Frederick L. Jones – författare

To discover what happened to his long-lost mother, unassuming teenager Nilay Rao must step into a new world, the Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts.Coasting through life without ever spending much effort or committing to anything has made many people think less of Nilay Rao. The teenager is relatively unassuming, as he’s not the most popular student, nor the hardest working. The kids call him “Nil,” suggesting that he’s a loser. But he has another name, the “biggest cheat,” which he’s earned from using cheat codes and hacks in everything from games to grades. But that all will change when Nilay receives a mysterious device from his long-lost mother, Dia. Curious about the device, Nilay unwittingly creates his own “video game” avatar that he names Vyper Neo, which causes him more stress than he could imagine. The little orange character has his own personality and gets Nilay and his father into all sorts of trouble. That’s not all—the device itself belongs to a super-secret group of people who can summon similar video game avatars called Ghosts to battle over money, territory, and power. Now that Nilay has it, he has officially become a “player” like them who can summon his own Ghost in Vyper Neo—and that’s made other players very angry. Can this lackluster teenager survive long enough to learn where his mother is and why she sent this device? Vyper Neo and his only human buddy, Chess, have his back, but taking on this massive new world won’t be easy. Like it or not, Nilay is going to have to play this game to win! The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters.Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Apple Black, Clock Striker, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, Oblivion Rouge, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.

Monsters are fake news, right? That’s what many of the readers of the tabloid rag the Yellow Stringer think, but the truth is more frightening than anyone could possibly know.With front page stories like the demon baby born in an Iowa hospital or the ghost that mysteriously haunts cheerleaders from a small West Virginia town, most people assume that the articles in this national newspaper are sensationalist entertainment for bored shoppers waiting at checkout. However, these stories are real, and the journalists who report on them get the scoop despite the danger they find themselves in. Promising Columbia Journalism School graduate Naomi and her partner, ex-cop Tony, two journalists who have suffered traumatic events at the hands of monsters, now dedicate their lives to reporting true monster crime. While they come from two different backgrounds with very different methods to investigate the truth, they are committed to unearthing the world of the supernatural. Even if no one in the world ever believes them, this dynamic team will stop at nothing to reveal the truth! In this volume, our bickering yet terrific duo have to deal with a unique version of the headless horseman, the undead, cursed artifacts, and more! Naomi and Tony may have seen it all, but when cases start to link up to trauma that only they have experienced, they’re going to stop at nothing to expose the truth.Yellow Stringer is rated OT for Older Teen, recommended for ages 16 and up.Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters. Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Apple Black, Clock Striker, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, and Underground.

Clock Striker, now in graphic novel format, follows Shonen manga’s first Black female lead hero, Cast, in her quest to become a member of the SMITHS, the legendary warrior engineers.*2024 YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens**2023 Texas Library Association Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Winner - Starred Selection**2023 Virginia Library Association Graphic Novel Diversity Award Honor Book**2022 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics Finalist*Cast dreams of being a SMITH, and though she’s rather handy with her tools, no one in her small town ever realizes their dreams. Besides, these legendary warrior engineers haven’t been seen in years and were never known for having female members. Fortunately, Cast meets one surviving member named Ms. Philomena Clock, who agrees to take her on as her apprentice, or striker.Now Cast is thrust into one deadly adventure after another! From cybernetic desperadoes to technology thieves and more, Cast has to use her mind and her remodeled robotics-lab prosthetic hand, which offers unfathomable offensive power in the form of scientific experiments. Need lightning? Cast can generate it from her hand! Cast’s mentor seeks to uncover an ominous mystery that explains what happened to the SMITHS and shines a light on a hidden power that may be within Cast herself.Can Cast become a new member of the SMITHS? More importantly, can Cast survive the process to become a SMITH?Clock Striker is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters.Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Apple Black, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.

