It’s early 2026, and AHOY Comics is back with another off‑the‑wall adventure. This time, bringing the Toxic Avenger into the spotlight for a crossover that’s as chaotic as it is clever. The TPB of Toxie Team‑Up channels everything fans love about the cult‑classic character while folding him seamlessly into AHOY’s trademark blend of satire, sharp humor, and genre‑bending storytelling. To break down how this radioactive romp came together, we spoke with writer and cartoonist Matt Bors about tackling Toxie, collaborating across AHOY’s universe, and why this team‑up hits with the perfect mix of grime, heart, and absurdity.
Mixing “Toxie” with his Justice Warriors
GVN: Thanks for taking a moment, Matt. It’s been a while since we last talked with you and Ben Clarkson over Zoom in 2022 about Justice Warriors for AHOY. You’ve clearly kept busy since then, especially by bringing back the cult-favorite Toxic Avenger. Part of the fun was blending “Toxie” with some of AHOY’s other characters, including the Justice Warriors. Since you and Ben had already created a wild, satirical, and popular world in Justice Warriors, how did adding this iconic character shift the tone or take your satire in new directions?
Bors: As you have seen, it’s a simple matter of time-dilation using a hyperdrive to transport Toxie to the future, which is even more deranged than our present, a future where everyone is a mutant.
Honestly, it fit like a glove. Our characters, Swamp and Schitt, are mutant cops and with cops, it’s very easy to get them up to no good. A boy from New Jersey, with no permit to travel through time like that, to take refuge there and potentially take good mutant jobs away from those born in that era–I mean, it practically writes itself.
Challenges of Different Story Tones and Mythologies
GVN: Good thing it doesn’t, or a lot of writers would be out of a job. As I mentioned, this collection has Toxie crossing paths with characters from across AHOY’s catalog — from Jesus in Second Coming to the Jersey Devil and Acid Chimp. What was the biggest creative challenge in writing a story that juggles such wildly different tones and mythologies?
Bors: I supposed the biggest challenge is making it all feel like it works and isn’t forced, but that is how the characters were chosen. Toxic Avenger can go broad and weird, so things like “Acid Chimp” and “Jesus Christ, the son of God” all work pretty well and don’t seem at risk for feeling too off-brand. I mean, I can write this boy with anyone. Give me Superman, Wolverine, Saga–Toxie will take all comers and I’ll even make it make sense, as a bonus.
“Toxie” and Social Commentary
GVN: Toxie and Superman? That sounds like a future team-up. In your work, you’ve built a career on political and social commentary through comics. What aspects of “Toxie’s” character — a mutated janitor fighting corruption — do you feel reflect most with your sensibilities as a satirist?
Bors: Our version of Melvin Junko is a teen and an outcast mutated by toxic waste, which had brought out environmental degradation, government incompetence, and even a secretive alien conspiracy. We try to keep it grounded and fun, but poking at these systemic issues, and coming up with a host of new villains to represent them, has been a real treat. Take our killer AI robot SENTIAC developed by a billionaire looking to clean up invasive species only to see their creation go all-in on wiping out anything or anyone deemed genetically deficient, which turns out to be billions of life forms across the globe. It’s easy to see that happening in the next few months and I hope you know where you read it first!
Reflecting Current Events into the Storyline
GVN: Speaking of satire, AHOY books often blend humor with sharp thematic undercurrents. What themes or ideas were you most excited to explore through these team‑ups?
Bors: Under the fun and police brutality of our Justice Warriors story is the idea of illegal time immigration. The idea is if one could escape one era and move to another, you could displace risk or have more opportunity there and, of course, those living in that present time period would become rabidly defensive of their era and want jack booted thugs tearing otherwise law-abiding people from their homes to be shunted back to where they came from.
Working with Other Talented Creators
GVN: For this project, you collaborated with a lineup of talented creators like Mark Russell, Richard Pace, and Fred Harper. How did working alongside other writers and artists shape the final tone of the collection?
Bors: Hey, can’t compete with Mark Russell so I just ignored all the other writers and plowed ahead with my sub-par nonsense. To be honest, I hadn’t read the other stories when writing mine with Ben Clarkson so we did our own thing. I think everyone was informed by the initial miniseries I wrote as the basis for the tone and look of this world, but came up with their own approach for how to get their characters into a mix up with Toxie.
Bringing “Toxie” to Old and New Audiences
GVN: Since his introduction in 1984, Toxie has become a cult-classic character with decades of fan expectations. What do you hope longtime Troma fans take away from this version of him — and what might surprise them?
Bors: I just hope people are enjoying the Toxic Renaissance here. It was a very long time without any movies, let alone multiple comic books running at the same time. I think we are doing something fans should enjoy, but also that fans of horror, satire, and comics in general can get on board for without knowing the history of the character.
What might surprise people? If I told them it wouldn’t be a surprise.
Best Reflecting the Ahoy and Toxic Avenger Brands
GVN: Good point! Thank you again, Matt, for taking the time to join us. For one last question… The book brings together characters from several AHOY titles. Is there a particular team‑up or cameo that you think best embodies AHOY’s spirit as a publisher while also connecting with “Toxie” fans?
Bors: Oh, can’t go wrong with Jesus Christ. Both nice dudes, with good morals, who are very hard to kill.
TOXIE TEAM-UP TPB
(W) Mark Russell, Matt Bors, various
(A) Richard Pace, Ben Clarkson, various
Cover: Fred Harper
January 28, 2026
FOC: October 6, 2025
$17.99 / $24.99 CAN
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
