Exclusive: New Graphic Novel from R.L. Stine

Today’s breaking news is from BOOM! Studios, which has queued up another graphic novel by R. L. Stine, the creator of the long-lived kids-horror Goosebumps franchise, in its KaBOOM! imprint. The new book, Just Beyond: Welcome to Beast Island, follows the adventures of a sister and brother who accompany their uncle on a research trip to a remote island and encounter a terrifying creature in the swamp there. The book will be out in October 2020, and the full press release is below.

R.L. Stine Welcomes You to BEAST ISLAND at BOOM! Studios

Discover Brand New Horror From The Legendary Creator of “Goosebumps” and “Fear Street” in May 2020

LOS ANGELES, CA (February 18, 2020) – BOOM! Studios today announced JUST BEYOND: WELCOME TO BEAST ISLAND, a brand new graphic novel in the highly acclaimed middle grade horror series from R.L. Stine, the award-winning, bestselling author of Goosebumps and Fear Street, artists Kelly & Nichole Matthews (Pandora’s Legacy), and letterer Mike Fiorentino, and featuring a cover by Julian Totino Tedesco (Life of Captain Marvel), in stores October 2020. 

Trips to exotic islands can be more exhausting than relaxing sometimes, and on the island of Mala Suerte, they’re a real beast! Karla and her little brother Benny accompany their Uncle Bill on a scientific expedition to study unidentified species on the remote island but after a little “bad luck” they soon discover something terrifying and deadly living in the river swamp… With nowhere to run, will Karla, Benny, and Uncle Bill survive the unimaginable and harrowing horrors of the place aptly nicknamed BEAST ISLAND?

JUST BEYOND will be published through the company’s award-winning KaBOOM! imprint, marking the first time R.L. Stine has originated new concepts in the comic book medium as part of his multi-book agreement with the publisher. With the release of his debut novel Blind Date in 1981, R.L. Stine established himself as one of the most important voices in horror for a new generation. This was followed up with the release of Fear Street in 1989, which remains the best-selling YA series in history with more than 100 books published thus far, and Goosebumps in 1992, which transformed Stine into a worldwide celebrity. The series was soon adapted as a hit TV series and recently returned as a blockbuster film starring Jack Black in 2015 from Sony/Columbia Pictures, with a sequel hitting theaters October 12, 2018. Stine has continued to create exciting new horror concepts for younger audiences each year, in turn becoming one of the most successful American novelists of all time.

“Swamp monsters are horrifying to me. They rise up from the murky depths, bringing nothing but terror. With this story, I hope readers will feel like they are watching one of those timeless old-fashioned horror movies that make everyone shudder and scream,” said author R.L. Stine.

BOOM! Studios’ award-winning KaBOOM! imprint is home to comics for middle grade and younger readers including licensed series such as Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Rugrats, Peanuts, and Garfield, along with original series like Dodo by Felipe Nunes, Mega Princess by Kelly Thompson and  Brianne Drouhard, Bodie Troll by Jay Fosgitt, Ruinworld by Derek Laufman, and The Deep by Tom Taylor and James Brouwer.

“R.L. Stine and Kelly & Nichole Matthews have already taken us JUST BEYOND with a twisted trip to a sinister school, and a camping trip turned ‘trying to survive alien body snatching.’ Now they’re leading the way to the deepest, darkest island swamp filled with beastly, unimaginable new horrors,” said Bryce Carlson, VP, Editorial & Creative Strategy, BOOM! Studios.“If readers think the first two books were scary, they are not prepared for what lies ahead in WELCOME TO BEAST ISLAND.”

Print copies of JUST BEYOND: WELCOME TO BEAST ISLAND will be available for sale in October 2020 at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one), bookstores or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and the BOOM! Studios app.

For more news on R.L. Stine’s JUST BEYOND and more from BOOM! Studios, stay tuned to www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.

Filed under: All Ages