Clock Striker, Volume 2, is the exciting follow-up to the acclaimed first volume, featuring shonen manga’s first Black female lead character! *2024 School Library Journal Best Manga of the Year**2025 CBC Librarians Favorites Winner*Combining sci-fi, steampunk, action-adventure, and insightful humor, this new volume explores teenage hero Cast’s desire to (once again) save her friend Klaus while dealing with an entire town that confounds her with its unique sharing culture. Something is off—and Cast and her mentor, Ms. Philomena Clock, engineer-warriors called SMITHS, are determined to find out what it is before it’s too late.Klaus is a runaway prince who has been captured by cybernetic outlaws, the Demon Bandits. Cast has almost never ventured past her hometown, so the demanding trek, including rough terrain and the strange kingdom of Alter, will test her beyond anything she has encountered before.With a rival SMITH and STRIKER on their tails, as well as the mysterious King of Alter—who seems to have a powerful kingdom despite rejecting cutting-edge technology—can our female dynamic duo save the day?Clock Striker is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters.Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Apple Black, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Orisha, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.Awards for Clock Striker 1: "I'm Gonna Be a SMITH!"*2024 YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens**2023 Texas Library Association Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Winner - Starred Selection**2023 Virginia Library Association Graphic Novel Diversity Award Honor Book**2022 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics Finalist*Praise for Clock Striker 1: "I'm Gonna Be a SMITH!"“ . . . evokes the energy and exhilaration of classic shonen manga . . . promises deeper lore and mysteries in subsequent volumes”—Publishers Weekly“Readers will eagerly anticipate more entries. A fantastic, refreshing series opener.”—Kirkus ReviewsA “fast-paced story of self-discovery and altruism.”—Sara Smith, Booklist“This action-packed graphic novel adventure featuring tenacious female leads will leave shonen manga fans counting down to future volumes”—Amanda Melilli, School Library Journal

Apprentice STRIKER Cast faces her biggest challenge yet—and she won’t give up until she’s used all of her smarts and all of her might!In a thrilling new adventure, Clock Striker, Volume 3 explores Cast’s obstacles to saving not only her friend Klaus but an entire town that’s under the rule of a despotic king. Cast finds herself face to face with a roomful of Klaus lookalikes and the terribly cruel Loki, a member of a gang of cyborg desperados, the Demon Bandits. While the townspeople of Alter have embraced Cast, their lives are endangered by a disaster that threatens to destroy their entire kingdom. With Cast’s mentor, the powerful SMITH Ms. Clock, held captive by the secretive king, Cast must make the most of her intelligence and toughness to beat the odds. Can she do it?The first shonen manga to feature a black female hero, Saturday AM’s steampunk action-adventure series Clock Striker has received glowing accolades from fans and industry professionals alike. Clock Striker is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters.Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series: Apple Black, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Orisha, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.

A new challenger arrives to take down Nilay and his summoned ghosts!Picking up after the titanic battle between the teenager Nilay Rao and seasoned assassin Gato, the World of GHOSTS, a secret society where select “players” can summon GHOSTS to fight battles, is in chaos! Nilay is not only the son of former decorated players, but he has acquired the mythical GHOSTS Vyper Neo, capable of unseating the balance of power of all royal players. As Nilay’s father struggles to uncover the connection of Vyper Neo to his wife’s disappearance, a new mysterious figure threatens to destroy the Rao family and take Vyper Neo, but unlike Gato, this person appears to be an acquaintance already. Can the Rao family piece together the clues of their antagonist before it’s too late? The answer may rely on Nilay’s ability to become a better player and work with Vyper Neo and his father’s former GHOST, the terrifying Daedalus Bonn, to defeat any threats that come their way. The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters. Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Apple Black, Clock Striker, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, Oblivion Rouge, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.

Move over, Marvel and DC—Saturday AM’s manga multiverse crossover is here!In Saturday Wars, Saturday AM’s heroes unite in an epic story that changes everything in the diverse manga multiverse. The post-credit scenes from initial volumes across Saturday AM’s series confirmed a shared universe—and NOW the event to save their worlds begins! Driven by an evil empire helmed by the mysterious Chillian Veyn, a powerful threat is traversing the multiverse, conquering everything in its path. In response, the all-encompassing cosmic alliance that rules the multiverse seeks to recruit the diverse heroes of Saturday AM to fight to prevent the complete desolation of their realities. Though the heroes accept that their efforts are likely in vain, they’re still committed to joining forces to save their worlds. Thus, a series of wars erupt across the multiverse, threatening to destroy everything that has ever been or will ever be created. Can Sano of Apple Black, Cast of Clock Striker, Isao of Bully Eater, and the other heroes of Saturday AM win? Written by Saturday AM publisher Frederick L. Jones with art by up-and-coming creator Eddy Frye, Saturday Wars features characters from Odunze Oguguo / Whyt Manga (Apple Black), JeyOdin (Hammer), Issaka Galadima (Clock Striker), plus Tony Dawkins (Titan King), Oscar Fong (The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts), Bon Idle (Henshin!), Fred Tornager (Gunhild), Morganne Walker (Soul Beat), and more! Saturday Wars is the perfect adventure for manga lovers who’ve yearned to see their favorite heroes both pitted against each other and teaming up to battle an enemy more powerful than they’ve ever experienced. Saturday Wars is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.Saturday Wars brings together the heroes of the Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons that feature the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters. Discover the original action-packed adventures of the Saturday AM TANKS series:Apple Black, Clock Striker, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Orisha, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.