Whoopi Goldberg's debut graphic novel promises a new kind of superhero

Isabel Frost on the cover of The Change.
(Image credit: Dark Horse Comics)

Whoopi Goldberg has had quite an extraordinary career over the last 40+ years, starting out on the theater stage before building a high profile career in film and TV. She is one of only 17 people to have achieved the EGOT - winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony - and has become beloved for her philanthropic work. She's also a huge fan of comics and pop culture, as anyone who has watched Star Trek: The Next Generation will know, where she appears as Guinan. She's now channeled this passion into The Change, her debut graphic novel.

Co-written with Jaime Paglia, drawn by Sunkanmi Akinboye, with coloring by Alexandria Batchelor coloring and lettering by Frank Cvetkovic, The Change is the story of Isabel Frost. Frost is middle-aged and unhappy with the way her life has gone. Her marriage is drifting apart and her only escape from the mundanity of it all is through playing video games with her comics-loving grandson - until, that is, she unexpectedly develops extraordinary superpowers.

Here's Khary Randolph's cover for the new book.

The cover of The Change, featuring Isabel Frost with a glowing hand.

(Image credit: Dark Horse Comics)

Dark Horse's press release digs into the origins of the project, stating:

"Because of her lifelong love for comic books, Goldberg decided it was time to create a new kind of superhero – one who might be a little older, whose body might be a little thicker…and whose breasts may or may not be the same size. She is also smack in the middle of menopause which, along with chills and hot flashes, also gave her some unexpected superpowers. The iconic actor, producer and author matched minds and wits with Jaime Paglia, someone "just as outside the box as I am," says Goldberg, to take the story to the next level. And, thus, The Change was born."

The Change is published in hardcover by Dark Horse Comics on November 28.

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Will Salmon
Comics Editor

Will Salmon is the Comics Editor for GamesRadar/Newsarama. He has been writing about comics, film, TV, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he has previously launched scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for over a decade. He sometimes feels very old, like Guy Pearce in Prometheus. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places and he runs the micro-label Modern Aviation, which puts out experimental music on cassette tape.