For Immediate Release:
The Toxic Avenger Teams Up with Jesus Christ To Usher in AHOY Comics’ TOXIC MESS SUMMER
Apply Another Layer of Sunscreen, Dust off Your Rosary, and Get Ready
for THE TOXIC AVENGER PIN-UP SPECIAL
and the TOXIE TEAM-UP Mini-Series
Featuring the Jersey Devil, Acid Chimp, the Justice Warriors, and Jesus of Nazareth
(February 24, 2025) Some say, Jesus take the wheel. Now the Toxic Avenger is here to give your lord and savior a helping hand.
This summer the Toxic Avenger will team-up with Jesus Christ in the pages of an all-new comic book written by Mark Russell, drawn by Richard Pace, and published by upstart comic publisher AHOY Comics. The sure-to-be-controversial debut issue of THE TOXIE TEAM-UP is the latest comic book adventure for the legendary hero from the Troma Films cult classic films, following Matt Bors and Fred Harper’s acclaimed revival of the character in 2024.
Now AHOY Comics is ushering in a Toxic Mess Summer as they partner with a slew of incredible artists and writers for THE TOXIC AVENGER PINUP SPECIAL — followed by an ambitious mini-series that will find Toxie rubbing elbows with characters from a number of other fan-favorite AHOY titles, including Jesus Christ (from the pages of Russell and Pace’s controversial SECOND COMING), the Jersey Devil (from the creature-packed anthology PROJECT: CRYPTID), Acid Chimp (from Russell, Bryce Ingman and Peter Krause’s absurdly hilarious MY BAD), Dragonflyman and Stinger (from Tom Peyer and Jamal Igle’s multiversal saga THE WRONG EARTH), and Swamp Cop and Schitt (from Bors’ and Ben Clarkson’s satirical smash hit JUSTICE WARRIORS).
“Toxic Avenger and Jesus Christ is the team-up that everybody has been clamoring for and I am not one to stand in the way,” said Mark Russell. “Just as in Second Coming, Christ shows that there are more tools in the box than just violence and that Tromaville, as strange as it is, is still a place that someone who grew up bullied by the jocks in the Roman Empire would recognize.”
“When I started writing the new Toxic Avenger series, I knew we could build this into some audacious comic crossovers,” said Matt Bors. “Toxie’s mutant gore and subversive charm make him the perfect foil to face off with the police of the polluted world of Justice Warriors.”
“Having already spawned five films, a cartoon, action figures, a musical, and a Marvel comic book series, the Toxic Avenger is a pop culture icon,” said AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “The only question is: why doesn’t he have a church of his own?”
“Scrappy, messy, and a little chaotic…am I talking about Toxie or AHOY?” asked AHOY Comics Senior Editor Sarah Litt. “Either way, two great tastes that taste better together.” The Syracuse-based AHOY COMICS publishes comics with a (dark) sense of humor with titles like the religious satire SECOND COMING, the sword and sorcery satire BABS, and superhero parodies THE WRONG EARTH and MY BAD.
THE TOXIC AVENGER PINUP SPECIAL will land in stores on May 14, 2025, followed by issue #1 of THE TOXIE TEAM-UP series on June 11, 2025. The TOXIC AVENGER graphic novel, publishing the acclaimed comic book mini-series by writer Matt Bors and artist Fred Harper, will be published on April Fool’s Day.
For more updates on AHOY Comics, visit them on X, Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram.
For additional information and interview requests, contact:
David Hyde
Superfan Promotions Founder
david.hyde@superfanpromotions.com
Hanna Bahedry
Superfan Promotions Publicist
hanna.bahedry@superfanpromotions.com
About AHOY Comics
AHOY Comics debuted in the fall of 2018 with the bold promise for readers to expect more from its line of comic book magazines, featuring comic book stories, poetry, prose fiction, and cartoons. The independent, Syracuse-based company is the brainchild of publisher Hart Seely, an award-winning reporter whose humor and satire has appeared in The New York Times and on National Public Radio. AHOY’s editor-in-chief Tom Peyer is committed to publishing comics with a (dark) sense of humor with titles like the religious satires SECOND COMING and HIGH HEAVEN, the superhero parodies THE WRONG EARTH and MY BAD, the sci-fi spoofs CAPTAIN GINGER and HIGHBALL, the time travel tales PLANET OF THE NERDS and G.I.L.T., and the humor/horror anthology series EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF BLOOD.
About Troma Entertainment, Inc.
Established in 1974 by Yale friends Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, Troma Entertainment is the longest-running, independent movie studio in North America, and it's one of the very few genuine brand names in the industry. Troma is worldfamous for producing & distributing classics such as Kaufman's "The Toxic Avenger", Trey Parker's "Cannibal! The Musical", "Poultrygeist", "Class of Nuke 'Em High", Charles Kaufman's "Mother's Day" & "Tromeo & Juliet". Many of today's luminaries can be found in Troma's library of 1000 films, TV shows & shorts. Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Costner, Fergie, Vincent D'Onofrio, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gunn & Eli Roth are just a few notable Troma-lumni. Troma Blu-rays, DVDs, books, shirts & Tromabilia can be purchased at www.tromadirect.com. Troma's classic & new films & exclusive extras can be viewed at www.troma-now.com.
About the creators
Matt Bors is a cartoonist, writer, editor, and publisher who founded the comics publication The Nib. His work has appeared in The Nation, CNN, The Guardian, The Village Voice, Daily Kos, and was collected in the book We Should Improve Society Somewhat. He is a two time Pulitzer Prize Finalist for his political cartoons and drew the graphic novel War Is Boring.
Fred Harper has illustrated stories for DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Most memorable (at least to Fred) would be penciling for Animal Man at DC Vertigo. He started out with Savage Sword of Conan, Ghost Rider, and Doctor Strange at Marvel Comics. He went on to do illustrations for White Wolf and Magic the Gathering as he transitioned to magazine illustrations for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, The Week, SPORT, The Sporting News, Muscle and Fitness, Men's Health, Muscular Development, and Sports Illustrated... to name a few. Fred currently resides in an apartment where he conducts experiments about the effects of copious amounts of espresso on an artist's brain. Results have been inconclusive, but sometimes secrets take time for the beans to spill.
Mark Russell is the author of not one, but two, books about the Bible: God Is Disappointed in You and Apocrypha Now. In addition, he is the writer behind various DC comic books such as Prez, The Flintstones, and Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles. He lives in obscurity with his family in Portland, Oregon.
Richard Pace is an artist from Canada, who has worked for several of the major American comic companies as either an artist or a writer. Among his credits are Terror Inc., Night Thrasher, Midnight Sons Unlimited, X-Men and The New Warriors at Marvel, and Starman at DC. As a writer, he has worked on Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham in cooperation with Mike Mignola.
