I Heart Skull-Crusher! #1

History

Writer Josie Campbell — whose prior comics work was exclusively work-for-hire at DC (Amazons Attack, The New Champion of Shazam!) and whose television credits include Head Writer on She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and co-showrunner on My Adventures With Superman — described the series as the first wholly original property she had ever written, and one she had wanted to tell for years, inspired by a personal love of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and sports anime such as Haikyuu!! and Prince of Tennis. Artist Alessio Zonno, who came to the project fresh from the BOOM!/IDW Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover, likewise noted it was his first creator-owned American series. The book was edited by Dafna Pleban and published under the BOOM! Box imprint — BOOM! Studios' award-winning YA-focused line — with colors by Angel De Santiago and letters by Jim Campbell; the first issue shipped March 13, 2024, and sold out at the distributor level quickly enough to prompt a second printing, featuring a Trini character-design cover by Zonno, released April 10, 2024.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearances of Trini, Skull-Crusher, and Queen Mob — all original characters created by Josie Campbell and Alessio Zonno, debuting here with no prior existence in any other media.
• Written by Josie Campbell (TV credits: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Head Writer; My Adventures With Superman, co-showrunner) with art by Alessio Zonno (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover); colors by Angel De Santiago; letters by Jim Campbell; edited by Dafna Pleban.
• Published under BOOM! Studios' BOOM! Box imprint on March 13, 2024 — the imprint's dedicated YA line, home to Lumberjanes, Giant Days, and Fence.
• Issue #1 sold out at the distributor level; a second printing with a Trini character-design cover by Alessio Zonno was announced and released April 10, 2024.
• The series represents Campbell's first fully original comic creation; all prior comic work was work-for-hire at DC Comics.
• Protagonist Trini is explicitly coded as queer (bisexual), and her romantic pursuit of Skull-Crusher is a central narrative engine from the first issue — a relatively uncommon structural choice for a #1 in the YA action genre.
• The fictional sport 'Screaming Pain Ball' — described in reviews as resembling gladiatorial lacrosse or Thunderdome-meets-soccer — is the world-building engine of the series, deliberately drawing on both shōnen sports manga conventions and post-apocalyptic action cinema.
• A trade paperback collecting issues #1–5 (Vol. 1) was published, followed by a second arc extending the series further; the series ran from March 2024 through at least mid-2025 per Comic Book RoundUp's series listing.

Full credits

Variants (5)