ISSUE #1

Written by Suzanne Cafiero

Art by Jeff Zornow

Produced by John Cafiero

Release Date: October 5, 2022

IT’S SUGAR, ICE AND YOU BETTA’ BE NICE!

Sweetie Candy Vigilante is a honey-dipped, dark-humor infused horror/fantasy that tells the tale of Sweetie, an ethereal, beautiful, charming, well-meaning (yet unquestionably unhinged) blood relative of the mythological “candy man”…you know, the dude that takes the sunrise and sprinkles it with dew? Yeah – that guy. Dismayed by the blight and decay of her community, Sweetie is hell-bent on enacting a blood-caked, sugar-coated manifesto on society by utilizing her other-worldly powers and proprietary family secrets in her quest to make the world a “sweeter” place. She’s starting brick-by-brick in her hometown, New York City.

In issue #1, on a snowy, icy night, Sweetie pays a visit to a NYC landmark sweet shop known as the Ice Cream Bunny, hoping to find its namesake at the helm. To her dismay, she finds the shop transformed from its once sugary splendor to a salty den of iniquity. The once-beloved store is now a front for a notorious crime syndicate, and they’re not very nice at all. Sweetie uses her captivating persona and unassuming confectionary weapons to tear the place, and its gang of thugs, limb from limb – as the first step to restoring its former glory. All the while enjoying a dynamic punk rendering of the Archies’ pop classic “Sugar, Sugar” on the jukebox, as heads roll – literally.

This issue includes a download code for a free pop-rockin’ MP3 of “Sugar, Sugar,” performed by Osaka Popstar (as featured in the issue) so you can listen along while Sweetie kicks butt! Will Sweetie find any good eggs among the clientele of the Ice Cream Bunny? Who exactly is the Ice Cream Bunny? Who is Sweetie’s oversized Gummee hench-bear? This issue has it all: Blood, guts, and a sugar rush! It’s all going down in the debut issue of “Sweetie Candy Vigilante.” Isn’t that nice?

Sweetie Candy Vigilante kicks off with an extra-sized Dynamite Debut issue to get you hungry for more! So buckle up gum-drop, and make sure you save room for dessert, because, it’s not like a little sugar is going to KILL you, RIGHT? Osaka Popstar is the pop-punk multimedia music and art project led by singer/producer John Cafiero, longtime Misfits and Ramones collaborator and platinum selling film and video director. The critically acclaimed debut album “Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk” featuring frontman Cafiero with a revolving lineup of punk-rock legends as his backing band including members of the Misfits, the Ramones, Black Flag, the Voidoids, and more. Sweetie made her debut appearance on the cover of Osaka Popstar’s latest release “Ear Candy”, which has been featured on CNN and debuted at #7 on the top 10 SubModern Album chart.

ISSUE #2

Written by Suzanne Cafiero

Art by Jeff Zornow

Produced by John Cafiero

Release Date: November 2, 2022

MEET CANDY WOLF, SWEETIE’S FEROCIOUS, SHAPE-SHIFTING HENCH-WOLF!

A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN…IN THE MOST DE-FRIGHTFUL WAY!

In the wake of Sweetie’s candy-coated carnage at the Ice Cream Bunny, a mysterious figure appears with a reckoning for its ring-pop branded survivors. Enter Candy Wolf, Sweetie’s lycanthropic wolf-at-arms. He’s a shapeshifter with a taste for licorice twists and the blood of bad eggs who warrant his violent wrath…all served in the name of sweet, sweet justice.

Will their rebirth marks reveal the person beneath as naughty – or nice? Is revenge sweeter than honey? Could a sweet new life await Pixie Stix, resident dancer of the once-dive bar? Now that the Ice Cream Bunny is under the newly appointed management of an enchanted Christmas tree named Tinsel, will all be merry and bright? Exactly who and what is Sweetie, and what is her mission? Treat yourself to a heaping spoonful of sugar and watch it all go down in the most de-frightful way in SWEETIE CANDY VIGILANTE #2: “Run this Town.”

ISSUE #3

Written by Suzanne Cafiero

Art by Jeff Zornow

Produced by John Cafiero

Release Date: December 14, 2022

NYC JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT SWEETER…
THERE’S A NEW CANDY BOSS IN TOWN!

Sweetie Candy Vigilante #3 gives us our first glimpse into the surreal world that thrives beyond the walls of Sweetie’s elusive Candy Vigilante factory headquarters (discretely located in the industrial outskirts of Brooklyn, NY). Now that Pixie has been chosen to join the sweet, secret society, she’s introduced to mix masters (and highly skilled axe-throwing assassins) Hansel and Gretel! Yes, the epic witch killing duo are real, all grown up, and no longer eat stranger’s houses. So please, no jokes about gingerbread. They’re still trying to break the stigmatism…

Meanwhile, Candy Wolf spills the jelly beans on Sweetie’s backstory and family lineage! Turns out her father is the “Candy Man”‘ himself: Zucker Cane, (of the New York landmark Cane’s Sweet Shop). He trained Sweetie and factory home. schooled her with his magical secrets of confectionary wizardry.

