It was a bit of a sparse week on the news front, but there’s still plenty to dig into in this edition of Comics Disassembled, so let’s get into my weekly deep dive into the things I liked or didn’t like from the week of comics, with this slate led by the reveal of a rather appealing new comic.

Prima Apparata, Standing Out

If you’d like to sell me on a comic very easily, just do what the team behind the upcoming Prima Apparata at Ignition Press did. All I’m asking for is a killer concept and unreal art like they have, which is what they seem to be delivering with an unconventional angle on mechs and some of the prettiest interiors you’ll see all week. This miniseries is about the greatest ballerinas humanity has to offer trying to become the individuals who guide and power massive mech suits that are used to perform ballets, ones designed to woo cosmic entities whose patronage will determine the survival of humanity, with all the competition and in-fighting and drama that comes with the battle to become the titular Prima Apparata, or the lead of the aforementioned ballet. I love everything about that, and the fact its elevator pitch comp is Black Swan and Never Let Me Go (yes, the Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley film based, or perhaps the Kazuo Ishiguro novel it’s based on) meets Pacific Rim. That’s glorious and truly one of a kind, and it’s right up my alley.

I’ve known about this one for a bit, as the book’s writer Olivia Dufault showed me Rebekah Isaacs’ art at one of the parties during ComicsPRO this year, and I was totally blown away. Isaacs rules and has always ruled, and seeing the artist tackle this impossibly great concept from Dufault with colors by Marissa Louise and letters by Becca Carey makes this project an immediate standout. I’m very into Prima Apparata, from the concept and team to its variant covers from varying geniuses like Mike Huddleston and Patrick Horvath. This project is loaded, and I can’t wait to see more of it when it hits in September. You’re going to want to keep an eye out for this one.

Dark Horse Workers, Unionizing

In this week’s biggest news, and news that makes way, way too much sense given all the turmoil happening over there, it seems the workers of Dark Horse Comics are unionizing. It’s actually the employees of both Dark Horse and its sister business in the comic shop chain Things from Another World (which just announced the closure of all three stores last week, each of which will happen later this year), and they’ll be uniting under the banner of Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 7901, with the letter the union put together being sent to interim CEO Jay Komas in hopes that the company would voluntarily recognize the union.

Will that happen? Probably not, or at least not initially. Companies typically hate recognizing unions. But they should, as Dark Horse is filled with wonderful people, and ones that are understandably concerned about their future given the layoffs, closures, and constant churn at the publisher of late, including the departure of founder Mike Richardson. Other concerns cited include wage and hiring freezes, the emergence of artificial intelligence, the desire to stay committed to creator-owned comics, and return-to-office policies, amongst other things, and this is the union’s attempt to stand up for their rights. It was signed up 59 eligible employees, and if you want to show you support for their efforts, you can sign the petition telling Dark Horse to voluntarily support this union. I did, because they deserve the support, as do all workers.

We’ll see what comes from this, but if the history of crossovers between unions and comics has taught us anything, it could be a bit of a journey before we get resolution on this front.