Prose & Kahn — 001

Escaping detention, stealing from angels, and Baltimore Comic Con

Hello! I’m Ben Kahn, and welcome to the inaugural edition of Prose & Kahn, the newsletter dedicated to all my news and going on’s. Thank you so much for signing up. There’s plenty to share about novels, comics, podcasts, and upcoming conventions, so let’s dive in!

We’ve got some big news this month, starting with a NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT!

Coming 2025 from myself, Jeremy Whitely (Princeless, The Unstoppable Wasp) and Melissa Capriglione (Basil & Oregano) comes THE DASHING SCHOOL FOR WAYWARD PRINCES! This middle grade graphic novel sees a transgender fantasy princess fight to be herself when she’s sent to a school designed to teach rigid and outdated gender roles. A big thank you to Atheneum and Simon & Schuster for publishing this story!

And in very exciting news, the first reviews are out for my prose debut, ELLE CAMPBELL WINS THEIR WEEKEND! It’s still surreal that I even wrote a novel, and I’m overjoyed at the positive reception it’s receiving. Find out why Kirkus calls the book a, “fun, silly adventure with a heart,” and why Publishers Weekly awarded it a STARRED review! Elle Campbell Wins Their Weekend will be out October 17^th, so please consider giving it a pre-order if you haven’t already done so.

I’ll be signing books at Baltimore Comic Con in the Artist Alley on September 8, 9 and 10! You can find me all weekend at Booth B1.

GRYFFEN: GALAXY’S MOST WANTED treks the story of Captain Lyla Gryffen, a captain in the Sovereign Reach, a fascist human empire that stretches across the stars. Or at least, they were a captain. Until a mission went wrong and Gryffen came back…changed. Now they’ve started a crusade of galactic destruction to bring down humanity’s tyranny. But first, they’ll need a crew of rogue officers and mad scientists to fight fascism using the powers of science and violence!

This genderqueer, anti-fascist space opera means a lot to me. Co-Creator Bruno Hidalgo and I put it out digitally on ComiXology a few years ago when the political climate at the time in the US was…yeah. It was meant to channel the powerlessness and rage I was feeling into a badass, take no prisoners, queer wrath personified protagonist that became Lyla Gryffen. And now, ComiXology might be gone, but thanks to the amazing folks at Whatnot Publishing & Massive Publishing, Gryffen: Galaxy’s Most Wanted was given new life as a printed book in comic shops everywhere!  

If you missed it in stores though, the complete three-issue mini-series is available to purchase online. There’s a lot of great variant covers of each issue from amazing artists like Rufus Dayglo, Ivan Shavrin, Bayleigh Underwood, and David Stoll. Head on over to the Massive Publishing web store to pick up Gryffen: Galaxy’s Most Wanted!

HEAVENLY BLUES sees the souls of the greatest thieves in Hell teaming up to pull the ultimate heist on Heaven. And now, it’s stealing it’s way back onto shelves! Thanks to Scout Comics, Heavenly Blues is getting a book store re-release later this month on September 19^th. This updated edition even features a brand new cover by series co-creator Bruno Hidalgo. Get ready for the score of an after-lifetime in a story that shows redemption isn’t something given, it’s something you take.

In ELLE CAMPBELL WINS THEIR WEEKEND all non-binary seventh grader, Elle Campbell, wants to do is meet their hero, nonbinary tv star Nuri Grena. And by luck, Nuri’s coming to town that Saturday for a signing! But Elle’s dreams of asking Nuri for advice on being non-binary are dashed when the meanest substitute teacher in the school condemns them to Saturday detention. Now with the help of their best friends, Elle will stage a daring escape across town to meet their hero and win their weekend!

This middle grade novel from Scholastic is my prose debut, and it’ll be available from booksellers everywhere on October 17^th!

Did you know that in addition to writing, I also host a podcast? Every Friday, you can join me, Jeremy Whitley and Emily Martin on PROGRESSIVELY HORRIFIED! We dive deep into the guts of horror movies to dissect their themes, and bask in the bloody good times the genre provides.