic dance music artist Steve Aoki and Krueger. The book was originally produced as part of a bundle on the Kolex.gg digital collectibles platform, and Gungnir is handling distribution.
The publisher’s first original title will be Mutant Cats, a graphic novel about the mayhem that results when a lab working on a renewable energy product somehow imports a horde of mutant cats from another dimension. Described by the publisher as “Rick and Morty meets Aqua Teen,” the graphic novel is produced by the Herø Projects creative studio, and ties in with the Mutant Cats NFT brand. The book will be released on May 7.
Next up is Chupacabra: Tales of Blood & Ink, by Medney and artist Kyle Faehnrich, a YA fantasy graphic novel produced in partnership with Candle Media’s Exile Content Group. The book is slated to publish on June 18.
In July, August, and September, Gungnir will release new editions of three titles previously published by Heavy Metal, where Medney was the CEO from 2019 to 2023: Stable, a space opera graphic novel by Morgan Rosenblum, Medney, and artist Francesco Pisa; Beyond Kuiper: The Galactic Star Alliance, a prose novel by Medney and aerospace engineer John Connelly, illustrated by Utko Ozden; and Above the Ground, another prose novel by Medney and Robert Greenberger.
On tap for the fall is Aeon: At the End of Time, Judgement Has Its Jury, a sci-fi graphic novel set in a black hole, by comics writer Joe Harris (Great Pacific, The X-Files), Medney, Connelly, and artist Lorenza Pigliamosche, which is slated for October release. Two prose novels, Existence Equation: What is the Price of the Stars by Medney and writer Don Macnab-Stark and The Stars Within by Stefan Petrucha, will be released in November and December, respectively, rounding out the publisher’s 2024 catalog.
