Comic creators Joey Esposito and Sean Von Gorman join the Capes and Tights Podcast for Episode 178 on July 31, 2024. To prepare for the conversation, we have compiled six comics by Esposito and Von Gorman you should read.
Joey Esposito grew up in New England reading comic books, playing video games, renting movies, and writing stories. After high school, Joey attended film school in New York. In college, Joey honed his writing skills, which he soon applied to his love of prose and comics. He released his first creator-owned comic Footprints, which was featured in USA Today’s Best of 2011 roundup and inspired a sequel, Footprints: Bad Luck Charm, in 2014. More recently Esposito has written comics such as DC’s Batman: Urban Legends and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Sean Von Gorman is an NYC based Comics Illustrator & Writer. He is known for co-creating Toe Tag Riot (Black Mask Studios) and Secret Adventures of Houdini (Alterna). He has also contributed art for projects published by Image Comics, Dark Horse and Dynamite Entertainment as well as anthologies such as Occupy Comics (Black Mask) and the Eisner Award Winning Love Is Love (DC/IDW). He has also contributed covers for IDW Publishing’s Star Trek line of books.
Together the duo have created Pawn Shop for Z2 Comics as well as The Pedestrian for Magma Comix which hit local comic shops on August 7, 2024.
Batman: Urban Legends (DC) // Joey Esposito
The Director is wreaking havoc and filming his crimes. Nightwing must make sense of the senseless and bring the Director down. Arkham Academy gets a guest instructor who doesn’t care whether the students live or die, the Dynamic Duo will push the Batmobile to its absolute limits, and Batman’s parents pay him a visit. You’ll also get a glimpse into the past as we see Renee Montoya’s last days as a detective as well as the beginning of Dick Grayson’s tenure as Robin.
Toe Tag Riot (Black Mask) // Sean Von Gorman
A hilarious and gory tongue-in-cheek story, Toe Tag Riot is a punk rock band cursed to become zombies who make the best of their situation by adhering to a strict diet of racists’ and misogynists’ brains!
Starring Andy Hurley of Fall Out Boy and The Westboro Baptist Church (as dinner!), this horror-comedy in the vein of Return of the Living Dead and Deathgasm was released to rave reviews from both the comics media and LGBTQ new outlets who couldn’t get enough of the ultra-violent, politically-minded fun and gore. Coming to book form for the first time, this collection includes the four-issue mini-series plus the super-limited #0 prequel issue and the short comic originally published in Alternative Press Magazine!
Footprints (215 Ink) // Joey Esposito
Bigfoot and his gang of cryptozoological deviants enter a crime noir world full of mystery, horror, monsters and conspiracy. When Foot’s estranged brother Yeti is murdered in the Arctic, Foot reunites his old team of Jersey Devil, Nessy, and Megaldon for one last case that spans back to their very long history together.
The Secret Adventures of Houdini (Alterna Comics) // Sean Von Gorman
After years of debunking false spiritualists, Harry Houdini is suddenly inducted into a world, which unceasingly challenges his every belief. Escape with Houdini into a world of magic and sorcery as we witness his greatest metamorphosis from stage magician to hero. These are the untold stories of the final years of Harry Houdini’s life.
Pawn Shop (Z2)
The intertwining lives of four strangers in the ecosystem of New York City, connected by the streets they walk on and the people they touch. Following a lonely widower, a struggling Long Island Railroad employee, a timid hospice nurse, and a drug-addled punk, Pawn Shop explores the big things that separate us and the little moments that inexplicably unite us. The writer of Footprints and the artist for Toe Tag Riot present a slice-of-life tale that weaves together separate lives to celebrate the ever-changing nature of New York City and the people that make it the greatest city in the world.
The Pedestrian (Magma Comix)
Behold, The Pedestrian! A strange visitor speedwalks into Summer City and silently changes the lives of its residents. But not all is quiet in this sleepy, small town-an ancient conflict linked to the secret history of street signs is brewing! DON’T WALK… RUN! In The Pedestrian, justice always has the right of way!
The Pedestrian #1 hits local comic shops on August 7, 2024 from Magma Comix.
