Posted in: Ahoy, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News | Tagged: steve ellis, toxic avenger

The Toxic Avenger's Second Polybagged Trading Card

The Toxic Avenger by Matt Bors and Fred Harper is Ahoy Comics' bestselling comic book series, partially thanks to polybagged trading cards.

The Toxic Avenger by Matt Bors and Fred Harper is Ahoy Comics' bestselling comic book series since Second Coming, which had its own promotional push courtesy of being announced by DC Comics, then cancelled before an issue was published as a result of Batman Damned spillover, as well as a massive petition that Ahoy Comics was quite happy to take advantage of.

One of the weapons in the Toxic Avenger's arsenal for sales is the return of the polybagged trading card. Now, it may not quite get the numbers that X-Force once did, but it's still doing pretty well. This week Ahoy Comics is announcing a collectible trading card by Steve Ellis of The Only Living Boy, High Noon and Magic: The Gathering, to be included in a newly added special variant edition of issue #2.

"Speaking as a completely unbiased observer with absolutely no skin in the game, it feels like a very good time to be an Ahoy fan," said Ahoy Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. "We've had two runaway hits this year with brand new series The Toxic Avenger and Babs by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows — both of which have been the most successful Ahoy Comics launches since the delightfully controversial Second Coming by Mark Russell, Richard Pace and Leonard Kirk. Is Ahoy Comics about to blow up and forget the names of all the small-timers who knew us when we were nobodies? Watch this space!"

In The Toxic Avenger, teenager Melvin Junko helps run his parent's junkyard in Tromaville, a small town in New Jersey where nothing much ever happens — until an ill-timed train derailment of toxic waste transforms Melvin into a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength: the Toxic Avenger! Under a media blackout imposed by Biohazard Solutions (BS) and their PR-spewing Chairwoman Lindsay Flick, Melvin emerges as a hero fighting against BS and the mutated threats that keep popping up around Tromaville. Eventually Melvin uncovers a vast conspiracy more far-reaching than he could have ever imagined — but he knows if everyone is simply made aware of the crisis, they'll act to stop it. Right?

The Toxic Avenger is the second comic book series from Bors, following the release of Justice Warriors, his critically-acclaimed comic with artist Ben Clarkson which follows two police officers, Swamp Cop and Schitt, stationed in the world's first perfect city. The Toxic Avenger first appeared in the 1984 cult classic film about a mutated weakling mopping up a corporate mess, directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz and starring Mitchell Cohen.

The Toxic Avenger #1 will land in stores on October 9, 2024, with The Toxic Avenger #2 following on November 13, 2024.

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