A new era has dawned at Alien Booksas the publisher unveiled a revised logo and plans to publish a range of new projects in 2026 ahead of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. The cult favorite manga series BADDUCKS by Toryumon Takeda and a new X-O GOLD anthology series will both factor heavily into the publisher’s 2026 slate of releases, alongside previously announced projects like Valiant Beyond and new Zorro comic series.
“It’s been an exceptionally busy year here at Alien Books,” explains Director/Editor-in-Chief Matias Timarchi. “From beginning our new partnership with IDW Publishing, to launching multiple successful crowdfunding projects on Kickstarter, teaming up with Zorro Productions, and continuing the revitalization of Valiant Comics with DMG Entertainment, we’ve grown fast and are reaching more readers than ever before. And we’re not stopping anytime soon!”
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BADDUCKS promotional image by Toryumon Takeda
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The next series to be released as part of Alien’s growing manga library, BADDUCKS by mangaka Toryumon Takeda is a fantasy story with sci-fi elements that follows Morgan Gray, a man who sold his organs to pay off a debt and underwent an experiment to become a powerful cyborg. After being forced into servitude by the mob, Morgan meets a desperate lady named Lisa and together they escape along with a briefcase full of stolen money… and a baby! The unlikely trio must survive a life on-the-run from the dangerous criminals that are hunting them down.
Spanning across four volumes, BADDUCKS VOL. 1 will arrive in Fall 2026 and be distributed to both the direct market and book markets by Penguin Random House, as part of Alien’s publishing partnership with IDW.
“It’s a joy to be able to bring mangaka Toryumon Takeda’s exceptional BADDUCKS series to a global audience,” continued Timarchi. “We’re always looking for new titles from creators on the rise and BADDUCKS fits the bill, no pun intended.”
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Promo art for X-O MANOWAR: BLACK, WHITE & GOLD by Esad Ribic
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Alien Books found its footing in the crowdfunding market this year by launching successful projects including ‘I, DRAGON’, THE ART OF EDUARDO RISSO, ZORRO REMASTERED EDITION, and HARBINGER CLASSIC OMNIBUS. The next Valiant Comics project to launch on Kickstarter efforts will be a spiritual successor to 2024’s BLACK, WHITE & BLOODSHOT series and will star Aric of Dacia: X-O MANOWAR: BLACK, WHITE & GOLD.
The bi-chromatic anthology series, offered as an exclusive hardcover edition through Kickstarter, will feature all-new stories from every era of Valiant Comics and will be written by a collection of established and up-and-coming industry talent including legendary mangaka Shintaro Kago, Marc Guggenheim, Kevin Roditeli, Sylvain Runberg, Roberto Meli, Adriano Barone, Luca Blengino, Mike Baron, Alex Segura, Diego Agrimbau, Sean Lewis, Dan Abnett, Peter Milligan, Louis Southard, Derek Fridolfs, AJ Ampadu and many more. The full list of creators on the project will be revealed when the Kickstarter campaign goes live later this year.
Exclusive add-ons for this project will include the previously announced X-O MANOWAR #0 ARTIST’S EDITION and X-O MANOWAR #1 FACISIMILE EDITION, making it a true celebration of one of Valiant’s most iconic heroes and can’t-miss for hardcore Valiant fans.
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A new version of the Alien Books logo will appear across the first issues of upcoming VALIANT BEYOND series BLOODSHOT and TALES OF THE SHADOWMAN, hitting comic shops in August.
“I’m a big fan of The X-Files and the glitchy VHS aesthetic of the 80s and 90s,” explains Timarchi when discussing the new design. “I wanted our logo to be something that calls back to an earlier era of media, where people still valued physical goods and shared them with friends. It’s not a play for nostalgia as much as it’s a desire to stick out in a sea of overly polished and sterile logos that are everywhere these days.”
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VALIANT BEYOND PREVIEW EDITION ASHCAN COVER
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