AHOY Comics Update and History: WAVE 2 Re-Visited

AHOY, friends! Welcome to the May edition of the AHOY newsletter! We're so happy to see your shining faces staring lovingly at us through your screens. (Is that not how emails work?) The future still looks fairly uncertain from where we're sitting, although we're beginning to see faint glimmers of hope as some booksellers and comic stores reopen for curbside pick up. (For more info on comic shops you can support, check out this absolutely fantastic resource compiled by the folks over at the Comics Industry Collective.) So we're going to soldier on—and by soldier on we of course mean look backwards, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. That's right: it's the return of the AHOY Newsletter: Super Special Secret Origins—Electric Boogaloo! This month we're going all the way back to Spring 2019 for AHOY Wave 2—and it's a fantastic wave, folks, one of the best most healthiest waves ever, according to the presidential physician. Read on for never-before-seen process art, wise words on how to write your first comic book, updates on the STEEL CAGE fraud controversy, AHOY trivia, and general merriment, tomfoolery (sorry, Peyer!), and hullabaloo. Thanks as always for joining us on this crazy ride, and remember: Hands washed, masks on, can't lose! First Look AHOY's second wave featured the first issue of the eclectic, electric BRONZE AGE BOOGIE. We did some digging in the archives and found a bunch of seriously cool process art courtesy of artist extraordinaire Alberto Ponticelli. You'll find early versions of Jackson Li, Brita, Lynda Darrk, and the Martian tripods—plus a very early version of Sniffer the ape in his protoform as Seeker Ape (later reincarnated as Madame Ape). AHOY in the News Also riding in on Wave 2 was STEEL CAGE, a title which stirred up a little controversy when AHOY's voting system—designed to decide which of the three stories within STEEL CAGE would get their own series—was hacked by some anonymous do-badders. COMICS BEAT had the whole scoop, including the full text of Tom Peyer's video addressing the controversy—it's worth a read in full, especially if this is the first time you'd heard of the debacle. At the time, the mystery had no culprit in sight: "Our technicians," Peyer said, "inform me that this could have been the work of a few quick keystrokes, perpetrated by almost anyone–from the despicable agent of a rogue government to a lonely, misguided teenager. ... Nevertheless, due to the alarming evidence of tampering–I do not, I will not, I cannot certify this election." Well, we checked back in with Peyer to get the skinny on what's happening in the months since publication. We present to you this exclusive memo from the man himself containing the most up-to-the-minute updates on the hacking controversy of the decade. UPDATE FROM TOM PEYER, MAY 2020 The first STEEL CAGE spin-off series, PENULTIMAN, formerly named TRUE IDENTITY, is in progress and will launch when conditions permit. That is the good news. Unfortunately, the news is not all good. The culprits in the STEEL CAGE election fraud scandal of 2019 have not yet been identified, let alone apprehended. AHOY Comics has received no assurance from relevant authorities that this case is seriously being pursued. If there is to be justice––and there will be, mark my words, for no less than our democratic way of life is at stake––the duty clearly falls to publisher Hart Seely, myself, and a secret team of specialists we've assembled: Lillian Laserson - Munitions David Hyde - Archery, knives Kit Caoagas - Explosives Deron Bennett - Tactical Stuart Moore - Ops Sarah Litt - Scuba Russell Natherson, Sr. - Codes Hanna Bahedry - Disguises Frank Cammuso - Parkour In a special militarized bus, we have been conducting late-night searches for the troll farm or under-supervised teen responsible for this outrage. So far, no lead has yielded the desired result. We will continue to provide updates as the situation warrants. Peyer out. Folks, looks like we won't rest until the culprit has been found. Now AHOY team: back on that bus! Featured Preview Wave 2 also brought us a full series for the wacky gang in HASHTAG: DANGER (who we first met in the back matter for HIGH HEAVEN and CAPTAIN GINGER). Artist Chris Giarrusso shared some awesome thumbnail layout sketches he did for Issue #1—see how the sketches stack up against the finished pages below! Personally I'm heartened to see that the FOOMF was there from day one.