Marvel Entertainment, Scholastic announce multi-year Original Graphic Novel program

By John Freeman on July 10, 2020

*Incoming: Miles Morales: Shock Waves by Justin A. Reynolds, art by Pablo Leon*

Marvel Entertainment and Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, have announced a multi-year Original Graphic Novel program featuring some of Marvel’s most iconic Super Heroes including Miles Morales, Kamala Khan, Shuri launching with titles by Sara Alfageeh, Roseanne A. Brown, Justin A. Reynolds, Pablo Leon and Nadia Shammas.

These new stories will launch next year as part of Scholastic’s Graphix Media line, building from the success of Marvel and Scholastic’s prose collaboration program that kicked off earlier this year.

“I can’t wait to bring these amazing books and authors to the Scholastic list,” commented Scholastic Executive Editor and Manager of Graphix Media Michael Petranek. “Been wanting to talk about this for a while.”

“Ever since he entered the Marvel Universe a few years ago, Miles has struck a deep and personal chord with fans around the world,” said Lauren Bisom, Editor of Marvel’s juvenile publishing. “As Spider-Man, he embodies that classic coming-of-age story. But as Miles, he represents so much more – and his life experiences, his culture, and his ability to embrace his inner strength make him one of the most important and inspirational heroes in the Marvel Universe.”

In the first release, Miles Morales: Shock Waves, written by Justin A. Reynolds (Opposite of Always and the forthcoming novel, Early Departures), with art by Eisner Award-nominated Pablo Leon, Miles Morales is a normal school kid who happens to juggle school at Brooklyn Visions Academy while swinging through the streets of Brooklyn as Spider-Man. After a disastrous earthquake strikes his mother’s birthplace of Puerto Rico, Miles springs into action to help set up a fundraiser for the devastated island.

But when a new student’s father goes missing, Miles begins to make connections between the disappearance and a giant corporation sponsoring Miles’ fundraiser. Who is behind the disappearance, and how does that relate to Spider-Man?

Marvel says Miles Morales: Shock Waves will introduce readers to a riveting new story that will thrill both new and well-versed comics readers alike.

Justin A. Reynolds has always wanted to be a writer. Opposite of Always, his debut novel, was an Indies Introduce Top Ten Debut, a School Library Journal Best Book of 2019, translated in 17 languages, and is being developed for film with Paramount Players. His second novel, Early Adventures, will publish in September 2020.

Pablo Leon is a Guatemalan, Los Angeles-based artist and designer, whose clients include Warner Brothers Animation, OddBot Inc, Nickelodeon, Puny Entertainment, Bento Box Entertainment, and more. His short comic “The Journey”, published on Rewire and part of his original comic series Refugees, about the true accounts of people migrating from Latin America to the US, was a 2019 Eisner Award nominee.

Following Miles Morales: Shock Waves, Marvel and Scholastic will debut all-new adventures following Muslim superhero Kamala Khan, written by rising Brooklyn-based graphic novel writer Nadia Shammas, who’s currently working on her first major graphic novel, Squire, set to be published by HarperCollins in Autumn 2021 with art by Jordanian-American illustrator and creative director Sara Alfageeh.

Also in the works is a new story of Wakandan superhero Shuri, written by New York Times bestselling author Roseanne A. Brown, writer of the recently-released A Song of Wraiths and Ruin.

More details on these new OGNs will be released in the coming months.

Earlier this year, the collaboration between Marvel and Scholastic launched to critical acclaim with Shuri: A Black Panther Novel by New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone; soon to be followed by Avengers Assembly: Orientation by popular middle grade author Preeti Chhibber next month.

In addition to releasing new OGNs starting in 2021, Marvel and Scholastic will continue its prose collaboration with new and sequel novels for readers everywhere.

“Our relationship with the Marvel publishing team is a true collaboration and partnership,” said Debra Dorfman, VP & Publisher, Licensing, Media & Brands. “As we grow our OGN list in licensing under Graphix Media, we can’t think of a better team to work with.

“How lucky are we to have Justin A. Reynolds and Pablo Leon collaborating on the first book about Miles Morales? We are equally as thrilled to welcome Nadia Shammas and Roseanne A. Brown to Scholastic.”

“The first books in our collaboration with Marvel have been enthusiastically received by critics and readers alike,” added Michael Petranek, Executive Editor and Manager, Graphix Media. “We are thrilled to bring fans of these amazing characters more stories to enjoy.

“We can’t wait to take our readers on new adventures and expand the breadth of our storytelling with Marvel.”

“After launching our prose novels with Scholastic earlier this year, we’ve seen a huge demand for more Marvel stories and entry points into the Marvel Universe,” said Sven Larsen, Vice President, Licensed Publishing, Marvel. “These middle grade OGNs are the perfect next step to bring more readers in with the visual storytelling Marvel fans know and love.

“We’re thrilled to build our collaboration with Scholastic and tell brand-new stories that represent the world around us, both through our characters and the creative teams behind them. We can’t wait to introduce you to this next chapter for Marvel’s heroes.”

More information about Marvel and Scholastic’s upcoming OGNs, creative teams, and new middle grade novels will be released later this year. Stay tuned to Marvel.com and Scholastic.com for new details and look out for these titles at book stores and comic shops starting next year.

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John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.