Lilo & Stitch are lost in New York and trying to phone home in their new Dynamite Comics series, as they figure a toy convention in New York City will be a great place to hide from the villainous Cluster Sovereign. An early look at the variant covers for issue #2, by writer Greg Pak (Darth Vader) and artist Giulia Giacomino (Into the Unknown), shows a few winking references to classic family movies featuring the Big Apple and weird little aliens.
The Cluster Sovereign is an alien who already has a robot army, but unfortunately for their evil plans, those robots are all very gentle and polite. The Sovereign is looking to track down Stitch and use his DNA to imbue their cluster drones with aggression and a need for destruction. After tracking Experiment 626 down to Hawaii, the robot follows Lilo & Stitch on an international adventure as the two try to hide.
With the tagline “LOST IN NEW YORK!” and Trish Forstner’s art of Stitch emerging from a pile of plush toys, it’s clear that Stitch’s jet-setting adventure will include some fun nods to Home Alone: Lost in New York and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial.
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“Doggos Are Ready to Get Their Revenge”: Disney’s New Cruella De Vil Series Promises Revenge on the Iconic Villain
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Lilo & Kitsch: This Series Has Always Loved an In-Joke
Even the Original Trailers Included References to Classic Movies
The new Lilo & Stitch series picks up after the events of the movie, with the title characters and their ‘ohana having built a relatively peaceful life in Hawaii. All of that is upended when the Cluster Sovereign arrives, looking to capture Stitch and use his DNA to build an evil robot army that could topple the Galactic Federation. Solicits for upcoming issues reveal the duo lands in New York, followed by India, in their attempts to escape. Another variant cover by artist Edwin Galmon (Superman), shows Stitch completely lost in Times Square, overwhelmed by all of the noise and bright lights, looking for Lilo.
The original movie was no stranger to making pop culture references. The soundtrack and plot heavily featured Elvis Presley, and the first teaser trailers inserted Stitch into the biggest movies of the Disney Renaissance before those characters told him to get his own movie. As this series’ first in-canon comic for Lilo & Stitch, it makes sense that these fun references would be part of its DNA. There’s also a metatextual aspect to Stitch hiding in a bunch of stuffed animals – while the original movie was a modest success, Stitch himself has become a merchandise juggernaut for Disney. No real life toy convention would be complete without at least a few Stitches.
Lilo & Stitch’s International Journey Is Just Getting Started
The new villain and the international set pieces are setting up an exciting continuation of Lilo & Stitch’s story. These references to Home Alone: Lost in New York and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial are fun, but are also backed up by a series with love for its characters, so the jokes don’t feel hollow. In the next issue, Stitch crash-lands in India, and video of his arrival goes viral, which doesn’t help him hide, but does elevate his ego. Time will tell where they’ll pop up next on their new adventure, but Lilo & Stitch’s return will surely continue to make a splash.
Lilo & Stitch #2 will be available February 7, 2024 from Dynamite Comics.
