Jeremy Fascaldo
boom! The studio is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. At a special panel to mark the occasion at New York Comic Con on Saturday, the publisher announced the big event. It’s the upcoming “Swamp Thing is Killing the Children,” a crossover between the company’s best-selling “Slaughterverse” series and DC’s “Swamp Thing.”
The panel discussion included publisher Michael Kelly and creators Tini Howard, Tim Finn, Jenny Frison, Werther Del Edera, Marjorie Liu, Bryce Carlson, and James Tyrion IV.
It all started with Tynion, who revealed that “Something’s Killing the Children” will continue as long as the creative team wants. It will soon be available to even more viewers thanks to a previously announced partnership with BOOM! And Webtoon releases some of the publisher’s most popular series in a vertically scrolling format.
Tynion also announced a new film, The Fall of the House of Saughter, which returns protagonist Erica Slaughter to the present.
Of course, the biggest Slaughterverse news is the Swamp Thing crossover, but details are scarce. Tynion revealed that he had wanted to draw this comic for a long time, but couldn’t say anything officially for over a year and a half.
Howard and Liu then talked about their upcoming comics, Marian Heretic and Brzrkr: The Bleeding Tide, respectively.
Howard said he had wanted to make “Marian Heretic” for a long time. She spoke about Marian’s character and inner conflicts and what led her to her path. She is a witch hunter and Mother Superior, who is like a double agent. Marian must decide which side she wants to take or if she wants to forge her own path.
In some ways, Howard said, “The Marian Heretics” is about a crisis of faith and religious trauma. It’s also about her goal of trying to save her sisters.
Liu said he became involved with Brzrkr after learning that Keanu Reeves was involved in producing the series. She loved writing about immortality, so she jumped at the chance.
Tim Finn joined Larry Hama on the panel to talk about their comic “Center Folds.” This is the first project for BOOM from Mr. Hama, a veteran in the manga world! studio. Finn said Hama wrote the entire book based on an unfinished concept by Mark Bright, and that Josh Burcham and Janice Chan (who attended the panel discussion and noted Finn) were both involved in the project.
Sadly, Bright passed away before this book was released, so Boom! Five percent of all profits will be donated to the Hero Initiative to help Bright’s family and estate. The book is scheduled to be released in February 2026.
Regarding future licensing deals with BOOM!, Kelly discussed the acquisition of My Little Pony and Jem and the Holograms. He said acquiring Gem was a very exciting moment for the team. The team loved the show and its predecessor, the comic book version, released 10 years ago. Hasbro will have a hand in both titles, as they own the license, just as they did when IDW Publishing had the books.
The panel discussion ended with an audience question and answer session, during which Kelly noted that Saturday marks the end of Banned Books Week in 2025. Kelly noted that more than 4,000 books were banned or challenged in the United States last year alone, and encouraged the audience to support reading freedom by finding and reading banned books.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage of NYCC ’25.
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