Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Oni Press | Tagged: jordan thomas, Man from Maybe, shaky kane

Oni's Man From Maybe #1 Published With Surprise Word Balloon Variants

The Man From Maybe #1 is the new Shaky Kane comic from Oni Press, announced back at San Diego Comic-Con with Jordan Thomas.

Published Thu, 21 Sep 2023 08:57:07 -0500

by Rich Johnston

Last updated Thu, 21 Sep 2023 17:34:39 -0500

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The Man From Maybe #1 is the new Shaky Kane comic from Oni Press, announced back at San Diego Comic-Con, a new three-part series from British creators Jordan Thomas and Shaky Kane, who recently also created the Weird Work series from Image Comics.

Billed as a "postmodern, post-apocalyptic joyride" complete with a psychedelic edge, Oni is leaning into the series' "Silver Age-inspired frenzy" just time for FOC on the series' 48-page first issue with news that Kane's main cover will ship five distinct dialogue variants that will "be randomly distributed across all Cover A orders with no guarantee of precise allotments."

…Meaning that there is no guarantee that stores will get all five covers or know exactly how many they will be receiving of each variation… Or how hard it will be for readers to build a complete set and "collect 'em all." Quite the gambit, eh? (Start cuing those emails to new Oni VP of Sales Spencer Simpson's inbox now, I suppose.)

In a bulletin provided to retailers today in advance of this weekend Final Order Cut-Off, Oni Press announces

Retailer Alert: THE MAN FROM MAYBE #1 – Oni Press Reveals Five Randomized Dialogue Covers for Blockbuster, 48-Page Debut from Jordan Thomas & Shaky Kane!

NOT A HOAX! NOT AN IMAGINARY STORY! Double-Sized Dose of Silver Age Age-Inspired Frenzy Ups the Ante with Five Randomly Distributed Alternate Covers!

And artist and co-creator Shaky Kane said:

"Word balloons are a welcome addition to any cover. And especially on a high-octane, pure comic book read like THE MAN FROM MAYBE. Takes me right back to my 'Go-Go checkered' childhood, when four-colored wonders ruled the spinner racks! Now, if only $6.95 Polaris Nuclear Submarine adverts were still a thing."

And writer Jordan Thomas. adds;

"It's fun, a bit silly, something extra for readers to keep an eye out for, and, most importantly –it's comics!And I think that our series really embraces being a comic with big characters, high stakes and Shaky's imagination just being let loose on the page."

Given Oni's recent post-allocation success with Jay Stephens' Dwellings (which continues to post aftermarket sales of more than $50), will the hunt be on for all five dialogue variants of The Man From Maybe #1? We have a sneaking suspicion that they won't be printed in equal proportions… retailers have been told;

Shaky Kane's A cover for MAN FROM MAYBE #1 will be printed with five different dialogue balloons. All will be distributed with the same UPC code. Copies of the different balloons will be randomly distributed across all Cover A orders with no guarantee of precise allotments.

As with every other creator-owned, single-issue release from Oni Press through the end of 2023, THE MAN FROM MAYBE #1 is fully returnable for retailers who order a minimum of five copies of Cover A-C in any combination.

Here's the synopsis for Thomas and Kane's new series — which should be right in keeping with anyone who followed Kane's iconoclastic career over the past 30 years from Deadline Magazine on through The Bulletproof Coffin:

Amidst the irradiated plains walks a legend who is more than man…BEWARE THE MAN FROM MAYBE!

In the dry and dead future that's coming soon, all life belongs to Oppenheimer-obsessed billionaire Harvard Denny and his corporate scavengers from Smile, Inc., who pillage the wastelands in search of atomic contraband.

But when a hyper-advanced vessel of possibly alien origin crashlands on the outer edge of Denny's empire of neon-lit ruins, will it bring promise or poison to a distorted world?

As the race to acquire the ship's cargo begins, our fate will be decided by a masked bandit and the cold iron of his laser rifle. He knows no name, no home, no surrender—only the whispered hush of those in need who dare call him…THE MAN FROM MAYBE!

See all five of the perhaps-to-be-sought-after dialogue variations below, along with an extended preview of The Man From Maybe #1… I believe I have my eyes on the "Bang bang, spaceman" variant myself. The Man From Maybe #1 is on sale on the 18th of October from Oni Press.