The Heist Begins! Pantomime Is Now Available!
Maverick is pleased to share the young adult adaptation of Christopher Sebela and Dave Stoll’s acclaimed Pantomime
January 21, 2025
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Meet The Leader Of The Pack! Block’d Is Now Available!
- Maverick
- February 4, 2025
From full court to full moon! Mad Cave Studios and Maverick are thrilled to announce the newest basketball YA original graphic novel, Block’d, by Brian Hawkins and Ignacio Di Meglio, is now available at your favorite local comic shop and bookstore!
In a small but not too quiet town, Cam Banter, a high school basketball star with a monstrous secret — that he’s part of a pack of paranormal shifters with the ability to change into werewolves — struggles to find his place on the team when his abilities begin to show and he’s unable to control them. With an overbearing father whose expectations exceed Cam’s capabilities Cam is capable of, teammates who no longer trust him or even like him, and a basketball rival from another school trying to rekindle things with one of the stars of the girls’ basketball team that Cam has feelings for, he is left trying to figure things out by himself…That is until his new coach, who has a secret of his own, attempts to make a difference in his life. But will Cam let him in before it’s too late? It’s a teenage fight for survival as basketball, life, and the supernatural all clash.
BLOCK’D
Writer: Brian Hawkins – Artist: Ignacio Di Meglio
Colorist: Ezequiel Cataldo – Letterer: Chas! Pangburn
Release Date: February 4th, 2025
ISBN: 9781545815991
Synopsis: In a small but not too quiet town, Cam Banter, a high school basketball star with a monstrous secret — that he’s part of a pack of paranormal shifters with the ability to change into werewolves — struggles to find his place on the team and the changes happening in his life when his abilities begin to show and he’s unable to control them. With an overbearing father whose expectations exceed what Cam is capable of and pushes him to his limit, teammates who no longer trust him or even like him, and a basketball rival from another school trying to rekindle things with one of the stars of the girls’ basketball team that Cam has his eyes on and is a confidant for him, he is left trying to figure things out on his own…That is until his new coach, who has a secret of his own, attempts to make a difference in his life. But will Cam let him in before it’s too late? It’s a teenage fight for survival on both a social and personal level as basketball, life, and the supernatural all clash.
“Block’D is about the journey of self-discovery,” said writer Brian Hawkins. “However, no
individual is capable of really understanding who and what they are without a support system.
What we find is that it truly is a village that raises individuals and Block’D captures this through the aspect of the family dynamic, specifically a father and son’s struggling relationship, the
concept of team, and finding and trusting your person.”
“Block´d has been a blast from the beginning. Brian and I have worked together before and had
a great synergy, so when we started talking about our next project, he mentioned his initial idea
for Block´d and had me hooked with the mere mention of werewolves and basketball.
Werewolves because they are my favorite mythical creature and basketball because it
represents a challenge for me to depict it in a cool convincing way, and I love a good challenge,”
said illustrator Ignacio Di Meglio.
Meet the Creators!
Writer, Brian Hawkins
Brian Hawkins is an educator and freelance writer of
comic books, novels, and scripts. Additionally, he’s a
former editor for Mad Cave Studios and presently, an
editor for Battle Quest Comics. Some of his writing
credits include Devil’s Dominion, Doctor Wilder, and
Empath from BlackBox Comics, Darkwatchers:
Featuring Gretel, Van Helsing: Black Annis, and Van
Helsing: Beast of Exmoor from Zenescope
Entertainment, and a two book children series, Code
Name Danger: Unmasking a Villain and Double Agent:
The Search for Spymaster Z from Jolly Fish Press.
Brian Hawkins is also the co-creator and co-writer of Black Cotton, a comic book series published by Scout Comics, and the creator and writer of the mythical horror comic book series, The Vineyard, published by AfterShock Comics. In addition to creator-owned comic book titles with direct market publishers, Brian is also the owner of his own comic book studio, BlaX Trauma Productions, where he focuses on telling stories with an emphasis on BIPOC characters. Brian is very much married and has three children, so when he’s not playing air hockey with his oldest daughter, doing basketball training with his son, or watching his youngest daughter’s dance performances, he tries to get some writing done.
Artist, Ignacio Di Meglio
Ignacio Di Meglio has been a full-time freelance cartoonist for more than a decade and has been drawing and telling stories for as long as he can remember. He has made comics, illustrations, and character designs for a variety of projects. His latest comic projects include co-creating/editing Breakneck Fantasy Anthology, art duties on Mad Cave´s Lower Your Sights Anthology “Invisible Child”, Don´t Push The Red Button Anthology “Endless Snow”, Breakneck Fantasy Anthology: “Krypt Sisters”, Oz Comics: “Killeroo Semper Fidelis”, Orange Cone Productions: “Cthulhu invades Wonderland”and “Cthulhu invades Neverland” and Graphic Mundi:“Covid Chronicles”. He’s also lead editor for indie publisher Red Sea Comics. You can find him on social media or near the sea waiting for Cthulhu to wake up.
Linktree: @ignaciodimeglio
SEE WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING!
SNEAK PEEK!
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“A riff on classic teen tropes with a poignant emotional arc and vivid, fantastical illustrations.”
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“A engrossing look at the effects of abuse from a narcissist with a supernatural edge.” -Jake Palermo
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SNEAK PEEK!
Time to take a time out! We’ve got a sneak peek inside the pages of our upcoming YA basketball OGN, Block’D, below!
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Block’d is now available on the official Maverick website, and is available at your favorite bookstore, local comic shop, and digital comic reader!
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