LAUNCHED BY VETERAN AWARD-WINNING SCREENWRITER AND PRODUCER RODNEY BARNES   Zombie Love Studios is the brainchild of veteran award-winning writer and producer Rodney Barnes who has established himself as a Hollywood mainstay, with his vibrant, emphatic voice and producing expertise securing him an overall deal with HBO in September 2020. From Adult Swim’s The Boondocks to Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Barnes has displayed versatility across a variety of genres in the industry’s largest and most influential programs. He is currently writer and executive producer for HBO’s series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. He is also the author of the acclaimed comic book series Killadelphia. Zombie Love Studios’ goal is to create the best and boldest genre-based graphic novels the industry has ever seen. Layered stories of the macabre that combine politics, social resonance, and history with the nuance and specificity of the unique cultural forces that influence the mindsets of our characters and the tales they tell.     The first release is a continuation of the story of Blacula: Return of the King, based on the legendary movie.   “Blacula is a manifestation of all my childhood dreams come true. The opportunity to reinvent a childhood favorite for a new audience is truly an honor. And to partner once again with the great Jason Shawn Alexander enhances said honor three fold!”      A LOOK BEYOND…   FLORENCE AND NORMANDIE A science fiction alien attack story that takes place on the corner that’s infamous for being the flashpoint for the Rodney King riots. CROWNSVILLE A ghost story based on a real place – the first African American insane asylum – located in Barnes’ hometown. This is connected to an ongoing detective series focused on several paranormal incidents in Annapolis, Maryland. THE BUTCHER OF BLACK BOTTOM A story about Detroit’s historic majority-Black neighborhood. The butcher in this story isn’t cutting up steaks and pork chops, however — he’s terrorizing the neighborhood in a series of gruesome murders.

 

 

Now that Nita Hawes has bested the demon Corson, she strengthens her resolve to root out the supernatural evils plaguing Baltimore. A murder in Annapolis in the 1700s brings consequences to today’s world, and the only thing standing between mayhem and revenge is Nita Hawes! But without the ghost of her dead brother Jason to guide her and the Spider-God Anansi to rely on for backup, will she be able to succeed…or will she become another victim of the night?

Get your copy here. 

A new comic book series imagines a Detroit where racial unrest is inflamed by a violent serial murderer.

Rodney Barnes’ Killadelphia is easily one of the more inventive horror comics to come along in many years, given how the series combines vampire horror with a very grounded look at crime, corruption and murder in a major American metropolis. Fans of that series will definitely want to keep an eye out for Barnes’ next horror epic, a period piece dubbed The Butcher of Black Bottom.

This new slasher horror series pairs Barnes with Argentinian artist Germán Erramouspe. The Butcher of Black Bottom will debut digitally on Barnes’ Substack channel, Dark Apocrypha Presents, and will later be released in print form through his Zombie Love Studios imprint.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at The Butcher of Black Bottom:

The Butcher of Black Bottom: Exclusive Preview Art

There are no vampires to be found this time (that we know of), but plenty of blood will be spilled all the same. The Butcher of Black Bottom is set in 1920’s Detroit, a time when the city is seeing a large influx of African American migrants from the South and racial tensions are reaching a boiling point. Adding fuel to that fire is the titular serial killer. Has Detroit attracted its own Jack the Ripper?

“The Butcher of Black Bottom speaks to the struggle to find racial harmony in a post-Civil War America. Where the migration of blacks from the south meets an industrializing north wrestling with its own issues,” said Barnes in a press release. “As one might imagine finding peace was no easy chore.”

This series is one of several new horror projects Barnes is debuting in 2022, alongside previously announced books like Blacula (an adaptation of the 1970’s Blaxploitation film) and Crownsville, a ghost story set in a black insane asylum.

Dynamite has announced that American Gods and Killadelphia writer Rodney Barnes is the writer of a new James Bond comic book series launching in October, James Bond: Himeros, drawn by Antonio Fuso and coloured by Adriano Augusto in which “Bond must enter the dangerous and sensitive world of sex trafficking. The new series, titled after the Greek god of sexual desire related to Eros (aka Cupid) and Aphrodite, dives into when that desire goes too far and is used for evil. It will take the legendary super-spy to bring justice to those most vulnerable among us.” “There’s an elegance to James Bond that’s timeless,” said Rodney Barnes. “He has a unique skillset and approaches the tasks at hand with wit and humor, yet underneath there’s a strong ethical sense that drives him.”

Billionaire British financier Richard Wilhelm finds himself behind bars, after being charged with trafficking minors to his secluded private island in the South Pacific. Now in custody, his political, personal, and criminal connections to others in high society across the world are in danger of being exposed. Elite arms developer Anton Banes is one of these parties, and he won’t stop at anything to cover his tracks. Including hiring a mysterious assassin with the codename Kino to take out Wilhelm and any evidence. Which leads to 007 being brought in to figure things out, and even to protect Wilhelm’s right-hand woman Sarah Richmond, with a head full of secrets that everyone on all sides is after. A “Bond girl” like no other, can Sarah be trusted by Bond, and does she have blood on her own hands..?

James Bond Himeros issues 1-5 are available now on Dynamite.com 

Coming soon:

Dynamite has also recently announced that they will dropping a hardcover James Bond Himeros which will go on sale August 17th, 2022. You can see more information about that here.

Zombie Love Studios in partnership with Snoopadelic Films have announced the upcoming release of Tales From The Crip, a horror anthology graphic novel from legendary rapper Snoop Dogg and Eisner Award nominated creator and award-winning television writer-producer Rodney Barnes (The Boondocks).

Tales From the Crip is described as a horror anthology in the tradition of the classic EC Comics of old and featuring urban themed horror stories penned by Barnes and introduced by Snoop Dogg.

The graphic novel joins a growing line-up of upcoming titles from Barnes’ Zombie Love Studios which includes Blacula, a graphic novel adaptation of MGM’s classic 1970s film; Crownsville, a ghost story set in the first black insane asylum in America; and Florence and Normandie, a science fiction epic set in South Los Angeles from Barnes and rapper Xzibit.

Tales From the Crip is set for release in Fall 2022.