Pushed to the limits by the mysterious disappearance of her parents, the gentrification of New York destroying “Mom and Pop” shops, and a fitness obsessed mayor declaring war on sugar — actually outlawing candy, cake and ice cream in the process — she’s declared a war of her own on anyone who treads on her birthright to sweetness, and those who enjoy a little sugar in their lives. Possess ing skills far beyond her father, she’s been testing secret formulas on herself, and now… it’s all GOOD! Sweetie said so, and she’s the new Candy Boss in town! So make your life a whole lot sweeter with Sweetie Candy Vigilante #3: Candy Boss After all, tis the season!

Watch for Sweetie Candy Vigilante’s return with issue #4 in February, 2023!

ISSUE #4

Written by Suzanne Cafiero

Art by Jeff Zornow

Produced by John Cafiero

Release Date: February 8, 2023

This issue is a real Jawbreaker… Just sayin’ pa-POP!

It’s all going down the hatch in Sweetie Candy Vigilante #4: Lost Cherry…

It’s Pixie’s first day in the weapons room at the Candy Vigilante factory; time to get schooled in the fine art of sugar-fueled firepower! Sweetie unveils the JAWBREAKER, her signature weapon developed for ‘overly chatty’ bad eggs, and things get explosive for Mr. Uh Oh! and Mr. Oh No!-a couple of dummies with rotten DNA who aren’t having a very GOOD day. A mysterious, magical, confectionary potion called ‘Lost Cherry’ is introduced, and Candy Wolf drops sweet knowledge on Pixie about Super Naturals and Immortal beings. Meanwhile, if you think bringing a gun to an axe fight is a GOOD idea, think again. Sweetie’s immortal allies, witch-hunting duo assassins, Hansel and Gretel, come prepared. Will it be a BAD decision for Skurvy, the ‘former’ proprietor of the Ice Cream Bunny? Will the low-life crime syndicate solider remain sweet-tempered, or lose his head, and his bar, in the process? Just sayin’ pa POP! Get ready to raise a glass and kick some ass, it’s all going down the hatch in Sweetie Candy Vigilante #4: Lost Cherry.

ISSUE #5

Written by Suzanne Cafiero

Art by Jeff Zornow

Produced by John Cafiero

Release Date: April 5, 2023

IMMORTAL GOODNESS BY THE BITE OF A ‘SWEET TOOTH’…

ALL BAD EGGS WILL GET THEIR JUST DESSERTS!

The NYPD gets a code dead and investigates the case of a headless-hoodlum, only to find a mysterious, gooey, pink substance on the body at the candy-coated crime scene. Meanwhile, Sweetie’s Candy Vigilante have successfully taken back their house and transformed the Ice Cream Bunny to its former glory. Destined to become their new flagship store, it’s soon to bring sweetness back to the city—and currently trending on social media too! Isn’t that nice?

Pixie pledges herself to eternal goodness, and with a sacramental bite of Sweetie’s “sweet tooth,” joins the ranks of immortals. Debuting new threads, and a new signature weapon, the sugar rush has gifted “Sweet P” with the skill, agility, and drip of a ninja warrior.

We get hard-boiled deets on the Peter Cottontail, his hopped-up sidekick Jack Rabbit’s jellybean habit, and a super-charged monster truck—fueled by ice cream. Plus, delve deeper into Sweetie’s mission statement, and the reveal of a speakeasy for the council of immortals. On the salty side, Sweetie’s sworn enemy Bart Volgare and his evil crime syndicate K.Y.E. may think they’ve destroyed the sweetness, but in time, Sweetie and her Candy Vigilante will see to it that all rotten eggs get their JUST DESSERTS!

ISSUE #6

Written by Suzanne Cafiero

Art by Jeff Zornow

Produced by John Cafiero

Release Date: June 21, 2023

THE SWEETER THE CHERRY, THE JUICIER THE BOMBZ!

HELLO DADDY, HELLO MOM… SWEETIE’S A GUMM BALLER —
DROPPING CHERRY BOMBZ ON NYC!

Goodie gumdrops! It’s the grand opening of the new Sweetie Candy Vigilante sweet shop, fully transformed, with obsessed customers lined-up to be the first to sample the ‘sweet’ new life and meet the CANDY VIGILANTE squad. The adoring crowd, decked out in official Candy Vigilante merch, have come to check out the goods, and hang on to Sweetie’s every word. She is the OG Gumm Baller!

Candy Wolf and Pixie serve-up selfies and autographs for candy-crazed fans; their verified presence on social media has made them instant rock stars. At 1.5 million followers and rapidly growing, Gummee Bear’s online marketing skills bring it like bees to honey—reaching a sweet new global audience with limited edition confectionary drops. Meanwhile, Tinsel has decked the halls of the NYC flagship location to max potential—and it’s time to get LIT!

NYPD forensics conclude the mysterious goo found on the wounds of the headless hoodlum have chemistry consistent with some seriously KILLER cherry juice, and when the homicide division pays a routine visit to the decedent’s last known business address, they find the newly opened sweet shop in its place.

Taken aback by Sweetie’s enchanting presence and unusual, yet charming demeanor, the cops are dealt a cold case of brain freeze, and the start of a major showdown soon follows. This issue goes off like Cherry Bombz … fizzy bang boom!!

Life is SWEET… don’t be salty—get issue #6 of Sweetie Candy Vigilante!