April 30, 2021 - For Immediate Release
“Dude, this is the wildest shit I've read in 10 years.”
—Dave Wilkins, artist
Comics Experience Publishing (CEX) proudly debuts with Stud and the BloodBlade #1. Written by Perry Crowe (Los Angeles Times, Kirkus Reviews, The Frontiersman) with art by Jed Dougherty (Savage Hearts, Harley Quinn, World’s Finest), Stud appeals to fans of ’80s nostalgia, deconstructionist superhero comics, and LGBTQ leads. Letting creators create as only they can is CEX Publishing's mission, and there couldn't be a better way to demonstrate that than with Stud. On sale in comics shops on July 28, pre-order RIGHT NOW through your local shop or at CEXPublishing.com.
"These days people are taking a more critical look at their heroes," say Stud’s creators, Crowe and Dougherty. “Recent hit comic books and TV series poke fun at superheroes as fascistic tools of runaway consumerism, indulging in heroes who can fly though the air, run across water, and cut people in half with laser-vision. Our new comic book miniseries, Stud and the BloodBlade, pokes fun at the mega-beefcake do-gooders of our youth. Its brawny hero can handily dispatch hordes of punny monsters but struggles against more insidious foes like moral relativism and social norms. Yes, readers want jetpacks and battle-axes and muscles, muscles, muscles—but they also want same-sex kisses. They want STUD."
About the creators
Perry Crowe:
"I’ve been reading comics for decades and professionally reviewing graphic novels for years, but Stud and the BloodBlade will be my first comic available in comic shops, and I could not be more excited. Through Comics Experience’s classes, I learned how to produce a comic, and from the Comics Experience workshop, I got great feedback—from both fellow workshoppers and seasoned comics pros—that really helped me shape Stud into the beefy, boisterous bonanza that is now poised to kick off Comics Experience Publishing. Such a huge honor!"
Jed Dougherty:
"I started drawing ‘zines in the ’90s, but my first paying comics gig was working for Howard Chaykin as an art assistant around the turn of the century. While doing assistant work, I drew a few indie comics (Wynter Dark, Ultravixen) then got work at DC doing fill-in jobs and a 6-issue stint on Worlds’ Finest.
As a comics creator, the most rewarding part of the job is finally getting the new book in front of readers! Perry, colorists Mark Dale & D. Forrest Fox, letterer Anthony Rella and I have been working on this book for years. It is so gratifying to finally get Stud and the Bloodblade out on the bookshelves!"
Preview art is available at CEXPublishing.com, and review copy PDFs are available for press and retailers by request through marketing@CEXPublishing.com!
