Mad Cave Studios is a comic book publishing house based in Miami, Florida, USA established in 2014. The company was created by writer Mark London, with founding members including Giovanna Tobar Orozco, Miguel Zapata and Cecilia Medina.
Mad Cave Studios publish a range of comic books and trade paperbacks, originally partnering with distributor Diamond Comic Distributors. In following years, Mad Cave Studios continued to grow, partnering with Maverick imprint and Simon & Schuster for distribution, plus acquiring Papercutz and the introduction of licensed and creator-owned projects.
Paperback Graphic Novel
Released on the 19th of June 2024, Mad Cave Studios published Defenders of the Earth paperback graphic novel containing 96 full color pages measuring 16.83cm x 25.72cm, under license from King Features Syndicate.
The Defenders of the Earth trade paperback comic book reprints the Defenders of the Earth 4 edition miniseries published by Star Comics/Marvel in 1987, themed after the Defenders of the Earth cartoon series released in the USA in 1985. This edition marks the first time all 4 comic books from 1987 are found in the one publication.
The art found on the front cover is illustrated by Scott Chantler and features (from left to right), Lothar, Flash Gordon, the Phantom and Mandrake the Magician. The front and back cover can be seen below.
Comic Book Series
A new Defenders of the Earth comic book series was released on the 14th of August 2024, published on a monthly basis, with the series containing 8 editions.
A free digital download prologue edition was released in July 2024. It contains a total of 6 full color pages, with 4 of those pages containing a comic strip story. The prologue is designed to provide readers with a backstory for their 8 part Defenders of the Earth comic book series. The front cover can be seen below, illustrated by Jim Calafiore.
Edition number 1 is published with color pages in August 2024. Three varying cover designs were released, cover 1A (seen below left) is illustrated by Jim Calafiore, cover 1B (seen below center) is illustrated by Djordje Djokovic and cover 1C (seen below right) is illustrated by Andy Clarke. The story is written by Dan DiDio and letterer Carlos M. Mangual.
Edition number 2 is published with color pages in September 2024. Two varying cover designs were released, cover 2A (seen below left) is illustrated by Jim Calafiore and cover 2B (seen below right) is illustrated by Djordje Djokovic. The story is written by Dan DiDio and letterer Carlos M. Mangual.
Edition number 3 is published with color pages in October 2024. Two varying cover designs were released, cover 3A (seen below left) is illustrated by Jim Calafiore and cover 3B (seen below right) is illustrated by Djordje Djokovic. The story is written by Dan DiDio and letterer Carlos M. Mangual.
Edition number 4 is published with color pages in December 2024. Two varying cover designs were released, cover 4A (seen below left) is illustrated by Jim Calafiore and cover 4B (seen below right) is illustrated by Djordje Djokovic. The story is written by Dan DiDio and letterer Carlos M. Mangual.
Edition number 5 is published with color pages in March 2025. Two varying cover designs were released, cover 5A (seen below left) is illustrated by Jim Calafiore and cover 5B (seen below right) is illustrated by Djordje Djokovic. The story is written by Dan DiDio and letterer Carlos M. Mangual.
Edition number 6 is published with color pages in April 2025. Two varying cover designs were released, cover 6A (seen below left) is illustrated by Jim Calafiore and cover 6B (seen below right) is illustrated by Djordje Djokovic. The story is written by Dan DiDio and letterer Carlos M. Mangual.
Edition number 7 is published with color pages in May 2025. Two varying cover designs were released, cover 7A (seen below left) is illustrated by Jim Calafiore and cover 7B (seen below right) is illustrated by Djordje Djokovic. The story is written by Dan DiDio and letterer Carlos M. Mangual.
Edition number 8 is published with color pages in June 2025. Two varying cover designs were released, cover 8A (seen below left) is illustrated by Jim Calafiore and cover 8B (seen below right) is illustrated by Djordje Djokovic. The story is written by Dan DiDio and letterer Carlos M. Mangual.
Variant Comic Covers
A Defenders of the Earth exclusive variant comic book cover was released in August 2024 for edition number 1 containing cover art by Ken Wheaton. This edition was available for purchase direct from Ken Wheaton at Terrificon in Connecticut, New England, USA (held from the 16th-18th of August) and from Harrison’s Comics in Salem, Massachusetts, USA.
The exclusive variant cover which depicts the Phantom, Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, Lothar and Ming the Merciless is a homage to Star Wars #1 from 1977 by Howard Chaykin and Thomas Palmer. The Defenders of the Earth exclusive variant (seen below left) and Star Wars #1 (seen below right) can both be seen below.
A Defenders of the Earth exclusive variant comic book cover was released on the 14th of September 2024 for edition number 1 containing cover art by Jesse Lundberg. This edition was available for purchase direct from Jesse Lundberg at Mighty Con in Milwaukee, USA and was produced by Santana Collectibles. The comic front cover was published in a Sepia Tone, with 2 limited variations produced, 40 x Trade cover and 20 x Virgin covers which can both be seen below, along with the back cover.
A Defenders of the Earth exclusive variant comic book cover was released on the 21st of September 2024 for edition number 1 containing cover art by Jesse Lundberg. This edition was available for purchase direct from Jesse Lundberg at Granite City Comic Con, USA and was produced by Santana Collectibles. The comic front cover was published in color, with 2 limited variations produced, 40 x Trade cover and 20 x Virgin covers which can both be seen below, along with the back cover.
A Defenders of the Earth exclusive variant comic book cover was released in October 2024 for edition number 1 containing cover art by Alex Saviuk. This edition was available for purchase direct from the Mad Cave Studio website and also at the New York Comic Con held in New York, USA from the 17th-20th of October 2024.
A Defenders of the Earth exclusive variant comic book cover was released in November 2024 for edition number 1 containing cover art by Scott McFarland. This edition was available for purchase at the Magic Dragon Comics comic book shop based in Arlington, Massachusetts, USA on the 23rd of November 2024.
Trade Paperbacks
The Defenders of the Earth comic book series by Mad Cave Studios was published in a two volume trade paperback graphic novel set. Volume 1 was release in March 2025, published with 160 color pages measuring 10.12cm x 6.61cm, titled ‘A World Divided’, collecting the first 4 editions of the series seen above. The cover is illustrated by Jim Calafiore, an image seen on the 8 edition comic book series, edition number 1, variant cover A.
Volume 2 was release in August 2025, published with 112 color pages measuring 10.12cm x 6.61cm, titled ‘Ghosts Of The Past’, collecting the last 4 editions of the series seen above. The cover is illustrated by Jim Calafiore, an image seen on the 8 edition comic book series, edition number 8, variant cover A.
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