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Marvel Gets Rights Back to Raina Telgemeier's X-Men: Misfits for 2019

Published Fri, 18 Jan 2019 09:30:04 -0600

Last updated Sat, 19 Jan 2019 15:20:13 -0600

In August 2009, Del Rey Manga published a new graphic novel, licensed from Marvel Comics, X-Men Misfits.

It was created in the manga style, written by then-married cartoonist couple Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier and drawn by Anzu.

X-MEN MISFITS GN VOL 01
(W) Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier (A) Anzu
A bold re-imagining of Marvel Comics' fan-favorite characters, X-Men: Misfits refreshes the comic's concept in the style of a shoujo manga, a magical comedy in the style of the megahit, Fruits Basket.
In Shops: Aug 19, 2009
SRP: $12.99

In the ten years since, Raina Telgemeier has become a true comic book phenomenon in the USA and her comics Ghost, Smile, Drama, Sisters, and the Babysitters Club series constantly topped the New York Bestseller Lists.

I placed her highly on the Bleeding Cool Power List this year as, with two graphic novels out this year, I was told that those two books alone had forced entire comic book publishers to shift their publication and printing plans around the demand for resources–printing, storage and distribution–that these comics will incur.

One is a how-to guide called Share Your Smile, out on April 30th and a new graphic memoir called Guts, for sometime in September. They will likely be the best-selling English-language comics of the year and will also boost her backlist.

Which is where X-Men: Misfits comes back into the game.

I hear that the ten-year license that Del Rey held on X-Men: Misfits is up later this year and that Marvel will be finally able to publish the book themselves. Which, given that the comic regularly sells new on Amazon for $50 (though can be picked up cheaper on eBay) and that Del Rey Manga doesn't exist anymore, indicates there may be unmet demand.

And so in August 2019, Marvel will be publishing X-Men: Misfits themselves for the first time.

Could it be their best-selling title of the year as well? Here is the new solicitation:

High School student Kitty Pryde has always been the odd girl out. She was born a mutant with strange superpowers, magical talents that make her the class freak. But Kitty's world is changed when she's invited to study at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, a special home for mutant teens. There's just one catch: Kitty's the only girl at the all-boys school, and she ends up feeling like a freak all over again.

Then Kitty meets Pyro and the ultra-hot bad boys of the Hellfire Club. They're the school's elite – handsome, rich, and totally above the rules. Now Kitty seems to have it all: a dreamy boyfriend, super-cool friends, and the chance to develop her extraordinary talents. But why is her heart telling her something is wrong? Will Kitty ever find the place where she belongs, or is she doomed to be a misfit forever?